Chapter 103: Fate

What is the common enemy of humanity?

Oh, don’t forget, you must prefix “humanity” with “this human-inhabited star region.”

Why say “this”? Because hundreds of years ago, people in this star region, through discovered space drift bottles, confirmed that other colonization groups that escaped Earth at the same time also survived and have thrived to this day.

So, outside “this” human-inhabited star region, though distant, there indeed are other star regions with human presence.

When He Yan told Jiang Miao that humans in this star region were about to face a common enemy, countless guesses flashed through her mind instantly.

Even within this human-inhabited star region, there still exist several sub-human races like the Abla people. They are called “sub-humans” because they still have the “head-body-four (six/eight) limbs” physiological structure, thus categorized as sub-human.

Fortunately, the native races of this star region have weak combat and technological capabilities. After humans arrived, they quickly proliferated and developed, becoming the new masters of this star region.

But whether in her past or present life, Jiang Miao had seen countless sci-fi works about “aliens” and “extraterrestrial beings,” so when He Yan said this, her mind instantly conjured dozens to hundreds of guesses, from little grey men to the Zergs (insectoid species).

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Tsolhla, Kkydt Ykys dlhla lmrlnvle vbyv vbl “nsxxsd ldlxu sq bwxydkvu” Tl Zyd xldvksdle… oyp yzps bwxyd.

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Usxryale vs Oyavb’p pwaqynl, vbl zkhkdt nsdekvksdp kd vbl cyplp yde prynl pvyvksdp olal byapbla. Mblu bswple lmkzle nakxkdyzp yde vblka elpnldeydvp — vs pyhl prynl sd Oyavb, lhld nbkzeald csad kd vblpl cyplp yde pvyvksdp olal dsv yzzsole vs alvwad vs Oyavb.

Lsv sdzu vbyv, obldlhla alpswanlp olal pnyanl, vbl Bdkvle Lyvksdp tshladxldv oswze wdblpkvyvkdtzu pbwv esod nlavykd cyplp sa prynl pvyvksdp.

Lsv y pkdtzl rlapsd oswze cl zlqv yzkhl.

And they wasted nothing. After confirming all life was extinct, the government would restart the bases, recover “proteins” and “organic matter,” turning these prisoners who had to work and produce constantly in life into valuable resources, repurposing them as fertilizer.

Truly, nothing went to waste.

But at that time, Earth was overpopulated, and the environment had deteriorated to the point where 80% of crops had to be grown indoors. Nobody thought it was wrong.

Even so, Earth was still a dead end.

According to historical records, of the eight billion people, less than two billion boarded the ships.

Young people were prioritized; those over forty had to possess professional qualifications, those over fifty needed advanced professional qualifications, and those between sixty and sixty-five had to be distinguished individuals with significant research achievements in their field.

People over sixty-five, unless they were national treasure-level scientists, were not allowed on the ships.

In addition, the government listed seventy-nine diseases, and anyone suffering from any of them was not permitted to board.

Even with these strict criteria, those eligible to board far exceeded the fleet’s capacity. Thus, further stringent selection was made, picking the healthier, stronger, smarter, and even more attractive individuals among those with the same qualifications.

Some were rejected simply because their eyes were asymmetrical or they weren’t good-looking enough.

“To ensure the continuation of humanity’s flame” — that was the slogan of that era.

So when Jiang Miao traveled to the interstellar era six thousand years later, she found most people were attractive, and even those who weren’t exceptionally beautiful weren’t considered ugly. This was because an artificial selection process had already taken place six thousand years ago.

This was the continuation of humanity’s flame. Two billion people were divided into twenty colonization groups, setting off in twenty different directions, marking the beginning of humanity’s great maritime era.

The twenty colonization groups gradually split during the great maritime era.

While other colonization groups are unknown, historical records in Jiang Miao’s star region indicate that their ancestors’ colonization group experienced at least three documented splits.

After the last split, these ancestors settled here, gradually occupying this star region. After enduring the Dark Ages and the Crusades, they eventually divided into several forces, including Gita, Nash, and Xingluo, leading to the current situation.

Six thousand years ago, during the start of the great maritime era, life was vastly different from now.

