Chapter 737: Retirement
Although Marrow Cleansing Pills had become dirt cheap, most elixirs, especially those effective for cultivators, remained in the primitive stage of manual production, with extremely limited output.
On one hand, there was the issue of raw materials; the precious spirit materials required for high-tier elixirs were limited in quantity, so even if the refining process could be mechanized, there simply weren't enough raw materials. On the other hand, there was the problem of alchemy techniques; the refining of some high-tier elixirs often required the participation of specific spirit energy flames, an effect that machines couldn't replicate, thus necessitating high-tier cultivators to personally intervene.
Nevertheless, as time passed, the number of elixirs that could be mass-produced through mechanization steadily increased. The average lifespan of Federation citizens was also extended to over one hundred and thirty years.
Correspondingly, the legal retirement age was extended from sixty a century ago to one hundred years old today.
Originally, someone in their early twenties would work for forty years until retiring at sixty; now, they would strive for eighty years, retiring at one hundred, effectively doubling their working life.
If the Federation weren't still in a phase of rapid expansion, constantly needing manpower everywhere, this doubled working lifespan would have long since led to an unemployment explosion.
With retirement delayed by forty years, to say there were no complaints would be a lie; after all, those who disliked work constituted the majority.
However, complaining was useless. The Federation was, in the end, a regime governed by superhuman power, controlling every corner, leaving ordinary people no choice but to obediently comply.
What's more, regarding the issue of retirement, it was the superhuman overlords' handling of it that truly gave the Federation the biggest headache.
Ultimately, after a heated discussion (physical), the Federation decided that superhumans of the Third Tier and above would have no set retirement age – naturally, they didn't need to retire anyway.
As for First Tier superhumans, with an expected lifespan of about two hundred years, their retirement age was set at one hundred and fifty. Second Tier superhumans, with an expected lifespan of three hundred years, would retire at two hundred and fifty.
The retirement problem was instantly solved.
Living longer naturally meant working longer. Retirement? Go work for a few more decades first.
...
Once the Federation secured the cooperation of the entire Water Blue Star leadership, the migration effort naturally proceeded smoothly. The propaganda machines of the three great nations were fully activated, tirelessly singing praises for the Federation to the entire world, day and night.
"People strive for higher ground, seeking refuge in the embrace of a superior civilization."
"Running headfirst into a fully developed society for all."
Interstellar migration immediately became the political correctness of Water Blue Star. Anyone who voiced opposition was deemed unwilling to let everyone live a good life, and their heads would be smashed in.
It wasn't that no one felt uneasy; many were unwilling to leave their homeland based solely on this empty rhetoric. Unfortunately, it was useless. Anyone daring to form an opposition organization would, along with their entire group, vanish without a trace by the next day.
The Federation's Iron Fist warned them.
...
Three years later.
"What will happen to Water Blue Star after we leave?" asked Dun Que, a former Reincarnator, to his current Senior on board a Grand Thousand Flagship.
After the Main God Temple was taken away by Bai Mo, the tens of thousands of Reincarnators who remained were all brought under Xu Xuanling's command.
These Reincarnators, once awe-inspiring and traversing multiple worlds, had all their powers stripped away by Bai Mo, returning them to their ordinary state before entering the Main God Temple.
Other than their memories of once being powerhouses, nothing else remained.
However, most were quite relieved, for they had finally escaped the hell of the Reincarnation World, where failure to complete a mission meant obliteration. Such a nightmarish existence was truly not for normal people.
Moreover, while escaping the Main God, they had also latched onto a new, powerful backer.
The only one truly depressed was perhaps Wu Ming himself.
Stripped of his cheat, he had completely reverted to an ordinary person, though he had also escaped the future of being a mere tool. Xu Xuanling had not revealed his identity as the Main God's controller, otherwise, he would have likely been torn to shreds by the enraged Reincarnators the moment it was revealed.
But he would also have to keep this secret hidden until he gained the power to protect himself.
...
Nearly six billion people were taken by the Federation, while two billion departed with the Land of White. Compared to the Federation's familiar social system, the Land of White's undoubtedly filled the Water Blue Star inhabitants, who had never encountered such a system, with a sense of dread.
Such a societal structure had not even been theorized on Water Blue Star. The unknown easily transformed into fear, and coupled with the Holy Progenitors saying little, adopting a wait-and-see attitude that left their fate to unfold, three-quarters of the population chose the Federation.
"Water Blue Star? It should be taken away by the Land of White's supreme powerhouses."
"Taken away??!! This is a planet, not a head of cabbage!"
"You know too little about us," the Senior said, gazing with fervent eyes towards Xu Xuanling in the main control room. "Our True Immortals can truly pluck stars and seize the moon."
"What's more, with the Federation's technology, we already have extensive experience in disassembling an entire planet..."
"..."
"Right, what's the exact relationship between the Land of White and our Federation? Are they different nations?" Dun Que finally found an opportunity to ask the question he was most curious about.
"It's said that a hundred years ago, a divergence in certain ideologies led to the split between the Federation and the Land of White. Before that, we were people of the same planet.
As for the true reasons, perhaps only the high-ranking officials know. For many years, the internet has suppressed all related information, and most of those who personally experienced it back then have already died. Those who are still alive and know the truth have remained silent.
In any case, we are now two nations, though trade has never ceased..."
The Senior spoke at length about political matters.
"However, after this event, the Federation is preparing to leave the Solar System, embarking on a full military expedition to Sagittarius."
"Leave? Isn't your origin the Solar System? Why leave?"
"Our Federation's designation, you see, is that of interstellar nomads! A people living upon Grand, Middle, and Small Thousand World flagships! In the vast emptiness of space, clinging to concepts like territory is utterly meaningless. Only matter and energy represent wealth and resources!
We've already taken our home planet, the Moon, and it's leaving with us."
"..."
"But what about the Land of White? Are they leaving too?"
"I don't know."
...
"After this parting, I wonder when we'll meet again," Xu Xuanling said to Bai Mo's projection in the main control room.
"Perhaps in fifty or sixty years?"
"You know about our departure, don't you?"
"I know, but what of it? Several of my projection avatars have also been dormant within the Federation."
"They are very wary of you; accompanying a ruler is like accompanying a tiger. Distance is the only thing that brings them a sense of security."
"If they truly reach Sagittarius, my projection will barely be able to maintain the Six Tiers. To avoid me, they'd rather spend a hundred years traveling..."
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