For humanity, burn the stars.

Before long, the spaceship smoothly flew over the entire ascent tunnel and arrived at their destination—the top floor.

In the layers constantly obscured by the upper-level cities, relying entirely on

Only here, the sky no longer exists; in its place lies the true light of the sun.

Under Li Lin's watchful gaze, the spaceship glided gracefully into a giant building suspended in the highest level of the city.

Is this supposed to be a manor? But it's far too big.

The building stretches as far as the eye can see, its sheer size is unimaginable.

The style blends classical human columns with the flowing curves that Vera loved, making it incredibly magnificent, but in Li Lin's eyes it looked strange no matter how you looked at it.

The White House, which had been completely shoveled up, was placed in one corner, its current purpose unknown, while the Eiffel Tower was located a little further away on the side.

In addition, a large number of classic buildings left behind by humankind have been moved here as private collections.

As for the Statue of Liberty? It was bombed again when the flames of war spread across the earth.

-----------------

They landed deep inside the building, in one of the most spacious, temperature-controlled circular halls.

This is the planetary governor's private collection.

Soft light fell evenly from all directions, illuminating the 'collectibles' displayed within the transparent force field enclosure.

Similarly, the place is so large that there is no need to get off the spaceship; instead, you have to use the spaceship as a sightseeing vehicle to explore it all.

Li Lin's gaze swept around, his mood far from relaxed, as if gripped tightly by an invisible hand.

He saw the starship engine, carefully cut off and preserved, still bearing the scorch marks from laser burning.

Seeing sets of old-fashioned yet well-preserved military uniforms from around the world, with their shoulder insignia still clearly visible.

See some weapon wreckage or pieces of artwork frozen in transparent cubes.

In the center of the hall were even larger force field shields, inside which were—human bodies.

More accurately, it is a 'human specimen'.

There are only about a dozen of these human specimens.

There were both men and women, with different skin colors, but they were all 'humans' that Li Lin was familiar with.

These specimens were perfectly preserved by Vera's technique; the skin even retained a faint rosy hue, and the eyelashes were clearly visible, as if they had simply fallen into a deep sleep.

Some of them were wearing tattered spacesuits, while others were still in combat uniforms, their faces frozen in moments of roaring or resolute determination.

But all of this was in vain.

Beneath the force field shield, faintly glowing labels coldly identified their identities, ranks, and the location and time of their capture.

They fought to the very last moment without surrendering...that's why they deserve to be displayed here.

Luke's words echoed in Li Lin's mind.

Sorrow and anger intertwined and gradually welled up in my heart.

Regardless of race or nation, these human warriors died on the battlefield, only to become spoils of war for the conquerors to display their power and collect, enduring eternal gazes in the halls of this alien race.

What a humiliation this is...

Inside the spaceship, Luke hovered beside him, a single tendril gracefully sweeping across the hall:

"Come on, take your pick."

"You can choose any human body here."

"They all maintain optimal biological activity, sufficient for a perfect brain transplant."

Its synthesized sound carries a sense of pride in displaying rare and precious treasures.

"Don't worry, transplantation technology is no problem for us."

"Your brain will seamlessly integrate with the new body, leaving no aftereffects or rejection."

After saying that, it thoughtfully unfolded a light screen in front of Li Lin, which contained an introduction to each specimen.

Li Lin did not answer immediately, his gaze sweeping over the specimens one by one.

Finally, his gaze settled on a force field shield and he couldn't look away.

Inside was a young Asian male.

He is nearly 1.9 meters tall, with broad shoulders and long, powerful limbs.

Even when still, one can see the robustness and grace of that body, honed through countless trials.

He was dressed in a crisp, dark blue uniform of an officer in the Earth Combined Fleet, the star insignia on his shoulder straps dimming.

His face was angular, with a high nose and thick, sword-like eyebrows. Even with his eyes closed, he exuded a resolute and awe-inspiring presence.

His lips were slightly pursed, frozen in the last moment before his sacrifice, still silently proclaiming his indomitable spirit.

The origin of this body was clearly recorded on the light screen that Luke displayed.

