The beginning of the inscription was merely an introduction to the pyramid's construction process. Although everyone knew this place was definitely not a product of Earthlings, and perhaps had influenced cultures around the world to some extent, they never expected that they had controlled human evolution, that humans were born simply because someone else needed labor.
The word "slave" became taboo.
The atmosphere grew increasingly heavy because the following content of the inscription detailed human evolution. Everyone lost even the excuse to believe the inscription was false. Nie Yun and Annie couldn't change it either.
The enthusiasm for work diminished, progress unconsciously slowed down, until a term, not exactly new, appeared – "Space Warship"!
Only when translating the fourth section did everyone understand the purpose behind the Atlanteans' laborious construction of such a massive structure. The pyramid was originally built to house the warship the Atlanteans used when landing on Earth. This meant that finding the warship would allow them to truly acquire the technology of an alien civilization. And after possessing alien technology, whether they would still be slaves was unknown, but becoming the new hegemon of Earth was definitely possible.
"God has stepped down from the throne, leaving a king's seat for mortals, and also leaving a reason for war," Annie sighed to Nie Yun.
The new discovery was immediately relayed back to various countries. National leaders reached a consensus in just two hours.
Leaders of the world's top-ranking countries collectively traveled to a remote island in the Pacific. In a temporary conference room, the most "quiet" negotiation in history took place.
Everyone sat around a round table. No one spoke, not even polite greetings. Such things felt too hypocritical now. Frankly, there was no room for compromise here, nor any countries to ally with. The boundaries between nations were as clear as the distance between the Moon and Earth. Everyone truly stood at the same starting line; anyone had the qualification to reshuffle the world order, as long as their research team mastered alien technology one step ahead of others.
Among them, the American President and Zhao Xiang had the most complex feelings. Because the dealer didn't want to step down. But with this round over, new cards were laid on the table, and one could only pray for the same good luck as the previous hand. Zhao Xiang, however, was worried about one person. He already knew about Nie Yun falling in love with the American scientist. The worst-case scenario Zhao Xiang speculated was Nie Yun's treason.
The arrow was nocked; it had to be fired.
An hour later, a drafted agreement was placed before each leader. The content was simple:
"1. Absolutely no disclosure of the island's discovery, absolutely no divulging of any information regarding the alien civilization.
2. No new researchers can be deployed to the island; research relies solely on existing personnel. Findings belong solely to each respective country.
3. Any violator of this treaty will face a joint global attack (including the possibility of nuclear weapons), until the nation is destroyed."
After reading the treaty, the sound of pens scratching across paper arose simultaneously.
Returning to China, Zhao Xiang immediately sent a brief telegram to Nie Yun. Truly brief, only two words: "Homeland!"
Holding the telegram, Nie Yun's hands trembled. Because what he held wasn't just a piece of paper, but the hope of a nation, the desire for prosperity of over a billion people in a country.
Looking at the telegram, Nie Yun shed long-absent tears. He understood his old friend's meaning better than anyone. In the current state, he had to leave Annie, leave the love he had just found. No matter how reluctant, how helpless, he had to leave. If he were still a young lad, if he hadn't been nurtured by the country, perhaps Nie Yun would choose to continue loving. But as someone raised by the words "Homeland," Nie Yun could only tightly grip these two words and tremble.
When the fourth section was translated, this massive research group disintegrated overnight. The relationships between nations became exceptionally clear. Annie didn't understand; nothing significant had been discovered yet, why act like this? Isn't science the most borderless thing? The previous scene of everyone sharing bread and sleeping in sleeping bags together vanished. In the temple, everyone silently marked their territory; even accidental entry was considered "aggression."
Nie Yun and Annie were also semi-forcibly prevented from being together anymore.
On the night he received the telegram, Nie Yun asked Annie to meet by the seaside. They hadn't spoken for days; Annie truly missed him.
She carefully dressed up and went to the agreed seaside spot. Annie wore her favorite off-the-shoulder dress and even sprayed a bit of orchid-scented perfume. Annie hesitated for a long time; she had already made up her mind: this night, she wanted to leave both of them with an "unforgettable memory."
"You came?" Annie looked at Nie Yun, still wearing that same white lab coat, and greeted him with a smile.
"Yes, I came," Nie Yun replied, trying hard to remain calm.
"Why so early?" Annie walked to Nie Yun's side.
"I... I had nothing else to do, so I came early," Nie Yun was somewhat nervous.
Annie sat on the ground, looking at the moon in the sky, listening to the crashing waves. Everything seemed peaceful.
Silence fell again. Not because there was nothing to say, but too much, neither knowing how to begin. Both felt this way.
Nie Yun sighed and sat down beside Annie.
"The current situation is really chaotic. Although I predicted it would end up like this eventually, I still liked the revelry back then. Are humans the most superior creatures, or the most pitiful group? Can you give me an answer?" Annie hugged her knees and trembled.
Nie Yun naturally took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders; this had become his habit.
"I don't know. If the Atlanteans chose us to be the most intelligent creatures on Earth, we must have a reason for being chosen. After all, only valuable tools get utilized," Nie Yun expressed his view.
