Earth, Trading City.
As night falls, this super city sprawling across the artificial island chain in the Pacific Ocean lights up.
Viewed from above, the entire city resembles a giant net woven with light.
The different colors of light within the city outline the seven districts.
The white light of the Human Clan district, the blue-green glow of the Sea-dwelling Clan district, the red light of the Re-adaptation Clan district... each light represents a race within the Earth Alliance.
And this city was jointly established by seven races.
The Descent War of those years plunged Earth into successive periods of climate disasters, energy crises, and waves of automated unemploynt.
Especially the ergence of automated unemploynt waves caused many races to fall into turmoil.
The advanced technology of the Moon Eclipse Clan replaced manual labor, making it difficult for ordinary human power to create value.
95% of traditional laborers could no longer generate inco for themselves.
Factories no longer needed workers, logistics no longer needed drivers, even basic dical diagnostics began to shift toward Moon Eclipse intelligence.
The creed "Labor creates value" collapsed before the efficient machinery of the Moon Eclipse Clan.
The wave of unemploynt swept across the globe, plunging society into chaos.
To solve this problem, the Human Clan Federation and other races experinted with directly distributing basic inco, using wealth created by machines to support the unemployed.
But this seemingly perfect solution soon revealed deadly flaws.
When people lost the aning of work, society began to fall apart.
Idle crowds road the streets, cri rates soared.
Especially the potential crisis weighing on the hearts of all beings in various races at the ti: the ergence of the next descending force.
In this phase, depression swept the globe, suicide rates hit a historical high.
Humans who lost their goals of striving began to split into extre groups, and social order started crumbling.
In this cyber environnt, the virtual economy erged in response.
After connecting to the Star Network, the network provided by the Moon Eclipse Clan was initially intended for more efficient communication between races.
But after the Moon Eclipse Clan opened virtual gaming, the world welcod a wave of economic recovery.
Everyone could connect to the Star Network via virtual equipnt and freely access the virtual world through the network, allowing their senses to experience alternative sensations within the virtual world.
Thus, many people chose to escape the dull reality by imrsing themselves in the virtual world.
At this stage, the Moon Eclipse Clan already possessed Ga Pod technology.
But what was supported and distributed to various races were still holographic neural access helts.
Viewed from a modern perspective, virtual equipnt of the ti was like ancient people using smartphones viewing traditional phones.
The greatest contribution of the virtual economy during this period was that it provided people with a feeling of "being needed."
This feeling, far more than money, could maintain social stability.
Trading City, this man-made wonder established on the Pacific Ocean, was a convergence point of virtual economy and the real world at the ti.
Here, virtual assets could be exchanged for physical goods, creativity could be turned into real cash.
The virtual currency of different gas and virtual social software also experienced a revival during this period.
It was also a future developnt pilot city jointly established by the seven races of the ti.
But in today's era, Trading City is like Earth's ancient United Nations.
Once holding glorious ideas, later it beca rely an empty shell.
By today, it exists as just an introduction in history books.
This super city spanning the Pacific has also gone through the fate of being eliminated by the tis, now transford into a common city accommodating multiple races.
And the first batch of residents in this city were basically engineers, architects, environntal control experts involved in its construction at the ti.
The residents in the city now are mostly descendants of those groups who participated in the city's construction.
At 3 am, the lights in so areas of Trading City gradually dim.
At this mont, a space distortion suddenly appears above the city.
Like air ripples in a sumr heatwave, almost indiscernible under the night sky.
Then the ripple swiftly tears, space like a curtain being pulled open by an invisible hand.
The edges of the rift flicker with unstable silver light, a slender figure wrapped in black Evil Wind slowly descends from the Space Rift.
Imdiately, the Space Rift behind contracts, as if it had never existed.
Overlooking the night scene of the city, the descending figure slowly raises the Bone Staff in its hand, the silver mist ford mask on its face rapidly changing expressions.
Finally freezing on a thoughtful expression, as if weighing sothing.
A mont later, the expression on the mask turns into a smile.
With a flick of the figure, it transforms into a black Evil Wind, disappearing into the night, diving towards the Trading City below.
Eventually infiltrating into an old, remodeled apartnt building.
On the balcony, an orange cat lazily licks its paws, the Ga Pod inside the room emits indicator lights, occupied by a player gaming.
The original focus of this Evil Wind was the figure inside the Ga Pod.
But upon seeing the figure's form and face, the Evil Wind suddenly freezes, seemingly hesitating over sothing.
Ultimately, it chooses the orange cat lounging on the balcony.
The Evil Wind silently drills into the cat's ear, the feline's actions suddenly stiffening, pupils abruptly contracting into a thin line.
"ow! ow! ow!"
"ow~"
The orange cat first emits an abnormal violent cry, then returns to normal.
It's as if adapting to the body, the initial disarray due to control mismatch.
Borrowing the cat's physique, this intruder begins its investigation.
It leaps lightly off the balcony, entering the room, curiously surveying the environnt inside the room.
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