1 Three Thousand Pillars of Light

"The end of physics is mathematics, the end of mathematics is philosophy, and the end of philosophy is mythology."

The other experts in the conference room wore complicated expressions on their faces when they heard the old professor say this.

The hundred people present were all top authorities in the country. They represented the peak of human science and were major contributors to cutting-edge technology. However, a very illogical thing cast a shadow over their hearts.

According to ancient Mayan mythology, in December 2012, darkness would envelop the world for three consecutive days, and the end of the world would come. Even primary school students scoffed at this statement. The mainstream scientists worldwide could not find any threats that would befall the world in 2012.

However, reality was very harsh. On December 23, 24, and 25 of the year 2012, it was as if the sun and moon went on strike. The legendary Three Days of Darkness arrived, as stated in the scriptures. Although humans had lights to illuminate the world, endless panic swept through the world due to those three days.

At the end of the three days, the darkness dissipated, and the sun rose as usual.

Before people could celebrate their survival, an even stranger phenomenon befell the world.

Out of nowhere, 3,000 seven-colored pillars of light mysteriously appeared in all the human settlements around the world.

In China, there were 100 such light pillars across its 100 most densely populated cities.

Each of these pillars of light had a diameter of twelve meters. Each pillar had one end plunged deep into the ground while the other shot straight through the clouds. The pillars of light emitted red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet lights. They also vaguely cast a strange temptation that caused all living beings to feel as if they were being summoned by the pillars of light.

No one knew what was inside the pillar of light. All the humans and animals that walked in disappeared mysteriously as if they had been teleported to a whole different plane of existence. The military of various countries sent death squads to investigate, but after a year, no news came back. There were also people who were not afraid of death who walked into the seven-colored pillars of light, and all of them disappeared from the face of the Earth.

The reaction that those in the West had toward these pillars of light was even greater. It was especially so for the pious believers of various religions. The West swiftly fell into chaos. Some people believed that the pillars of light were God's summons to lead believers to the gates of heaven. Meanwhile, other groups thought them to be the devil's temptations and that walking into the pillars of light would bring them down to hell. In just a year, more than ten million people in North America had disappeared into the pillars of light, and tens of millions in Europe had risked their lives.

Asia was divided into two. The countries of Western Asia generally believed that this was the manifestation of God, and tens of millions of humans entered the pillars of light. On the other hand, those of Eastern Asia believed in science more and maintained a wait-and-see attitude. The attitude of the higher-ups of the most powerful country in the East remained very ambiguous. They did not encourage their citizens to enter the seven-colored pillars of light, but they did not object to the action either.

There were rumors on the internet that the higher-ups of China were also very interested in the mysterious seven-colored light pillars. In addition to sending death squads, they also secretly sent a large number of death row prisoners and criminals who were imprisoned for life as lab rats.

There were numerous people who were eager to try entering the pillars as well, specifically those who were being hunted by their enemies, those who owed huge debts that could not be repaid, those who wanted to jump off a building after failing in the stock market, those who wanted to die after falling out of love, those who were dying of terminal illnesses, and those who felt that life was too boring and just wanted to find some excitement; countless of such people rushed into the seven-colored light pillars.

The 3,000 seven-colored pillars of light caused panic in countless people, but it also gave hope to those in utter despair.

More than half of the people in the world believed that the seven-colored pillars of light were miracles.

For things that could not be explained by science, people could only classify them as miracles.

"The end of physics is mathematics, the end of mathematics is philosophy, and the end of philosophy is mythology."

Ever since the calamity that eventually came to be termed the Three Days of Darkness, this phrase became very popular.

People traced back to the source, looking for answers, and found some seemingly reasonable examples.

For example, the Nobel Laureate in Physics, Yang Chen-Ning, said, "The end of physics is philosophy, and the end of philosophy is religion."

The Chinese physicist Lee Tsung-Dao also said, "The end of physics is aesthetics, the end of aesthetics is philosophy, and the end of philosophy is mythology."

No matter which path it was, the end always came to be something related to theology.

In this regard, there was also another great personality, the founder of modern science—Newton, the founder of gravity and the three laws of motion that everyone knew. Newton experienced the typical transformation of physics, mathematics, philosophy, and mythology in his life. Putting aside his achievements in physics, he also published "Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica."