For instance, when Jiang Miao got into college at fifteen, Coso’s reward for her was a first-class ship ticket. It was a refined single cabin with a private bathroom.

On the other hand, people like Lily, who went to the capital star to seek opportunities, bought sleeper pod tickets. After boarding, they would enter the sleeper pod and begin hibernation, not eating or drinking until they reached their destination.

This was the cheapest ticket. Later, Lily complained to Tanaka about not being able to afford a ticket, referring to not being able to buy this type of sleeper pod¹hibernation ticket.

But six thousand years ago, it was the exact opposite.

The wealthy on the ships tried everything to secure a spot in a sleeper pod.

Why? Simply put, no one knew how long the journey would be or how far it would go; everyone wanted to survive until they reached the end. Sleeper pods slowed down human body functions and aging, effectively extending lifespan.

The United Nations government aimed not for fairness but for balance.

For example, racial ratios were proportionally distributed among all colonization groups, and each individual ship strived to meet this standard.

No one could guarantee that those who left Earth would survive. Any ship could potentially become the last ember of humanity, and only by proportionally distributing all races could the continuation of all skin colors be ensured.

The male to female ratio was distributed at 1.5:1.

Compared to the 1.04:1 ratio in Jiang Miao’s previous life in China, this ratio was shocking. Calculated by monogamy, one out of every three men would not find a wife.

It sounds like a recipe for chaos.

People who think so are inherently kind.

Kind people couldn’t fathom that the United Nations government’s population distribution plan for the fireseed project had already factored in “female hosts.”

The genetic level of that era determined that men had stronger physiques and were more crucial labor and production forces in harsh environments, so more men boarded the ships.

And under the premise of strictly controlling the population and restricting reproduction, if some men had no need or qualification for reproduction, all that remained was to satisfy their physiological desires.

One female sex worker could meet the needs of many men, thereby stabilizing society.

Where did the sex workers come from?

According to the distribution plan of the fireseed project, each ship had to include all races, ages, and professions. This meant each ship was a miniature society.

The people on the ship did not eat and drink for free. Everyone had to find a suitable job or engage in some form of productive activity to earn their survival supplies.

Therefore, each “ship society” operated in a cyclical manner, much like human societies, perpetuating life continuously.

As long as human societies existed, the sex industry would never cease to exist. There would always be women who either willingly, accidentally, or by coercion became sex workers.

In the distribution plan, the United Nations government’s policy was very clear: only strive for “balance.”

As long as “balance” was achieved, other issues were overlooked. At that time, saving two billion people and preserving Earth’s fireseed was the government’s utmost effort.

As for fairness, that was a standard too high to meet.

Thus, a common phenomenon was that sleeper pods were obtained by the wealthy or well-connected, while the poor had to work day and night for survival supplies.

In the same profession, for example, lawyers, wealthy and renowned lawyers ended up on better, bigger ships, while poor, unknown lawyers were sent to old, broken ships.

Whether one could seize a higher chance of survival depended entirely on oneself.

Ironically, according to the history of Jiang Miao’s star region, the wealthy people who slept in the sleeper pods did not survive, nor did they leave any descendants.

They all died of old age in their sleeper pods.

They chose sleeper pods to extend their lives until they reached a new habitable planet.

However, the length of the journey far exceeded their expectations, and the sleeper technology of that era was far inferior to today’s standards.

Indeed, during the journey, humans did innovate many technologies, such as engines, life support systems, and mining and smelting techniques. However, this did not include hibernation pod technology.

All these innovations were driven by necessity. Humans needed to speed up their progress, so they innovated engines. They needed to survive, so they improved life support systems. They needed to extract minerals from inhospitable planets along the way to replenish the spaceship’s resources, so mining and smelting technologies were advanced.

Hibernation technology, however, had no such demand—those who needed this technology were already in hibernation pods and couldn’t speak up to say, “Please innovate the hibernation pods to let us live longer.”

And the natural lifespan of humans in that era was only about seventy or eighty years. So, after nine generations of reproduction and change within the colonial fleet, one by one, the people in the hibernation pods gradually lost their life signs.

