People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

Clearly, this is a little bit of "personal touch" that someone deliberately added.

Ernst was at a loss for words, both amused and exasperated.

Clearly, the girl who had just been standing beside him, tiptoeing and pointing to the azure sea of ​​Terra, describing a blueprint for the future—Miss Luo, the mother of the Deep Blue Tree—wasn't actually as confident as she appeared.

She was well aware of the flaws of the Deep Blue Tree, and how "fatal" those flaws were in this era. When she said, "You will watch that day come with me, right?" she was probably already prepared to fall into eternal slumber in the long passage of time.

Since we know we may not live to see that day, civilization may not live to see that day either.

Did that tiny "hmm" about the "treasure" give her hope, or did it bring her deeper despair?

After all, if it's hope, this hope is far too heavy and unattainable. If it's despair, but if she firmly believes in the "treasure," then wouldn't she really feel that everything isn't over yet?

Ernst had once heard it said that the deepest despair is not the absence of any hope. A person who lives in darkness from beginning to end, without ever seeing a glimmer of hope, will not develop any stress response to the darkness itself.

True despair is when the light of hope is forever lit on the horizon, seemingly present, but never truly touched.

The Treasure's initial choice was to force the horizon into the hands of Precyth and the Prophet, but this undoubtedly violated the agreement with Lothar.

Thus, this agreement, which Lotti deliberately preserved in the "preservation of civilization," has become a great irony.

After all, none of the people who were in that scene actually had any hope that the promise would be fulfilled.

Ernst couldn't help but cover his face.

Although his choice could not be considered wrong, thanks to his "characteristics," he was able to re-examine what happened later from the perspective of those who came after him.

But it's not a big deal if you don't look at it, once you do...

I'm sorry, Doctor, I don't think I should have insulted you and Precys.

Making an agreement while secretly plotting something else, and then breaking it in the end—I think I did that too.

But thankfully, at least I'm not crazy. As for Luo, he probably isn't crazy either, right?

Ernst's mind flashed back to Heinrich, the out-of-control Deep Blue Tree, and that recording.

should?

Ahem, I'll never call you two crazy people again.

1096, this year is truly the year of the Terra Boomerang! There are so many boomerangs, and they really hurt when they hit you!

However, then again.

"Why am I here? And how am I supposed to reunite with the Doctor and Theresa?"

Gazing at the distant No Man's Sky, Ernst had absolutely no interest in playing StarCraft live.

Kal'tsit, that itchy cat, didn't finish her sentence, but he still gleaned some information—entering the "Civilization's Survival" through "Deep Dive" could indeed bypass the underlying protocol oversight of "DWDB-221E" and unlock a large number of permissions that were normally unavailable.

However, the cost is also obvious—doing so will bring them closer to the "boundary of knowledge," and beyond that boundary lies the "singularity." Once they cross that boundary, their thinking will be destroyed by the data deluge of the "singularity."

However, the problem is that Kal'tsit did not explain what those three so-called boundaries actually looked like.

Given Ernst's current state, what could the boundary be?

Ernst glanced back at the door to the main control room. Could that door be the boundary? Is the singularity behind that door?

Or perhaps the singularity lies outside this building—whether it's a spaceship or an observation station—and this building is the boundary that allows Ernst to move around?

Or perhaps, since the phantom of Lo clearly pointed to the ocean of Terra, and Terra is indeed modeled, then the area from this building to the planet Terra is actually within the boundary; leaving it would lead to the singularity.

That's too difficult to determine. If we were to eliminate them one by one, we'd have to go all the way down to the universe.

Moreover, Ernst hadn't had much of a chance to try and fail. Kelsey just said, "The quality of information has a chance of directly destroying your thinking." Who knows how high that chance is?

98%?!

If you can go out, you must love cats!

Ernst gritted his teeth, considered it for a moment, and decided to at least leave the control room to take a look.

Sitting idly by and waiting to die is not an option. Ernst isn't even sure if the flow of time is the same here as it is outside. What if he waits tens of thousands of years for someone to come and rescue him?

Does he have to eat Friston's boomerang after eating the doctor's?

The building should be safe. After all, Ernst clearly saw the two phantoms open the door to the main control room and walk in from outside. He also noticed the environment outside the door at that time.

As I approached the cabin door, the large door opened slowly with a soft thud.

Outside the door is a spacious corridor, with rows of portholes on one side displaying a beautiful view of the universe that should be magnificent, but is now only desolate.

Unexpectedly, Ernst spotted a familiar figure here.

A figure dressed in a black hooded long shirt walked down the corridor with his back to him, followed by a small construct.

The construct looked exceptionally lively, circling around that familiar figure as if it had inexhaustible energy.

"PhD?"

Ernst tried calling out.

But the figure did not respond.

Clearly, he was not the person Ernst knew; he was also a projection of this building preserved by the "preservation of civilization."

Ernst went up to him, wanting to hear what he had to say.

However, he had just taken a step, and hadn't gone more than a few steps, when the figure in front of him stopped as if he had heard something.

The prophet stopped in his tracks, turned around, and looked on with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

His grey eyes revealed a hint of speculation and contemplation, but his voice rang out first: "Si..."

"you are?"

Ernst was taken aback. He turned around and looked behind him, but didn't see any newly generated projections.

No, you're not talking to me, are you?

A slightly unsettling thought flashed through his mind. He looked at the [prophet] before him again and pointed to himself:

"I?"

The Prophet nodded with an air of self-evident certainty, and the small construct beside him also came closer, circling Ernst in all directions.

"Can you see me?"

Ernst looked on in astonishment.

"You've come to our observation station, so why do you think I can't detect you?"

The [prophet] countered with a question, while nodding thoughtfully.

