Chapter 971: Human?

Abo looked at this scene in astonishment.

The great being before them was still very withered, like a mummy, ragged and covered in scars.

His clothes were ordinary; if not for the powerful oppressive aura of Qi surrounding him, he could easily have been mistaken for a mere mortal.

However, the power contained within his body was easily felt, and this power was most apparent in his stance and footsteps.

Such a noble and great being, seated above space and time, watching all living beings struggle, was so powerful, almost an indescribable force.

Yet, after only a moment of hesitation, he knelt with a thud before his newborn child.

What happened? Why?

The baby's cries quickly stopped, turning into a gurgling, choking sound.

Clearly, he was choking, a very dangerous state for an infant. If not dealt with, the baby would soon suffer from lack of breath.

But it was very easy to deal with; simply turn the baby upside down and pat his back firmly.

But...

Under the aura of that great being, ordinary people couldn't even stand.

Even though he was kneeling, the oppressive force he exuded, and the terrifying pressure from the 'honor guard' around him, were enough to make even the overlords of super-civilizations prostrate themselves.

After a few minutes, the baby's choking began to slow, and his body started to turn purple.

He was suffocating.

That great being remained kneeling.

However... Abo couldn't stand up; his Physical Body simply wouldn't obey him.

This was normal. If an expert cultivator from the world were here, he would understand...

What he was facing... was a Fourth-Rank.

Abo was merely a Seventh-Rank who had advanced through Physical Body modification and prosthetics; facing the corpse of a Fourth-Rank, the gap was immeasurable.

He couldn't even withstand a single glance from the other party.

Abo could only watch as the fragile infant gradually grew cold.

But at that moment, Leileidi suddenly stood up.

With strength from an unknown source, she actually stood up under the oppression of a Fourth-Rank.

In the atmosphere of silence and fear, a mother stood up, her cold sweat pouring out like a spring, every cell in her body screaming for her to fall.

Muscles twitched, heart and blood were forced to stagnate, the body's instinctive reactions desperately warned its owner to fall down quickly.

Fall down, fall down! Only then can you live!

Before you is an untouchable great power! One capable of destroying the entire Observable Universe, traversing the Universe at infinite speed, maintaining independent existence in the river of space-time; he is a god, and even most 'gods' cannot touch his heels.

Such torment twisted Leileidi's facial muscles, her body squirmed, her lips moved as if she had many things to say but couldn't.

Her muscles began to fight each other, every movable part cramping.

Unstoppable pain swept through her entire body.

Pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain.

Pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain.

Pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain.

This level of pain would normally cause one to pass out immediately.

Because... passing out is truly a 'reward'.

As long as one gives up resistance and lets the pain devour one's will, one can find liberation.

This temptation was too sweet... just giving up everything would make the pain disappear; there was simply nothing more worthwhile in this world.

The body's instincts were taking over the Physical Body completely. Leileidi's vision, expression, blinking, breathing, muscle reflexes, habits, metabolism, and various other physiological reactions were being taken over by some mysterious power.

Pain directly exploded and spread deep within her body, commanding her!

This was an instinct from primitive genes, the ultimate authority of the Physical Body that transcended self-awareness!

Primitive genes issued commands beyond language! They directly pressed the emergency brake on the 'Nervous System' control panel, commanding the Leileidi unit: "Stop!" "Pass out!" "Fall down!"

But Leileidi did not stop.

'Resistance'? No, it wasn't that; rather, it was deceiving herself, hypnotizing herself, perhaps even self-numbing. Every cell was emitting a dying wail, an indescribable, heart-piercing pain that Leileidi had never experienced.

Blood cells shattered in large numbers, and her body began to show signs of hemolysis.

It was simple: the wails from her cells were real, not illusions. Every cell was enduring the oppression of those 'honor guards'. If she continued, her muscles would dissolve, bones would shatter, and internal organs would become a puddle of juice encased in connective tissue, like a giant's corpse.

Her immune System also went berserk. The maddened immune System directly stirred up a storm within her body, forcing this Physical Body to fall, to be destroyed, to die immediately!

This was for the continuation of the species! This was for the survival of the genes! For the race not to be extinguished, for civilization to continue to exist, this individual must fall, must die!

The commands of the genes are never wrong. If one does not obey the commands of the genes—not sleeping when one should, not eating when one should, not fainting when one should—the Physical Body will suffer devastating damage.

However... Leileidi still walked forward. She completely overcame all commands from her primitive genes, walking with a renewed posture, though her steps were faltering and her life was fleeting.

She was her own master, not a slave to genetic instinct; the decision was hers alone.

The corpse also reacted.

He remained kneeling, raised his head, and looked at Leileidi, whom he had previously ignored, uttering a perplexed question in elegant speech: "Human?"

Is it human?

There's no other answer besides 'human', is there?

Is there humanity here?

There are humans, but no humanity.

Strange.

The corpse had not fully recovered his ability to think; he was still not fully awake. His limited thinking ability could not support such a level of thought, so he remained frozen in place.

As he thought this, the mother embraced the baby, forcefully held him upside down, and then patted his bottom.

The baby began to cough.

Soon, a clump of solidified 'egg white' was coughed out from his throat. The baby could finally breathe, and he let out a loud cry.

This sound seemed to possess some magic, dispelling the 'honor guard' around the corpse.

