novelraw Chapter 478: Growth
Chapter 478: Growth
Xiao Yu’s gaze remained fixed here. He witnessed the entire process of Taier giving birth to her offspring and also heard what that man said.
“Let us name our child Xu Junpo.”
It was a very ordinary sentence, yet in Xiao Yu’s ears it became a thunderclap that shook the heavens. In that instant, the central computer load of the Asia ship suddenly rose by thirty percent. The reason it rose so much was not because of any new computational task, but because Xiao Yu’s emotions had suddenly surged like stormy waves.
This momentary fluctuation in computational load damaged many pieces of hardware. In the main control room of the Asia ship, crackling streams of energy danced everywhere like silver snakes. But Xiao Yu did not care about these things. His mind had already remained here entirely, fixed upon this seemingly ordinary name.
“Xu Junpo, Xu Junpo, Xu Junpo.” Xiao Yu murmured this name, his entire spirit taut. “The baby in whom the code segment representing Vichy has been implanted, who from birth possesses knowledge equivalent to the seventeenth year of university, and whose brain has been remodeled at the cost of Vichy’s life, destined to become a genius scientist, is actually named Xu Junpo. How can this be, how can this be?”
Xiao Yu still remembered the words told to him by that fellow who claimed to have been sent back by his future self.
“You must understand that the development of history follows certain patterns. The tasks of history will inevitably be completed by outstanding figures. That intelligent being who deprived you of fleet command rights has a name from the Earth era. He is called Xu Junpo.”
That fellow told Xiao Yu that in the future he would encounter a rebellion by intelligent beings and suffer heavy losses. The leader of the rebels would be a fellow named Xu Junpo.
This infant possessed the conditions and potential to become the leader of the rebels, because he was excellent enough. From the moment he was born, he already possessed a higher level than other intelligent beings. If there truly were an intelligent being so outstanding as to trample Xiao Yu underfoot, Xiao Yu believed that person would certainly be this infant.
In truth, Xiao Yu did not know to what extent Vichy had remodeled this infant’s brain. In other words, Xiao Yu had not obtained an accurate evaluation of this infant’s intelligence. Xiao Yu did not know to what degree this infant would grow in the future. Would it reach the level of Luka Three or Four, or far surpass Luka Three and Four, even to the point of being able to contend with Xiao Yu himself?Xiao Yu did not know.
At this moment, Xiao Yu even felt a murderous impulse. He had the urge to immediately dispatch armed robots to kill all living beings in this hospital. But in the end, Xiao Yu suppressed this thought.
“He is only a baby. He is only a baby.” Xiao Yu murmured, slowly relaxing his emotions. “Even if his future achievements are boundless, he has no ability to resist me now. Does this mean I can take him into my own hands? I am very curious. Now that he has such a name, is it merely a coincidence, or has that fellow’s prophecy come true? Or is all of this the doing of the Taihao Civilization?”
Xiao Yu could not rule out this possibility. It might indeed be the work of the Taihao Civilization. As an existence similar to a Level 6 Civilization, a powerful entity whose civilization flagship could contend with the Radiance, it would not be difficult to bypass Xiao Yu’s surveillance without his noticing and, through some unknown means, influence this man’s mind, causing him to give such a name filled with the flavor of the Earth era, ‘Xu Junpo,’ to this infant.
But likewise, Xiao Yu could not confirm this possibility. The fog hidden behind this matter was far too thick. Xiao Yu truly could not figure out what exactly was going on.
No matter what was really going on, time would keep flowing. That meant Xiao Yu had to make a decision early. Should he eliminate this fellow as a precaution, or choose to monitor him from childhood, keep him in his own hands, and see what he would do in the years to come?
Xiao Yu was thinking rapidly about what impact this matter would have on him and how he should respond to it. A moment later, Xiao Yu made a decision.
“Because the matter of an intelligent beings’ rebellion is too sensitive, I have never told anyone. Luka Two and the others do not know about it, much less the special nature of the name Xu Junpo. Only I know this. Then… let us keep this infant. This one ten-thousandth of computing power will not be recalled. It will remain here to specifically monitor this infant.” Xiao Yu decided.
