Age of Cosmic Exploration, 4

by Zhttty

  Ren Tao and Xiao Niao snuck a look at one another. There was surprise and confirmation reflected in their eyes. Ren Tao asked immediately, "This proves the validity of our next, bigger hypothesis… Yao Yuan, do you remember our discussion about why the Deceiver was at the same level as the All-Rounder with a super S grade?"

  Yao Yuan reared his head in shock and nodded. "I do, but the discussion, as I remember, had no conclusion…"

  Xiao Niao interjected, "That was because we had nothing else to go on. We had no materials to pinpoint the Deceiver’s functionality, other than it being a more powerful Anima… Before that, Yao Yuan, I want to ask you something. Can you still remember the sensation you felt during the fever that made you a Homo Evolutis?"

  Yao Yuan nodded after some thoughts, saying, "I felt dropped into the wide cosmos. I realized then how small life really is against the background of the wide cosmos. I fully understood the meaning of 'life’s a brief candle.' It was incredibly lonely and helpless, and after that, I woke up."

  Ren Tao confirmed, "It was the same for me and my sister, Chou Yue. Everything you just described we experienced as well… So we came up with a wild thought. What if the Deceiver could trick other people into this particular sensation? Yao Yuan, what do you think would entail?"

  Yao Yuan’s expression changed. He stood up and paced around the room. "Then it is entirely possible that the Deceiver could induce the awakening in other normal human beings, but this is just a hypothesis, a very crazy one at that. Our current research on Homo Evolutis is still too surface-level; who could really tell if this is or isn’t the trigger? Then again, everyone in space must have felt the same sensation of loneliness and helplessness before, so why haven’t these people been affected by the evolution?"

  Xiao Niao waved his hands dismissively, adding, "Who knows? Maybe the intensity wasn’t enough, or their minds have already gotten used to life in space, or they are somehow suppressed by society? Regardless, we aren’t sure about this hypothesis either, but at least one thing’s certain: Xiao Chen’s awakening is deeply linked to Jay. And if this relationship could affirm our other more fantastical hypothesis, then the reason why the Deceiver is on the same level as the All-Rounder as super S grade cosmic adapter is because…

  "He can create an entire civilization of Homo Evolutis!"

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  Chapter192 Homo Evolutis and the Survival Training

  Xiao Chen woke up after several days of unconsciousness. She was confirmed to be the rare Anima after being checked at the Homo Evolutis Faction.

  Needless to say, the researchers were still clueless about why Xiao Chen suddenly became a Homo Evolutis, and not only a Survivor with no skills, but an Anima. It was mind boggling.

  From conversing with Xiao Chen, she too had no idea why it happened. But due to its importance, the conversation was recorded and kept in the Homo Evolutis Faction’s files.

  "… It was a boundless cosmos, a pitch black environment. There were twinkling stars, but all of them were so far away that their shine was constantly eclipsed by the cosmos’ total darkness.

  "The pervading feeling was one of fear. The fear of being lost in space, the fear of being left to fend for myself alone. I yearned for a companion, someone to assure me of my existence…"

  Thus far, everything was similar to the experience of others’ awakening, but what happened next was the kicker.

  "Right then, I heard Jay’s voice relaying his experience to me when he himself became a Homo Evolutis. He walked me through it. His voice told me that it depended solely on myself whether I could become a Homo Evolutis. He said that as long as the purity of my desire to communicate with others, to find a home among like-minded people, didn’t disappear, then I will become a Homo Evolutis."

  This part of her conversation became a crucial clue to uncovering the mystery of Homo Evolutis awakening. Also, it helped confirm Ren Tao's, Yao Yuan's, and Xiao Niao’s speculation. Xiao Chen’s awakening had everything to do with Jay. However, the nature of that relationship was still an unknown. Was Xiao Chen already on her way to become a Homo Evolutis and Jay had only pushed her along? Or did Jay forcefully make her into one?

