Volume 1: Entering the Future for the First Time
Three billion years may seem extremely long, but in the vastness of the universe, it’s just a drop in the ocean. Throughout this continuous process of technological innovation, humanity has been evolving with the progress of the era.
This evolution involves both intentional human guidance and the natural workings of laws. Over the extensive span of time, humanity has experienced progress and crises, with opportunities always coexisting with risks.
According to the theory of cosmic consciousness, until an advanced sentient being evolves to a certain level, the universe won’t allow it to encounter another advanced sentient being. So, when humans first made contact with advanced extraterrestrial life, they realized that the cosmic era had finally arrived!
Interstellar communication is still limited among major galaxies, while the cosmos represents boundless possibilities. Since humanity turned its gaze to the distant stars, the exploration of the universe has never ceased. Humanity has been seeking the origin of the universe, but progress has been stuck in the theoretical realm. Now, with the advent of the cosmic era, they sense an unusual atmosphere.
Interactions, probes, collisions, and exchanges between advanced life forms gradually create a new situation. In their explorations, they try to find suitable distances for coexistence or strategically plan to seize each other’s power, aiming to control more interstellar resources.
Resources have become a crucial factor in the development of power. Whether it’s the mineral and energy resources of major star systems or the population and cultural resources of their own, these are the cornerstones of development.
In this development, humanity is fortunate—or it could be said that humans are naturally favored by the universe. As they enter the cosmic era, the first encounter with an advanced life form is the Spirit Clan, a race that evolved from various plants.
The Spirit Clan is gentle, and averse to killing. After a brief period of mutual exploration, they coexist peacefully. Astonishingly, the final form of the evolved Spirit Clan is identical to the human form.
This phenomenon validates the theory of human adaptation—the Human Adaptation Theory. This theory includes two aspects: the optimal cognition of human thought and the optimal form of human morphology, indicating that the human essence takes the most suitable form for cosmic existence.
The proponent of the Human Adaptation Theory was an extremely narcissistic individual centered on themselves, believing that the universe revolves around humans, with humanity surpassing all things in the cosmos. However, this theory failed to gain widespread acceptance throughout their lifetime.
With the emergence of the Spirit Clan, the Human Adaptation Theory started to be reconsidered. Of course, this reconsideration didn’t embrace extreme narcissism. Instead, it acknowledged that humanity, quite luckily, conforms to the optimal form in the universe. In other words, the ultimate evolutionary direction of all species remarkably converges towards the human form. Humanity’s thoughts and forms happened to be fortunate winners from the starting point.
Following the Spirit Clan, the second advanced life form appeared within the scope of human perception—the Zerg! Initially, this discovery instilled fear in humanity, but people soon realized that this Zerg was far from the ferocious race they had imagined.
The Zerg primarily consists of invertebrates and arthropods. They are inherently formidable in combat but do not engage in senseless slaughter. It can be said that when a species awakens self-consciousness, most tend to overcome their inherent propensity for killing, thereby gaining self-control.
The Zerg, on the whole, has a more irritable nature, but they possess self-control awareness. Their evolutionary forms also inexorably approach that of humans, albeit retaining remnants of Zerg’s physical characteristics, some of which appear quite terrifying.
The emergence of the Zerg gradually caused ripples in the era of the universe, but every race that has reached this point has its own reliance. Before having absolute certainty, large-scale wars will not erupt.
Soon after, the Phantom Clan appeared—an extraordinary life form that exists as a non-cellular entity, residing in a mental state. They possess exceptionally high mental abilities, allowing them to detach from the physical body, and their life approaches infinity. However, their strong dependence on energy becomes a significant drawback.
The appearance of the Phantom Clan made the position of humanity somewhat delicate. Although humans fall far short in physical prowess compared to the Spirit Clan and Zerg and lack special talents, their technological superiority keeps their position unassailable. However, with the arrival of the Phantom Clan, humanity finds itself in an awkward position.
In this awkward phase, another powerful advanced life form enters the scene—the Beast Clan, a species inherently born for combat, evolving from wild beasts. They are a race that enjoys battle.
The successive appearance of these races took two billion seven thousand years, and afterward, for a considerable time, no new advanced life forms were discovered. The era of the universe seems to have entered a relatively stable stage.