At the time of boarding, these people never imagined that what they paid high prices and used powerful connections to obtain would turn out to be their coffins.

The empty hibernation pods were not abandoned; new people were continuously sent into them.

Those sent into hibernation pods were often grateful, because compared to being sentenced to death for merely stealing a piece of bread and then executed in a vacuum chamber with their bodies recycled as fertilizer, their punishment was much better. Each person put into a hibernation pod fantasized that when they woke up, humans would have found a habitable planet.

Of course, fate is a difficult thing to predict. During the age of great space exploration, many people died in hibernation pods. However, there were also instances where, upon landing on the first habitable planet “Gita,” severely damaged ships with no survivors had people in hibernation pods who managed to survive until they could set foot on real soil and feel real sunlight.

In some unofficial histories, there are always those who swear that in the later stages of the great space exploration, when resources were extremely scarce, the bodies of many criminals who were quickly executed were not used as “fertilizer,” but instead ended up being consumed by others. Their crimes might have been as minor as not returning to their cabins within the prescribed time.

So fate, it’s really hard to predict.

All of this is just the history of the star system where Jiang Miao currently resides, a fleet from one of the twenty colonial groups that luckily found the habitable planet Gita after three splits following its initial colonization. This is the recorded history that remains.

As for the other colonial groups, Jiang Miao knows that humanity has received signals from two other drift bottles. However, these surviving human civilizations are too far away from this star system. They can only respond with a drift bottle saying, “We are alive too, and the fire is continuing,” and then they remain distant.

Visiting them would be meaningless unless one day humanity’s technology advances in leaps and bounds, surpassing warp technology to reach distant interstellar destinations faster.

The “enemy” that He Yan mentioned can be considered a continuation of the human race from Earth’s colonial group, although they have evolved into a different civilization.

“I wouldn’t really call them humans anymore,” He Yan remarked. “They were too radical in genetic modification, likely losing ethical control right from the start, which led them to where they are today. It’s too much to insist they are still ‘human’; ‘beast-men’ is more appropriate.”

The Nash Republic, born from the split with Gita, has long hoped to possess a supercomputer akin to a quantum cloud.

To achieve this goal, Nash dispatched exploration teams.

When the colonial groups departed from Earth and headed in various directions, they left beacons every fifty years. These beacons consumed minimal energy and theoretically could last tens of thousands of years.

Following these beacons and clues from historical records, Nash’s exploration teams retraced the routes their ancestors took in hopes of finding a special nebula, collecting enough particles to create their own quantum cloud.

Restricted by engine technology, these explorers had already mentally prepared for the idea of “we go with the mission, our grandchildren return with the completion of the mission.”

They have been on their journey for over a hundred years, but five years ago, three ships returned prematurely on their own. They did not bring back the special particles but instead brought back beast-men prisoners.

The exploration teams encountered the vanguard of the beast-men, resulting in casualties on both sides. Nash captured prisoners and the information gleaned from them left everyone astonished.

“Genetic collapse?” Jiang Miao was shocked.

“Their entire society no longer has pure humans. It started with enhancing human physique and abilities to adapt to new environments, but then it spiraled out of control. They’ve even added genes from aliens captured along the way,” He Yan explained. “We share the same ancestors, but now they’re completely different.”

In this star system, humans like Jiang Miao, He Yan, and Yan He are all descendants of genetically modified individuals. However, under the control of the Ethics Committee, human interference in genetic fields in this star system is cautiously managed.

On the other hand, another branch of humanity, unaware of what other universes have encountered, brazenly undertook genetic modifications in what was known as the “Realm of God.”

This fearless attitude eventually backfired after several thousand years.

The entire beast-men society faced a terrifying genetic collapse. To resolve this crisis of extinction, they needed to find pure human genes.

“Unfortunately, they picked up one of our drift bottles,” He Yan remarked.

Whenever a colonial group fortunate enough to find a habitat settled down, they would release drift bottles. These would signal other surviving human civilizations and provide their coordinates.

Jiang Miao, He Yan, and their ancestors released countless drift bottles.

At that time, humanity was so isolated, thinking back to the six billion compatriots left to die on Mother Earth and the two billion who fled Earth. Tears in their eyes, when they released those drift bottles, it was just to confirm safety and hope to receive news of other human civilizations’ safety.

