[This is not a pleasant journey.]

[Countless people are sunk in numbness and generational pain, just to ignite the Ark and cross millennia.]

[There is nothing worth reminiscing about on the journey. There is no white bird that I remember fondly, no ginseng that made me cry, and the impression most people leave on me is only selfishness, weakness, and mediocrity.]

[But I understood one thing, I saw the persistent determination of billions and billions of human beings through generations. I realized this is not an idealized world.]

[I realized that salvation is the responsibility of "every single person," manifested within a complex and complete framework of salvation.]

[Saturated salvation. I understood this concept—no matter who or what position is missing, someone would step in quickly. Replacing the "Nine Thrones" are the "Hundred Thrones," "Ten Thousand Thrones," "Seventy Billion Thrones." There is no true "Savior," because everyone is a "Savior."]

[I saw different "possibilities" of the World after the World Game.]

[——Destiny, it turns out, is "from the first thing you follow its guidance, you'll directly lead to an ending." But the stubbornness of destiny lies in that even if you know you've been arranged, you'd still walk this path without hesitation. Just as I now know the truth, if I had to go through it again, I wouldn't regret the way I walked.]

[Thus spoken, it seems "Death Rebound" is also a kind of destiny, arranging my journey.]

[Is obeying destiny—weakness, cowardice, or fear of resistance? Is it lacking the courage to break through destiny? Is it the fruitless toil of the mediocre masses?]

[…No, perhaps there is another possibility.]

["Knowing full well that it cannot be done but doing it," is also a kind of decisiveness and courage.]

[I sat on the bed, gazing at the blade in my hand, which appeared increasingly radiant.]

[With this sword, I vow to protect the glory of humanity till death.]

[——Day 14, instance activation at dawn, Su Ming'an's thoughts.]

…

[Ah, ah, surely a thousand years later, it will definitely be a very advanced era!]

[People will no longer be constrained by disease or poverty, right! The Prosperous Era should have been realized, right!]

[High-nutrition, low-cost nutritional drugs must have appeared! We no longer need low-quality food.]

[The legendary space teleportation machine must have been invented! People no longer need to take bulky airplanes and high-speed trains.]

[A thousand years later, it definitely will be that advanced! I really want to see it!]

[——Year 0 of the Heavenly Era, an essay by a fifth-grade student "If I come to the millennium later"]

…

[I think, a thousand years later, under the guidance of the Deity, there should be no discrimination among people.]

[Because by then, everyone's wealth will be equal, no more distinctions between the high and low, the noble and the base.]

[Occupations have since become equal, due to overcapacity. If you want to paint, you can freely paint. If you want to sing, you can become a singer. If you want to eat braised ribs, robots will automatically serve them. No worries about starving for pursuing dreams. No one will die because of the High-dimensional anymore.]

[——Year 0 of the Heavenly Era, a tweet by a sophomore student "My aspirations for a millennium later"]

…

[The Ark set sail, it will experience long years...]

[Human lifespan is hard to leap over a century, our generation will soon age and die. But the next generation replaces us, continuing to watch this Ark sailing through the millennia... until the fortieth or fiftieth generations. Only then will they have the chance to see the day the Ark arrives.]

[Haha, you ask me why I care about the future so much? Yes, this old fellow is seventy to eighty years old this year, cannot even live another decade or two, how can I discuss the enormous number of "millennium"?]

[It is longing!]

[It is anticipation!]

[Under the guidance of the Deity, it will definitely be a beautiful and free era!]

[By then, the High-dimensional will be completely driven away. Although everyone's life may not be very satisfactory, for I know no era can be idealized, even in the millennium later. There will definitely be discrimination, conflicts, class chains, and various selfish and mean groups. But ... what relation does it have?]

[This is the real humanity! Always, at certain moments, despicable as dust, and at other moments, noble as a Lighthouse.]

[As long as we survive, it is good enough. As long as civilization remains, it is good enough.]

[Here, to the Deity who leads us forward—salute!]

[Salute—to the unending light!]

[Salute—to the free wind!]

[Salute—to the ever-bright Lighthouse on the Command boat!]

[Salute to humanity! Salute to freedom! Salute to the future!!]

