Crossing Time and Space

Zhang Hao suddenly understood. A physical body can die, but if the soul has a suitable vessel, it can achieve eternal life!

So that's how it is!

He shared his realization with Mifeng.

Eternal life? Impossible. You are a carbon-based lifeform. Replicating your lifeform is possible, but there's a crucial issue: if your soul grows too powerful to fit within your current vessel, it will collapse. There's a matching problem.

However, you don't need to worry too much. You can live for a very, very long time. Perhaps by then, you won't be able to bear living anymore.

Zhang Hao considered this. Living for a thousand years might indeed make one weary and wish for death.

Here's a suggestion: just live in the moment!

Zhang Hao had to admit Mifeng's words were very true. Thinking too far ahead felt a bit foolish. He was, after all, a billionaire, and a billionaire who got his wealth for free... Thinking about it was quite exhilarating. Who could compare to his life's journey?

After some mental preparation, Zhang Hao felt much better.

Then Zhang Hao asked, "What kind of medium is the dwelling for the soul, the so-called vessel?"

There are quite a few types of soul dwellings, but ours is very special, unlike any other!

It's a peculiar crystal, known as a soul crystal. You'll understand when you get to use it. Would you like to try?

Zhang Hao hesitated. After a pause, he said, "If I try, how long will it take?"

It won't take long. Once you enter the spacetime bridgehead, I can anchor it to a specific time. When you return, it will be the same point in time. The time difference, before and after, will only be a few hours to a few days. So, relative to your world, as long as you're in the bridgehead, you don't need to worry about external time.

Of course, I can also synchronize the time with the outside. It depends on the need. That's the power of the bridgehead.

Zhang Hao understood every sentence, but when put together, he couldn't grasp it. This defied logic. Could time stop? Wasn't that ridiculous?

Even though Zhang Hao couldn't understand, he didn't deny it, because everything Mifeng brought was almost beyond his comprehension. "Alright, alright. So, you mean we don't need to consider the factor of time?"

Yes!

Regardless, this statement relieved Zhang Hao. If he went away for years and returned to find everything changed, he wouldn't be able to handle it. He sighed, "Amazing! You can even control time!"

Anyone who can enter the river of spacetime must be able to control time, otherwise, how could they enter? You don't need to worry about this; you wouldn't understand anyway!

Zhang Hao rolled his eyes repeatedly. He really had nothing to say about this. Based on Mifeng's displayed abilities, he seemed truly omnipotent.

"How do we try it?" Having reached this point, Zhang Hao was actually very curious.

The first time will be a short stay. Yes, I will accompany you. This is a sub-bridgehead on a branch planet, left from before and needs to be restarted.

Zhang Hao was surprised. "There's another bridgehead?"

Of course. Otherwise, how would we get there? There were many sub-bridgeheads in the past, but some were neglected. If they are to be used, they must be restarted. The main bridgehead we are currently in was also restarted last month. I've been trapped in this world for too long...

Zhang Hao asked, "Uh, are you human?"

After the accident, I'm no longer considered human. If this planet hadn't developed the internet, I wouldn't have been able to find a collaborator and would have been trapped here forever. It's a sad story, so let's not dwell on it. We can start now.

The conversion platform reappeared. Let's try it!

You can go up.

Zhang Hao approached the black pillar and reached out to touch it. Instantly, his entire body lost control again. The sensation was terrifying, but experiencing it for the second time made Zhang Hao much calmer, no longer as helpless as the first time.

A dazzling light enveloped him, and Zhang Hao found himself floating inside a transparent pillar. Then, his vision went black, and he felt himself drifting, losing all sensation.

A red dot appeared before his eyes. Zhang Hao's thoughts didn't stop. As he wondered how he could get out, his vision suddenly brightened.

Then Zhang Hao felt a sense of stability. He could perceive his surroundings again, not with his eyes, but through a peculiar sensation. A stream of thought surged into his soul.

Holy crap!

Zhang Hao immediately understood. His body had been replaced. He was now housed within a strange machine, which he could control smoothly. Strangely, he could clearly perceive everything about this machine, such as its six legs, or perhaps six arms, and its seven body segments.

Then, he sensed the presence of the soul crystal, which was housed within and possessed a certain degree of shapeshifting ability.

Immediately after, Zhang Hao saw another identical machine beside him, capable of communication! It was Mifeng. In an instant, Zhang Hao had a revelation.

It was almost identical to the previous spacetime bridgehead, with the only difference being the conversion platform.

It was a white, square platform, about three meters off the ground, a large cube with sides of twelve meters. The machine, or rather, the machine-bug, where his soul was housed, was about three meters long – quite a large fellow.

"Great God, is that you?"

Although he was certain it was Mifeng, Zhang Hao couldn't help but ask. Of course, this wasn't spoken aloud, but a form of communication he couldn't comprehend. He was also very clear that the machine-bug beside him was definitely Mifeng.

"Nonsense, who else would it be!"

Receiving the reply, although he sensed Mifeng's impatience, Zhang Hao was still very happy. As a human, having a companion instantly relieved the loneliness of his soul.

Zhang Hao was actually extremely nervous and uneasy. His soul's fluctuations were chaotic. There were too many uncertainties, too many unfamiliar things. If he were alone, his soul would likely collapse before long.

Mifeng transmitted an intelligent control program to Zhang Hao, allowing him to truly control this machine-bug.

For some inexplicable reason, Zhang Hao understood many things.

Most importantly, he truly understood the meaning of Mifeng's cooperation with him!

The concept of a three-seven split wasn't just about splitting profits three-seven, but about sharing everything with Mifeng on a three-seven basis! This was truly a massive gain.

Of course, Mifeng still held the primary control of the spacetime bridgehead, with a seventy percent share and first control.

And Zhang Hao had second control!

Zhang Hao now clearly understood that Mifeng possessed six bridgeheads! Aside from the main bridgehead entered from Blue Star, the other five branch spacetime bridgeheads were all closed. He didn't know what Mifeng had gone through to be out of control for so long.

The current temporary host, a mechanical bug, could only be occupied for a maximum of two hours. After two hours, he would have to return and wait for the next opportunity to possess a host.

The reason for this temporary hosting was the universality of this type of mechanical bug; any soul could inhabit it. However, the drawback was also obvious: it couldn't last long. This limitation applied specifically to Zhang Hao because his soul was too fragile and not powerful enough.

If Zhang Hao possessed a super-powerful soul, the duration of inhabitation would be entirely different, potentially lasting years or even decades.

Mifeng and Zhang Hao's conversation didn't require spoken words. Whatever Mifeng thought, Zhang Hao could immediately receive it; they were telepathically linked.

After a brief period of adjustment, the two mechanical bugs crawled off the conversion platform. Initially, the mechanical bug controlled by Zhang Hao was a bit unsteady, but he quickly adapted to it and his speed began to match up.