Faced with the captain’s insistence, the crew members fell silent.
But crimson brightness was blinking around them, indicating that their silence was definitely not their acknowledgment of the captain.
“So what?
Finally, First Officer Quake, who represented most of the members of the bridge team, spoke softly.
The captain was dazed for a moment.
“So what?
The captain looked at the first mate in disbelief. “Quirk, what do you mean? Speak clearly!”
“Yes, Captain. Then I will tell you what is on your mind.”
First mate Quake threw caution to the wind. He faced Captain Long and said emotionlessly, “Let’s say that we exploit the prosperous world in front of us and repair or even upgrade Jade before we embark on our journey, or rather, the desperate journey of a stray dog. Also, with unbelievable luck, we will be able to find dozens, if not hundreds, of similar prosperous worlds and gather all the resources to rebuild a magnificent fleet. So what? Will we be able to resist the flood by then?
“Don’t forget that, before the flood, the Primeval Civilization controlled the entire sea of stars! We built billions of starships, we conquered countless prosperous planets, we annihilated thousands of intelligent civilizations, we were the kings of kings, the masters of all the universes!
“Then, was it useful?
“Faced with the assault of the tide, billions of starships were vaporized in the blink of an eye, or even more miserably. They were turned into the puppets of the tide. One planet after another was transformed, and batch after batch of the Primeval Lord of Heaven were bewildered and threw themselves into the arms of the tide willingly. Even the ‘solar defense line’ that we established by igniting billions of stars was broken through easily. In the end, even a tiny ripple of the tide was enough to drive us away!
“Captain, please think about it carefully. With the strength of our last starship, even if it is a hundred times stronger, is it comparable to the Primeval Civilization at its peak? I’m afraid that it is not even a drop in the bucket.
“The Primeval Civilization at its peak was almost demolished by the flood. How can we compete with the flood even though we are hundreds of times stronger?
First Officer Quake finished his speech quickly and took a long breath in relief.
The words had been buried in the hearts of him and most of the members of the bridge crew for too long. Now that they were spoken, the atmosphere inside the bridge suddenly changed.
Captain Gao Zhunlong was dazed.
Mystic rays were dancing around him, as if he were burning furiously.
He did not expect that his crew members would be so weak after such a long journey.
“So?”
The captain narrowed his eyes and said coldly, “What’s your plan? Stop here and stop moving?”
“Advance?”
The first mate smiled bitterly. “Moving forward toward a certain target, guided by hope, is called ‘moving forward’. There is no target at all. There is no hope at all. Roaming in the dark night is nothing but a headless fly struggling to survive.
“Since you are struggling to survive, why don’t you choose a way that is better for you?
“Captain, let’s get to the point. Our brothers are too tired to go any further.
“We’ve been lost in the cruel sea of stars for too long. We’ve been wandering since our ancestors. We’ve never experienced the so-called ‘glory of the Primeval Civilization’, nor do we know what it feels like to rule the world. We’ve been living a life of anxiety and anxiety ever since our parents’ memories.
“Every day, we endure the foul air, the putrid recycled water, and the tasteless synthetic food. We die because of the malfunction of our hibernation chambers, we die because of the explosion of the engine furnace, and we die because the meteorites pierced through the shell of the starship and were sucked into the vacuum of the universe. I’m told that, when the Primeval Civilization was at its peak, our ancestors had already cultivated to the point where they could freely transform between matter and energy. They were simply unafraid of the cold and heartlessness of the universe. It’s a pity that after being hunted by the flood for so many years, our civilization has degenerated to such a pathetic level. The vast majority of our extraordinary technology and training methods have been lost. We can’t even survive in the vacuum of the universe!
“With such suffering, can we still boast shamelessly that we are on a ‘journey’? Are we really living, or are we pathetic walking dead?
“I’m tired, Captain. We are too tired.
“If we hadn’t discovered the prosperous world in front of us, we might’ve been able to keep walking forward indifferently.
“But the world in front of us is too peaceful, too beautiful, and too dreamy. It is beautiful enough to shatter all our beliefs. There is only one thought in our head, which is to stay here forever and live a carefree, contented life!
“A carefree, contented life?”
Captain Gao Zhunlong repeated the words in a low voice. Suddenly, he raised his eyebrow like a guillotine and roared in a thunderous voice, “Are you all crazy? Is your brain blocked by the cosmic dust, or are you unable to think because of the burning stars? The flood is still following us and will find us at any moment!
“No, Captain. The flood has not been seen for two to three thousand years. We have gotten rid of it for now.
First mate Quake said emotionlessly, “A centipede does not wither even when it is dead. After all, the Primeval Civilization was at the peak of its glory. Even if it fell apart, thousands of fleeing fleets were still scattered in every direction of the sea of stars. The tides were going to be reaped one by one.
“In other words, we don’t need to avoid the flood. We just need to be more inconspicuous than our brothers.
“In such a sense, your so-called collection of resources, repairing and upgrading a starship, is nothing but suicide, because it will certainly send out special energy waves and signals, which will be discovered by the flood easily.
“On the other hand, if we hide in the world of fertility and try to seal all the advanced technology and training techniques without leaking any signals to the outside world, the tides will not be able to find us easily before we clean up our brothers’ fleet.
“Brother fleet, Quake, you are shameless enough to say ‘brother’?”
Captain Gao Zhunlong was so angry that he was almost laughing. “Your solution is to be a coward and use your brothers as shields in exchange for a false sense of security while you are still breathing?”
“It sounds sordid, but they are not really ‘brothers’.
First mate Quake said casually, “Long before the flood, the Primeval Civilization had already been divided. The Primeval Beings who conquered different universes had already mutated into their local appearance. They considered their neighbors their enemies and killed each other. Didn’t we fight many internal wars? I don’t feel guilty at all watching them die.”
“Alright. Even if the so-called ‘brother fleet’ has nothing to do with us, how long can we hide here? Ten thousand years? A hundred thousand years? A million years?”
Captain Gao Zhunlong bellowed, “In the end, the tides will still find us!”
“Is a million years not enough? My dear captain, don’t be greedy.”
A helpless smile appeared on the first mate’s face. “Birth, death, sickness, and death are the rules of nature. Every civilization has its rise and fall. If our civilization can live another million years comfortably in this prosperous world, no, only a hundred thousand years, or even ten thousand years, I will be satisfied.
“After all, our lives cannot last ten thousand years, can they? Even the children of our children and grandchildren are enough for them to live a happy life without worries. After we are all dead, who cares about the flood?
“…”
Captain Gao Zhunlong stared at his ‘loyal’ deputy as if he had never seen him before.
“Not enough resources.
Captain Gao Zhunlong gnashed his teeth, one word after another. “As you said, even if we hide in this place like turtles, the resources in this prosperous world are still not enough for all the crew members on Jade to live a comfortable, carefree life.
“Yes, it is. But who said that all the crew members should enjoy it?
The smile on First Officer Quake’s face suddenly turned extremely weird. “99% of the crew members are still hibernating. Let’s just let them hibernate forever. As long as the resources of this fertile world are supplied to us—1% of the conscious people, it should be enough, right?”
