"Immortality?" These two words were like a neutron bomb dropped into the deep sea, stirring up an invisible yet devastating storm in the deathly silence of the auction hall.
Before the floor-to-ceiling window of Box Number One, Shen Qingqiu, dressed in flowing red robes, stood with a tiny chip on her fingertip emitting a faint golden glow. In the eyes of those short-lived interstellar elites who clung to life with prosthetics, it wasn't data; it was a divine gift, the only ticket to escape death's scythe.
"Absurd." A cold, piercing electronic voice shattered the crowd's greedy illusions.
The dome of the hall suddenly cracked open, and a beam of silver-white light shot down, landing on the auction stage. The light dissipated, revealing a suspended, silver, fluid humanoid figure.
He had no features; his face was a smooth mirror, reflecting the ugly desires of all living beings. Behind him floated three rotating silver prisms—the insignia of the Silver Empire's highest inspector.
"I am Zeral, the Grand Observer of the Empire." The mirror-like figure turned to Box Number One. Although he had no eyes, Shen Qingqiu could feel an extremely sharp, surgical gaze dissecting him.
"According to the second law of thermodynamics, entropy increase is irreversible. The end of the universe is heat death, and the end of life is death." Zeral's voice was devoid of emotion, filled with absolute rational arrogance.
"So-called immortality is nothing but a fairy tale used by inferior civilizations to numb themselves. Madam, you are trying to deceive the entire galaxy with a lie." The entire room erupted in uproar.
The Silver Empire was the overlord of this star system; their technology represented truth. If the Grand Observer said it was false, then it must be false.
Countless suspicious gazes were cast upon Shen Qingqiu.
Seventeen stood beside Shen Qingqiu, his stellar right arm slightly raised, the space in his palm beginning to distort.
"Master, should we silence him?"
Shen Qingqiu raised his hand and gently pressed down on Seventeen's arm.
She gazed at the silver figure below, a sorrowful smile playing on her lips.
The smile was too beautiful, too aloof, like a god who had seen the end of time, looking down at a cicada trying to explain "summer."
"Entropy increase?" Shen Qingqiu gently shook her folding fan, the nebula gauze on its surface shimmering with light.
"That's the rule only you... 'insects' trapped in three-dimensional linear time need to follow."
She didn't retort with a furious outburst, but spoke slowly in a tone as gentle as telling a bedtime story.
"In my homeland, we don't talk about entropy."
"We talk about... reincarnation."
"Reincarnation?" Zera's processor seemed to pause for a moment. "That's a religious term, lacking a scientifically defined logical loop."
"Is that so?" Shen Qingqiu slowly descended the stairs.
Her red dress spread out on the crystal floor, and with each step, a golden lotus made of holographic light and shadow bloomed beneath her feet.
This wasn't high technology; it was a special effect she had Seventeen set up backstage. But at this moment, this was called "Step by Step, Lotus Blossoms."
She walked to the auction stage, confronting the silver-clad observer.
One was an oriental beauty, elegantly dressed in ancient attire, her red robes like fire.
The other was a silicon-based life form, entirely silver-white, representing the pinnacle of technology.
"Mr. Observer." Shen Qingqiu stretched out her hand, a withered holographic rose appearing out of thin air at her fingertips.
"In your eyes, this flower has withered, its energy has dissipated, its disorder has increased—that's entropy increase, isn't it?"
Zera coldly replied, "Matter is conserved, but the quality of energy decreases. This is an irreversible process."
"Irreversible..." Shen Qingqiu chuckled softly.
She closed her eyes, activating the data model of the cultivation world's **"Withering and Flourishing Technique"** from the [Civilization Library] in her mind, and materializing it through a projector on her wrist.
"What if... like this?"
She flicked her finger.
Buzz— The withered rose suddenly froze.
Then, it began to grow in reverse.
