Chapter 473 - 408: Died in the 28th Century

Flipping through a few more pages, Chu Bamboo’s expression changed again. He realized the person recording the events was once again Lin Xin Bamboo.

"Uncle Chu has gone to Mars again. You should understand the situation! So I’ll be the one to continue the record from here on out..."

...

"It is the first year of the twenty-second century, and human civilization is as prosperous as ever!

Although the birth rate plummeted due to Genetic Modification policies... our national productivity is more than sufficient to support state-sponsored child-rearing!

Thus, we can synthesize sperm and eggs, create babies in artificial wombs, and have them raised by the state.

The younger generations no longer need to accommodate each other through marriage and childbirth. All they have to do is make a donation... before undergoing Genetic Modification!

Earth’s population has now surpassed fifteen billion! As an aside, genetically modified individuals make up ninety percent of that number...

Unfortunately, eight-tenths of the population is destined to remain in the First Realm forever! They can only live for one hundred and fifty years... How pitiful."

Chu Bamboo sucked in a sharp breath, his scalp tingling.

’This must be the timeline with the largest population in the twenty-second century that I’ve seen... It didn’t fall, it skyrocketed? Outrageous!’

’And that last part about eight-tenths being stuck forever... does that mean the other one-fifth are genetically modified individuals who can actually reach the Second Realm, or even higher?’

’...What an absurd level of power!’

Chu Bamboo felt he could finally understand why human civilization had managed to endure for so long. ’With numbers like that, it would be weirder if it *didn’t* endure.’

Over ten billion in the First Realm, and over two billion in the Second Realm or even higher... What did that even mean?

At that rate, the number of Cultivators in a single rural county in the Divine Continent would probably far exceed the total number of Transcendents in the entire Daqian he had come from—

Although, that comparison wasn’t entirely fair.

For instance, in terms of top-tier Transcendents, the number on Earth might not have surpassed the total from Daqian’s era—

After all, technology’s strength lay in mass production. Clearly, top-tier Transcendents couldn’t be manufactured by technological means!

Still, it offered a glimpse into that glorious age.

"In the first year of the twenty-third century, the great tide on Mars officially entered its decline!

Humanity endured countless hardships and obstacles! The ravages and outbreaks of pollution... bodies strewn everywhere, genetic degradation...

There was even a period where all newborns had to be born through embryonic cultivation, as natural childbirth became impossible...

In order to combat the Ten Thousand Races that arose from humanity’s own ranks... our population even dipped below ten billion at one point.

But we have weathered it all! We are the ultimate victors..."

Chu Bamboo was speechless.

’Is dropping below ten billion even worth mentioning?’ Chu Bamboo found that part particularly ridiculous.

"As an addendum, Uncle, you once said that the Ten Thousand Races didn’t just come from humans... but in this timeline, the members of the Ten Thousand Races that transformed from wild animals were no better than stray dogs on the side of the road!"

Chu Bamboo nodded, his face impassive. ’It shows,’ he thought. ’How could the Alien Races in their Initial Stage possibly win against ten billion Transcendents?’

"In the 24th Century, extreme internal competition forced humanity to expand outward! Even though... you made countless proclamations before you left, laying down iron-clad laws, and even with Z’s efforts to suppress it... it was useless!"

"Perhaps in the past, Z’s word was law simply because they were the strongest... but now! Alas."

Chu Bamboo paused. ’Is this a problem born from humanity becoming too strong?’ And just as he’d expected, the next entry read...

"Just as you predicted, a problem arose!

The ten billion mad dogs who escaped the cage of Earth... frantically terraformed planet after planet to make them suitable for human habitation!"

"The Moon, the extremely hostile Venus, the absurdly difficult Jupiter... even the Sun itself!"

Chu Bamboo was stunned. ’...That’s insane!’

Chu Bamboo couldn’t possibly imagine what it would be like for people to live on the Sun.

"Having reached an unprecedented era of prosperity, humanity grew arrogant, scorning all the wisdom of their predecessors... even yours! Yes, even you.

If even hostile environments like the Sun, Venus, and Jupiter had bowed their proud heads before humanity, what was a mere Mars?

In fact, wasn’t Mars far more habitable in comparison?

And so, the Federation Government officially passed the Mars Development Act!

And then, disaster struck."

"Humanity suffered an unprecedented setback..."

"The pollution raged... and a strong physique was no use!"

"Even I once naively believed... that we in the 24th Century were far stronger than those in the twenty-second!

Since we had survived the disaster in the twenty-second century... then it stood to reason that in the 24th Century, at a point when the great tide on Mars hadn’t even fully erupted, it should pose no threat to us...

Or rather, I believed the worst-case scenario would be a repeat of the great disaster of the twenty-second century... meaning, at most, a fifty percent reduction in population!"

"But I was too naive... so naive it’s laughable!

I understand now. Even though I have become a powerhouse of the Seventh Realm... compared to you, who went to Mars at the Sixth Realm... I am still nothing!

How far into the future did you see back then?

I cannot imagine how you managed to forcefully contain a portion of the great pollution tide from Mars all those years ago!

Yes, this expedition to Mars tore something open... The great pollution tide that erupted should have only peaked at one-tenth the strength of the original!

And yet, the resulting impact still surpassed that of the great tide in the twenty-second century...

Countless people found this impossible to accept!

But I feel it must have been you... But why?"

