The world Bai Luan arrived in this time was a desert, a boundless wasteland stretching as far as the eye could see.
Feeling the scorching heat, Bai Luan silently activated his mecha's temperature control system.
He then looked at Chizuru, wondering if Chizuru would be too hot, but found that Chizuru was as normal as ever, with no abnormalities.
It seemed he wasn't affected at all.
Bai Luan relaxed, then took out his phone to see if there was a Star Network on this planet.
No signal again.
Was he really that lucky?
Both planets he'd encountered so far had no internet connection?
He cursed under his breath.
Bai Luan squatted down, placing one hand on the ground.
Having learned from his previous experience of searching aimlessly like a headless chicken, Bai Luan was smarter this time.
This time, he was prepared.
Invisible detection waves spread out from Bai Luan's hand touching the ground, rapidly scanning the entire surface of the planet at an extremely fast speed.
Exploring an unfamiliar planet this way, he could quickly determine if there was civilization on it.
From the scan results, it didn't seem optimistic; most of this planet was desert.
Just as Bai Luan was about to give up, the detection waves made an unexpected discovery.
Civilization.
Even on such a planet, civilization existed.
It seemed... he had underestimated the resilience of life.
Bai Luan withdrew his hand and stood up.
First, he disengaged his mecha, put Chizuru into his pocket, then fully armored his mecha, Bai Luan raised the mecha's flight altitude, flying out of this planet.
Then he dived straight down towards the location of the civilization on the ground.
The mecha tore through the sky, its speed instantly soaring to the maximum, fiercely rubbing against the atmosphere, erupting in dazzling flames, enveloping him entirely into a brilliant meteor with a long, trailing tail.
The deafening sonic boom was like a war drum cast down by a god, heavily striking the earth.
This sudden celestial change instantly attracted the attention of all living beings on the ground.
That "meteor" was plummeting towards the oasis they depended on for survival, in a destructive manner!
Panic spread like a plague, and desperate shouts and commotion exploded in the narrow streets.
Then Bai Luan abruptly stopped above the city, the flames around Bai Luan gradually disappeared, revealing the handsome mecha with its smooth lines and cold metallic sheen.
He hovered there silently, the sunlight reflecting off the mecha's surface with an unbearable glare, like a deity descended from beyond the heavens, observing the mortal world.
Bai Luan looked at the city on the ground.
Most of the houses were low, square, and had very small window openings.
Many houses were half-buried underground, presumably to use the constant temperature properties of the earth to resist the extreme diurnal temperature variations on the surface.
Houses were scattered on both sides of the continent, and the skin of the people walking around was slightly dark, their clothes light and mostly white.
The settlements were extremely compact, houses closely connected, and streets as narrow as a labyrinth.
The presumed purpose was to provide mutual shade and reduce the surface area exposed to wind and sand.
Along an entire street, there were no small stalls or vendors, and although there were many pedestrians, there was almost no communication.
Everyone's expression was as if covered by a gray mist, suppressed and numb.
Amidst the low-lying houses, one palace stood out, exceptionally tall and conspicuous, with a magnificent style that contrasted sharply with the other flat, low buildings.
He watched the people on the ground look at him with expressions as if seeing a god.
He felt that even if he explained to these people, they wouldn't understand the current situation.
It's better to go see the temple first.
Bai Luan scanned the temple with his mecha's scanner, deconstructing its internal structure.
Bai Luan discovered that the temple's interior was a springhead, containing a very complex network of pipes that radiated outwards from the temple.
Clearly, this palace's function was to control the planet's scarcest and most precious water resources.
At the same time, this palace also had the nature of a research institute, and many personnel were currently moving within it, seemingly researching some topic.
How should he make contact with these people?
As Bai Luan was thinking this, he saw a large group of people emerge from the Water Temple.
Bai Luan thought for a moment, then spoke to them:
"I am a Nameless, traveling between stars, and I unexpectedly arrived on this planet. Is there anything you need help with?"
He would temporarily borrow the name of the Nameless; it had more affinity than 'Genius Society #85'.
Although, they wouldn't know what either meant.