In the end, Xiao Yu had considerable confidence in his own intelligence, control, and current strength. He did not believe that after he had already learned in advance of this infant’s special nature, the infant could still bring him such great trouble. Xiao Yu firmly believed he could keep this infant under his control.
“Then… Xu Junpo, is it? I very much look forward to your performance in the future. With such a genius brain, if you cannot bring some benefits to my technological breakthroughs, then you will disappoint me greatly.”
Having made this resolution, Xiao Yu’s one ten-thousandth of computing power quietly lay in ambush beside the infant. If nothing unexpected happened, this one ten-thousandth of computing power would accompany the infant all his life until he died.
Taier, who had just given birth, was still very weak. In the hospital, she received very meticulous and thoughtful care. She and the man stayed in the hospital for a full month before leaving.
The couple’s relationship remained very harmonious, and their life was quite happy. The addition of a new family member brought them even more joy. Taier even took a five-year long leave, planning to stay at home full-time to care for their child.
What they did not know was that Xiao Yu’s attention hovered around them like a ghost and had never left. Xiao Yu thus watched Taier care for their child and watched the baby grow day by day.
The entire Divine Ark Civilization was still in development. The vast star system had become a true factory, with ships being built every moment. Up to now, there were fewer than eighty years left until Xiao Yu’s scheduled departure time, and Xiao Yu’s fleet had expanded to a scale of five million ships.
Two Continent-Class spaceships had already been built, namely the Asia and the America. The Europe ship was still under construction. As for Continent-Class habitation ships, four had already been completed, and all intelligent beings had moved to live aboard the Continent-Class habitation ships. All Nation-Class habitation ships had been dismantled and turned into raw materials for Xiao Yu to build new ships.
The construction task for Continent-Class combat ships was three, and the construction task for habitation ships was twenty. Xiao Yu did not have many opportunities to experience such a great era of construction, so now he had to cherish this opportunity and prepare as much space as possible to welcome potentially greater numbers of intelligent beings in the future.
Time was slowly passing. With each bit that passed, Xiao Yu’s fleet grew larger. Amid the flow of time, Xiao Yu watched the Species Number Seven child named Xu Junpo gradually grow up. He watched him learn to crawl, learn to walk, and learn to speak.
From childhood he displayed characteristics different from other children. Xiao Yu noticed that he was always very quiet. Even after he learned to speak, he still spoke very little. He did not even cry. At least, after Xiao Yu confirmed that he already possessed his own thoughts, Xiao Yu never saw him cry again. Other children cried when thirsty, cried when hungry, cried when they fell, and cried when they could not get their favorite toy. But he did not.
If he was thirsty, he would go to Taier and ask her to pour water for him to drink. If he was hungry, he would ask Taier to feed him. Fell down? Then he would get up. Toys? What were toys? Taier bought him many toys, but he never played with them. At most, he would take them apart and examine their internal structures.
This situation caused considerable worry for Taier. After discussing with her husband, the couple took him to the hospital for a comprehensive examination. The results showed everything was normal, and only then did the couple gradually feel at ease.
Sometimes, he would sit there alone in silence, as if thinking about something. He was always very quiet, yet he did things with exceptional order. He even possessed extremely strong self-control.
Xiao Yu discovered that he loved sweets. So Xiao Yu deliberately broadcast a documentary about the harms of sweets and made sure he saw it. Xiao Yu then noticed that he, Xu Junpo, who up to now was not yet five years old, never ate sweets again in the years that followed.
The development of life sciences had greatly extended the lifespans of intelligent beings. Another consequence was that the growth period of intelligent beings had also greatly increased. The average gestation time in the mother’s body had already reached three years, and the brain would not stop developing until after the age of fifty. As for a child under five, all aspects of the body were at the initial stage of development. He really should not have displayed such peculiar behavior.
“I am becoming more and more interested in you.” Watching Xu Junpo sitting there, gazing at the sky and deep in thought, Xiao Yu pondered silently, “What sort of things will you bring to me?”