Rebirth: Starting from Lighting Up the Tech Tree

Chapter 260 Fragments of the Truth

Yu Ying's modeling results silenced the entire expedition team for a long time. A machine had been running on Jupiter's moon for four billion years, solely to do one thing: tell a civilization on the other side of the universe that the seeds had blossomed when humanity was ready.

Zuo Cheng compiled all the information onto a portable whiteboard.

Five established facts. The Founding Civilization began planting the seeds of its technological tree four billion years ago, with Earth being the 217th. The system screened hosts across seven eras; the first six all failed, and Zuocheng was the first to succeed on the seventh attempt. Within the solar system, two nodes on Mars are dormant, while one node on Europa is active and executing awakening commands. The Founding Civilization is located 31,000 light-years from the outer edge of the Perseus Arm, still alive and waiting. The Europa node has a five-year buffer period; the countdown has approximately four years remaining.

He added a question mark under each of the five facts.

Once the awakening signal is sent, the founders will know that Earth has passed the test. What happens next, no one knows.

Before leaving, Zuo Cheng used the consciousness bridge to connect with Digital Chen Xinghe one last time. He no longer needed to enter the recess; the consciousness bridge allowed him to establish communication from anywhere in the hall.

The energy of the digital Chen Xinghe was extremely weak. His outline had almost completely dissipated, leaving only a few fragments floating like candlelight in the wind at the edge of the consciousness space. But he seemed to be waiting for Zuo Cheng, waiting for one last connection.

His last sentence was spoken slowly, each word seeming to be squeezed out with great effort.

"I've been wondering why they set a five-year grace period. Now I think I understand. Eight to eight and a half years is the time it took humanity to progress from the Bronze Age to where we are today. These five years are the last time the founders gave humanity to decide its own destiny. It's not them who decides us, it's us who decide. That's the true meaning of the test. It's not whether you pass or not, it's what you choose to do after you pass."

He paused for a moment.

"Zuo Cheng, I only have forty-three percent of that, so there are many things I can't see clearly. But I can see one thing. You're no longer building for yourself. You're building a bridge for humanity. Keep building."

The sound vanished. Not gradually weakening, but completely disappearing all at once. The star map on the hall's dome slowly rotated once before stopping, and the star that had been twinkling returned to its normal brightness. The signal from Digital Chen Xinghe had completely ceased. Four years ago, he gambled on the operating table and won forty-three percent. That forty-three percent sustained four connections, answered all the crucial questions, and then quietly departed at the moment of fulfilling his mission.

The expedition team began packing for their return journey. Yang Hong and Zhao Wenbo used sand and gravel to re-cover the entrance to the crack, restoring the rock to its state before the expedition arrived. Seven journals were placed in a sealed, dehumidifying box, and Chen Xinghe's sketchbook was held tightly in Zhao Wenbo's arms.

Before leaving the ruins, Zuo Cheng carved a new line of characters on the rock at the crack, right next to the inscription Chen Xinghe had made seven years ago, using the same knife.

"Zuo Cheng, Yu Ying, Yang Hong, and Zhao Wenbo entered for the third time in 2021. The seed has sprouted. Thank you, Elder Chen."

Zhao Wenbo cried when he saw this inscription. Throughout the entire expedition, he had been the calmest person, recording data, comparing samples, and drawing structural diagrams without losing control for a single second. But when he read the words "Thank you, Elder Chen," he sat in the sand, Chen Xinghe's sketchbook spread out on his lap, and cried for a long time.

On the private plane flying back to Hangzhou, Zuo Cheng wrote a four-line plan in his notebook.

First line: Complete the exploration of the origin nodes within the solar system within one year, with a focus on the Europa node and the complete content of its awakening command.

The second line states: "Break through the key bottlenecks in interstellar travel technology within three years." The message left behind by the fifth blade points to the direction of this breakthrough. The foundation of light-speed travel is not thrust, but an understanding of the structure of spacetime.

The third line: Make a proactive decision before the countdown reaches zero. Should we proactively send a positive confirmation signal to the founders to let them know we are ready, or should we first venture out of the solar system to see what's outside before ringing the doorbell?

He paused for a long time after writing the third line. Everyone else in the cabin was asleep; the only sounds were the hum of the engines and the occasional turbulence. He picked up his pen and added a fourth line.

Fourth line: The premise of the above three lines. First, build a bridge that can span 31,000 light-years.

The system displayed a phase summary as the special plane flew over the Mediterranean. The first half of Phase 5, "The First Glimpse of Truth," in Volume 4 is complete. The next phase is the Solar System Exploration: Mariner Canyon on Mars, the Greek Plain, and the Europa Subglacial Ocean. The ninth branch with six leaves is operating stably, accumulating 1017 points. The new mission chain, Europa Awakening, has been triggered, with a four-year buffer period.

The special plane landed in Hangzhou at dawn. The guide lights on both sides of the runway flickered in the thin mist, and the outline of the 402 headquarters building became clearer and clearer in the morning light.

Zuo Cheng stepped off the plane, his phone reconnecting to the network. Over three hundred unread messages flooded in: valuation reports, acquisition offers, cooperation proposals, government inquiries, and media interview requests. He didn't look at any of them, putting his phone back in his pocket. From today onward, his time scale changed. Before, he measured progress in quarters and fiscal years; now he measured it in light-years.

Han Lu waited for him at the end of the track. She held a new document in her hand, the daylight illuminating the words "World Bank Third Phase Supplemental Agreement on Digital Infrastructure Cooperation in Africa" ​​on the cover. As Zuo Cheng walked over, Han Lu glanced into his eyes, then put all the documents away.

"Your eyes are different now than when you left," she said. "You see more than all these documents combined."

Zuo Cheng is right. It's so big that I still don't know how to tell you.

Han Lu stuffed the documents into her bag. She said something that Zuo Cheng had been thinking about the whole way.

"No rush. Write down what you know first."

"What should I write?"

"Where should humanity go next?"

Zuo Cheng looked at her but didn't answer. He turned and glanced at the runway behind him. The special plane's engines weren't completely shut off, and the 402 markings on the tail reflected a faint metallic sheen in the morning light. Yu Ying stood at the cabin door, helping Yang Hong move equipment boxes. Zhao Wenbo was still holding seven sealed diaries and Chen Xinghe's sketchbook.

Seven days ago, when they took off from this runway, he was heading to the desert to find an answer. Now he's back, carrying a head full of resounding truths and a countdown clock. The truth of the Sahara is not the end, but the beginning. The journey of 31,000 light-years begins today.

Yu Ying walked down the gangway to his side. The morning breeze ruffled her hair, but there was no weariness in her eyes. After seven days in the desert, her expression was almost exactly the same as before she left. The resolute part had never changed.

"We're home," she said.

Zuo Cheng is right. Construction has begun.