  Regardless, this was an important manifestation of the Deceiver’s uniqueness.

  A power that could awaken someone into Homo Evolutis, a dreamlike power if there ever was one. The three felt like the All-Rounder might not have access to the Deceiver’s power, or else it would have manifested itself in some way by now, and it would definitely be the best power in the All-Rounder’s arsenal!

  Yao Yuan, on his part, was not envious or threatened by this information. Even though he was an All-Rounder, more importantly, he was the captain for all of humanity. He appreciated all sources of power that were beneficial to the livelihood of humanity, as long as the owner wasn’t someone malicious. Yao Yuan believed that he had a good eye for people, and he believed Jay was a good and kind individual, not one to lust for power. Therefore, he was overjoyed when they found out about this new aspect of the Deceiver.

  "It is as we suspect; the power level of a Homo Evolutis is not dependent on its overall numbers but its user’s mastery over it. Before this, we had no idea the Deceiver could use his power in this manner, but with a real life case before us, we realized that the power could be used in this way as well." Xiao Niao sighed, shaking his head.

  Ren Tao added, "But I believe not every Deceiver will have access to this power; maybe it’s limited by a threshold of some sort, like the Deceiver’s physical condition, or perhaps it has to do with the person that is being awakened. Like whether the person’s body condition can suffer through the awakening process. However, with the advancement in our medical technology, I believe one day even our seniors can awaken into Homo Evolutis safely. Then again, I still have my suspicions that the awakening has more to do with one’s spiritual integrity. But the reality doesn’t seem to support it, because most of the Homo Evolutis aren’t overtly religious. Maybe the link between the awakening and spirituality is more tenuous than I give it credit for?"

  Yao Yuan observed Xiao Chen, who was undergoing a series of tests, and sighed. "We still know too little about the Homo Evolutis. But no matter what, this is a good development, yes? Xiao Chen became an Anima, and Jay finally showed some response. At least now we know he’s no longer brain dead. I think with Xiao Chen at his side, he’ll wake up soon enough."

  After Xiao Chen completed the series of tests, confirming her existence as an Anima, she requested Yao Yuan for an injection of the Ultimate Vaccine. Naturally, her request was immediately approved. She was given the injection on that day itself. What followed should be a month-long recovery period, but Xiao Chen’s stubborn and rash nature compelled her to go searching for Yao Yuan. She begged him to let her see Jay.

  Yao Yuan felt that there were only good benefits for her to stay with Jay, since it would aid in helping him wake up, so he agreed. Plus, the location was just below the Hope and it was guarded by Zhang Heng and Ebon.

  Just like that, the girl walked to the wooden cabin with stumbling steps. Finally, she saw Jay’s sleeping face again. But what happened next made Zhang Heng and Ebon, who were watching, look at each other with bewilderment.

  She strode up to Jay’s bedside and slapped him heavily on his forehead. A blush rose to her face and she stalked back to her assigned room with faltering steps. The touching reunion that Ebon and Zhang Heng were expecting did not occur.

  "You liar, who gave you permission to kiss me in my dreams?" Xiao Chen mumbled in her heart, but her mouth involuntarily curved up into a smile.

  All in all, Xiao Chen finally returned to Jay’s side and settled into her new lifestyle. It was akin to a life in paradise. Beside the cabin was an unpolluted, bubbling brook with drinkable water that was so clean it was as if it had been sweetened with honey. The other end of the cabin was a grass plain hidden with nature’s bounty, and most importantly, t
he cabin itself was wired with the latest electronic equipment. Life was like a sweet dream…

  On the other end, life was like a nightmare for the training troopers of the ninth unit.

  This was the sixth day of the training, but for them, it felt more like a year.

  Initially, everything was exciting, fresh, and new. Their spirits were high after taking in the planet’s air, drinking the sweet-tasting river water, and munching on the safety-approved nuts and fruits.

