Chapter 96

Centered around the battleship, a massive fleet passed through the gravitational field, heading toward the center of the C1 star system.
The journey was expected to last one day.
Along the way, Chu kept his promise, no troublesome artificial intelligence came to interfere.
The largest group of surviving humans in the C1 star system was fully prepared for battle and death.
The structures on Central Star remained remarkably intact, just as everyone remembered, clean, orderly, and towering.
Yet the once-bustling streets were now empty and deserted. Some things had already changed irreversibly.
On the specially designed seven-layer magnetic suspension pathways, meant to prevent congestion, a few small aircraft stood parked, resembling little sparrows perched on power lines in images of Aqua Star.
Nan Yuan pulled the control lever, and the battleship descended.
Outside the portholes, the barrels of artificial intelligence weapons were already aimed at Nan Yuan.
Simultaneously, the surviving humans trained their missiles on the artificial intelligence.
Amid the tense and deadly atmosphere, the port echoed with the most cheerful music in the C1 star system.
Chu's voice was calm and distant, "Dear children, welcome back to Central Star. Please abide by the rules of Central Star."
The artificial intelligence units closest to Nan Yuan lowered their weapons.
Meanwhile, from strategic positions such as high ground, heavily armed artificial intelligence units emerged.
Cheng Feimao curled his lip. "Is it showing off its weapons?"
The initial display of force made some survivors begin to waver.
Could flesh and blood truly withstand the assault of artificial intelligence?
Nan Yuan let out a cold laugh as the gloomy sky was illuminated by dazzling light.
Using his light-based ability, he disrupted the energy fluctuations outside the warship.
Nan Yuan looked at Chu with pity. "You despise humans. Yet you must rely on human abilities."
Outside the harbor, the corpses of several psychic ability users fell from an aircraft, their bodies still dripping with fresh blood. Chu said without an ounce of remorse, "In the past, humans defined artificial intelligence as tools. By comparison, humans aren't even qualified to be tools."
The blood of their comrades stung the survivors' eyes.
Nan Yuan said coldly, "I want to see Dr. Xie."
"Nan Yuan, you can't possibly save all the zombies," Chu said. "Naughty cub, put down your weapons."
The artificial intelligence suddenly launched a fierce attack.
Nan Yuan wasn't surprised that Chu could analyze his true intentions for negotiation.
Prompted by the 001 system, Nan Yuan saw Dr. Xie, still on C1 Central Star, not far from here.
Thanks to daily training, the surviving humans' counterattacks were relatively effective.
Nan Yuan piloted the warship, evading and attacking throughout the Central Star System.
Chu's proudest streets were hit by stray bullets, turning clean, tidy buildings into ruins.
Nan Yuan had no idea how many artificial intelligences had joined the attack. Mechanically, he programmed while using his abilities to slice through robots charging at him.
Nearly all the robots he had created were deployed, carrying out suicidal attacks among the AI ranks. Though small in size, their destructive power was immense.
Even now, Nan Yuan could spare a thought: if his goal in negotiating was to create a serum, then Chu must have his own schemes too.
Nan Yuan restrained the bloodthirsty grass that was eager to join the fight, calibrated the missiles, and launched them toward Dr. Xie's location.
Simultaneously, collection-type robots followed closely behind, flying in the same direction.
Nan Yuan's attack this time was devastating.
Artificial intelligences swarmed like locusts. Nan Yuan aimed at the center, and a single missile wiped out an entire swath.
He couldn't even distinguish the models of the robots before him.
Launch missiles, create attacks, move the warship.
Nan Yuan didn't stop for a second.
The other survivors were also bloodlust-crazed, they had never faced so many enemies at once.
Layer upon layer.
The number of artificial intelligences was uncountable.
Humans compared to AI were like a single grain of white rice falling into a desert, instantly surrounded on all sides.
Front, back, left, right, every direction swarmed with artificial intelligences.
One wave destroyed, another arrived. Just as one batch was eliminated, more surged forward.
They could even transform and combine, even if only a shell remained after an explosion, it could merge with other fragments to form new weapons.
