Lin Xiaohe eventually agreed to the proposal from the Giant Sound Whale elder.
She told Gaia about it, gave her the universal coordinates of Jiuzhou Star, and then used the fourth dimension to hurry back to Jiuzhou Star.
She laid down the harsh truth for those stardust mutant creatures upfront: “If there’s room on the Ark, you can come aboard. If there isn’t, I won’t care whether you live or die.”
Carrying so many civilizations and races on her shoulders, Lin Xiaohe felt her back was about to break. She truly had no energy left to look after these creatures.
The Radiant Jellyfish was overjoyed and repeatedly said, “Yes, yes, honored sovereign!”
It immediately and voluntarily severed ten of its tentacles and handed them to Wesley and the others: “A small token of appreciation—a little extra for your meal.”
Wesley’s mouth twitched. Was this how interstellar races interacted with each other?!
He stole a glance at the Party Leader from the corner of his eye. Seeing no objection, he took the liberty of accepting the jellyfish tentacles.
This gesture made the stardust creatures breathe a small sigh of relief.
They were quite sensible and didn’t dare approach Jiuzhou Star, keeping a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
After handling this matter, Lin Xiaohe headed to Taiyin Star to check on the progress of the Myriad Phenomena Ark.
The Ark’s hull renovation was already complete. The entire spaceship’s appearance was now worlds apart from before.
Hardy, as one of the principal people in charge, stayed by Lin Xiaohe’s side, following her every step: “Through practical testing, we overturned the first version of the plan.”
He was an ordinary human. Even though his mental strength was high, under such intense work conditions, he looked like he’d aged several years.
“The original Ark, uh…” He organized his words.
After all, the original Ark had been designed by Lin Xiaohe herself.
“Although it had a unique aesthetic, from a scientific standpoint, it wasn’t suited for traveling through the cosmos.”
Lin Xiaohe expressed her understanding. The previous version of the Ark’s exterior had been designed based on the tower ships of Blue Star Huaxia.
But the cosmos is not an ocean—there are far, far too many factors that affect navigation.
The new Ark was not a streamlined vessel, but a magnificent existence resembling a living continent.
Its basic outline was a rugged spindle shape. The core framework was constructed from the Rock Clan’s high-strength composite metal materials, like the spine of a mountain range.
The hull was covered with the biological scales of Void Devourers. Between the scales flowed the glowing blue energy veins of the Ocean Civilization, like the blood vessels of a continent.
The Insect Clan’s living tissues formed constantly adjusting growth structures in key areas, keeping the Ark’s exterior in a state of slow “growth.”
The propulsion array had not yet been completed—that was the focus of the next renovation phase.
Lin Xiaohe stood at the center of the spindle shape, which was the most important control area.
Looking at the entire spaceship from here felt strange and yet deeply disjointed.
Clearly, Hardy felt this incongruity too, and had to admit: “Our human technological foundation is too weak, and the time has been too short. We have no way to fully digest the knowledge of the prehistoric civilizations.”
Hardy smiled bitterly. The development paths of these prehistoric civilizations from different eras were vastly different. Wanting to fully understand them all was simply too difficult.
Lin Xiaohe consoled him: “It’s not your fault.”
Just as ants can never understand what a spaceship is, humans trying to fully absorb the crystallization of all civilizations was no different from a fool’s dream.
Understanding was one thing, but the Myriad Phenomena Ark concerned their very survival. Hardy and the others were under tremendous pressure, getting barely two hours of sleep each day.
As for the stardust humans, it was even more extreme—they had been working around the clock for three whole months!
The research team behind Hardy hung their heads, not daring to look at Lin Xiaohe.
Honestly, they had truly done their best.
Lin Xiaohe was just about to comfort them when her eyes suddenly narrowed, and her true body quickly slipped into the fourth-dimensional Sanctuary.
An uninvited guest had arrived at the Sanctuary’s chessboard.
A young man in a green robe floated above the chessboard, examining the life origins within it with great interest.
Lin Xiaohe’s eyes were full of vigilance as red armor quickly wrapped around her entire body: “Changqing?”
Changqing’s gaze swept over Lin Xiaohe.
In that instant, Lin Xiaohe felt as though he had seen through her, inside and out.
“It’s me. You’ve gotten stronger again.”
Lin Xiaohe’s feelings toward Changqing were complicated—closeness mixed with wariness: “You…”
“Shh…” Changqing’s slender eyes held a faint, ambiguous smile. “No need to doubt it. I really am the seed of the Lotus Wood, and also the third candidate. I have answers to many of the things you want to know.”
Just like when they first met, he spoke with a hint of carelessness: “But I won’t tell you for free. Our connection has already been severed.”
Lin Xiaohe felt a slight ache in her heart: “I thought we were friends.”
“If there were no extinction crisis, we could have been friends forever.”
Lin Xiaohe gripped her spear tightly: “Why can’t we work together? The extinction crisis doesn’t come with a limited number of escape spots. Does it?”
“Fufu, don’t try to use your mysterious power in the fourth dimension. Your level isn’t high enough.” Changqing flashed and appeared right in front of Lin Xiaohe, his gaze landing on the tip of her spear.
He actually reached out and touched it, then said with wide-open eyes and utter honesty: “This isn’t my true body anyway. Even if you kill me, it won’t do any good.”
“Where is your true body?”
“Fufu, that’s a secret.” Changqing tilted his head, his dark eyes like a bottomless vortex. “Let’s make a deal. Give me 2,000 humans in exchange for the answer to one question. Or 10 stardust humans for one answer. Hmm, people from the Four Great Families would work too.”
He said with certainty: “You definitely have plenty of questions you want to ask me.”
On Jiuzhou Star, there were at least several hundred thousand ordinary humans.
Just 2,000 humans to buy a major secret—it was really quite a good deal.
Changqing sighed inwardly. In the end, he had gone soft on Lin Xiaohe, actually offering her such a losing bargain.
Lin Xiaohe couldn’t read any information from Changqing’s expression.
She smiled, as if chatting with a good friend, and joked: “You have to at least tell me what you need humans for. Otherwise, I’d be losing out big time.”
Changqing smiled cheerfully: “Crafty little Xiaohe. That question is worth 2,000 humans, you know. Do you want to make a deal with me?”
“No. How do I know whether your answer is true or false? After all, you once told me that information is a civilization’s most important combat power. Everyone lies, including you.”
Changqing nodded in agreement: “You’re right. I can only promise that what I tell you is what I believe to be true.”
Like a devil, he whispered in Lin Xiaohe’s ear: “Some questions you can put off until later. But don’t you want to know how to survive this great crisis? I can tell you plainly—I have a path with a one-in-ten-thousand success rate.”
A one-in-ten-thousand chance wasn’t small at all.
Lin Xiaohe had once used the Insect Clan’s massive tomb’s deduction ability. Over 300 million development paths, and every single one ultimately led to total annihilation.
Changqing’s voice was full of temptation: “Like you said, 2,000 humans—you can’t lose out, you can’t get cheated. Why not give it a try? Ah, fine. I know you’re kind-hearted. You can’t bear to part with so many people. Then let’s make it 10 stardust humans.”
Lin Xiaohe’s expression was cold, her entire being written with refusal.
Changqing looked utterly helpless, speaking with a tone of wounded indulgence: “Fine, fine. I can never win against you. Then just one person from the Four Great Families in exchange. That should be acceptable, right? I’m taking a huge loss here.”
