Chapter 345: Territory is a Civilization's Vital Point |
Dead.
Truly dead.
Humans were considered extremely fragile creatures in the universe. From a certain perspective, even a paramecium was more durable than a human.
Not to mention exaggerated existences like star-beasts.
Relying solely on their own abilities.
They couldn't even travel through space.
However, the God Race was a truly immortal and imperishable species. Even the Universal Will could not obliterate them. Facing the first God Race corpse in the universe, Chen Mang was naturally quite curious.
Soon...
The corpse was hauled up.
Inside the body,
There were organs.
Heart, kidneys, lungs, liver, and so on. They looked exactly identical to a human's. It even had blood vessels, a brain, and neural pathways.
But...
It was obvious that they were all empty shells, mere decorations.
None of these organs had ever been used.
The true source that sustained the God Race's life was not these organs, but the spine—a crystal-clear, emerald-colored spine that looked quite extraordinary. Only when this spine was severed.
Would a member of the God Race die.
When the former Universal Will created the God Race, it had merely modeled them after the human body, copying all the organs and structures over. However, it seemed it hadn't figured out the specific operational logic of these human organs.
It was equivalent to.
Copying the underlying functional code of an application in an attempt to create an identical app.
Unfortunately.
For the underlying code of almost all applications, only one percent was functional code. The existence of this one percent could maintain the general operation of the entire app. The remaining ninety-nine percent were codes used to fix bugs.
Clearly.
The God Race did not possess that ninety-nine percent of code meant for fixing bugs.
Thus, it resulted in the current state.
An empty shell.
Its outward appearance and internal organs looked perfectly human, but it was completely incapable of using those organs normally.
"Are humans really this complex?"
Sitting in the train cabin, Chen Mang muttered as he looked at the God Race corpse being dissected outside the train on the screen. He hadn't expected that even the Universal Will couldn't fully comprehend the human body.
Right at this moment...
Xiao Ai's voice echoed in the train cabin.
"Captain."
"Qi Ya told me that the emerald spine is called the Divine Spine. It provides life support and acts as an energy source for the God Race. It is extremely hard and fundamentally impossible to snap. Her father once tried various methods but failed to break a God Race's Divine Spine."
"Understood."
Chen Mang nodded slightly. This meant his luck was quite good. Initially, he hadn't known that the God Race's true fatal weak point was located there. He had merely speculated based on human vital points. He immediately waved his hand, ordering his men to bring everything back into the train.
These were all good items.
They would be useful in the future.
His habit of hoarding seemingly useless junk had created miracles for him on numerous occasions. For instance, this entity, brought out from a dreamscape and almost entirely useless, had been kept in the Film and Television Base as a shooting prop for a long time. He had never thought of discarding it, and today, it had proven to be of immense use.
There were no useless items.
Only people who didn't know how to use them.
Afterward, he finally let out a long breath of relief. With this matter resolved, he no longer needed to worry about any God Race apostles coming over. All the resources here could also be taken away; there was no need to leave a portion behind to imprison the God Race.
All problems had been solved at once.
Very good.
He liked it.
Sitting in the train cabin, Chen Mang looked at his civilization panel.
-
[Civilization Name]: Human Civilization.
[Civilization Level]: Level 3.
[Civilization Leader]: Chen Mang.
[Civilization Planets]: Water Blue Star, Xuanwu Star, Mining Star No. 1, Mining Star No. 2, Mining Star No. 3, Mining Star No. 4, etc.
[Civilization Population]: 5.7 billion people.
[Ascension Requirements]: The number of intelligent beings in the civilization must reach 1 billion, the strongest attack energy range must exceed 50,000, and possess at least ten planets.
[PS: Upgrading to a Level 2 Civilization, including every subsequent ascension, will release an Ascension Ripple that can be detected by all surrounding civilizations. The higher the level, the wider the range of the Ascension Ripple.]
[Civilization Ability]: Can acquire a random universal Civilization Tenet.
-
His civilization was currently a Level 3 Civilization.
And the conditions for ascending to a Level 4 Civilization had all been met.
Without further hesitation.
He directly chose to begin the civilization ascension, preparing to break through to a Level 4 Civilization. The Level 4 Civilization realm that the Kasa Civilization and the Mechanical Civilization had dreamed of for so long was about to be easily breached by him.
The most difficult part of this was the requirement for the strongest attack energy range to exceed 50,000.
That is to say.
A Level 500 Rainbow-grade firepower component, the Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon.