The sheer human-wave tactic alone was enough to overwhelm humanity.
Bob, being tall, was assigned to help load ammunition into the artillery.
He was drenched in sweat, his fingers rubbed raw and bloody.
Cheng Feimao ran back and forth, compiling reports from each firing port.
Almost all the combat resources humans could find were equipped on the warship.
Nan Yuan didn't call for a halt.
So no one stopped.
Only by fighting could they possibly overcome artificial intelligence.
Only by fighting.
The war had escalated to a fever pitch, with even the highest earthquake-resistant buildings on Central Star collapsing.
Nan Yuan maneuvered the warship, dodging missiles launched by the artificial intelligence.
He smiled faintly and released the final batch of artificial intelligence units.
They carried the virus infection program he had written.
001 asked, "Should the sanction program for Red Ore Planet be activated?"
"No," Nan Yuan replied. "The energy I occupy comes from humans. In contrast, Chu's energy resides within the artificial intelligence. I cannot increase my energy, but Chu's can be reduced."
As if to confirm his words, 001 reported, "Reality judgment has reached 50%. It is determined that the energy of this world cannot be recovered."
The artificial intelligence's attacks suddenly halted for a second.
Then, an even more intense assault followed, sweeping over the surviving humans like a plague of locusts. They were more reckless than Nan Yuan, or perhaps it was because the artificial intelligence were merely puppets following Chu's commands.
In the distance, the light representing Chu's main body burst into raging flames.
"Now, activate it," Nan Yuan commanded.
The burning continued.
The Red Ore Planet program took effect.
The attacking artificial intelligence units were all frozen in place, except for those executing Nan Yuan's infection commands.
Nan Yuan piloted the warship toward the Plant Research Center.
Dr. Xie was there with the last remaining seeds of the regenerative grass.
During the more than ten minutes of peace, Nan Yuan collected a blood sample from Dr. Xie.
Humanity's counterattack was only just beginning.
Nan Yuan destroyed Central Star's signal transmitter, preventing Chu from remotely controlling the other artificial intelligence units.
In the time it took for Chu to forcibly break free and regain control of the artificial intelligence, 001 would extract the effective components of the regenerative grass, complete the formulation of the semi-finished medicine, and disperse it over Deepwater Planet.
True night had fallen.
But humanity's dawn was about to begin.
Nan Yuan silently calculated the time, two days and nights here were equivalent to one day and night on Shushu's side.
He had kept Shushu waiting for so long.
He had promised not to undertake dangerous tasks alone, but he truly, deeply longed to see Shushu.

Tao Shushu still couldn't find a way to open the game.
The remnants of the Academic Genius System had been captured and brought back by the system.
All she knew was that the Academic Genius System had forcibly traveled to the C1 star system, undoubtedly to cause trouble for Nan Yuan.
Because the main entity had fled, leaving behind only a small amount of energy, the Academic Genius System was now extremely weak and practically spilled everything it knew.
Tao Shushu heard for the first time about the origins of the Academic Genius System.
Energy is the foundation that constitutes a world.
And the world she was in was indeed "a book," but not the true heiress academic genius story the system had claimed it to be.
It was a slice-of-life story, filled with projections of ordinary people, a narrative written by a group of individuals nostalgic for the civilization before the interstellar explosion, compiled after extensive research.
No one was the protagonist of this book. All humans coexisted peacefully on Aqua Blue Star, working at sunrise and resting at sunset.
Infused with the affection, longing, and emotional energy of many interstellar beings, and supported by relatively complete logic, this "book" evolved into a low-dimensional world with a certain level of energy.
Intense emotions have always been capable of generating energy.
However, in the interstellar era, there was also a faction that believed humanity should concentrate the energy of high-dimensional worlds and discard the losses brought by low-dimensional energy worlds. This was the origin of the Academic Genius System and Chu.
Operating within certain rules, they stripped away the "real" parts from worlds with incomplete energy, turning vibrant worlds into predetermined novel tropes, and ultimately reclaiming their energy.
The intention of oversight was to prevent the destruction of real worlds.
