"Take a look yourself." Yang Qi handed over the tablet.

As Yang Qi had said, the entire Shuzhou region looked pitch black from near-Earth orbit—no matter how close or distant the lens was adjusted, no changes were visible.

"Dubhe Tower will gradually dispatch research teams to Shuzhou, but these experts will not participate in the Disaster Response Committee's operations; they have other objectives," said Yang Qi.

"Researching the eternal night?" Sun Hang immediately thought of the answer.

"That's right." Yang Qi nodded, "It's a rare opportunity; many people go their whole lives without seeing an eternal night descend. For those research fanatics, the dangers of eternal night are hardly enough to stop their steps. Some even suggest moving Dubhe Tower to Shuzhou."

"Is there such high research value in the eternal night?" Sun Hang asked in confusion.

"In the entire ecological system of mystical creatures... assuming such a system exists," said Yang Qi, "eternal night is a crucial component. From the incomprehensible primordial creatures to the undead transformed from the dead, they all have inseparable connections with eternal night... Do you think it holds high research value?"

"And it's only ranked third among type B mystical creatures?" Sun Hang muttered, "Who are the big shots in first and second? And just how formidable are these primordial creatures?"

"Questions like these..." Yang Qi couldn't help but hold her forehead, "To be honest, it's hard to explain clearly in just a few sentences. If you're interested in these things, after we get off the plane, I can take you to the Dubhe Tower information library—your access level was updated yesterday, and you can peruse any material below A-level confidentiality in the library freely."

"That works." Sun Hang turned his gaze out the window—the Shuzhou enveloped in eternal night had long been left behind. From this distance, it appeared like a black wall, reaching up to the sky.

...

...

Two hours could be both long and short. When the escort fighters scattered to the sides and the transport plane began to descend, Sun Hang knew they had reached their destination.

The transport plane slowly passed through the clouds, revealing a colossal city on the land below.

Sun Hang had thought the bustling Tianfu City was already a large metropolis, but compared to this gigantic marvel before him, Tianfu City suddenly paled in comparison.

It's hard to imagine the generational effort and resources required to construct such a vast city... to birth such an astonishing miracle.

"Chunming City, the six-dynasty ancient capital, the largest city on the Xiazhou Continent, the Xiazhou Federation... or rather, the cultural, economic, political, and military center of human society, and the location of the highest decision-making body of human civilization," Yang Qi said beside Sun Hang, "Despite having visited many times, every time I gaze down at this city from above, I feel a profound sense of awe. I always think, if we can build a city like Chunming, human civilization is simply limitless. Even those territories occupied by mystical creatures will be reclaimed one day... Not just for me, for many people, Chunming City is a spiritual pillar."

"..." Sun Hang looked at the city below and couldn't help but furrow his brow.

Chunming City was majestic, but for Sun Hang, it was also unfamiliar—meaning he hadn't been to this city before losing his memory.

For the people of Xiazhou, Chunming City is not just a city but also a symbol, an emblem. Even those living in remote city-states feel the need to visit Chunming City at least once in their life, as if not having visited would leave their life incomplete, much like a pilgrimage.

Yet in Sun Hang's memory, there wasn't a trace of this city.

To him, Chunming City was only a symbol, signifying the title of "Xiazhou Capital"… and nothing more.

"Why does Chunming City seem to have an illusion of layered space?" Sun Hang said to Yang Qi, "It feels like the roads are floating in the air, and the buildings stacked like blocks, making it hard to distinguish where the ground is and where the rooftops are..."

"It's not an illusion. Chunming City is a 'three-dimensional' city," Yang Qi smiled and explained, "Despite Chunming City's vast land area, the population exceeded the land's carrying capacity over a hundred years ago. While expanding the city's horizontal boundaries, a genius planner suggested a novel idea—rather than extending outward into the suburbs, why not direct our vision to the sky?"

"Direct it to the sky?" Sun Hang was slightly taken aback, "Does it mean building taller buildings?"

"Not exactly." Yang Qi explained, "Chunming City is a five-layered structured city, with two underground levels and three above ground. From top to bottom, they are 'Taiwei,' 'Ziwei,' 'Tianshi,' 'Zodiac,' and 'Houtu.' The horizontal area is divided into nine districts and twenty-eight smaller zones, precisely corresponding with the Three Enclosures and Twenty-Eight Mansions in Ancient Huaxia Star Astronomy."

"So, they built another 'layer' of the city above?"

"Technically, two layers." Yang Qi said, "The original Chunming City is now the 'Tianshi Palace.' The builders of Chunming City erected an enormous steel platform 350 meters above the ground. The high-rise buildings of the original Chunming City were transformed to become the pillars and framework of this platform... After the platform's completion, they built the second layer, the 'Ziwei Palace,' above it. As for the lower 'Tianshi Palace,' it utilizes artificial sunlight for lighting. There are numerous 'virtual sky domes' installed beneath the Ziwei Palace platform to completely synchronize with the upper layer's weather. Except near tall buildings that connect both palaces, people can't tell there's another layer of the city above their heads—how's that for a genius design?"

"Yes." Sun Hang nodded, "What's more surprising is that they actually managed to turn the blueprint into reality..."

"Building the Ziwei Palace took a full fifty years, and construction of the Taiwei Palace began twenty-three years ago and has yet to be entirely completed," Yang Qi said.

The transport plane continued descending in altitude, and the escort fighters were nowhere in sight, while a massive floating platform slowly separated from the top of the Taiwei Palace, approaching them.

"The Floating Port of the Taiwei Palace," Yang Qi said, "It can also serve as an aerial combat platform when necessary."

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