"Does the Consciousness Field exist independently of the body?"
" Academician Zheng said that this is entirely possible; the brain is merely a host for the Consciousness Field."
"Then what are we waiting for? I'll go!" Jiang Moyan said without hesitation.
"I still wanted to go, but it's hopeless..."
"What? There are conditions?"
"Yes, Academician Zheng measured the strength of my Consciousness Field, and it's relatively weak. The strength of human Consciousness Field isn't particularly outstanding in the universe; mine is even below average..."
"Then I'll go take the test. You definitely don't have a strong enough will, haha."
"While the strength of Consciousness Field can be enhanced through training, over 90% of it comes from innate factors. We've known each other for tens of thousands of years, and I haven't found your will to be particularly strong. Last time you hurt your hand, you screamed your lungs out—that's what you call strong will? Haha."
"At least you're a little better than me, don't joke around, Old Gao, have you discussed this with the minister?"
"Not yet. No one can make the decision to send a living person to their death."
"Let's talk to the minister. He'll make the decision. Our resources can only last for another two hundred years or so at most. The people's living standards have already dropped to an unbearable level."
"Okay, I'll go."
Gao Zhengyang found Luo Zhigao and explained the situation in detail. Unexpectedly, Luo Zhigao immediately decided to implement it. There were less than 200 years left. The fleet had already dismantled many ships to sustain the lives of the people. If they hesitated now, they would be delaying the lives of everyone in the fleet.
As the head of the fleet, this decision had to be made quickly and decisively. Luo Zhigao quickly devised a plan regarding who to send and who possessed a strong Consciousness Field.
Tens of thousands of Consciousness Field testing helmets were sent to the fleet. Luo Zhigao explained the current situation of the fleet to everyone. Everything was based on voluntariness. Luo Zhigao believed in his people and in the spirit of dedication that the Chinese Nation has had since ancient times.
To Luo Zhigao's surprise, there were so many volunteers requesting to complete the task that even the consciousness testing helmets were insufficient. Apart from the naive children, almost everyone submitted a test application.
Luo Zhigao had no choice but to change the testing rules and raise the testing threshold. Since it was necessary to enter the Closed Spacetime Curve to complete a series of examination tasks, one's own relevant knowledge had to be accumulated in order to participate in the test.
The fleet's civilians possessed a good level of knowledge, but not everyone was an expert in physics. This criterion immediately eliminated over 90% of the applicants, who were as dejected as students who had failed an exam.
A dense crowd of people gathered in the empty hall inside the warship. Luo Zhigao didn't say anything, but directly put on the consciousness testing helmet. The red light lit up, indicating that it was not possible.
Next was Vice Minister Fang Xinyun, a man who had been working quietly on the front lines. If Luo Zhigao was the locomotive, then Fang Xinyun was the train attendant, diligently and meticulously serving every citizen. At this moment, he also put on the consciousness testing helmet without hesitation. Red light. Fang Xinyun shook his head and sighed softly.
Then, Li Wenfei, Gao Zhengyang, and other fleet leaders also underwent the test one by one, but without exception, they all showed a red light. Such tests were being conducted simultaneously throughout the fleet, but without exception, they all showed a red light.
" Academician Zheng, why haven't we even received a green light? Isn't the threshold set too high?"
"Minister, this is a setting I made based on a comprehensive analysis of the information about the interior of the black hole provided by Academician Gao. And this is merely the minimum acceptable level; Consciousness Field below this level cannot possibly exist."
A few days later, the first batch of volunteers had all been tested, but not a single one passed. Among them were many people with strong willpower. Luo Zhigao and Li Wenfei could endure the pain of being eaten away by Stellar Worm, but they still failed to pass. It seems that there is really a great deal of connection with innate factors. No matter how hard you try after birth, it will not make much difference.
Luo Zhigao had no choice but to expand the testing scope, but red lights were still rampant. He continued to expand until he had checked everyone in the fleet, including newborn babies. Of course, Luo Zhigao didn't want these babies to be sacrificed; he simply wanted to see if anyone could meet the passing standard.
Unfortunately, no one in the fleet, from top to bottom, had a qualified Consciousness Field. Luo Zhigao smiled bitterly and could only ask Gao Zhengyang to think of other solutions.
"Minister, I'd like to give it a try." A man in military uniform was helped over.
" Captain Xie Jinqiao, you are still in recovery. Let's talk again after you've fully recovered."
"Minister, it's just a minor injury, nothing serious. If I'm capable, there's no need to waste fleet resources repairing my heart. Fleet resources are tight right now, so let's save where we can."
Xie Jinqiao, commander of the 7th Fleet, usually commands the operations of a million warships. Like other commanders, he is busy with every detail in every corner of the fleet. After entering the black hole, Xie Jinqiao was assisting robots in dismantling warships to obtain energy when a broken piece of metal pierced his heart.
At the Advanced Star System-Level Civilization, a punctured heart is not much different in severity from a cut finger while chopping vegetables. Xie Jinqiao received immediate rescue, and medical staff reconstructed his injured heart and chest cavity. The heart reconstruction was just completed today, and the next step was to repair the skin. However, Xie Jinqiao overheard the medical staff talking about testing, so he forcibly left the hospital before the skin repair was finished and went to the testing site.
"Alright, I know your personality. Since you're here, let's give it a try. But you already know the result—it'll be the same whether we test or not. You're going back to the hospital to rest and recover in a bit, understand? That's an order."
"Yes, Minister, there might be unexpected events," Xie Jinqiao said with a forced smile, trying not to show the pain in his chest.
As Xie Jinqiao spoke, he put on the consciousness testing helmet. It turned green. Luo Zhigao snatched the helmet and put it on his own head. It turned red. He then put it on Xie Jinqiao. It turned green. Luo Zhigao then put it on Li Wenfei next to him. It was still red. When it came to Xie Jinqiao Jinqiao's head, it turned green again. This was repeated more than ten times before Luo Zhigao finally confirmed that there was no problem with the helmet and that Xie Jinqiao's Consciousness Field strength had indeed reached the qualified level.
"Minister, what do you think? I told you there would be an unexpected surprise."
"Minister, Captain Xie Jinqiao has indeed met the standard," said Academician Zheng Kaiping. "If the average person's level of consciousness is 20 points, a small number of people with strong willpower can reach 30 to 40 points, and the entire fleet has no more than ten people who reach 50 points. Captain Xie Jinqiao's level of consciousness not only reached the passing score of 60 points, but also far exceeded it, at least 80 points."