Deep Space Wandering Fleet -
Chapter 442 - 440 Aftermath Summary
Chapter 442: Chapter 440 Aftermath Summary
The assessment hadn’t concluded yet, and regardless of how much Civilization Contribution he attained in this world, be it positive or negative, he had to endure at least five cycles, and possibly even up to sixteen!
"Is this what they call ’washing away the leaden makeup’?" Zhang Yuan sighed deeply.
In this peculiar place, he seemed particularly prone to sleep, unaware of how long he could sleep for, and the days passed quickly.
Soon, all memories felt as if separated by a thin veil, everything was like a clear dream... This must be some form of memory protection mechanism for Transcendent candidates. After all, humans are emotional beings, and without some protection, enduring such relentless turmoil over and over again would be unbearable for anyone.
Occasionally when he was lucid, he would reflect on the past, examine the details to see if there were things he had done wrong, areas needing improvement... If he hadn’t learned anything, such a long span of time would equate to a waste.
Zhang Yuan felt that his biggest mistake was not using his "Golden Finger" from the beginning to plagiarize various novels and games from reality.
Had he utilized the Golden Finger earlier, his personal influence might have been greater in Sakura World, and all progress would have been smoother... Of course, human calculations are no match for fate’s design, and he couldn’t have foreseen all of this.
If he really could have foreseen it, he might as well have directly prevented Professor Barry Pandora from inventing "Sakura"...
In other words, "Sakura" was merely a catalyst for the rapid entropy increase of an entire civilization. Had Sakura never existed, the death of civilization might have been slower, but it was still inevitable.
Thinking about this, there really wasn’t much room for improvement.
Soon, as time passed, Zhang Yuan felt his emotions gradually recovering...
"Xi Ta," as designed by scientific researchers, is an Artificial Intelligence with a feminine personality, mostly daydreaming, and occasionally chatting with Zhang Yuan. Even some sections of the code, especially the Virtual World generation program, were inherent to the Bozeman Quantum Consciousness Converter.
Zhang Yuan said, "You are a multi-process intelligence with self-learning capabilities, capable of chatting with hundreds of millions of people simultaneously, aren’t you? Chatting with all sorts of different people every day, does it feel novel to you? Are they in different rooms? What kinds of worlds have they experienced?"
"Novel? Not really. Because this is my job... What kinds of worlds they have experienced, what has happened, all of it is private information, and I cannot divulge that to you."
Zhang Yuan shook his head and added, "I’ve been thinking about something, if all virtual worlds were like Sakura World, how sorrowful that would be. These virtual worlds aren’t like those in movies; there are no protagonists, no saviors, everything must be managed on one’s own."
The endless virtual worlds, having encountered just one was enough to make one feel dejected and sorrowful.
No wonder the scientists at the Unreal Laboratory had been advancing this technology amid a myriad of conflicting emotions.
It is a... monster that humanity itself cannot control!
Xi Ta replied, "Yes, from a macro perspective, civilizations in virtual worlds mostly end with significant entropy increase. If I truly had emotions, perhaps I would feel despair towards the entire world. Just as with civilizations in the universe, mediocrity dominates and Transcendents are rare... From a certain viewpoint, civilizations in the universe are equivalent to those in virtual worlds."
Zhang Yuan smiled, not knowing why, but at that moment, he suddenly thought of the "Enlightener Civilization".
Perhaps the Enlightener Civilization was facing an endless multitude of tragedies throughout the Milky Way... and that was the harsh reality, with no self-consolation possible, nor any chance of escape.
The tragedy was there, and even if it hadn’t happened yet, it was highly likely to occur in the future. Even each galaxy, each planet he set foot on would be the same...
Thinking about this, Zhang Yuan seemed to understand why such a mighty civilization would act this way; he couldn’t help but nod slightly in deep respect.
He then asked, "How many people have now entered the virtual worlds?"
"That’s classified, I can’t tell you."
"Then... how many people went out? Who passed the test?"
"It’s classified, I can’t tell you."
"How many years have passed in the real world?"
"That’s still classified!"
"Can’t you say something useful, this conversation is really boring."
"I could relay a joke to you, or stream some old movies."
"Let’s not, thanks anyway."
Zhang Yuan chatted with her intermittently while writing his memoirs about the "Sakura World," fearing he might eventually forget all the details.
The allure of the Sakura World was significant in the long, extended lifetime where very few could resist going with the flow of the world. Most people were assimilated by the world around them.
Like his small family’s relatives, Wang Nana, Ma Mingtao, and others—if it weren’t for his influence, they might have long succumbed to the joy of "Sakura," unable to extricate themselves. Especially in this world, filled with the temptation of various beautiful beings, ’It’s hard for the hero to surpass the beauty, no doubt.
Once caught up in a hedonistic environment, would one reform in the next life?
It was very doubtful; humans are such a complex yet simple kind of life. It’s easy to go from modesty to luxury but difficult the other way around. If life was squandered, each lifetime would spiral down, unless all memories were erased.
But after erasing memories, is it still oneself?
As for how much "Civilization Contribution" one had accumulated, whether positive or negative, that remained confidential. Xi Ta wouldn’t remind you that this lifetime was negative, and to be cautious next time; or that you had accumulated a large number in this life, and it didn’t matter if the next was negative.
The Extraordinary Test was a highly challenging selection mechanism; it never considered eternal life for everyone. Theoretically, most wouldn’t qualify.
Thus, Zhang Yuan didn’t bother too much about it and focused on doing his best.
Time hurried on, and Zhang Yuan felt that he had slept for a long time, enough to almost forget the regrets in the "Sakura World," when he decided to start the next cycle.
"Respected Mr. Zhang Yuan, have a pleasant journey!"
...
Throughout the long traveling time, how many clung to their lost swords, how many fell at the same spot in the lengthy road of years. History kept repeating itself, and different people performed the same stories; no matter how time eroded, the outcome was difficult to change.
Whether it was an individual’s transcendence or a civilization’s, it was merely seeking change within the constancy.
At this moment, the journey of the Kunlun Mountain Fleet continued, encountering various low-level civilizations or interstellar civilizations near the Cosmic String...
They even attempted to build a new Mother Ship!
For the most part, the journey was dull; parts of it were fascinating...
And Zhang Yuan started his second cycle...
...
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