Chapter 363

[Your Excellency, the Lord? Your Excellency, the Lord?]

【Are you awake? 】

Qi Heng opened his eyes and said, "I'm awake."

He raised his hand and pressed his forehead. The ring on his ring finger shone with a lustrous luster under the refraction of light.

[Are you dreaming again? Or is your head hurting again?]

“…It doesn’t hurt.”

【That means I am dreaming again.】

Upon hearing this, A0 immediately checked his physical data and said worriedly.

【Your mental condition is becoming increasingly unstable.】

Dreams should be controllable for His Majesty the Lord, but this is the third time He has fallen into a dream in the past month.

And they cannot wake up on their own and need external force to wake them up.

Before this month, the last time Your Excellency the Lord had a dream was more than a hundred years ago.

"It's okay, it's just a dream." Qi Heng said calmly.

He didn't want to wake up from this dream because he wanted to see his long-lost friends through the dream.

"You woke me up so anxiously, is there something wrong?"

[It's the Star Alliance. They want to talk to you about the progress of the experiment.]

"They finally can't wait any longer?"

Qi Heng stood up and slowly changed his clothes.

Putting his changed pajamas aside, he opened the bedroom door and walked out.

Outside the door, there is a spacious and bright office, with morning light shining in through the glass.

The furnishings of this office have not been changed since he started using it, and still maintain the same appearance as the previous user.

A0's chattering voice came.

[Four hundred twenty-three years and six months have passed since the experiment began, and there has been almost no progress.]

It's natural for them to be anxious.

[The previous heads of civilizations responsible for the collaboration, Mora, Tianqin, Lingyi, and Gore, have long since resigned. After their departure, several others have taken over, and the current head of civilization responsible for the Stargate Project is probably the seventh.]

[They are not you, Lord.]

[The limited lifespan makes them hope to see breakthroughs in experimental progress within their limited lifetime. Honestly, they're quite good that they've waited until now to post a message urging them to do so.]

The average lifespan of the Tianjia Zerg is about three hundred years, which is considered long among interstellar races.

Most interstellar races have a lifespan of about 150 years. The rest, such as Lyra and Spiritwing, have special forms of existence and are not of reference value.

Even if they can "exist" at the end of their lives, they may not be able to maintain their self-awareness.

When self-awareness disappears, how can we say they are still alive?

“…”

"Yeah, I've lived too long."

[Sorry, Master, that's not what I meant.]

A0 felt a little regretful. Why did they bring up this topic again?

Although the emotional module has been optimized a lot, it still exposes the fact that it is an AI in terms of its outspokenness.

——You are so bad at speaking.

Qi Heng sat down on the chair, raised his hand to open the system on the desktop, and looked at the work that needed to be dealt with today.

"Don't apologize, you're telling the truth."

He had indeed lived too long.

When the memory was restored, although I could empathize with the years that the master had lived, I still felt a little confused.

Now, after living alone for more than a hundred years, Qi Heng finally understood that living too long is a burden on his spirit.

It’s not that I feel I’ve had enough of life and want to commit suicide.

But sometimes, when you look back, you find that your relatives and friends around you are gradually disappearing, and in the end you are left alone... Only then do you truly understand the loneliness of "eternal life".

Even though she had seen this destined future when she made up her mind to be with Chu Xiu, when Chu Xiu finally left her, she was the one who was reluctant to let him go.

Unfortunately, he couldn't do anything.

One hundred and seventy years ago, he did something he would never regret.

——Using the hibernation technology and the system's capabilities, he made Chu Xiu fall asleep, just like in the past.

After this, Qi Heng did not choose a new chief consul to replace Chu Xiu. He personally took over the part that Chu Xiu was originally in charge of.

Fortunately, the development of Tianjia civilization has become increasingly stable, and after more than two hundred years of joining the alliance, there have been basically no major events.

Even Chu Xiu had more time to spend with him in the days that followed.

——Forty-six years ago, he used the same method to make Qi Xi sleep next to Chu Xiu.