For him, this was not a difficult task at all.
He had already finished upgrading it long ago.
But for other civilizations, that meant a massive amount of Murphy Stones. Especially in a resource-poor place like the Niya Galaxy, this requirement was almost as difficult as ascending to the heavens, sounding like utter fantasy.
The higher one stood, the more one knew.
Only then did he truly understand what the 0-Level Authority was.
That was
An authority that not even the Universal Will possessed!
Indeed!
Even the Universal Will, an almost irrefutable and completely invincible existence in this universe, had taken all the resources of the entire universe to cultivate the race it created, the God Race!
Yet all it did was merely collect all the Murphy Stones and various resources in the universe.
Even the Universal Will could not bypass the insurmountable hurdle of needing Murphy Stones.
But his 0-Level Authority completely ignored the need for Murphy Stones.
In this aspect.
The priority of the Universal Will was inferior to his 0-Level Authority.
Both were forms of manipulating rules.
The Universal Will operated within the boundaries of the rules, while his 0-Level Authority directly shattered those boundaries, creating a rule of its own.
Chen Mang looked down at the birthmark on the back of his hand that resembled the character for "Mang." He used to mockingly say that his parents might have been great heroes who saved the world, similar to players in infinite genre novels, who couldn't meet him, were chased by some villainous organization, and left him this wealth.
But that was just a joking, self-deprecating remark.
He knew it was unrealistic.
However...
Now, he felt there might actually be such a possibility.
After learning that high-level civilizations could travel back in time, perform Chrono-Retrogression, and utilize all sorts of unimaginable methods, he felt that his parents leaving him a fortune while being unable to meet him wasn't an entirely unacceptable concept.
As for why it took the form of a birthmark.
Perhaps it was precisely the name given to him.
He shook his head, pushing the thought aside. He would slowly study the matter of this birthmark later, once he became a god-tier civilization.
The most important thing right now was.
To upgrade the civilization first.
Of course.
Before that, he needed to fire a shot from the Level 500 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon. He had never used an attack of this intensity before. Since they were conveniently located inside the Dark Abyss, he found the right direction, aimed at the other side of the void, and immediately pressed the red button on the control console.
The patterns on the barrel of the Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon atop the train car quickly lit up, beginning to charge.
An indescribably terrifying fluctuation of energy gradually gathered at the top of the train car.
Immediately after!
"Boom!"
In the dead silence of space, an extremely searing and thick beam of light, carrying a posture that sought to obliterate everything in its path, shot straight into the deep void of the universe. This beam of light became the sole source of illumination within the Dark Abyss, like a moving star.
The Level 500 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon.
Consumed an immense price.
It required a full 100 billion units of iron ore.
It was important to note that most of the energy for the Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon was currently provided by the Stellar Cabin. Even consuming 99.99 percent of its energy, a single shot from a Level 200 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon only cost 100 million units of iron ore.
This meant the price was a thousand times more expensive.
The next moment...
A panel abruptly appeared on the screen.
-
[Human Civilization has met the ascension requirements and automatically advanced.]
[The range of this Ascension Ripple is ten million light-years.]
[All creatures within Level 1 civilizations and above will receive this Ascension Ripple in their own ways.]
[The transmission speed of the Ascension Ripple is the speed of light.]
-
[The Level 3 Human Civilization has successfully ascended to a Level 4 Civilization.]
-
An unremarkable Ascension Ripple.
He didn't know the exact diameter of this Dark Abyss. If it wasn't more than ten million light-years, then ten million years from now, the Naomi Civilization would learn that an existence called the Human Civilization had ascended to a Level 4 Civilization.
The Human Civilization.
At this moment, had become a Level 4 Civilization.
Right after!
Another civilization panel appeared on the screen.
-
[Civilization Name]: Human Civilization.
[Civilization Level]: Level 4.
[Civilization Leader]: Chen Mang.
[Civilization Planets]: Water Blue Star, Xuanwu Star, Mining Star No. 1, Mining Star No. 2, Mining Star No. 3, Mining Star No. 4, etc.
[Civilization Population]: 5.7 billion people.
[Ascension Requirements]: The strongest attack energy range must exceed 100,000, and possess at least one Civilization Wonder.
[PS: Upgrading to a Level 2 Civilization, including every subsequent ascension, will release an Ascension Ripple that can be detected by all surrounding civilizations. The higher the level, the wider the range of the Ascension Ripple.]
[Civilization Ability]: Chrono-Retrogression.
