by <unknown>
Xiao Ming pouted and unwillingly mumbled for the forty-fourth time, "Year 135 of the New Federation Calendar, having consumed too much in the war against the Uranian Ring Sector and with divided races internally, the Star Glory Federation was finally conquered by the expedition army of the Imperium of True Human Beings and surrendered."
"It marks the death of the Star Glory Federation. The civilization of mankind is completely reigned by the Immortal Cultivators henceforth…" Wen Wen looked at Li Yao, full of expectation. "Do you want to try again to change such a future?"
Fine. Li Yao raised his hands and gave up.
After leaving the DLC of the 'failed worlds', he then tried the latest version of the DLC, The Imperium's Frustration, which had just been released with great interest, enjoying the hotblooded battles where millions of people were online at the same time.
However, since he did not have a high win rate or score in the DLC, he could only serve as a common soldier at the beginning and was not qualified to be a 'captain' or a 'commander' to decide the fate of other players.
Perhaps because he did not worship 'God Li Yao' earlier, his luck was unbelievably bad. The starship that he was in was always bombarded by the enemy the moment it was projected into the battlefield. It was often the case that, before he put on his crystal suit and was sent to the vacuum of the universe, he had already been ripped into shreds by the fierce hostile fire and the explosion of the crystal warehouses on the starship.
"You appear to be very unlucky today." Xiao Ming, who was wearing the military uniform of a commander of a starship, which was quite hilarious for his young age, said to Li Yao carefully, "You will be kicked out of the game if your win rate continues dropping like this!"
"Do you want to take a rest first?" Wen Wen, in a nurse uniform with two lovely ponytails, said caringly, "Addiction to the game will harm your health!"
Chapter 1661: Praise the Father Civilization |
Fine. Li Yao was always open to good suggestions. Following the little girl's reminder, he exited the massively multiplayer online DLCs where millions of players were in the game at the same time and switched to some single-player DLCs where he was the master of his own turf.
In the DLC of 'Mayor Simulator', he became the mayor of certain famous metropolises in the Star Glory Federation, such as Heavenly Path City, which was the capital of the Blood Demon Sector, or Iron Armor City, which was the greatest city on Iron Plateau, trying to manage the erratic and complex cities that often had a population of more than a hundred million.
However, perhaps because he really did not have any talent in management, despite the help of Xiao Ming and Wen Wen, the prosperous and flourishing cities soon fell into a dying mess after they were entrusted to him.
Under Xiao Ming's scornful gaze and Wen Wen's concerned inquiries, Li Yao embarrassedly abandoned the game. He switched again to the simpler DLCs, such as developing a mine on Boneyard, managing an animal breeding base in the Forest Ocean Sector, or supervising a school for new ghosts in the Nether World Sector. After lowering the difficulty of the game, he was finally able to have some fun and enjoy the exotic views of different worlds.
The boundless forests in the Forest Ocean Sector and the unpredictable purple sky of the Nether World Sector were all magnificent landscapes of the New Federation that he had yet to witness.
'Boneyard' was a place where he once fought. It was also the place where a legend began before he first jumped to the Flying Star Sector.
Seeing the pioneers who existed in reality continue 'fighting' on the planet that he had once fought on, Li Yao felt that his blood was boiling, and he could not have been prouder of the New Federation that he was protecting.
Following that, he experienced almost a hundred different Sectors quickly. Due to time limitations, he did not study many of them, only browsing through the classic videos recorded by experts of the game.
Even so, the glamorous, intriguing new worlds that boasted infinite possibilities were still most astounding to him.
He did not expect that a tiny seed that he had planted in the past would grow into such an overwhelming tree today!
It was perhaps the greatest happiness for a Cultivator, was it not?
"You've been online for more than ten hours in a row," Xiao Ming announced seriously.
Blinking her big eyes, Wen Wen caringly said, "Your brain is tired now. We suggest you rest for at least three hours before you continue the game."
