[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-arrival-in-1994":3,"chapter-arrival-in-1994-arrival-in-1994-chapter-629":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Arrival in 1994",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2353110,4601,"Chapter 629","arrival-in-1994-chapter-629",629,"\u003Cp>Several months had passed—just a few short months—and the entire Space-Time Empire had changed again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thousands of stories of skyscrapers stood tall upon the earth, the streets sparsely populated, small floating vehicles darting back and forth; one building saw constant comings and goings, yet everyone moved with hurried urgency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The term “homebody” originally came from Japan’s otaku culture; though differing in some ideals, it could not change their essence—staying locked at home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the arrival of the new world, the new Space-Time Empire flourished, and many no longer wished to work outside; they survived on government-provided minimum welfare, and the rise of thousand-story towers made travel difficult, so many settled contentedly indoors, lost in various entertainments, oblivious to the world outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Often, homebodies who ventured out failed to recognize even nearby streets; having lived here for decades, they couldn’t remember the path before their own door, frequently getting lost—all because the advertising billboards changed so often they became bewildering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Ye Nan paid them no mind; the Empire’s resources were limitless, and even if wasted, how much could truly be squandered? Their lack of ambition was their own choice, and Ye Nan would not interfere. All he could do was enhance comforts, ensuring those who worked diligently received more resources than homebodies—of course, this referred to credit points.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Workers who struggled to earn credit points always had more than homebodies; those who stayed home yet earned credit points were not included.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Empire now has twelve billion people, four life-bearing planets, twelve habitable planets, and one planet undergoing transformation and development, expected to be preliminarily completed in about a year,” Simila introduced to Ye Nan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Once that planet is transformed, Earth’s population pressure will be greatly reduced.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Population pressure?” Ye Nan frowned. “With so many planets, how could there still be population pressure?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pre-catastrophe Earth supported six billion people; now, the Space-Time Empire’s technology was vastly superior, with four life-bearing planets and twelve habitable ones—there was no way there could be population pressure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Simila would not lie to him, so he didn’t understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Too many homebodies,” Simila said helplessly. “Thanks to your minimum welfare program, countless homebodies have emerged. They either play games at home, chat with friends, watch movies, listen to music, and so on.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now, on Earth, three out of every four people are homebodies; only one goes out to work. Do you still think there’s no population pressure?” Simila explained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That many?” Ye Nan was startled. He had assumed homebodies were numerous, but never imagined it would be this extreme.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He trusted Simila’s words; as one of the Network Masters, Simila was powerful enough to search every individual’s data. With such data, her results were extremely precise, far beyond any sampling survey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The number of homebodies is still growing, and it’s all your fault,” Simila gave Ye Nan a resentful look, for Ye Nan championed the minimum welfare program and the robot expansion plan; now, robots handled ninety percent of all work in the Empire, taking over everything except tasks requiring mental effort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With no life pressure and no social pressure, homebodies pursued entertainment and stimulation intensely; countless H-games like murder simulations and subway pervert scenarios became rampant. Coupled with Ye Nan’s policy of dual network-reality freedom—where you faced no social condemnation as long as you broke no law—this led to the widespread rise of polygamy, with many homebodies remaining single.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this cycle, the homebody phenomenon grew worse. Many stayed locked indoors for one or two years, refusing to see anyone. Had virtual games not kept them practicing speech, Simila suspected they might one day lose the ability to speak entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I personally believe this phenomenon must be addressed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How?” As they spoke, Ye Nan arrived at the base of the skyscraper; the bottom of the thousand-story tower was a spacious hall, with elevators and a few snack shops, their owners all immersed in virtual games, leaving only robots behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Indeed, it’s time for some cleanup,” Ye Nan narrowed his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sight displeased him. Caring for civilians was not about raising pigs—pigs could be slaughtered for meat. These people, once dead, contributed nothing but occupied space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From birth to death, they lived in comfort, never contributing to society, only playing, playing, playing—receiving government funds to play, playing their entire lives, then occupying space afterward, utterly useless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, this wasn’t the reality of all homebodies; a significant portion earned money online—selling game services, writing novels, and so on. Some pursued hobbies to supplement income, others balanced passion with credit-point earnings, seeking a better life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But these were a minority. Most homebodies, thanks to welfare, had no need to earn money; they remained glued indoors, refusing to step out. Some even went so far as to eliminate eating and bathroom breaks, inventing special devices for on-site waste disposal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding dong!