“Rebuilding the Ark?”
Boss Dong pulled up his portable virtual screen. “Our leader has always been thinking about leading everyone through this great catastrophe. But her strength is on a whole other level—so the Ark will serve as the vehicle to carry all of our races through.”
“Take a look. Although our Ark is made from the shell of a Void Devourer, giving it strong defensive capabilities, its weaknesses are also very obvious. It lacks offensive power and a propulsion system.”
He rubbed his head, clearly troubled by this issue for a long time.
“So many different races gathered together—even if they do nothing, conflicts are bound to break out!”
And in fact, that was exactly the case.
Lin Xiaohe had long been thinking about upgrading the Ark.
Melina had even called representatives from all the civilizations to hold a conference on Ark renovation proposals.
But what happened? Grandpa Lin and Grandma Lin said, why bother with an Ark—just charge through with brute force!
The ocean civilization, led by Lin’s mother, wanted to install oceanic sonar systems inside the Ark.
The ordinary humans of Kyushu Star, reluctant to part with their naturally grown plants, demanded a designated planting area and a seed bank.
Just these few groups alone each had their own ideas and a long list of demands. Apart from the relatively weaker ordinary humans, none of the other civilizations were willing to yield to anyone.
And now, Lin Xiaohe had returned, bringing the Lithos clan with her.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the Ark’s design complexity had just multiplied.
“On top of ensuring the Ark’s defense, attack capabilities, and navigability, we also have to make sure all the civilizations can coexist as peacefully as possible—that’s no easy task.”
Lin Xiaohe’s minimum requirement was simple: no fighting, no backstabbing between civilizations!
Boss Dong understood Lin Xiaohe’s concerns all too well.
Even among ordinary humans alone, five people could split into three factions.
It was only because ordinary humans were currently weak that they’d kept their heads down and stayed out of trouble.
Otherwise, without Lin Xiaohe around to keep things in check, if all civilizations boarded the Ark, it’d be a free-for-all.
Boss Dong had high hopes for the new survivors. “The other civilizations are powerful, but they’re too unique and have trouble accommodating others. You’re different.”
The expansion of human civilization has always been a process of taking the best and discarding the worst.
For example, when they first occupied Haige Star, they used the skulls of Giant Sound Whales to make organs.
To some extent, human civilization shares the Zerg’s exclusivity, yet also possesses strong inclusivity—especially when humans are at a disadvantage, that inclusivity becomes even stronger.
Hardy and the others understood Boss Dong’s point and agreed it was a promising path.
If they could make significant contributions to rebuilding the Ark, surely Lin Xiaohe wouldn’t throw them off the ship!
Besides, it was only natural for the lead designers to quietly cut ordinary humans a little slack, right?
So they got straight to work!
Hardy and his group, as representatives of the survivors, requested an audience with Lin Xiaohe to express their interest in helping design the Ark.
Lin Xiaohe didn’t hesitate—not only did she agree, but she also informed Hardy and the others of each civilization’s strengths, and brought in researchers from Kyushu Star University to brainstorm together.
Lin Xiaohe had originally planned to head to the First Star Ring to check on things after sending Hardy and the others back to Kyushu Star, but she decided to wait until the Ark’s preliminary design was complete before leaving.
The Ark was the sanctuary she was building for her followers.
If possible, she wanted to take the Ark with her and break through the cage together.
If not, she at least hoped the Ark could withstand the great disaster and leave each civilization a fighting chance.
So the direction of the Ark’s renovation was critical—absolutely critical!
Previously, Kyushu Star’s members had been relatively weak in areas like military weapon design. With the addition of Hardy and his team, they could help fill that gap.
After all, these career soldiers who had survived this long all had their own expertise.
About three months later, Hardy and his team, with dark circles under their eyes, submitted the first draft of the Ark’s renovation plan.
He opened the virtual panel, and a massive 3D starship materialized in the air.
His voice hoarse, he said, “We’ve named it the [Myriad Rebirth Cosmic Ark]. The core design philosophy is dynamic evolution and hive symbiosis.”
The Ark would retain the Void Devourer’s shell but reinforce it.
“Leader, our idea is to encode the Zerg’s hardest chitin and bio-alloy genes into the shell’s growth layer. That way, the shell is no longer static, but composed of countless tiny Zerg cells. When subjected to energy attacks, the shell cells can layer and deflect energy, forming a physical energy shield.”
Lin Xiaohe glanced at Boss Dong, understood his concern, and made the call: “No problem. The Zerg can do that.”
Boss Dong let out a long breath—it seemed Lin Xiaohe had a firm grip over all the civilizations.
“Beneath the shell, we’ll distribute the Zerg’s biomass transport pipelines and fast-proliferating cell clusters, enabling rapid regeneration and repair in a very short time.”
“No problem!”
Boss Dong’s expression relaxed a little. “As for the Ark’s framework, we want to use the [Origin Body] to provide a stable, indestructible structural skeleton. Then we’ll have the Zerg secrete special bio-minerals to combine with the [Origin Body], forming a composite material that has both the strength of the Lithos clan and the contractile and expansive properties similar to muscle fibers.”
This idea came from the chief scientist—this composite material had previously existed only as a concept, even a figment of imagination!
They held their breath, waiting for Lin Xiaohe’s answer.
Lin Xiaohe thought for a moment, then decided it was doable—at worst, they’d just have to run a few more experiments. “Okay.”
The chief scientist let out a long sigh of relief, his face flushing with excitement.
A whole new frontier was opening up to them!
Boss Dong suppressed his excitement and opened up the Ark’s interior view.
“As for the internal ecosystem, we prefer to call it the Hive Symbiosis System.”
In simple terms, it relied entirely on the Zerg.
Micro-swarms would live in ventilation ducts and fluid circulation systems, breaking down all organic matter and inorganic waste to achieve 100% internal material recycling.
Zerg engineer units would be responsible for internal network security and real-time repairs of damaged areas.
Lin Xiaohe breathed a sigh of relief—this part was simple: “Good.”
Next came the propulsion system—the one thing the Ark had always lacked!
Hardy didn’t go with nuclear fusion thrusters or other conventional power systems. Instead, he combined the strengths of all civilizations to design something entirely new!
“Combining the Lithos clan’s star-core resonance with the advantages of cultivation flying swords as the reactor core, wrapped in a biological confinement net formed by fusing Zerg biological tissue and oceanic civilization energy conduits. This net can convert leaked energy into biomass and feed it back into the Zerg network.”
“The Ark’s core navigation system will be deeply linked through the Zerg’s dominant will, the psychic network of the Shaman clan, and human quantum computers.”
The Zerg’s dominant will was none other than Lin Xiaohe herself—effectively handing the Ark’s control over to her, a subtle gesture from Hardy and his team.
As for the internal space division of the Ark, it would include human zones, Stardust human zones, Giant Sound Whale harbors, Shaman sanctuaries, Lithos nurseries, ocean civilization water zones, and more—maximizing space utilization while accommodating the needs of all races.
Lin Xiaohe was very satisfied: “Excellent! Let’s start construction while continuing to optimize the plans. I’ll leave Little Black behind to work with you on the modifications.”
As for herself, she would head to the First Star Ring to scout the situation.
Ugh, the official website just released another doomsday seed video…
What are they even trying to do now?
