The Last 299 Days of Humanity

Chapter 77 A Dialogue Between Intelligent People
Upon hearing Yao Dan's announcement of an emergency, Yu Qing became excited. He asked softly, "What major discovery have you made?"

"There's not much of a chance up in the tower, but I just saw a bird fly out of that building. And I felt like there were some shadows moving around inside that building."

Yu Qing breathed a sigh of relief and said, "They're here, they're finally here. I was going crazy if they hadn't come soon."

"Husband, you must have seen a three-headed man? I didn't see any vehicles flying by."

"Are you sure they don't have underground tunnels connecting them? Actually, we're suffering, but they're suffering even more. Once we really destroy their facilities and escape, they might not be able to catch us."

The key issue is that if that were the case, their losses would be enormous.

Just then, Furong whispered, "There's a bird circling overhead."

Yu Qing said, "Yao Dan, shoot it down with the lightsaber. That's not a bird, it's their scout."

However, that bird was very clever; seeing that Yao Dan wanted to attack it, it immediately ran away.

"Yao Dan, when that bird flies to the building, you must shoot it down with the virtual gun, and make sure the wreckage lands where they can pick it up."

"You want them to see what weapons we used to shoot it down, right?"

"Smart. They probably don't know what a virtual gun is, which makes it even more intimidating."

Yao Dan immediately aimed his gun at the bird.

A moment later she said softly, "Husband, it's all taken care of. What do we do now?"

"You don't need to do anything. But from now on, you must keep your backpacks on and stay close to me. You can't leave my side even for a moment. My safety depends on you."

Yao Dan laughed and said, "I understand. Our backpacks contain world-destroying weapons."

"They should come and stop us from acting so recklessly in a little while."

Even faster than Yu Qing had anticipated, a beam of intense light suddenly shot straight toward them.

In an instant, they could see nothing. Yao Dan and Fu Rong instinctively hugged Yu Qing tightly on either side.

Yu Qing felt himself being lifted up by something, and then... it seemed he was flying somewhere in the air.

After another ten seconds or so, they seemed to be back on the ground, speeding along in a vehicle for a few seconds before stopping. All around was quiet, pitch black. Clearly, they had been trapped in some claustrophobic space.

Yu Qing remained silent and began to interact with Yao Dan and Fu Rong on a conscious level through the Lingxi necklace. He gestured for them to sit down slowly with him, maintaining this close embrace and closing their eyes to rest.

Yao Dan conveyed her thoughts to Yu Qing: "What if they keep locking us up here like this?"

Yu Qing's stream of consciousness: "I think probably not. If it were just to imprison us, they wouldn't have gone to so much trouble in the first place."

Furthermore, they must have analyzed the wreckage of the bird you shot down and realized it wasn't shot down by an ordinary weapon, which would make them suspicious and wary of the origin and background of our weapons.

Furong's stream of consciousness: "Then why don't we talk?"

Yu Qing: "They are definitely listening to our conversation. Our silent communication can also make them suspicious from another angle, and make them unable to figure out our background. Sometimes silence is a more terrifying language."

Yao Dan: "Husband, can you feel the heat rising under your butt?"

"You forgot, I'm wearing a temperature-controlled suit, so I can't feel it. Are you sure it's getting warmer?"

"Confirmed, it's getting faster and faster."

"I think this is aimed at me, because they know you can withstand temperatures of 100 or 200 degrees Celsius, but I can't."

"They're forcing me to end my meditation and stand up. It shows they're anxious." Yao Dan subtly reached under Yu Qing's buttocks, separating him from the ground: "It's at least 120℃ now, it won't rise any higher, will it?"

“They just wanted to force me to stand up, not scald me to death. They should know that this trick won’t work on me.”

Suddenly, the pitch-black space was filled with dazzling light. Only then did they realize that they were sitting in the ethereal clouds.

Yu Qing hurriedly used his stream of consciousness to tell Yao Dan and the others, "This is an illusion. We are definitely still sitting on the ground. They will definitely make another move next."

Sure enough, several giant monsters suddenly sprang out from around them, opening their gaping maws and lunging at them.

Yu Qing was already on guard, so he only glanced at it with a smile and continued to rest with his eyes closed.

At that moment, everything in front of them vanished. They were indeed sitting on the ground.

Not far away stood a man with three heads and six arms, who laughed and said, "Even if Mount Tai collapses before you, your expression will not change; even if a deer runs past on your left, your eyes will not blink. You truly have the demeanor of a great general."

They finally showed up!
Yu Qing opened his eyes, slowly stood up, slightly bent over, and said, "It's nice to meet you. I'm sorry to have caused you trouble."

The three-headed man said, "It's a trivial matter, not worth mentioning. Smart people don't waste time with words. I believe you can sense that I have no ill intentions towards you."

"Yes, thank you for showing mercy, but I wonder what you have to say to me that you asked me to come back to see you?"

"I wouldn't dare. I simply admire your quick thinking, so I have a favor to ask: I'd like you to join our ranks."

"Join you? And become like you...?"

"Smart people understand things immediately. You know, since the end of World War 6, there has been no single powerful force or faction on Earth. The world has been divided into city-states that govern themselves."

People both abhorred war and feared integration, resulting in a chaotic melting pot devoid of consensus. However, everyone knew full well that being too weak meant constant threat of annihilation.

Yu Qing said, "So you want to become powerful and then start the next cycle of history, dominating the world again through expansion and conquest?"

"No. It's true that I want to be powerful, but I have no desire to dominate the world. Since the scientific and technological explosion, with the advancement of technology, those traditional resources on Earth in the past, such as water, energy, and minerals, have become readily available and insignificant."

This makes powerful city-states less inclined to be burdened by weaker ones. What's the point of annexing the weak? Only adding to their burden. The ancient benefits of territorial conquest have long since vanished; even captives are worthless, it's better to create a few humanoid beauties.

"Then why are you afraid that you're not strong enough? If you're a little weaker, no one will bother you."

"The weak are not afraid of being annexed by the strong, but rather they lose confidence within themselves, thus falling apart and going their separate ways."

"If I'm not mistaken, in order to become stronger, you have to work day and night. But even then, you still feel that your energy is limited. So you start by upgrading yourselves, making yourselves into people with three heads and six arms."

The three-headed man sighed, “A kindred spirit! You see, we are of the same mind. Think about it and join us. After you grow into a three-headed, six-armed being, your lifespan will also increase to 270 years. It’s the best of both worlds.”

Yu Qing laughed and said, "Why not upgrade to nine heads? That way, you can do more things at the same time."

The three-headed man paused for a moment, then said, "That's a good suggestion, but we don't have that technology yet; it's very difficult."

Yu Qing said, "The progress and strength of human society are not achieved by a few people with three heads and six arms, but by the joint efforts of countless heads. Even if you have the technology of nine heads, you can't stop dozens or hundreds of people with only one head from leading the way, right?"

"That's right, so we not only need to increase the number of individuals, but also make each individual stronger by being worth three."

Yu Qing didn't know how to answer for a moment, so he remained silent. He was afraid that arguing too much would provoke the other party's resentment, or that the other party would angrily force him to stay there.

Now he needs to come up with a reason why he absolutely has to leave.

(End of this chapter)