The withered yellow petals bloomed full and vibrant red again, fallen leaves flew back to the branches, and even the lingering fragrance molecules coalesced.
In the blink of an eye, a delicate, budding red rose appeared in her hand.
"This…this is impossible!" The silver fluid around Zera fluctuated violently, and the three prisms behind her spun wildly.
"Time reversal? No…local entropy reduction? That would require a huge amount of external energy, but this doesn't fit…"
"This isn't called time reversal." Shen Qingqiu offered the virtual rose to Zera (though he couldn't catch it).
"This is called **'The beginning of a new era, the renewal of all things'**."
She looked at Zera, her golden eyes flowing with a "Daoist charm" he couldn't comprehend.
"Your technology is racing along a straight line, inevitably heading towards a precipice (heat death)."
"Our civilization, however, is a circle."
"Flowers bloom and fade, tides rise and fall. Death is not the end, but the prelude to life." Shen Qingqiu turned to face the stunned buyers.
She held up the chip in her hand.
"This chip contains no magic that violates the laws of physics."
"It simply teaches you how to bend your consciousness from a 'straight line' into a 'circle.'"
"When your soul becomes a closed loop, entropy cannot catch up with you." Deathly silence.
A deathly silence that lasted ten seconds.
For these advanced civilizations in this universe who believed in the "Dark Forest Theory" and were accustomed to plunder and linear energy, Shen Qingqiu's concept of "reincarnation" (which they perceived as high-dimensional closed-loop timeline technology) was nothing short of a dimensional-lowering apocalypse. "A circle... a closed loop..." The crystal tycoon muttered to himself, his eyes gleaming with fanaticism. "Is this... the perspective of a higher-dimensional civilization?"
"I'll offer two hundred million! No! I'll give you all my mining planets!"
"I'll offer my fleet!" Zera stood on the stage, her mirror-like face reflecting Shen Qingqiu's arrogant back.
His logic library was screaming in alarm.
[Unable to analyze... logical paradox... unknown variable...]
His science told him it was fake.
But the "miracle" this woman displayed and her self-consistent "higher-dimensional philosophy" made him waver.
Could it be that the Silver Empire's technology tree... went astray?
"Three hundred million." The auctioneer slammed down the gavel, his voice trembling.
Not because of the money, but because he dared not let this debate, which could even lead to a collapse of faith, continue.
"Sold! Congratulations to this... distinguished envoy from Andromeda!"
...Box One.
Only after the waiter respectfully brought in the transparent box containing the bronze fragments and then left, closing the door behind him, did Shen Qingqiu collapse onto the sofa, as if all her strength had been drained.
"I'm exhausted..." she slumped onto the sofa, kicking off her high heels without any regard for her image, her forehead covered in a fine layer of cold sweat.
The debate about "true and false civilizations" that had just taken place was more exhausting than a fight. She had been using the mystical arts of the cultivation world, forcing herself to convince a group of scientists who possessed antimatter weapons.
If she hadn't been careful, and they had seen through her "pseudoscience," she would have been subjected to dissection and analysis.
"Have some water." Seventeen handed her a glass of warm juice.
He didn't sit down, but instead knelt in front of her, reaching out to hold her cold ankles and gently massaging them.
"You were... beautiful just now." Seventeen looked up, his purple eyes filled with adoration.
"Although I don't understand anything about entropy increase and reincarnation, at that moment, I felt you were the truth." Shen Qingqiu smiled and pinched his cheek.
"Silly boy, that's all a lie."
"The so-called 'reverse growth' was just me replaying a holographic video in reverse."
"But they believed it." Seventeen said earnestly, "Because of your aura, they dared not disbelieve."
Shen Qingqiu sat up and hugged the box containing the bronze fragment to her chest.
It was a small, rusty piece of bronze, no bigger than a palm.
But in Shen Qingqiu's eyes, it was more precious than any gemstone.
She reached out, her fingertips trembling as she touched the cold metal surface.
