chsdbacks Page 270
Page 270
As more and more fragments of time and space merge into this area, it will sooner or later become a strange place where the past, present, and future intertwine and overlap, just like the outside world.
"Hmm, if my geological testing equipment is correct, this area doesn't seem to be Earth?"
After glancing at the data on the mask screen, Lu Xuan raised an eyebrow slightly and said.
"That monster that could tear through space and time just now seems to have thrown some unknown extraterrestrial space over here."
"Based on the analysis of the soil layers and geological structure of this area, it seems that this area originally belonged to the moon."
Although he used a question, Lu Xuan's words implied certainty.
The monster from before forcibly threw a part of the moon over here.
Moreover, this moon appears to have been colonized by humans, and it is filled with various machines and buildings from humankind.
"Is this the moon?"
Unable to resist blinking, Daigo gazed at the shattered area, trying his best to reconstruct it as the moon he remembered.
The results showed that if the mechanical buildings in this area were removed...
Then, changing the background to an endless starry sky, it does indeed bear some resemblance to the moon I had imagined.
"At least from the perspective of soil structure and geological analysis, this should be the moon as you know it."
"Or more precisely, it is part of the moon in some unknown spacetime."
"In that time and space, humans should have already colonized the moon, and even carried out large-scale development of the moon."
"Because those mechanical buildings are not entirely industrial buildings, but also contain a lot of civilian equipment and personal items."
——Monthly Tickets/Recommendation Tickets——
Chapter 430 Chang'e Base
As the two gradually entered the core area of that spacetime fragment, Daigo realized that what Lu Xuan had just said was very likely true.
In addition to the mechanical buildings we saw at the beginning, there are also many civilian facilities in the core area of this region.
Although the function of those civilian facilities cannot be seen from the outside, they are nothing more than providing food and recreational facilities for the ordinary people living here.
This understanding persisted until the two entered a mechanical building that was clearly different from the others.
This is a semi-automated mechanical building specifically designed to adapt to the lunar environment and space; the equipment inside continues to operate even after leaving its original space.
The rumbling machines and the occasional flashes of electricity all indicate that it possesses an independent energy system.
"Traces of life activity detected. System authentication required..."
Suddenly, the scanning device inside the automated building seemed to detect the presence of Daigo and Lu Xuan, and proactively emitted a mechanical voice message.
"Life identification is underway, and it has been confirmed as a carbon-based organism."
"Gene comparison is underway, and it has been confirmed as intelligent life."
"By simulating and comparing language databases, we officially confirmed its identity as an ancient human."
After confirming that Daigo and Lu Xuan were human, the cold, mechanical voice suddenly became gentle, and even the surrounding environment seemed to become less cold.
"Updated data time database. Welcome back to the Chang'e base on the moon."
"According to the pre-set instructions of the system, you two will have temporary command authority over the Chang'e Base..."
While Daigo was still bewildered by the mechanical sounds coming from his ear, Lu Xuan had already seen through the true nature of this so-called "Chang'e Base".
"Chang'e Base? When was this base established?"
Reaching out to stop Daigo from continuing forward, Lu Xuan looked up at the base and asked.
"New command detected, system data updated again..."
"According to the system data, this base was established in 2363 AD and is a pioneering immigration base for human exploration of the moon."
"This base will provide security for humans living on the moon, and will eliminate any potential threats to humanity when necessary..."
The voice prompts from the Chang'e base were still playing automatically when Lu Xuan suddenly interrupted them.
"According to your system's detection, what year is it now?"
Upon hearing this, Chang'eji, who had been speaking fluently, suddenly fell silent.
"Answering my question directly has given birth to an artificial intelligence with 'self'!"
After a long while, even Daigo realized that something was wrong with the Chang'e base and instinctively became more vigilant.
"This thing... is out of control?"
Daigo carefully pulled Lu Xuan back a step, realizing that nothing in this eerie place seemed normal.
"The system is not out of control; it is simply self-correcting and adjusting."
Having clearly heard Daigo's words, the voice system of the Chang'e base spoke again.
"According to the system's self-detection, the current year is 4732 AD, which is 2231 years since humanity officially became extinct."
A chill ran down his spine, and Daigo realized he had almost been led astray by this Chang'e base.
Humanity in this timeline has been extinct for over two thousand years.
The Chang'e base continued to operate, and even intentionally or unintentionally concealed this fact from him and Lu Xuan.
If Lu Xuan hadn't been so observant and spotted the flaw in time, he probably would have been led astray by this Chang'e base.
Wait, humanity has been extinct for over two thousand years?
When he suddenly realized this fact, Daigo's eyes widened in shock once again.
Then, recalling what the Chang'e base had just said, Daigo suddenly realized that the history of humanity in another timeline seemed to have been somewhat abnormal from the very beginning.
In its current timeline, TPC has already begun colonization activities within the solar system, and recently even plans to colonize Mars on a large scale.
In another timeline where the Chang'e base is located, humanity did not establish a complete lunar base until 2363.
Compared to the current progress of TPC, the humans in another timeline are more than two hundred years behind.
"Don't treat the development of our spacetime as a constant..."
Seeing through Daigo's thoughts at a glance, Lu Xuan promptly corrected some of the other's subtle common-sense errors.
