Facing the captain's insistence, the crew fell silent.
But their bodies were flashing scarlet light quickly, showing that their silence was definitely not their approval of the captain.
"so what?"
Finally, First Officer Quick said softly on behalf of most members of the bridge team.
The captain was slightly taken aback.
"so what?"
The captain looked at the first mate in disbelief, "Quick, what exactly do you mean, explain the question clearly!"
"Yes, Captain, then I will explain everyone's thoughts clearly."
First officer Quick went all out. He faced Captain Gao Zunlong and said expressionlessly, "Even if we really drained this rich little world in front of us, repaired or even upgraded the Emerald, and continued on our journey or... Such a desperate journey, and, with the luck against the sky, found dozens or even hundreds of similar rich worlds, collected all resources, and rebuilt a mighty fleet, so what, at that time Do we have the ability to fight the flood
"Don't forget, before the flood, our Yuanshi civilization controlled the entire sea of stars! We built hundreds of millions of starships, we conquered countless planets with incomparable abundance, and we slaughtered tens of millions of planets. A powerful civilization of intelligent life, we are the king of kings, the masters of all universes!
"And then, does it work
"Facing the strong attack of the flood tide, hundreds of millions of starships were wiped out in an instant, and it was even more miserable. They became the puppets of the flood tide. Hugs, even if we ignite hundreds of millions of stars to form the "solar defense line", it is easy to break through, until the end, even a small wave of the flood can force us to flee!
"Captain, please think about it carefully. With the power of the last starship we have left now, even if it is increased a hundred times, can it be compared with the Yuanshi civilization in its heyday? I am afraid it is not even a drop in the bucket, right
"The Yuanshi civilization in its heyday was smashed to pieces by Hong Chao. Even if we are a hundred times stronger, how can we compete with Hong Chao?"
The first mate Quick finished his speech like a cannonball, and breathed a sigh of relief.
These words had been lingering in the hearts of him and most of the members of the bridge team for too long, and now that he said them, the atmosphere on the bridge suddenly changed.
Captain Gao Zunlong was stunned.
Mysterious lights alternated all over his body, as if the flames of anger were burning wildly.
It seems that he did not expect that after the torture of the long voyage, his crew members would become so weak.
"so what?"
The captain narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "What is your plan, just stop here, don't you want to move on?"
"Forward?"
First Officer Quick smiled wryly, "Towards a definite goal, striding forward under the guidance of hope, this is called 'going forward'; there is no goal at all, no hope in sight, and wandering in the vast darkness is just headless. Flies, just lingering.
"Since we are all lingering, why not choose a way that is better for ourselves
"Captain, let's be blunt, the brothers are all tired and can't go on any longer.
"We have been lost in this cruel sea of stars for too long. Since our ancestors, we have been wandering. We have never experienced the so-called 'glory of primitive civilization', and we don't know what it is like to rule the world. Ever since our fathers' fathers could remember, they have been living a life of precarity and fear all day long.
"We suffer from dirty air, rotten circulating water, synthetic food that smells like chewing wax every day, we die from hibernation chamber failure, we die from power furnace explosion, and we are sucked into the universe because of the meteorite breaking through the shell of the starship Die in a vacuum—I heard that when the Yuanshi civilization was at its strongest, our ancestors had already cultivated to the state where they could freely transform between matter and energy, and they were not afraid of the coldness and ruthlessness of the universe. Unfortunately, they were hunted down by floods After so many years, our civilization has degenerated to such a pathetic level, most of the superior technology and cultivation methods have been lost, and we can't even survive in the vacuum of the universe!
"Such suffering, can we still brag that it is a 'journey'? Are we really alive, or are we pathetic walking dead
"Tired, Captain, we are too tired.
"If you haven't discovered the rich world in front of you, maybe everyone can continue walking indifferently.
"But the world in front of us is so peaceful, beautiful, and dreamy. It is beautiful enough to shatter all our beliefs, leaving only one thought in our minds, which is to stay here forever and live a worry-free life. Carefree, contented life!"
"A carefree, contented life?"
Captain Gao Zunlong whispered twice, then raised his eyebrows suddenly, like raising a guillotine, he roared in a thunderous voice, "Are you all crazy, are your brains clogged by interstellar dust, or are you scorched by stars? Too baked to be able to think? Hong Chao is still following us, and will find us at any time!"
"No, Captain, the flood hasn't appeared for two or three thousand years, and we got rid of it for the time being."
First Officer Quick said expressionlessly, "A centipede is dead but not stiff. After all, the Yuanshi civilization was once prosperous. Even if it fell apart, there were tens of thousands of fleeing fleets scattered all over the star sea. The floods will always come one by one. Harvest slowly.
"In other words, we don't need to escape the flood, we just need to be more concealed than our brother fleets.
"In this sense, what you said about collecting resources, repairing and upgrading starships is actually asking for a dead end, because doing so will definitely release various special energy ripples and signals, which can be easily searched by Hong Chao .
"On the other hand, if we hide in this fertile world, try to seal all the high-tech and cultivation secrets, and don't leak even a single bit of signal to the outside, Hong Chao will not be so easy to find before we harvest all the brother fleets. our."
"Brother Fleet, Quick, do you still have the face to mention the word 'brother'?"
Captain Gao Zunlong laughed back angrily, "Your solution is to be a coward and use your brother as a shield in exchange for the illusory sense of security that you can survive?"
"As mean as it sounds, they're not really 'brothers,' either."
First Officer Quick said indifferently, "Early before the flood tide appeared, the Yuanshi civilization had split up, and the Yuanshi people who conquered different universes had long been alienated into local appearances, beggar-thy-neighbor, brother-in-law--haven't we fought many civil wars?" Is it? I don’t feel guilty about watching these people die.”
"Okay, even if these so-called 'fraternal fleets' have nothing to do with us, how long can we hide here? Ten thousand years, one hundred thousand years, or one million years?"
Captain Gao Zunlong said angrily, "In the end, we will still be found by Hong Chao!"
"One million years, isn't it enough? My lord captain, don't be too greedy."
First Officer Quick showed a helpless smile, "Birth, old age, sickness and death are the laws of nature. Any civilization will rise and fall. If our civilization can continue comfortably in this rich world for another million years , no, as long as one hundred thousand years, even ten thousand years, I will be satisfied.
"After all, with our lives, we can't support ten thousand years at all. Even counting the children and grandchildren of our children and grandchildren, it is enough for them to live a happy life without any worries. After we are all dead, who cares whether we will live a happy life?" Will there be a flood?"
"..."
Captain Gao Zunlong stared at First Officer Quick, as if he never knew his "loyal" deputy.
"Not enough resources."
Captain Gao Zunlong paused every word, gritted his teeth, and said, "Even if you just hide here as a coward, the resources in this rich world are still not enough for all the crew members on the Emerald to be comfortable and carefree." live a lifetime.”
"Yeah, it's not enough, but who's to say it's going to be enjoyed by all the crew?"
First Officer Quick's smile suddenly became extremely strange, "99% of the crew are still in hibernation, so let them hibernate forever. The resources in this rich world only need to supply us - 1% of the awake people , is this enough?"