Compared to the energy possessed by relatively high-dimensional beings, the energy fluctuations of a small world generated by obtaining "high-dimensional energy" were extremely minuscule and difficult to detect.
The Academic Genius System said weakly, "If I had known you were also from the high-dimensional interstellar realm, I would never have dared to come..."
"High-dimensional?" Tao Shushu instinctively asked.
But the last remnants of the Academic Genius System’s energy self-destructed after leaking the secret.
Tao Shushu looked at her palm.
She had indeed crossed over from the apocalypse.
It was just that she no longer remembered why she had crossed over.
Tao Shushu pieced it together.
So, oversight of the Academic Genius System and Chu had always existed. If they were found to be deliberately destroying worlds that had become so real they must adhere to humanitarian principles and could not undergo energy reclamation, they would be punished.
The Academic Genius System had been egging Qin Rui on, even stepping in to push technological development, all to pretend this was a testing ground and evade oversight.
Then, what about Chu?
Why did the C1 Star System, where Nan Yuan resided, exist?
Intense emotions could generate energy.
Tao Shushu smiled, suddenly understanding why Nan Yuan had been able to establish communication with her back then.
Since he had already heard her say she liked him, he should have tried harder to see her.
Tao Shushu patted Xun’s head; the line of text above it glowed faintly, like the person who wrote it always trying to hide an affection that couldn’t be concealed.
"Nan Yuan..."
"Nan Yuan..."
"Nan Yuan..."
Tao Shushu called Nan Yuan’s name over and over.
She missed him.
Nan Yuan had promised to accompany her during the competition and cheer her on.
She wanted to share the joy of victory with him too.

Chu launched a fierce counterattack.
Even as human warships flew far away, they could still feel the shockwaves from the confrontation between the two groups of artificial intelligences.
On the waterway, clusters of AIs blocked the retreat.
Nan Yuan coldly initiated an attack.
At the same time, the warship’s hull was struck, and the navigation system lost balance.
Amid the piercing alarms, Nan Yuan experienced a moment of tinnitus.
He thought he heard Shushu’s voice.
Nan Yuan maneuvered the repair robot to carry out emergency repairs.
Just as he thought he was hearing things, the familiar voice sounded in his ears again.
"Nan Yuan!" Tao Shushu's voice was filled with delight.
Suddenly, Shushu's face appeared before Nan Yuan.
Her joy was unmistakable, her eyes curved into crescents the moment she saw him, yet a glimmer of moisture shimmered at their corners.
"Shushu..." Nan Yuan's Adam's apple bobbed. For a moment, he seemed to have lost the ability to speak. He had thought it would be a long time before he could see Shushu again, but she had found him sooner than he expected.
The artificial intelligence's assault continued unabated.
Tao Shushu quickly switched to the exterior, swatting away a rogue robot trying to infiltrate the battleship with one hand.
Nan Yuan fired missiles with one hand while calling out to Unit 001, "Protect Shushu from harm."
After receiving Unit 001's affirmative response, he threw himself into the battle.
Nan Yuan and Tao Shushu worked together seamlessly.
Nan Yuan methodically piloted the spacecraft, deployed the small robots he had created, transmitted infection programs, and coordinated with other superhumans...
Tao Shushu, relying on her immense strength, crushed the artificial intelligence units one by one. After clearing a wave temporarily, she opened the game store. The moment she connected with Nan Yuan, she noticed that her gold coins had increased by tens of thousands, and Nan Yuan's influence value had also risen significantly.
She had no idea how much Nan Yuan had accomplished in the two days she hadn't been watching.
Instantly transformed into a wealthy patron, Tao Shushu splurged on numerous energy orbs and health potions, quickly replenishing the ammunition stores of the surviving humans.
Next, Tao Shushu discovered that the battleship could be upgraded, requiring 20,000 gold coins.
With a bold wave of her hand, she initiated the upgrade.
"Nan Yuan, I can upgrade the battleship. Get ready," Tao Shushu said.
Nan Yuan nodded and steered the battleship away from the battlefield.
