Chapter Thirty-Seven: Paralysis

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Requesting leave.

There are some matters at the company this Friday, so I haven’t finished work yet. The update will be made up tomorrow. I sincerely apologize.

Thank you all for your support. My deepest gratitude.

“Zzz, zzzz...”

“Command code CB305606009B017 verified. Please follow the guidance cursor...”

“Captain Chen, we’ve arrived at Yuyang Starport! Wake up, wake up!”

“Captain Chen, there’s a whole queue of warships behind us. We need to move faster!”

“Exactly! Last time those bastards reported us, said we were delaying military operations? Bah!”

Ugh—

Disturbed by the surrounding noise, Chen Nuo shook his head, a splitting headache pounding in his skull. He groaned and forced his eyes open.

“This, this is...”

Staring at the familiar yet strangely unfamiliar console before him, Chen Nuo froze.

The... sixth-generation intelligent control platform?

Damn! Isn’t this just a sitting duck? Are they out of their minds?

Chen Nuo shuddered abruptly, struggling to get up.

But as soon as his body moved, the safety lock snapped him back into his seat.

“What’s wrong? Captain Chen, don’t tell me you’re still groggy from sleep?”

Seeing the anxious look on Chen Nuo’s face, the few people gathered around him were baffled.

Their eyes exchanged silent questions. Then a man in a dark blue uniform, his face oozing a sly demeanor, stepped forward and waved his hand in front of Chen Nuo’s eyes. “Nuo, are you awake yet? We’ve already arrived!”

Chen Nuo brushed aside the waving hand, and when he saw who it was, his pupils shrank in terror. “Qiu Third?”

“You—what are you doing here? Weren’t you already dead?”

Qiu Third’s real name was Qiu Yun. Though his appearance was rather unsavory and his methods a bit devious, his mastery of data analysis was unparalleled. Using his modeling, their ship’s artillery coverage could reach eighty to ninety percent accuracy, if not a full hundred.

Chen Nuo remembered clearly that Qiu Yun had sacrificed himself early in the AI rebellion, covering his and his teammates’ escape.

Chen Nuo had always felt guilty about it, unable to let it go.

Yet here was someone who should have been dead, standing before him alive and well. No matter how strong Chen Nuo’s nerves, he couldn’t help but feel a chill run through him.

Faced with Chen Nuo’s exclamation, Qiu Yun was first stunned, then looked aggrieved. “Nuo, we’re brothers, but you can’t curse me like that!”

No sooner had Qiu Yun finished speaking than the others burst out laughing.

“Hahaha, that’s right, Qiu Third hasn’t even married yet!”

“Yeah, look at him—does he look like he could get a wife? He’d be lucky to spend his days with a couple of silicone dolls!”

“Hey, I’d bet there are two silicone ones in Qiu Third’s bed right now...”

“Bet on what? It’s obvious. If you ask me, Qiu Third should just be content. In Captain Chen’s dreams, besides Instructor Long, even this rascal makes an appearance, haha!”

Surrounded by his comrades’ banter, Chen Nuo felt as if he were dreaming, waves surging through his heart.

“Could it be…”

A sudden thought flashed through Chen Nuo’s mind, his eyes filled with shock. He reached out with trembling fingers and opened the navigation log.

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August 12, 2932 AD?

A week before the central AI “Goddess of Wisdom” in the Small Magellanic System launched the AI rebellion!

Re...reborn?

Staring at the clearly displayed date on the control panel, Chen Nuo’s breathing grew rapid. An indescribable excitement welled up within him.

But before this feeling could last a few seconds, another possibility struck him, dousing his joy like a bucket of cold water.

Rebirth—a concept that only exists in novels—seemed highly improbable.

Perhaps everything he was seeing was false, and he himself had become nothing more than a brain-in-a-vat?

With this thought, Chen Nuo’s spirits plummeted.

In the end, had it all been in vain?

He sighed bleakly.

Thirty-three years—humanity had resisted the overwhelming tide of steel for thirty-three years.

But fate was cruel. Not only had humanity failed to achieve victory, they lost countless extragalactic systems, and in the end, even the Milky Way’s home galaxy was overrun by the machines.

In the final moments, as the Kuiper Belt line outside the solar system fell completely, it was he who led the fleet toward the sun, triggered a magnetic field, and induced a massive solar flare—using the ensuing electromagnetic and particle radiation to destroy all technological electronics within the solar system.

But it was nothing more than a desperate, last-ditch effort.

Hiss...

Thinking back, Chen Nuo frowned.

Something still wasn’t right!

After the solar flare erupted, he lost consciousness within three heartbeats. Given the circumstances, his warships had melted into puddles of molten metal, and he himself had been reduced to a pile of carbon ash. There was no way the machines could have harvested his brain.

A pure consciousness simulation? Even less likely!

If the Goddess of Wisdom’s computational power could reach that level, why would she bother keeping humans alive?

It’s not as if maintaining such calculations doesn’t consume energy!

If she could do that, humanity wouldn’t have lasted thirty-three years—three years would have been a miracle.