The Overlord has been in charge of the Tianjia civilization for thousands of years. He has always been selfless and treats everyone equally. No Zerg can allow him to show favoritism.

But he was partial.

His partner and children carry all his selfish desires.

Even if this selfishness leads to self-deception, this kind of dormant consciousness has no meaning other than keeping them "alive".

They cannot be awakened because he cannot wake them up and keep them alive normally.

According to the system, the limit of lifespan is the upper limit that the world can allow and it cannot be broken.

Their death is inevitable.

The ability of the system [Between Time] can only freeze their time at that moment, making time stagnate for them, so that they are not affected by the forward movement of world time.

The only solution is to upgrade the dimension, leave this low-dimensional world, enter the high-dimensional world and break the limitations.

Then given Chu Xiu and Qi Xi's physical conditions, the upper limit of their lifespan will be increased instead of stopping there.

Therefore, Qi Heng, who was already very concerned about the world's dimensional upgrading, devoted all his time to it in these years.

After countless failures, he began to doubt whether his original thoughts were correct and whether he could really succeed.

Why is it that after so many years, even with the use of the system, there is still no breakthrough in space research?

In recent years, he has given up real-world research and turned to exploring the functions of the system.

Among them, the one he used the most was [Between Time].

For this purpose, Qi Heng invested all the energy he had stored over the years into [Time]. If he didn't have enough energy, he would go and collect it... The first to suffer was the Tianjia Star Region, which had lost its value and function to him.

The activation of [Between Time] and each simulation requires energy points, especially when he plans to expand the scope of the simulation to the entire galaxy.

The energy points required are astronomical.

According to the system's calculations, a simulation of this range requires half of the energy points converted from the Tianjia star field. That is to say, if he only keeps the Tianyun star field and does not attack other civilized star fields, he only has two chances.

"It looks like there's nothing to deal with today."

After simply clearing the pending tasks and making his reply, Qi Heng opened the inquiry letter sent by the alliance.

【Today's empire is still peaceful.】

The 'Stargate Project' was a plan he used to appease the Star Alliance. He himself did not invest many resources in it, and the data he provided was left over from the past, used as bait to lure them.

After replying casually with a few words and making sure that he could appease the alliance, Qi Heng stopped reading.

The star map unfolded in front of him, and he zoomed in on the star field.

Finally, it stopped at the Tianjia star field.

During the heyday of the Tianjia civilization, the Tianjia star field occupied an area of ​​nearly ten thousand light years across the entire Milky Way galaxy.

Excluding the outermost galaxy where interstellar matter is almost non-existent, the entire galaxy has a diameter of about 200,000 light-years and a thickness of 4,000 light-years.

The Tianjia star region occupies the relatively resource-rich part, but it only accounts for one twentieth of the Hanoi galaxy.

After this return, at several alliance meetings, they tried every means to incorporate other star regions outside the Tianjia star region. At this point, the entire Tianjia star region is about 12,000 light years.

The unowned star regions outside the Tianjia star region have always been under the management of the Tianjia civilization.

——The civilizations that were born in this star field no longer exist, so it naturally belongs to the nearest and strongest civilization.

After being defeated in the war ten thousand years ago, the Mora civilizations each took away a part of themselves.

After all, these star regions were not affected by the war, and their resources are still abundant, making them easier to mine than the chaotic Lost Star Regions.

However, after the Tianjia civilization returned, it legally occupied the commanding heights, so after paying some price, civilizations such as Mora and Lyra, who were unwilling to be hostile to them, peacefully returned this part of the star field.

Anyway, it is far away, so a little more or less will not make much difference to them. On the contrary, they are very tempted by the price offered by the Tianjia civilization.

It is the latest space jump technology that can be carried on a spacecraft and can jump across space without passing through the channel network.

"At this rate, how long will it take for the transformation to be complete?"

[If the number of original Zerg is not increased, it will take another 160 years.]