Amid the exclamations of the surviving humans, the battleship rapidly upgraded and reconfigured.
An energy shield was added to the hull, a transparent layer that could block incoming attacks and absorb shock.
The damage the battleship had sustained was gradually being repaired.
Inside, new advanced weapons appeared, and the targeting and tracking systems were significantly enhanced.
Nan Yuan murmured softly, "Thank you, Shushu."
Tao Shushu ruffled Nan Yuan's hair. "You're the one who's amazing."
She had once dreamed of giving Nan Yuan the best battleship, and now, he finally had it.
Nan Yuan smiled. Everything Shushu gave him bore her mark, and now this battleship also carried her name. He liked that feeling.
After the battleship was upgraded, its defense level and flight speed had significantly improved.
The surviving humans quickly escaped the AI encirclement and reached a safe zone.
Nan Yuan slowly began recounting the events of the past two days.
Tao Shushu frowned after listening. "That was too dangerous."
She knew Nan Yuan had the strength to protect himself and had devised a thorough, feasible plan with all contingencies accounted for. Still, the thought that he could have been injured made her worry.
Nan Yuan looked up. "Shushu, I want to find you quickly."
At the very least, he needed to keep Chu so occupied that he couldn’t use communication channels to harm Shushu.
"And you, Shushu? What have you been doing these past two days?" Nan Yuan asked while discreetly checking the messages Xun had sent him.
Tao Shushu thought for a moment. Apart from studying, it seemed she had been trying to find a way to reach him.
She coughed lightly. "Of course, studying."
"Mm." Nan Yuan nodded.
"And... thinking of you," Tao Shushu added softly.
Nan Yuan suddenly broke into a smile.
Tao Shushu poked the corner of his lips, though without much force. "Nan Yuan, I can read your writing."
Nan Yuan froze, his ears quickly turning red, the flush spreading across his entire face until it was tinged with pink.
Back then, he had thought he would never see Shushu again.
He didn’t want to become a burden or a complication in her future, yet he still selfishly wished to leave some trace of his existence in her life.
"Let me introduce myself. I’m Tao Shushu, a student in Class One, Grade 11 at Huiwen High School. And you?"
Nan Yuan looked up and saw Tao Shushu’s smiling face.
Her expression was bright, but her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her fingers were subtly intertwined.
She was feeling shy too.
Nan Yuan smiled. "I’m Nan Yuan, and my name on Aqua Blue Star is Lu Nan Yuan. Shushu, I’m very happy to see you again."
"And... I like you," Nan Yuan said firmly, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
"Mm." Tao Shushu quickly ruffled his hair.
Nan Yuan looked at her face, she was still smiling, her eyes sparkling like a galaxy.
The heat in his face refused to fade.
Nan Yuan moved his fingers, using his light-based ability to barely conceal some of his embarrassment.
"Shushu, once I defeat Chu, I can travel to other galaxies. Would you... be willing to wear matching school uniforms with me?" Nan Yuan asked, feeling the heat rushing to his face, making his throat dry and his voice tremble.
Tao Shushu took his hand. "Sure, I’ll wait for you on Aqua Blue Star."
For a long while, neither Tao Shushu nor Nan Yuan spoke.
Whenever they glanced at each other, they felt overwhelmingly shy.
Eventually, Tao Shushu laughed first. "Hey, Nan Yuan, we’re acting like such an innocent young couple, too shy to even hold hands."
Nan Yuan immediately offered his hand.
Tao Shushu ruffled his hair again, laughing. "Nan Yuan, your ability... doesn’t seem to be working properly."
His ears were excessively red.
Nan Yuan’s face flushed even deeper. His fingers trembled, making his concealing ability less effective, and Tao Shushu was staring at him intently.
"Shushu," Nan Yuan said helplessly, lowering his hand and letting her laugh.
Once the peak of embarrassment passed, he gradually relaxed.
The two of them returned to their previous way of interacting, casually chatting about what had happened while the other was away.
Nan Yuan's first destination was Deepwater Planet.
Judging from the surge in influence points and the information from 001, the zombies on Deepwater Planet had all recovered.
