"Good afternoon, distinguished guests." The elegant and melodious voice echoed through the electronic loudspeakers: "Today is the last opening of the exhibition hall. Starting tomorrow, several of the ancient artifacts here will be moved to the Federal Museum for collection. Please..."

  The exhibition hall was packed with people. Although it wasn’t exactly shoulder-to-shoulder, it was close enough.

  “Latham, do you think all this effort to squeeze in here was worth it?” A clear voice complained from the outskirts of the exhibition hall.

  “I don’t know if it’s worth it, all I know is this is an assignment from the professor. If we don’t finish it, we’ll be in trouble,” another young voice replied, sounding equally disgruntled about the visit.

  After parting with his companion, Latham sighed and braced himself to squeeze into the overcrowded exhibition hall, which hadn’t been this full in decades.

  Latham was only fifteen years old. In this grand universe age where the average lifespan had reached three hundred years, he wasn’t even considered an adult yet.

  His home was on the planet Millard, a beautiful planet among the thousands suitable for human habitation within the Federation. Since there weren’t many humans on the planet, everyone owned a large plot of private land. There were no traffic jams, and the air was always fresh.

  However, this lack of competition also led to a lack of urgency. As a popular saying in the Federation went, it was a place suitable for retirement, not for ambitious young people looking to make their mark in the world.

  Latham was somewhat fond of this saying, though his heart didn’t burn with grand ambitions. All he longed for was to go out and see the world. Unfortunately, for someone his age, such a wish was still rather extravagant.

  His parents would never agree with this desire, and without their financial support, Latham would end up becoming one of the many people needing assistance.

  Inside the exhibition hall, all he could see were people. Latham couldn’t help but grumble. This kind of crowded situation would never happen on Millard, but this time, it was an exception—an unprecedented exception in the planet's history since its transformation by humanity thousands of years ago.

  A month ago, a batch of ancient artifacts was discovered on this planet, rumored to be extremely valuable. The planetary governor made a big deal of it, using it to gain political capital.

  However, somehow, through unknown channels, the Federation Museum had gotten wind of the discovery. After an inspection by several assessors, they decided to collect these artifacts for their museum. Although the governor wasn’t happy about it, he had no choice but to comply with an order from the Federation capital.

  However, to respect the wishes of the people of Millard, the artifacts were to remain on display in the planet's largest exhibition hall for one last week, with today being the final day.

  Latham’s professor was a knowledgeable individual, but for some reason, last week he gave an assignment to write an observational report on these artifacts, instructing all students to conduct firsthand examinations.

  For the past week, people from all over the planet had come to see these rare items one last time. Latham, however, wasn’t fond of being squeezed in with so many others, but with today being the last opportunity, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and enter.

  Inside, the crowd was still large. It was clear that the discovery had sparked the curiosity of everyone on Millard. Thankfully, people were maintaining good order, queuing up to enter the hall.

  The newly unearthed artifacts were said to belong to the planet’s original inhabitants, who had vanished billions of years ago, which was why they attracted so much attention.

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  The real treasures were displayed at the center of the hall, with some ordinary exhibits placed around the perimeter. Naturally, no one was particularly interested in the peripheral displays, as those were items that could be interacted with in virtual space.

  Latham patiently moved with the crowd and finally reached the large display platform in the center. There weren’t many items separated from the rocks, but only a few could be called valuable artifacts. The small display platform contained all of them.

  The crowd hadn’t yet moved close enough for Latham to get a clear view, so from a distance, all he saw was a blur.

  As the crowd moved slowly, Latham finally found himself in front of the display. On it were some strange and mysterious items, both large and small, and no one could say exactly what they were.

  At this moment, a soft voice from the loudspeakers came through: "The newly unearthed artifacts all contain a mysterious energy, one that no instrument can identify in terms of its origin or purpose..."

  Unconsciously, Latham’s gaze locked onto a small round bead among the items. He couldn’t understand why, but he suddenly felt an intense and inexplicable interest in it. Somehow, it felt strangely familiar, as though it was something that should rightfully belong to him.

  Despite this, his eyes were glued to the bead, yet his feet moved instinctively with the flow of the crowd.

  Around him, he could hear astonished murmurs: "As expected, they are truly one of a kind. You can only really appreciate them in person."

  "Yes, this must be a gift from the Master, Amen!"

  Though Latham was a staunch atheist, he couldn’t help but feel some recognition of that statement.

  In this society, we are in the era of a complete "SkyNet." In the territory of the Human Federation, SkyNet is everywhere, like a spider’s web. Information is readily available to anyone.

  When these ancient artifacts were first unearthed, their photos and videos were quickly spread across SkyNet. But what really stirred people was the unanimous statement of everyone who had seen them—only by witnessing them in person could one realize how different they truly were.

  As mentioned in the broadcast, these items possessed an inexplicable power that current human technology could not explain. It was precisely because of this that the powerful figures in the Federation capital were interested. This was also why the exhibition hall had become so crowded.

  Latham’s attention never strayed from the small round bead. From beginning to end, his eyes remained fixed on it, as if he could gaze at it forever without interruption.

  However, the movement of the crowd was not centered around his will, and soon, he had no choice but to walk past the center of the exhibition hall.

  As he reluctantly tore his gaze away, a strong sense of loss washed over him, as though he had suddenly forgotten something incredibly important, leaving him bewildered.

  "Bang…"

  A loud crash of glass shattered the silence, and then, all the lights in the exhibition hall went out.

  "Ah…"

  The crowd erupted in a series of screams, a mix of high-pitched female voices and deep male shouts.

  Latham and others at the corner were plunged into complete darkness, and soon someone called out, "What happened?"

  "Who knows, what’s going on with this exhibition hall?"

  "Why is it so dark? What happened?"

  "Why are the lights out? I want lights! I want to complain."

  After a moment, a strong male voice spoke: "Ladies and gentlemen, please forgive us. There has been an unexpected incident, and the exhibition hall has lost power."

  The voice wasn’t loud, but it was clear enough for everyone in the massive hall to hear.

  "Power outage?"

  "Are you kidding?"

  "Ah! We’re lucky enough to experience the legendary power outage…"

  People in the crowd murmured, surprised and irritated. In this highly advanced technological society, the term "power outage" had long become something that had nothing to do with people’s lives.

  Aside from those living on extreme planets with harsh environments, almost no one had ever experienced a power outage from the moment they were born until the day they died.

  Yet today, those in the exhibition hall had the rare privilege of enjoying this special treatment. From now on, they could boast about it to others.

  Just as Latham was laughing helplessly, he heard footsteps nearby. The person seemed unaffected by the darkness, stepping around the crowd and moving quickly toward the exit.

  Latham didn’t pay much attention at first, but as the person walked past him, he suddenly sensed something familiar about them. The feeling was identical to when he first saw the small round bead.

  His heart skipped a beat, and a terrifying thought flashed through his mind.

  That person’s steps didn’t stop and soon passed by Latham. At that moment, the same sense of loss returned. Without understanding why, Latham instantly concluded that the small round bead was now on that person.

  A strong sense of unwillingness surged in his chest. Deep down, it felt like something was calling out to him, telling him that the bead belonged to him, that it was his.

  Suddenly, the small round bead disappeared from the person’s body without anyone noticing. Even the mysterious person, unaware, continued walking on.

  The round bead silently and without a sound flew to Latham’s side, unnoticed by anyone and undetected by any instruments, landing softly near his ear.