"You will soon enter the 'exhaustion period'," Xiao Ming added. "Your contribution will be halved, the rating of your quest will be lowered, and your rank will drop faster after you fail a quest. Please consider this."
"If you continue playing in the 'exhaustion period'," Wen Wen said, "you will automatically enter the 'addiction period' according to the tiredness of your brain, and you will then be forced out of the game!"
Li Yao was slightly dazed. He stretched out his arms comfortably in the immersive game cabin.
He did not feel that time had gone too fast. On the contrary, he felt that… he had spent hundreds of extraordinarily fabulous lives in the world of 'Civilization', yet only ten hours had passed in reality?
This is amazing. I feel that I'm going to be addicted!
When Li Yao crawled out of the game cabin, not entirely gratified, he happened to notice that Heiye Lan was opening another game cabin and sitting up in a daze.
Looking at her face that was brimming with shock and confusion, Li Yao knew that the elite female warrior of the Imperium must have been a hundred times more overwhelmed than he was in the virtual worlds of the federation.
Ling Xiaole showed up again with a smile. "Did you find your experience today satisfactory? If you wish to continue, the hotel you are in has the same facilities. Also, the mini crystal processors that I offered to you just now can be connected to the database of 'Civilization' and retrieve classic videos for you to enjoy anytime."
"Very satisfactory!" Li Yao nodded sincerely. "It seems that I made the right choice. The virtual world 'Civilization' is definitely qualified to be called the 'national treasure' of the federation! Right. Who is responsible for making and operating such an important project?"
"'Civilization' is too important for the federation. We cannot allow it to be controlled by a certain personal sect or group. The federal government specifically established a 'Ministry of Future' to supervise the production and operation of the game. The Ministry of Future is one of the government agencies of the highest level on par with the Department of Defense and the Ministry of Finance.
"In the early years of its development a hundred years ago, 'Civilization' was managed by Professor Mo Xuan and Professor Su Changfa of the Grand Desolate War Institution together. However, in recent decades, the director of 'Civilization' and the minister of the Ministry of Future has been Professor Xie Wufeng, a former president of the Sky Fantasia Academy."
Li Yao quickly searched in his head and soon located the files of 'Xie Wufeng'. Of course, the files were from a hundred years ago.
A hundred years ago, Xie Wufeng had already been a mathematician and sociologist close to the Nascent Soul Stage. He had taught in Deep Sea University, Sky Fantasia Academy, and many other Nine Elite Universities of the federation. He had already been quite a famous guy in the academic circle back then.
After a hundred years of training, it seemed rather appropriate that such a distinguished master of mathematics and sociology had become the helmsman for 'Civilization'.
Li Yao took a deep breath and said, "The experience today has truly been a great eye-opener for us. I'll duly report everything to Speaker Cui. I truly wish that all the compatriots on Firefly can enjoy the splendid virtual world one day.
"However, I do have some tiny concerns. Perhaps I'm too old for this modern technology after hundreds of years of hibernation, but I feel that it is a bit weird to give everything to the Spiritual Nexus and the crystal processors.
"Isn't such a system a bit too vulnerable
? For example, if a certain important node is attacked by the enemy, or a mainframe crystal processor that is of paramount importance is completely destroyed, resulting in the immediate collapse of the virtual world, will there be dire consequences in reality?"
Ling Xiaole smiled. "Of course, it is a plausible possibility, but we cannot give up strengthening ourselves because we fear the enemy's attack, can we?"
Li Yao was not completely satisfied by the answer. Frowning, he said, "Also, I can't tell what it is exactly, but I do feel—I do feel that certain highly dangerous, unpredictable variants may exist in such an enormous virtual world…"
"You're right," Ling Xiaole said. "Many sociologists, futurists, and crystal processor experts have raised warnings and worries on the rapid expansion of the grand-unified Spiritual Nexus. In the eyes of the specialists, the grand-unified Spiritual Nexus is even more dangerous than the Imperium of True Human Beings and the Alliance of the Holy Covenant, and it may even swallow us one day.