Qin Heling

Earth Combined Fleet - Rear Admiral

Captured during the final battle to defend the Kuiper Belt of the Solar System

Luke noticed that Li Lin's gaze lingered on the body and took the initiative to introduce it:

"Qin Heling, a name that has been introduced in our textbooks before."

His Earth Alliance fleet was defeated in the later stages of the war.

"It is said that he sent the other crew members back and, with the help of a pilot, single-handedly piloted the 'Silent Sun' to charge, intending to ram our flagship and detonate himself with the antimatter bombs he was carrying."

"However, it was eventually intercepted and captured."

"Body integrity is 99.7%, has undergone standard space adaptation gene enhancement, and has no structural mutations."

As Luke looked at the information, he said to Li Lin:

"Of course, he underwent some genetic enhancements, mainly to adapt to long-term space travel and improve neural reflexes."

"But don't worry, it hasn't changed the basic human physiological structure, it's just been optimized."

"So, you've got your eye on him?"

Looking at the face with the same skin color as his own in his previous life, Li Lin felt a complex and indescribable emotion welling up inside him.

I admire his courage in fighting to the last moment, and I also feel sorry for him.

Li Lin remained silent for a moment, his huge frog eyes taking a deep look at that serene face that seemed to hold the power of thunder.

Then, he nodded slowly and firmly.

"I'll use this body."

Luke seemed quite satisfied and spoke softly:

"A wise choice; his physique is outstanding."

"Then, let's begin."

-----------------

In the following process, Li Lin was guided into a cabin filled with soft white light, and lay down on the platform to wait for the next surgery.

Luke and Varian were adjusting the requirements with their tentacles at the control panel on the perimeter.

The medical facilities of this planetary governor's office naturally possess the highest level of technology. They only need to make a request, and the medical staff can easily handle it without having to lift a finger themselves.

"Deep anesthesia initiated."

"Life support system connected..."

Li Lin felt a strong wave of drowsiness wash over him, and his vision gradually dimmed.

The sounds around me grew increasingly faint until they disappeared completely.

He watched as his ugly body was gently held in place by a sophisticated mechanical arm.

Inside the transparent compartment on the other side was the body that once belonged to Qin Heling.

After being injected with some kind of activating liquid, his chest began to rise and fall very faintly, as if he was about to awaken.

Gazing at the figure in the next cabin, Li Lin silently made a promise to himself:

"Qin Heling..."

"While I cannot guarantee it, I will do my utmost to ensure the continuation of human civilization."

"For this, I chose to use any means necessary, so... please forgive me."

Without pain, Li Lin's consciousness seemed to sink into the bottomless abyss, completely silent.

Time itself loses its meaning at this moment.

I don't know how much time passed; perhaps it was a moment, perhaps it was eternity.

Then, perception returned like a tide.

The first thing I felt was lightness.

The heavy shell that had been suffocating him had vanished.

Instead, he was given a well-proportioned torso and limbs, allowing him to move freely and unrestrained in the future.

The coolness of the platform beneath me, the slight chill of the air flowing over my skin, the delicate friction of the fabric against my body…

With the barrier of the mutated cortex gone, these sensations are so clear and direct.

Li Lin slowly opened his eyes, his vision clear, expansive, and full of vibrant colors.

Through a perfect brain transplant, Li Lin's soul resided in Qin Heling's body.

Having finally obtained the new body he had always dreamed of, a body that truly belonged to humanity, Li Lin was not as happy as he had imagined.

Rather, I feel a bit heavy-hearted.

Just as he was about to try to activate this body—

A clear, steady voice suddenly appeared in the depths of his mind without warning:

[Thought and Language Test: Chinese]

[Identity Verification: Biometric Information Matching – Major General Qin Heling]

[Matching of Consciousness Fluctuation Characteristics - Highly Aligned with Human Characteristics]

[Self-awareness confirmation: Human beings]

[Conditions met, hidden protocol activated]

[Seed Fire System, Restart]

[Current number of logged-in users, within the solar system: 1]

Welcome, Major General Qin Heling.