"Unless you believe that you are in a situation where I shouldn't be aware of you."

"The Observer's current purge is not over yet. There should be no civilization or life in the universe that possesses technology capable of completely shielding us from observation and early warning."

"Furthermore, the language you used and the emotions you expressed made you seem to recognize me?"

The [Prophet] paused for a moment, seemingly realizing something, a glint of light flashing in his eyes:

"Treasure?"

Ernst's lips twitched slightly.

Wait, buddy, is it really happening? Are you not even going to put on an act anymore?

We only met for a few minutes, and I only said two sentences, a total of no more than six words, and you just exposed me like that?

666, I can't play this game. I know you and Precys have always been this crazy couple, but who else gets information like you?

Which game's prophet are you, 【Prophet Nine】? Why are you checking my identity like this?

I'm going to report you guys for cheating to the [Observer] and get your accounts banned!

"It seems I guessed it right?"

A slight smile appeared on the Prophet's face, but at the same time, it was tinged with a hint of melancholy.

The current attitude of "Treasure" is significantly different from what he remembered, which indicates that they ultimately agreed to "Treasure's" suggestion and carried out the plan.

Once that plan is executed, both he and Precys should be ready to enter a state of hibernation.

The fact that "oneself" in the observation station is still completely unaware of all this speaks volumes.

The prophet naturally knows how information will be recorded in order to ensure the continuation of civilization, and he does not object to accepting this fact.

"It's so nice to see you again, treasure."

"Your arrival here means our plan has been executed. How much time has passed? Is there anything I can help you with?"

Ernst opened his mouth, wanting to complain about a lot of things.

For example, how come you seem to know everything so quickly?

How come you seem to understand but still don't care about your own state at all?

How come your opening line is exactly the same as when I got you out of Chernobog? You immediately start looking for work to do. Do you really have some kind of innate superhuman physique?

And what is this weird little thing? Why is it starting to gnaw on my pants leg? I'm warning you, this outfit is expensive! If you ruin it, who am I going to ask for compensation?!

But with a thousand words welling up in his heart, Ernst finally suppressed his urge to complain, exhaled, and looked with some admiration at the remnant soul of a fallen tycoon, who was comparable to someone in a fantasy novel who could spit out the secrets of heaven with a single word. He said seriously:

"You know what, the way you look right now is actually quite reassuring," said the voice.

The Prophet seemed surprised by the sudden praise, tilting his head slightly in a daze. It wasn't until the construct beside him let out a joyful cry and nuzzled his mask with its pointed head that he snapped out of his daze, a genuine smile spreading across his face.

"This is the highest praise I could receive."

"But it is only when we can see your existence, your current appearance, and your arrival that we truly feel at ease, treasure."

"At least, this proves that our efforts have been worthwhile."

"Civilization has not perished."

Chapter 1074 The Prophet: I Feel Like a Clear-headed, Foolish College Student

How do I obtain the permission for the [Preservation of Civilization]?

[The Prophet] raised his hand and rubbed his chin. Ernst didn't quite understand what the point was of touching his chin through the hood.

"But the [Civilization Survival] permission is meaningless to you, isn't it? Do you want to store anything in it?"

The doctor's face was filled with curiosity, but also a hint of wariness.

The "Survival of Civilization" project stores important technologies and cultural materials preserved from human civilization. Although each project leader added their own personal touches, the information in "Survival of Civilization" is generally very pure.

He didn't mind if "Treasure" added some information it wanted to preserve, since that was the job of [Civilization's Survival]. But he was a little worried that "Treasure" might move some strange things into it.

He has now guessed that he is probably a "digital life form," a projection of the "existence of civilization." He is not saddened or uneasy about this, but that does not mean he is completely indifferent to his standard of living.

If the "treasure" really moves some mysterious things inside, then he'll have to live with those things!

Putting aside other things, "Baozang" had complained to them before that in his own country, someone actually uploaded a paper titled "The Influence of Wearing Stockings on the Tactile Sensation of Female College Students' Legs" to a primitive online database called "CNKI" that resembles "The Survival of Civilization"!

The Prophet certainly doesn't want to wake up one day and, while reviewing documents, discover such a strange article stored in the "Survival of Civilization" section. What would she think if Precys caught her?

[The Prophet] swears he's not really interested in stockings; if he had to say, he likes interesting souls, or feet.

Ahem, that’s too far off topic.

Getting back to the main point, from the "treasure's" description of the civilization he currently inhabits, the [prophet] can also see that that civilization is still very primitive. All the theories that have arisen within it do not yet need to be included in the [continuation of civilization]. The [prophet] is willing to share some of it, which he can accept, but he fears that the "treasure" might accidentally, or intentionally, inadvertently, bring in some historical constructs.

Just thinking about that scene makes the [Prophet] realize he won't be able to sleep tonight!

Fortunately, Ernst didn't think in that direction at all. He didn't want to store anything in "The Survival of Civilization," not even the ancient poems and speeches he copied from his previous life. He didn't need to store them anywhere else. "The Survival of Civilization" was more useful to him than his own personal collection!

He briefly explained to the Seer what was happening in Terra and the Doctor's current plans. As expected, the Seer fell into a long silence.

After a long pause, he let out a somewhat wistful sigh.

"Terra gave rise to a new civilization."

"Project Originium was designed to come at the cost of destruction from the very beginning."

“Precys has been under a lot of pressure that she shouldn’t have had to bear; these are things that I should have been responsible for.”

He turned his head away shyly.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"I can't change anything now, but at least I'll accept this apology."

[The Prophet] can't change anything now. He's just a fragment of a projection. If Ernst hadn't appeared, he might have just been repeating his life from this period in this corridor.

Ernst did not blame him; after all, he was the one who came up with the second solution.