Chapter 48 Empathy Date
*
Planet BV-32II. 'Life Sphere' 97.12 E 21.35 N.
This is the wild wilderness of the horned lizard.
At this moment, it is a rare rainy day in three months. However, the horned lizards of this wasteland are not as happy as usual.
It lay listlessly under the protection of a thin polyethylene protective cloth, and licked its wound with its long forked tongue. Although this intensity of acid rain was nothing to the thick leather armor it had developed during its long evolution, it would still feel pain if it touched the exposed wound.
Roar—Ah, ah—
It howled twice and glanced sideways at the transparent mushroom-shaped safe house where Su Xi was. Although the dark armor that bound it had been forcibly taken away by its owner, the energy in its body was almost drained away, making it so weak that it could only stay obediently under the protection of the protective cloth provided by the humanoid creature.
Its intuition tells it that it is very safe for now.
But——it’s so hungry…
It glanced at the food reserves not far away, the dying land turtle and the newly hatched cub under it. The energy was too scarce, and swallowing it all would be useless... It glanced at the safe house where the humanoid creature was, and its scarlet tongue sniffed the air greedily a few times. It would be enough to swallow her...
But the lesson of being tied up, the pain of having my tailbone ripped off, and the vague sense of oppression from the higher-level on her body... I instinctively don't want to provoke her again!
Still——I’m so hungry!
Roar—Ah, ah—
In stark contrast to the hungry, painful, and damp situation of the wild horned lizard, the transparent mushroom-shaped safe house was warm, dry, and comfortable. There was only the very faint hum of the small air filter.
The robot in the shape of an amusement machine is moving the roller under the cylinder, spontaneously tidying up the environment and layout of the safe house.
Su Xi, standing at the edge of the transparent safe house, withdrew her gaze from the wild horned lizard. She took the milk tea that Xiguang gave her and squatted down. Her gentle gaze was parallel to the top of the cylindrical long-eared robot, and her free hand was rubbing the long rabbit ears.
Su Xi once again tried to persuade the AI robot that suddenly transformed into a 'strict law inspector': "Xiguang, I hope your 'humanized' algorithm can understand--"
"It's because of me that it has lost its ability to hunt. And with this rain, it's very likely to starve to death!"
"In this case, can't I intervene appropriately?"
"cannot!"
Xiguang's childish voice continued to firmly refuse, and the signal light on his abdomen flashed in a circle. Following the logic of her questioning, he continued to explain:
"I have already done an 'accident model' deduction for you. The fluctuations caused by the wormhole material ejection and the impact caused by your landing are at the same level as the daily disasters of this planet. They will not affect the evolution of this planet, but——"
"If you intervene again, whether it's giving it medication or feeding it, it will be considered an illegal operation of a 'higher civilization' interfering with a 'lower civilization'!"
"You just covered it with a tarp, which was the most appropriate thing to do."
Su Xi stood up slowly, still holding the milk tea in her hand. She looked out into the rain. For the first time, all five senses were present, she was conscious, and she increased her outward mental perception.
"I understand. This is the law of 'natural selection'..."
She murmured, maintaining a conversation and interactive perception with Xiguang while extending the tentacles of her mental power to explore outward.
A pale fluorescent light began to overflow from her body. Unlike the tiny strands before the advancement, it was an overflowing overall energy wave that began to spread out in all directions with her position as the center.
Su Xi held the warm milk tea in her hand, feeling the warmth in her palm while looking at the rain mist outside the safe house.
At the nearest place, she could clearly sense the extremely strong "hunger" signal of the wild horned lizard under the protective cloth, the "hunting" impulse that was willing but powerless...
Then, she continued to urge the light-colored mental power to extend outward in waves, continuing to follow the mood fluctuations of the wild horned lizard... It was extremely hungry and eager to hunt...
I saw it! It was the dead and stiff primitive land turtle, with its cubs crying and wailing...
