《Messages from Inner Earth》(EN)

"So, the prehistoric Atlantis civilization really existed! I always thought it was just fiction."

After listening to Buweiluo's explanation, I couldn't help but joke around. "You mentioned humans look similar to the Atlantean species—so, who's more attractive?" Sometimes I crack jokes, and this one just slipped out.

"Actually, humans were modeled after the intelligent Atlantean species by aliens. If you're interested, I can tell you more about that later. Also, apart from the five major native technological civilizations that Earth has had since its formation, there have been many smaller cultures, but none of them developed any advanced technology. In the eyes of aliens, they aren't considered civilizations, just minor cultures. There have been countless such cultures throughout history.

Right now, around the world, humans have discovered several ancient cultures—like the Babylonian, Persian, Hebrew, Minoan, Greek, Roman, Phoenician, Assyrian, and Lemurian cultures. In your country, there are many minor cultures too, such as the Liangzhu, Hongshan (originating in Chifeng of Mongolia), Hemudu, and Yangshao cultures."

Buweiluo's earlier explanation almost left me speechless, though I recognized some of the minor cultures he mentioned. Then he teased me, saying, "As for which is more attractive, humans or the Atlantean species, well, look over there. She's a descendant of Atlantis—you could go ask her yourself."

"Minor cultures? What about ancient civilizations like the Egyptian pyramids, Buddhism in ancient India, the mysterious Mayan culture, and the recently discovered Sanxingdui civilization in my country? Are those considered minor cultures too?" I asked Buweiluo, suddenly thinking about the few ancient relics I knew of, not yet turning to see the Atlantean descendant he pointed out.

"No, those are alien relics. Minor cultures couldn't create advanced astronomy or build massive, precise structures." Buweiluo's explanation left me dumbfounded once again. I had guessed wrong—all those relics I mentioned were alien works!

At this moment, I followed Buweiluo to a glass door in the metallic wall. From the outside, I could clearly see that the space beyond had a completely different setup—it was like stepping into another world. The area was filled with plants, flowers, and the sound of birds chirping, a paradise-like scene. There were familiar animals and plants, as well as many I didn't recognize. The strange statues and wild men I had seen earlier were lazily napping inside, without any sign of the harsh "law of the jungle".

"There's sunlight here. Could this base be hidden in some remote wilderness?" I wondered.

Buweiluo didn't explain this utopia to me. He asked me to wait outside, and without any visible action on his part, the glass door rippled just like before, and he walked through. It was a door without switches or handles—such advanced technology, and so convenient.

I didn't follow him inside. Instead, I remembered Buweiluo mentioning the Atlantean girl, so I looked in the direction he had indicated. Not far ahead, I saw a tall, perfectly proportioned figure, dressed in a tight, seamless outfit. Her clothes, just like Buweiluo's, had lifelike images flowing across the fabric.

Sensing my gaze, the tall girl turned to look at me and greeted me. Then, to my surprise, I heard her speaking in Chinese: "Human guest, come over and chat for a while."

"Wow…" I nearly choked. The girl in front of me had an unbelievably flawless figure and face—so perfect that I couldn't find a single flaw. For a moment, this battle-hardened guy turned bright red. I couldn't help but think to myself: How could someone be this beautiful and refined? Humans have nothing on her.

Later, I learned that all species in the Alliance could use the universal energy field to customize their bodies, from appearance to internal organs, face, even skin elasticity—everything could be designed to personal preference. No wonder this girl looked absolutely flawless. It made me think of the human cosmetic industry, which seemed laughably crude in comparison.

Another thing I noticed was that when she spoke to me, her lip movements didn't match the sound. I mentally asked Xiaomeng what was going on. Xiaomeng explained that there is a common language in the Alliance, which the Atlantean girl was using. Her nanochip was translating it into Chinese for me, and it wasn't affected by distance—no matter how far apart we were, it sounded like she was speaking right next to me.

As I hesitated, feeling extremely shy, Buweiluo returned. I quickly said to the Atlantean girl, "You can carry on, I won't bother you." She smiled gracefully, nodded, and turned back to continue operating the device.

"You're out so fast! I thought I'd be waiting for a while," I said, feeling much more relaxed and at ease in front of Buweiluo, whose appearance was about 70-80% similar to a human man. I was surprised to see him come out so quickly, especially since he wasn't carrying any instruments for experiments.

"Did you think we use dissection, blood sampling, or extracting organs? Not at all. It's because human technology is so backward that such cruel and inhumane methods are used. We just use the universal energy field to scan. It allows us to clearly see through the subject's body without affecting it, and after calculating the data, we store it in a nanochip to report back to headquarters." Although Buweiluo couldn't read my thoughts anymore, he still seemed to know what I was thinking and explained it to me.