[O people of four or fifty generations later! Land toward the "homeland" we can't reach!]

[——Year 0 of the Heavenly Era, an interview record of a senile old man in front of a reporter.]

…

[I have already read the simulation of a thousand years later, the closest to a thousand years is year 829 which is not ideal, technology is even lagging behind ours. It is regrettable, failing to meet your expectations, people still cannot freely paint and sing. The last Nightingale still seeks freedom amid the steel jungle.]

[However, believe that this is the darkness before the dawn.]

[After driving away the Dieying, people will gain freedom under their ideal nation.]

[——Year 0 of the Heavenly Era, an interview record of Order Angel Li Mingyue in front of a reporter.]

…

[What? About... a public interview on "Aspirations a millennium later"? Conduct interviews with people of different identities, statuses, and ages, storing them in the Life Hard Drive for millennia later people... which Principal came up with such a ridiculous activity... how did the interview reach me...]

[I have some matters, don't come to me.]

[...By the way, what I just said, cut it out, and do not record it.]

[——Year 0 of the Heavenly Era, an interview record of Judgment Angel Chao Yan in front of a reporter.]

...

In the dimly lit room, Su Ming'an gazed at the holy white cluster of buildings outside the window. Time flowed like a torrent, clear, silent, and quietly all around.

The thirty-fourth batch of transmigrators had already set sail. So far, he had sent away nearly fifty thousand people into various eras.

The flow rate of time was very fast. Since mastering the time authority, he gradually became insensitive to time. Fortunately, the system time served as an anchor point.

He was reviewing the list of transmigrators—survivors, the deceased, and the major events on the command ship, as well as details of the millennial plan—these were all entrusted to his judgment by the deity. Because the deity did not possess a human heart and would only maximize interests, after witnessing several cruel judgments, Su Ming'an decided to jointly handle matters with the deity. He needed to become the "humanity" beside the deity.

In the dimly lit room, he glanced at the time, drew out a syringe, placed it against his arm, and plunged it in—

"Tick-tock, tick-tock..."

Pale golden blood gathered in the glass jar, and once the jar was full, he touched the wound, and it healed.

"Xiao Ying." Su Ming'an called out.

The black-haired young man appeared silently, as if he had always been part of the shadows.

"Take these away." Su Ming'an put down the glass jar.

These were "medicine."

The Old God had gone through the first and fourth World Games. Although he had not become a god, his body had undergone multiple promotions and evolution, differing from ordinary people, with dense energy permeating him, effective for others.

The command ship sailed outside the ark, and operating it was not easy. Nineteen thousand people could only crowd into one holy city without any external supply. Sometimes, when transmigrators returned, they carried various troubles with them—severe injuries, pollution, or even having been bewitched by Dieying. Handling these issues required significant manpower and resources.

Sometimes, some eras were difficult to reverse, considering the overall pollution speed, it was impossible to ignore these eras, so the command ship had to expend its resources to support them. Whether it's manpower, authority, or Perfect Pass pattern marks...

One diminishes as the other grows, stagnant without advancing.

This is a tug-of-war destined to last a millennium. Dieying above the stars never retreats, nor can humanity.

Casualties increase daily, but Su Ming'an discovered that the flesh and blood of the eligibles could replenish the lacking life force and energy consumption.

Everything that followed seemed almost inevitable.

Just as Su Wensheng in the Human Self-Rescue Alliance used his own blood to sustain the lives of seventy-two people in the hibernation capsules, Su Ming'an took similar actions—providing blood.

After all, he didn't have much work to do. Battle didn't need him, so this was what he could do.

The blood swirled in the jar, emitting a crisp sound. Su Ming'an lowered his gaze, realizing this was yet another cycle.

"...Stop drawing blood so frequently, the deity doesn't need to be responsible for human deaths." Xiao Ying held the glass jar. The pale golden blood was devoid of any sanguine air, like flowing liquid gold.

Time seemed to reverse. The eldest prince Su Shaoqing was once forced to bleed, with Xiao Jingsan responsible for coercing him. Now Su Ming'an volunteered to bleed, while Xiao Ying persuaded him.