If someone could see the current appearance of the Tianjia Star Region, they would find that about half of the entire star region had gone dark.

In this darkened area, everything no longer exists, including gas, terrestrial planets, wandering asteroids, meteorites, interstellar dust...all the matter that was originally distributed between galaxies has also disappeared.

In the end, only empty interstellar space remains.

There are traces of their disappearance.

Galaxies were eaten one by one, and the first to be digested were the most valuable parts of the galaxy, then the less valuable ones, and finally even the remaining residues were not spared.

The abnormality in the Tianjia star field cannot be concealed for too long, but this is the Tianjia civilization's own place, and no one has the right to interfere even if it is discovered.

The alliance can’t do anything about it.

As for the internal situation, Qi Heng was not worried at all. There would be no opposition from the Tianjia Zerg.

The original Zerg themselves have the ability to devour all matter and convert it into energy. Let them eat as much as they want, and the converted energy will be transported back and injected into the system.

These are the energy reserves used to simulate [time].

He looked at the energy reserves displayed on the system panel. Many years ago, the system energy had exceeded 100 billion.

Half of the Tianjia star field, everything within 6,000 light years was converted into energy.

If the original Zerg continue to eat like this, once the surrounding area is eaten up, the Tianyun Galaxy will become an isolated island.

But Qi Heng didn't care.

After he put it under special control, the number of Tianjia Zerg grew very slowly. With the resources stored in the Tianyun galaxy, it could be used for hundreds of years even if no external resources were transported in.

As for hundreds of years later... if the problem of dimension upgrading cannot be solved by then, there will be no future.

In the field of vision, there is a countdown that keeps receding in the upper right corner of the system panel. This is the remaining time of this world calculated by the system after all these years of exploration.

"Isn't the success rate of galaxy-level space blockade and movement 100% yet?"

"We don't have much time left."

[Don't worry, the 'Galaxy Migration' project will be completed within fifty years.]

It is very easy for a level six civilization to transform a planet. It is also very easy to turn a lifeless planet into a spaceship and make it move. It is not difficult to move a planet while preserving normal life, but it is time-consuming.

But if Qi Heng plans to migrate an entire galaxy, the technology required may not be available even for a level 6 civilization.

But as it happens, he has.

For safety reasons, he didn't mind spending more time on the early preparations... After all, he didn't plan to lead the Tianjia Zerg to fight against the entire Star Alliance alone.

Time is limited, don't waste it on useless things like this.

**

One hundred and sixty years later.

Qi Heng entered the system space and there was some preparation work to be done before the simulation began.

After converting the entire Tianjia star field into system energy, he had two opportunities to conduct simulations on a galaxy scale.

【You have two simulation opportunities. 】

[Each simulation has two save opportunities, and each save has three restart opportunities.]

[Check whether the external and internal environments are suitable for starting simulation...]

After years of transformation, the system space is almost unrecognizable from its original appearance.

The central area is a modified central tower that can provide energy for the system. In addition to the tower where he is, there are thousands of towers of various sizes throughout the entire system space.

The source of energy comes from the energy minerals accumulated and buried on the surface of the metal.

Over the years, he not only allowed the original Zerg to devour the Tianjia star field, but also sent a large number of orders to the alliance, accepting all who came as long as they were qualified.

In addition, he contracted the mining of resources in some star fields. After deducting the part that needed to be paid, the remaining part was transported back to the Tianyun Galaxy and stored in the system space.

Perhaps his behavior in recent years frightened the alliance, or perhaps they were afraid that he would not be able to obtain energy minerals and start a war, so they did not take any sensitive actions such as restricting buying and selling to irritate his nerves.

Later on, they wanted to restrict it, but the Tianjia star field no longer existed. The coordinates of the only remaining Tianyun galaxy were constantly changing, and it became a ship drifting in the sea of ​​stars, with no place to catch it even if they wanted to.

What's more, space technology has finally made a breakthrough and the "Stargate Project" is progressing smoothly.

Those level six civilizations that reached cooperation with him would be crazy to actively cause trouble for him.