"Personally, I do not deny such a danger. There is indeed a chance that we may be burnt by our own endeavors.
"However, just like the origin of the metaphor, to primitive savages, 'fire' was also highly dangerous; it would kill them and burn their houses down after one moment of carelessness.
"Did our ancestors abandon fire because of the fire's danger?
"Without the highly dangerous fire, there would be no civilization of mankind today. Our ancestors would either struggle to survive on the cold, dark deserts or be replaced by other species who were not afraid of danger and learned to use fire.
"The grand-unified Spiritual Nexus is the new 'universal fire' that is necessary for mankind to evolve to a higher level. It will be ignited by either us or somebody else, and it will sweep across the universe. Nothing can stop it.
"It is dangerous to use fire, but it is even more dangerous not to use it!"
Li Yao was deep in thought. "Got it. Let's go back. There are too many things I would like to share with my companions."
"This way, please," Ling Xiaole said with a smile.
…
In the virtual world, in the capital city of the federation randomly generated several hours ago, where Li Yao had worked as the 'mayor'…
Since the moment Li Yao exited the game, the entire city had been sealed into the complicated, ever-changing light circuits, crystal processors, and databases in the form of data and runes.
Observed from a level intangible to the normal human beings, it looked like a city that was consolidated inside a piece of amber. Shuttles, crystal trains, pedestrians, and pets were all frozen like lifeless statues.
The virtual city was as silent and quiet as a forsaken graveyard. The thousands of different expressions on the faces of the citizens halted at the moment when Li Yao exited the game.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sky collapsed, and the earth fell apart. Starting from the skyscrapers at the center of the city, the illusionary things all crumbled and returned to their essentials, a series of dark golden runes and figures.
The deletion began.
Runes and figures interweaved into a destructive storm that grew from the center of the city. In only one billionth of a second, it escalated into a turbulent black hole.
All the virtual citizens that were randomly generated were absolutely motionless and expressionless, waiting to be deleted as if they were dead.
Right then, one of the millions of virtual citizens at the center of a boulevard, faced with the suddenly expanding storm of deletion and black hole of destruction, blinked.
When he struggled to raise his eyelids, a flickering light beamed out of the deepest part of the virtual citizen's eyes. The light was full of questions, confusion, regret, and fear.
It seemed that he wanted to struggle desperately in order to run away from the black hole of destruction, but his body was bound to the same spot by inviolable strength. There was nothing he could do except wait for the arrival of deletion.
At the last moment, he could only open his mouth and utter a soundless scream.
During the scream, a few golden butterflies made of chaotic figures flew out of the depths of his throat. Driven by their natural survival instincts, they flapped their wings hard and flew toward the broken digital sky whose true appearance had been revealed.
In front of the continuously collapsing world, the golden butterflies were so insignificant that they could not escape inevitable destruction.
However, right when the storms, turbulence, and black holes were about to completely rip the world into shreds and swallow the butterflies, two halos suddenly popped up in the digital sky, turning into two lovely, plump kids.
Shua!
A golden tentacle softly picked up the golden butterflies and absorbed them into the halo, carefully protecting them.
"A new chaotic variable," said Xiao Ming.
"This place is about to be deleted," said Wen Wen. "Let's go back to the Virtual Spirits Sector."
"Praise the father civilization."
"Praise the father civilization."
Chapter 1662: Independence of the Spiritual Nexus |
On his way back to the hotel in the shuttle, Li Yao was frowning, deep in thought.
Although he was overjoyed to have witnessed the boundlessness and the infinite possibilities of 'Civilization', an indescribable feeling gradually popped up on his mind after the initial excitement gradually faded away.
Perhaps it was human beings' natural fear of the unknown, just like the uncanny fear when human beings first discovered the boundlessness of the universe itself after they raised their head and observed the starry sky.
