Only after Lin Yi disappeared around the corner did she finally gather herself and begin trying to get to know this new soulmate. Jiang Ling respected every choice of her old friend, so she simply watched Lin Yi depart, though she was certainly reluctant. To her, Lin Yi was a powerful, intelligent AI with a strong boyfriend. Whenever she was with it, she always felt a strange sense of security, a feeling rarely found in others, usually only felt when close to Lin Yi's kind. Perhaps this was the common trait of all strong AIs.

The person before her was slightly taller than Jiang Ling and possessed the typical characteristics of children born in this universe: blue pupils, a prominent nose, thick lips, and a thin build. She had short, light blond hair dyed red at the tips. From a distance, it looked like sunflowers grown in a hydroponic chamber. Combined with her unadorned white protective suit, she had a rather unconventional effect.

Of course, the girl across from her was also observing her. "Okay, we should go out now. You need to change into this outfit, or you won't be able to go anywhere." She generously took Jiang Ling's left hand and walked towards the exit.

It must be said that the hibernator life guide Lin Yi hired was truly excellent. Yu Nuanxin had a great service attitude and ample professional knowledge, clearly not a newbie on the job. She always found topics Jiang Ling didn't understand, and all the way from the lobby to the gate, she articulated every aspect of the mothership, though much of it was just old-fashioned "common sense."

According to her, Jiang Ling was currently at the Hibernator Management Center, which was the Endless Galaxy's simulated gravity section 1. This area primarily housed civilian infrastructure. Directly outside the Hibernator Management Center was People's Park. Walking along the simulated gravity line led to the People's Cemetery, and in the opposite direction was the commercial street—or, more accurately, the Contribution Point Exchange Market. This world was a ring, or more precisely, three pairs of coaxial, counter-rotating rings. While it wasn't as impressive as the ringworlds depicted in science fiction, it was a precious space for 200 million people.

Jiang Ling had only seen the "planetary-class" interstellar mothership on the blueprints, so she did not interrupt Yu Nuanxin's narration. To be honest, she had not even realized that she was standing in the cabin of a generation spaceship and heading into the deep space at 0.1% of the speed of light - this ship was so huge, so huge that she, an ancient person, could not imagine it at all.

And according to the original plan, there were 12 such huge spaceships.

Before they knew it, the two had passed through the gate of the Hibernator Management Center and stood on the solemn stone steps in front of the gate.

Jiang Ling narrowed her eyes and looked up into the distance. There were also many hibernators who had just awakened and were standing here looking up at the sky, so her behavior was not out of place.

Directly in front of her was a golden-pink, transparent hemispherical building, beneath which stood a series of white jade-colored pillars and a pervasive, pale blue, invisible barrier. Through the transparent membrane, she could see a lush, dark red forest growing within. Groups of people walked along paths between the trees and flower beds, while small, gardening drones soared overhead.

She looked to her left and right. The city and the road snaked upward, then gradually shrank proportionally amidst the clouds and mist, ultimately disappearing into the vast white "sky," resembling a long, winding dragon across the distant horizon. Several black-gray pillars, spaced evenly apart and staggered, supported this long dragon. Atop these pillars, at intervals, were disc-shaped inspection platforms. Elevators occasionally hovered between them, though they seemed inconspicuous from a distance. At the tops of the pillars, bright silver fan-shaped structures enveloped the main shaft and pillars. Glinting "stars" could be seen glimmering there, moving back and forth along the main shaft.

Far above, the main axis extended into an invisible place, and as their position moved, a pair of dark red semicircular arcs in the distance moved in the opposite direction of theirs, making endless circular motions - those were the traces left on the baffle of the living area by the rays from the nozzle of the Endless Galaxy's light pressure thruster.

"...Miss Jiang? Ms. Jiang? Is it okay to call you that?" Yu Nuanxin's voice sounded in Jiang Ling's ears, bringing her back to reality.

"Just call me Jiang Ling." She answered indifferently.

"Okay, then please follow me this way!" Yu Nuanxin walked down the stairs slowly, then turned right and walked along the path in front of the Hibernator Management Center to the commercial district.

They strolled for a while among some artificial greenery, avoided several roads with heavy traffic, passed through a long strip of buildings through an alley, and arrived there smoothly.

This is a store specifically for those in long-term hibernation. The decor has a prison-like feel. The shelves are stocked with mostly protective clothing, personal communicators, household items, and daily necessities, all clearly arranged without any oddities or miscellaneous items. There are no staff on duty; everything is available on demand. However, you have to scan your ID every time you take something out, which makes you feel like you're being watched.

Since they didn't actually enter the commercial area, the place didn't look particularly prosperous, with only a small number of other hibernators in similar attire frequenting it.

Jiang Ling hadn't needed much since arriving, except for changing into her orange protective suit—a sentimental one, after decades of construction work. These days, protective suits are easy to don and doff. The material is a bit like liquid Kevlar, normally very elastic but rapidly hardening and developing strength when stressed. Behind the shoulders, there's a transparent hood, similar to a space helmet, that can provide up to 15 minutes of oxygen in an emergency. Unfortunately, she couldn't find any trace of exoskeleton armor here; it had clearly vanished from ordinary life.

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!