I saw it! That extremely weak but extremely tragic emotion... a low-level creature... on the verge of death... the lingering residual bio-waves...
A kind of unwillingness to accept "life" that cannot be defined by "nature" or "instinct" - and a yearning for survival.
Mixed with the noisy and chaotic stories and fluctuations that have accumulated over tens of millions of years in this wasteland...
These mixed emotions deeply shook Su Xi's heart...
She was caught in a feeling of extreme sadness and magnificence.
But it was different from the 'mysterious feeling' produced by the human-machine link before her mental power was advanced. While using her mental power, she could still clearly sense the subtle noise of Xiguang moving around her. Xiguang continued to give examples of her serious and cute childish voice to persuade her.
"The universal rules of the universe do not interfere with the development of other natural life forms. Especially the evolution of civilizations below Class D..."
Xiguang emphasized his tone, and his cute and childish voice rang clearly in Suxi's ears, "Perhaps any slight interference of yours will affect the direction of the evolution tree, so the interstellar law has strict rules..."
"Laws?"
Su Xi heard an important keyword.
"Xiguang, tell me."
Su Xi, who was in a state of mysterious feeling, smiled and leaned forward gently. She looked at the flashing electronic screen simulated by the AI robot, and placed the energy drink in her hand on the tray held high by the Xiguang robotic arm.
The brown-haired girl leaned forward and asked softly, "Look carefully in your database and tell me—"
“Who makes the laws?”
That kind of narrative mixed with the noisy sounds of the wilderness, that kind of 'sorrowful' and 'magnificent' sense of mystery, continued to wash over her whole body over and over again while she asked the question.
She felt an emotion that was too high for a normal person, an urge to be both excited and tearful.
Su Xi knew that this emotion was very irrational, but she did not resist it.
This mysterious emotion made her want to lie down on the earth and listen to the heartbeat of this planet.
At this moment, she would not know that this irrational emotion, this psychological "shock", was due to her special mental power, which was in tune with the life waves of the wilderness, producing an "empathy" effect.
Empathy with the wilderness, empathy with life itself. Those lives that have died for thousands of years and struggled to survive for thousands of years.
Those lives that had just sprouted on the evolutionary tree of this planet were interrupted and suppressed by the special environment of the Great Wilderness Star Region.
"Xiguang, call up your management system interface."
"Hey?" Xiguang asked curiously in a cute childish voice, "What does sister want to do?"
But it did it anyway. "Please confirm login permission by voice."
"Suxi."
"Confirmed, you have landed." Xiguang lost his childish voice and restored the original cold mechanical voice of AI.
"Initial serial number NKD368497m intelligent computer, in the name of A-level management authority," Su Xi said clearly and firmly, "I require you to..."
*
Without any so-called "regulations" blocking his way, Su Xi put on a transparent protective awning, stepped out of the transparent safe house, and stepped into the misty rain filled with sulfuric acid smoke, the shining aurora on the distant horizon, and the hazy sky.
The light-colored fluorescent light formed a protective shield, with fine golden particles flowing through it.
She passed by where the wild horned lizard was lying on its side. The ten-meter-long wild beast was covered in a transparent rain cloth. The lack of energy made it so weak that it only had the strength to slightly twitch its hind legs, which were scarred and bloody from being tied up.
The scarlet eyes of the wild horned lizard rolled around and then dimmed. It saw the humanoid creature in front of it walking past it without even looking at it.
Ouch...
It uttered a low, feeble cry.
Through his half-closed eyes, he could vaguely see the humanoid creature shrouded in a faint fluorescent light walking further and further away.
It slammed its head back to the ground and closed its eyes.
Wait quietly for death.
*
Passing by the small mound where she had previously overlooked the plain, Su Xi first came to the nest of a female primitive land turtle that had already died stiffly.
The nest is on the shady side of a small hill, seven or eight meters below the horizon.
It was obvious that this female primitive land turtle had been dead for quite some time. Su Xi squatted down, then stretched out her hand to feel it. The lingering bioelectric wave that had deeply touched her seven or eight minutes ago had also completely dissipated.
