"In the year 3212 of the new era, Jade continued to flee in the empty sea of stars, avoiding the mortal enemy that might show up at any time. At that time, the starship had lost 50% of its functions, and 99% of the crew members had to enter the hibernation state. Only 1% of them were still holding on to their posts."
Jade continued coldly, "What kept them awake and persisting was not a sense of mission or honor, but another cruel fact. Because of the lack of resources and energy, the aging hibernation cabins had not been maintained for a long time, and the malfunction rate kept increasing. In the end, the malfunction rate that could lead to the direct death of the hibernators reached 1% every year.
"Every year, at least 1% of all the hibernation cabins would have a fatal malfunction, causing the hibernators to die without them knowing it.
"In the next year, the scythe of the God of Death would randomly appear on the necks of the remaining 1% of hibernators.
"A 1% chance might seem insignificant, but together with the magic of time, it was safe to say that none of the hibernators could survive in the long voyage of a thousand years.
"Entering the hibernation cabin means entrusting your life to the fate of the captains, which is unacceptable for some of the crew members. They have chosen a different way of life that they believe to be more dignified. They never hibernate but live their whole life in the waking state, growing old, dying, and reproducing on the starship.
"Naturally, such a way of life was not dignified at all. They were just living a long, torturous life in a cold cage.
"Watching the hibernators die one after another, and not knowing when the awakened ones would find a new place to live, the awakened ones fell into a breakdown. Small-scale riots broke out from time to time. There were even extremists who rushed into the bridge, wanting to hijack Emerald and rush directly to the star, burning everything to the ground and ending this nightmare.
"Jade continued to sail for a thousand years in such a miserable situation. When the first ray of hope finally arrived, the starship had lost 70% of its functions, as well as most of the crew members and energy. The super fusion collection device that was repaired by venturing into the stellar streams last time was destroyed again after supporting the starship for two thousand years. But this time, the condition of the starship was no longer enough to support them. They had to look for new stellar streams to replenish their energy.
"At the darkest moment when we were on the verge of collapse, we finally discovered a prosperous world with abundant spiritual energy."
As Emerald spoke, a gorgeous, fertile galaxy slowly appeared and unfolded in front of Theresa and Princess A Xia.
The light of hope shone on the faces of Emerald, Theresa, and Princess Summer at the same time.
"Emerald is saved. Under the command of Captain Gao Zunlong, we lunged at the new world quickly and named it after the starship. Everybody couldn't wait to get a precious rest in the new world so that we could collect enough resources and completely repair the starship. Then, we could figure out a way to develop the Primitive Civilization to the peak state again and fight the Flood again."
Emerald said calmly, "Unfortunately, it took me a long time to realize that the primitive people, or human beings, are a hundred times more complicated than artificial intelligence. I thought that 'everyone' had the same idea, but it was just wishful thinking."
Theresa was slightly stunned. "What do you mean?"
"As an artificial intelligence, mission is the only meaning of my existence. In order to complete the mission without any discount, any price is worth paying. We have to try together until there is not a single soldier left, and until there is only one screw and one string of data left," Emerald said.
"But the primitive people, or human beings, do not seem to be the same. The mission of human beings can be changed at any time. It is even safe to say that human beings are creatures without a sense of mission. You are not created for a certain mission, so you can betray your mission as you please.
"Yes. Captain Gao Zunlong and some other members of the bridge team were still obsessed with the mission of restoring the glory of the primitive people and fighting the Flood. They wanted to build the new world into a war base and exploit all the resources in the new world to repair Emerald. If possible, they wanted to upgrade Emerald into a more powerful 'space cruiser' before they embarked on a new journey.
"But most of the members of the bridge team who were still sober, led by First Mate Quake, objected to the captain's plan. They believed that the resources in the new world were limited, and even if they were exploited, the combat ability of Emerald would not be improved much. Faced with the Flood, it was impossible for Emerald to resist at all. Therefore, it was better to abandon Emerald, which had been in disrepair for a long time, and migrate all the crew members to the new world.
"Both sides had their own opinions and had a fierce dispute. Captain Gao Zunlong naturally had the highest level of authority, but First Mate Quake had more supporters. As soon as the dawn of the new world arrived, an extremely dangerous storm was brewing quickly."
Emerald's eyes shot out laser beams, forming a three-dimensional light curtain and spreading into a holographic image similar to the Grand Illusionary Land. It seemed that Theresa and Princess Summer had returned to the bridge thousands of years ago and saw the conflict between Captain Gao Zunlong and First Mate Quake and the others.
At that time, the members of the bridge team were all tall and handsome giants who looked like marble statues.
Colorful rays of light shone around their bodies, outlining their perfect, soul-stirring figures.
However, their temperaments were completely different.
Captain Gao Zunlong was like a pine tree that would rather break than bend. Even if its branches were torn off by the storm, its bark was torn off, and even if its heart was burned by thunder and fire, it would still stand firm. Unless he was uprooted and completely crushed into powder, there was no way to bend him even a little bit.
First Mate Quake and some other members of the bridge team had long been overwhelmed by endless despair during the long escape. They had tall and handsome skins, but their eyes had lost the flickering flames.
They lowered their heads, somewhat afraid to meet the captain's sharp eyes.
The lights around them flickered rapidly, as if they were whispering to each other like a group of despicable hyenas, discussing conspiracies and tricks.
"What did you say?"
Theresa and Princess Summer heard Captain Gao Zunlong say coldly in an ancient and elegant voice, "You don't agree to unfreeze all the crew members immediately and enter the new century to collect resources? Did I hear wrongly? If we don't release all the crew members from the hibernation cabins, how can we have enough manpower to repair the Emerald? "
The members of the bridge crew looked at each other in dismay. Under the powerful aura of Captain Gao Zunlong, they could hardly breathe. First Mate Quaker reluctantly said, "Captain, although the new world is rich, it is not very large. I'm afraid that it will not be able to completely repair the Emerald in a short period of time, nor, nor can it support all of our crew to live on it for a long time. As you said, we will be like locusts, completely draining this world in a very short time."
"So what?"
Captain Gao Zunlong raised his eyebrows high and waved his hand unquestionably. "As long as we can restore 80% of the Emerald's combat power, we can add thousands or even tens of thousands of years of endurance. We can continue to search for more, bigger, and more fertile worlds. It's worth it to pay the price of this small world!"
-----
By the way, a book friend asked Old Niu if you have a stockpile of manuscripts. Why do you publish them at 10 AM sharp every day? If you have a stockpile of manuscripts, why don't you take them out for your brothers to enjoy? That's really shameless.
Well, let me explain. I really don't have a stockpile of manuscripts. Whether it's Cultivator IV or Spirit Ass, I basically write and publish them on the spot. It's not my style to hide them!
For example, now, I basically get up in the morning and start writing after breakfast. I write for one or two hours, around 8 or 9 AM, before 10 AM. Then I set it to 10 AM sharp, leaving half an hour to one hour. On the one hand, I can check if there are any typos, or if I want to add a few sentences to make it easier to edit. On the other hand, if I publish too early, there will be fewer people, and many of my friends will be sleeping, so it won't be good for more readers to see.
After I finish writing Cultivator IV, I'll take a break, change my brain, and continue writing Spirit Ass. Well, that's it for a painful and happy writing life. Thank you for your continued support!
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