Chapter 121: A Startling Inside Story

After receiving a definitive confirmation from Liu Shaoyu, Wang Weifu fell silent for a moment, perhaps organizing his thoughts. Liu Shaoyu patiently refrained from urging him.

"We only learned of the 'Glory of the Republic' quite recently; compared to the vast span of time it has actually existed, our knowledge is negligible," Wang Weifu said slowly. It was clear this was a long story.

Wang Weifu’s words suddenly reminded Liu Shaoyu of Carter.

"Have you ever wondered why the Vatican Theocracy suddenly declared war on Huaxia?" Wang Weifu asked abruptly.

Liu Shaoyu, prepared to listen to a story, found himself forced to rethink the matter.

"Wasn't it because of the 'God Project'?" Liu Shaoyu recalled the origin of the conflict, which was the very same God Project directly linked to Wang Weifu.

"It was the God Project, but that was merely the beginning. What truly ignited the war was the 'War Dragon,'" Wang Weifu said.

"War Dragon?" Liu Shaoyu was puzzled. Compared to the God Project, which had deeply offended the Vatican Theocracy, the War Dragon was merely a weapon of military utility. Why would it provoke such resentment?

"Yes. Do you remember the origin of the War Dragon?" Wang Weifu asked.

"I do. It was from the research data of Empress Fengta." Liu Shaoyu’s memory of this was still fresh, as he was the one who had discovered it.

"Indeed. The history of the Fengta Zerg is far longer than that of humanity, or any other species in the universe. Our research into this species is currently limited only to what we have gathered since we first made contact. As for the true extent of their history, no one knows," Wang Weifu stated.

Liu Shaoyu knew a little about this, as Carter had once revealed her astonishing age.

"What does this have to do with the Glory of the Republic?" Liu Shaoyu asked, as on the surface, the two seemed unrelated.

"The connection is that the Glory of the Republic sensed a threat," Wang Weifu replied.

Liu Shaoyu felt a buzz in his head. A threat? Why such an interpretation? The Glory of the Republic was a computer—the central hub of the Federation. If it felt threatened, why didn’t the military stop the War Dragon? Why were they supporting it instead?

"I don’t understand," Liu Shaoyu stated his confusion directly.

"I know. Once you understand what the Glory of the Republic truly is, you will understand," Wang Weifu explained.

Round and round they went, back to this same question.

"Then what is it?" Liu Shaoyu asked.

"Simply put, the Glory of the Republic is not a product of Huaxia’s technology. It was not in the past, it is not now, and it never will be," Wang Weifu said, his tone growing slightly agitated.

Liu Shaoyu could understand this; the Glory of the Republic seemed to have appeared out of thin air. All historical records regarding its emergence were vague. However, it was known that the period of humanity’s rapid technological explosion coincided with the appearance of the Glory of the Republic. It was only natural to assume that technological advancement had created this super-machine.

Liu Shaoyu did not interrupt this time, waiting for Wang Weifu to continue.

"The Glory of the Republic is not a product of this universe. It came from another dimension. As for where exactly, no one knows," Wang Weifu continued.

Liu Shaoyu finally understood the reason for the buzzing in his head. This answer had existed as a vague conjecture in his mind, but now that it was confirmed, the implications were unthinkable.

"How do you know all this?" Liu Shaoyu asked, still unwilling to accept the result in his heart, as it would fundamentally alter his entire worldview.

"Because he and I come from the same place," Wang Weifu said slowly.

Liu Shaoyu was left at a loss for words. If Wang Weifu’s story were true, it meant that Wang Weifu also came from another dimension. Yet, they had grown up together since childhood. After they parted ways, there were verifiable records of him entering the Huaxia Academy of Sciences. Why would he say such a thing?

"Are you saying that you also come from another universe?" Liu Shaoyu asked.

"To be precise, our ancestors did," Wang Weifu replied.

Liu Shaoyu felt even more confused. It seemed this was a remnant issue of history, reaching all the way back to their ancestors.

"Let me tell you a story," Wang Weifu said.

Liu Shaoyu remained silent, signaling for him to continue.

"In a strange dimension, or perhaps a different universe—in any case, a place whose location is unknown—there existed a race identical to ours: humans. We don't know their way of life, but we do know that their technology was highly advanced, at least far more than ours. In that place, a group of people developed a machine. It was a supercomputer—the very thing we now call the 'Glory of the Republic,'" Wang Weifu said in one breath, then paused.

Liu Shaoyu quickly processed this. The story wasn't hard to grasp, as he had already guessed that humanity did not exist solely on Earth.

