Chapter 22: Erasing Humanity

While waiting, Xu Chen requested to make a call to his Grandpa Yang. He wanted to ask how Grandpa Yang had learned the name "Taihao."

Captain Chu refused directly, stating that all conversation with Yang Tianyou was strictly prohibited. Although Xu Chen felt this was somewhat heartless, he conceded that given the terrifying nature of the Taihao pathogen, such measures were likely necessary. Captain Chu did, however, offer to pass a message to Yang Tianyou and relay any response back to Xu Chen.

After a short wait, a massive amount of data appeared on the computer—so much that it left Xu Chen stunned. Previously, he had suspected that certain artifacts suffering from "special corrosion" were problematic, but in truth, he had neither the ability nor the persistence to track them down one by one. Had it not been for a vague, nagging sense of crisis in his heart, he would never have wanted to bother with this mess. Fortunately, the authorities clearly attached great importance to this, as he had only to mention it to receive such detailed information.

He began to investigate whether his suspicions were correct, focusing on the state of the damaged artifacts. The data was incredibly thorough, including items that had never even been exhibited. As a student of archaeology, Xu Chen knew that the number of excavated artifacts was countless, but museum space was limited; the vast majority remained in storage and received far less attention than those on display.

Within moments, Xu Chen finished cross-referencing the data. Because the information was so exhaustive, he only needed a cursory glance. That single look provided the answer to his questions, yet it also left him feeling utterly bewildered.

"What is it? Did you find something?" Elder Ge noticed the shift in Xu Chen’s expression and asked with keen interest.

Xu Chen nodded. He looked at the elder, struggling with his words, unsure of how to begin. Elder Ge sipped his tea, not rushing him, waiting patiently for Xu Chen to organize his thoughts.

"Um... are you aware of the hypothesis mentioned by my internship group?"

Elder Ge replied, "Yes, we are already in the process of verifying it. Why? Do you have more information to provide?"

"No, I mean..." Xu Chen hesitated, then decided to go all in. "What if you assume that this special corrosion isn't naturally occurring? What if, like the fungal infection, it was created by the person I hypothesized about?"

Elder Ge didn't even hesitate, responding as if he had just heard someone claim that water was lethal: "Impossible."

Xu Chen felt a flare of irritation. "I’m just making a hypothesis! Is a hypothesis not allowed?"

Elder Ge realized his tone and, after a moment of thought, nodded. "Fine. Let's follow your line of reasoning. Assume this special corrosion on the artifacts is man-made. Then who is doing it? Why? And how?" He paused. "More importantly—where is the evidence?"

"I can't answer the rest," Xu Chen looked at Elder Ge. "You are supposed to be very intelligent, right?"

Elder Ge was taken aback by the question. He rubbed his chin. "I graduated from Nanshan National Defense. I’d like to think I’m not unintelligent."

"Good. Then look at this."

Xu Chen selected specific portions of the data he had reviewed and organized them into a table on the computer, allowing Elder Ge to scan through them quickly.

"These are... human remains from the Stone Age? The ones you’ve marked seem to be skeletons of injured individuals. Wait, this Fuko site even has skulls with trepanation."

Xu Chen had marked skeletons that had recovered from injuries, or those with deformities—bones that had healed in strange shapes because they lacked the benefit of modern orthopedic surgeons. Elder Ge reviewed all the selected data, a sense of realization dawning on him, though he was still somewhat confused.

He looked at Xu Chen. "These still don't seem particularly out of the ordinary, do they?"

"If the special corrosion were real, there would be nothing special. But I am asking you to assume: what if there is no 'special corrosion' at all?"

Elder Ge frowned and looked back at the table. For some unknown reason, he began to tap his fingers rhythmically. Captain Chu, standing nearby, looked surprised. He knew Elder Ge’s identity and, having chatted with the researchers under his command during the Taihao negotiations, was familiar with his quirks. He knew that Elder Ge possessed extraordinary memory and mental calculation skills; whenever he encountered a scientific impasse, he would tap his fingers to think, and without fail, he would arrive at a satisfactory conclusion shortly after.

