The passage leading down was now filled with lava. The ion cannon, firing at full capacity, took a full twenty hours to return to the surface.
By this time, the surface had already experienced a chain reaction.
Earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes, following the changes deep within the earth's core, were occurring one after another.
Fortunately, before the operation, all countries had been notified to prepare for emergency disaster relief.
However, as Fang Er stepped out of the tunnel boring machine, he heard a piece of bad news that wasn't exactly a disaster.
On the "Little Sun's" side, due to a collective volcanic eruption, the entire island nation was scoured by lava, and its land area increased by 5%.
However, its citizens would no longer enjoy the benefits brought by this territorial expansion.
Domestically, the sons and daughters of the nation had already rushed to various locations.
The slogan, "If there is war, we will answer the call," had become a reality.
All retired personnel had returned to their posts.
The total number of active soldiers, approximately 2 million, swelled to 45 million with the inclusion of these retired personnel!
This number directly shocked countries worldwide!
Forty-five million sons and daughters of the nation vigilantly guarded every corner of their homeland.
The strong army anthem, along with them, drifted to every corner of the country.
"Hear the horn of the new journey sounding, the strong army goal summons us forward!"
"If the nation is strong, we must bear the responsibility, and the battle flags are filled with iron-blooded glory!"
".........."
Their figures were everywhere, along coastlines, in earthquake-prone areas, and near volcanoes, evacuating residents from geological zones to other places.
Wherever there was a need, there they were!
Facing these sons and daughters of the nation in camouflage, the people were extremely cooperative and obedient, willing to abandon everything in their homes and transfer with the troops, solitary and unburdened.
This was all because of a public announcement:
All property lost during this migration would be compensated by the nation!
In contrast, the reactions of other countries were vastly inferior to their own!
For example, in the United States, the best rescue measures were focused on ensuring the safety of the upper-class chaebols, even relegating the president to a secondary position.
As for other countries, even if they were slightly better than the United States, the difference was limited. After all, their national strength dictated their capabilities. Even if they wanted to achieve perfection, they lacked the means.
On the first day of the star core's return, all supervolcanoes erupted simultaneously.
On the second day, tsunamis and earthquakes occurred frequently.
On the third day, the affected land area reached a terrifying 20%, with over 1 billion people affected!
Roads collapsed, the earth fractured, the atmosphere seemed to boil, and volcanic ash churned everywhere in the sky.
This situation continued for nearly ten days.
After the tenth day, all disasters gradually subsided, but a satellite photo sent back shocked everyone!
The distances between the five continents had shrunk!
The Americas, Europe, Oceania, and Africa were all moving towards Asia!
In just ten days, the Americas, farthest from Asia, had moved 3,000 kilometers!
On average, the movement speed was over 12 kilometers per hour!
This was more than twice the speed of an adult walking!
This was the movement of continental plates!
Such a shocking change was something even Fang Er had not foreseen; it was too terrifying!
The disasters that had occurred before were insignificant in the face of such terrifying continental plate movement!
It was the star core!
If it weren't for the star core, in this situation, Earth would have only one outcome: the occurrence of the seventh mass extinction!
Forty-two days later, all landmasses merged into one!
Seen from satellites, the entire continental shelf formed the pattern of a five-clawed golden dragon!
It was exactly the same as the star core imprint Fang Er had seen before!
And the homeland was located at the heart of the dragon!
China!
The central nation!
At the same time as the continental plates finished their movement, the entire world trembled. The volcanic ash floating in the atmosphere was, with this tremor, flung out of the atmosphere and drifted towards outer space.
Following that, torrential rain fell for ten days and ten nights.
The volcanic ash that had fallen to the earth was also washed clean.
When the rain stopped, a rainbow hung in the sky, and the world was refreshed.
On land, countless plants emerged overnight, blooming profusely with butterflies and bees flitting about. Even old trees that had been dead for who knew how long sprouted new buds.
Countless people injured or even disabled in the disaster discovered with surprise that their wounds had healed overnight, and missing limbs had regrown!
Even those who had been suffering from illnesses were restored to health!
Stepping outside, the air that greeted them was clearer than ever before.
The oxygen had not disappeared, but a new substance had appeared in the air, a substance filled with unknown energy!
Yet, this substance was immensely beneficial to living beings!
Countless scientists developed a strong curiosity about this substance.
Only one person was an exception!
It was Yuan Tiangang, who was with Fang Er on Mount Everest at this moment!
The old man's beard trembled, and he exclaimed excitedly to Fang Er.
"Young friend, do you know what this is!"
"This is the legendary spiritual energy!"
Many years later, Earth's history would define this continental plate movement.
They called it the "Spiritual Energy Revival"!
Of course, that was a story for another time.
After personally witnessing these changes on Earth, Fang Er finally felt at ease and, along with the people of the Great Tang, withdrew from the main world.
The parallel world remained as it was, and the star core's return had not brought any apparent changes, though there might be some not yet evident.
Australia, Kun Wang Mansion.
Having been away from home for four years, Fang Er didn't even know when this mansion was built.
The scale of this mansion was not as grand as the residence in Shenyang, and even its layout differed from traditional courtyards.
Upon entering the main gate, there were eighteen neatly arranged villas, each named according to the names of Chai Yue and others.
For instance, Lian Yue Pavilion, Qing Ye Tower, Kong Ling Workshop, and so on.
One day, twenty years later, Xi Tong suddenly found Fang Er with a pile of items.
"Big stick, look, I found something good!"
Fang Er was stroking his beard and playing with his grandson in his arms, looking at her curiously.
"What is it?"
Xi Tong placed all the items in her arms onto the stone table.
"These were made from core fragments of the earth!"
"They are systems!"
"This pile is all of them!"
Fang Er: ???
"Holy crap, is that true?"
He shot up from his seat, causing his eldest grandson to slide onto the ground.
"Waaa..."
The grandson cried bitterly. Fang Xin rushed out of the house; he had already become a handsome young man, even more dashing than Fang Er had been back then!
Seeing his son fall so ungracefully, he glared at Fang Er disapprovingly.
"Dad, can you be a bit more reliable?"
Fang Er chuckled and casually picked up a system carrier from the table, then said to Fang Xin.
"Kid, go call all your brothers!"
Seeing his unusual demeanor, Fang Xin didn't dare to say more. He took out his phone and called all his other brothers.
Half an hour later, over thirty sons and more than twenty daughters had all arrived.
The eldest, like Fang Xin, was 27.
The youngest was a 7-month-old infant still swaddled in a blanket.
"Daddy!"
The army of nearly sixty children stood about three meters away and bowed.
Fang Er smiled and nodded at them.
"Aren't you curious how your dad lived his life?"
"See these things on the table?"
"These are all systems created by your Tong Mama!"
"One for each of you, and you can choose any parallel space you wish!"
"Go forth, embrace your own legendary lives!"
The End!