  However, in just a day, the excitement changed into torture. This was because they had brought nothing with them when they ventured into the forest. Other than space armor, Gaussian rifles, and sawblades, they didn’t have sleeping bags, rations, freshwater, or even lighters. It was as if time had reverted to the prehistoric age and they only carried some weapons and armor from the 4th revolution. And their order was to survive 1 whole week in such conditions in the jungle!

  The jungle naturally provided them with a wealth of fruits, but unfortunately, the Ultimate Vaccine wasn’t foolproof. Other than the few fruits examined and confirmed to be safe by the Academy, they were afraid the rest would be poison. Even though they saw the planet’s critters munching on them, they were hesitant to consume the fruits, because the critters might have developed an immune system that they didn’t have.

  Thankfully, most of the animal meats were edible. According the Academy, the planet’s life forms were also carbon-based, so most of them were edible by human standards. Of course, there might be creatures that developed poison as a defense mechanism, like the puffer fish, so before eating some unknown species, one had to pray that it wouldn’t be one’s last supper.

  For the last 6 days, team leader Haweza was the backbone that held the unit together. He was a veteran soldier and thus knew the importance of pre-mission preparation. He researched the jungle’s geological structure and unique locations beforehand. Other than that, he also went through the codex of the plants and animals in the jungle that had been researched by the Academy. He jotted down their edibility and effects.

  This forest fringing the grass plains had similarities to a prehistoric rainforest. It had high vegetation coverage, and in some deeper areas of the forest, the foliage was so thick that one couldn’t see their hands in front of them. The slippery moss that covered the floor became a real hazard. After the ninth unit entered the forest, the first thing they needed to learn was how to survive, the second was how to follow orders and discipline.

  According to how perfectly they completed their assigned tasks, the troopers were given rations of differing portions by Haweza. Of course, cooking them was another challenge. The inside of the rainforest was incredibly wet and moist, so it would be hard to light a fire even if they had a lighter. Therefore, they had to learn from Haweza how to steel their stomachs to support eating fresh meat, and the identification of the softest part of the meat…

  In other words, the exciting new planet discovery trip that had the troopers excited from the second day onwards became a real nightmare…

  But this journey was just beginning.

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  Chapter193 The Training

  "Pa!"

  Jerry slapped himself. The jolt woke him up.

  Of course, he wasn’t a masochist; he had a bug as big as two palms sucking his blood on his face. The slap crushed it into a mess of guts, and blood splattered all over his face.

  The jungle’s insects were unusually huge, caused by some unknown reason. One speculation said that during the dinosaur era, the insects on Earth were unusually big as well. Their size had something to do with the amount of oxygen concentration in the air. Apparently, the thicker the oxygen concentration, the bigger the creatures’ size.

  Jerry had learned of such knowledge in the books, but reality and theory were two different things!

  For example, it might not cause much panic to happen across a mosquito that is the size of one’s finger in real life, but a mosquito that is 2 palms big, now that is hair-raisingly scary.

  Incidentally, bugs that were more than 2 palms big were hiding in every corner of the jungle. A few of them were like leeches; they lived off of blood. It was unknown whether they sucked other creatures’ blood or if human blood was especially tasty to them.

  Because of that, the troopers who had already removed their helmets put them back on after they stepped a bit deeper into the forest. Their bodies were fully covered, not a surface exposed. This carried on for 3 days and 3 nights. Even though the space armor had an impressive battery life, it couldn’t support continuous 24-hour activation. They made some calculations in their heads and realized that the wastage couldn’t possibly go on. The power of the armor was kept open during the day, but when they went to sleep at night, the suit powered down and the helmet had to be removed, or they would die from suffocation. Because of this, the troopers had developed a unique sleeping pattern. Following team leader Haweza’s lead, they took some leaves and branches to smother their faces, leaving only 2 nostrils exposed when they slept.

  Jerry was particularly unlucky that day. The leaves that covered his face had fallen off during the night. Half of his face was stung by an unknown insect and it was bloated, making it difficult for him to even speak.