Some of the chirping young land turtles had been suffocated by the corpses of the female land turtles that were guarding the nest tightly.
There were only seven or eight left alive. Two of the stronger ones, after gnawing on their own eggshells, even sucked the dark blue blood of the dead land turtles.
This is 'survival', which is both extremely beautiful and extremely cruel.
The rain mist was spreading, the dry ground had already been soaked and softened, and deep puddles of water gradually accumulated near the nest of the primitive land turtle.
Su Xi recalled the data retrieved from the Xiguang database. Although the primitive land turtles of this planet mainly live on land and lay eggs on land, they are not afraid of water regardless of whether they are young or adult.
雨越下越大了。噼噼啪啪的暴雨沖刷着松軟的地面，蘇熙站起來，展開精神力感受了一下巢穴附近的地貌。
看來，原始旱鼈的這巢幼崽當前的生存危機，不是饑餓或者守護者的死去，而是——在雨水的沖刷下，小土坡快塌陷了！
不管是位置較低的巢穴也好，還是蘇熙現在站立的位置也好，既将被小土坡滑落的砂石所掩埋！
蘇熙低頭看了看自己的雙手，跟上次進階之前相比，更加的瑩白而凝實。
‘試試吧！’她對自己說，‘看這次的極限能到什麽樣的程度？’
大雨瓢潑，仿佛整個天空都傾瀉了過來。天色暗沉，視野朦胧，在這樣極端的狀況下，遠處地平線上的七彩極光也隐沒不見。
棕發少女先脫下薄薄的透明防護鬥篷，輕輕的搭在原始旱鼈的巢穴上方。
然後站在了勘探好的位置，微微仰頭，漂亮的琥珀色眼眸，看向了暗沉灰濛的天空，她輕輕嘆出一口氣。
閉眼。
放松緊繃的控制力，瞬間讓精神力撤回腦域——
于是，那原本撐開的精神防護罩，那流轉着漂亮金沙的淡色熒光——猛然回縮！
然後，那帶着極強腐蝕性的酸雨，眼看就要淋到了毫無防護的身上，淋到了她仰望天空的臉龐。
整個過程大約不到30毫秒。
就在第一滴硫酸雨、那滋滋作響的、帶着腐蝕性輕煙的硫酸雨滴，就要落到她額頭的時候——
在蘇熙五感清晰的感受中，耳裏能聽見雨聲、鼻子能嗅到略酸而刺鼻的味道、肌膚……也能感受到這個腐蝕性硫酸雨中所特有的那種澀澀的潮氣、當然還有清晰的視覺——
她睜眼。
更濃稠的精神力波動在半毫秒之內迸發！滴落到近身半米的硫酸雨，仿佛被凝固在了泛着熒光的球形膠質物中！
在視線所及的景象中，一滴硫酸雨懸在她長長的眼睫上方，蘇熙微眨眼，滋——
嗯。一兩根睫毛飄落。
蘇熙眨眨眼，開始把包裹在精神力場中的異物排擠出去，這個景象，就好似水晶球中的氣泡開始一個個上浮的。正在被慢慢的擠出濃稠得如具象的膠質一般的球狀的精神能量之中。
然後，濃稠得幾乎凝固成膠質的精神能量猛然蕩開！
沿着選定勘探好的軌跡——整個包裹住了以她為中心的土地，瓢潑的大雨中，
轟！轟！
原本即将崩塌成泥石流的小土坡，被精準的按照勘探好的定點一一爆破！
砂石和泥土混着涓涓的雨水，以一種磅礴的氣勢從二十多米高的坡頂沖擊而下，在路過蘇熙和原始旱鼈的巢穴時卻自動分流開。
慢慢的。雨小了。
