I, a ship girl, am the savior of civilization.

It's like a game where everyone has their own identity, but they can't see it themselves, nor can they be told it by others.

Laura was only slightly disappointed by this. If things went as expected, her elemental identity should occupy a very high position in the world's narrative. If it were so easy to find out, then Laura would suspect that Noah had set another trap for her.

Thinking of this, Laura kicked the stone bricks on the park ground in frustration.

However, despite Yunxi's explanation, Laura still had some questions about this universe called "civilization".

But without firsthand knowledge, Laura didn't know what to do.

"So, does that mean we're about to embark on a long journey of solving the mystery?"

Laura stood up from the park bench and sighed.

Seeing Laura's dejected look, Yunxi patted her shoulder comfortingly: "Sister Laura, you don't really need to explore the elements."

"After all, Sister Laura's element is quite special and has never appeared before, so it doesn't matter if we don't explore it."

Yunxi is right. Just like the decision she represents, before this, Yunxi was just an ordinary person. But after being chosen by the decision element, Yunxi gained the corresponding talent.

Of course, what truly made Yunxi aware of her elemental nature was when she assumed the position of President of Civilization.

Others cannot reveal their own elements, but there is still a subtle way to remind them, namely the various positions fixed by civilization.

Judges represent rulings, and presidents represent decisions; these are beyond dispute.

However, Laura's element is quite special, as it is appearing for the first time and cannot be confined by a limited job title.

With Yunxi's description, Laura gained a general understanding of the framework of civilization. She glanced at the progress of deciphering the worldview and saw that it had jumped to 15%.

It touches on the structure and transmission of civilizations, yet only 15% of the worldview is revealed. The waters of this universe seem to run deeper than Laura imagined.

Is this the first time it has appeared?

Frowning, Laura felt like a second-grader solving Schrödinger's equation.

"So, are there any libraries or similar places nearby?"

Considering that if you're stuck, you might find a clue in the library, and with that in mind, Laura asked Yunxi.

"Sister Laura doesn't even know Astra?"

It was the familiar surprise followed by relief, just like the judge's previous ruling, which left Laura with an inexplicable awkwardness.

"By engaging in deep thought, you can automatically connect to the intelligent civilization Astra, which will then guide you."

After saying that, Yunxi demonstrated by linking with Astra, and her expression immediately changed.

"Time is running out, Laura, good luck to you! The President has to go to work!"

After waving to Laura, Yunxi hurriedly ran into the distance, gradually disappearing from Laura's sight.

Watching Yunxi walk further and further away, Laura, with her beady eyes, didn't know what to say for a moment.

It was quite sudden.

Is the President really that busy? In comparison, I feel like I, an element whose very existence has meaning, am truly the ultimate slacker.

Shrugging, Laura mimicked Yunxi's earlier actions, connecting her consciousness with the so-called Astra.

In that instant, Laura seemed to see the entirety of civilization. Just like the ancient concept of a flat earth and a round heaven, the vision Astra saw was confined to an elliptical, three-dimensional region.

Similar to a pyramid structure, with multiple living areas, Laura couldn't help but feel a little envious.

This design almost perfectly matched the structure of civilized warships in Laura's mind. If she could, Laura would love to have the designers of civilized structures help design the ship's hull.

Whether you're strong or not isn't important, that's a matter of the version, but being cool is something that lasts a lifetime.

However, the fact that the civilized area looked like this did surprise Laura.

Perhaps there are even more distant areas, but Astra didn't cover them.

Keeping her questions to herself, Laura followed Astra's directions and headed towards the civilization's largest library. It was described as being managed by holders of the "Record" element.

Maurice Herbert is arguably the oldest person in civilization.

If you want to learn about history, then he is the most suitable person to consult.

"Hopefully, we can find the information we need."

After Laura left, two figures, one tall and one short, appeared in front of the park bench where Laura had been.

Do you think this time it will be successful?

A familiar, youthful voice rang out, and the darkness surrounding Yunxi was lifted as she asked the judge beside her.

"do not know."

The presiding judge shook his head. He wasn't in court; his wig was gone, and his head was now gleaming. "But we have no other choice," he said.

"The concepts of elements and Astra... these two things have been keeping civilization under our control for far too long."

86. The non-existent Astra database

The Great Library—that was Laura's destination.

Approaching the building standing before her, Laura pushed open the door and briefly surveyed the interior of the Grand Library.

It was very simple. Apart from the books covering the walls, the only thing that caught the eye was the hunched old man, Maurice, half asleep behind the counter.

"It's little Laura."