Such a great god had lived for eighty years, forty of which were spent exploring science, and the other forty were spent indulging in mythology. Newton used many "very scientific phenomena" to prove the existence of God. He even used the Bible to calculate the age of the Earth to 6000 years. Such a sharp contrast made it difficult for people to associate his latter years with his earlier years. Later generations generally believed that Newton lost his integrity in his later years and went from materialism to mentalism.

But after the great calamity, the thought that perhaps Newton was right came over the entire world.

It was just that this legendary giant with an IQ of 290 was so advanced in his thinking that ordinary people could not understand his world of thought.

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The 3,000 pillars of light triggered all sorts of conjectures, but the daily lives of most people largely remained the same.

As long as they did not enter the range of the light pillars, the lives of the masses were unaffected.

In China, people continued to go to work, go to school, and hang out with their friends. The world in the news broadcast was still as beautiful as ever. The city enforcement officers were still as irritable as ever. The demolition teams were still demolishing the buildings in a domineering manner… In their spare time, people would discuss the mysterious seven-colored pillars of light and guess whether those who entered the pillar of light were dead or alive.

On January 1st, 2014, in Zhonghai City, China, a young man was running towards the seven-colored pillar of light in the city center.

Beside the young man, there was a black dog that was also running swiftly.

The tall, handsome, and sunny boy was wearing a winter sports outfit. His name was Zhao Hao, and he was a third-year student at Zhonghai University. At Zhonghai University, Zhao Hao was quite legendary. People gave him the nickname Zhao Ritian.

He was the captain of the university basketball team. His physical fitness was abnormal. He could play as a combo guard and also as a small forward. He was a famous swingman in the domestic university league. Zhao Hao had reached the peak of his life when he was a freshman. He was awarded the Best Rookie of the University League, and he was also very lucky with women. He had a school belle as his girlfriend.

In the past season, during his second year in university, Zhao Hao won the MVP title and was selected by the professional clubs. His life had been getting better and better. Today, he went out to walk his dog and bought a small gift for his girlfriend. Unfortunately, he encountered a tragedy.

In a dark alley, he saw something he should not have seen and heard a secret he should not have heard.

To be honest, Zhao Hao never dreamed that he would encounter such a thing.

He immediately ran while two men in sunglasses chased after him crazily.

Zhao Hao sprinted at an incredible speed of nearly 10 meters per second. He ran even faster than he ever had because he knew that the two men in black, who looked like assassins, were carrying silenced pistols. He also felt that he could not ask the police for help. One of the culprits in the murder case that he accidentally encountered was a part of the police force.

"Stop, or I'll shoot!"

The gloomy-looking police officer took out his gun and fired a warning shot, scaring the passersby nearby.

Zhao Hao turned a deaf ear to him and ran wildly using the cover of pedestrians and obstacles.

A fatal sense of crisis filled his heart. This sense of crisis gave him an intuition: Whether he fell into the hands of the sunglasses man or the police, he would not be able to escape death.

Unknowingly, he arrived at the seven-colored pillar of light at the city center.

There was no one within a hundred meters of the light pillar.

The seven-colored light pillars all over the world were like this. Ordinary people were unwilling to get close to the light pillars and would take a detour when they passed by it. Zhao Hao himself had no interest in the light pillar. As a student who failed high school physics, he did not even understand the basics of physics. He really did not have the time to explore the end of physics. His dream was to graduate from university and become a professional athlete, then marry his girlfriend Weiwei and have children.

But now, Zhao Hao could not care less.

He caused a disturbance, and many policemen surrounded him from all directions.

"I guess I can only risk it all!"

Zhao Hao panicked and rushed into the seven-colored pillar of light.

The big black dog that had a deep relationship with him also rushed in with him.

The moment he ran into the light pillar, Zhao Hao heard gunshots.

The powerful bullet hit the light beam, but it was no different from a grain of sand entering the sea, failing to cause any ripples.

Zhao Hao did not have time to check if he had been shot. He only felt the sun and moon dim as the sky turned dark.

A boundless thought rumbled in his mind like thunder.

"Welcome to the world of evolution, weak creature. Begin your path of evolution!"