The interior of the isolation cabin is somewhat similar to the previous decontamination room. A full set of decontamination equipment is stored on the walls. Some of them are still in their original appearance, but some have been optimized into more advanced ones.

Jiang Ling pulled out an orange, full-face protective suit and put it on herself. Then, following the memorized cleaning procedure, she cleaned herself first, then Lin Yi—of course, she chose the "item disinfection procedure" for Lin Yi. In reality, there were no notices posted in the isolation cabin about the need for cleaning. She simply followed the cleanliness requirements of the area behind the hatch. This was her habit, or perhaps a behavioral alteration engendered by long-term living under special rules. Maintaining this routine provided a sense of security, even if it held no practical significance.

After washing Lin Yi, Jiang Ling turned her over, then used her telekinesis to hold her in mid-air, preventing her from coming into contact with anything, and cleaned up the "polluted contaminants" floating around.

Lin Yi ignored the slowly evaporating droplets adsorbed on the surface of her body, opened her eyes wide, and looked curiously at the busy Jiang Ling and the scenery outside the layer of light green five-protection glass.

Everything outside was covered with glass, like a honeycomb structure with different people always passing through. They were too familiar with this place, so few of them noticed the activities in the isolation cabin. There was only a green-haired woman holding a black plant in a transparent jar, who was waiting not far away.

"Jiang Ling... look outside." Lin Yi said in a low voice.

"There's another me out there, right?" Jiang Ling answered while busying herself with her head down.

"You already know that?"

"Di told me that the one outside is called 'Qin'. She also said they have four other sisters: 'Xun', 'Zheng', 'Gu', and 'Luo'. They are waiting to welcome us in different places."

Lin Yi turned her head 180 degrees and looked at Jiang Ling: "Could it be that there are six identical sisters? Are they all clones of you?"

"I don't understand that." Jiang Ling spread her hands and said innocently, "I remember that my hibernation was all done according to the procedures. I didn't join any special research institutions in the middle of it."

"--oh!"

The two waited at the isolation cabin door for a while. After the facial verification was passed, the isolation cabin was sprayed with volatile disinfectant for the last time. Then the cabin door opened, and Lin Yi could finally see the real appearance outside.

"So it's white?" she said to herself.

Standing upside down before them was a silver-haired "Jiang Ling," holding a green "parsnip." "Hello, I'm Qin," she said, nodding and holding up the object in her hand. "I'm sure you've heard of me from my sister. This is a welcome gift from me on behalf of everyone at the Genetically Modified Crops Research Institute of the Countermeasures Bureau—well, that's not very popular these days."

"Genetically Modified Crops Research Institute? Has it been in existence until now? I remember that its research funding had been cut again and again before I went into hibernation, and they had to borrow money every day to survive." Jiang Ling took it with both hands, looked at it carefully for a while, and then stuffed it into Lin Yi's arms.

"You're barely right." Jean nodded in front of me. "After the Spark Project began, the original organization was gradually split into sixteen parts. Fifteen of these were distributed to all the immigrant motherships and the three spore motherships. Only the skeleton remains on Earth—this is the truth you can't see from the outside. The part assigned to the Endless Galaxy was sealed until five thousand years ago. There are many reasons for this, and we can discuss the details as we walk."

The two looked at each other and followed Qin's footsteps.

As they floated out of the tunnel, they felt a pull from their toes. Their perspective shifted with their flight attitude. The honeycomb-like forking paths suddenly transformed into a series of underground caverns, and they mistook the honeycomb's supporting structure for the "ground." Their vision suddenly widened, and Jiang Ling peered into the distance through her protective suit. Under the bluish-white shadowless light, the "horizon" was shrouded in mist, like a veil obscuring a beautiful woman's face. Behind this hazy atmosphere lay rows of enormous red slogans.

"Five thousand years ago, after the last communication with Earth, many organizations on the mothership set their sights on Earth's legacy." Jean led the two along a path leading directly to the pattern. "It was an emergency communication, unencrypted, and received throughout the mothership, revealing much that should have been strictly confidential." She paused and took a deep breath. "The central system awakened a large number of hibernators in simulated gravity sections 7 and 8, exploiting their natural antagonism to trigger a controlled rebellion. The situation was complex, attracting many ambitious individuals, but the area had long since given up. The result is what you see now: people fear the cold and resolute ancestors, and the cables supporting the ring hang isolated in the vast universe, covered with patterns commemorating the dead."

"Oh my God, how many people will that take?" Lin Yi exclaimed.

"At the time, most of the simulated gravity sections 7 and 8 were used for residential purposes, resulting in a very dense population. Therefore, even without counting the volunteers who participated in the cleanup, their number exceeded the total number of casualties from the first two world wars combined—the figure often referred to as 'one and a half' in online historical research forums."

"That's almost three-quarters of the current population!" Lin Yi opened her mouth in surprise.

"Yes, but the vast majority of them don't have official community citizenship ID cards. They can't be considered part of the community, and over time they'll be forgotten. Just like parsnips, although they're edible, few people would remember them even if they became extinct. Maybe you'll feel better if you think about it this way..."

"Ahem! Let's stop with that crude nonsense." Jiang Ling couldn't help but interrupt them. "History is history. We must be responsible for what we did. Although I can't criticize the decision made at that time from my own perspective, the result still goes against my beliefs."

Qin walked ahead, shrugging nonchalantly. "Whatever, that's your history, not mine. And I really can't empathize with them. Don't stare at me like that. After all, the six of us sisters were born in an incubator, and we're used to being treated like objects. You should understand that, right?"

Jiang Ling nodded.

Qin continued, "Ordinary people are the same to us. We are monsters. We are inherently incomprehensible to them. This is a fact, and you have to respect it."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ling looked at Lin Yi, who just held the windweed, looked down at the road, and remained silent.

"Alright, I don't want to say any more. Jiang Ling, or rather our mother, we are actually much older than you. We know much more than you and have a more transparent understanding of life." Qin paused. "You've arrived. Behind this door is the mothership's central system. We're also looking for your real master."