-
"Finally!"
Chen Mang immediately locked his eyes on the words "Chrono-Retrogression" under the civilization ability. This was the most iconic trait of a Level 4 Civilization!
Able to perform Chrono-Retrogression.
Able to travel back to the past and launch attacks on the future.
With the enhancement of the Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon, it could unleash an attack far exceeding the civilization's strongest strike. It was a trump card, a foundational superweapon. Of course, this method could only be used when adjacent to a Dark Abyss.
Therefore.
Although the Universal Will didn't impose any Dark Abyss restrictions on Level 4 Civilizations.
In the consensus of the various civilizations in the universe.
A Level 4 Civilization not situated near a Dark Abyss was merely a pseudo-Level 4 Civilization—slightly stronger than a Level 3, but lacking a foundational superweapon. Only a Level 4 Civilization bordering a Dark Abyss was considered a true Level 4 Civilization.
"The gap really is massive,"
Chen Mang couldn't help but sigh with emotion. The Niya Civilization was also a Level 4 Civilization, but it had occupied numerous star systems, with a territory spanning hundreds of light-years in diameter. He only possessed this small patch of the Niya Galaxy.
Despite both being Level 4 Civilizations.
His foundation was clearly much weaker.
Once he fully dominated the remnants of the Niya Civilization, it would be time to start conquering other star systems. Meanwhile, Xiao Ai had already received all the information regarding Chrono-Retrogression.
"Captain."
"Explaining Chrono-Retrogression is quite complicated. It would be better if we tried it once; that way, it will be much easier to understand."
"Alright."
The next moment...
Chen Mang pressed a newly appeared button on the control console.
Soon.
A panel surfaced on the screen.
-
[The universal coordinates of this location are: XXXX]
[Please select the retracement period.]
[1 year, 100 years, 1,000 years, 10,000 years, 100,000 years, 1,000,000 years, 10,000,000 years, 100,000,000 years, 1,000,000,000 years. You can manually select an exact period, such as 18 years, precise to the year.]
-
The longer the retracement period, the more resources were consumed.
For example, returning to one year ago only required 100 million units of iron ore.
A hundred years ago would require 10 billion.
If it was ten million years ago, it would be one quadrillion.
He chose to return to ten thousand years ago. Quickly, one trillion units of iron ore inside the train slowly turned to ash.
The next moment...
A bizarre rainbow light enveloped the entire train. It was as if the train had entered a tunnel, with the scenery on both sides continuously receding. When everything returned to calm, specific information surfaced on the screen.
-
[This location is universal coordinates XXX, retraced 10,000 years into the past timeline.]
[Tourists cannot alter history.]
[No one can see you, and no one knows you.]
[Furthermore, you cannot leave the sightseeing barrier.]
-
"..."
Chen Mang looked around the train. Nothing had changed; it was almost exactly the same as before the retracement. It seemed that ten thousand years ago, this place was already a Dark Abyss—a patch of silent darkness without any stars, extremely silent and cold.
With the train's current armor, surviving in this environment didn't seem to be a major issue.
Moreover, the planetary fragment that was originally used to imprison the God Race was gone. This was likely the only change. Ten thousand years ago, the Niya Civilization hadn't even been born yet.
Surrounding the train.
There was a halo of light roughly the size of a normal planet, enveloping the train within it.
This was the sightseeing barrier.
The train could not leave the barrier; it could only look out from within it.
However,
He casually aimed in a random direction and fired a shot from the Level 200 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon. The light cannon smoothly passed through the barrier and began to glide through the Dark Abyss.
Perhaps Chrono-Retrogression had many more uses.
But...
This was the most standard application, or rather, the most universal and generally accepted usage.
Linking two Overlimit Effects to create a possibility where one plus one was greater than two.
This location was over a hundred thousand light-years away from the Niya Galaxy. The universe radar couldn't detect how far it was, but... by calculating the universal coordinates of the two places, he learned the distance was 130,000 light-years.
In other words,
Theoretically.
He could choose to retrace back 130,000 years and fire a shot from the Level 500 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon toward the Niya Galaxy. He could then quickly return to the original timeline and use the train to absorb the power of this light beam. This would allow him to elevate the train's armor to an extremely high level in a short time at a minimal cost.
It was just that
The margin of error was somewhat hard to control.
Even the slightest error might result in him returning to his original timeline only to find that planets in the Niya Galaxy had already been destroyed, or that the beam still needed seven or eight years to arrive.
