My portable grandfather refreshes every week

Chapter 164 A Thirty Thousand Years of Waiting
Xue Dinglu suddenly fell silent. He thought of the evil eye that had desperately erected a barrier after sensing the soul attack.

The barrier of the soul did not stop the Holy Sword of Salvation from attacking the consciousness of the Evil Eye, but it did block the aftershocks from attacking the Titans parasitizing its body. The barrier was truly meant to protect these Titans who knew nothing about the outside world.

No, it shouldn't be called parasitism; it should be said that they have already coexisted.

The Evil Eye is already the collective consciousness of all the "Titan Civilizations".

Combining the information provided by the artificial intelligence he had just encountered, he instantly understood everything.

At this moment, everyone inside the Evil Eye is a member of the Titan race who were sealed inside the space carrier and are in a perpetual slumber. They are the first individuals to be assimilated by the Evil Eye. Nearly 100 million people were instantly pulled into the dream world by the Evil Eye and coexist with it here.

Xue Dinglu closed his eyes and saw the human skin covered with dense writing. Even with just a cursory glance, he could see historical stories, myths and legends, and knowledge about biotechnology written in Tata script.

He gradually understood everything. This captain kept carving words on his body, trying to preserve all the history and knowledge he could think of in this way.

The words will form scars, and before the scars have fully healed, they will peel away, leaving them permanently inside this evil eye.

Xue Dinglu couldn't imagine how he had imprinted those mountains of human skin, how he had maintained his rationality over those 30,000 years, and how he could still speak with clear logic and coherence to this day.

Perhaps this self-harming behavior is not just for recording words, but more so a way to maintain consciousness in this dark and hopeless world.

It's also probably the only way to record time...

Xue Luding raised his head and looked up at the sky, which was like a bat's cave, densely packed with billions of heads. These heads were probably containers for the souls of the Titans, but after 30,000 years, their consciousness had long since dissipated.

What remains is merely a collection of instinctive consciousnesses, not much different from the Thing...

The only one in the entire world who was still conscious was the last captain of the space carrier.

"What exactly happened 30,000 years ago?" Xue asked.

Even as a secondary brain, the artificial intelligence knew very little about the sudden awakening of the Evil Eye 30,000 years ago.

It is only responsible for assisting the maintenance personnel outside the core and does not know much about the situation inside the core. The only information it provides is that the Evil Eye rioted and then assimilated all the Titans in the core.

Old Green seemed to be recalling something, and after a long while, he said, "We made a huge mistake..."

"While God was still asleep, we pushed technology to its limits in the virtual world, assimilating the entire planet's biotechnology, genetically modifying bodies to travel to the universe, and using faster-than-light engines to roam freely through the stars, enabling instantaneous travel via 'space teleportation'..."

"All of this seems incredibly wonderful, so wonderful that it's as if the nearly one hundred million of us sleeping in the virtual world could instantly change the world if we just woke up. Everyone would be a top-notch engineer and scientist, and the space teleportation engine could be easily replicated in reality..."

"However, no one expected that the simulated virtual world, due to the increased computing power requirements, would also reach the point of insufficient power supply. As a result, an unimaginable famine occurred in the virtual world... We won't die in it, but we will be in endless hunger forever..."

Old Green recounted the story from 30,000 years ago, but Xue's Law paused for a moment.

Isn't the Evil Eye supposed to be an inexhaustible source of energy? Why is there a shortage of power?

“The virtual world we initially built was not powered by ‘God’, but by our own backup energy. After the great famine in the virtual world occurred, many people in the virtual world were urgently ejected.”

"Back then, everyone was discussing changing the power source for the virtual world to be 'God,' replicating everything from that world on our mothership, and striving to reach Planet Alpha-156 within a few hundred years. More than 90% of the people voted in favor..."

"Back then, I also voted in favor, one of those eager for quick results..."

Old Green recounted the story, but at that moment, Xue Law had already realized the ending: handing over the consciousness network of hundreds of millions of people to the Evil Eye for power.

It's not that the Evil Eye suddenly awakened, as the artificial intelligence claims. Rather, it's that after the consciousness network of hundreds of millions of people entrusted itself to the Evil Eye for power, the information of hundreds of millions of people converged on the Evil Eye, and that's when the god, who should have only possessed instincts, was awakened...