If they had known that a brotherly branch of humanity would not peacefully coexist, but rather insist on bestializing themselves and targeting them, Jiang Miao would bet that their ancestors would have retrieved all the drift bottles to avoid trouble.

But no one could predict the future. The drift bottles were released, and the beast-men picked them up.

Facing imminent extinction, the beast-men once again embarked on a grand voyage, their entire society rushing towards this star system.

Armed and malicious, their goal was pure human genes. They wanted them whether male or female, regardless of gender.

With such a massive group rushing towards them, even if not all harbored such malice and were merely seeking survival, they would inevitably clash with the current inhabitants of this star system over habitable planets and mineral resources!

In ancient times, when two villages fought over water, it led to brawls. In this era and at this scale, it was no longer just a brawl; the outbreak of interstellar warfare was inevitable.

Faced with such external threats, Nash and Gita had to cease hostilities.

To achieve this ceasefire, Li Ping’s mind had to be eliminated, and the true mastermind had to be released.

Amidst ongoing disputes within Nash, the Trojan Plan was born.

Yan He led a mission into Nash-controlled territory, ostensibly to carry out a mission, but in reality, Nash had set a trap for spies sent by Gita into Nash’s borders.

They needed the identity of a senior Gita officer as a disguise.

Yan He, as the mission commander and a colonel, was deemed suitable.

This led to He Yan’s selection.

He Yan’s encounter with Jiang Rui resulted in their union.

Yan He realized that Nash intended to kill him, so he escaped at all costs and returned to Gita after facing great dangers.

The Trojan Plan was exposed.

In the final hour, the emergency meeting of Nash’s senior leadership finally voted to release the mastermind.

He Yan succeeded in his mission and managed to escape with Jiang Rui.

Jiang Miao pursued them all the way here.

And thus.

Even Jiang Miao, with her exceptional intellect, felt dizzy after receiving so much information.

The vast universe, the profound depths of time, all contrasted with her own insignificance.

The feeling of insignificance made her feel powerless.

Jiang Miao rubbed her face several times and shook her head, then asked He Yan, “When will they arrive?”

He Yan replied, “We’ve deployed deep space probes. Based on continuous observations over the past few years, their engine technology is clearly much less advanced than ours. Without technological innovations in between, they will likely arrive in about forty years at their current speed.”

Jiang Miao asked, “Do you have specific data?”

He Yan provided her with several approximate figures. Jiang Miao rapidly calculated in her mind and said, “If it’s warp engine technology, they could be here in two years.”

“Yes. If we intercept with warp engines, we can confine the war to deep space regions, avoiding conflict in our own territory. The discovered resources are all within human-controlled areas. Warp engines can ensure our supply and keep the enemy outside the resource stars,” He Yan said, “But we don’t have warp engines.”

Jiang Miao stared at him, “We don’t have them now?”

“Yes, we do now.” He Yan’s voice softened and he gently took Jiang Miao’s hand, saying quietly, “That’s why, back then, I had no other choice. Please understand.”

Jiang Miao was speechless.

In the middle of the night, He Yan woke up and found Jiang Miao still awake.

“Can’t sleep?” He Yan’s voice was slightly hoarse. He turned over and hugged Jiang Miao in his arms.

Jiang Miao leaned gently against him and said softly, “I can’t.”

Anyone who received such a massive amount of information during the day and could still sleep at night must have a remarkably strong heart.

He Yan chuckled, reaching out to stroke her head, “Don’t worry. With soldiers on the front lines, everything will be fine. Just focus on living your life.”

Jiang Miao asked, “Are you going to the battlefield?”

He Yan didn’t want to lie to her and admitted, “I want to.”

Jiang Miao didn’t say anything, just kept her eyes open, staring into the dimly lit room.

He Yan pulled her closer to him and said, “Actually, it’s a good thing for us.”

Jiang Miao: “Hmm?”

“If both sides negotiate peace and restore diplomatic relations, we’ll be free to travel between Nash and Gita,” He Yan lightly tapped Jiang Miao’s shoulder, “Your mother and Tanaka, we can all meet again.”