Furthermore, spanning 130,000 years wouldn't actually increase the energy by that much.
That Level 4987 attack had spanned almost the entire Dark Abyss!
That wasn't just 130,000 years, it was at least tens of millions of years.
After sightseeing for a while, Chen Mang returned.
It wasn't that he wanted to return, but the sightseeing time was limited to exactly ten minutes.
Although the duration was short, he felt this ability didn't necessarily have to be strictly used in warfare; applying it to daily life was also viable.
After returning to the original timeline.
He used the Refrigerator to return to the location of the Kasa Civilization Federation in the Niya Galaxy. Then, using a wormhole left behind by the Kasa Civilization, he returned to the original location of Water Blue Star. Theoretically, there should have been a Water Blue Star here, but he had taken it away.
Following the timeline, he attempted to choose to return to three years ago.
The next moment...
The familiar rainbow light enveloped the train once again, initiating Chrono-Retrogression.
Right after.
When everything gradually quieted down.
The Stellaris Train was wrapped in the sightseeing barrier, and a planet abruptly appeared before him. It was precisely Water Blue Star. Through the scans of the Doppelganger Radar, he quickly located his past self.
His self that was still in the Doomsday Abyss.
Night had just fallen.
The miners on the train had already gone to sleep, while on the screen, his past self was sitting at a desk in the train cabin, writing something.
"..."
Chen Mang looked at himself on the screen with a complex expression. The feeling right now was extremely strange. This was his first time returning to the past timeline to observe himself.
Although he couldn't make any changes.
He could only sightsee.
For example, he couldn't throw resources or Primordial Blueprints straight out to him.
Unless...
"Xiao Ai, I'm suddenly curious about something. If I fire a shot right now and kill the past me, will I die along with him?"
"..."
Xiao Ai stalled for a long time before slowly saying, "There are no precedent cases for reference, so I cannot give a definitive answer. However, my suggestion is to absolutely avoid attempting this, as it may trigger unknown risks."
"Hmm."
After pondering for a moment, Chen Mang spoke again, "Then what if I fired countless Level 10-something shots from the Akhenaten Main Cannon and wiped out all the monsters on Water Blue Star in a short time? What would happen then?"
"I don't know."
Xiao Ai sighed softly, sounding somewhat helpless.
She could understand Lord Mang's behavioral logic. The biggest difference between an AI and a human was that no matter how intelligent an AI became, it would never have any self-destructive tendencies. Humans were different; humans had a strong self-destructive inclination ingrained in their bones.
For example, standing on a high building would bring about an urge to jump off.
This wasn't an act driven by depression or sadness.
It was a subconscious, instinctual reaction of the body.
Seeing a high building simply invoked the thought of jumping.
She couldn't understand this behavior. An AI would never exhibit such tendencies. She had never once thought about trying to wipe her own database just to see if something fun would happen.
"No..."
"I really want to try it."
Chen Mang spoke in a slight daze. Only after a long while did he return to the present timeline. Grabbing the walkie-talkie, he contacted Lao Zhu: "How is the security situation on Water Blue Star lately?"
"Excellent. Under your management, Lord Mang, the entire Water Blue Star is thriving, and..."
"Cut the crap. Is there anyone who committed a grave mistake and was sentenced to death?"
"Yes."
"Give me the specific details."
"A middle-aged man who tried to gather the remaining train captains to establish his own kingdom in the countryside..."
"Send me his name, photo, and physical characteristics. Then, keep a close watch on his condition from now on."
"Understood."
Soon...
After acquiring the death row inmate's information, Chen Mang once again returned to three years ago. Through the Doppelganger Radar, he quickly located the convict, who was currently hiding in the City Ruins. Next, the Akhenaten Main Cannon began to slowly charge, with its energy supply dialed down to the absolute minimum of Level 1.
Like a satellite strike.
Firing from space.
A single shot descended.
It hit with pinpoint accuracy, killing the target on the spot. Immediately after, Chen Mang swiftly returned to the train and picked up the walkie-talkie to ask Lao Zhu, "What's the situation with that man just now?"
Lao Zhu's bewildered voice came through the walkie-talkie.
"Dead... he's dead."
"He died suddenly. Dropped dead without any warning signs."
"Do you still remember who he is?"
"Of course I remember. Lord Mang, didn't you just ask me about him?"
Chen Mang sat alone in the train cabin, deep in thought.
The conclusion had been drawn.