"In the endless expanse of space and time, to my knowledge, only TPC is currently capable of breaking out of its home planet and venturing into the universe in such a short period of time."
It's hard to find the right words to describe Daigo's current feelings.
This is like having lived most of your life in this world, only to be suddenly told that you are the "chosen one" in this world.
"So, if human civilization follows the normal course of history, it will take another two hundred years or so before we can colonize the moon?"
Daigo glanced at Lu Xuan with a complicated expression. He felt that the only difference between his timeline and other timelines was that there was a genius alien like Lu Xuan.
"You can understand it that way simply, but the reality is a bit more complicated than you think."
"Because in most of the time and space in which humans exist, even more than two hundred years from now, it is not certain that lunar colonization will be completed."
After a slight pause, Lu Xuan turned his gaze directly to the Chang'e Base as he spoke.
"Isn't the Chang'e base right in front of us the best example?"
Clearly sensing the distrust and hostility emanating from Lu Xuan's words, the intelligent voice system at the Chang'e base finally couldn't help but speak up again to explain.
"The extinction of humanity is a natural phenomenon and has nothing to do with the Chang'e base."
"The Chang'e Base is an artificial intelligence created to carry out lunar colonization missions!"
"No matter what happens or how much time has passed, this core instruction of the system will not change!"
Before the Chang'e Base could continue speaking, Lu Xuan interrupted them.
"Yes, in order to have a 'target' to protect, they would do anything, even forcibly detain humans, right?"
These words caused the room to fall silent once again.
"From the very beginning, you seemed to be pretending to be harmless, your purpose being to lure Daigo and me into the base, right?"
“Since the two of us have entered the base, your program can forcibly control us in order to achieve the goal of ‘protecting humanity’.”
"Are they going to lock us directly in hibernation pods? Or are they trying to mislead us into staying at the Chang'e base voluntarily?"
"No, these are all too childish..."
"With your current technological limitations, the most likely approach would be to forcibly extract the human genes of me and Daigo, then mass-clone them to regenerate new humans, right?"
——Monthly Tickets/Recommendation Tickets——
Chapter 431 Private Household Robot - Jade Rabbit Type III
Admittedly, Lu Xuan's speculation did indeed refresh Da Gu's understanding, and even the Chang'e base seemed to have fallen into some kind of downtime.
"So... you can do it like that?"
When the voice from the Chang'e base came through again, Daigo's face became even more terrified.
Because he discovered that the intelligent system of the Chang'e base seemed to have been misled by Lu Xuan's previous speculation, he quickly shouted loudly.
"No, don't listen to that guy's nonsense!"
"Your duty is to protect humanity, but what you just did was absolutely not protecting humanity!"
Hearing Daigo's righteous and stern emphasis, the intelligent system of the Chang'e base suppressed its dangerous thoughts and spoke in a very calm tone.
"My duty is not to protect humanity; my mission is to ensure that lunar colonization can continue."
"However, forcibly extracting human genes and reproducing a new generation of humans does not conform to the core instructions that the designers originally wrote for me."
"So don't worry, I won't do anything against the rules for either of you."
As if to prove their point, the Chang'e Base stopped insisting on letting Da Gu and Lu Xuan enter the interior and instead took the initiative to open the hibernation pod closest to them.
Click...
With a crisp click, the hibernation pod was activated from the inside.
Under Daigo's watchful gaze, a mechanical rabbit with a biomimetic structure emerged from its hibernation pod.
This mechanical rabbit has a body structure similar to that of a human.
Its limbs and facial features are quite different from those of a normal rabbit, and its height is over two meters, giving it a very reassuring appearance.
"Greetings, esteemed immortals!"
"Yutu-3 personal housekeeping robot, dedicated to serving you!"
Even Lu Xuan was a little stunned by this sudden turn of events.
"Uh, what do you mean by that?"
His gaze swept past the so-called "Yutu-3" housekeeping robot, and Lu Xuan looked at the Chang'e Base behind him and tentatively asked a question.
"Protecting humans from any harm during the pioneering period is the core instruction that the designers implanted into my program."
"Even though you don't trust me, my core command still compels me to try to protect you."
"So I activated this housekeeping robot, which can protect you from any form of external harm when you are under attack."
Seemingly reverting to its initial aloof demeanor, the Chang'e Base remained silent after offering a brief explanation.
"Domestic robots? To protect us?"
Looking at the smiling mechanical rabbit opposite him with a strange expression, Daigo felt that the Chang'e Base seemed to have misunderstood something.
Putting aside the fact that Yutu's big and burly appearance is nothing like the domestic robot I had in mind.
Just the fact that the Chang'e base was asking them to protect him and Lu Xuan felt incredibly incongruous to Daigo.
"Immortal, is there anything I can do to help you?"
She hopped and skipped over to Daigo.
Jade Rabbit seemed to think that Daigo might be easier to get along with, so when she said this, her big, watery eyes stared straight at him.
"Lu Xuan?"
Feeling a bit uncomfortable under the Jade Rabbit's gaze, Daigo had no choice but to turn and look at Lu Xuan beside him.
"It's just a toy. Since she's willing to follow it, let her continue to follow it."