[Civilization Library · Access.]
Buzz— An ancient, weathered, yet incredibly familiar flow of information flooded her mind.
It wasn't some profound technique, nor a treasure map.
It was a…voice.
A voice from Earth, thousands of years ago, etched into the molecules of bronze.
The howling wind swept across the Kunlun Mountains.
The roar of the Yellow River.
And… a muffled, dialect-tinged murmur:
"…Home…"
Tears, without warning, streamed down her face.
They fell onto the bronze shard.
"Qingqiu?"
Seventeen panicked. He had never seen her cry so unexpectedly.
He immediately stood up and held her tightly in his arms.
"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with that shard? Is it radioactive? Or is it cursed?"
He raised his hand to throw the box away.
"No…no." Shen Qingqiu clutched the box tightly, burying her face in his chest, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Seventeen…that's home."
"That's my homeland…Earth."
She had wandered this universe for so long.
From the neon lights of the cyber world to the cold gleam of interstellar warships.
She had always been a bird without feet.
Until this moment, she had finally touched a corner of her nest.
Seventeen froze.
He didn't understand what Earth was, nor did he understand the homesickness etched into his very bones.
But he understood her tears.
He tightened his arms, wrapping her completely in his wide sleeves, shutting her out of everything outside.
He lowered his head and kissed the top of her head, his voice gentle yet firm.
"Don't cry."
"No matter where Earth is, even at the end of the universe, even on the other side of a black hole."
"I will take you back."
"I am your starship."
"Wherever you point, I will fly there." Shen Qingqiu gradually calmed down in his arms.
She raised her head, and in her tear-reddened eyes, the flame of "hope" rekindled.
"Seventeen."
"Yes."
"There's a coordinate in this fragment."
"It points to... the desolate region of the Orion Arm."
She sniffed, her eyes sharpening.
"But the area around that coordinate is marked 'extremely dangerous.'"
"The Silver Empire seems to be looking for that place too." A hint of killing intent flashed in Seventeen's eyes.
"Then get there before them."
"Anyone who dares to block my way, I'll kill them."
Just then, there was a sudden knock on the door of the private room.
Knock, knock, knock.
The rhythm was polite, yet carried an unyielding force.
"Who is it?" Seventeen turned around instantly, her right arm radiating brilliant light, shielding Shen Qingqiu behind her.
A cold, electronic voice came from outside the door.
It was the Great Observer, Zera.
"Madam, although you have won the bid for this item."
"But I still have doubts about the theory of 'reincarnation.'
"His Majesty the Emperor of the Empire… would like to invite you for 'tea.' And, incidentally, to verify your 'immortality' technology."
The door lock was being cracked by some high-frequency vibration.
Shen Qingqiu wiped away her tears and stored the bronze fragment in her personal storage space.
She straightened her skirt and transformed back into the unapproachable Andromeda envoy.
"Looks like we won't be having tea."
She winked at Seventeen.
"Seventeen."
"Here."
"Ready?"
"Ready for what?"
Shen Qingqiu's lips curled into an arrogant smile.
She pushed open the French windows.
Outside the window, thousands of meters above the ground, and the magnificent artificial sun of the Dyson sphere.
"Ready...to smash the place."
BOOM—!!!
Seventeen understood.
He grabbed Shen Qingqiu's waist, his star-shaped right arm slashing fiercely at the French windows.
Space tore apart.
The two transformed into streaks of light, leaping directly from this height of thousands of meters, right before the eyes of all the powerful figures in the universe!
"Goodbye, fools!"
Shen Qingqiu's laughter echoed in the wind.
Behind her, Zera burst through the door, looking at the empty private room and the shattered windows, a ripple of "anger" appearing for the first time on her silver, mirror-like face.
"Chase! Deploy the Third Fleet! Life or death, bring that woman back!!"
Beneath the starry sky.
A cross-galaxy escape and pursuit has officially begun.