AZI Volume 6 Chapter 16.5 Intermission – Asking for Entertainment
A week after her exchange of messages with Sui Yan—
"…"
Viewing the photos, which the workers had taken—during their trip over to Colony Seven, on her computer, Xu Qingxiang can't help but frown.
Corpses and starved individuals alike filled the hallways of the ship, causing deadly diseases to fester.
Dead fetuses and infants filled the artificial wombs, which had been thoroughly contaminated with waste.
Withered bodies are hung from the ceilings with a rope wrapped around their necks, and bathtubs tinged red with bled-out bodies; such sights are commonly seen in the photos that showed the private residences onboard the seventh colony.
"This is a lot worse than what I had imagined…"
Depictions of the other colonies in the near future, that would be the first description to come to mind, as Xu Qingxiang holds back the urge to vomit.
[Our gratitude to Colony Leader Xu. Thank you for your aid.]
Reading the message of gratitude that came from the survivors of Colony Seven, Xu Qingxiang raises a sigh, as she mutters—
"…All I'm doing here is just granting them a reprieve. I…"
Shaking her head in a helpless manner, Xu Qingxiang closes the photo viewer, and giving herself some time—for her nausea to settle, she returns her attention to her computer.
Opening a specific folder, which was sent over by Sui Yan, and looking at the most important file first, Xu Qingxiang's expression turns solemn.
Depicted on the first file is a blueprint for the core, which will be used to contain the combined soul, whereas the second file details the designs of the necessary magic arrays.
Several notes are also attached—detailing the carving process, and the things to look out for.
Practically, all the answers—to the questions that Xu Qingxiang could have, can be found in these files.
Taking a total of five hours to look through the files in detail, Xu Qingxiang leans back in her chair, and pinches the bridge of her nose.
(This surnamed Sui… What were they doing prior to this crisis? Without 20 or so years of persistent research, it's impossible for them to have come up with all this information in the span of a week.)
Moving her mouse, Xu Qingxiang clicks through several boxes, and eventually brings up Sui Yan's profile.
Scrolling down to the history's section, she sees—
(Around 1,100 years of age, a cultivation base in the Nascent Soul realm… Good grades in her chosen educational institute, didn't participate in any sort of club activities, nor did they have any sort of close friends, this is a fairly normal history. …It's often said that geniuses keep to themselves because the common masses aren't able to understand them. ...…But isn't this entire situation a bit too coincidental? Did they already figured that our current crisis would occur, and had been making preparations ahead of time?)
Thinking up to here, Xu Qingxiang heaves a sigh.
(Whatever. It's not like it matters at this point. What's important is these designs and the principles behind them, there's enough reason to believe that they can indeed work.)
Straightening her seating posture, Xu Qingxiang begins to add the necessary personnel into a group chat to begin this project.
(Seems like everyone is online as well, how fortunate.)
Upon adding the final individual needed for the project, Xu Qingxiang drops the folder from Sui Yan into the chat app.
Informing the group that she will begin a meeting in an hour, Xu Qingxiang takes this time to organize her thoughts, while those who have downloaded the folder begin to review the materials ahead of time.
(There's bound to be some pushback, I suppose those nauseating photos will come in handy?)
...…
Leisurely waiting for time to pass, Xu Qingxiang eventually opens a group call.
Similarly to the previous meeting, which involved all the key individuals of the nine colonies, all the participants in this meeting were also all women.
The reason for this being a female dominant world is because within this star region Y chromosomes have already died out.
And with that being the case, reproduction is conducted via the use of artificial wombs, where the genetic information of two individuals is mixed.
Cutting straight to the point, Xu Qingxiang asks—
"What do you all think of these files?"
[Colony Leader Xu, where did you get these files from?]
[Last week a researcher from Colony Five seemed to have proposed something like this, don't tell me you got this from them?]
[Let's assume the method contained in these files does work. The question is, how much energy would we even be able to generate?]
[The amount of effort and resource expenditure will be extremely high; this is too great of a gamble to undertake.]
[The fact that we've just given away food supplies to Colony Seven—only to bring this matter up right away, the citizens will definitely not agree to this.]
As questions and arguments against this project are raised continuously, Xu Qingxiang replies—
"The person who gave me these files, they asked me, "if we're all going to die eventually, what does losing a major gamble matter at this point?" I have to agree with them, and like they had said soon after, we might as well try every insane idea possible before it's too late."
[…]
[…]
Following these words, the participants of the meeting turned silent.
Dragging the folder, which contains photos of Colony Seven, over into the chat, Xu Qingxiang says—
"This is what our colony will end up looking like in the future. Regardless of the citizens' backlash…-"
Pausing and rephrasing her words, Xu Qingxiang says—
"Personally, I think dealing with their backlash would be a thousand times better than to have to confront this hellish landscape."
[…Un.]
[...…]
Looking through the photos, the participants reacted with clear discomfort as their expressions darkened.
Momentarily, one of the meeting participants says—
[Ai, better than doing nothing but waiting.]
Following this, a few others remark—
[…I've been trying to escape from reality all day by reading some novels, but under these circumstances, none of the writers seem to be in the mood to update.]
[I was looking forward to playing a game that's been in development hell for the past two decades…]
[If you two can't do without entertainment, I'm willing to bet that you two will be the first to go insane in the near future. …When is the next chapter of "Night of the White Lily?"]
[What's wrong with going insane? It's better than trying to live in this hell, while attempting to maintain a sane state of mind. …I've been replaying the entire Distant Fantasy series.]
[Tch. The way I see it, we've already gone insane… Also, Distant Fantasy XV was dog piss. Can't believe I brought it at full price during release. I could have spent that money on a few monthly passes…]
"…"
Towards the meeting participants going off topic, Xu Qingxiang twitches an eye, and asks—
"Can I take this as you all agreeing to cooperate? By the way, anyone have any updates on the novel "Thousand Years of History, I Wish for You Alone?" It's been a month since the latest entry…"
Laughter comes from the other meeting participants, and eventually one of them says—
[Ai, asking for updates left and right on one's favorite entertainment… Aren't we all talking about pipe dreams at this point? Who knows if the creators of these works are even alive right now…]
[And if they are alive?]
[…I guess, it's our job to keep them alive by making sure this project succeeds?]
[Ai, screw it. Let's just go insane together.]