Chapter 403: Number: 7089

In the middle of the night, the human female indeed slipped away quietly.

Before leaving, she left a letter at Zhang Jie's bedside, and once again gently stroked his cheek, murmuring things like 'Sorry, I can't help it, forgive me'.

"Mom... will come to take you away as soon as possible..."

After saying those final words, Zhang Jie heard the human female leave the shelter.

The next moment, the pretending-to-sleep Zhang Jie also got up from the bed, staring blankly at her retreating back.

Relying on a simple positioning device, he followed far behind the human female; she didn't notice, merely hurrying along.

Zhang Jie kept following her like that, over and over, until the dark sky showed a feces-yellow dawn.

He witnessed an incredibly shocking scene.

On a vast expanse of Feitu plain, a flying ship hovered that was countless times larger than anything he and the human female had built.

Its silver-white hull and brand-new cabin every detail proclaimed its extraordinariness.

It simply hovered there silently; as the human female stepped closer, its silver-white hatch hissed open.

Amidst the light that clashed with the Feitu, a graceful figure emerged slowly, bowing deeply and respectfully to the human female, inviting her to board the flying ship.

From afar, Zhang Jie instantly spotted that figure; she was unlike a normal person, her face bearing regular metallic splice patterns.

Just that glance, Zhang Jie was certain: this was the core technology of the giant civilization that the human female often spoke of—the Humanoid Ship Lifeform.

That which can at any moment use Space Folding Technology to launch a flying ship—a top-tier artificial tech: in humanoid form it possesses peak individual combat power, and in ship form it can compose an interstellar fleet, the ultimate war weapon.

That thing—aside from the starry sky, Zhang Jie wanted to see nothing more than that.

Zhang Jie watched helplessly as the human female boarded the warship, looking through its rare glass as she stepped up step by step.

Finally, the flying ship's hatch retracted; it did not spew flames as he had imagined, but instead rose eerily from the spot and lifted off.

The sky was already bright; Zhang Jie stood on nearby Scrap Mountain, watching it gradually rise.

"Goodbye.... Mom."

He didn't think of stopping it, because he couldn't possibly do that; such a colossal thing, a single missile would leave him nothing but scraps.

But the desire to possess it kept sprouting at this moment, even outweighing the anguish of soon leaving his mother.

"I... I must have... my own flying ship!"

Zhang Jie's gaze gradually grew resolute, and on the slowly ascending warship, the human female, at the very last moment of her departure, saw his tiny figure.

Although it was only a glance, she could instantly recognize it—that was her little Zhang Jie.

The strength she had feigned for many days collapsed at that moment; watching Zhang Jie's figure continually shrink until it vanished, the human female burst into loud sobs.

She had once tried to defy fate, but to no avail.

She had also considered taking Zhang Jie with her, but that would only worsen his situation.

Although he believed that Zhang Jie now could fare well even without her, he was still just a twelve-year-old child.

All of this was still too cruel.

"I will come back... I definitely will..."

Before that, she only hoped Zhang Jie would make good use of the knowledge she taught him, live well, and wait for her return.

"You've been out running for so many years; it's about time you had enough fun."

A cold, merciless voice sounded, instantly pulling the human female's thoughts back; she looked at the man behind her with eyes full of fury.

"What exactly am I to you?"

"A daughter? Or a tool?"

"The human female ultimately left you, no matter the reason; she indeed indeed left this place."

"You can't say what feeling it is—sadness? Or anger? It seems like neither; there's only an intense, suffocating loneliness for the future."

"From now on, it's just you alone....."

"You read the letter the human female left for you; she didn't say much about why she left, merely encouraging you as usual, nagging you a few sentences, and apologizing to you."

"She believes you can live well even alone, and has agreed that when you come of age, she will return to fetch you."

"You fell silent—'coming of age'? What is that? It seems like a term you've never encountered."

"Your world lacks things like anti-addiction measures; in fact, you still have many shortcomings regarding common sense, such as not knowing what 'coming of age' means."

"In short, the human female said she would return—this is beyond doubt, and it slightly eases your mood; but you don't realize that the life you hope for, which only needs to consider the problem of loneliness, is also about to vanish forever."

On another planet, experiments concerning the Humanoid Ship Lifeform are still ongoing.

The experiments have already entered the later stage, and this is not entirely due to their own research.

A mysterious civilization periodically dispenses key technologies to some of their members; although incomplete, it indeed provides them considerable help.

Being used? Doesn't matter; it's better than being cannon fodder now.

Having a sword but not using it, and having no sword, are two different things.

"Designation: D—7089, tell us your cognition."

"I am...."

"Autonomous Humanoid Ship Lifeform, designation.... 7089..."

In the culture chamber, a gray-eyed humanoid lifeform slowly opened its mouth; silver-white patterns on its body faintly glowed, making the whole figure look mysterious and full of technological sense.

"Space Folding Technology... normal."

"Autonomous Cognitive System.... normal."

"Combat Protocol.... normal"

"Hull Fusion System.... error."

"Alarm! Alarm! Target exhibiting severe rejection reaction!"

As the alarm sounded, the humanoid lifeform showed a pained expression, its gray pupils suddenly dilating.

"Please... I don't want to die...."

Save me....

Tsk!

Just a little more!

The silver-white pattern on the girl's body gradually faded, indicating that the experiment to merge the warship with her had completely failed.

Go rest, 7089.

Yes....

Next!

The girl slowly walked out of the culture chamber, the constant stabbing pain all over her body leaving her eyes vacant.

She is alive.... but what is she living for?

"I really want... to die...."

7089 silently recited in her heart, and another painful wail came from behind, causing her body to instinctively tremble again.

"Who will come... save me..."