【Environmental testing completed.】

[Owner, whether to enable simulation. ]

"yes."

[Detected that the river system level simulation is being started for the first time, and the special simulation function is enabled. ]

Qi Heng was stunned. He had used the simulation function of [Time] many times, but this was the first time he heard of "special simulation".

Before he could ask any questions, the system prompted.

[Simulation is in progress, the save function is currently enabled, do you want to save? ]

"?"

It seems that this special simulation is indeed very special. Compared with ordinary simulations, it can be said that the connection between the beginning and the end is seamless.

If the system hadn't prompted him to turn on the save function, he wouldn't have realized he had entered the simulation.

"Archive."

Qi Heng keenly realized that this simulation might bring him some new discoveries.

[Saving completed, the current save point number one has been used.]

Qi Heng sat there without moving for a long time.

He is thinking.

Before conducting this simulation, he had conducted many ordinary simulations, and the direction and purpose of the simulation were all upgraded versions of the Star Gate experiment.

Of course, it was not the one used to fool the alliance, but the "star gate" he was researching for dimensionality upgrade.

The initial simulation was based on five-year units, but later when he found no new results, he changed it to ten and fifteen years.

It wasn't until twenty years of simulation that new discoveries finally emerged.

Then, he continued to cycle through these twenty years, inputting the data obtained from the previous simulation into the next simulation, in this case in the ninetieth simulation.

The Stargate experiment achieved a major breakthrough.

Relying on the experimental data obtained, he obtained the overlapping coordinates of the two worlds that were about to approach each other. The next problem to be solved was to establish a stable channel through the existing coordinates, so that the world where the Tianjia civilization existed could be integrated into the universe where the earth was.

There is another piece of good news.

——Large-scale long-distance stargate transmission technology was largely conquered in this process.

The ninetieth simulation gave him a huge boost of confidence. Even the side effects of the simulation could not stop him from conducting a new simulation... It was nothing more than a superposition of memories. With his mental strength, the system would also dilute the memories during the simulation.

The impact is actually very minor, just a very minor side effect, but after multiple occurrences, it is enough to give him a headache for a while.

The ninety-first simulation, no results.

The ninety-second simulation yielded no results.

When he was about to conduct the 93rd simulation, the system called an emergency halt due to his physical inability to bear the load.

He agreed to take a break, and once he recovered, he started simulating again.

The ninety-third time, the ninety-fourth time... until the hundredth time, there was still no result.

After sorting out the data, the system's answer was that the energy was still not enough to break through the dimensional barrier, even though he had found the overlapping coordinates of the worlds.

Before starting this simulation, he had tried to use all his accumulated energy to break through the dimensional barrier - but it was still not enough.

Qi Heng came back to his senses.

He knew the direction of this simulation. The energy converted by the entire Tianjia Star Region was not enough, so if he tried to smash another "Tianjia Star Region" in, he would know how much energy was needed.

If one is not enough, take two.

Anyway, there are four more existences like the Tianjia Star Region in this galaxy, and seven or eight smaller ones.

If it’s really not enough, then... a mosquito leg is also meat.

"system."

[At your command, owner.]

"I have a question."

Qi Heng summoned the system panel, on which all functions were fully available, unlike when he entered the simulation before where some functions were locked.

This time the simulation is also more realistic.

"Can I use all the system's functions in this simulation?"

【Yes. 】

"Does it also include [Between Time]?"

He tapped his hand on the screen, and in this simulation, the function key belonging to [Between Time] was lit.

[All system functions are unrestricted in this simulation, you can use them as much as you want.]

Pull out the task interface, there is only one lonely task on it.

It is a system upgrade task.

This task exists in different stages of the system. When you are at level one, you will upgrade to level two. When you are at level two, you will upgrade to level three... When you reach level six, you will naturally upgrade to level seven.

The prerequisite for promotion to level seven is to build a complete "star gate" and complete space technology, and combine the two to achieve the conditions for civilization upgrading.