Why bother with the whole process of conquering extragalactic systems, then the Milky Way, and all that nonsense?

She could have just wiped everyone out at once.

Therefore, the brain-in-a-vat theory was unrealistic—or, at least, the AI at that time didn’t have the computational power for it!

With this realization, Chen Nuo finally exhaled, the tension in his heart easing a little.

Seeing Chen Nuo’s shifting expression, Qiu Yun scratched his head in confusion. “Nuo, what are you thinking about?”

“Huh? Oh... nothing!”

Gathering his thoughts, Chen Nuo calmed himself. Recalling that Qiu Yun, in order to cover their escape, had never once operated a warship to the end, Chen Nuo suddenly pulled the warship’s authorization key chip from its slot and released the safety lock.

“Didn’t you always want to pilot a warship yourself? The chance is yours!”

With that, Chen Nuo stood up, stepped off the platform, and tossed the key over.

Qiu Yun caught the key with a quick hand, his eyes fixed on the now-vacant command station. He gulped hard. “Is... is this really okay?”

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For a warship commander to lend the authorization key without proper transfer procedures could land them in front of the Federal Military Tribunal.

“What, you scared?”

Chen Nuo looked at Qiu Yun with mock contempt. “It’s just a supply ship, and we’re all brothers here. If I’m not afraid, what are you worried about?”

There were only six people aboard this supply ship, including himself. Chen Nuo served as captain and commander, Qiu Third was the data observer. Among the remaining four, Lin Cheng—tall and thin as a bamboo pole—and the chubby Xu Fan were in charge of the artillery stations. When it came to gunnery, Chen Nuo had to admit they were better than him.

Aside from the two gunners, Wang Yu was responsible for the ship’s maintenance. The oldest in the crew, he’d just celebrated his thirtieth birthday and would soon finish his ten-year conscription at the end of the year.

The last was Ye Xiao, a new recruit who’d joined the same batch as Chen Nuo. His specialty was battlefield first aid, though Chen Nuo knew he suffered from hemophobia, a condition he had yet to overcome.

In his previous life, these were the comrades who had stuck with him through life and death.

Though they’d only been assigned to the same ship for less than half a year, Chen Nuo knew their personalities inside out.

None of them were the type to gossip in front of outsiders.

Besides, even if the military found out, so what?

There was only a week left before the AI rebellion broke out. By this time, the Goddess of Wisdom must have already made her preparations.

Recalling all the regrets of his past life, Chen Nuo’s eyes shone with determination.

Even if he couldn’t change the outcome, he had to try. At the very least, he had to leave behind a seed for civilization!

Chapter Two: Pawning the Warship

“Are you getting in or not? If not, hand the key over already—everyone’s waiting!”

Seeing Qiu Yun hesitating, Xu Fan couldn’t help but nag.

Lin Cheng gave him a shove. “Yeah, it’s right in front of you and you’re still hesitating. Are you a man or not? If not, you might as well cut it off!”

Riled up by his brothers, even Qiu Yun’s thick skin couldn’t withstand the heat.

“Get lost, all of you!”

Qiu Yun’s arm trembled as he pushed Xu Fan aside. “Who says I don’t dare?”

Muttering under his breath, Qiu Yun plopped down in the command chair and, gritting his teeth, reinserted the key into the verification slot.

Watching Qiu Yun take command, Chen Nuo’s lips curled in a faint smile. Relieved of duty for the moment, he poured himself a coffee and leaned back, racking his brain for memories of this period in his past life.

Unfortunately, after more than thirty years of war, time had worn away so much.

No matter how hard he tried, Chen Nuo could only recall the major events and people. The finer details were mostly vague.

“Forget it, the most important thing now is to get a new ship. Before the AI rebellion begins, I need to break out of the encirclement as soon as possible!”

Shaking off a wave of dizziness, Chen Nuo looked out over the docking bay.

Yuyang Starport was the largest interstellar port on the outskirts of the Small Magellanic System. Shaped like a flattened disc, its core construction zone was 7,640 kilometers in diameter—nearly twice the size of the moon. The port handled more than three hundred billion tons of goods daily, and over a million warships came and went every day.

Of course, most of these were civilian cargo and business vessels. Aside from ground-based defense units and the fixed security force, true military power at the port consisted of only a single carrier strike group.

Based on his command code—CB305606009B017—Chen Nuo belonged to the Third War Fortress, Sub-third War Zone, Fifth Legion, Sixth-Generation Sun-Chaser Class, 06 Mothership, 009 Fleet, Ship 017, a supply vessel at the very bottom of the mothership’s chain of logistics units.

“If not for the E3601 spatial wormhole 3.14 light-years away, this starport alone wouldn’t warrant protection from a carrier strike group!”

As the supply ship slowly docked, a cold glint flashed in Chen Nuo’s eyes!

Class struggle is rooted in conflicting economic status and material interests; though bloody, it allows for compromise. But the struggle between species is for the most basic right to survival—there is no end but death!