Chapter 12: A Realistic Problem

This is a very realistic problem: if a person is killed, they die; if a person does not eat, they will starve to death all the same.

Gaia Zone Z, Sub-sector 6123 is almost entirely locked down. Ever since Su Xing woke up, all he has faced is this one hibernation pod and one maintenance base station. Aside from various instruments and tools, there is only the assorted junk that his predecessors obtained through lucky draws. Thus, the problem of eating has become the primary survival issue for maintenance personnel like them.

To be blunt, they have no affection for this Human Unified Government.

Although it was the Human Unified Government that revived them from their frozen state, the government did so to make them pay off debts like slaves. While they are called maintenance personnel, aside from the two hundred—or even two hundred and fifty—people in the first few batches who have a chance to reach the New Homeland and become citizens, the rest of them will spend their entire lives growing old on this cold spaceship.

As for the maintenance personnel in batches after the two hundredth or two hundred and fiftieth, most are actually there through connections or bribery.

One must know, while the Human Unified Government appears to be a future democratic government, in Su Xing's eyes, it is actually a feudal aristocratic utopia with strict hierarchies.

So-called citizens are also divided into ranks: first-class citizens, second-class citizens, third-class citizens, and so on. What each rank can enjoy, what permissions they have, and how long they can live are all different.

So, how could maintenance personnel possibly risk their lives to maintain such a government entity? Especially since this maintenance contract is akin to a usurious loan.

Whenever there is an opportunity, these maintenance personnel could simply choose not to enter the Dream World. Since they are all just muddling along waiting for death anyway, why risk the danger of a fate worse than death to enter the Dream World to save such a government, and those who are called citizens but are actually aristocrats?

But as the saying goes, this is a very realistic problem. Maintenance personnel must eat, and in the enclosed, narrow space, there is no food other than fresh water. Therefore, they must enter the Dream World to seek survival, even if it is just to eat.

And once they enter the Dream World, although they can return to Gaia after staying for five days, there is a certain possibility of encountering a Nightmare during those five days. Or, even if the Nightmare is sluggish, if they happen to encounter other bizarre entities in the Dream World, they will die without a burial place.

Establishing a sanctuary not only allows for the awakening of maintenance personnel based on the sanctuary's level, but also provides rewards from the Main Brain. Furthermore, the first random draw from a sanctuary can often yield the power system of that Dream World, which provides the strength for self-preservation.

However, after establishing a sanctuary, a Level 1 sanctuary requires entering for ten days every thirty days, while a Level 2 sanctuary requires seven days every thirty days. During this period, one might encounter a Nightmare. At the same time, if you are determined not to enter the Dream World and let the sanctuary fall into ruin, there is a high probability of attracting a Level 2 Nightmare, which could then penetrate from the Dream World into reality to kill everyone.

For example, the culprit that caused the annihilation of 6120 through 6122, the Pink Snake, according to records from predecessors, was a Level 2 Nightmare that penetrated from a Dream World sanctuary!

"So I have no choice. To eat, to survive, I must go to the Dream World. And to enter the Dream World, you also need power, so you must establish a sanctuary. And once you have a sanctuary, you need to enter the Dream World even more to block Nightmares from penetrating through. It is one link after another; even if we don't want to work for the Human Unified Government, we have no other way," Su Xing said in a low voice.

Yi Ya and Xu Shilan were both silent.

Neither of them were rookies or fools; one was a veteran of the Third War, and the other was a con artist and arms dealer. They immediately understood what Su Xing meant.

They had no other way, no other choice.

Either starve to death here, or enter the Dream World to struggle for survival and seek that glimmer of hope.

Next, Su Xing introduced the situation of the Dream World to the two of them.

There are two ways to enter the Dream World from the Main Brain: one is to penetrate downward.

For example, if you have a sanctuary at Baseline Reality 0.9, you can use this Dream World as an anchor point to penetrate downward into the Dream World at Baseline Reality 0.8. Similarly, if you penetrate downward from reality, you will go to the Dream World at Baseline Reality 0.9.

The second method is random penetration.

This kind of penetration is truly random; you might go to a world at Baseline Reality 0.9, or you might go to a world at Baseline Reality 0.1, depending entirely on luck.

"Before waking you up, I encountered a Level 2 Nightmare with two predecessors. Both of them are dead, and I, by chance, obtained a Level 2 sanctuary in a Baseline Reality 0.7 Dream World. You see that my strength is so high now; in fact, most of it comes from this Level 2 sanctuary."

Su Xing did not hide anything from the two. Although he was somewhat wary of Xu Shilan, the three of them were actually grasshoppers on the same rope. In such a nightmare world, failing to cooperate sincerely is just asking for death, so he revealed his attribute interface to them.

"Su Xing."

"Level 1 Maintenance Personnel."

"Physical Body Rank Two, Soul Rank One, Inspiration Rank Two."

"National Martial Arts: Dark Jin, Tiger Demon Art: Perfection."

Su Xing was also looking at his attribute interface for the first time after the enhancement was completed.

The harvest was even greater than he had expected. Originally, his physical body was Rank One and his inspiration was also Rank One, but now both have become Rank Two. This means he can now run as fast as Bolt, and even without circulating his Qi and blood, his punching power would not lose to Tyson's. His physical strength and endurance are at the standard of a triathlon athlete, which will greatly increase his survival ability in the Dream World.