蘇熙撿起透明的防護鬥篷，穿上，然後收斂起外放的精神力。就這麽踢踢噠噠的小心避開水坑，深一腳淺一腳的往透明安全屋的方向返回。
熙光的‘程序自檢’應該很快就要完畢了。
*
那只荒野角蜥蜴所躺的位置，就在離安全屋并不遠的地方。回程的路上，她停了下來。
蹲下，仔細觀察它。
荒野角蜥蜴翻了一下眼皮，從喉嚨裏發出一陣陣咕嚕咕嚕的悶哼，很是煩躁的樣子。
在餓得奄奄一息的時候，送到嘴邊來的能量體，又不能吃？
送過來幹嘛？！
“呵！”蘇熙撫摸着它主動外翻出來的長角，感應到它的情緒，被逗笑了，“你真是一個壞脾氣的家夥。”
荒野角蜥蜴的長角雖然堅實，但最主要的作用除了在□□期的時候用以跟其它雄性争奪，更多的是日常與族群的生物信息電波之間的遠程交流。
蘇熙被手裏長角所散發出來的細細的生物電流弄得手心癢癢的，經過了前不久在透明安全屋裏那場類似于‘頓悟’的精神狀态，現在的她可以不動用精神鏈接，也能毫無障礙的感受到這只荒野角蜥蜴各種翻滾的情緒。
這是一種很特殊的體驗。
畢竟不管對于曾經的地球人類來說，還是已經普遍開發出精神力的星際人類來說，信息的交流依舊以各種感官表達為主，而不是類似于這只荒野角蜥蜴這樣的生物，天生就如同使用眼睛、使用尾甲一樣，他們使用長角的信號發射器，來進行族群之間信息的傳達和情緒的交流。
它們的情緒模式，與人類非常的不同。
此刻的蘇熙感受非常清晰，但她卻發現人類的語言匮乏，很難用一一對應的喜怒哀樂恐懼憂傷……來一一形容。
“是的，”她喃喃的說到，“你是很特殊的生命，我知道。”
“除了直接的血肉進食獲取能量，”想起熙光在它身上敲敲撿撿，并且對它的生物性檢測所分析出來的習性報告，蘇熙說，“大概純能量體你也能吃？”
“試試吧，不舒服就搖搖頭。”
“搖搖頭會嗎？”蘇熙做了一個示範，角蜥蜴頭角峥嵘的頭部一陣亂晃，把污泥雨點濺得到處都是。
“好了，好了！”蘇熙無奈的擡手擦了一下濺在臉上的髒污泥點，然後誇獎般的拍拍它的頭角，“我知道了，你很聰明！”
荒野角蜥蜴不耐煩的擺擺頭，喉嚨裏又發出咕嚕咕嚕的悶哼聲。
它催她！
蘇熙笑了一笑，然後凝神，雙手握着這只角蜥蜴的長角，淡熒色的精神力慢慢在她手上具象化。
這次進階後，她隐約而本能的知道了自己精神力的特殊之處。
微微垂下漂亮的眼眸，蘇熙精細的萃取出了其中細若金沙的物質，以她目前的能力所能提純出來的并不太多，大概只有三四顆指甲大小金珠。
輕輕一彈，虛幻的精神能量幾乎具象成液态般的金色物質，在蘇熙的意念牽引下，慢悠悠的接觸到荒野角蜥蜴的長角上。
金光一點點的漫過猙獰的長角，極為迅速的沒入頭部的皮質層之下——
嗷——嗷——嗷——
荒野角蜥蜴極為暢快的昂首嚎叫！
然後，這只原本精力殆盡，奄奄一息、躺平等死的荒野巨蜥，興奮的在原地抱圈撲騰！
一個勁兒的撲騰！
應該說還感謝它作為一只野生動物，卻罕見的有一種體貼喂養者的靈智麽？它在第一個翻身打滾的時候，還小心的避開了‘喂養者’蘇熙所在的位置。
而精神力進階後、對危機預判愈發靈敏的蘇熙，早在察覺它不對勁的第一個瞬間就遠遠的退開了。
然後在漸漸變小的雨霧彌漫中，棕發少女裹緊了透明的防護鬥篷，站得遠遠的，目瞪口呆的看一只身長十米的荒野角蜥蜴在那裏打滾，撕咬着原本覆蓋在它身上的防雨布，滾來滾去的發瘋！
那詭異的步态，好像一只貓吸了貓薄荷後又滿足又發瘋的樣子……蘇熙腦海裏飄過了一個個不合時宜的畫面聯想。
然而這麽龐大的一只‘貓咪’發起瘋來，地面似乎都能感覺到那種瘋狂的震顫……
雨慢慢的小了。
蘇熙沒有再管那只發瘋跑遠的荒野角蜥蜴，在回到安全屋之前，她再次路過了一個地勢略高的土坡。站在坡頂，她往更深遠的平原眺望。
然後，再次展開探查的精神力。
荒野上的景象，卻與下雨之前，變得極為的不同。
腐蝕性的雨水降落地面，依舊的滋滋作響，一些地底的細小的蟲類紛紛爬出地面，享受這來之不易的雨水的滋潤，而稍遠處一些小型的爬行動物也在雨中開始了獵食和被獵食的日常活動。
所有的這一切，都在蘇熙外放的精神力中纖毫可見，她試着往高度擴展精神力的偵察範圍。
從半空中俯瞰過去，在滿天慢慢開始停歇的雨霧中，前半個小時還幹涸粗砺的大地，現在卻如一條精工細作的波斯毯，被雨水為針細細的繡上了一大朵一大朵的豔麗的圖案。
