"Although we have already built the Gaia, our technology cannot support the existing 3.6 billion Humans surviving in space for eight thousand years, not even counting the increase in newborn population. Let alone eight thousand years, we might not even be able to do it for eight hundred years."
"Therefore, we must freeze the vast majority of people in stasis pods, not ordinary hibernation pods. Apart from the mothership maintenance personnel, the vast majority of people must stay in stasis pods for eight thousand years."
"But as we all know, even the freezing in stasis pods only freezes the physical metabolism. The brain neurons still operate at a slow speed. This is why all instructions and safety notices about stasis pods state that freezing for fifty years at once is prohibited. This means the most terrifying torture in the world, bar none!"
"When an individual enters a stasis pod for more than fifty years, the brain begins to perceive the existence of dreams, and their consciousness will start to awaken. At this point, their consciousness will be trapped in a void without sensation, light, or anything. This is a very terrifying torment. Exceeding twenty-four hours can cause hallucinations, and exceeding seventy-two hours can lead to mental breakdown. However, with a joint dream, when their consciousness is awake, they can enter the joint dream. When their consciousness is tired, they can enter their own hibernation dream. This way, let alone eight thousand years, as long as the System, energy, and Gaia operate continuously, they can be safe and sound for eighty thousand years!"
"The principle of dreams is that even when the Human brain is in a dormant state, parts of it are still running. The dreaming brain tissue of 3.6 billion people is actually a huge amount of computation, its magnitude even exceeding the Gaia main control supercomputer 'Mainframe' by thousands or tens of thousands of times. Therefore, we need to build a computing connection System specifically for stasis pods to utilize this spare computing power and construct a joint dream."
"The only thing needed is... maintenance personnel, who must spend at least half their lives in narrow metal corridors, looking at the pitch-black space outside the window, maintenance personnel who are brave enough to sacrifice themselves!"
"Moreover, this actually violates the human rights constitution. No one has the right to deprive citizens of their right to life and property, not even criminals... So, either they do it willingly, or they are forced to do so. Ladies and gentlemen, what I mean is that it is time for the Government to heal those 'futurists' who were frozen in the past or had their bodies stripped away, leaving only their brains."
Wu Pifu opened his eyes.
It was around six o'clock in the morning. Since he started cultivating the Tiger Demon Skill a year ago, he would wake up punctually at this time every day.
Wu Pifu stood up and looked around. The Little Mute nun hadn't returned. Perhaps this wasn't her residence?
Wu Pifu didn't delay further. He dispersed the memories from his dream before signing the maintenance personnel contract and began walking outside. He didn't go into the square but stood under the eaves. First, he took a deep breath, then opened his mouth wide and began to swallow.
He felt as if he had swallowed a fist-sized solid object, struggling from his mouth to his throat. His throat even bulged as he swallowed this 'pearl' from his throat into his abdomen, then slowly moving it closer to his Dantian.
At this moment, vital energy surged. His eyes were closed, his mind full of distractions, but his body naturally controlled the circulation of vital energy, from his Dantian to his torso, from his torso to his limbs, circulating throughout his body and returning to his Dantian. This was one cycle of breathing adjustment in the Tiger Demon Skill.
After three consecutive cycles of breathing adjustment, Wu Pifu finally opened his eyes. The sky was already bright. From the time, it was around seven-thirty. Then he saw the Little Mute nun walk out of a relatively intact-looking hall in the distance, then go to another building at the other end of the square. After that, she quickly walked towards Wu Pifu's house, holding a large bowl.
When she saw Wu Pifu standing under the eaves at the doorway, the Little Mute nun paused, remaining still for at least three or four seconds. Only then did she stiffly walk up to Wu Pifu. She lowered her head deeply, then tremblingly handed the coarse pottery bowl in her hand to Wu Pifu.
Wu Pifu showed no surprise. He took the coarse pottery bowl and took a big gulp, about one-third of the whole bowl. Then he gently said to the Little Mute nun, "This is your daily meal, right? You didn't drink any water yesterday. You should drink the rest."
The Little Mute nun slightly raised her head, then gently shook it.
Wu Pifu, however, directly put the coarse pottery bowl into her hand and said, "Don't worry, I will leave tomorrow."
The Little Mute nun's body trembled. She actually took the coarse pottery bowl and began to drink in small sips.
Only after the Little Mute nun finished drinking did Wu Pifu, while standing in a horse stance, slowly wave his fist forward with one hand. At the same time, he said, "Tomorrow, I will find a way to get some money. Are you willing to leave this nunnery with me?"
The Little Mute nun looked up in surprise. When she saw Wu Pifu's serious gaze, she immediately lowered her head again. After a long pause, she first shook her head, then nodded, and then large tears rolled down from her eyes.
Wu Pifu, after all, came from the 21st century, and he also lived past 2877. He had his own judgment on many matters.
First of all, the Little Mute nun was not forced into prostitution. Although she wore tattered clothes, her dwelling was also damp and dilapidated, and she only ate thin porridge.
But this is ancient times, and this is a nunnery.
Unless it's a large Buddha temple, a famous religious site, a religious place appreciated by high officials and noblemen, or when religion is rampant and widespread, otherwise, the lower-class Monks, Taoists, and nuns actually live very poor lives.
That she has a place to live, clothes to cover and keep warm, and a meal to survive on, already surpasses who knows how many people in ancient times.
Which family would treat someone like this when forcing them into prostitution?
An 'Yanmen nunnery'.
In reality, it refers to poor ancient women who couldn't survive and became nuns, but still couldn't survive even after becoming nuns, so they had to become secret prostitutes. This is an ancient 'Yanmen nunnery'.
