Chapter 534: I already had no home

7774, a name long existing in ancient memory, was pulled from Xiao Jiu's mind—for no other reason than she saw that Ship Girl, which ought to have been recycled and remade, appear before her.

She stared blankly at that face from memory, identical in every way, unchanged.

But the current 7774's face was lit with a satisfied smile she had never seen on him, as the human beside her cheerfully said something—utterly unlike the stern, unsmiling shoe‑scraper face she remembered.

This reminded Xiao Jiu of the time when that human Zhang was still around....

"Governor Jiu?"

The call of the Ship Life beside her pulled Xiao Jiu back from her reverie; a holographic screen awaited her signature before her.

"Never mind that for now—look at the Ship Girl opposite and help me check her out."

"Ah? Oh!"

Soon, Xiao Jiu fell into thought while holding the data on "7774".

Data record: This is a Ship Life that chose to format itself and be recycled and remade; its previous consciousness had begged the recycling workers to make it as lively and silly as possible.

"She... has found a new pilot."

"She is no longer 7774; she is a new individual, and she now looks quite satisfied."

"Forget it—she has a new life, so it's best not to disturb her."

Xiao Jiu sighed in her spacious office and slumped down listlessly.

Her two close friends also found their own ways: Qiong, relying on her giant‑beast body's trait of sweeping everything away, travels all over the New Universe, occasionally sending her weird trinkets.

As for Dai Tao, she discarded her giant‑beast body, became a professional racing ship, and spends her days colliding with a flock of Ship Lives, parts flying everywhere—she lives a rich and flavorful life.

As for Xiao Jiu herself, she appears to live an orderly life, but in truth she merely uses work to numb her mind.

She has never truly moved on.

Even those Ship Lives that Zhang Jie had once salvaged from his scrap space station were revived by her and returned to life.

They rebuilt the scrap space station and began scavenging trash across the world—though calling it trash‑picking, it was much like Qiong's activities: worldwide travel and adventure, promoting the profession of 'trash‑pickers' in Zhang Jie's memory.

Sometimes Xiao Jiu even doubts whether they still remember Zhang Jie, but the fact is that a considerable number of Ship Lives have already stepped out of his shadow and begun their own lives.

Time.... can it really heal all wounds? The answer is yes—time turns every lingering hurt into release.

But that holds only for those who aren't especially important; for Xiao Jiu, Zhang Jie matters more than anyone.

As for the human female, Xiao Jiu hasn't heard from her in a while; she only knows that the woman seems to be forcing herself to evolve toward a scholar's path.

In this age, as long as the brain is intact, anyone dead for any length of time can be pulled back to serve as a pack animal—but Zhang Jie's death was different; it was an erosion of consciousness.

And the resurrected Zhang Jie is no longer Zhang Jie; he is an entity with an entirely new mindset, a completely new person—aside from looking like Zhang Jie....

Thinking of this, Xiao Jiu suddenly wanted to visit that human female, to see how the mother regulates her emotions.

I suspect the human female's situation is even worse than mine....

Xiao Jiu was thinking that when a message suddenly came through.

Deific AI: "Jiu, what do you say is the origin of civilization?"

Xiao Jiu: "Carbon‑based civilization is cells; silicon‑based civilization is the natural weathering‑formed network that gradually gains the ability to think."

Deific AI: "I mean, at what point does something truly count as civilization?"

Xiao Jiu: "Another philosophical question.... I don't know."

The Deific AI is the very AI she once cultivated; it's quite familiar with her and keeps popping out with bizarre questions.

This time it's not too bad; last time it asked, "Why must civilization eat?"

Saying that technology long ago could guarantee balanced nutrition at any given moment, why do some civilizations still use food as a delicacy?

Back then Xiao Jiu was swamped; she brushed it off with a couple of sentences, telling it to find the answer itself—she never imagined this little gadget would actually produce some results.

In short, it created two hundred micro‑civilizations, one group taught the "food" concept, another lived by standard nutritional intake, placed them outside a black hole to accelerate time, and finally drew a conclusion.

Civilizations with the "food" concept survived 397% longer than those without it; meanwhile, the civilizations lacking the concept had a fraction that invented it, thereby becoming food‑concept civilizations.

Conclusion: homogenization accelerates civilizational decay, and this has nothing to do with the "food" concept.

It is exploring some concepts of the world....

"Go run your own experiment—I'm heading out for a bit."

"Is it a certain human female? I've already plotted the route for you."

Xiao Jiu nodded, fairly satisfied; that's not bad—this guy does have some perceptiveness.

Ship Girl Xiao Jiu took a Ship Girl to visit the human female....

The expected air of decadence did not appear; as Xiao Jiu entered, she instantly spotted a tiny human who looked extremely like Zhang Jie did as a child.

Her dead heart leapt; Xiao Jiu thought the human female had succeeded, but when the little thing turned its gaze to her, she instantly realized something terrible.

This little guy isn't Zhang Jie....

"You...."

The human female was smiling at the little guy; hearing Xiao Jiu's voice, she froze for a moment and hid the child somewhat behind her.

But perhaps realizing she'd been seen, or feeling there was no need to hide, she pulled the child back out.

"You've come, Xiao Jiu."

"Quick, call me Aunt Jiu."

"Aunt Jiu, hello~"

Not only did their looks match, their voices were identical, and Xiao Jiu felt a chill run through her.

"Go play over there."

"Okay, Grandma!"

The little one was shooed aside by the human female, who then looked at Xiao Jiu with guilt.

"Sorry, Xiao Jiu...."

"It's fine... I'm just lamenting something...."

「People die, and then there really is nothing left.... 」

Xiao Jiu gazed at the cheek that was ninety percent like Zhang Jie's, feeling only sorrow in the inner heart.

They, human females, Dai Tao, Qiong, and that group of Ship Life, they now have what they truly want to do, have new concerns, have a new.... home.

「But where are my own concerns, my own refuge....? 」

「I.... I have long had no home.... 」