"Now that the Grand Elder and I are old, the Prince must take over the task of revitalizing the Tree Race. So, though the reality is harsh, this is the only way we can do it."
"Chieftain, stop talking, we know what to do," the two Ninety-Seven said simultaneously.
"Clan leader, which of the two princes can retain his self-awareness?" Hu Yu asked, though deep down Hu Yu hoped that Ninety-Seven could retain his self-awareness.
"I don't know either. This kind of thing has never happened before in the history of the Tree Race, so we can't predict or control the outcome. Let's leave it to fate."
"General, if my consciousness fades, please allow me to take care of the Tree Race."
" Ninety-Seven, be more confident."
Compared to Ninety-Seven, the other Ninety-Seven was much calmer. Perhaps he had experienced more, and he would not hesitate to sacrifice himself for the rise of the Tree Race.
"Let's begin, clan leader, elder, and..." Ninety-Seven pointed to Ninety-Seven next to Hu Yu and said.
"Go on, Ninety-Seven," Hu Yu encouraged.
Two figures, Ninety-Seven tall, stood together. This was their true form. Although the Grand Elder and the Tree Race Chief were not in their true forms, their branches were also over a hundred meters tall. They used their energy to squeeze the two Ninety-Seven together. The two Ninety-Seven looked to be in great pain, but they were both enduring it.
A dozen minutes later, the two Ninety-Seven completely merged together. This amazing thing was something almost no one would believe if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes. From a physical point of view, both Ninety-Seven are matter. It is not impossible to merge two identical substances, but the volume and state of the matter will change after fusion. However, the merged Ninety-Seven did not show this change. Its shape and appearance were exactly the same as the original.
From a microscopic perspective, the overall density of the merged Ninety-Seven has doubled, the molecular arrangement is more compact, and the internal space has also doubled. This space is filled with energy from Grand Elder Zhigu and the Tree Race Chief. In Ninety-Seven's mind, the two consciousnesses did not repel and devour each other as everyone guessed, but instead combined closely to form a new consciousness.
The clan leader and the Grand Elder stopped, both looking completely exhausted. It seemed that the fusion had consumed a lot of their energy. The twigs and leaves of their clones had withered. On the other planet, the clan leader and the Grand Elder were in no better condition, with withered branches and leaves scattered all over the ground.
"General, General." Suddenly, a voice rang in Hu Yu's mind.
" Ninety-Seven!" Hu Yu exclaimed happily, "You're still here!"
"Yes," Ninety-Seven said. "Clan Chief, Grand Elder, thank you."
"Did you succeed, Prince?"
"Yes, clan leader, my internal space has returned to normal."
"That's good, that's good. Our Tree Race finally has hope of rising again. By the way, prince, what are you now...?"
"Chieftain, you're asking about self-awareness, aren't you? Actually, both self-awarenesses exist; they're both me. It's just that I have an additional part of my growth experience in my mind. Chieftain, I will definitely lead the Tree Race to rise again in the future."
"Prince, there's no need to wait for the future. The Grand Elder and I are too old. From this day forward, you will be the Chieftain of the Tree Race, leading Tree Race to rise again. And don't forget the great kindness shown to the General and the humans."
"Chieftain, I am too young, how can I be appointed chieftain?"
"Special times call for special methods. The ideas of the Grand Elder and me are outdated. Perhaps, as you said when you left the territory, we are all cowards. The current unstable environment, coupled with the Far Watcher Civilization will not attack us, presents a good opportunity for us. Follow the General closely, and the Tree Race will surely rise to prominence."
"Chief!"
" Ninety-Seven, the position of clan chief is not just about power, but also about responsibility. You should know the sacrifices the clan chief and the great elder have made for the Tree Race. Although you are still young, compared to us humans, you are no longer young. We humans have to shoulder heavy responsibilities in our twenties. Now the Tree Race needs you, and you should bravely take on this responsibility."
"The general is right, Prince. The chieftain and I are too old to lead the Tree Race. The future of the Tree Race needs you."
"Alright! Patriarch and Grand Elder, rest assured, I will certainly not tarnish the reputation of the Tree Race."
"That's good, that's good."
"Our prince has finally grown up."
"It seems we should congratulate the new clan leader," Wen Zhonghua said with a smile.
"Clan leader, what will happen when you get old..." Wen Zhonghua asked curiously.
"The Chief of Staff is asking if we will perish, right? The universe is fair, giving us long lifespans and powerful physiques. We cannot achieve near-immortality through biotechnology like you. I have lived for over a billion years, but General, rest assured, although I am very old, I still have hundreds of millions of years left. When my lifespan reaches its end, my consciousness will dissipate, but my life will not have reached its true end. At that time, my roots will give birth to countless people. Although they will no longer be me, it can be considered a kind of rebirth. In fact, most of the people on these 50-plus planets, which are comparable in size to stars, are incarnations of past patriarchs and elders. However, only one of the first-generation incarnations can have an internal space; it will be the next prince. The other incarnations will continue to split several times after growing up before returning to normal. Only then will the newly split people have a chance to have an internal space."
"No wonder the Tree Race has so many members, yet so few elders."
"The main reason for their previous small numbers was that the Tree Race was constantly hunted by other civilizations. Now that they have joined the Star Ring Alliance, the Tree Race is bound to rise again."
The problem of the Tree Race's resurgence has been resolved. After merging, Ninety-Seven now possesses a complete internal space, which will undoubtedly lead to the emergence of more clansmen with internal spaces. The Tree Race's safety is now basically guaranteed. These clansmen no longer need tens or hundreds of millions of years to become elders. However, it is still much slower than the construction of warships. The Tree Race can serve as a reserve force, and we can wait until they have a sufficient number of elders before deploying them to achieve unexpected results.
With the rise of the Tree Race, the Star Ring Alliance's strength will increase significantly, especially the Tree Race's escape methods in times of crisis. Although they are not quite as good as Daozi's, they are still quite good methods.
Hu Yu and the others returned to Earth Two. Many academicians from the Space Branch, including Academician Zeng and Academician Liu, went to the Duohe Star System. The analysis of the space cannon of the Far Watcher Civilization had to be temporarily slowed down. Ordinary scientists were not yet capable of this task. They were already busy on the planets of the Far Watcher Civilization. Although the space cannon could not be analyzed, other aspects of the analysis could still be carried out appropriately.
Unfortunately, all the brains on this planet died in the chaos, otherwise Academician Xiao would surely have been able to find out something. Academician Xiao and other academicians in biological sciences still collected all the relatively well-preserved brains, which at least shows whether the biotechnology of the Far Watcher Civilization has progressed in the past 2 million years.