Liu Shaoyu nodded, signaling Wang Weifu to go on.

"This machine served those people just as our Glory of the Republic does. After a long passage of time, humanity gradually discovered that the machine, created to serve them, had begun to change and slip out of control. One day, humanity was enslaved. It was then they realized they had no power to resist the machine they had created. They lived under its rule. As time passed, all human history was rewritten by the machine. Those born later never even knew that they were once the masters of that place," Wang Weifu continued.

Liu Shaoyu began to understand the underlying meaning, but he wanted to hear the full account before responding.

"However, a small group of people emerged whose genes had evolved and mutated over time, granting them special abilities."

"Are you talking about the S-Gene?" Liu Shaoyu interjected.

"The specifics are unknown, but it must be something similar, as those abilities were even more powerful than the S-Gene," Wang Weifu explained. Seeing Liu Shaoyu nod, he continued, "The evolution of these people made their brains developed enough to resist the machine's control. Combined with the formidable combat capabilities of some among them, this small group finally survived."

"And then?" Liu Shaoyu asked.

"Then, they began to search for the root cause of the problem. Fortunately, there were scientists among them, and even more fortunately, there were the descendants of those who maintained the machines—the creators themselves. So, they planned to solve the problem at its source."

"To destroy the machine?" Liu Shaoyu asked.

"Yes, to destroy it. But not the version of it that existed at that time," Wang Weifu explained. "Back then, they barely had the strength to protect themselves. The machine was simply too powerful. Even these people faced the constant threat of extinction. Once they were wiped out, there would be no one left to remember their history."

"So, what did they do?"

"They chose to return to a time before the machine was developed to destroy all the research data and warn the people of that era about what would happen."

"Time travel?" Liu Shaoyu exclaimed in surprise.

"Theoretically, yes. We don't know how they managed it, only that some of them did indeed return to the past."

"This... and then?" Liu Shaoyu couldn't afford to ponder the feasibility of time travel. Even today, humanity could not exceed the speed of light, and they were pushing further into warp technology in the hope of finding a way to the past through spatial research, though such efforts had yet to yield results.

"However, their movements were still a step too slow, because the machine, in order to consolidate its power, had already anticipated this. As soon as they appeared in the past, they were identified by the machine."

"Were they destroyed?"

"No. As it happened, the sudden appearance of the machine in that timeline caused some fluctuations. Because of the machine's abrupt arrival, humanity sensed the crisis and began to resist it," Wang Weifu said.

"What happened later?"

"Later, with the help of those who returned from the future, humanity began to fight the machine in that timeline. Eventually, two factions formed, and neither could destroy the other. They reached a stalemate."

Wang Weifu stopped there. Typically, the story would end here, but Liu Shaoyu knew this wasn't the conclusion. These events still seemed to have no bearing on the present.

"What about what happened after?" Liu Shaoyu asked.

"Afterward, the two factions remained in a stalemate. But they didn't settle into peace; they were desperate to destroy the other. Finally, they realized that total victory was impossible in that timeline, so they shifted the battlefield."

"Shifted?"

"Yes. The machine knew that the humans it fought were not the only ones in existence. It knew other places harbored the human species. So, the machine began to replicate itself infinitely, sending copies into the past to eliminate the species during its infancy."

"And how did the humans respond?" Liu Shaoyu asked.

"They did the same as the machine. They mass-cloned the super-powered individuals of that time along with many ordinary people and sent them into the past as well. Neither the machine nor the humans had a clear destination; they were blindly sending themselves into different times and spaces. Our ancestors were among those sent. By chance, in one era, they finally discovered that machine."

"So... is the origin of humanity your ancestors?" Liu Shaoyu asked, puzzled.

"No. When our ancestors arrived here on Earth, they found that intelligent life already existed—the ancient humans. Fortunately, the machine had suffered damage during its interstellar voyage and had gone into hiding to heal," Wang Weifu explained.

"Then why not destroy it while it was injured? Why wait until now?"

"Because my ancestors also suffered heavy losses during the transfer. Once they arrived, they lacked the capability to leave this planet. So, they had to lead the existing intelligent humans of Earth to develop. Over the vast passage of time, many forgot these events. In each generation, only one person would remember their mission and pass it down."

"Is that the 'Mission-Bearer'?" Liu Shaoyu suddenly recalled the term.

"Yes, usually referred to as the Mission-Bearer," Wang Weifu confirmed.

"And you... are you the Mission-Bearer of this generation?" Liu Shaoyu asked.

"The Mission-Bearer of this generation... actually, it shouldn't have been me," Wang Weifu said after a moment of contemplation.