Yi Jian was one of the survivors on Planet Jiuzhou.
He was a native of Jiuzhou, born and raised there, and he loved that land deeply.
When the Aola people launched their surprise attack, he was in a cave with his buddy Giant Stone Strong, burying replica stone tablets of the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
At the critical moment, thankfully, Giant Stone Strong had grown into his adolescent form. Using the sturdy body of the Boulder Clan, he shielded Yi Jian firmly, and the two of them managed to hold out until the rescue ship arrived.
“Strongie, wake up, we need to get to work.” Yi Jian woke up on an extremely hard metal bed, and the first thing he saw was the metal ceiling.
The room was tiny, less than five square meters, with a small bathroom.
The passengers on the Ark all called it a coffin room.
But Yi Jian was quite content. As an ordinary human, he was actually able to live in a luxury room with a bathroom.
Strongie was a Boulder Clan cub and didn’t need to relieve himself. His room was the real coffin board—nothing in it at all, just a cramped hibernation pod where even turning over was a struggle.
Giant Stone Strong yawned as he obediently followed behind Yi Jian, like a giant good dog, adorably goofy.
The two passed through the long, narrow residential area and arrived at a bustling production line.
They had gotten up very early, but quite a few coworkers were already hard at work.
“Good morning, Yi Jian, Strongie. Today is another beautiful day. Praise the Lord.”
“Praise the Lord.” Yi Jian traced a circle over his chest and said devoutly.
The two arrived at their own workstations. Their job was to transport organic waste from the Ark’s ecological recycling system into the decomposition reaction tanks.
This was pure physical labor, previously all done by robots.
But the Ark had left Planet Taiyin and been traveling through the Black Domain for three years, and had never found a supply point. The Ark’s General Command had repeatedly emphasized the need to save energy and treasure energy.
Compared to robots made of composite metal, hiring human labor was obviously more cost-effective, especially ordinary humans.
Ordinary humans had to eat anyway. Rather than letting them eat for free, it was better to have them do some work. It could ease the pressure on resources and also keep people from being too idle and disturbing the peace.
“Wow, Strongie is really strong.” The coworkers’ eyes were full of envy. One Giant Stone Strong was worth ten ordinary humans, and he earned ten times the Star Grain Coins of an ordinary person.
Strongie felt embarrassed by the praise, smiled with pressed lips, and kept his head down working.
Yi Jian stood on his tiptoes and helped Strongie put on his mask. “Ugh, this smell… When will we ever stop drinking green nutrient solution?”
The nutrient solution they produced was the cheapest, lowest-grade green nutrient solution. Its raw materials weren’t Star Dust Wheat, but plant cellulose, zerg chitin, human metabolic waste, and so on.
Although the entire production process could guarantee the nutritional content of the green nutrient solution, the taste and texture were truly terrible.
A coworker beside them sighed repeatedly. “Back on Planet Jiuzhou, we could eat fresh vegetables and rice every few days. Compare that to now—it’s like the difference between heaven and hell. Once, a wonderful life was placed before me, and I didn’t cherish it. I even kept complaining. Only after tasting the bitterness of wandering did I regret it.”
He patted Yi Jian’s shoulder with feeling. “Kid, work hard. Try to get to the third level!”
The first and second levels of the Ark were for ordinary members and some low-level technicians who refused to hibernate.
The third level was the hibernation zone. After ordinary members earned enough Star Grain Coins, they could apply for hibernation. The length of hibernation depended on how many Star Grain Coins they paid.
After all, hibernation also consumed resources.
In the eyes of many coworkers, being able to hibernate for a long time was something to envy. Hibernators could avoid a lot of suffering. Maybe when they woke up, they would see a brand-new Planet Jiuzhou.
“I heard there’s a small planting area on the Ark that produces natural crops. Those high-ranking people must be eating rice with vegetables every day.” The speaker was almost drooling, and there was a faint trace of envy and jealousy in his tone.
Yi Jian frowned unhappily and corrected him. “No, they’re not. The Lord and all the Star Dust humans haven’t been eating well. These crops are provided to the scientists.”
Everyone on Planet Jiuzhou knew that the Lord loved good food, loved it so much that he could even eat zerg.
But in order to save supplies, for three years, the Lord had not taken a single bite of food, not even a sip of nutrient solution.
Star Dust humans, like ordinary humans, were all tightening their belts and getting by.
A large portion of them absorbed energy from the star dust in the universe, but after the Ark went deep into the Black Domain, perhaps affected by the process of cosmic collapse, there wasn’t much star dust left in the Black Domain. Only then did they start consuming nutrient solution.
The other man refused to accept it. “How do you know? If they ate secretly, would they tell you?”
Yi Jian’s voice rose several decibels, filled with anger and dissatisfaction, making the air around them tense. “That’s called judging a gentleman by the measure of a petty man. If you don’t know anything, then stop guessing. Watch more Heart Network news!”
The Heart Network was a network centered on Heart Treasure, covering the entire Ark Adjudicator.
Except for the Ark’s main channel, which was free, all other services required payment.
The coworker who had spoken looked away, suddenly lacking confidence. Most of the Star Grain Coins he earned went to buying industrial alcohol, and a small portion went to the adult channel on the Heart Network.
The short videos on the adult channel were really exciting and let him release his desires to the fullest.
He stiffened his neck and put on the air of an elder. “You’re so young, stop going online so much. The internet fee is so expensive. If you save more Star Grain Coins, won’t you get to the third level sooner? Look at how sharp-tongued you are. You must have learned bad things from the internet.”
“Hmph.”
Yi Jian stopped paying attention to him.
Those on different paths cannot work together.
Yi Jian’s dream had never been to reach the third level. It was to become a top scientist.
Only then could he meet his idol and stand openly by his idol’s side!
His idol was the leader of everyone, the soul of the Adjudicator, Lin Xiaohe!
His idol had risen from a wasteland planet in the sixth star ring and walked step by step to where he was now. He could do it too!
Thinking of this, Yi Jian was filled with drive, his efficiency growing higher and higher, completely leaving those foul-mouthed people behind in his mind.
Before he knew it, a whole day had passed like that.
The production line’s wages were paid daily.
After Strongie received his wages, he honestly handed them all to Yi Jian.
“Strongie, thank you.”
Strongie scratched the back of his head and smiled honestly. “No need to thank me. We’re brothers.”
Under the strange looks of the other coworkers, the two bought a box of green nutrient solution at the employee price and returned to their residence together.
As usual, the first thing Yi Jian did when he got back was open the New Network news.
[Host Heart Treasure brings you the report. The cosmic collapse process is at 40%. The Lord’s sacred decree: all members must prepare for battle. We do not fear war. We do not fear crisis. The Lord is with us.]
The host was a delicate girl with a round face, wearing a leaf-shaped hairpin. Her brows and eyes bore some resemblance to the Lord.
The way she reported the news with a stern face was both serious and cute.
Yi Jian swung a heavy punch through the air. “The Lord is with us!”
Yi Jian and Strongie—their story could fill a whole book on its own. They are truly remarkable youths.