  Luckily, his immune system had already been upgrade by the Ultimate Vaccine. By afternoon, the swelling on his face subsided. However, this did help raise the alarm among the troopers. Haweza’s advice that the Black Star Troopers had to be alert even during their sleep was forever imprinted in their minds.

  That afternoon, the unit took down a 15-meter-long, 3-meter-wide gigantic creature with their cooperation. The creature was a crawling mammal with many legs. When Haweza cut open the creature and was in the middle of explaining its internal organs to the troopers, Jerry finally asked, "Leader, is the bulk of our training rolling around in the mud and battling these huge creatures and bugs? Shouldn’t we practice marching? I remember watching the Defense Unit marching all day long when they were on the Hope…"

  Haweza was taken aback and explained with a smile after he cut out a fatty, white-colored piece of meat, "But we’re the Black Star Troopers, they’re the Defense Unit; we’re completely different entities."

  Another new trooper asked, "What’s the difference? Aren’t we both in the Barracks?"

  Haweza pointed at his space armor and said, "The difference is this."

  Then he picked up his sawblade and added, "This is also the difference."

  Lastly, he pointed at the 14 people around him, saying, "All these are the differences."

  "We are Homo Evolutis, do you know what that means? Not immense power or great status; for me, it only means one thing: the duty to protect mankind!

  "We are the most powerful group of people among all human beings. With great power comes great responsibility. You must have heard of this line from books or movies; you might even think it’s laughable, but that is the lesson I want all of you to learn."

  Haweza raised his voice. "During the war with mother nest, who was the first to engage them in combat? It was us, the Black Star Troopers! Who were the ones caught in close combat with the alien monsters? It was us, the Black Star Troopers! Who came along to save the day when the war was almost lost? It was us, the Black Star Troopers! We are steel, we are unstoppable, we are humanity’s saviors, and we must be fearless!"

  Haweza paused and pointed at a young soldier. "Peter, you’re most afraid of blood, but look at you now. You can eat bloody, uncooked meat without fear! Barnon, your phobia is bugs and insects. Now? You can squish them up and throw them into your mouth!

  And you, you, you…

  "Every single one of you are evolving! Do you realize that? Every day you’re evolving into your better self. Plus, you will only appreciate civilization when you’re away from one! Let me ask you: do you wish for a warm bath now? Take off your sweaty space armor and wade into a pool of warm water. After that, lie
down on a comfortable mattress, without the fear of dangerous creatures and annoyance of giant bugs. Finally, a good night's sleep. Do you wish for that?"

  14 men replied in unison, "Of course!"

  Haweza nodded. "Me too. Then do you know who gave us all of these luxuries? Not Captain Yao Yuan. Of course, his leadership has done wonders for humanity and we will be forever grateful for that, but he isn’t omnipotent. He has many things to handle, and he can only take care of things that are on a bigger scale. With an understanding look, he will instill us with hope, but what about all these everyday warmths? Who gave us that?"

  The troopers gave all kinds of answers; some said parents, others job, some even went as far as saying H-coins. Haweza waited until they finished before he announced, "Everything that you all have said can be summarized into one thing… Human civilization!

  "We human are communal creatures. We can’t survive in isolation, because we’ll be eaten alive by loneliness. And none of us is omnipotent. We need each other to ensure the continuity of humanity, so the one that gave us everything is human civilization!"

  Haweza took another pause and he gritted his teeth as he continued, "Therefore, it falls unto our shoulders as Black Star Troopers to protect human civilization from all threats. This is a duty that we must complete even when our lives are at stake! Understood, kiddos? Now you all understand what bravery is and are no longer afraid of this forest. You have also learned how to listen to orders unquestioningly, but you still do not understand the weight of the responsibility on your shoulders.

  We are humanity’s last line of defense! Behind us are several tens of thousands of people, and they are the arc that will ensure the continuity of humanity. For your families, your parents, the people that you love, and people that love you, even if the order tells you to die, you have to die!"