Chapter 271 223: Lin Xin Bamboo's True Identity

"You can spread faith. It's not a problem for the masses to foolishly believe that Divine Beings exist!

But if a Divine Being actually appears before them, even if it's a Transcendent in disguise who genuinely displays Extraordinary power, then it becomes a problem.

This is chaotic, but please, Uncle Chu, you must believe us! This is the experience we've gained through trial and error, paid for with our very lives. For this... we sacrificed hundreds of millions of people!

Knowing about the Extraordinary is a breeding ground for information pollution.

Right now, there are less than a million ordinary people left... All of them were raised in a greenhouse, completely ignorant of the Extraordinary!

We can only continuously screen them for the gifted and have them become Transcendents."

"Ordinary people must exist, because only ordinary people can give birth to Transcendents! The fertility of Transcendents is far, far lower than that of ordinary people... and the more powerful someone is, the harder it is for them to have children.

Transcendents are an isolated system. If no other Transcendents are born... or if no new Transcendents lose control and are killed, it means we lose the Cultivation Resources needed for further advancement. Our upper limit is sealed!

The most troublesome thing now is that suspected information pollution and knowledge animation have led to genetic pollution... even the fertility of ordinary people is gradually being sealed away!

Analyzed from this perspective, if we can't find an ultimate solution, all our current struggles are merely delaying the extinction of humanity!"

"But at the same time, we can't let ordinary people know too much! Because if they know too much, they'll go extinct sooner..."

Chu Bamboo fell silent. He found himself inexplicably thinking about this strange future society.

'So... what exactly are ordinary people in the eyes of those Transcendents?'

'Livestock?'

Chu Bamboo raised his head slightly. He seemed to have gleaned his "good niece's" perspective from Lin Xin Bamboo's words, and he gradually began to realize just how the true upper echelons of Transcendents in Daqian viewed the common folk...

"Looks like Daqian's current societal state is their final blueprint! Well... after all, maybe this program was already uploaded into Nuwa! And then it let Nuwa build the new civilization this way... hmm." Chu Bamboo patted his own cheeks, unsure what kind of expression to make for a moment. He felt a dull ache in his balls!

The very social structure he had despised might have been the unattainable goal that the great figures of the previous civilization had desperately sought. Realizing this, Chu Bamboo could only sense the black humor of it all.

He then continued reading...

"Our interstellar colonization plan has already been put into initial implementation!

However, the colony ship mysteriously vanished as it was crossing the Kuiper Belt, just as it was about to leave the Solar System... It was as if it had never existed! Not even a single message was sent back.

We actually anticipated this. We had sent out probes before, but they all basically disappeared while crossing the Kuiper Belt... We were just out of options! That's why we resorted to using a manned starship...

The intention was that even if they had to sacrifice themselves, they could at least send back some useful information...

But still, nothing!

Currently, there are two main theories in our surviving scientific community:

One is that alien invaders are currently waiting just outside the Solar System! For some unknown reason, they haven't entered... but the moment we try to leave, we get locked on to and destroyed. The confusing part, however, is why would they just stay outside the Solar System? And why can't we find any trace of them!

The other theory is that the edge of the Solar System might be a bizarre, illusory tapestry... a trap! I'm more inclined to believe this one, as it would explain why they vanished without sending back the slightest bit of information! It's possible they didn't even realize they had fallen into a trap before they died.

What a pity! Even if we figured out the answer through this fatal trial, human civilization has already declined to its lowest point. We no longer have the means to build another new starship, or rather, a research vessel, to go and find the truth."

"All our resources are now gambled on the Civilization Continuation Project..."

"One more thing, Uncle Chu! I secretly raised your authority to Level 8! That's the rank just below Supreme Authority.

Supreme Authority has to be approved by a vote at the East Asian conference! Because the reason for your death is rather... sensitive... it would definitely never pass. For now, this is the best I can do.

Also, about the reason for your death... I'm not sure what your situation will be in the future, or if your Power Level will be high enough to know, so I won't say it.

Everything I've done is the absolute limit of what I, as one of Nuwa's creators, can do.

That's all for now! If I think of anything else in the future, I'll keep recording it."

And then, it was over.

'...Don't tell me you ran into trouble right after you finished writing this diary!' Although Chu Bamboo was reluctant to think it, he felt it was probably the only logical explanation.

Even though Lin Xin Bamboo hadn't mentioned it deliberately, and her words were filled with a vibrant confidence and energy, Chu Bamboo strongly suspected it was because she had joined the Time Club and learned the truth. That's why she could remain so confident despite such a dire situation.

'Perhaps the situation was already as bad as it could possibly get!'

Genes sealed, information polluted... In such a state, humanity numbered less than a million!

If it weren't for the assistance of artificial intelligence, this number of people would have likely sent civilization regressing back to a feudal or even slave-owning society... because a population of this size can't even sustain the industrial chain of the steam age!

However... 'Lin Xin Bamboo was actually one of Nuwa's creators?'