When a person was destroyed in the past, their future self would also die accordingly. He had thought it would be akin to erasure, where everyone would forget the person existed. Now, it appeared that wasn't the case.
This was exactly why he had always been afraid to expand.
His Vital Point was simply too glaring.
Once the original coordinates of Water Blue Star were exposed, a large number of high-level civilizations would travel to his past timeline to kill him. How could his past self on Water Blue Star possess the strength to stop them?
He didn't just need to protect his present self.
He also had to protect his past self.
The greatest difference between four-dimensional space and three-dimensional space was the added dimension of time. Beings in a four-dimensional space could freely traverse timelines, much like what was happening before his eyes.
If his vulnerable beginnings were stretched out into a timeline.
Then there would be many nodes along this timeline.
If he were to deploy guards, he would need to assign people to every single one of these numerous nodes.
That was by no means a small project.
The best solution was.
To keep the original universal coordinates of Water Blue Star forever hidden, unknown to anyone. He could naturally manage this, but there was no such thing as an airtight secret in the world. Once leaked, it would be a devastating blow to him.
He had to find a perfect method.
Even if no one knew the coordinates on Water Blue Star, he had also been very weak during the period when he ascended to a Level 2 and Level 3 Civilization. If someone traveled to those timelines to hunt him, he would be somewhat helpless.
"..."
Chen Mang frowned slightly. Although he temporarily didn't know how to resolve this problem, he knew that the high-level civilizations definitely had a solution.
In this world, where there was a spear, there was a shield.
It was preordained.
He should ask Qi Ya.
Half an hour later.
Chen Mang sat expressionlessly in the train cabin. Qi Ya was useless. She said that when she was little, her father only ever told her gossip and hadn't meticulously taught her about such things. She had run away from home before reaching the age for systematic study.
Very nice.
Learning nothing useful and only listening to gossip.
The only solution he could think of...
Seemed to be territory.
For the first time, he understood the alternate significance of territory in the universe. When any civilization that posed a threat intruded into one's territory, there would be no questions asked—summary execution. Territory did not merely represent a civilization's sphere of influence.
It also protected the civilization's past selves along its timeline.
If a civilization grew powerful and then abandoned its territory, it would be equivalent to placing its weak past selves under the guillotine of all civilizations, allowing anyone to come and take a chop.
Territory was a civilization's Vital Point.
Being a wandering civilization was ill-advised.
As long as enemies didn't intrude into their territory, it would be very difficult to find their weak past selves. However, there were still ways to crack this, such as launching attacks from just outside the borders. This was precisely the purpose of a Universe Ge Lei.
The greatest function of a territory was actually to protect one's weak self on the timeline.
Now.
He absolutely could not abandon the Niya Galaxy. He had to build its defenses to be as solid as an iron barrel. His Vital Points were entirely located within the Niya Galaxy. The fall of the Niya Galaxy would essentially mean the end of his life.
Moreover,
He needed to minimize traveling recklessly.
Every time he traveled to a new place, it meant he left behind another Vital Point of his own.
Others would then have the opportunity to travel to that point on the timeline and kill him then.
A civilization's leader should remain stationed within their own territory.
Once they left their territory.
The destination they went to had to be incorporated into their territory, otherwise it meant leaving their front door wide open.
A Level 4 Civilization was already considered a high-level civilization in the universe.
Only Level 4 Civilizations truly understood the meaning of territory. When he was still a Level 3 Civilization, he hadn't grasped its significance at all. It was like a child scribbling; you just randomly circled an area on a map and claimed it as your territory.
As long as there was no higher-level civilization within that range, it was fine.
To him,
This was a massive restriction.
His method of developing his civilization involved concentrating all its resources to upgrade a single train—the Stellaris Train. This differed from the developmental paths of other civilizations. He didn't want an army at all.
The Stellaris Train was the Human Civilization's sole and strongest combat force.
It was impossible for him not to travel around.
The Stellar Train couldn't just never be deployed.
He didn't have any other presentable armed forces in his hands.
"What a headache..."
Chen Mang leaned back in his chair and gently massaged his temples. Being a low-level civilization had been better. Everyone simply compared numbers; whoever had the higher stats was king. Back on Water Blue Star, if someone was just one level higher than you, you couldn't even break their defenses.
Absolute invincibility.
How nice that was.
High-level civilizations were much more complex. Attack methods had diversified, and correspondingly, defenses were becoming overwhelming to manage.
Under such circumstances.
It was impossible to defend against everything.
Guarding against thieves for a thousand days would eventually lead to a slip-up.