The two newcomers looked at this attribute interface, and then they each summoned their own attribute interfaces, which they also showed to Su Xing.

"Yi Ya."

"Level 1 Maintenance Personnel."

"Physical Body Rank Two, Soul Rank One, Inspiration Rank One."

Yi Ya is worthy of being a Third War veteran; he likely underwent some degree of genetic tuning. His physical body is actually also Rank Two, which surprised Su Xing. However, recalling the scene where Yi Ya lifted the tank barrel earlier, his physical body is indeed at the Rank Two level, though likely just at the edge of it.

As for the other one, it surprised Su Xing even more.

"Xu Shilan."

"Level 1 Maintenance Personnel."

"Physical Body Rank One, Soul Rank Two, Inspiration Rank One."

Soul Rank Two!?

This was the first time Su Xing had seen someone whose soul was not Rank One!

He had seen the attribute interfaces of the old predecessors before; some had Rank Two physical bodies, some had various martial arts or strange techniques, and some had Rank Two inspiration, but never anyone with a soul above Rank One!

Although he didn't know what Soul Rank Two meant, Su Xing always felt it must be very powerful!

Yi Ya and Xu Shilan were staring intently at the difference between Su Xing and them... martial arts, realm!

With the same Rank Two physical body, Su Xing could easily slaughter the previous aberrant monster, while Yi Ya would be easily devoured by it.

The gap in combat power between the two is at least ten times!

Yi Ya hesitated for a moment, and just as he was about to speak, Xu Shilan spoke first: "Brother Su, can you teach us this National Martial Art of yours?"

When the words "Brother Su" came out of Xu Shilan's mouth, there was no affectation, but both Su Xing and Yi Ya felt a slight shiver.

Su Xing nodded and said: "Naturally, I can, but let me say first: this martial art was obtained from the lucky draw after I established a Level 1 sanctuary. According to the predecessors, when you first establish a sanctuary in the Dream World, you will generally obtain the power system of that world through a random draw. The Main Brain might have cheated, and this martial art happens to be very suitable for you. This National Martial Art is suitable for me, but it might not be suitable for you. And there is one more thing I must clarify in advance."

"This National Martial Art is actually extremely dangerous to practice. All the information I know about it came directly from the Main Brain, which forced it into my brain and made me memorize it; even if I wanted to forget, I couldn't. However, language and information are different. I can tell you about it, and I can tell you my cultivation insights, but your understanding might not be the original martial art in my head. When practicing, a tiny difference could lead to a thousand-mile error. At that time, Qi and blood could reverse, and sudden death is a possible outcome. It's not that I'm being stingy."

Yi Ya and Xu Shilan looked at each other, but they did not mention the martial art again.

Next, Su Xing told them a lot about the Dream World, sanctuaries, and the various sectors of Gaia that he knew about.

"The Dream World originates from the dream network constructed by the Human Unified Government. The worlds inside are infinite. I just mentioned Baseline Reality; the lower it is, the more it deviates from reality. I have only gone as far as Baseline Reality 0.7; I don't know what it looks like further down."

"The rewards for each level of sanctuary..."

"... The above three are methods to establish a sanctuary. The first is purchasing; the sanctuary is in the building you purchased, which is the easiest to establish, but it is also the most restricted and dangerous sanctuary because your sanctuary cannot move. Once found by a Nightmare, you must either flee back to reality and pray that the Nightmare is not Level 2 and cannot follow you to reality, or fight the Nightmare to the death."

"A Faction Sanctuary: your faction's headquarters is the location of the sanctuary, but this can be relocated. As long as most of your faction members move away, this sanctuary can go to other places and avoid Nightmares. However, with many people comes complex hearts; once the faction is lost, your sanctuary will collapse. At the same time, many people are easily parasitized by Nightmares."

"The best is the Historical Record Sanctuary: fame, leaving a name in history. Wherever you are is the sanctuary, so you can wander freely in that Dream World, avoid Nightmares, and return anytime, anywhere. It's just that if you encounter a Level 2 Nightmare face-to-face, if you return, that Level 2 Nightmare can still come to the real world."

"... Various sectors have fallen silent. According to the predecessors, maintenance personnel once had a prosperous period. Many large sectors appeared with Level 2 and Level 3 sanctuaries. Some sectors even had dozens of maintenance personnel, and they worked together to open several blocked passages, finding good places like canteens, medical stations, and various shopping centers. But gradually, the personnel in these sectors disappeared. For example, the Pink Snake I mentioned was recorded by a predecessor many batches ago."

Su Xing spoke intermittently for at least two hours, until his mouth was dry. He poured a cup of fresh water and drank it down, then said: "Basically, I have said everything I know. This is the situation of this world, the situation of the Dream World, and there are some things I haven't recalled yet. If you have any questions, you can ask me, and then you should prepare..."

Yi Ya and Xu Shilan both nodded. Xu Shilan said in a charming voice: "Is Brother Su going to take us into the Dream World?"

Su Xing shook his head and said: "No, you prepare yourselves. There is a lot of miscellaneous stuff here; I don't know if there is anything useful. If you want to take it, take it. If not, rest yourselves, prepare mentally, and store up some physical strength. Next, I am going to sleep to recover my strength."

"Gather at the hibernation pod in twelve hours, and then..."

"We set off, enter the Dream World, and go eat breakfast!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 13 =====