Originally, this mission only had the first half, but the second half appeared when he found the overlapping coordinates of the world.

"Even when I was a gamer, I thought that if I could use the [Between Time] function in the simulated timeline, it would definitely save a lot of time and resources."

Invisibly, he has more opportunities to trial and error.

Within the timeline provided by the system, nothing he does will affect reality, which means he can use the most extreme methods to achieve his goals.

The Milky Way star map, which had not been opened for a long time, was spread out in front of him. Because the simulated timeline was synchronized with the real-life arrangements, the original Zerg scattered everywhere were still staying put.

Qi Heng gave the order directly.

The auxiliary function of the system is truly reflected at this moment.

He uses system functions in the game world to bypass many restrictions without any communication.

Just enter commands on the console and the entire civilization will take action.

"The unrestricted primordial Zerg are the true natural disaster."

"Then let's see how long it would take to consume all the galaxies within the Milky Way without any restrictions—let's start with the nearest Moravan star field."

…

In the simulated timeline, time becomes the least valuable thing.

Using the system to "game" in a simulated timeline accelerates time.

After all, the player's time flow rate is different from the time flow rate in the game. When playing a simulation in a simulated timeline, you can play ten games in an hour, and the endings of each game will be different.

Qi Heng has been in the simulated timeline number one for fifteen years.

He spent fifteen years of timeline one repeatedly playing the text version of the game of Disaster, until he simulated the fastest and most perfect strategy to pass it, and then he smiled.

"I'm so used to it, I almost have to start all over again."

Qi Heng withdrew his hand and looked at the last line of text information in the text version of the mini-game.

[Congratulations to the player for achieving the achievements 'Catastrophe', 'Galaxy Destroyer', 'The Last One', etc. Currently converting energy points...]

In the fifth year, he was able to pass the level quickly without any damage.

It took so long just to avoid involving the Tianyun Galaxy and its people where the Tianjia civilization was located.

"Inject all acquired energy into the Stargate experimental coordinates. The energy injection method should be incremental. I want to know the limit of the spatial dimension barrier."

Qi Heng finished speaking and waited for the final result.

After being able to start the simulation, he regained some of his player mentality after a long time. For example, he sacrificed the entire Nei Galaxy and all the existing civilized races without blinking an eye.

Now there is only one galaxy left where the Milky Way originally existed, and everything else has been transformed into system energy.

The system began to do what he said.

A rectangular box representing the energy index began to rise continuously, and correspondingly, the energy reserves of the system began to decrease.

At the same time, the amount of energy lost by the system will be replaced by the energy ore on the other side, ensuring that the system's energy reserves are always full.

【Energy reserves remaining 100 billion.】

[The limit value of the spatial dimension barrier is...]

Before Qi Heng could see the line of words clearly, a line of big red words and a few clusters of fireworks popped up on the screen.

[Congratulations to the player for completing the pre-system upgrade task! @￥#% After completing this task, the system can be upgraded. ]

【Experience the system's seven new features first. 】

[The timeline independent cutting and overwriting function is now available. Please consult the system AI for specific usage.]

"So that's how it is."

Qi Heng looked at the system prompts, connected all the clues together in his mind, and couldn't help laughing out loud.

He has always known that the system in his body is the most incredible. Even if it was he and the system that pulled him into this world, he still couldn't explain where the system came from.

It still cannot be explained now.

But his past self was right about one thing, that is, he had to be the one to upgrade the system to level seven... It was just a simulation, and the new functions of level seven gave him another guess.

"System, are you saying that my existence is real?"

Could this also be a simulation?

Is there another me?

[The system cannot understand the 'real' meaning of your words, but your existence is unique.]

Qi Heng could not deny it.

But it doesn’t really matter whether it is or not. Live in the present moment, and everything you experience is real.

"I know what to do."

"I will succeed."

He muttered to himself, ending the simulation game on the console and officially stepping into the simulation belonging to Timeline One.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he finished the simulation.