The best method of defense was elimination.
To preemptively wipe out all civilizations within the vicinity of his territory that could potentially pose a threat in the future. This was the greatest significance of a Universe Ge Lei. He finally understood their true purpose and decided to start building Universe Ge Leis belonging to the Human Civilization.
The Human Civilization also needed Universe Ge Leis.
At the very least, he needed to litter the surroundings of the Niya Galaxy with them.
Otherwise, there truly wouldn't be a shred of a sense of security.
Time passed swiftly.
A year went by.
During this year, the Stellar Train didn't go anywhere; it stayed in the Niya Galaxy to develop its foundation. First off, almost all the civilizations here had been integrated into the Human Civilization, and their leaderships had been completely replaced.
These civilizations.
Continued to develop freely, except that their local governments were required to offer tributes to the Human Civilization on a regular basis.
They functioned akin to autonomous regions.
As for the civilizations that had initially defected to the Zerg Civilization, they had all been abandoned in the 27th Galaxy. They were forbidden from using wormholes or establishing contact and trade with other civilizations.
Aside from this.
Over this year, the matter that consumed the most of Chen Mang's time and energy was collaborating with Qi Ya, Qi Ke Xiu, Xiao Ai, and the others to research Universe Ge Leis for the Human Civilization.
The best form for a Universe Ge Lei was naturally a star-beast.
However...
They couldn't capture that many massive star-beasts, nor did they temporarily possess the capability to modify them—let alone into those with a diameter of two light-years. However, they had researched other forms of Universe Ge Leis, which were about to enter the experimental phase.
Moreover.
Development on Water Blue Star had also been rapid over the past year. Benefiting from the civilization's ascension, many new emerging enterprises had cropped up. After ascending to a Level 4 Civilization, all trains within the Human Civilization were granted the Chrono-Retrogression function.
For now, however, Chen Mang only unlocked this function for the train captains on Water Blue Star.
Those other civilizations that joined the Human Civilization only held the title in name. In reality, they were not yet enjoying the privileges of a Level 4 Civilization.
Among these developments, one newly emerged industry was quite fascinating.
"Retracing Affection."
For example...
Inside a train enveloped in a rainbow light barrier, a man stood in a cabin, weeping uncontrollably as he gazed at a woman outside the window. At the same time, others in the train cabin were also weeping bitterly.
This industry.
Allowed people to return to a time before their loved ones or parents passed away, revisiting the past to lay eyes on their family members one more time.
In life, people only ever felt reluctance during partings.
Prolonged habitual thinking always led people to believe they would be together forever. It wasn't until a sudden separation that the tidal wave of agony would crash down uncontrollably.
It was just that...
Even going back just one year cost 100 million units of iron ore, and that was the cost price. On Water Blue Star, very few people could afford this.
An industry that the masses couldn't afford was destined not to be a good one.
Thus,
Through big data, they would analyze all the timeline nodes and locations that "consumers" wished to return to. By finding common points in time, they could place a large batch of consumers together in the same train cabin, allowing everyone to see the people they wanted to see.
This made the price significantly cheaper.
Of course.
At that specific point in time, those who could get a full view of the person they wanted to see would pay a much higher price.
Those who could only catch a glimpse of a back profile would pay a much cheaper price.
And for those who could only hear a voice, the price would be even cheaper.
Everything was priced, filtered, and integrated via big data.
Or rather,
It was managed by Xiao Ai.
Currently, all companies required AI assistance. Some of the more capable companies would opt to connect to "Boss Ai". This was the AI with the strongest computing power in the Human Civilization at present. The efficiency was immensely high, but naturally, the price was also the most expensive.
Just like at this moment...
Countless people inside the train were bawling their eyes out as they looked at the people they had dreamed of in the past timeline. For the first time, they felt the disparity brought about by the clash of past and future in this moment. For the first time, they understood what it meant for something to seem within arm's reach, yet forever devoid of any intersection.
"Huh."
Just then.
One man's sobbing suddenly came to an abrupt halt. His girlfriend had driven out in a rainstorm after an argument with him. Her family had told him she had died in a sudden car crash, and he had grieved for an entire year, constantly tormented by guilt.
As a result, upon returning to a year ago, he discovered—why was his girlfriend sitting in the passenger seat? There was a pretty boy driving, and they were even... they were actually...
The sorrow on the man's face gradually vanished. After a long silence, he finally spoke.
"Good riddance."
"Son of a bitch."