Rebirth of the Super Battleship
Chapter 228: The Ancestor of Humanity

Xiao Yu understood very well, ‘lethal dose’ meant the maximum quantity of a drug a human could endure before dying instantly from overdose.

So then… if even a near-lethal dose of painkiller couldn’t suppress this agony, and a human being had to die in agony while fully conscious, just how unbearable was that pain?

Xiao Yu couldn’t imagine it.

But the document continued.

“3. Following the failure of the Forced Consciousness Separation Experiment, we commenced a Forced Consciousness Conversion Experiment…”

“After the Forced Conversion Experiment failed, we moved on to the next experiment…”

An endless stream of written records, images, and video logs converged into one archive. These materials described in disturbing detail how one human after another perished in anguish. Some experimental processes were so grotesque they could no longer be described as ‘bloody’, they were scenes from hell itself.

“All experiments ultimately failed. We must acknowledge that the genetic modification technology involved is too advanced, beyond our grasp. We were unable to discover any means to enhance the psychic capacity of our own species from these test subjects. Fewer than thirty experimental units remain. Following a full internal discussion, the Bio-Scientific Academy recommends cryogenically freezing these subjects until our civilization’s technology matures enough to resume testing.”

Xiao Yu no longer even had the strength to be angry. Even though he now existed in a purely spiritual state, he had never once abandoned his deep-seated identification with the identity of “human.”

Watching his fellow kind suffer and die so tragically, what surged in Xiao Yu’s heart now was nothing but boundless killing intent.

“This document says that at least fifty other civilizations were conducting similar covert captures of Earth humans… I don’t know what fates those humans met in other hands. But if they suffered the same torment, then every single one of those civilizations must be annihilated…”

In that moment, Xiao Yu remembered the Earth girl captured by the Taihao Civilization. He had read her journal. He knew what kind of torment and despair she had endured.

“It’s a pity… I still don’t have the full ability to bring you back. Even though I’ve managed to separate my own soul, to this day I still don’t understand the precise link between soul and body. Reviving your physical form is easy but without your memory and soul, you’re no longer truly you.”

Xiao Yu thought silently, trying with great effort to suppress the fury rising within. Once he had calmed down, he returned to analyzing the intelligence embedded in the document.

“During the last Information Storm, I saw that the Taihao Civilization had visited the solar system roughly 2.6 million years ago. Around that same period, humanity underwent a dramatic genetic leap. Now, this unidentified civilization claims to have found traces of advanced genetic modification in human DNA. That makes the trail very clear, humanity didn’t evolve naturally. The Taihao Civilization played a critical role in human evolution. This civilization’s document refers to Earth as a ‘trial civilization’… Could it be that humanity really was just an experiment? Then what does my existence mean? Could it mean… the experiment succeeded?”

That was Xiao Yu’s bold hypothesis. But he quickly realized it still contained many unresolved gaps and contradictions.

For instance. Did the Sweepers, Guardians, or Predator Civilizations play any role in Earth’s destruction?

If humanity was a genetic experiment by a Taihao, then why did it allow Earth to be destroyed?

The black stone that helped him separate his soul from his body and merge with a computer, what was its true origin?

Why did that semi-four-dimensional Taihao being from the Large Magellanic Cloud say the Milky Way was “empty,” yet Xiao Yu kept running into one dangerous civilization after another, each one a deadly encounter?

A mountain of questions piled up, tangled and without answers.

“Taihao… Taihao… Taihao is Fuxi. The one who created humanity. If they genetically modified humanity, that’s nearly indistinguishable from creation itself. But… is our human civilization really nothing more than a lab test? Was all of this just some grand experiment meant to verify a hypothesis held by a Taihao?”

Xiao Yu stared into the void, his thoughts heavy and endless.

“All right. Even if it’s true, so what? At the very least, human civilization still has me. My development speed already far surpasses the rest of the known universe. One day, I’ll grow powerful enough to overturn even the Taihao Civilization and defeat them. Hasn’t it always been the case throughout history that the student surpasses the master?”

