Chapter 1: The Giant Bronze Coffin in the Starry Sky
Life is the greatest miracle in the world.
Above, below, and in all four directions is called space. Though space has substance, it has no fixed place to be sought. From ancient times to the present is called time. Though time has growth, its beginning cannot be known.
In the vast universe, the boundless starry sky, many scientists speculate that Earth may be the only source of life.
Humanity is actually very lonely. In the boundless heavens, though there are billions of stars, it is very difficult to find a second life-bearing star.
Yet humanity has never given up exploration. Since the last century, many space probes have been launched.
Voyager 2 is an unmanned outer space probe, launched from the Kennedy Space Center in the United States in 1977.
It carries a gold-plated record with the theme "Greetings to the Universe," containing some popular music and greetings recorded in fifty-five languages of Earth, hoping that one day it might be intercepted and received by an extraterrestrial civilization that may exist.
From the 1970s to the present, Voyager 2 has been traveling alone, as insignificant as a speck of dust in the vast universe.
Most of the outer space probes from the same era have either malfunctioned, lost signal contact, or disappeared forever into the desolate cosmos.
Over thirty years have passed, and technology continues to develop. Humanity has already developed more advanced outer space probes. Perhaps in the near future, exploration of the starry sky will make further progress.
But even so, for a considerable period, new types of outer space probes still cannot catch up with Voyager 2's pace.
Thirty-three years have passed, and Voyager 2 is now fourteen billion kilometers from Earth.
At this moment, it has reached the third cosmic velocity, and its trajectory can no longer guide it back to the solar system. It has become an interstellar spacecraft.
In the dark and cold universe, stars dot the void like sparkling diamonds inlaid on a black curtain.
Though Voyager 2 is flying at extreme speed, in the cold and boundless cosmos, it is like a tiny ant crawling slowly across the dark earth.
After more than thirty years, at this very moment, Voyager 2 has made a startling discovery!
In the desolate universe, nine massive corpses lie quietly there...
On May 22, 2010, NASA received a set of mysterious data transmitted back by Voyager 2. After difficult decryption and restoration, they saw an unimaginable image.
At that moment, everyone in the main monitoring room changed color, then stood motionless like wooden sculptures, shocked beyond measure!
It was only after a long time that everyone came to their senses, and then the main monitoring room erupted.
"God, what am I seeing?"
"How is this possible? Unbelievable!"
...
Voyager 2 could no longer be guided and could only move forward in a single direction. After transmitting this set of mysterious data, it hurried past that pitch-black region of space, heading toward even darker and more distant star domains.
Because that starry region was too far away, even with such a major discovery and a shocking image captured, humanity is currently powerless to do anything.
This mysterious information was not released to the public. Not long after, Voyager 2 malfunctioned and lost signal transmission with Earth.
Perhaps this could have been the end of it, but sometimes things take unexpected turns.
Whether for observing and exploring the starry sky or for conducting scientific research on life and physics, space stations provide a uniquely superior environment.
Since the Soviet Union successfully launched the first manned space station in 1971, a total of nine space stations have been launched worldwide.
On June 11, 2010, at this very moment, inside the International Space Station orbiting Earth, several astronauts simultaneously changed color, their pupils contracting sharply.
By this time, the existence of gods had long been denied. If anyone still believed, it was only to find a solace for their empty hearts.
But at this moment, the thoughts of several elite astronauts were violently impacted. They saw an unimaginable scene.
Outside the International Space Station, in the cold and dark universe, nine massive creatures lay motionless, as if they had been there since ancient times, exuding an endless sense of desolation and antiquity. They were actually nine dragon corpses!
They were identical to the dragons in ancient myths and legends.
Each dragon corpse was over a hundred meters long, as if cast from molten iron, full of shocking power.
All nine dragon corpses were five-clawed black dragons. Except for their sparkling and translucent purple horns, their bodies were entirely black, gleaming with dark light, their scales sparkling with mysterious radiance in the darkness.
Dragons, legendary beings, standing alongside gods, transcending the laws of nature. But with the development of science, who would still believe that dragons truly exist?
The thoughts of the several astronauts inside the International Space Station were violently impacted. What they saw before them was unbelievable!
In the desolate universe, the cold dragon corpses were like indestructible steel walls. One could even feel the terrifying power contained within the corpses.
But they had lost their vitality, eternally resting in the cold cosmic space.
"That is..."
After being deeply shaken, the pupils of the several elite astronauts contracted sharply again. They saw an even more shocking scene.
Each of the nine dragon corpses was over a hundred meters long. At their tails were tied black iron chains as thick as a bowl, connecting to the dark cosmic space behind the nine dragon corpses, where a twenty-meter-long bronze coffin hung quietly.
The giant chains had been forged a thousand times, thick, long, and sturdy, their dark gleam making them seem cold and gloomy.
The giant bronze coffin was simple and unadorned, with some blurry ancient patterns on it, full of the vicissitudes of time. No one knew how many years it had been floating in the universe.
Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin!
In this pitch-black and cold universe, the nine dragon corpses and the giant bronze coffin were connected by thick black iron chains, an extremely shocking sight.
After a moment of daze facing the unbelievable surveillance footage, the several elite astronauts immediately sent out a distress signal.
"Calling Earth..."
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Regarding Voyager 2, it does exist. It was launched from the United States in the 1970s and lost contact with Earth around April or May 2010.
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