Dark Ruins Dawn

Chapter 5 Meeting
"The world map has changed drastically over a long period of time, probably more than two hundred years ago, and it has been passed down orally from the older generation."

David repeated the story truthfully, “I just asked that old guy in the archives, and he only remembered that many meteorites fell, eventually even chipping off a corner of the moon. Oh, that’s where those fog-dispelling meteorites came from.”

The room remained silent for a while.

"I'm not trying to argue, I'm just genuinely curious."

Zhuang Fan pointed to the map again, "Even if there really is a meteor shower, at most it will create some big craters on the Earth, but it can't possibly change the Earth's crustal plates, right? It's simply unbelievable that the seven continents have become like this."

"I don't know about that. Anyway, the earth's crust suddenly grew legs, and it doesn't need hundreds of years. The old man said it can be completely moved in a few months. I would believe it if you said God was moving house, but this is just outrageous."

Zhuang Fan was silent for a moment: "Wouldn't that kill a lot of people?"

"Yeah, a lot."

David's tone turned wistful. "In the early stages of the plate collision, probably 95% of humanity died. Many supposedly unshakeable shelters were crushed by the earth's crust and turned into graves. Later, various natural disasters occurred, and many more people died. Anyway, according to the old man, it was really tragic back then."

At this moment, Zhuang Fan looked a little sad. His first thought was of his family. Would they be able to survive this disaster?
The chances are slim.

The fragmented memories in his mind were gradually becoming clearer, like pieces of a puzzle:

I've loved stargazing since I was a child, but light pollution has obscured the night sky, so I have to use the memory palace method to memorize the coordinates of galaxies to save time on location.

He was obsessed with mathematical modeling in high school, studied mechanical engineering and biomedicine in college, and later enrolled at ETH Zurich, majoring in neurorobotics.
He was diagnosed with brain cancer at the age of 19, and developed pancreatic and liver cancer at the age of 23. At the age of 25, he was included in the first batch of cryopreservation experimental subjects, and the person responsible for performing the cryopreservation on him was none other than his father, an authority in the field of cryomedicine.

Zhuang Fan still remembers the last moment before freezing. His father estimated the thawing time to be 2120, because the protection period of the cryo-fluid could only last until then, while the life support system of the cryo-chamber had a limit of 2150.

"By 2120, or even earlier, I will personally help you thaw. By then, cancer will definitely be cured. Don't worry, everything will be fine."

His father's assurance only made Zhuang Fan more confused. What exactly happened during those 700 years?
Seeing that Zhuang Fan still had more questions, David waved his hand and said, "That's all I know. I can't come up with anything more."

"Can I access the database?" Zhuang Fan had a bad feeling.

David shook his head: "You can't understand it. The existing data in the shelter, or rather, the complete history of mankind, only goes back a little over a hundred years. Anything before that is all fragmented."

"Why is it so short?"

"In 2583, the corporate war destroyed all of humanity's important data. But anyway, nobody cares. We're not all old scholars, right? Even if the world map changes, you see, everyone is still clearly poor."

"It's okay, I'll just take a look."

"You're not free! You're grounded, understand?"

David's tone suddenly rose, and seeing Zhuang Fan momentarily speechless, he resumed his earnest tone: "Brother, you're very shrewd, but the security here is very tight. Trust me, stay here and behave yourself."

"..."

"Oh, right."

David suddenly remembered something, "A very important person will be seeing you later."

"Who?"

David paused for a moment, then lowered his voice: "Well... anyway, there's no need to keep it a secret anymore. He's the founder of the Nuclear Group, my boss, Xu Renyi, Mr. Xu."

As soon as he finished speaking, several guards walked in, and David's ear communication ring instantly received the message. His eyes sharpened: "Mr. Xu has arrived."

Oh, the finale is finally here.

Zhuang Fan's expression remained calm: "Do you need to handcuff me first?"

David shook his head: "You can stay here. Mr. Xu will come in person."

Zhuang Fan looked at David again, staring intently. David felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze, coughed lightly, and left.

When Zhuang Fan was the only one left in the room, he tried to manipulate the eerie mist again.

Even in such a bright and clean room, Zhuang Fan could vaguely sense the presence of the eerie mist, but it was so thin that it was imperceptible to the naked eye.

However, thanks to the fog-repelling devices in the shelter, not to mention black fog, even a wisp of light fog could hardly condense.

According to his estimate, it would take a long time to absorb enough light fog and compress it into "black fog bullets," which is a long-term solution that cannot solve the immediate problem.

After a while, the door opened.

The security soldiers entered first, and after a thorough inspection, they stood like statues beside the door, gun barrels tilted, their faces expressionless.

Then, a middle-aged woman pushed in a wheelchair. The white-haired old man in the wheelchair was emaciated, and his thin body looked as if it would be weathered away at any moment.

Besides David, the blond doctor, and others, more unfamiliar faces walked in, and Zhuang Fan guessed that they were probably all in management.