"I'm just afraid that tools with intelligence might go mad after losing the one who uses them." Annie's body trembled. "To see a unified Earth, a king must be born."
Nie Yun noticed the expectant look in Annie's eyes. Nie Yun desperately wanted to agree, but he couldn't.
"You want me to join you, right?" Nie Yun asked.
"Yes, then you can be with me every day. We can unravel the mystery of Atlantis together, obtain alien technology... no, even without the help of alien technology, we can create a kingly nation with just our wisdom." Annie grew more excited as she spoke, even starting to imagine happily conducting experiments together with Nie Yun.
"And this kingly nation is America?" Nie Yun's tone turned cold. "You're asking me to commit 'treason'."
"You can't put it that way." Annie and Nie Yun had fundamentally different values. "Judging by current trends, America is more likely to become 'king' in a short time. Although I admit China indeed has great development potential, unifying the globe in our hands is simply impossible."
"Is America possible then?" Nie Yun was completely unaware of how terrifying his tone was.
Annie was stunned; she didn't understand why Nie Yun was angry. "Enough, okay? We are both rational scientists. You wouldn't be limited by the distinction between nations, would you?"
"I wish I could, but China is my mother! What you're asking me to forget is my roots!" Nie Yun couldn't forget.
"Then why did you ask me here?" Annie basically guessed, but she didn't want to accept it.
"We..." Nie Yun turned his head aside. "Let's break up!"
"Liar! You're a liar!" Annie almost roared as she stood up, her trembling finger pointing at Nie Yun.
No words of rebuttal came.
"You said you would take care of me for life, make me happy..." Annie's tears flowed uncontrollably. She didn't want to cry, but tears are honest things; when the heart is broken, they fall.
"Sorry, we are from different countries." Nie Yun stood up, handed the telegram to Annie, and turned to leave.
He didn't look back once, because the path Nie Yun chose allowed no turning back. Each step he took felt exceptionally heavy, as if carrying the nation upon his heart. Nie Yun didn't cry. His heart wasn't broken; it was completely shattered, turned into molecules, atoms, subatomic particles, reassembled into Homeland.
Annie collapsed helplessly onto the ground, clutching the paper with "Homeland" written on it tightly.
"Is it you who snatched what belonged to me?" Annie picked up the paper. "I will make this word disappear from the Earth forever!"
Annie furiously tore the paper into pieces and threw them into the air. "I, Annie, swear! I will definitely make the word 'nation' cease to exist on Earth!"
The next day, everyone continued their translation work as usual. People crowded around the stele, busy consulting materials. Compared to the efficiency of working together, it was much slower; often, it took two days to translate just a few characters.
Other Chinese researchers noticed the change in Nie Yun. Besides extreme depression, no word could better describe him.
By noon, others discovered something strange: the Americans hadn't shown up all morning. At this critical juncture where every second counted, wasting a minute could mean falling behind by a century.
At one o'clock, Annie appeared before the stele with her team members. Their attitude was completely different from before – arrogant, despising everything!
"Move aside, okay?" Annie looked at an expert blocking her way and said, "With your level of intelligence, you wouldn't figure it out even in three years."
Anger was the emotion everyone felt towards Annie then. Nie Yun was not among them; seeing Annie's change, Nie Yun's guilt almost consumed him.
"What's there to be arrogant about? Can you translate it then?" the expert retorted, red-faced with anger.
"Confined by national boundaries as you are, hoping for progress is simply a joke." As she spoke, Annie glanced sideways at Nie Yun. "Listen up, all of you!"
Annie stood before the huge stele. "Long before you were clueless, I had already translated the entire text."
A simple sentence shocked everyone.
"Do you understand what insignificance means now? Just shouting 'nation', 'nation' randomly. Strength is needed to become powerful."
The entire place listened only to Annie speak.
"Alright, since you want to know the warship's whereabouts so badly, obtain the alien technology, I'll tell you." Everyone couldn't believe their ears. "Listen carefully, the stele itself is the entrance to the secret chamber storing the warship! To think you stared at it for so long without knowing."
Everyone held their breath.
"I will open the door. I'm not afraid you can obtain the alien technology before us, because your intelligence poses no threat to me. Look, this is the relic left by the gods!"
Annie bit one of her fingers and pressed it onto the stele.
After a minute of silence, just as everyone was about to mock Annie's arrogance, the ground trembled violently. A light brighter than the sun burst forth from the spot where Annie's bloody fingerprint was, then expanded wildly outwards. In the blink of an eye, every crack in the temple and pyramid emitted light. Seen from the lonely Pacific Ocean, it resembled a dazzling lighthouse.
After an unknown amount of time, the light vanished. Everyone opened their eyes. The entire scene had changed; the pyramid had become a circular, hollow structure.
Everyone walked to the temple entrance and looked down. The temple was floating in the air.
And on the ground below, something that shook the world had lain dormant quietly for millions of years.
"Look," Annie said, lost in thought, "This is the ship of the gods, the origin of humanity – 'Noah's Ark'!"