Though just an ordinary infant, almost suffocating from a mouthful of egg white, weak and soft like all babies, unable to even stand, he possessed such magic.

With the honor guard dissipated by the crying, Abo could finally move.

He rushed forward, snatched the baby, and placed him in an incubator, which had an automatic care mechanism.

Then, he picked up Leileidi: "The child is safest here! Don't speak, I'll take you to the medical room!"

Saying this, he ran out, taking the now powerless Leileidi to the medical room.

——————————

Seventeen days later, Abo piloted Leiding City to an ecological planet of his own.

This was a pristine garden planet, very beautiful, and he would bury Leileidi here.

His wife, the child's mother, had exchanged her life for the child's at the last moment. The medical room couldn't save her life.

All her DNA was fractured, as if she had suffered a massive dose of radiation. Every cell had lost its ability to divide and regenerate. Once the remaining cells died, she would turn into a pool of cellular fluid.

Abo repeatedly hammered his head many times. He wished he had been the one to step forward then, but he couldn't.

He didn't even know how Leileidi had done it.

But at least... the child was still alive.

Abo appeared on a small hill overlooking the grassland.

That morning, the grassland was covered in a white mist.

The beauty of this garden planet was famous, with epic landscapes.

Deep blue mountains were covered by a purple sky, due to the composition of the ocean here, which reflected purple light, thus reflecting a blue-purple sky.

The edges of the sky were dotted with pink clouds. The color of these clouds was due to trace amounts of neon in the atmosphere, causing the clouds to emit a faint pink glow.

This sky was vast, but when standing within it, the world felt a little smaller; from a distance, large waterfalls cascaded from the mountain peaks, then flowed into a deep green grassland.

Lakes, like jewels embedded in the earth, were scattered everywhere, constantly reflecting the changing firmament.

In this season, the sun always lingered for a long time at sunrise and sunset, hanging in the sky, wandering near the horizon but not setting. This would last for several months, a phenomenon of polar day here.

There seemed to be no distinct day or night here; day and night were merely brief moments connecting dawn and dusk. Most of the time was dawn and dusk, and throughout the year, stars could be seen twinkling in the sky, softly chanting faint light in a vast, dim, yet not dark sky.

Abo buried Leileidi here.

The Shipowner was dead. He had been pursued by the corpse. The corpse had killed the Shipowner and all life on his Ship without even moving; the method used was completely unclear.

Now Abo inherited all the Shipowner's property; he was now a 'Shipowner' too, the de facto controller of the Limitless Control Group.

But he was not happy; he merely held his child and looked at the corpse beside him.

He had almost grown accustomed to the corpse's presence.

Life's adaptability was truly strong; even such a terrifying existence could be gotten used to with enough time.

This corpse... seemed to have an extraordinary respect for his child. He had killed the Shipowner, yet he followed his child like a servant, never leaving her side.

He named this child 'Reboot' or 'New'.

In the language of the Limitless, these two are one word.

After burying his wife, he asked the corpse, "Do you bear any ill will?"

The corpse did not answer him.

In fact, apart from saying 'human' at the very beginning, the corpse had never spoken another word.

It simply followed Xiao Chongqi quietly, staying by the infant's side, never leaving her an inch.

Abo realized that the corpse before him truly seemed to bear no ill will.

The reason he destroyed the Shipowner had no special cause; it was merely because he 'passed by'.

From the terrifying past Abo had seen in those honor guards, the corpse's passing by was indeed enough to destroy everything in its vicinity.

What kind of super-civilization could nurture such a terrifying powerhouse? To the extent that even his corpse could easily destroy him?

The Universe was dangerous, Abo had always known, but... this was truly too dangerous.

And, even more absurdly, this corpse had been guarding his daughter, Reboot, like a servant.

His daughter seemed to have more problems.

But no matter what was special about this child, he wouldn't let go; even if he died, he wouldn't be paralyzed on the spot like last time.

His daughter was beautiful. Although still an infant, Abo could guarantee that she would be as beautiful as Leileidi when she grew up.

He decided to temporarily halt his research; anyway, the fleet also needed time for maintenance.

He would rest well on this beautiful garden planet.

His wife was here, his daughter was here; what else was there to hope for?

What research, what civilizational progress...

Let's put it aside for now.

Take it slow.

Thinking this, he raised a ceremonial torch. The torch's glow shone exceptionally bright in the twilight. A warm breeze gently blew, and the sound of the wind intertwined with the white smoke from the torch, lingering in the air for a moment before flying towards the starlight of the night sky with the gentle breeze of this highland.

Was it dawn now? Or dusk?

He didn't know, but on this planet, dusk and dawn were the main themes. Due to its peculiar rotation, there was no true day or night here, only a continuous cycle between dusk and dawn, drawing a figure-eight in the sky.

Time passed bit by bit.

Leiding City had been docked here for ten years.

Xiao Chongqi was now ten years old.

As expected, she grew into a princess-like girl, always accompanied by a moving corpse.

This garden world was like a fairy tale: vast grasslands, pink clouds, a purple sky, and stars seemingly sprinkled on purple velvet.

Dawn and dusk were the most beautiful moments, and here, it was always this instant.

There was also a giant castle, 'Leiding City', nine hundred miles long.

And she was the princess here.

"Dad!" Now the princess happily ran back to Leiding City from the grassland.

Today was her big day.