Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 545 - 542: Soul Mate

Chapter 545: Chapter 542: Soul Mate

Time passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, it had been 100 years since Wang Haifeng graduated. He had dedicated himself entirely to the worksite, where his daily tasks mostly involved repairing malfunctioning machinery. Like a spinning top, he whirred and whirred, and on the rare occasions that he stopped spinning for a break, he found that yet another year had slipped by...

The mechanical failures were classified into three levels. The first level involved simple issues, such as an overturned excavator or aging components, which intelligent robots could handle automatically before resuming operation.

Those types of issues required only minimal attention and didn’t necessitate hands-on intervention.

The second level encompassed moderate failures, like one or two machines malfunctioning beyond standard logic; or the repair robots breaking down.

Due to the complexity of the Planet Engine and the novelty of the technology involved, which included numerous industrial links, robots couldn’t yet perform all mutual maintenance, necessitating human intervention at times.

The third level involved major industrial chain breakdowns, such as a large energy room suddenly shutting down and cutting off power supply, or a neutron star emitting an electromagnetic pulse that crippled a multitude of equipment. Such incidents could trigger stalls in the Planet Engine operation and were crucial to guard against.

Wang Haifeng had struggled with this damned basin for a century, progressively expanding its borders.

Under his meticulous supervision, the site’s malfunction rate was below average. There had never been a third-class red safety accident, a point of pride he could boast about for a lifetime.

After work, he would enjoy a few sips of liquor, eat some alien legumes, and then watch some TV or read a novel. His days were quite enjoyable.

"Life is just like this, isn’t it? Isn’t any other job just... work?"

"...It’s just lacking in passion, a bit monotonous."

He had had about a dozen relationships, each one fizzling out without sickness or strife and eventually, he stopped pursuing them.

What he truly desired was a "soulmate" who could stay together forever—someone he could emerge with post-Extraordinary Test and continue to share common philosophical understandings. The technology of the Love Chip, which bonded individuals through "pleasure," was gradually becoming obsolete.

However, these days, it was rare for boys and girls to achieve such connections. Only a few Transcendents were born each era, making true soulmates not so easy to find.

Like his sister at home, she would fall in love with one person one moment and someone else the next...

From another perspective, human relationships were indeed fragile.

"I’ve developed feelings for a new colleague. I think I’ll spend some time with him."

The beautiful sister said during a video call, "But I’ll probably grow tired of him after a while... Finding a partner is really not easy."

Wang Haifeng asked, "Don’t be too picky. Humans inevitably have flaws. Don’t you plan to find someone more permanent and use a Love Chip?"

"Sigh, you know, even though Love Chips can make one quite happy, the human body gradually develops tolerance to the dopamine stimulation... Sensory stimulation alone can’t sustain a relationship for centuries."

Wang Haifeng replied calmly, "You really have a lot of energy. I suggest you read Ms. Lin Qingqing’s romance novel. People shouldn’t waste their time on such trivial matters. You fall in love with him, and then you fall in love with another; love too many, and you’ll find yourself not truly loving anyone, feeling very empty inside!"

"...You should find a real companion."

"Alright, alright, I know! Aren’t you single too? Ah, people are really lonely."

The romance novel by Zhang Yuan and Lin Qingqing, spanning ages, had once been wildly popular among the crowds and particularly beloved by girls. Its values had influenced many.

But they had both been gone from this world for a very, very long time. Perhaps in the future, far far away, they might return... To meet again in this world. What a romantic thought!

After hanging up the phone, Wang Haifeng felt a tinge of envy.

Over the years, the average lifespan of new human civilization had inexplicably dropped to around 460 years. It wasn’t due to worse technological conditions or overwork, but rather because some individuals voluntarily chose to give up on longevity.

After all... aging wouldn’t lead to death, just to an earlier entry into the Virtual Space. This idea slowly gained popularity and quickly became fashionable.

Although each person’s Civilization Contribution differed, and thus the number of rebirths they could experience varied, the law mandated a minimum of five rebirths, which for many was already enough...

Experts on TV were fiercely criticizing this societal trend. The reduction in the average lifespan was accelerating the pace of aging.

Wang Haifeng looked through some forums, where many were commenting that these were just "bullshit experts," "they don’t do productive work, what good is sociology," and "they just want us to work more!"

It was just a plethora of complaints.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

Someone was knocking at the door.

"Come in!"

With a thought from Wang Haifeng, the door automatically opened.

In walked a middle-aged man over a hundred years older than him, with a cigarette in his mouth. It was Zhou Hua, the leader of the entire work team.

Cigarettes, a thing of the past, had become popular again due to the immense work pressure on this site, where machinery often issued repair alerts necessitating urgent fixes, sometimes in the dead of night.

The operation of the Planet Engine couldn’t stop—not even for a second—as any malfunction could cause the planet’s trajectory to shift. Once the planet’s trajectory shifted, the entire plan’s margin for error would shrink drastically.

Under such immense work pressure, smoking seemed negligible, and no one would criticize or blame...

Smokers would habitually use a fist-sized air purifier. After taking a puff, they’d exhale the murky air into the purifier for cleansing so as not to affect others.

"The director has retired..." Zhou Hua began, taking a drag from his cigarette before bowing his head and exhaling downwards.

The air purifier’s indicator light lit up, absorbing all the nicotine.

Wang Haifeng was slightly startled and said, "That’s good for him! He should have retired long ago, instead of laboring unnecessarily for so many extra years."

Zhou Hua shook his head. "This batch of retirements removed many of the old but brought in fewer new workers. Our work team is facing a shrinking workforce..."

Wang Haifeng fell silent, taking a sip of his drink.