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elevator doors opened. Ye Nan did not enter; instead, he pressed each of the ten elevators once, then narrowed his eyes, checking whether anyone was inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a sense, the thousand-story skyscraper had become a miniature society, containing farmland, small factories, and more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, the thousand-story tower wasn’t merely tall—it was a composite structure, cylindrical in shape, with elevators positioned at the center and housing surrounding it on all sides. Besides residences, there were other specialized rooms: electronic rooms, bowling alleys, entertainment halls, and even entire companies had set up shop here. Most of these special-purpose rooms were located on the lower floors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, such a tower housed nearly ten thousand people, many of whom still had money—making it a promising commercial opportunity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of the ten elevators, only dozens of people emerged, and many of them were robots, leaving Ye Nan somewhat disappointed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Indeed, they need some pressure,” Ye Nan muttered to himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A good welfare system isn’t about raising pigs. Its purpose is to ensure people have enough to eat—but his original intent was never to let them stay home doing nothing, living only to die.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But how should we design it?” Simila asked again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s go inside first,” Ye Nan shook his head and stepped into the elevator, pressing the number 1000.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elevator shot upward rapidly. After about five minutes, it reached the top. Ye Nan stepped out, gazing at the clouds beneath his feet, slightly proud. “A thousand-story tower—the view is indeed impressive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Nan looked down from above, watching other towering skyscrapers piercing the clouds, the tiny black dots on the ground like ants, occasional birds flying past, distant planes rumbling across the horizon—he grew increasingly bold. “One day, my Empire will rule the entire galaxy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course it will,” Simila’s image materialized from his wrist, spreading across it. “I look forward to the day you succeed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Looking forward isn’t enough—you must help me,” Ye Nan gazed tenderly at Simila, the woman before him. Had she not been a projection, he might have impulsively thrown himself at her, committing beastly acts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You two!” A shout from outside startled the pair. Yan Luo, who had just arrived, decisively interrupted their moment, then, meeting their gazes, his legs began to tremble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sorry, I didn’t mean to. I’ve just read too many novels,” Yan Luo offered an excuse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Novels?” Ye Nan tilted his chin, studying Yan Luo with a sly smile. “You like reading novels?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, I love them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though instinct warned him Ye Nan’s smile was malicious, Yan Luo decided to answer anyway—he feared Ye Nan, who had just ruined his moment, might attack him. He had clearly seen the watch on Ye Nan’s wrist: a high-end model with holographic projection, proof of wealth and status.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Have you read time-travel novels?” Ye Nan asked again, his smile growing more mischievous. “Do you like time travel?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Time travel? I love it!” Yan Luo lit up the moment Ye Nan mentioned his favorite genre. “Nowadays, all novels are about time travel, but the tropes are so old—lightning strikes, car crashes, head injuries. Why not try flying? I think flying—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Flying?” Ye Nan’s smile turned eerily strange. Suddenly, he moved. “Since you love flying so much, then fly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you doing?” Yan Luo, mid-speech about creative time-travel methods, suddenly feared the figure before him. Then, he felt his body grow light, floating helplessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I seem to be flying.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Yan Luo could react, his vision went black—he collapsed unconscious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Simila, take care of this guy. Give him a real taste of what time travel feels like,” Ye Nan said with a grin. By “time travel,” he meant simulating a world through virtual reality—though to make it feel real, he needed to inject special fluids to suppress the subject’s bodily responsiveness.\u003C\u002Fp>",1439,"2026-06-21T03:32:52.969Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","688e727845c362ad537d2691bf50559105c8cebb6b5da4b446d65f30fe51fd84","arrival-in-1994-chapter-630","arrival-in-1994-chapter-628",643,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Farrival-in-1994-cover.jpg"]