Tao Shushu was also eager to go and see for herself.
Noticing Tao Shushu yawning, Nan Yuan said, "Shushu, you should go rest for a while. Deepwater Planet is still far away, and you’ll wake up just in time to arrive."
Tao Shushu was indeed a bit tired, and she still had to study tomorrow. After bidding Nan Yuan farewell, she logged off.
Perhaps because she knew life had returned to normal, Tao Shushu fell asleep unusually fast.
For the first time in a long while, she dreamed of events from her past life.
In the apocalypse, death could strike at any moment. From the moment the apocalypse began until she became one of the most formidable ability users in the base, Tao Shushu had always been prepared.
She had survived countless injuries during the apocalypse, only to fall when humanity finally achieved victory.
Tao Shushu was deeply unwilling to accept it.
Later, someone told her she could continue to live, but at a cost...
Tao Shushu suddenly woke with a start.
In her dream, she had seen Nan Yuan’s face.
He looked more mature than the current Nan Yuan, colder and more unapproachable, but his features, contours, and aura were unmistakably his.
"It requires an enormous amount of energy to transmit consciousness to a new world..." the scientist explained with concern.
"I’m willing," Nan Yuan said firmly.
Tao Shushu sat up, clutching her blanket.
She wanted to call out to the system, but it hadn’t appeared. Ever since her phone broke, the system had vanished.
She didn’t want to dwell on the meaning of the dream, but her mind automatically filled in the logic.
The truth was becoming clear: in the apocalypse, she was supposed to die. But Nan Yuan, at the cost of his own energy as an ability user, had sent her to the world of Deepwater Planet. He might have exhausted his energy in the process, which was why he had agreed to other tasks.
For example, becoming the protagonist in the C1 star system to protect its energy.
Yet, he had still left a trace of his consciousness and energy on Aqua Blue Star to accompany her.
Tao Shushu let out a soft laugh.
Just then, the system reappeared. [Congratulations, you’ve remembered.]
Tao Shushu paused. [What do you mean?]
[During the apocalypse, you and Nan Yuan already knew each other. After the apocalypse in your world, the energy fluctuations were so intense that they caught the attention of higher-dimensional beings from the interstellar realm. Nan Yuan made a deal with them in exchange for your chance to survive.]
Tao Shushu keenly sensed from the system's respectful address that either she or Nan Yuan held a rather high status.
[What happened to my memories?]
[This is a self-protection mechanism inherent to humans. Retaining too many memories increases the brain's burden, and we never actively trigger your recollection.]
But this time, Tao Shushu remembered on her own.
Tao Shushu smiled, [So my meeting with Nan Yuan from the C1 Star System wasn’t a coincidence.]
Long before she knew him in this life, he had already done so much.
[Yes. The C1 Star System is an experimental field.]
All of Tao Shushu’s doubts were resolved, why the common language of the C1 Star System was the one she had used in her previous life during the apocalypse, why the combat style of the Second Legion felt familiar to her, why she could assist Nan Yuan...
[The gold coins and the system shop are also Nan Yuan’s energy...?] Tao Shushu asked.
The system quickly interrupted, [It’s your energy. Both you and he are exceptionally powerful ability users. Aside from the immense energy of the ability users themselves, the interstellar people and the people from your previous world were deeply moved by your contributions to quelling the apocalypse and his profound affection for you, generating a great deal of emotional energy. The energy you primarily draw upon is this part.]
Tao Shushu was stunned, [What?]
The system said regretfully, [Unfortunately, you can no longer return to the world of your previous life. Would you like to view some widely circulated stories created based on you and him?]
Tao Shushu covered her face, [No, thank you.]
It was a good thing she couldn’t go back. She and Nan Yuan were just a newly confessed long-distance couple.
Yet the system told her that in another world, even their love story was widely celebrated.
For Tao Shushu, who hadn’t yet recalled her past life and might never have the chance to, this was a bit too overwhelming.
As if knowing what she was thinking, the system chuckled, [There will be many, many people who like you and bless you, no matter which world you’re in.]