荒野稀少的植物卻在雨水中挺直了枝幹，張開了枝葉，甚至還有一種幹枯的趴地藤蔓，随着雨水的降落如吸飽了的海綿，驀然膨脹！
這裏的植物，大多是紅褐色的。只有稀少的攀附在地面的蕨類呈現了綠色。
蘇熙的精神力慢慢回縮，輕柔的撫過了記憶中留戀的綠色。
她微睜眼，收回了已經探索到極致的精神力‘視界’的範圍。平面探索的極致大約能到39公頃？
蘇熙突然想起，在阿拉蕾時，狐尾佐佐木曾經告誡過她的話，皮爾力曾經嘲諷過她的話，‘去找個老師進行正規的訓練’！
對現在的她而言，這一點成了當前非常必要且緊迫的需求。從這次進階的變化中，她本能的知道，當精神力的進階越往上走，就越不能自己瞎摸索，必須得回到人類的社會，進入成熟的學習系統，才能很好的鞏固和提高。
就在她遠眺出神，腦海裏紛紛擾擾的轉着這些念頭的時候，她覺察到那只荒野角蜥蜴颠颠的從遠處跑了過來。
The sturdy limbs with sharp claws scratched deep grooves in the soft mud soaked by rain. The tail claw with a broken tail sting was swung around happily without any care, splashing thick mud all over its body.
When it came closer, Su Xi reached out and carefully examined it. The wounds that had been caused by the dark insect's entanglement not long ago had healed at an astonishing speed.
Su Xi looked up. The wild monitor lizard, which was three and a half meters tall when standing normally, ran to Su Xi with great momentum and stood still! Then it half-drooped its eyelids, and a very dark light flashed in its blood-red eyes, just looking down at her!
Then, it opened its tightly closed bloody mouth towards Su Xi without any image!
*
The First Fortress. The time flow rate difference between it and the planet BV-32II is 5.2 times.
The clock now points to late night.
Administrative office.
Ah—yawn—
Albert dropped his feet high on the desk, ruffled his messy blond hair, and yawned without any image.
He had been working in such an overloaded state since he received Nadel's visit. He was entangled in various trivial matters and had hardly slept. At this moment, he especially missed his workaholic boss.
Although he knew that Fitzgerald was now in a desperate area of the universe from which there was no return, he shared Holderman's attitude and was not too worried.
