I, transformed into a vampire girl, sparked the Industrial Revolution.

Chapter 428 Earth's Past

"This place once nurtured the most magnificent stories, witnessed the most intense changes and the most devastating moments, but now, is nothing left?"

If a traveler, after enduring countless hardships and traversing countless long roads, finally returns to her hometown only to find ruins, how heartbroken would she be?

If a person travels from one era to another, when she returns to the same land, does she truly return to her homeland?

Alice didn't know how to answer. She strolled across the land, taking in the scenery of Lingnan, but saw no trace of civilization that had ever been here.

The mountains and the water are equally beautiful, but now, no one can be found. The traces and stories left behind by people have vanished. The city has become a wilderness, and the wilderness has become a forest. Wild animals and water plants coexist, but humans are nowhere to be seen.

Alice considers herself a civilizationist, not a naturalist, and believes that the stories left behind by people are the main theme of civilization.

No trace of past civilizations remains on Earth; those cities have long since turned to ashes. Alice wanders through her former home, deep in her memory, where she is now. There should be a small bed, a table with books, a computer, a pen, and a cup of hot coffee.

Before she was her.

But now, she is no longer him. Alice has been Alice for a longer time than before, and now she is just Alice. She carries a heavier burden on her shoulders and looks further ahead.

Alice crouched down and grabbed a handful of dirt.

Before leaving their hometown, people will grab a piece of soil from their hometown. No matter where they go, this piece of soil will always represent their hometown.

Vera looked at Alice, whose gaze towards this land was complex; it was the first time Vera had ever seen Alice with such an expression.

"Sister Alice, are you going to take your homeland with you?"

But Alice simply let go, letting the soil in her hand drift away in the wind. She looked at the soil with a self-deprecating smile: "This is not our homeland, but the homeland of mankind. Our homeland did not survive for that long."

Above Alice, a massive starship slowly descended—humanity had returned to their homeland, Earth—the only planet in the solar system that once had an environment conducive to the growth of life, the starting point of everything for humanity.

Now, it is almost flawless. Countless starship wrecks lie at the edge of the solar system. The broken debris of Pluto, the nuclear wasteland on Mars, and the defensive fortifications on the moon seem to have nothing to do with this blue planet. It just floats here quietly, as if there has never been any trace of large-scale civilization altering its surface.

Vera placed the instrument on the ground, and under the cover of the starship overhead, she could see everything within millions of square kilometers—civilizations still existed on Earth, but they were all in the late Bronze Age.

"Comrade Alice, the region you are in, which is the southeastern coast of Eurasia, now shows traces of civilization... We have detected the distribution of civilizations along the Mediterranean coast, in Mesopotamia, and in East Asia—you must know this."

Vera looked at the instruments, then at Alice.

"There's something wrong with the age of the soil... Sister Alice, according to the database of the former United Nations of Earth, the Earth's soil couldn't possibly be this young... Based on data comparison, the Earth today..."

"Not this era, everyone... According to big data model comparisons, the current Earth is probably around 493 BC in the history of Earth's civilization."

Alice felt a chill run down her spine; she seemed to have a suspicion.

Her presence here seems to stem from the same reason as the current state of the Earth.

"How's the situation on the moon?"

After the expeditionary fleet arrived in the solar system, the vast majority of the fleet headed to the solar system stargate, while the remaining few ships went to Mars, the Moon, Jupiter Station, and other facilities left behind by previous humans.

"The damage to the lunar facilities is quite severe and will take time."

Alice sighed. Now they were far away from Amelanxi Star, but once the stargate was repaired, Alice might be able to ask Raffarin Low about the backup plan that humanity had prepared back then.

Or, they might find the answer themselves in the abandoned human facilities around the Earth.

Humans must have done something to make Earth the way it is today. Ten thousand years ago, Earth was the capital of the United Nations of the world. Although large-scale ecological restoration was carried out, many facilities were still preserved, including an industrial complex necessary for the development of an entire civilization.

Even if war had raged on Earth for tens of thousands of years, it would never have turned into what it is today. Mars, which has also undergone terraforming, looks completely different from Earth.

The Earth is lush and green, seemingly untouched by industrialization. The civilizations that inhabited it, though still human, were genetically distinct from modern humans, making them two different species.

Alice traveled north, and further north, scattered across the land, were cities of all sizes, each ruled by a king.

Alice first strolled through the land described in ancient books, where the people were thin, had rough skin, and wore simple clothes—the backward productivity of the era had created their appearance.

"Is it possible to analyze their language and script?"

Alice couldn't understand the language these people used. She strolled along the dirt road, where thatched huts lined the roadside. A little further away, a city built of square walls stood in the distance.

"Of course, the language analysis is complete, the model has been integrated, and Sister Alice can now use the program included with your glasses to translate their text."

Raphis, who had been protecting Alice as her guard, nodded and continued adjusting the gravity adaptation of her exoskeleton.

"There's someone ahead."

Alice looked into the distance and reached out to remind Rafis that there were several people standing or sitting by the roadside not far away, among whom a tall old man stood out.

"Does the young lady want to interact with them, or does she want to avoid attracting attention?"

"Let's ask where we are. And while we're at it, let's confirm our suspicions."

Those people seemed to have noticed Alice, and several of them walked towards her. Seeing this, Rafis quickly shielded Alice in front of her.

Alice looked at Raffis, nodded, and simply placed her hand on her shoulder to reassure her. She then activated the translation function.

Where is this place?