Wu Pifu could see that the little nun's complexion was poor, and her figure was thin and small. Her age was probably only fifteen or sixteen.
Either she was a girl who couldn't survive after fleeing from disaster, or she was an abandoned infant kindly taken in by this nunnery.
"You don't have to answer now."
Wu Pifu composed himself and practiced his skill, while also saying, "I am penniless right now, but I have a way to make money. Everything will wait until I make money. Don't worry, the kindness of saving a life is greater than the heavens. As long as I have food to eat, I will absolutely not let you go hungry. Tomorrow, I will first find a way to get some money."
The Little Mute nun couldn't speak, she just shed tears continuously. Then she sat on the doorstep and watched Wu Pifu practice. Neither of them spoke. Gradually, the sun reached its zenith, and suddenly, chirping sounds of Qiū Qiū came.
Wu Pifu continued practicing without moving, while the Little Mute nun suddenly stood up from the doorstep and came outside the eaves, raising one hand towards the sky. At this moment, a palm-sized emerald green little bird descended, landing directly in the Little Mute nun's palm, and began pecking at her palm.
Those were a few dried beans of some kind, which the little bird pecked clean. Then the little bird didn't fly away but flew onto the Little Mute nun's shoulder and chirped Qiū Qiū at her.
The Little Mute nun showed a smile for the first time, gently smiling as she looked at the little bird.
Nothing happened that day. Wu Pifu fully focused on recovering his physical condition, while the Little Mute nun also couldn't speak.
Gradually, the setting sun moved westward. As the lingering sunlight faded, drum sounds came from the nunnery.
The Little Mute nun looked at Wu Pifu, then took out a string of wooden Buddha beads from the room and walked straight towards the main hall in the square.
It was called a main hall, but it was actually just a slightly larger pillared room, also dilapidated. Wu Pifu saw more than ten nuns gathered inside. Some of them looked at him and pointed, but they didn't do anything else. The Little Mute nun lowered her head and blended in among them.
Wu Pifu didn't practice anymore at this time. He just lay down in the room and forced himself to sleep.
However, halfway through his sleep, a noisy sound rang out. Wu Pifu's eyes snapped open, and then he strode out of the room and ran towards the row of wooden houses next to the square.
Just outside one of the wooden houses, a dark-skinned man was pulling at the Little Mute nun's waist and clothes. First, he slapped the Little Mute nun across the face, then cursed, "It's fine to call you Shī Tàih (nun) on ordinary days, but do you really think you're a real Shī Tàih? Only places like Chaoyin nunnery have real Shī Tàihs. You little slut are nothing but a whore, how dare you act so arrogant towards this master?"
As he spoke, he slapped the Little Mute nun across the face again, knocking her to the ground.
Around them stood four or five nuns, all trembling like quails, yet they dared not speak, dared not step forward, and dared not even slightly intervene.
The dark-skinned man was still not satisfied. He took a few steps to the Little Mute nun's side, raised his foot, and was about to kick her in the abdomen.
The Little Mute nun just closed her eyes, biting her lip until it bled, her whole body tensed.
But the expected severe pain did not come. When she opened her eyes, she saw that the dark-skinned man's kick was actually blocked by a person. That person stood between her and the dark-skinned man, with broad shoulders and a tall figure. The Little Mute nun, who hadn't shed tears just now, suddenly had large tears rolling down. She immediately made anxious 'ah ah' sounds.
The dark-skinned man was also surprised. He kicked out, and it was actually blocked by a man with one hand. No, this was a man with a broken arm. He immediately yelled, "Where did this ruffian come from, how dare you block your Grandpa Niu? Grandpa I... ah ah, let go, let go!"
In terms of height, Wu Pifu was a full 1.8 meters, at least a head and a half taller than the dark-skinned man. In terms of build, the two were similar, but Wu Pifu looked a bit thinner. The Tiger Demon Skill he activated to escape had consumed too much of his vital energy.
But Wu Pifu, after all, possessed National Arts. He suddenly clenched his hand, gripping the dark-skinned man's foot like steel pliers, squeezing with force, as if he was about to crush even the bones.
Although the dark-skinned man looked burly, at this moment, he immediately started begging for mercy, loudly shouting for the hero to spare his life.
Wu Pifu looked at the surrounding nuns, then released the dark-skinned man, merely letting out a low growl, "Get out!"
The dark-skinned man pulled back his foot. How could he dare to say even half another word? He didn't even dare to leave a single line of the ruffian's typical 'losing the fight but not the spirit' escape rhetoric. He lowered his head and scurried out of the nunnery.
Only after the ruffian ran far away did a few nuns dare to help up the Little Mute. At this point, they began talking all at once. One nun said to Wu Pifu, "You told the Little Mute that you would take her away, right?"
Wu Pifu nodded seriously.
Another nun said, "How will you take her away? Look at your injuries, look at you. You're a fugitive on the run. How can she go with you?"
Another nun also said at the same time, "She's already starting to remain chaste for you. But what else can we do if we don't do this? Can we only starve to death?"
Wu Pifu, however, remained silent. He didn't even have the thought of replying. He just said to the few nuns, "Take good care of her. I will repay you later."
After saying that, he actually walked straight out of the nunnery, striding in pursuit in the direction the dark-skinned man had left.
Why didn't the dark-skinned man dare to utter even a few words?
Because the ruffians in this village had truly seen some trouble. He recognized a type of person he couldn't afford to provoke. Not only could he not provoke them, but he didn't even want to say a single word more to such people. Just being in front of this type of person would make his legs tremble.
It was the type of person who had killed and seen blood.
Wu Pifu had not only killed people, but he had killed more than just one or two.
At this moment, his eyes were filled with killing intent. The moon was dark and the wind was high.
It was precisely a night for killing!