Xu Renyi raised his aged head, his cloudy eyes scrutinizing Zhuang Fan from head to toe. Suddenly, he spoke in fluent Mandarin: "Young friend, have you eaten yet?"

Zhuang Fan was slightly surprised; this was truly a meeting of fellow countrymen.

"I'm not hungry for the moment."

"That won't do. People need food to survive; you'll get hungry if you skip a meal."

Xu Renyi's tone was full of "heartache." As soon as he finished speaking, the logistics supervisor immediately went to make arrangements. A moment later, a white round dining table was placed in front of Zhuang Fan, with a table full of sumptuous Chinese dishes.

"Young friend, please have a seat."

Zhuang Fan had no idea what the old man was up to, so he casually sat down, picked up a chicken leg, and started gnawing on it.

"Want some? This Maotai liquor I have is aged for 380 years. Nobody wants to drink it these days."

Zhuang Fan glanced at the familiar red bottle and felt a sense of warmth, then shook his head: "Thanks, but I don't drink."

"It's a good habit, drinking is bad for your health." Xu Renyi nodded, poured himself a glass, and sipped it slowly.

He followed the ancient custom of not speaking while eating, and Zhuang Fan was happy to have some peace and quiet, just eating and drinking in silence.

David, watching from the side, couldn't help but feel envious, secretly marveling at the boss's high status.

Xu Renyi looked at Zhuang Fan with the kind eyes of an elder, but his gaze held a scrutinizing quality that made Zhuang Fan feel very uncomfortable.

After the meal, the tables and chairs were removed and replaced with a set of Chinese-style rosewood tea table and standard tea set.

Xu Renyi personally brewed the tea, and his skillful tea-making technique made him appear even more like a fellow villager.

"Young friend, do you know how old I am this year?"

"Two hundred years old?"

Zhuang Fan knew that human lifespan had generally increased significantly in this era, so he exaggerated it.

"Hehe, that's not right."

"Three hundred years old?"

"Be bolder."

Zhuang Fan frowned: "Four hundred?"

Xu Renyi smiled kindly: "Yes, he is exactly four hundred years old this year. We just held his birthday banquet last month."

Old but not dead... Zhuang Fan remained expressionless.

"They all call me Mr. Xu, which makes me sound younger, but I know that my lifespan is really not long."

Suddenly, a bad feeling arose in Zhuang Fan's mind, and he stared intently at the old man.

Xu Renyi sighed softly, "I've been timid and afraid of death all my life, but I'm bold when it comes to extending my lifespan. I've tried many methods: replacing my head, replacing my body, getting prosthetics... I've tried them all, but no matter what I do, I just can't achieve 'mechanical ascension.' I can't figure out the secret."

"Um……"

Zhuang Fan couldn't interrupt, so he could only listen patiently.

Others couldn't understand the ancient Chinese dialogues at all, and without the boss's permission, they were prohibited from using the simultaneous interpretation function.

"Young friend, do you know about the Ship of Theseus?"

"I know, an ancient thought experiment."

Zhuang Fan briefly recounted: "If a ship that has sailed for hundreds of years is constantly repaired and replaced, and every plank and part of the ship is no longer the original, then is this ship still the original Ship of Theseus? If I remember correctly, that's the meaning of the original text."

Xu Renyi nodded: "That's right. In the beginning, people wanted to achieve mechanical ascension, and that was the idea they were going to follow. They gradually replaced all the organs in their bodies with prosthetics, and then replaced every neuron in their brains with transistors."

At this point, he coughed several more times, took a sip of tea to moisten his lungs, and continued, "But here's the problem: everyone has discovered that there is an area in the brain that absolutely cannot be replaced by a machine."

Zhuang Fan thought for a moment, then asked uncertainly, "The claustrophobia?"

"Yes, it's the claustrophoblast."

A flicker of fervor and despair crossed Xu Renyi's eyes. "A flat, paper-thin gray matter neural structure—if it is replaced or damaged, the original individual consciousness will completely disappear. In other words, human lifespan is directly tied to the lifespan of the claustrum."

His tone was sarcastic, as if he were mocking himself: "So, modern humans can modify themselves into all sorts of forms, take their brains off and put them in a floating car, in a tire, or in a flowerpot, no problem. But if anyone dares to mess with the claustrophobia, then they're done for. That person is definitely beyond saving, equivalent to brain death."

He was filled with envy and longing: "It's a pity that the current android camp has already produced the top-level androids that can rival human thinking, perfect silicon-based life forms. I'm really envious."

"So, you haven't found a better way to prolong your life either?" Zhuang Fan grasped the key point.

"Young friend, I'm old and can't keep up with all this."

Xu Renyi's gaze returned to Zhuang Fan, filled with undisguised hope. "Now, I only have one last chance left, so... can you help me?"

"How can I help you?"

The old man's cloudy eyes reflected Zhuang Fan's young body. He spoke softly, word by word, in an ancient language:

"I'll borrow your body for a while."

"..."

(End of this chapter)