In the night, for safety, Lv Shu and I didn't stray too far apart.

He made a bed on the floor while I lay on the bed, gazing at the full moon.

"Lv Shu." I suddenly spoke.

"Hmm." His response came from below, muffled, as the Black Blade lay beside his hand, within easy reach.

"The moon of Zhai Xing isn't blue," I said, looking at the blue moon outside the window. "So the World of Old Days isn't Zhai Xing, is it?"

I still harbored regret. If Dieying were to destroy the World of Old Days, then I would once again witness the demise of a civilization. With the precedent of the Ruined World, I began to fear the possibility of a parallel Zhai Xing—perhaps this was my untouched [hometown].

Lv Shu replied: "Yes."

His words were always brief and decisive, as if they didn't require much thought, just inclined to give me the answer I wanted.

So I pulled up the covers and soon fell asleep. Whether it was because someone was keeping watch or not, I slept deeply. Near Dawn, I awoke and tiptoed around Lv Shu. The student dorms on either side were silent, and for a moment, I didn't know where to go.

Away from the living quarters, I heard a piano sound, distant and desolate. I quietly approached the auditorium, where light spilled through the door's gap.

A woman in a white dress sat at the piano, and beside her in black was Xia Jiawen. They sat side by side on the piano bench, playing a duet, their shadows almost overlapping. The stage light cast quietly upon them, the notes starting cool and ending joyful. Tiny specks of dust floated in the air, like the Morning Star adrift in the cosmic clouds.

This scene was imbued with a serene beauty, as though all the sorrow beyond the Nine Serenities was cut off, leaving only the two in the auditorium.

I stood by the door gap, listening to their sound.

"...I've been playing for so long, I suddenly remembered, it's been ages since I heard you play the piano," Xia Jiawen said.

"...I learned it when I was young, but as times grew more chaotic, I barely played. Now that the plan is about to start, there's finally time to play for a bit," Yawen said. "Sometimes I think music is truly magnificent, with just a few dozen notes linked in various weights and speeds, it can convey deep insights."

"...Once history is erased, the early ballads, paintings, and literature won't remain in the future at all. If our reincarnations could remember these, that would be great."

"...It's okay, for this millennium, no one will disturb us. A life's century, long years, we can all spend together."

"...Will you blame me? Even though I proposed, I could only bring you here to play the piano. We don't have extra resources for a wedding, not even a marriage certificate. Due to my unique work, we can't have children either."

"...No, this kind of love is good... Didn't we meet through piano classes? Back then, you were clumsy, pressing the black keys to connect to the white keys. I remember that day's sunlight streaming in through the squares, your face divided like those black and white keys..."

"...In the future, when the children of the Experimental City grow up, we'll pass the heavy work onto them, and just teach piano ourselves."

"...Okay, when we reincarnate, maybe we'll become better and better pianists..."

They had played the whole night. The melody of the four-hand duet was beautiful, Lin Yawen was more skilled while Xia Jiawen was more novice, so she slowed her hands, helping him keep up with her rhythm. The delicate notes leapt forth, like distinct grains of ice crystals.

I saw the morning glow.

The dreams they described to each other were infinitely gentle, like a seed slowly sprouting. They didn't look up at the window filled with dawn light, but focused on the black and white keys at their fingertips, the pure and clean notes, and then exchanged smiles.

I don't know why... but today's sun felt exceptionally warm. Perhaps it was because something cherished was sprouting.

I quietly left the auditorium, pondering their vision—as long as it was passed on through the generations, the greenhorn awkward with techniques would eventually become a great pianist. As long as we reincarnated generation by generation, even as life repeatedly reached its end, they would always be immortal lovers for all eternity.

True feelings and sincerity, life and death inseparable, life after life, eternal in perpetuity.

In this plan spanning millennia, the Nine Serenities neither touched the plan's core nor could contact many Key Figures, merely a peaceful solitary island, yet I sensed the beauty in this "isolation."

But I had never heard of Xia Jiawen playing the piano in a thousand years. Nor was Lin Yawen by his side.

Perhaps time was too long.