What worries Albert is that he hasn't been back to Yindu for more than ten years. He has to go back by New Year's Day this year at the latest. He has a lot of things to report to the central government! Nadel is afraid that he can't make him crazy, so he makes a lot of impossible demands!
The resentment is dead——
At this moment, Chris opened the door and saw Albert in a state of disgrace.
After she had just finished briefing the mission in the simulated operations room, Mary and the others went about their respective duties to prepare for boarding the ship, and she needed to go to Albert in person to get a special pre-departure warrant.
She frowned and glanced at Albert, mocking him: "Why are you in such a bad state! Isn't it just that you haven't slept for three days? You are really bringing shame to the alpha gender!"
"Don't mention it!" Albert said weakly, "If you keep pretending to be so aggressive and go toe-to-toe with those people every day, you'll get exhausted!"
Albert handed her the encrypted warrant and said, "Good luck on your mission! I hope you can bring back the omega lady successfully this time."
"Of course!" Chris laughed, "I'm not as unreliable as someone else. When has anything I've done personally ever gone wrong?"
Seeing Chris's happy expression, Albert seemed abnormally worried.
"What's wrong?" Chris, who was about to leave, noticed the abnormal mood of his colleague and friend and asked politely.
However, what Albert said surprised her.
Albert said slowly, "I don't object to your decision this time, but I think it is inappropriate to make this decision just because of an omega."
"If we force Nader back to Yindu, we will be impeached when we return to Yindu, which will be very disadvantageous to us in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords."
Chris said, "Think about it from another angle. If His Royal Highness brings back the Crown Princess, then all the criticism will be suppressed. Isn't this the 'optimal solution' that you have been emphasizing?"
"I have said so before, and I still think so now," Albert said calmly, "but don't you think that as long as it is related to that omega, His Highness's style of behavior is very difficult to understand?"
"Is it hard to understand?" Chris frowned. "Your Highness has indicated to pull out all the stakes this time. Isn't that what we all like? Those flies have been annoying us for too long!"
"What are you worried about?"
"Who is it that keeps saying that internal affairs are too difficult, that Yindu's public opinion is too tough, and that Your Highness should quickly choose a crown princess?" Chris sneered. "It seems that it is going to happen, but you are the one who is singing the praises?"
Albert wiped his tired face, reminding himself that it was useless to get angry with Chris, who was so stubborn. He tried to speak to her calmly, "No matter from which angle, I hope that Your Highness will bring back a real candidate for the crown prince, not a rose in a star ring. The current situation of the empire is not suitable for another War of the Roses."
"The planet you were born on was one of the most affected by the War of the Roses. Don't you feel anything?"
Chris almost laughed out loud, "You know what? Sometimes I really feel like you're missing something! That's why I'm so scared!"
"Oh——" Albert said calmly, his eyes did not retreat, but he always smiled but when he frowned, he had a terrifying aura, "I'm short of a lot of stuff, do you want to try it?"
It seemed that the two were about to clash again.
Beep-beep--the emergency number on Chris's personal terminal rang.
Albert glanced at Chris, who was resting his hands on the desk, staring at him with angry eyes, and raised his chin to signal her to answer the call first. Chris suppressed his anger for the moment, saw that it was Mary's signal, and pressed the open button to speak.
Mary reported on the other end of the intercom, "Report! The whole team is complete. The expected number of people is 16, but the actual number is 15. Vulture was temporarily seconded by His Majesty's special envoy and cannot respond to the call."
"Please give me instructions!"
The two people who were glaring at each other looked at each other in tacit understanding after listening to Mary's latest situation report.
Well, we have a common enemy, so we can deal with the internal conflicts after we finish our business.
Albert said, "Leave that 'vulture' to me, and you can go with peace of mind."
"Whatever the reason," he added, "as long as His Highness requests a thorough cleanup, I will clear out everything else left in the First Fortress before you return, except for the ones you took away."
"Don't worry."
"Okay, I believe you." Chris said and turned away, leaving him with his back and the sound of a door slamming.