The five major races gradually become acquainted with each other, but moderate conflicts persist. Control over resources becomes the decisive factor in development. The weaknesses of humanity gradually come into view for the other four major races, and it seems an unavoidable war of extermination is on the horizon.
Under the looming crisis of extermination, humanity once again revealed its unique aspect. Through continuous friction with the other four major races, humans slowly evolved, and of course, the contribution of biotechnology was indispensable.
Since the emergence of the Human Adaptation Theory, people began to study why the evolutionary direction of organisms inexorably approached that of humans. The reasons, however, always seemed elusive, and the two billion seven thousand years brought an unexpected surprise for humanity.
In the long years, as humanity collided, communicated, and probed with the other four major races, the awkward position of humans made the other four major races watch them closely. However, right under the noses of the four major races, humans evolved! Humans assimilated the genes of the other four major races, awakening talents and ushering in a miracle of life!
Even in the cosmic era, genes remained a realm full of unknowns and infinite possibilities. Genes meant the infinitely small, while the universe symbolized the infinitely large, seemingly corresponding to the extremes in two directions. This extremity, even for advanced life forms, could not trace its origin, much like how humans couldn’t fathom the origin of the universe or truly explain the essence of life.
Human genes seemed extraordinarily unique, holding limitless potential. In dire straits, humans could only take a desperate gamble, initiating extensive research on gene potions. After numerous failures, they finally discovered the fusion method. Or rather, humans themselves were a miracle.
After the fusion with gene potions, a small portion of people would randomly awaken the talents of the other four major races, while another segment experienced significant physical enhancement. Many, however, underwent no changes other than an extended lifespan. Even if only a small portion awakened, it was enough for humans to form a top-tier army in the universe.
The advent of gene potions brought humanity’s development to a new peak, successfully overcoming their awkward position and once again standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the other four major races.
Humanity’s successful awakening prompted the other four major races to start probing opportunistically, hoping to find a way to fuse genes. However, to this day, only humans can seamlessly integrate the genes of other races. Attempts by the other four major races to fuse genes not only failed to awaken talents but also led to genetic collapse, causing several genetic crises. The four major races had no choice but to abandon attempts at gene fusion.
The rise of humanity has once again brought cosmic forces into a state of balance, with each of the five major powers holding its ground. There is communication and vigilance, integration, and contradiction among them. After several thousand years of adjustment, they have found suitable positions and modes of coexistence, leading to stable development.
The history of these billions of years has been fully documented, with only some texts and images surviving to this day. Even through words alone, one can still feel the heart-stirring moments, the countless historical breakthroughs, and technological revolutions that undoubtedly brought tears and shouts of admiration to many.
Sitting on the shelf with his little short legs crossed, Shu Xun couldn’t shake off the lingering shock. These seemingly simple words recorded too many legends. Even without firsthand experience, Shu Xun could sense the breathtaking tales between the lines.
After the shock, there was a faint sense of relief and inexplicable excitement. The ambitions of a man reach far and wide, and even in his juvenile stage, Shu Xun harbored the ambitious aspiration to one day ascend the path to eternal life. This vast universe, for Shu Xun the treasure-hunting mouse, is a gigantic treasure waiting to be explored. Shu Xun’s small chest swelled with intense fighting spirit, a fiery determination to soar to new heights.
After calming his emotions, Shu Xun continued to examine the contents recorded on the shelf. The information was rich, covering not only the history of humanity but also the histories and related profiles of the other four major races, as well as overviews of the surrounding major star systems.
Each of the five major races occupied its own territory, with the Ganges Star System serving as the boundary. The Ganges Star System was chosen by humans as their final settlement during the migration process. It is, to date, the largest stellar belt discovered by humans in space, with a size equivalent to forty million times that of the Milky Way. It contains hundreds of millions of explorable terrestrial planets, offering higher resource utilization rates for humans.
However, accompanying large stellar systems are crises posed by black holes. Giant stars, after gravitational collapse, directly form black holes. The immense gravity of black holes renders even light unable to escape, posing an unresolved challenge in the current universe. Yet, it is the existence of these black holes that prevents the five major powers from acting recklessly. Distance sometimes does not only imply inconvenience but also signifies safety.