Making the piano gather dust.

...

The subsequent passage of time seemed swift, months passed with no major milestones. Of course, the System Time had only elapsed half a day.

Until one noon, the Nine Serenities welcomed its most crucial moment—a man covered in blood staggered into the Nine Serenities.

"—General Qin! You've finally arrived!" Xia Jiawen immediately rushed to greet him.

My heart trembled; the most crucial "General Qin" had finally appeared.

The man had clearly gone through a fierce battle, his face nearly obscured by blood and dust. He solemnly held up a wooden box, raising it high with both hands.

I had thousands of questions for this General Qin—who are you really? Who are your descendants a thousand years from now? What is the full scope of the Millennium Plan? But before I could speak, Xia Jiawen solemnly took the wooden box from his hands and sighed to the box: "…General Qin, you finally came."

I was silent.

…General Qin had unexpectedly turned into a wooden box.

No, this should be the Life Hard Drive General Qin had become. Which means… General Qin had already died. I hadn't expected General Qin to die so quickly.

I followed Xia Jiawen up to the rooftop, under the watchful eyes of all the research personnel. Xia Jiawen solemnly opened the wooden box, and took out something resembling a talisman—this was the "Life Hard Drive". Although it used a scientific side designation, it was actually tied to emotions and souls.

…

["A thousand years ago, General Qin said, if we were to store everyone's data in the brain of an immortal person, then this person would be the collective spirit of a civilization."]

["We withstood decades under the deities' attacks, creating the largest hard drive (or perhaps calling it a talisman is more appropriate? But General Qin preferred the term hard drive. Even though it sounds technologized, somewhat unfitting)."]

…

Xia Jiawen adjusted the instruments, and the Life Hard Drive lit up. It seemed that strange birds and swimming fish sounds danced by my ears, I heard the mechanical splicing clatter—a chair rose before my eyes, and the Life Hard Drive fully integrated into it.

On a nearby panel, several small lines of text appeared:

…

[Notice to all.]

[The "Ark Project" officially begins, the sleep address of the largest Life Hard Drive will be completely sealed, prohibiting entry by anyone or any force.]

[—For a thousand years.]

[All the preparatory work is complete, thank you for your contributions. We'll meet again in a thousand years.]

…

This message reached every plan promoter. Short but forceful, it announced a full millennium of waiting.

Looking at the chair on the rooftop, I suddenly understood why only the Qin General had not reincarnated.

—Because he had been dormant here for a millennium, serving as the "largest life hard drive" to inherit the information of generations. Until a thousand years later, the Old God came here to awaken him, take over the torch from his hand, and gather a millennium's accumulation to become a god.

... The Qin General is the Exotic Species King.

...

Su Ming'an said: "How long has the Exotic Species King been dormant? What was the reason?"

Xiao Jingsan said: "A thousand years ago. The reason is still unknown, possibly due to the end of his life."

...

The name of the Exotic Species King should be "the largest life hard drive dormant in the Nine Serenities," but in a millennium of mysterious depiction, it has been imbued with a mystical aura. It has no independent personality and is essentially just a hard drive with massive memory.

Xiao Jingsan wasn't wrong, the Exotic Species King indeed slept a thousand years ago.

This reminded me of the ancient books I had seen before.

...

My old friend, the Old God.

Fortunately bestowed with the Immortal's Talisman, my flesh transformed into the Sword of Destiny. The one who fills my spirit is the eye of old, offering me as if by one resembling the red python, enabling my rebirth. To the depths of the Nine Serenities within the tower, by chanting my name, counting death, my will shall cover the earth, seeking to elevate the Republic to the firmament.

—"Classics: Millennium Myth"

...

"My old friend."

The Qin General was indeed an old friend of the Old God.

I lowered my eyelids, feeling as if I were within a precisely crafted instrument, where every chain and every gear operated seamlessly. This piece of machinery, called "Destiny," enveloped everyone, and whenever I peeled back a layer of metal, I would see more intricate parts and gears.

