Ah, My Friend, Goodbye

Chapter 49: 2.06 Chapter Ah, My Friend, Goodbye

Pandora Era Year 137, March, Upper Reaches of the Great River, Yu City. This natural city, once situated on the upper levels of the mountains and neatly divided into modules by giant trees, was now preparing with great fervor.

On the Great River, tortoise shell ships fifty meters long sailed on the water. These "ships" had no propellers, paddle wheels, or sails. Instead, beneath their hulls, rows of turtle-like paddle limbs engaged in a Dragon Boat Mode of oar-like sliding.

These ships were also a form of livestock, aquatic hauling livestock.

They were currently carrying waves of supplies towards the Lower Reaches of the Yellow River and Dongting Lake. Of course, this also included batches of stitched beasts resting in the recessed areas of the tortoise shell ship decks.

As these ships passed, they emitted sounds in a special frequency band. The trees on the high cliffs on both banks received these sounds and transmitted them downstream. This system formed a communication network more efficient than "carrier pigeon" networks.

Looking at the current state of Yu City, it resembled a mobilized human collective.

In fact, the central consciousness of the gene colony in Yu City did not deny being human.

Within the ancient architecture of the civilization era that formed its core ruling area, it collected a vast number of books from the old era; these were its favorites.

It was precisely because of this that when facing the traditional city-states and kingdoms in the downstream reaches of the Great River and the Yellow River, the Yu City consciousness would refer to them as Old Human, while calling itself the Orthodox Descendants of Humanity.

Humanity possesses the Self-Preservation and Supremacy Trait—the more cohesive it is within its own group, the more it repels similar groups outside. Thus, humans are a rare species in the natural world that is organized and carries out "thorough purges" against other similar groups.

From humanity's own perspective: many aspects of human society, with even slight changes, would create an Uncanny Valley Effect, making humans of a previous era difficult to understand.

The colony in Yu City had industry, they just didn't like it. But they would activate it when necessary, such as now. Upstream of Yu City, large smelting buildings were being reopened.

These hundreds of meters tall pyramids, with their combustion chambers at the exit points ignited, began to glow red inside. Charcoal was added from the sloped entrance.

And on the land surrounding the pyramids, bare-stemmed plants began to grow. Across several square kilometers of land, as the plants exchanged air, the earth showed faint undulations. These air currents eventually converged through plant pipelines several meters thick within the earth, feeding into the vent at the base of the pyramids and injecting into the center of the towers, thereby increasing the furnace temperature. Ultimately, molten steel would be produced inside the tall towers.

Industrialization, for humans in the civilization era, was a social attribute. Once productivity developed to the Industrial Age, because the material needs of everyone in society were unleashed, global productivity had to operate to continuously satisfy this supply demand.

But in reality, humanity's innate nature, residual from the Primitive Era, was a constraint against industrialization, as maintaining industrial manufacturing and services stifled the sense of freedom for humans.

Therefore, after industrialization was complete, developed regions would accumulate wealth and immediately transfer manufacturing, maintaining their own freedom while pushing labor onto other regions.

Of course, to permanently maintain this comfort, they used patent technology to remotely control production in external regions, then used financial means, that is, to set up a market maker, allowing these emerging manufacturing regions to gamble. A single harvest would cause the capital (credit) of the emerging regions to flow away, forcing them to continue working for themselves, satisfying the unmet needs of their own side.

Thus, one could see that the developed regions' societies before the Pandora Era were in this contradiction between "consumer demand" and "anti-production constraint." The latter caused them to completely atrophy a large portion of their industry, maintaining only baseline high-tech industries to ensure world order to supply their former. In the end, they grandly called it "I innovate, you labor, global division of labor."

However, the human gene colonies in Yu City, in a certain sense, had achieved "evolution," resolving this contradiction!

They could completely atrophy their industry when it was unnecessary! And they could suddenly restore industry when needed.

Imagine: a human collective develops to the point where it can build aircraft carriers, possessing a complete industrial system for oil refining, steelmaking, and more. After a war, these industrial systems are completely sealed off. There's no need for military to civilian conversion, no need to build small cars, no need to maintain a vast logistics system. The social operating costs are reduced to the absolute minimum because everyone can return to small-scale farming and handicraft, leading to an extremely high happiness index. And when needed, they can suddenly transform into various artisans, dedicating themselves entirely to species combat!

Old Master Wei Keng, for one, could not comprehend such a form, which was called the "Elf Race."

The human gene colonies of Yu City had shed "industrialization" as a social attribute, turning it into a "social tool" that could be picked up and put down. This was one of the reasons the fused humans believed they had "surpassed Old Human Civilization."

In just two years.

The Fused Humans in Yu City have recovered from the handicraft of "inserting wooden poles into animals" and stitching "human bodies and biological organisms" to the level of forging and cutting steel using steam and hydraulics. Militarily, the generation of nitrated substances has also increased. This community has gradually activated its combat mode.