Later, I learned that Buweiluo was using the nanochip in his own body to sense my emotional fluctuations and analyze my thoughts based on my facial expressions. It made me feel like I couldn't hide anything, but it was much better than the previous method of directly penetrating my mind to read my thoughts.

"Oh, I see," I said, enlightened again, and at the same time, I couldn't help but admire the advantages of advanced technology. If this Alliance technology were available on Earth, many diseases could be cured instantly, and many terminal illnesses could be eradicated, benefiting countless people. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me, and I asked Buweiluo, "With your technology being so advanced, does that mean the rumors of aliens abducting humans for dissection are false?"

"They're true," Buweiluo replied. "Apart from the Alliance, there are other aliens settled on Earth who don't want to join the Alliance and be bound by its rules. They hide themselves in secluded places. Some of the more benevolent aliens study humans or other animals using the same methods as the Alliance—gentle, harmless technological scans. But there are others who don't care about the fate of humans, or worse, those who are cruel and malevolent. They abduct humans for dissection, and some even take plants, animals, and humans with them when they leave. However, the numbers are tightly controlled by the Alliance, and they must provide the Alliance with valuable technology in exchange. The humans they're allowed to take are always those who are insignificant and won't attract much attention."

Seeing the hint of relief on my face, Buweiluo continued, "Alien abductions are incredibly rare. With Earth's population at 8 billion, the odds of being captured by aliens are less than one in a billion. So, most of the cases of people going missing are the work of other humans. To confuse the public and avoid suspicion, these people spread rumors of alien abductions, Inner-earth beings capturing people, or people disappearing into space-time rifts. This kind of behavior is despicable. Sometimes, certain groups go too far, blaming aliens for their crimes, and when we see that, we intervene to deal with them."

"Ding!"

Just as I was completely absorbed in the conversation, my phone suddenly pinged with a WeChat message. Startled, I thought, "There's phone signal here?" Buweiluo nodded and said, "We didn't block your signal. In fact, we boosted it to full strength."

I thanked him, opened WeChat, and saw that it was a message from my mom—a simple "hmm" emoji. I couldn't help but laugh a little at the timing.

"You're free to ask anything you want to know here," Buweiluo continued warmly. "Whatever we can share, we will. Don't hesitate to make requests. As a representative of the Alliance, I'm here to treat you as an honored guest. First, it's my duty to show proper hospitality, and second, I need you to take some information back to your people. Without concrete evidence, if you were to share your story, no one would believe you. They might even label you insane. The goal is to share key insights with humanity's leadership, to help them understand things more clearly. Whether they can grasp it and act on it, though, will be up to them."

"Publishing? Writing?" I was a bit taken aback. "I thought you meant just making an announcement or something. You should know, I'm not exactly well-educated. I can put out fires and rescue people, no problem. But writing… that's not my strong suit! What if I fail to express things clearly or, worse, say something wrong? It wouldn't just be embarrassing for me personally—it'd reflect badly on you. How about using some of your advanced technology to boost my writing skills?"

Understanding Buweiluo's intention, I felt a bit troubled and made my request. "Actually, if you want humans to believe you exist, it's pretty simple. When I leave, just give me something—anything—that human technology currently can't replicate. I can take it to the scientists for analysis. That should be enough to convince them."

"Brother Ji Wufan, no need to be so modest. After you leave, just do your best to write about this experience and convey the message we want to share. You don't need to overthink it. We have no desire to interfere with or control the path of human development—that's not our place. But standing by and letting humanity self-destruct isn't an option either; it goes against the rules set by advanced civilizations. So, we just need someone we trust in the human world to deliver a warning.

If you were a professional writer, I wouldn't have chosen you. A beautifully written, perfectly polished account would backfire—people would just assume it's a work of science fiction and dismiss it as a story. As for your request to improve your writing skills, that can be done easily. I don't need to ask the Alliance; I can decide that myself."

Buweiluo's explanation made some sense, though I didn't fully grasp everything. He continued, "As for your suggestion to take an item from the Alliance to prove your story, the Alliance might agree. But once you have it, the consequences for you could be severe. You know the saying, 'A man without guilt is often doomed by the treasure he holds.' With your status, if you publicly reveal such an item, you might end up attracting dangerous attention, even risking your life. We could give it to you, but are you sure you want to take that risk?"

"Hiss..." I drew in a sharp breath. Though I'm not that old, I'm no naive youngster either. My life and work experiences have taught me how dangerous and unpredictable people can be. Taking such a risk wasn't worth it. In an instant, the idea of asking Buweiluo to boost my writing skills seemed far more appealing than trying to prove my story with a physical object.