Chapter 2: Fortune and Misfortune
Near the mouth of the Huangpu River, the preserved historical relic of the aircraft carrier Fujian had taken on a new look after several days of urgent construction by engineering robots. Being a relic, Fang Xu did not alter the internal structure of the ship but merely built some facilities on the deck. Fang Xu had constructed a Suzhou-style garden, complete with transplanted flowers, trees, and even soil from Suzhou. Along the edges of the carrier, he planted a row of weeping willows, all relocated from the banks of West Lake.
At this moment, Fang Xu, seated in a wheelchair, was being pushed by the bio-robot Miss Nanyi to the edge of the carrier beneath the willows, facing the sea as he cast his fishing rod. The name Nanyi came from the prefix "N1" of her serial number N15778, which Fang Xu used to name her.
Since humans left Earth completely ten thousand years ago, the vast ocean's fishery resources had been left untouched. After ten millennia of recovery, the oceans were teeming with various fish. Fang Xu had barely lowered the fishing rod before a fish bit. However, as he faced the sea breeze and looked at the sky, with the faint shadow of the space ring arching across it, his mind was elsewhere, paying no attention to the fishing at all.
It had been three days since he awoke. Over these three days, he had basically figured out the state of this world eighteen thousand years into the future. In the 21st century, facing terminal cancer, Fang Xu had taken a gamble and participated in a cryogenic sleep experiment.
Fortunately, the experiment was successful. Unfortunately, it was too successful, and he ended up sleeping for eighteen thousand years.
Fifteen thousand years ago, human scientists had discovered the secrets of space jump technology. Since then, space science had advanced rapidly, and human technology entered an era of explosive growth. The expansion never ceased, with countless stargates built, enabling the colonization of the universe, and vast territories established across it.
Yet, ten thousand years ago, for unknown reasons, humanity suddenly abandoned Earth, the Solar System, and all their expansive territories and vanished without a trace.
What puzzled Fang Xu the most was why humans didn’t wake him up ten thousand years ago? Instead, they left him to sleep until now, after humanity had disappeared.
According to the information Fang Xu obtained over the past few days, cancer had already been completely cured just a few hundred years after he went into cryogenic sleep. However, humanity didn’t wake him up, not even during the era of space colonization fifteen thousand years ago. What made humanity completely forget about him?
Luckily, as someone born in the 21st century, Fang Xu was among the first generation to upload genetic data to a database. At that time, he didn’t think much of it, nor did most people. But now, eighteen thousand years later, it turned out to be useful. Thanks to the genetic database, artificial intelligence could confirm his human identity and follow his instructions. Otherwise, Fang Xu couldn’t imagine waking up in the cryo-chamber only to find himself utterly helpless.
As the only human on Earth, theoretically, he had the authority to command the entire planet, the Solar System, and even all human colonies and AI. However, after humanity's prolonged absence, many AI had entered a dormant state. Even if Fang Xu wanted to give orders, there was often no one to command unless he awakened the dormant AI.
But this led to another problem: a lack of energy. Due to energy shortages, the industrial belt around the solar system gradually shut down, with the AI responsible for its maintenance also going into dormancy to conserve power.
Thus, Fang Xu faced a life-threatening dilemma: how to treat his terminal cancer. With the advanced technology of this era, late-stage cancer was no longer considered a serious illness—about as concerning as the common cold in the 21st century, with many ways to treat it, like taking cold medicine or getting an IV drip. However, the prerequisite was having the necessary medication.
Just as cold medicine in the 21st century was a product of a global healthcare industry, it would become life-threatening again if that industry stopped and existing medicine ran out or expired. For Fang Xu, who had slept for eighteen thousand years, cancer had once again become a fatal disease due to the complete collapse of the human medical industry, with hospitals’ various anti-cancer drugs and instruments rendered unusable from disuse or expiration.
Perhaps some usable equipment was preserved in certain laboratories, but finding it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. Fang Xu found the situation ironic.
Miss Nanyi, dressed in a nurse's uniform and serving as a medical assistant bio-robot, took the fish off the hook and placed it into a nearby bucket. A small six-legged robot carried the bucket to the kitchen for Fang Xu’s meal. Nanyi then pushed Fang Xu to a space-folding teleportation gate marked “Sanya.”
Next to it were several other teleportation gates leading to various places. Fang Xu opened the door, and Nanyi pushed him through, arriving on the beach in Sanya. The temperature rose by more than ten degrees, transitioning from a subtropical to a tropical climate. Though it was still the ocean, Sanya had a completely different atmosphere, with a lazy feeling imparted by the sea breeze.
Miss Nanyi leaped gracefully into the air, easily reaching a height of over ten meters to pluck a coconut. Then she pushed Fang Xu back through the teleportation gate to the deck of the aircraft carrier. She then opened another gate marked “Antarctica,” where it was currently polar day. Amidst the curious gazes of a group of penguins, Fang Xu bent down to pick up a piece of ice.
After waving his hand, Nanyi pushed him back through the teleportation gate to the carrier's deck. By this time, the grilled fish was ready and delivered to his side. Nanyi broke open the coconut with her bare hands, poured Fang Xu a glass of coconut juice, and placed the piece of ice he had picked up in Antarctica into the drink.
Looking at this lunch of grilled fish and coconut juice, which was not luxurious but undeniably extravagant, Fang Xu had no appetite.
"How much time do I have left?"
"Three months. The exact time is ninety-eight days."
"So, there's only one way left to save myself?"
"Yes, you must restart the human medical industry within these ninety-eight days."
"How am I supposed to restart it alone?"
"As long as there's enough energy to provide power for the medical industry, the relevant AI clusters can be awakened."
"That sounds simple, but where do I find the energy?"
Fang Xu sighed and took a sip of coconut juice.
"The database I accessed mentions stargate SH100079, which leads to an energy harvesting planet."
"Can I find enough energy there?"
"The stargate has been closed for ten thousand years. No one knows what's on the other side. I’m not sure."
"Well, I can't just wait to die, so let's give it a try," Fang Xu decided, eyeing a nearby coconut tree and gesturing toward it.