"You’re right. The probability P-value is far too high. This is clearly not right." Elder Ge finished his mental calculation, his expression turning serene.

Xu Chen was surprised. He had almost forgotten what a P-value was in probability theory; if not for his own good memory, he would have barely understood what the elder was referring to.

"However... your condition is based on excluding the special corrosion. That doesn't prove much, does it?"

Xu Chen didn't agree. Instead, he countered with a question: "Elder Ge, what do you think is the hallmark of human civilization?"

"The hallmark of human civilization... surely it must be tools? Stone implements and the like."

"That question has already been answered. The anthropologist Margaret Mead said that the first sign of civilization is a human femur that has been broken and then healed. It shows that someone spent a long time with the injured person, bound the wound, carried them to safety, and helped them recover."

Xu Chen spoke to himself, then added, "Mead said that this unity is the initial mark of civilization."

Elder Ge fell silent. He seemed to have contemplated a terrifying possibility, his gaze shifting from its initial sharpness to a look of confusion as he stared at Xu Chen. He was indeed brilliant; after hearing those words, he understood exactly what Xu Chen was implying.

"Xiao Li."

"Yes?"

"Get the cigarettes from my coat."

"Yes!"

Captain Chu couldn't stand it any longer. "Elder Ge, your students specifically warned me..."

Elder Ge took the pack of cigarettes and waved his hand impatiently. "Go, go, why are those brats so meddlesome? Besides, sigh!"

He clicked a lighter and sparked a cigarette, causing Captain Chu to furrow his brow in deep concern. He could only watch as the elder took one puff after another, lost in deep thought.

The vice regiment commander and the staff officer were also standing nearby. Elder Ge was usually very careful about his image, and they had rarely seen him in such a state. They, too, wore grave expressions.

Finally, Vice Commander Feng couldn't hold back. "Elder Ge, what kind of riddle are you two speaking in? What exactly have you discovered?"

Elder Ge finished the cigarette, stubbed it out in the ashtray, and sighed. "Young friend Xu just provided a perspective that I believe is highly probable."

"What perspective?"

"Someone is destroying artifacts."

"What? That’s outrageous! I’ll contact the police department. If the scale is large enough, they might need us to coordinate a joint operation." Vice Commander Feng, understanding the importance of the artifacts, immediately took a stand.

"No," Elder Ge pulled out another cigarette. "It might not be humans. It could even be extraterrestrials."

Vice Commander Feng was shocked. "What? Aliens have nothing better to do than this?"

"I’m wondering if the fungal infection on the coast is linked to those destroying these artifacts."

Vice Commander Feng immediately shut his mouth. He knew all too well how difficult that fungal infection had been to contain; it had been nothing short of an existential threat to the nation.

Staff Officer Xu nodded. "How can you be sure it’s aliens? And what would their goal be?"

Elder Ge lit his cigarette and took a drag. "I’m just speculating. It could be aliens, or it could be humans themselves. The goal is to completely erase the existence of humanity."

"The kind of erasure that happens from top to bottom, from front to back, across the span of time and space—not just eliminating humans themselves, but wiping away every trace of them."

"They have already destroyed the traces of human civilization from before the Neolithic era."

Everyone at the conference table was stunned.

"Was it 'Taihao'?"

"There is no evidence."

Elder Ge took a drag of his cigarette, then his eyes lit up as if he had thought of something. He looked at Xu Chen.

"I have some conjectures regarding this special corrosion, but they need verification. If it is as you say, then the special corrosion must bear traces of non-natural destruction."

"So you agree with me?"

"That's right. First, sign the confidentiality agreement. You can leave now. If there are any further developments, I will tell you. I need to have a talk with them."

Xu Chen hesitated for a moment, then agreed.