I, the Rock King Emperor with 21 billion in power, have joined the chat group.

Her gaze shifted again, landing on Qianhu, who had somehow moved to sit opposite her.

"Then why don't we stay here?"

Chito also lay back on another sofa, closed his eyes, felt the refreshing breeze blowing in from the window, and slightly tossed his hair.

Hearing Chito's words, Yuri sat down and looked at Chito with a strange expression: "Really?"

"Hmm." Chito answered vaguely with his eyes closed, muttering to himself, "I really long to live in a place like this."

“Look, Yu, there’s a ceiling overhead that can shield you from the wind and rain, so you don’t have to worry about anything falling down at any time. You’re also surrounded by sturdy walls, which gives you a sense of security.”

"Hmm... but Commander Qian." Yuri looked over, somewhat puzzled. "Didn't you want to go to the top floor?"

“Yes.” Chito still squinted, “but here, I still can’t help but want to stay.”

"Look, we don't have to worry about food anymore, do we? If we just find one of those bunk beds and some soft blankets, maybe..."

She paused for a moment: "Perhaps, we can get up in the warm sunshine, brush our teeth with a hard toothbrush, and then have time to make a fried egg."

“I like soft toothbrushes, and I also like boiled eggs,” Yuri couldn’t help but retort.

"Hmm, sure." Chito gently squinted her eyes and nodded slightly in the orange-red sunset. "If possible, I'd also like a two-tiered bookshelf. It would be filled with all the precious books we found, as well as various electronic documents."

“And robots!” Yuri raised her arm. “We can keep two robots.”

“This might be a bit troublesome. Robots need energy and electricity, right?” Qianhu frowned. “Didn’t those [Alien Mushroom People] say that they’ve already used up all the energy in this city, and their days aren’t numbered much longer? But we have so much fuel. As long as we pay attention to collecting rainwater—wait, Yuri, your multiverse chat group’s shop also has mineral water, right?—we can live peacefully for the rest of our lives.”

“But, a lifetime is a long time, isn’t it?” Yuri retorted casually once again.

“Yes, a lifetime is very long.” Chito’s gaze swept over Zhongli and Xuezhi who had just come in with them, without any intention of getting up: “We humans can live for about a hundred years. We two seem to be only 15 to 18 years old, but I don’t remember our exact age.”

"If we're talking about a lifetime, we might live here for more than five times the number of lives we've already lived."

"Can I live five times longer?" Yuri's focus was different from Chito's main point: "It's so good to be alive."

"Furthermore, we can invite your friends from the Multiverse Chat Group to come and play in our world from time to time," Qianhu continued. "That way, we won't have to worry about being lonely just the two of us."

"A thousand points is a lot. Even if you save one point every day, it will still take three years," Yuri said casually.

“Yes… a meeting that happens only once every three years.” Chito opened his squinted eyes, his gaze gradually widening in the sunset.

She suddenly stood up, sat up from the sofa, and walked towards the door.

"Let's go, Yu, we still have a long way to go. If you really want to stay here, you can come back when you come down from the top floor."

"Will we still remember this room then?" Yuri still didn't get up.

"I've written it down in my notebook," Qianhu said earnestly, taking out his precious notebook and pen.

"Ah."

......

After a brief hiatus, the four continued their journey upwards.

Standing on the elevator, Yukino Yukinoshita, who had been observing the whole way, finally couldn't contain her emotions and started talking to Yuri and Chito beside her.

"Chito, Yuri, what unforgettable things did you encounter during your travels?"

Yukino asked with a hint of trepidation.

"Hmm..." Yuri placed one hand to her lips, her slender fingers resting beside her pale, porcelain-doll-like face, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Several seconds later, just when Yukino thought that the apocalyptic girl in front of her might not want to answer, Yuri suddenly spoke up.

"I think there should be one."

The apocalyptic girl said earnestly.

Then she even turned to her companion beside her to ask for confirmation: "Xiaoqian, you also think there's something, right?"

“There are many things I can’t forget.” Qianhu looked up, staring blankly at the ceiling. “Which one are you talking about?”

“It’s about the pets,” Yuri reminded them.

"Oh, I guess so, an alien cub, a talking pet." Chito still had his head tilted back, looking dazed, clearly not yet out of his reverie about the wonderful life he had just been dreaming of: "What was its name again?"

“UNKO,” Yuri answered without hesitation, her eyes narrowed.

“You remember it more clearly than I do.” Qianhu nodded slightly.

Yuri continued, "What I remember most vividly is when UNKO and I were exploring a small dormitory building, a tiny robot appeared."

"Hmm..." Chito looked at Yuri blankly: "Yuri, back then it was..."

