The Ultimate War Of The Apocalypse
Chapter 503 - 496 Optimism

Chapter 503: Chapter 496 Optimism

For safety reasons, the basket could only carry two people down at a time. Ram and Adel were the first to go, followed by Xinghe and Gao Yuan.

Sitting in the basket, clutching the handrails and looking at the pitch-black rocks around him, with dazzling searchlights above and a bottomless, dark abyss below, Gao Yuan felt an inexplicable panic grip him as he began the descent into the cave.

Xinghe suddenly grabbed Gao Yuan’s hand, then leaned her entire body against him, causing the basket to tilt slightly.

Gao Yuan became even more scared. He immediately grabbed Xinghe’s shoulder and said with a trembling voice, "Don’t come over, be careful or the basket might tip over, and we could fall to our deaths."

Xinghe let out a deep sigh and then said softly, "Gao Yuan, what do you think..."

She didn’t finish her sentence, and Gao Yuan asked curiously, "What?"

"Do you know what a world without emotions would be like?"

"Uh, I don’t know, I can’t even imagine it."

Xinghe sighed softly and said, "Adel and I are quite similar. I don’t know how to interact with others with emotions. I learned from watching TV, so was my expression of emotions a bit exaggerated for a while?"

"Yes, it looked a bit odd, sometimes cold, sometimes overly passionate, uh, hard to figure out."

"Because when I know how to express something, I do, but when I don’t know how, I say and do nothing."

After finishing, Xinghe suddenly said, "What if the Serpent People also turned into beings without ambition, hope, disappointment, love, or emotions, only to become like biological robots in their long, infinite lives, would that be good?"

Gao Yuan replied in surprise, "Why not? Such a civilization like the Serpent People ought to be wiped out."

"If humans attain the technological level of the Serpent People, wouldn’t they invade other planets? A planet without a civilization, you wouldn’t feel guilty occupying it, right? What about planets with primitive civilizations, would you occupy them?"

"We wouldn’t... "

"Hmm?"

"We would definitely start as observers. We wouldn’t necessarily want to exterminate the existing life on that planet, uh, human nature is essentially good."

"Good? Where do you see goodness? Humans have yet to stop killing each other, how can they be good to other species?"

Gao Yuan was left speechless. No matter how knowledgeable he was, he couldn’t answer such questions about human nature, there really was no correct answer.

Xinghe sighed and said, "I just hope you won’t become the next Serpent People too soon."

This time Gao Yuan was much more resolute. He said very determinedly, "Absolutely not. We might indeed pursue expansion if humans continue to survive, but we will never become destroyers of civilizations, exterminators of other species... Wait, that’s odd, why are you suddenly talking to me about this?"

Gao Yuan looked at Xinghe with sudden suspicion; he now realized something was off with Xinghe’s state of mind. He worried that if he said the wrong thing, he might provoke a very bad, or even very frightening consequence.

Xinghe let out a sigh and said, "Because if that spaceship really is here, then... then the Serpent People no longer pose a threat. I could choose to shoot down all of the Serpent People’s ships, to annihilate them completely without them having a chance to fight back."

Gao Yuan was astonished, his mouth agape, but then he thought for a moment and reached out to wrap his arms around Xinghe’s shoulders, even leaning in closer to her and asking, "Is it really that impressive?"

"Of course, this is the higher civilization’s overwhelming dominance over the lower one; the disparity can no longer be bridged by sheer numbers."

Xinghe wanted to rest her head on Gao Yuan’s shoulder, but she could only place her head on top of his. Therefore, Gao Yuan had to shuffle a bit further away, and then Xinghe managed to lean her head comfortably on his shoulder.

Gao Yuan originally wanted to say something more, but when he was about to voice his thoughts, he ended up murmuring softly, "I definitely hope that the Serpent People can be defeated, but if that happens, does that mean you’ll have to leave?"

Gao Yuan was truly feeling reluctant to let go. Because there were some things he dared not contemplate, he had never considered what would happen if the Serpent People were truly defeated—or what should happen.

Xinghe remained silent for a moment before whispering, "Ram said he would give the Serpent People the technology for eternal life. At first, I thought it was a good idea, but now, I think completely destroying a civilization’s evolutionary path seems wrong—it’s a serious violation of the interstellar explorers’ rules."

"Interstellar exploration? Rules? Who made them?"

"The ancestors of the Celestials."

"Where are they now..."

"Gone."

"Then that’s terrific—if you’re not willing to cut off the Serpent People’s civilization, they’ll cut off ours, and then yours. Don’t forget why you came here: you’re supposed to hinder the expansion of the Serpent People on Earth, not to help other planets progress."

Xinghe nodded, but Gao Yuan still felt it was not safe, because Xinghe was an alien after all. If she suddenly had some strange idea, like suddenly wanting to play the saint, wouldn’t that be dreadful?

"Don’t forget, if you don’t kill off the Serpent People, they’ll end up killing me."

The rate at which the basket was descending was very slow, so Xinghe and Gao Yuan had plenty of time to talk, but even at this underspeed, the basket should have reached the bottom by now.

Gao Yuan turned to look at Xinghe, who was leaning against his shoulder, and said, "Listen, don’t you turn into some saint, all right? I would despise you for that."

Xinghe pouted, then put on an angry face and said, "Alright, there’s no need to worry about that now. I just feel like it’s kind of a betrayal of my principles to snuff out a civilization that has the potential to be very powerful, right in its cradle. But now, I think it’s better that the Serpent People’s civilization be extinguished."

"The Serpent People can hardly be considered in the cradle anymore, can they?"

"Hmm, let’s say they’re toddlers who’ve just learned to walk and are about to learn to run. Actually, what I’m thinking about now is, if we find that spaceship, whether to leave one behind to give the Serpent People a chance to send the technology for eternal life back home. That’s the question."

Gao Yuan was taken aback, then he instinctively said, "That really is a question. Uh, just exterminate them all. If it’s really possible to completely annihilate the Serpent People, we must do it. As for the whole poisoning issue, we can think about that in the long term."

Xinghe looked at Gao Yuan, lifted her head from his shoulder, and hit him on the arm, smiling, "You’re annoying. You’re still thinking about the present. If there’s really a chance to exterminate the Serpent People, you wouldn’t consider what happens ten thousand years from now."

Gao Yuan rubbed his arm and responded with a wry smile, "Ouch, that hurt. I’m saying, aren’t you being a bit too optimistic? Whether that spaceship is here is really not certain. Are you so sure?"

Xinghe replied with growing confidence, "This place could never be naturally formed, so I believe the spaceship is here. It must be!"