However, Yu City's transformation is not entirely due to the threat posed by Wei Keng. It's because the gene colony in the Dongting Lake region was severely damaged when it moved south! It can now be annexed.

[One can refer to the Freedom Eagles of the New Continent: The period of peak industrial capacity was during World War I and II, because external instability created opportunities for profit, thus stimulating industrial explosion. But if the external region is stable, even if the military forces of that stable region can be crushed by oneself, if it cannot be occupied, there is no need to ramp up production.]

In August, after the Unified Punishment Army Group integrated the economy of the Yue Region.

The gene colony of Yu City also conducted a purge in Dongting Lake, completing a strategic replacement.

The amphibian genes originally in Dongting Lake were replaced by genes similar to otters, while the red-crowned crane genes that stood on long legs on the lake surface were replaced by diving duck species! Well, these ducks have four feet, two for paddling and two like eagle claws that directly hook onto targets, exhausting them and then dragging the prey ashore to be eaten by their claws.

On a boat on Dongting Lake, Long Ximin stood on the water. Her clothing was not silk but was made of long cotton fiber threads connecting palm-sized scales. These fish scales were very lustrous, and in the 21st century, they would be considered "hornbill bone" or "tortoiseshell." Of course, because the scales had gaps, her fair skin could be seen as she moved.

Ten kilometers away from Long Ximin's location was where Qi Shengxun and the Dongting gene colony had merged two years ago. The traces of the giant monster that had swallowed Qi Shengxun on the tidal flat were long gone. Instead, Long Ximin's Armored Beast Legion was constantly pecking at the mudflats, devouring the last Dongting Gene Organisms remaining in the mud.

She was now looking south. The Dongting Lake gene colony had already split, and the remaining parts had divided into several small colonies, beginning to flee towards the east and west. The passage had been opened, and she had to go there to complete her mission.

The perspective returned to the south, where development represented another direction for humanity after the end of the Pandora Era.

Perhaps it would also become a colony. Wei Keng, as the leader in this direction, did not reduce the social attribute of "industrialization" but instead prepared to make "industrialization" a "constant temperature" attribute for his human colony. -- Wei Keng: "No matter what humanity becomes, the practical ability to achieve the grand dream must become stronger and stronger."

Maintaining industrialization as a constant "constant temperature" required a stable energy supply. Therefore, Wei Keng invested a great deal of effort in this project, attempting to make this power station practical, meaning that besides himself, others could perform routine maintenance.

Now, outside the Fourth Experimental Power Station, a large number of Glass Window Ecological Laboratories have been established. Here, like the plant ecological pods of a spaceship, under the influence of the radiation field of methanogen proliferation, the organisms in these glass grids endure the life radiation emanating from the biogas as it proliferates to its peak. These individual grid plants act as radiation shielding buffer layers and also as "indicators."

Of course, in addition to establishing biological protective belts on these facilities, Wei Keng also developed corresponding personal protective measures.

The personal protective measures are roughly as follows: Workers here, two days before work, reduce their intake of dietary fiber, especially avoiding fungi; drink carbonated beverages and consume small amounts of protein blocks as water and energy supplements; and use beverages made from filtered fresh plant juice produced within the facility as vitamin supplements.

After Wei Keng collected this data, the professional science team from the Desperate Plane also completed the design of the Second Phase Biogas Digester.

The Desperate Plane invited the engineering team from the nuclear power plant, and through the wormhole, they also provided relevant suggestions based on the situation.

Most activities that might be exposed to life radiation can be directly completed by machinery controlled by cables. A series of standard operating procedures were summarized, including material feeding, dilution by water injection, and rapid shutdown.

When the Second Phase Bio-Power Station was completed, Wei Keng looked at the metal tower at the center of the circular biogas digesters. The upper part of the tower was connected to dozens of liquid extraction tanks and material feeding tanks. These tanks were interconnected by metal pipelines, arranged in a hexagonal symmetry.

As Wei Keng stood on a nearby rooftop overlooking the construction achievements, he suddenly felt something strange. He had a feeling that before coming to the Shenzhou Plane, he had seen this design in some data archives.

While Wei Keng was pondering this issue, Bai Linglu had already filled in the name in the data archive – Biochemical Reactor.

The color of this term was purple, and clicking on it revealed a hyperlink. Bai Linglu also sent the remaining technologies: including Super Robust Biochemical Human Warriors and Large Combat Organisms (with a picture of a giant squid). Under these technologies, a small note indicated: These are technologies applicable to the Shenzhou Plane.

Old Master Wei Keng's mouth twitched. This was a timeline adjacent to Shenzhou Plane, where biochemical technology had developed to a considerable extent. The system's suggested solution had clearly borrowed existing technology from there.

Due to Senior Luo Hongxing's suggestion, Bai Linglu was now also trying to guide things subtly. However, what she was doing was still too obvious.

After seeing this information, Wei Keng's mind reacted defensively: "Is this encouraging me to go back to Shenzhou Plane and stir up trouble? I seem to be becoming more and more 'biochemical' in this plane. Am I... unknowingly becoming more tolerant of biochemical changes?"