“That tiny robot could even write poetry,” Yuri recalled. “It would use lasers to engrave on metal plates, then memorize them, and then show them to the other robots. Those were poems between robots.”

"Yes, I remember now." Qianhu seemed to suddenly snap out of a daze, then quickly took out his notebook from his backpack and began flipping through the pages.

“But unfortunately, it seems that we humans cannot understand those poems.” Yuri’s voice grew softer and softer, causing her attentive listener, Yukino Yukinoshita, to tense up as well: “Later, that little robot became friends with UNKO.”

"He found us a poem written by one of his former human friends—of course, that human friend has been dead for a long time; machines always outlive humans."

"The poem that I remember most vividly is that poem."

At this point, Yuri paused abruptly.

Her gaze shifted to Qianhu, who had finally finished flipping through the notebook.

With a faint smile on her lips, she recited softly.

"Do not be sad, the night is growing wider."

"We saw that frosty moon smiling in the shadows."

Qianhu's voice broke in.

"The cold moonlight shines across the vast wilderness."

"Then, hold each other's hands tightly and drift into dreams together."

Yuri tightened her grip on the bolt-action rifle at her side, her voice distant and leisurely.

"Do not grieve, for the end is near; let all things fall into silence and sleep soundly."

"And our little cross will stand by the snow-white roadside."

"There's no need to dwell on the sudden downpour or the light snow."

"There is no need to search any further, to find out where the wind came from and to which distant place it has carried us."

As soon as he finished speaking, a gentle breeze blew.

Chito, Yuri, and Yukino Yukinoshita's hair was stirred by a gentle breeze.

Amidst the creaking sound.

We've reached a new floor.

Chapter Twelve: The Song of Civilization

The new floor offers a brand new view.

Chito and Yuri had never seen such a view before.

It began as an exploration filled with joy.

With their worries about death and food gone, Chito and Yuri maintained a certain interest in everything they had experienced.

At least, when faced with unfamiliar or novel things, they are interested in exploring them.

When food is scarce, they don't have enough energy or time to explore places where it's obvious there's no way to find food and resources.

Food and clothing, as well as the hope of survival, have always been the most valued and important things for ordinary people.

This exploration was also a spur-of-the-moment decision.

This is in the space of the next level, near the topmost level.

Zhongli walked ahead, looking at the oval-shaped cave extending inwards on the wall beside him, and suddenly said, "This seems to be an extremely important place in this city. Shall we go and take a look?"

Chito certainly wouldn't refuse such a suggestion, and although Yuri didn't want to walk much, she didn't object.

The group then entered the deep passage.

After walking a few steps, Yuri began to say, half complaining and half sighing, "I understand Chito's desire to explore new things, and that joyful feeling. But, after all, there are many things in this world that we don't understand, so we want to try to see all sorts of places, don't we?"

"Well." Qianhu followed Zhongli's steps, looking ahead into the cave. Without hesitation, he replied to Yuri's words, "It's impossible to investigate the entire world. Human life is so short. Even if we have plenty of food, life and time are not long. Didn't we decide last time? In the best-case scenario, we can live for a maximum of 80 years. In 80 years, we might be able to explore this city."

"The scope of human eyes and mind is very narrow."

"After all, people can't fly..."

"Forehead..."

She realized something was wrong as soon as she opened her mouth.

“Humans can fly.” Yuri patted Chito’s shoulder earnestly, her wavy blonde hair contrasting with her fair face, making her look almost divine for a moment.

"Okay, people can fly. So, maybe...maybe..."

Yuri turned her gaze to Zhongli, who was leading the way, and said softly.

"Perhaps someone can figure out every aspect of this world."

After a brief conversation, the long corridor came to an end.

As far as the eye can see, rows of not-too-tall towers form the edge of this space, while in the very center of the space stands a tall, oval-shaped iron building.

"So tall." Yuri exclaimed, then turned her gaze to Zhongli beside her: "Zhongli, what is that?"

During their recent trip together, Zhongli's seemingly omniscient knowledge left her in awe. She even went so far as to ask Zhongli about anything she didn't recognize during the trip.

This time, Zhong Li, unsurprisingly, did not disappoint her.

"That's a rocket."

"It is a spacecraft propelled forward by the reaction force generated by the rocket engine's ejected propellant (working medium). It carries all the propellant itself and does not rely on external working medium to generate thrust. It can fly both inside and outside the dense atmosphere and is a vehicle for realizing spaceflight."

"It was also humanity's first tool for venturing into space."

"Oh." Upon hearing this answer, it was clear that Yuri hadn't quite understood.

"Flying to outer space?" Qianhu repeated what interested him, looking at the metal barrel-shaped object in front of him with some excitement.

Her gaze swept around twice before finally settling on the low building next to the rocket.