Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

"In Year 3212 of the New Era, Jade continued fleeing in the sea of stars where there was nothing, avoiding the mortal enemies that might show up at any moment. By then, the starship had lost 50% of its functions. 99% of the crew members had to enter the hibernation state, and only 1% were still holding their posts.

Jade continued coldly, "It was not their sense of mission or their sense of honor that kept them awake. It was another cruel fact. Because of the shortage of resources and energy, the aging hibernation chambers that had been in disrepair for a long time had not been maintained. The fault rate was on the rise. In the end, the fault rate that could lead to the death of the hibernators was reduced to 1% annually.

"Every year, at least 1% of the hibernation chambers will malfunction, killing the hibernators without them knowing.

"Next year, the sickle of death will appear randomly on the neck of the remaining one percent of hibernators.

"The 1% chance seems insignificant, but with the magic of time, it is safe to say that none of the hibernators will survive the thousand-year journey.

"Entering the hibernation chamber means entrusting one's life to the unpredictable fate, which is unacceptable for some of the crew members. They chose a way of life that they considered to be more dignified—they would never hibernate and simply live their life in a sober state, living, dying, and reproducing on a starship.

"Naturally, there was no dignity in such a way of life. They were merely living a long, miserable life in a cold cage.

"We watched the hibernators die one by one, and we didn't know when the sober ones would find a new place to live. The sober ones collapsed. There were outbreaks of small-scale riots. There were even cases where extremists broke into the cockpit, planning to hijack Jade and rush to the star so that everything would be set on fire and end the nightmare.

"It was in such a miserable situation that Jade continued sailing for a thousand years. When the first ray of hope finally reached them, the starship had lost 70% of its functions, most of its crew, and most of its energy. The super fusion collection unit that they risked entering the space stream to repair last time was canceled again after supporting the starship for another two thousand years. But this time, the condition of the starship was not enough to support them to find new space streams to refill their energy.

"Just as we were about to collapse, we finally discovered a world of abundant spiritual energy.

While Jade was talking, a splendid, colorful galaxy gradually appeared and unfolded in front of Theresa and Princess Summer.

The light of hope was shining on the faces of Jade, Theresa, and Princess Summer.

"Jadeite is saved. Under the command of Captain Gao Zunlong, we rush to the new world and name it after the starship. Everybody can't wait to take a rest in the new world, gather enough resources, and repair the starship. Then, they will find a way to rebuild the Primeval Civilization from scratch and fight the Flood Tide to the death again.

"It was a pity that it was not until a long time later that I realized that the Primeval Race—human beings—were hundreds of times more complicated than artificial intelligence. I thought that 'everyone' thought the same thing. It was just wishful thinking.

Theresa was dazed. "What do you mean?"

"As an artificial intelligence, the mission is the sole purpose of my existence. In order to complete the mission without any loss, all the costs are worth it. We have to try our best together until the last soldier, or even the last screw, and the last string of data."

Jade said, "But the Primeval Clan—human beings do not seem to be the case. The destiny of mankind can change at any time. It is even safe to say that mankind is a creature without a sense of purpose. You are not created for a certain purpose, and you are free to betray it.

"That's right. Captain Gao Zunlong and some other members of the bridge crew are still thinking about the mission to restore the glory of the Primordial Beginning Clan and the final battle against the Flood Tide. They want to build the new world into a war base and exploit all the resources of the new world to repair Jade. If possible, they want to upgrade Jade into a stronger 'cosmic cruiser' and embark on a new journey.

"However, the majority of the members of the bridge group, led by the first mate, opposed the captain's plan. They believed that the resources of the new world were too limited to improve the combat ability of Jade even if all the resources were drained. There was no way that Jade could resist the flood at all. Therefore, it was better to abandon Jade, which had been in disrepair for a long time and was almost wrecked, and migrate all the crew members to the new world.

"The two parties had their own arguments and had a fierce argument. Naturally, Captain Gao Zunlong had the highest clearance, but First Officer Quake had more supporters. The dawn of a new world had just arrived, and an extremely dangerous storm was brewing.

Laser beams beamed out of Jade's eyes and formed a 3D light beam, which then spread out into a holographic image similar to the Grand Illusionary Land, as if Theresa and Princess Summer had both returned to the bridge thousands of years ago and witnessed the conflict between Captain Gao Zunlong and First Officer Quake.

At that time, the members of the bridge team were all tall, handsome giants that looked like statues.

Colorful lights were shining around them, outlining their soul-stirring bodies.

However, their temperament was completely different.

Captain Gao Zhunlong was like a pine tree that would rather break than bend. Even though the branches of the tree had been torn apart by the storm, the bark of the tree, and even the heart of the tree had been burnt by thunder and fire, he was still standing. Unless he was uprooted and crushed into powder, there was no way that he could bend at all.

First mate Quake and some other members of the bridge crew, on the other hand, had been crushed by endless desperation during their long escape. Their eyes, despite their tall and handsome appearance, had lost the dancing flames.

They lowered their heads, not daring to meet the captain's sharp eyes.

The lights around him, on the other hand, were blinking rapidly, as if they were whispering to each other and discussing schemes like a bunch of sordid hyenas.

"What are you talking about?"

Theresa and Princess Summer heard that Captain Gao Zunlong said coldly in a vintage and elegant voice, "You don't agree to unfreeze all the crew members immediately so that they can collect resources in the new century? Did I hear you right? How can we have enough hands to repair Jade if we don't release all the crew members from the hibernation chambers?"

The members of the bridge crew looked at each other in bewilderment, barely able to breathe under the intimidating aura of Captain Gao Zunlong. First mate Quake managed to say, "Captain, although the new world is prosperous, it is not very large in scale. I'm afraid that we cannot repair Jade in a short period of time, nor can we support all our crew members to live on it for a long time. As you said, we will exploit the world like locusts in a very short time.

"So what?

Captain Gao Zhunlong raised his eyebrow and waved his hands unhesitatingly. "As long as we can restore 80% of the combat ability of Jade, we will be able to increase our sailing time by thousands of years or even ten thousand years. It will be worth it to continue searching for a bigger, more prosperous world!

* * *

Speaking of which, a book friend asked Old Cow whether or not he had a copy of the manuscript. Why did he send it every morning at 10 o'clock sharp? If he had a copy of the manuscript, why didn't he bring it out to entertain his brothers? It was truly too shameless.

Well, if you don't mind me explaining, I really don't have any saved manuscripts. Whether it's or , I basically write and publish them on the spot. It's not my style to keep them hidden!

For example, the bonus chapters of 'Cultivation IV' were basically about waking up in the morning and starting the code after breakfast. The code would take an hour or two, say around 8:00 or 9:00, just before 10:00. Then, the chapters would be set to be uploaded at exactly 10:00, leaving half an hour for each chapter. On one hand, the chapters could be checked to see if there were any typos, and on the other hand, if there were a few additional sentences, it would be easier to edit. On the other hand, if the chapters were sent too early, there would be fewer people, and many of his friends would be sleeping, making it difficult for more readers to see them.

After I'm done writing 'Fourth Cultivator's Cultivator', I'll take a rest and change the track of my brain. Then, I'll continue writing 'Spirit Booster'. Well, that's basically how I'm going to live my life. Thank you for your support!