Chapter 1: The Blood-Red Ocean
In the midwinter of 2047, the Ross Ice Shelf on the edge of Antarctica was cracking at a visible speed. Enormous ice blocks plunged into the ocean like white mountains, unleashing huge waves that pounded the coasts of South America thousands of miles away. No one could have imagined that this glacial melt, which meteorologists had predicted for decades, would open a "Pandora's Box" sealed for three million years.
The Norwegian whaling ship Northern Crown was the first to notice something unusual. When the crew cast their nets, all they hauled up were cod with blackened bodies and ulcerated scales, their gills oozing a strange pale green mucus. Meanwhile, the coral reefs of Australia's Great Barrier Reef turned completely white within a week, and the algae attached to the reefs crumbled into scorched yellow powder that sank to the seabed. Within a month, nearly 70% of the world's coastal fisheries declared total collapse. The bodies of marine life piled up along shorelines, and a putrid stench shrouded every port city.
Chapter 2: Silent Spread
Scientific research teams from various countries urgently formed a joint investigation group and detected an unrecorded ancient virus in Antarctic ice core samples—the "Extreme Cold Phage". It clung to the remains of ancient algae beneath the glaciers, entered the marine food chain with melting ice, and could rapidly infect the cells of plants and animals through water, damaging their genetic sequences. Worse still, the virus accelerated its mutation when seawater temperature exceeded 15°C and began to spread to terrestrial organisms.
In the rice fields of Southeast Asia, seedlings withered in patches; in the Amazon rainforest, broad-leaved plants developed black spots on their leaves and rotted entirely within a week; even the lawns in urban parks turned into dark green slime overnight. Humans were not spared either. Coastal residents who first came into contact with contaminated water sources developed symptoms such as fever and skin ulcers, and there was no specific medicine available for treatment. The World Health Organization named this crisis the "Glacial Plague", and the world entered a state of emergency.
Chapter 3: A Glimmer of Hope in Despair
Lin Shen, a Chinese marine biologist, led his team to discover a special thermophilic archaea at a deep-sea hydrothermal vent in the South China Sea. This microorganism could secrete an enzyme that effectively inhibited the activity of the Extreme Cold Phage. However, the vent was located 3,000 meters below sea level, and frequent geological activities in the area made collection extremely difficult. At the same time, engineers from various countries jointly designed an "Artificial Glacier" system, aiming to rebuild a low-temperature environment in Antarctic waters to curb the spread of the virus.
In this battle concerning the survival of humanity, people from different countries and ethnicities set aside their differences. Scientists, soldiers, and ordinary citizens united as one. When the first fleet carrying the archaea preparation set sail for polluted seas around the world, a gap suddenly opened in the clouds over Antarctica. Long-lost sunlight spilled onto the slowly reconstructing ice surface, as if it were the Earth's final chance for humanity.
Chapter 4: Turbulent Undercurrents
Troubles came one after another as the fleet carrying the archaea preparation entered the Pacific Ocean.
When the research vessel Eastern Star was deploying the preparation in waters near the equator, monitoring equipment showed that the seawater temperature suddenly soared to 22°C, far exceeding the critical threshold for viral mutation. The originally murky seawater outside the ship's rails glowed with an eerie fluorescent green. Large amounts of mutated Extreme Cold Phage aggregated into visible slimy masses that wriggled toward the hull like living creatures. The crew urgently activated the disinfection system but found that conventional disinfectants were completely ineffective against the mutated virus, and parts of the deck had been corroded into honeycomb-like holes.
Meanwhile, tragic news came from the Antarctic "Artificial Glacier" base—due to the continuous rise in global temperatures and abnormal submarine volcanic activity, the newly built low-temperature protective layer cracked in multiple places. Melted ice water, carrying a greater volume of ancient virus samples, flowed into the ocean once again. To make matters worse, the investigation group found in newly collected samples that the virus had begun to combine with microplastics in the ocean, forming a "compound pathogen" that was even harder to eliminate.
Lin Shen stood in front of the large screen in the laboratory, staring intently at the expanding red areas on the global pollution diffusion map. His assistant Chen hurried over, clutching a test report: "Professor Lin! The virus has been found in drinking water sources in Northern Europe—it can now spread through water vapor!"
Chapter 5: A Choice Between Life and Death
The cross-medium transmission of the virus completely out of control, forcing more than half of the world's population to relocate to temporary shelters in inland highlands. Food shortages, critical shortages of medical resources, and social unrest... Human civilization seemed to be on the verge of collapse.
After overnight deliberation, the joint scientific research group proposed two options: First, launch the "Global Cooling Plan" to temporarily lower temperatures by releasing sulfate aerosols into the stratosphere, curbing viral activity—but this might trigger global climate anomalies. Second, concentrate all resources on developing a "gene-targeted agent" that acts directly on the virus's core genetic sequence—but the research and development cycle would take at least six months, during which billions of people might lose their lives.
Just as representatives from various countries were arguing over the options, Lin Shen's team announced a new discovery—under extreme pressure, the deep-sea thermophilic archaea produced a special "symbiotic protein" that not only inhibited the virus but also promoted the self-repair of damaged ecosystems. However, to obtain this protein, they had to descend to the hadal zone 5,000 meters below sea level, where water pressure could crush conventional submersibles into iron discs.
Retired diver Lao Zhou volunteered without hesitation: "I participated in deep-sea exploration projects when I was young and am somewhat familiar with the terrain of that sea area. Even if I die, I have to fight for the sake of future generations!"
Chapter 6: New Life Beneath the Ice
The submersible Abyss-1, carrying Lao Zhou, slowly descended. In the darkness of the seabed, hydrothermal vents flickered like dancing flames, surrounded by strange bioluminescent creatures. Just as they were about to return after collecting sufficient archaea samples, the submersible's propellers were suddenly swept by an underwater current into an unknown subglacial cave.
Through real-time transmission footage, Lin Shen's team was astonished to discover that the cave sealed an untouched ancient ecosystem—transparent algae spread out on the ice walls, and colorful fish swam among them. The virus had completely lost its activity here. Further tests showed that the ice layer in the cave continuously emitted a special electromagnetic wave that could destroy the virus's genetic structure.
This discovery brought new hope to everyone. Countries quickly adjusted their plans: on one hand, mass-producing archaea preparations and protein agents to treat polluted areas; on the other hand, building a global "ecological protection network" based on the electromagnetic wave parameters of the subglacial cave, while launching the "Glacier Restoration Project" to attempt rebuilding a stable ice sheet system in Antarctica.
A year later, the first spring breeze blew across the cleaned-up coast. Tender green algae grew again in shallow waters, and a few small fish darted among them. Lin Shen stood by the sea, gazing at the slowly forming icebergs in the distance. The monitor in his hand showed that viral activity had dropped below the safety threshold.
Finally, in the struggle between humanity and nature, the Earth ushered in the dawn of new life.