"When you locked me in the Louyue era, you said, 'Your value is only for providing blood.'" Su Ming'an said.

Xiao Ying's expression darkened momentarily. He hadn't expected Su Ming'an to remember this so clearly, so much so that the usually sharp-tongued Xiao Ying opened his mouth, adjusted the blank on his face, before revealing his usual, nonchalant smile:

"...That's not the same. Su Ming'an is not Su Shaoqing, and I am not Xiao Jingsan."

"If you truly don't want to work for me, you can leave. You're with me only because you lost a game of Russian roulette, it doesn't require you to gamble your entire life's freedom." Su Ming'an said casually. He could tell Xiao Ying was extremely displeased with him, always lacing his words with jibes, even though Xiao Ying was powerful, Su Ming'an didn't need a forced ally.

His head was lowered, not seeing Xiao Ying's expression.

A mix of shock, relief, and confusion flitted across Xiao Ying's face, silent for a while, before suddenly lowering his head, hands resting on the table, speaking with a vicious tone:

"—After all the things you've done to me, do you think everything can be reset?"

"What?" Su Ming'an was puzzled. What had he done?

"You imprisoned me on Penglai Fairy Island during the Louyue era, abandoned me in The Witch Age, and even took away my identity in the current world. Do you think there's still a balance between us…" Xiao Ying said softly, "Since you want to set me free, you should have let me go to the vast world when the deities split the ten thousand timelines. Now I'm already trapped in the Holy City, what's the use of saying this now? Where else can I go?"

Su Ming'an's expression also went blank for a moment, he hadn't considered this before. Indeed, those staying in the Heavenly Era year 0 seemed free, but in reality their range of activities was limited to this Holy City. Outside the Holy City are ten thousand intertwining timeline threads. Even if they transmigrate, they're just outsiders.

Watching Xiao Ying's back, Su Ming'an suddenly realized, this wasn't Xiao Ying blaming him, it was that the phrase "you can leave" provoked Xiao Ying. It was akin to saying "I don't need you anymore" to an accomplished servant.

...Is that so.

...

Su Ming'an hadn't communicated with Dieying for a long time.

The night session of the Third Tower never descended—after all, only a dozen hours had passed in system time, yet several months had already passed in the Heavenly Era. The time flow rate would only get faster since the system time wouldn't exceed the "twenty days" limit, it would certainly make the "millennium" span within these few days.

This meant he would experience an extremely long period within a very short time.

One day, he entered a pure white cabin room.

The room was lined with rows of hibernation capsules, resembling ice coffins.

A woman with rose-red hair waited inside, her fingers twirling a strand of hair by her ear, smiling at him.

"Let me confirm with you once more," Xin Yue took out a syringe, "Do you still want to continue providing blood for these people? The current number is 1289, do you need to reduce the number?"

"Hmm." This time, Su Ming'an no longer hesitated like at the beginning of the instance.

Only by hanging onto life for these dying ones, after their physical conditions improve, can they join the next transmigration. This is the most cost-effective strategy for saving manpower.

He held a black-haired girl.

After completing her task in the Louyue era, Bailian returned to the Heavenly Era year 0. Having been an exotic species for too long, her condition was very bad. Near death, she looked at Su Ming'an with seemingly fuzzy awareness, repeatedly calling "Your Highness."

"We... can still go beyond the palace walls... see paper kites, right... Your Highness." As Su Ming'an placed her into the hibernation capsule, she tightly clenched Su Ming'an's hand.

"Rest well," Su Ming'an said softly, "Don't immerse yourself too much in the Louyue era, you've already left that era, and I'm not your Your Highness."

Transmigrators couldn't be immersed in eras. After all, their homeland was the Heavenly Era year 0. Even if they spent many years in other eras, due to inconsistent time frequencies, they would ultimately return after completing tasks.

Yes, just like real fast wearers... ultimately they have to return to this space-time base station. Then, they must try as best as they can to forget the life they once lived, and prepare for the next transmigration. No matter if they have lovers or children, in the end, they can't stay, they can't retain anything.

In this long rescue effort spanning ten thousand layers of space and time, transmigrators cannot possess their own independent lives, not even once.

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