Finally, Ninety-Seven slowly opened his eyes; the clan leader had succeeded.
" Chief of Staff Wen, General, Academician Zeng, Academician Xiao, Academician Liu, and Academician Li, you're all here. I... I feel like I've been asleep for a long time."
"Prince." The clan chief finally spoke. Ninety-Seven's gaze was not even looking at the Tree Race chief, but was fixed on Hu Yu and the others.
"Ah, Chieftain, what brings you here too?"
" Ninety-Seven, it's not the clan chief who's here; we brought you here. Have you forgotten? You sacrificed yourself to save us, and we brought you here to the clan chief," Wen Zhonghua reminded him.
"Clan leader! Clan leader!" Ninety-Seven finally remembered everything.
"My child, you have suffered so much!"
"Clan leader, it was my fault. I shouldn't have disobeyed the Grand Elder. After all these years, I've only just realized that the Grand Elder meant well for me. Grand Elder, I'm sorry."
"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back. It's just a pity that we don't have the ability to find you. I've secretly gone out a few times over the years, but the Milky Way is just too big, and we are special, so we don't dare to travel in a big way. So every time we returned empty-handed." Grand Elder Zhigu's voice already sounded very tired.
"Prince, why don't you quickly thank your friends? They must have gone to great lengths to find us and save you," the chieftain said.
"General, thank you!"
" Ninety-Seven, the clan chief said we're friends. Since we're friends, helping each other is only natural; there's no need for thanks."
"General, how long have I been asleep? And how did you find this place? Even I had a hard time finding it."
"You sleep a long time. It's been almost 5,000 years since the war with the Wind Star Civilization. Fortunately, technology has advanced in recent years, otherwise we really wouldn't have been able to find this place."
"Almost 5000 years! General, have you broken through to the Small Star Sector Civilization?"
"You could say that the technology has reached that level, but the combat capability hasn't been improved yet."
Upon hearing Hu Yu's words, the clan leader and Grand Elder Zhigu exchanged a glance.
"General, don't you still have a member of your clan who needs saving?"
"Yes, Chieftain, but my people's situation is somewhat different from the prince's."
"It's alright, General. Please have someone carry your man out; we'll help you rescue him immediately."
"Then I'll have to trouble the clan chief."
"Clan leader! Let's call another elder," said Ninety-Seven.
"Prince, it's alright. Human bodies aren't like ours; saving him won't consume much energy. The Grand Elder and I are enough. The other elders are already extremely exhausted; we don't know how long it will take them to recover."
"Chieftain, we are also very eager to save our people, but if the strain is truly unbearable, please don't force it."
"Don't worry, General, I can still hold on."
Medical staff had already lifted Zhang Yuanshan up, and the Treefolk used branches to swirl Zhang Yuanshan into the air.
"General, your people do indeed have a very serious problem."
Is there any way?
"It can be saved, but I am no longer able to hold on. I can only leave it to the other elders."
"Chieftain, didn't you say it wouldn't require much energy?" Ninety-Seven asked.
"I originally thought it wouldn't require much, but now it seems that the cost of rescuing the General's clan might be even greater than what you've already done."
"How is this possible? How can their small bodies contain so much energy?"
"Prince, the general's clansman is in a special situation; he has extra energy in his brain."
"Chief, we have scanned his brain and found no energy problems," Academician Zeng said.
"Yes, overall, the brain energy of your people remains unchanged. Although we haven't developed technology, we're not technologically illiterate either. We still know some basic things. Positive and negative energy are constantly being created and annihilated in a vacuum. However, if positive and negative energy are separated, they cannot annihilate each other and become physical energy. When this energy is placed in two different particles, it will cause abnormal particle energy. From a macroscopic perspective, the brain is still normal."
"Chieftain, if particles contain energy, they should change. However, our people's brains have not changed at all over the years."
"Yes, that's true. But if the energy is too subtle, this change won't occur. Also, the negative energy in the brain particles of your people is very special; they seem to be fixed in place, not reacting to the positive energy around them."
"Chieftain, how can I save my people?"
"It requires extremely delicate energy processing. I know your technology is already very advanced, but the risk is still very high if you attempt to process it; the slightest mistake could damage the brain's structure."
"Then I'll have to trouble the clan leader and elders."
Indeed, humanity has reached a very advanced level in handling microscopic matters, and the technology for maintaining the body is also very mature. Current medical technology can easily replace cells and tissues of various organs, except for the brain. The brain has always been a forbidden zone, and even with the current level of technology, it is impossible to replace the entire brain, not only in the medical field but also in the realm of consciousness.
Zhang Yuanshan 'Zhang Yuanshan body had been transported to a distant place by long branches, where the elders there personally processed his brain.
"General, there's no need for thanks. However, I'll have to trouble you to wait a while; it might take a thousand years."
"The clan chief has done his utmost to help; it is only right that we express our gratitude."
"General, now that you've arrived at our Tree Race, please rest for a while. Although we lack technology, we do have a council hall for our daily communication. If you don't mind, I'll escort you there."
"Okay, we'd also like to see the wonders of the Tree Race."
The clan leader's branch fluttered again, directly rolling up Hu Yu and the others, along with Ninety-Seven, and passing them to the clansmen next to them. This feeling of floating on clouds made Hu Yu and the others dizzy and almost vomit.
After a few minutes, the branches finally led the group into a huge grove of trees. This enormous grove, entirely constructed of branches, reached a height of several hundred meters. The only difference between inside and outside was that the light was slightly dim; there was no sense of confinement.
Dozens of treants, still over 30 meters tall, were already waiting in this so-called council hall. It seemed that these simplified versions of treants were branches of the clan leader and his people. Back then, Ninety-Seven had also controlled countless branches, creating a scene where an entire planet was filled with treants. Hu Yu had witnessed this firsthand, so seeing the branches of the clan leader and elders now was no longer surprising.
"Chieftain, the Tree Race is indeed extraordinary," Hu Yu praised.
"It's just a little trick. Ultimately, these are all plant functions. We evolved from plants, and these things are innate to us. Please, have a seat."
After the clan chief finished speaking, branches tumbled in the council hall, weaving dozens of seats suitable for humans to sit on. The clan chief gestured for everyone to sit down.