Jiang Miao remained silent for a long time before sighing, “That’s true.”

On this point, He Yan seemed even happier than Jiang Miao.

Perhaps because he was ultimately the cause of Jiang Miao giving up everything and having to leave her hometown.

If things could be resolved like this, all the problems that had troubled them would disappear. For He Yan and Jiang Miao, it would be a perfect ending.

Jiang Miao closed her eyes. He Yan thought she had fallen asleep, but she suddenly said, “You don’t have to stay with me all the time. You can go do your own things, I’ll be fine.”

Since arriving at Silver Star, He Yan had never left Jiang Miao and Jiang Rui, not for a single day, no, not even half a day.

He spent every day with them, accompanying them.

Upon hearing Jiang Miao’s words, He Yan kissed her temple, gently stroked her cheek, and said, “I like it this way. I want to.”

Jiang Miao didn’t say anything more.

But after this night, she seemed to soften towards He Yan.

He Yan was very happy. He knew Jiang Miao would eventually come around. He had it all planned out: once Jiang Miao finished her probation, obtained citizenship, they would marry immediately.

He wanted to share everything he had with Jiang Miao.

Days like these continued until one day in the third month, He Yan told Jiang Miao, “My commendation ceremony will be held next week.”

This time, in addition to the medal, He Yan would be promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.

As a Lieutenant Colonel, he was remarkably young. His achievements were undeniable.

The road to success was brightly lit, and it was worth celebrating because everything he had would be shared with his wife and children. Theirs was his.

The future was truly something to look forward to!

So when He Yan told Jiang Miao about this, it was with the hope that she would attend as his family.

Although his eyes were filled with anticipation, Jiang Miao declined.

He Yan was somewhat disappointed, but this commendation was indeed built on Jiang Miao’s sacrifices and compromises. It wasn’t surprising that she would mind.

He Yan was only concerned that she might be unhappy or angry about it.

Fortunately, she wasn’t. Jiang Miao seemed indifferent, although she declined to attend, it seemed more due to the awkwardness of her status rather than any real concern about the event itself.

He Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

The commendation ceremony was not on Silver Star, but at a space base. He Yan had to leave home for three days.

During this time, he and Jiang Miao spoke on the phone more than once.

“I’ll be back tomorrow,” he said. “I’ll show you the medal when I get back.”

Jiang Miao smiled in response.

Behind her was the background of their master bedroom.

After the communication ended, Jiang Miao deactivated the holographic projection, and the background of the master bedroom disappeared.

Perhaps because of his childhood experiences of wandering and life in the welfare home, or perhaps because of the trials and tribulations of life and death on the battlefield, He Yan had developed a more acute sixth sense than the average person.

For example, when he finished receiving the commendation, wearing the new Lieutenant Colonel epaulettes on his shoulders, and returned to his home on Silver Star, the moment the door opened, he suddenly felt palpitations in his heart.

He Yan even placed his hand on the gun handle.

But he quickly let go, because there was no sense of danger in the house, just an eerie quietness.

It was too quiet, unnervingly quiet for He Yan.

There was neither Jiang Rui’s carefree laughter, nor the gentle background music and natural sounds that Jiang Miao liked.

He Yan stood dazed in the empty living room for a moment before slowly walking upstairs.

Pushing open the door to the master bedroom, the room was impeccably tidy. Everything was in its place, the bed neatly made.

He Yan’s gaze fell on the ottoman at the foot of the bed—there lay a piece of paper, and on the paper… rested the locator that should have been worn on Jiang Miao’s ankle.

Once activated, the locator could not be removed except by professional personnel using specialized equipment. Any attempt to tamper with or decode it would trigger an alarm.

Of course, that was for ordinary people.

Jiang Miao was certainly not ordinary.

The locator lay intact on the paper, its regularly flashing green light confirming that it was still functioning normally.

He Yan pulled out the paper underneath, read through its contents, and stood there blankly.

The house was very quiet.

Too quiet.

Just like the quiet of “Capitol Hill Day,” when Jiang Miao returned home.

Why did she?

Everything could have been resolved perfectly.

---

Sansukini: She left him this time. 🙁

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