Among the group, the person dressed most lavishly, wearing an ancient crown symbolizing responsibility and power, stepped forward.
He suppressed his inner shock, looked up, and invited loudly, his voice carrying a hint of imperceptible tremor:
"Esteemed guest from the heavens! May I... invite you to speak with us?"
Indeed, the more conspicuous he was, the more likely he was to meet important figures.
Upon hearing this, Bai Luan slowly descended, landing in front of the group of people, then disengaged his armor.
Chizuru flew out of Bai Luan's pocket and hovered beside Bai Luan, who then looked at the middle-aged man.
This was a king with the demeanor of a sage, possessing a pair of deep blue eyes, but his facial hair was somewhat unkempt, making him appear a bit wild.
There were many traces of time on his face, which added to his majesty.
"Hello, my name is Bai Luan. I am a traveler from the stars."
Bai Luan extended his hand to the middle-aged man in front of him.
The middle-aged man reached out and shook Bai Luan's hand.
"Hello... Star Traveler, my name is Sethlun, and I am the seventeenth generation leader on this planet."
"What about the previous sixteen generations?"
"..."
Sethlun clearly hadn't expected Bai Luan to speak like that and was visibly stunned for a moment.
Then Bai Luan said with a smile:
"I was just joking."
"If you are truly interested in our civilization, I can allow you to tour our history..."
"Alright, I'd be delighted."
Bai Luan glanced at the surrounding crowd again and said:
"However, I'm not keen on being watched by so many people."
Sethlun was silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement, turning to the crowd behind him and saying:
"You all may withdraw."
"But... Sethlun... how can we be sure he is friendly?"
"The proof of friendliness is that we are still alive."
Sethlun's voice was steady and weary, carrying an undeniable resolve.
"The power contained in that mecha far exceeds our imagination. If he harbored ill will, we would have long since turned to ash."
The dissuader opened his mouth, but all his words ultimately dissolved into a helpless sigh. He lowered his head and led the crowd slowly away.
Having done all this, Sethlun turned back to Bai Luan and said:
"Let's go. I will take you to see our history."
Sethlun walked ahead, leading Bai Luan into the temple. Passing through numerous corridors, Sethlun brought Bai Luan to a place filled with murals.
In this vast room, there were a total of eight murals painted.
Eight massive murals, like eight heavy history books, recorded the entire struggle for survival of this civilization.
"I'm sure you've noticed, our planet is extremely arid."
Sethlun's gaze fell on the first mural. On the mural, a vast desert was dotted with small blue points.
"Most of this planet is desert, but in some places, springheads emerge, and our civilization was nurtured around these springheads."
Then, he walked to the second mural:
"In the beginning, we formed various tribes around the springheads, and there were constant disputes between the tribes over the struggle for springheads."
Bai Luan looked up at the second mural. On it, there was a scene of chaotic battle, weapons piercing bodies, blood flowing into the springheads, staining the water of life red.
"Until five hundred and forty-one years ago, the first springhead dried up."
Sethlun walked towards the third mural. The blue dots symbolizing springheads on the mural began to disappear, turning into a black symbol of emptiness.
"Subsequently, every year, springheads disappeared at a rate of one to two, until finally..."
Sethlun stopped beneath the fourth mural. The mural, once filled with blue dots, now had only one blue dot remaining:
"Only the last springhead remained."
Sethlun stood beneath that enormous mural. The black color on that mural almost filled the entire canvas, like an inscription on a tombstone.
Only one blue dot remained on this tombstone.
Sethlun did not continue to explain the remaining murals. He simply stood silently beneath that massive mural, symbolizing the end, as tiny as a grain of sand.
Then, he slowly turned around, his deep, weathered blue eyes fixed on Bai Luan, in them surged the last flicker of hope, almost extinguished.
His voice was dry and hoarse, trembling with the final weight of a civilization:
"And this last springhead... according to our most precise calculations... will also completely dry up in one year... Oh, Star Traveler from unknown origins... Since you could descend from that vast starry sea that we, despite all efforts, could never reach... Please... tell me... do you have a way... to save us?"