We descended from the rooftop, our faces showing little joy. The millennium plan officially began, meaning the Nine Serenities were completely sealed off. All of us would be isolated from the world, never again seeing the sky outside the Nine Serenities.

Cheers sounded from around the world, but there were also complaints: the fruits of success could only be enjoyed by those a millennium later. In the eyes of contemporary people, we equate to abandoning the rescue of their generation.

But we must do so.

The current scope of the Republic isn't large, only able to cover the Nine Serenities, so the life hard drive is safe here. It won't be until a millennium later that the Shield can protect a larger area.

I have marveled more than once at the sophistication of the millennium plan. It is the weight of "choice" and "rescue."

We have never had much leeway.

...

Later, I saw many days and nights.

Teaching, research, nurturing reincarnations, constructing surveillance screens, playing the piano... day after day passed, each one a repetition of the same tasks. We closed our eyes, covered our ears, not listening to the cries from the outside world. Because all we could do was wait.

I often saw Xia Jiawen and Lin Yawen attending various events, where children affectionately called them "Mom and Dad," as if they were the parents of the children.

The Peace Festival, New Festival, October Ceremony... Xia Jiawen and others worked tirelessly to create this paradise floating in hell, using festivities, music, and cheer to paint color into a pale environment, striving to bring people happiness.

Later, I met a young man with black hair.

Xia Jiawen patted the young man's shoulder, smiling as he introduced:

"My work includes cultivating a surrogate body for the Old God, so that if the Old God's body has issues a millennium later, we have a backup body—this is the Old God's first vessel, named 0001. Come, say hello to Doctor Li!"

0001 looked up and gave me a stiff smile, waving his hand at me, his eyes filled with the vibrant light of a kingfisher.

It felt as though a channel connected my heart, with the river of ancient past flowing through it. Suddenly, I understood that the causality of all things could silently connect—

The young man before me had black hair, black eyes, brows and eyes similar to mine. He wore the high school uniform familiar to me, with sneakers matching my size.

I almost thought—I was seeing the eighteen-year-old high school student Su Ming.

"In creating a surrogate body, the soul and body's compatibility must be high, so all aspects of the Old God, whether appearance or temperament, must be replicated to minimize soul rejection during use," Xia Jiawen scrutinized 0001's features: "Based on the remaining data, the Old God is said to look like this... hmm. My face-crafting skills haven't deteriorated."

I stood there for a while, without speaking.

"... The Old God looks like this?" I could barely find my voice, as intense shock filled my brain.

I'm very sure I have never been the Old God.

"Yes, that's how the data describes it, but since the data is incomplete, it's hard to fully restore the Old God," Xia Jiawen touched his chin: "The Old God certainly wouldn't wear a student uniform, so the data must include some imprecise descriptions, and after computation, it ends up strange."

He shrugged: "No worries, I've been deciphering the life hard drive of the Qin General recently, it's got some descriptions of the Old God, I'll tweak it slowly afterward, there will eventually be one most alike."

I looked at 0001, and 0001 looked back at me. As this was the early stage of the experiment, 0001 was just a bionic human created with biochemical technology, without any thought of its own.

I reached out my hand.

Slowly approaching 0001.

Until my palm touched his cheek.

Then my thumb touched his eyebrow: "This part should be finer... both sides down by about a 10° angle."

Xia Jiawen didn't know the detailed appearance of the Old God, but I knew clearly... what differences exist between my own form and the youth before me.

My mother once trimmed my eyebrows, carefully drawing a blade along the edge of my brows in front of a mirror, so I knew what arc they should have.

The index finger lightly touched the youth's eye socket: "Both eyes should be lowered a bit, the pupils' color slightly lighter."

For extra-curricular credits, I participated in the university's welcome night. When the makeup artist contoured my face, I remembered the outline of my own eyes.

The middle finger against the youth's nose bridge: "This part slightly higher."

In those years when no one took care of me, I often couldn't figure out the thickness of clothing, venturing out with only a thin shirt. After catching colds, I repeatedly massaged my nose bridge, remembering its height.

Finally, brushing over the lips: "Color should be lighter, and narrow."

Xia Jiawen looked at me in surprise.

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