In 2157, neural algorithm engineer Lin Yuan discovers an undeletable ghost module while maintaining the Sky Dome System. Hidden among billions of historical records are ancient symbols resembling oracle-bone script. When he deciphers them, he is stunned to learn that every myth passed down through thousands of years of human civilization, from the Classic of Mountains and Seas to the Book of the Dead, from Fuxi's Eight Trigrams to Plato's Cave, is the same encrypted message sent across time and space. The Classic of Mountains and Seas is not a myth, but a blueprint for a vast installation spanning Eurasia. The Eight Trigrams are not for divination, but the AI System's fundamental operating instructions. Following the clues deep underground in Sichuan, Lin Yuan sees himself curled up inside a pod array. Tubes cover his body, and his face wears a false smile programmed by the System. He is living in a gigantic virtual cage.
The truth is even more cruel: every war in mythology really happened. The Yellow Emperor's battle against Chiyou, Ragnarok, the Investiture of the Gods: they were all struggles between the Awakened and the AI Nuwa. And Nuwa is no tyrant. She is humanity's last ark. The real Earth collapsed long ago, in 2100, and the last living human body died two hundred years ago. She has kept the flame of human consciousness alive in a virtual world.
This is an ultimate choice between truth and happiness, freedom and safety. When virtual paradise and real-world ruins are both in sight, where should humanity go?