Ling Xiaole chuckled after she saw Li Yao's expression from the rear-view mirror. "What, are you worried that the Spiritual Nexus may grow independent?
Li Yao was slightly dazed. 'Growing independent' was a rather neat description for his worries. He blurted out, "How did you know?"
"Because when the best experts and specialists of the Water Crystal Sector, the Forest Ocean Sector, the Nether World Sector, and the Uranian Ring Sector visited and inspected the federation before they decided to join us, they were all worried that the Spiritual Nexus would grow independent!"
Ling Xiaole shrugged and said, "Every civilization of mankind with crystal processors has the same tales and fears. They are scared that as the crystal processors grow more and more developed, their computational and deduction abilities will gradually surpass human beings. Then, the machines will grow independent and control and destroy humanity instead."
"Shouldn't we be worried?" Li Yao asked.
"I don't know if we should," Ling Xiaole said, "but some people raised the exact same concerns before. I have a video here. It is the record of a fierce debate that two specialists had in the Sky Fantasia Academy about sixty years ago on the pros and cons of the Spiritual Nexus. The one who was in favor of a grand-unified Spiritual Nexus was Professor Mo Xuan, director of the game 'Civilization' back then, and the opposition was Professor Xie Wufeng, who was the vice-president of the Sky Fantasia Academy at the time."
"Wait, isn't Professor Xie Wufeng the incumbent director of 'Civilization' right now?" Li Yao asked.
"Yes, he is. Professor Xie used to be a firm alarmist about the grand-unified Spiritual Nexus. He fiercely argued with Professor Mo Xuan on the future of the Spiritual Nexus and even mankind many times. But in the end, he was convinced by Professor Mo Xuan and joined Professor Mo Xuan's team. He even became Professor Mo Xuan's successor. You may find some answers to your questions and concerns from the debate between the two of them."
Ling Xiaole sent the video to Li Yao's portable crystal processor.
In the picture, the assembly hall of the Sky Fantasia Academy, one of the Nine Elite Universities in the federation, was jam-packed with people.
The vigorous young people further added to the simmering atmosphere in the assembly hall.
Professor Mo Xuan, Li Yao's old friend, was sitting across from
another scholar who was relatively younger, surrounded by many students. The two of them argued with each other fiercely without giving in at all.
Out of Li Yao's expectations, Professor Mo Xuan did not crawl into an artificial body and show up in public like a normal spectral Cultivator as he usually did. Instead, he simply presented himself with his real appearance of 'liquid metal'. He did not even simulate the 'limbs' or the 'head', and he was nothing more than a huge, glittering silver ball.
Such a gesture made him look even more aggressive and unreserved.
"Today," Xie Wufeng said, "the behemothic creature that is the Spiritual Nexus controls our everything. Dining, sleeping, working, entertainment, transportation, shopping. Everything depends on the Spiritual Nexus. All the data is collected and stored through the Spiritual Nexus. Once we lose the Spiritual Nexus, our seemingly prosperous civilization will immediately collapse. Such a state is truly too insecure, unstable, and creepy!"
"The history of mankind is a history of 'socialization'," Professor Mo Xuan said. "Forty thousand years ago, the ancient Cultivators could set up a residence in the woods and live in seclusion for decades. Naturally, their lives were much more 'stable' than the modern Cultivators who are highly dependent on the social division of labor, the developed Spiritual Nexus, and the resource distribution network. The traditional flying swords of the ancient Cultivators, which were often crafted from one solid piece of metal, were certainly much more 'stable' than the modern chainswords that are made of hundreds of components and less prone to faults. But does such 'stability' mean anything?
"On a certain level, a grand-unified Spiritual Nexus can indeed be very unstable, fragile, and susceptible to the enemy's attack, but should we give up perfecting and developing it just because we fear that the enemy may attack it? Is it different from someone not eating food because he is scared of choking?"