Chu Bamboo stared silently at the last page, closed his eyes, and remained quiet for a long, long time. Suddenly realizing something, he opened his eyes again. "Nuwa No. 17, can you describe... exactly when I died?"

The Little Mushroom Head tilted its head, thought for a good while, then shook its head. "My apologies! This type of information is tainted with extremely high levels of pollution. With your current power, you are not qualified to know."

"???" Chu Bamboo almost lost his composure. 'Seriously? I can accept not knowing the cause of my death because my Power Level isn't high enough! But I can't even know the time of my death?'

Chu Bamboo held it in for a while, calming himself down. 'Alright, whatever. At least my authority level is up to snuff this time! That's the biggest victory!'

'Level 8! What does that even mean?'

'Just below the Supreme Authority!'

Chu Bamboo couldn't help but feel a little wistful. Even in the Real World, no matter how hard you worked or how famous you became, improving your authority was ultimately no match for having someone pull some strings for you.

"I just wonder what level of authority the Emperor of Daqian and his people have!" Chu Bamboo started to think. He suspected the Heavenly Monarch's authority probably wasn't even as high as his own. The logic was simple. Putting himself in Lin Xin Bamboo's shoes—or rather, the official position of East Asia—giving a potential heir of a successor civilization an authority level just below the highest was already an act of immense kindness.

As for giving someone Supreme Authority right off the bat... not even their own father would do that! Even Chu Bamboo, with his "great niece" pulling strings for him, only got this far...

If that were the case... Chu Bamboo's expression turned strange. He felt that his future trip to the Imperial Capital's Grand Ancestral Temple would become incredibly delicate and interesting.

He even started inexplicably hearing things: "Emperor, seeing Great Goddess Nuwa treat me like this, aren't you getting angry?"

"..."

"Damn! My imagination is running wild again."

Shaking his head, Chu Bamboo forcibly pulled his thoughts back and stared intently at the Little Mushroom Head before him. "Nuwa No. 17, then how strong do I have to become to know?"

"Please become stronger and then inquire again!" The Little Mushroom Head repeated earnestly, as if stuck in a dead-end loop.

"???" Chu Bamboo stared at the Little Mushroom Head for a good while. Not getting angry in vain, he rubbed his temples with a headache. "Alright then, please give me an introduction to Lin Xin Bamboo! Just leave out everything you can't say... and tell me what you can!"

Chu Bamboo had subconsciously assumed that even after all that, Nuwa No. 17 would still find some way to be difficult. But contrary to his expectations...

"Name: Lin Xin Bamboo! Date of Birth: August 7, 20●●.

Member of the ●● Club.

Member of ●●●●, Codename: Fool.

General Director of Project Fireseed.

Chief Designer of the Continuation-Escape Starship.

Academician of the Academy of Artificial Intelligence!

Formerly: General Director of Jinling Academy (1979-1980), General Director of the Academy of Artificial Intelligence (1980-1985), Lord of East Asia's Kyushu Island (1985-1990). City Lord of East Asia's Xijing City State (1990-1997). Deputy Secretary-General of the East Asian Union, Permanent Secretary of the World Federation, General Director of the Moon Three Cities Base (1997-???).

Power Level: ● Realm!

Extraordinary Type: Cultivator

Divine Power Name: Gravity

Time of Death: ???

Chu Bamboo stared at this string of information, almost thinking he had misread it. He subconsciously rubbed his eyes, read it again, and then sucked in a sharp breath. "Holy shit."

Although Chu Bamboo had already guessed that Lin Xin Bamboo was far from simple—after all, her earlier words about Transcendents and ordinary people were spoken from a completely panoramic, top-down perspective.

But looking at it now... this was no longer a question of being in the ruling class or not! This was, without a doubt, an existence standing at the very pinnacle of human civilization.

'She had the bearing of a dragon in the making!'

And... "...The Fool?" Chu Bamboo's eye twitched uncontrollably. 'If I remember correctly, that's the title the Golden Dawn gave me, right? Does that mean the next Fool is Lin Xin Bamboo? Or were there a few other Fools in between?'

'So the blacked-out part is Golden Dawn? And the one before it is the Time Club?'

'So, can someone please explain... what was the situation with the Golden Dawn during that time period?'

'Did they reconcile with the Time Club? Or were they completely crushed by the Time Club, then infiltrated and absorbed as one of its subordinate groups!'

Chu Bamboo recalled Kevin, who had joined the Time Club, and ruffled his own hair. He flipped back to the beginning of the diary and read through it twice more to make sure he hadn't missed anything, then sighed and logged out.

After thinking for a long while, Chu Bamboo stood up. Just as he was about to leave the base to go see this familiar yet strange era, he suddenly thought of something. "Nuwa No. 17."

Ignoring the Little Mushroom Head's reply of "I'm here," Chu Bamboo's expression grew stern. He chose his words carefully. "My good niece, who is also your creator, Lin Xin Bamboo... did she instruct you to leave anything for me?"