Hearing footsteps, Maurice barely opened his eyes and recognized the visitor to the Great Library: "Are you here to borrow books?"

"Yes, Grandpa Morris."

Laura maintained the most basic respect for elders: "Laura wants to learn about the history of civilization."

"Instead of using Astra, I'll borrow history books... Borrowing books is good, borrowing books is good..."

A glint of light flashed in his eyes, but it quickly turned murky again. Morris uttered some incomprehensible words before pointing Laura in the right direction.

"Go straight, then turn right in area 3. That's the history section. The more detailed and complete the book, the lower it's placed, just for you."

After saying that, Maurice squinted his eyes again, reverting to his previous half-asleep state.

"Well, actually, you don't have to say the last sentence."

Laura's height disadvantage caused her to be dealt another blow by Morris. Helpless, Laura angrily went to the history section and, following Morris's instructions, took out an old book placed at the bottom.

To be honest, if we ignore the elements and Astra, the level of civilization's technology is not actually very high, probably only slightly beyond the Pacific Rim.

Hopefully, the answers to all of this can be found in history books.

Laura is reading...

"...Named after me, the construction of the Supreme Computer Astra has propelled civilization into an unprecedented realm. Human resources have been completely liberated, all production has been transferred to Astra for processing, and the concept of elements has been proposed. All of this seems to have entered a virtuous cycle."

"However, the limitation of resources prevents the civilization from continuing scientific research. Even Astra's calculations cannot provide enough resources to make scientific breakthroughs while ensuring the basic survival of the civilization."

"To this end, civilization made an extreme decision: to use Astra to simulate the real universe, which eventually led to civilization relocation. However, many abstract concepts, including humanity, were too special for Astra to understand."

"..."

"Civilization ultimately succeeded. We couldn't concretize these concepts, but we could try to directly input the will of volunteers. However, after that, the computing power required for the simulation skyrocketed, and we had to make trade-offs."

"..."

"And this book will be the last record of civilization."

Signed: Astra.

It's more like a diary than a history book, but considering Astra was a witness and participant at the time, the diary is indeed very valuable to Laura.

At least, Laura already knows what Astra is.

Astra is an incredibly powerful computer, capable of simulating the universe. If the Supreme Link hadn't told Laura that it could summon the Dawn at any time, Laura might have even doubted whether she was in a simulated world.

This is a piece of non-public history; Maurice previously said it was prepared specifically for himself, which is roughly what he meant.

Worldview revealed: 25%.

However, although it wasn't a simulated world, Laura could still sense some of its characteristics. For example, she could only guess at her own elemental concepts, and these constraints made her feel an indescribable discomfort.

This is not a mandatory rule of civilization, but an uncontrollable force. Similarly, the series of actions that follow the characteristics of the concept after the elements drive the chosen ones are largely the same.

To find out the truth behind all this, we probably need to start with Astra.

If all of this is related to Astra, then Laura should be able to find some clues in the database of this supreme computer.

Oliver Holmes is now online.

"I've basically grasped the matter of civilization, so the next step is to apply for access to the Astra database."

Laura, who had somehow changed into a trench coat and was smoking a special hard candy shaped like a pipe, used Astra to contact Yunxi and the judge.

Matters concerning the core of Astra must be voted on by the three highest-ranking members of the civilization, and must receive at least two votes to pass.

Laura didn't know the people who were distributing the supplies, so she decided to try to gain the support of the two people she had previously met.

In fact, Laura had already decided that if she was rejected, she would take the opportunity to sneak into the Astra Core using the Phase Shifter.

However, unexpectedly, after learning of her application, even the unseen holders of the allocated elements all voted for Laura's approval.

A civilized president who guides him in his search for the truth, a pre-prepared diary, and high-level votes that give him the green light all the way...

I have a feeling that there's some dark force behind this, pushing me to follow Astra's trail to find the truth.

Laura, who hadn't used her brain in a long time, immediately started thinking about conspiracy theories, preparing to leave herself a way out.

[Mission Description: After arriving in the unknown universe and exploring for some time, you seem to have sensed a strange aura, and all the clues point to Astra.]

[STEP 1: Search for Astra and decipher the "unknown directional element" of her identity]

[Mission Reward: Civilization Commands*5]

"Hey Noah, your communications are back up?"

The reminder from Noah echoed in Laura's ears, reminding her of Noah's previous evasive words.

However, Noah probably anticipated that Laura would hold him accountable, so after completing the first phase of the mission, he remained silent and went back into hiding.

"Well, never mind, I'll just check the Astra database."

Without dwelling on the topic any longer, Laura summoned her ship equipment and flew towards the center of Astra.