Chu Bamboo’s breath caught. He was also pondering the very question that perplexed Lin Xin Bamboo.

’Is there something special about me...?’

’How strange! Besides traversing dreams and resetting... do I have some other ability?’ Chu Bamboo was completely baffled.

’And another thing...’

’Lin Xin Bamboo, Seventh Realm! She still hasn’t achieved Becoming a God?’ A flicker of doubt appeared in Chu Bamboo’s eyes as he realized something wasn’t right.

According to what happened in The Matrix Line, Lin Xin Bamboo definitely had the potential for Becoming a God!

And the time it took her... was by no means an unimaginable amount!

’A life of seven or eight hundred years, and it’s still not enough for her to achieve Becoming a God? You can’t tell me... that the Lin Xin Bamboo from The Matrix Line was just that uniquely gifted, can you? They’re supposed to be the same person...’

’Does that mean it’s due to her experiences? Could it be that after humanity’s great extinction, Earth itself gained some special quality...?’

Chu Bamboo couldn’t figure it out.

’And... what on earth did *I* do?’

After a few moments of silence, Chu Bamboo shook his head, clearing it of all the incomprehensible thoughts, and continued to read.

"The spread of the Extraordinary pollution introduced countless people to the Extraordinary... and they all embarked on the path of cultivation!

This opened Pandora’s Box!

The Ten Thousand Races began their second great ascendance!

Humanity’s physique was indeed powerful... but this also meant that the monsters they mutated into after being polluted, and the Ten Thousand Races that emerged from their corpses after death... were also exceptionally powerful!

Humanity was fighting itself! So humanity’s inherent strength was useless... or rather, the stronger they became, the crueler the war was destined to be."

"By the end of the 24th Century, humanity had barely won the war... but they were left severely weakened!"

"Humanity began to reflect. Then, at the call of a certain individual calling himself Dr. T, a second faction split away: the Cold Blood Sect!

This faction learned the truth about Mars. Understanding that severing one’s emotions was the only way to safely and steadily step into the Extraordinary and become stronger, they decisively chose to do so, embarking on the path of cultivation.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the current state of Genetic Modification...

Because of Dr. Guan Qianyu’s death at the start of the twenty-second century, the advancement of human genetic technology slowed immensely!

Now, the only technology that has emerged... is one capable of reliably producing powerhouses of the Third Realm, and only at an exorbitant cost!

As for a Fourth Realm powerhouse, each modification requires funds equivalent to the entire daily production capacity of the Moon Base controlled by Z... and the failure rate is extremely high—only ten percent succeed!

And if the procedure fails and the body isn’t destroyed, it is almost guaranteed to become a Fourth Realm member of the Ten Thousand Races!"

Chu Bamboo’s expression was a sight to behold. ’Mass-producing Third Realm, and even capable of producing Fourth Realm?’

’It’s too absurd...’

’Is this the infinite potential humanity can unleash after breaking through that bottleneck?’

"But that cost!" Chu Bamboo’s lip twitched. ’The word "terrifying" doesn’t even begin to cover it!’

This was the 24th and 25th centuries, a single day’s production from the Moon Base under Z’s control...

What did that even mean? Extrapolating based on the speed of technological leaps and the efficiency of artificial intelligence... one day of that productivity might be comparable to the entire annual output of the Divine Continent in the year 2025 he awakens in... maybe even more.

To put it another way, a baseline of a hundred trillion in funds... might be enough to create a single Fourth Realm powerhouse!

And that’s just a ’might,’ because there was still a chance of failure—

’Most importantly, even having the money might not be enough! After all, the twenty-first century probably doesn’t have a lot of the required technology from that era,’ Chu Bamboo thought with a sigh.

Though he was quite curious what kind of materials could possibly be worth at least a hundred trillion.

Chu Bamboo patted his cheeks and let his gaze drift back down the page.

"In the twenty-fifth century, humanity, long suppressed, finally erupted into civil war!

It was a civil war between the Cold-blooded Faction and those who still retained their emotions, the Emotion Faction.

The Emotion Faction considered themselves the true humans, believing that people who had lost their emotions were, in essence, just another type of the Ten Thousand Races!

Z made many efforts to mediate, but it was completely useless!

Without emotion, there was often no way for the two factions to empathize with one another.

And the final result was...

...it was forced to a halt only after the human population fell below one billion!"

Chu Bamboo stared quietly at the number. ’After so many centuries, the population must have been in the tens of billions, right? Considering their extended lifespans... it might have even reached a hundred billion! And they fought until only this many were left...’

’Sigh... The stronger you are, the more terrifying the wars you fight, is that it?’ A bitter smile formed on Chu Bamboo’s face.

"In the end, a truce was reached. In exchange for the Federation Government’s tacit approval, the Cold-blooded Faction was allowed to decide for themselves whether to travel to the Outer Cosmos via Mars.

Their ultimate fate... is unknown.

At least, as far as I know, they never returned."

"By the twenty-eighth century, humanity had almost completely colonized the entire Solar System! Human technology had climbed to its theoretical limit...

Humanity entered an unprecedented golden age!

Then, the great tide on Mars erupted once more!"

Chu Bamboo stared, stunned. He subconsciously tried to turn the page, only to find there was nothing left.

A long silence followed.

"...So, that means..."

Chu Bamboo closed his eyes and suddenly gave a bitter laugh. He murmured, "So this time... my grand-niece died in the twenty-eighth century?"