Wei Keng idly played with his fingers, and without paying attention, his fingernails grew 1 centimeter in a few minutes. He quickly grabbed nail clippers and cut them off.

The individuals arranged by the Wei Keng Collective at the Swamp Bacteria Power Station had already shown signs of adapting to the life energy. Their fingernails could grow rapidly, and their hair could grow to their waist in a single day.

[As for other body hair, it could also grow, but letting it grow would make the body very itchy, so Wei Keng didn't allow it. This is like, if you trim the hair below, you'll get stubble that pricks your legs...]

Wei Keng found it difficult to judge whether he belonged to the non-human or ordinary category by a fixed standard. However, Wei Keng had always strived to be a person, a socially recognized individual.

Wei Keng could gather one percent of the vast life field of this biogas pool and focus its radiation on certain organisms to make them grow and recover quickly. Of course, he could also gather it on other people.

Nearby, there was a new hospital that had recently received seventeen cases of limb deformities.

For these people who were not part of his own group, Wei Keng resonated with them, meaning he sang the same songs.

Then they read shared books and exchanged insights.

Finally, these patients were injected with blood and integrated into the shared life field. The growth power of the swamp bacteria was transferred to these injured and disabled patients, allowing their wounds to heal.

This could be considered the most significant application at present, but~~~~~

Wei Keng was once worried about not being able to find a successor for this medical technology that only he could apply.

Just as Wei Keng was troubled by this, Luo Hongxing came a few days ago to alleviate his concerns, saying: "You are the node of this collective. The entire human collective will always have someone to maintain this technology."

On November 30th, Pandora Year 137, in the Life Radiation Sanatorium, after the life fluctuations of the last patient of the year normalized, In the hospital, Wei Keng closed his eyes and began to spread his life perception outwards.

When able to absorb the swamp bacteria radiation, the Wei Keng individuals here gained perception hundreds of times clearer than in other areas. They could even detect flocks of flying birds five kilometers away.

And now, Wei Keng was looking inward, experiencing the entanglement of his own life fluctuations with this world.

At this moment, Wei Keng "noticed" a door behind his life! This door was the node for traversing planes within his self-awareness.

He could now return at any time.

In the Pandora Plane, more and more things needed to be done. After the Standard Operating Procedure for the power station was confirmed, Wei Keng needed to guide the new workers through the operational procedures, which would take three months.

In addition, the latest soilless cultivation requires the selection and cultivation of dozens of crops.

Sun Xiangyang awarded Wei Keng so many boxes of labor medals that Wei Keng felt too embarrassed to shirk his responsibilities and leave.

Pandora Calendar Year 138, the fifth year, ninth month, and twenty-ninth day since Wei Keng's arrival.

The Pearl River banks, once a ruin, now boasted a large number of townships with a sense of openness, neat factory buildings, scattered residential buildings, and loudspeakers broadcasting on every street. The population that had stayed for over a month and intended to settle permanently reached 67,000 people. (Excluding the Wei Keng Collective)

But Wei Keng ultimately had to go back.

When Wei Keng could control the Life Radiation in the Pandora World, a Space Wormhole, powered by the world's life field, naturally appeared with a slight convergence.

And this was April 4th, Year 138.

This wormhole appeared to be of the same type as the one on Yuanhua 834.

Soon, Sun Xiangyang arrived with his people. They attempted to make contact and confirmed that the spacetime gate still exerted a repulsive force. However, they soon discovered that Wei Keng could approach the wormhole.

When one Wei Keng directly traversed through, all the Wei Keng instantly vanished from their original spots. But as the Wei Keng who passed through the spacetime gate returned, the Wei Keng who had disappeared reappeared.

Fifty minutes later, this Space Wormhole, having expanded to its maximum within an hour, began to slowly contract. Based on its trend, this wormhole was temporary and would completely contract in a few days.

The group discussed the spacetime gate for a while. Sun Xiangyang announced that everyone should leave, dispatched people to seal off the spacetime gate, and then declared a meeting.

Before the meeting, Sun Xiangyang had a conversation with the six representatives of the Wei Keng Collective in his office.

Sun Xiangyang asked frankly, "What are your plans?"

Wei Keng replied honestly, "I still really want to go back there. After all, my home is there."

Sun Xiangyang paused upon hearing this. As a man who had spent much of his life at sea, he understood Wei Keng and sighed, "Yes, home is over there."

Then, Sun Xiangyang said seriously to Wei Keng, "The organization will consider your personal needs, but for now, please trouble you to finish your last shift."

The six Wei Keng replied, "Yes!" and collectively saluted.

However, as Wei Keng was leaving, Sun Xiangyang asked one last question, "Comrade Wei!" Wei Keng couldn't help but stop.

Sun Xiangyang asked, "Will you, um, I mean, will we meet again?"

Wei Keng was slightly taken aback and after a few seconds, replied, "I think, probably."