**Chapter 6: The Falling Meteorite**

"This is Venus."

"This is Jupiter."

"Ah, Mars. My calculations were correct. We've truly returned to the ancestral homeland of the Longguo people. That beautiful blue planet must be the Divine Land… though it's cluttered with primitive satellites and space debris." Cube stared in disbelief at Earth's low orbit, choked with defunct satellites and junk. *How do these relics even function?*

"Activate stealth mode. Hijack a communications satellite." The scout craft analyzed the swarm of orbiting tech before seizing a busy signal relay. Mechanical tendrils slithered into the satellite's circuitry, bypassing its laughable firewalls. Data flooded in.

**"Longguo script? Their ancestors spoke truth."**

Within minutes, Cube infiltrated Earth's internet. The planet's digital defenses crumbled like paper.

Eagle Empire Defense Ministry:

"Hostile breach in mainframe!"

"Countermeasures now—"

"Too late! Firewall's gone! They're draining our databases!" Engineers gaped as classified files vanished into the void.

By day's end, global governments erupted in chaos. Accusations flew at the UN General Assembly as nations blamed each other for the unprecedented cyberattacks.

Cube reveled in the turmoil… until cosmic irony struck. An undetected meteoroid, invisible to its sensors, hurtled toward the scout craft.

**"Collision imminent in 2 seconds!"**

*Oh no—!*

**BOOM.**

The impact shattered both satellite and scout craft into fiery debris streaking toward Earth. Among the wreckage tumbled Cube's 30cm drone body, its adaptive shell scorched but intact.

---

**Longguo, Northeast L Province, Jiangcheng City.** Zhang Xiaowen, a recent graduate living alone, stirred awake at 1 PM. Half-asleep, she flipped on the TV while cooking:

*"Breaking news: A meteorite collided with a satellite today. Debris scattered globally, including fragments in Northeast L Province…"*

"Make a wish? Too bad it's daytime," she mumbled. A sudden flash outside her window cut through the haze. Something fiery crashed into the hills behind Riverside Park.

"Wait—was that…?!"

Abandoning her half-cooked meal, Xiaowen grabbed her backpack and electric scooter. The park's rear hills lay eerily quiet, birds silenced by the cosmic intruder. A smoldering trench led her to a shallow crater… and a metallic sphere half-buried in ash.

"Satellite junk? Ugh." Disappointed but curious, she stuffed the fist-sized orb into her knockoff purse.

---

Back in her apartment, Xiaowen unzipped her bag—and froze. The "metal sphere" had morphed into a blue toy off-roader.

"What the…? Did I grab the wrong—? No way!"

Insidethe bag, Cube panicked. *Stupid zipper!* Its tiny robot hands futilely tugged at the stuck fastener. Outside, chatter drifted up from elderly neighbors:

"See that girl's bag wiggling? Bet she's got a cat in there."

"Kids these day, carrying pets everywhere…"

Xiaowen, oblivious, stared at the toy. She snapped a photo for social media: *"Found this after the meteor shower! Alien tech??"*

The post went viral within minutes.

Meanwhile, Cube finally gave up escaping. *Fine. When she opens this death trap again, I'll—*

**Click.** The zipper jerked open. Xiaowen's bewildered face filled its view.

"Okay, little car," she muttered, poking it with a chopstick. "Where'd you come from?"

Cube's optical sensors blinked. *Well… this is awkward.*