Chapter 373

Chapter 373: A Good Era

Wencheng was born in a fortunate era.

The Dandelion Project sought to take all valuable individuals from the human home planet.

In that society, "value" was distinctly defined.

Whether through genes or knowledge, to board any spaceship, one needed to possess at least a modicum of value.

The greater an individual’s value, the stronger their bargaining power with the Dandelion Project.

No one takes trash and dust when they move; this was an undeniable truth.

And Wencheng was a man of no value.

Genetically, his hereditary disease barred him from boarding any Dandelion Spaceship, but as mentioned—he was born in a good era.

Compared to others with similar conditions who might pollute the gene banks, Wencheng’s advantage was that his hereditary disease was not fatal, and he was sufficiently young.

Another undeniable fact was that spaceships required maintenance personnel during their voyages.

Highly intelligent robots could inspect every corner of a spaceship, but they were forbidden from one task: inspecting or iterating on each other.

This was one of humanity’s unsolved challenges; lifting the ban on two artificial intelligences iterating on each other led to wildly unpredictable results each time.

Scientists of the time dubbed these post-iteration, uncontrollable artificial intelligences "electronic monsters."

There were only two methods for maintaining intelligent robots: Self-check and human inspection.

Self-check was a superficial fix, akin to trying to solve a bug by merely clicking an accelerate button; it was primarily used by robots to clear redundant data.

Human inspection was indispensable; trained engineers could discern the limits of iteration, a judgment blending rationality and emotion—an ability artificial intelligence couldn’t quickly master.

As a teenager, Wencheng accepted an agreement from the Dandelion Project, joining a training team with hundreds of similar youths. They learned necessary maintenance skills while receiving palliative care, and only by standing out among the hundreds did Wencheng earn a spot on a spaceship and undergo surgery.

The surgery’s precision surpassed Wencheng’s expectations; he no longer suffered from the hereditary disease, at least ostensibly.

But sadly, when a new agreement was presented to Wencheng on his hospital bed, he realized a harsh truth—

There was only one way to eliminate hereditary diseases.

As a minor compensation, Wencheng’s body aged at one-third the normal human rate; barring accidents, he could live nearly three hundred human years.

After signing the new document, Wencheng proved his loyalty to the human alliance through action.

By then, the Dandelion Project was nearing its end, with most valuable humans already in stasis aboard spaceships orbiting the home planet.

A minor mishap gave Wencheng a new opportunity; he completed military training before the launch deadline, replacing an officer dismissed for concealing a criminal record.

Having lost much but gained more, Wencheng boarded the spaceship *Taraxacum-03* with unwavering loyalty to the human alliance.

His role was: artificial intelligence maintenance specialist and deputy captain of the spaceship’s security team.

Subsequent memories looped like a glitching film, replaying similar scenes.

Waking, inspecting, patrolling, sleeping… The only change in this endless cycle was the numbers on the life pod’s perpetual calendar.

Many aboard the spaceship awoke periodically, but they were like neighbors in alternate dimensions, never to meet.

Each time Wencheng awoke, he saw the serene faces of others in the crew quarters, knowing he and his colleagues couldn’t communicate face-to-face until reaching the target planet.

Even the artificial intelligence couldn’t converse much with Wencheng, as those machines had to shut down completely during repairs.

The AI operating the energy cannon was closest to Wencheng, tasked with constant alerts; thus, two artificial intelligences were installed in that robot’s terminal.

Yet, when one personality was active, the other slept; these two artificial intelligences could never communicate, much like Wencheng and his companions.

Time flowed steadily, and the target planet drew nearer.

The red and yellow flashing warning symbol, accompanied by a piercing alarm bell, roused Wencheng from deep slumber.

Crew members requiring periodic awakenings had their deep sleep cycles shift over time.

This awakening was due to an emergency; medication was injected into Wencheng, swiftly pulling his consciousness from the depths.

The same fate befell other crew members needing periodic awakenings; this was Wencheng’s first glimpse of his colleagues, but they were too preoccupied to exchange pleasantries, rushing to their posts.

At that moment, Wencheng’s role was deputy captain of the security team, not the body maintenance specialist.

He and Captain Vladimir headed to the command room, where, in the center of a panoramic projection spherical chamber, they faced a grim sight:

The ring surrounding the spaceship’s main body had disintegrated, descending toward the target planet, ablaze from atmospheric friction.

The main body of the spaceship was largely intact, but a hard landing would spell its doom.

The artificial intelligence’s voice echoed around Wencheng:

"Overall integrity of the spaceship: 78.2%. All airlocks are sealed, reverse thrust engaged, barrier activated. Impact object undetected. Estimated crash landing on the planet’s surface in 500 seconds."

"What is the impact object?"

Vladimir asked the artificial intelligence; he held the highest firing authority on the ship. Once the object was identified, whether alien life or an unknown entity, he had the authority to decide on engagement.

"Impact object currently undetected. Accessing onboard recording."

A floating image appeared before them, showing a recording from one minute prior.

A black, shuttle-shaped object was rapidly approaching *Taraxacum-03*, its sleek, streamlined design clearly artificial.