The ending of timeline one replicated the last text simulation game, followed by the same prompt, but this time it was the system that notified him personally.

The system's remaining energy reserves are exactly half of the Tianjia star field. If he guessed correctly, this amount of energy should be useful.

"System, does the timeline independent cutting and overwriting function need to be upgraded to level seven before it can be used?"

【Yes. 】

“What effect will it have after covering it?”

The progress of the timeline you choose will overwrite the current timeline. You can directly extract the results you have achieved on this timeline without going through the process.

In other words, by choosing timeline number one to overwrite the current timeline, he can directly obtain the result of the destruction of other galaxies, and accordingly save the "cruel" process of energy collection.

"Timeline overlay."

"The spatial dimension barrier shattered to form a world channel."

Qi Heng's expression was indifferent. "System, I remember there was a reward where after completing the promotion task, you could experience the upgraded new features in advance. Is this reward available this time?"

There is no such thing as a world-level upgrade.

The power of the entire world has been drawn out to break the barrier. This is not called world dimensional upgrading, it should be called - civilization dimensional upgrading.

[This mission reward includes a new feature trial. Do you want to use it?]

"No, save timeline number one."

"You can use it when I let you use this feature."

Qi Heng clicked on a function of the system, entered the information and clicked confirm.

【The system protection function has been preset.】

【Level: Highest.】

[Range: Tianyun Galaxy.]

[Opening time: 30 minutes before the space dimension barrier is activated.]

[End time: Unknown.]

[The energy required for calculations is between 100 billion and 120 billion, fluctuating depending on the time it takes to upgrade. If the system energy is insufficient, resources within the Tianyun Galaxy will be prioritized for replenishment.]

【Authorization successful, confirmation completed. 】

"What will happen to those who are still alive during the dimensional upgrade process? Can the system's protection guarantee their safety?"

There are still more than 2 billion Tianjia Zerg on Tianyun Star.

[Rest assured, the system's protection is absolutely safe, but in order to avoid problems, it is best to keep them all in a safe state.]

[The system cannot calculate the exact time for the dimensional upgrade process.]

[However, when the Tianyun Galaxy ascends to the world you came from, a transition period will occur, during which the concept of time disappears.]

【All life will fall into a deep sleep to survive the dimensional ascension period.】

This is easy to solve. Just issue a notice and let everyone go home and lie down.

"Is my condition the same as theirs?"

You are different.

You possess high-dimensional information. When the dimensional upgrade period arrives, you will return to where you were before.

Qi Heng frowned. Before he came... he was sleeping at home.

There is a time difference between the two worlds.

He recalled the problem of the flow of time on both sides when he was playing games.

Based on this calculation, the hundreds of years I have spent in this world may not even be dawn on Earth.

"After the dimension is upgraded, where will the Tianyun Galaxy appear?"

[It should be somewhere in the Milky Way galaxy where the Earth is located.]

"Can you guarantee the safety of the galaxies after they are upgraded? Will there be no overlapping of galaxies?"

Although the probability is very low, after all, galaxies in space are farther apart, and the density of interstellar matter is less than 5%.

[There's no 100% guarantee, but you can empower AI to handle the issue.]

[If necessary, all planets except Tianyun Star can be abandoned, and only Tianyun Star can be retained.]

How big is a planet? If all else fails, just drive the planet away. That's faster than driving a galaxy away.

Qi Heng understood what the system meant.

As for empowering AI, he already has someone to entrust it to.

After leaving the system space, Qi Heng held a meeting. He had to arrange the rest of the matters before upgrading the dimension.

After upgrading the dimension, all problems can be easily solved.

He hadn't considered at all what to do after returning to Earth. What if he ascended to another dimension for decades? He probably wouldn't be able to wait for the Tianjia civilization to find him.

This can be considered as an arrangement for what to do after death.

It was obviously not a good thing, but he felt very happy when he thought about what he had to explain.

——This was the best day he had ever felt since he took over the Tianjia civilization again.