Old Green seemed to be smiling bitterly, as if he wanted to cry, but now that most of his body was fused with the flesh and blood of the Evil Eye, he had lost that ability. "Everyone is eager for quick results. We haven't seen the real sun and stars for too long. Everyone has been suppressed for too long, so this plan was approved, and the virtual world was connected to 'God'..."

"Then... they died... they all died..." He covered his face, as if he wanted to cry, but he couldn't.

He lost his ability to function as a human being. He opened his mouth, wanting to call out, but found that his vocal cords and lungs could not support such a difficult movement. His mouth looked like he was smiling, but his eyes were sadder and more sorrowful than anyone else's.

"They all died. In that instant, we saw how utterly vulnerable our virtual world was before 'God.' In an instant, everyone, including the entire virtual world we had created, perished..."

"I don't know if there are any survivors outside. I was one of the few who wasn't killed directly by that soul attack, along with a few of my comrades. What were their names?"

"I forgot... what were their names... I should remember them... but I forgot... I can't remember a single word..."

Old Green froze. He seemed to be trying to remember something, but too much time had passed, and he had completely forgotten, forgotten too many things from the past.

"Never mind, they rushed into the turbine with me. We were braving temperatures of a thousand degrees to disconnect the power supply to the virtual world constructed by 'God' and our consciousness network, but they all died, right in front of me. Finally, the moment I disconnected, 'God' opened his eyes..."

Old Green spoke excitedly, and at that moment, Xue Dinglu closed his eyes.

Xue's law realized that he had made an incredibly terrible mistake.

"God apologized to me. I could feel His remorse. We were too weak. Just from His delirious soul-shaking attack, we were almost wiped out. Yes, even so, He still had mercy on us..."

"For tens of thousands of years, 'God' and we Titans have depended on each other for survival. Although we used each other, for 'God', we Titans were also the opportunity for Him to develop His own consciousness. He is truly our 'God' and our last spark."

"So, as long as we can survive, that is the greatest victory for our civilization. When my body was burned to ashes, 'God' connected my spirit with Him and swore to protect me, the last flame of the Titan race, with his life. This is the friendship He and the Titans have forged over tens of thousands of years of mutual dependence, and it is also a bond of flesh and blood."

Xue Luding clenched his fists tightly. At this moment, he felt an overwhelming surge of emotion that seemed to be threatening to engulf him.

That soul barrier wasn't for the Evil Eye to protect himself, but rather to protect the last remaining Titan within him.

Old Green seemed to recall more, saying, "At that time, I didn't know if there were any survivors living inside the space carrier, but I could only plan for the worst."

"So I know that 'God' is our last salvation, and only God can truly free us, the Titans, from this quagmire of death."

“I created a world…” Old Green laughed as he said, “I used the power of God to rebuild our virtual world. I remember, I remember, I built that world, a world that will never again be inadequate due to technological advancements…”

"A world where no one goes hungry, a world where everyone can create food out of thin air, a world where everyone lives in peace, happiness, and stability, a fairytale world where no one has to beg for the future and hope like prisoners..."

“They’re all dead, but I can keep them alive in that world. I remember, I remember, there was a girl named ‘Silver,’ she was my communications officer, my student. She stood in front of me, what was her name again? Her name was W… what was it again…”

"Watson." Xue Dinglu closed his eyes and uttered the name with difficulty.

“Yes, Watson…and my daughter, she broke the connecting pipe and was melted by the high temperature…What was her name again? Sorry, Dad has even forgotten your name, I'm so sorry…”

Old Green was speaking, but then he suddenly laughed and said, "But they will all live, because the power of 'God' is boundless. I placed them in the world I created, so that they can live happily in that world forever."

"And my billions of people, though they are dead, it is enough that I am alive. I can put all my memories of them into that world and store them there..."

"I can't save them, so I'll give them a good life..."

"A world where I am the only one suffering is enough. I'm sorry, I don't know who I am anymore. Maybe I used to be Grin Bahamut, but now I don't know if I have become part of 'God' or if 'God' has inherited my memories."

"But what difference does it make? We've already become one, inseparable. Originally, my consciousness should have long since vanished, completely merging with the illusory world I created. But then, I received a message from the 'Interstellar Squadron'..."

(End of this chapter)