This revelation did nothing to shake Xiao Yu’s confidence.

“I must grow stronger as fast as possible, to save my kin still trapped in fire and blood. That civilization placed thirty humans in long-term cryogenic storage… maybe, just maybe, my contemporaries are still alive.”

Ultra-low temperature cryogenics was a technology Xiao Yu had already mastered back when he became a Level 3 Civilization.

“This matter can rest for now. Time to begin analyzing the technologies and data I’ve acquired.” Xiao Yu cast the disturbing revelations from his mind and began examining the tens of millions of mechanical storage devices he had seized.

The Molian Civilization’s computer architecture was different from Xiao Yu’s own, along with incompatible encoding standards. This meant his current equipment couldn’t read the data on the storage devices. However, the Province-Class warship he captured from the Molian fleet was equipped with a vast number of computational modules. Xiao Yu planned to study and reverse-engineer them, then recreate a compatible system adapted to his own operations.

This task would take roughly three days.

During these three days, Xiao Yu began the process of subduing and recruiting the scientists he had captured.

These scientists hailed from hundreds of different civilizations. Each species had anywhere from a few individuals to several hundred. In total, there were nearly four thousand scientists. Since the moment they were captured and brought aboard Xiao Yu’s fleet, they had been gripped by extreme panic, convinced they would be dissected at any moment.

This fear wasn’t unfounded. In the universe, the quickest and most effective way to understand the anatomy and biology of a new species was live dissection. Humans themselves had suffered this fate.

“I went through all the trouble to capture you. Why would I waste you on dissection?” Xiao Yu thought as he projected hundreds of holographic avatars of himself into the various holding cells.

In one of the cells was a species resembling mantises. Xiao Yu had detained them aboard a County-Class warship. During their time here, the dozens of mantis scientists had barely slept. They huddled in corners, trembling constantly. When they saw Xiao Yu’s projected figure appear, they let out piercing screeches, like they were facing the end of the world.

Xiao Yu had already mastered their language, so he understood their words easily.

“No, please, we beg you! Don’t kill us! We possess vast scientific knowledge, we can contribute immensely to your technological progress!”

“We’ve already recorded all data related to our bodies! If you need it, we’ll give it all to you! There’s no need to dissect us for this!”

Xiao Yu couldn’t help but laugh inwardly. “So, to avoid dissection, they’ve prepared like this…”

Though he was amused, he maintained a stern and imposing expression to preserve his authority.

“We still have value! Killing us would be an unforgivable waste! O mighty civilization, please don’t kill us! Even if our knowledge is outdated to you, we still have exceptional learning and research capabilities! We’ll work hard for you, devote all our intellect, just give us the bare minimum to survive, maybe some energy supplements. No, even if your resources are scarce, we’ll work hungry! Just please don’t kill us!”

As Xiao Yu’s projection appeared, the cell was filled with cries, wails, and screams. All of them frantically pressed themselves into the corners, trying to get as far from Xiao Yu’s image as possible, like he was some sort of demon.

“The universe… how dark and cruel it is,” Xiao Yu thought with a faint sigh. “This is the fate of a weak civilization. Beings from their worlds are captured like livestock, bought and sold, exchanged like goods, always on the brink of death.”

Xiao Yu lightly cleared his throat and addressed them in their own language.

“You don’t need to be afraid. Now that you’re with me, your personal safety is guaranteed. You’ll have a comfortable living environment and gourmet food beyond your imagination. All I ask is one thing: serve me. Use your knowledge, your effort, even your lives to advance my technology.”

“What I can offer you… is much. Beyond safety and nourishment, I can fulfill any request within my power. Feeling lonely? I can clone your kind and build a society for you. In that society, you’ll be kings, free to do as you please. Want to indulge in pleasure? Whatever you can dream of, I can make it happen. Want long life? My biological technology can be shared with you, I can greatly extend your lifespan…”

“As long as you serve me, all of this, I can give you!”