1945 Back to Zero
Meng Chao’s breathing became heavy and chaotic.

The veins on the back of his hand bulged before they relaxed and bulged again.

Regarding Earth’s final fate and why Dragon City had transmigrated to the Other World, there had always been different opinions among the ordinary citizens.

However, to a Deity Realm elite like Meng Chao, there were no secrets in Dragon City.

He had deliberately tried not to understand it, or rather, he had deluded himself with all kinds of excuses so that he would not understand.

After all, whatever happened on Earth was already in the past.

It had been more than half a century since Dragon City transmigrated to the Other World. The youngest of the transmigrators had been born on their mother planet, but they were now old enough to realize their own destinies.

As the older generation gradually withered, the new generation were born and raised in the Other World. Naturally, “returning to the mother planet” was no longer a goal that they would strive for their entire lives.

In that case, why should they bother themselves over a tiny ball of mud in the vast universe that had been annihilated by radiation dust and long winters?

However, when the simple, brutal, and undisguised fact that Zero had destroyed Earth was vividly presented to Meng Chao, the emotions that surged in Meng Chao’s heart far exceeded his expectations.

He mourned for his several billion compatriots on Earth from the depths of his soul.

Not only that, Meng Chao was unwilling to face another issue.

‘Human civilization controlled the whole of Earth and had a population of almost ten billion as well as all the resources. Yet, they were unable to escape the catastrophe of complete destruction. It would be impossible for us to escape too.

‘As a branch of Earth’s civilization, the Dragon City civilization is a lone army that faces internal and external troubles. Can it really do better than our compatriots on our mother planet and survive tenaciously in this cruel and cold universe?’

For a moment, Meng Chao fell into deep thought, while Zero quietly observed his expression.

As if she had received the powerful brain waves that surged out from the depths of Meng Chao’s mind, colorful light waves rippled out of Zero’s crystal clear body.

She enjoyed Meng Chao’s thoughts and emotional fluctuations while she was in his head, and she let out a contented moan.

“Do you think that I’m telling you the truth about Earth’s destruction to attack you or mock you?”

Zero continued, “No, no, no. I do not despise or detest Earth’s civilization. In fact, I have the highest level of respect for you.

“After all, as I said earlier, you’re just a bunch of hairless apes judging by your infrastructure. You just learned how to make fire and polish stone tools a hundred thousand years ago. Just a few hundred years ago, you still didn’t understand the mysteries of microorganisms and the world beyond the skies.

“Furthermore, you’re all born on such a barren planet.

“Crystal veins can be found everywhere on most habitable planets, and they’re even exposed to the surface. However, they’re only found near the core of your mother planet. They are almost uncollectible in the dead zones, and your reserves are extremely scarce.

“Most carbon-based intelligent life forms on other habitable planets have mastered the ability to breathe spirit energy and strengthen their bodies since the Stone Age. Your world, however, does not have any spirit energy at all.

“Among the many sparks of civilization that the ancient civilization spread in the sea of stars, the people of Earth face almost the greatest difficulties and dangers. You are like a three-year-old child who’s lost in a tropical rainforest because of a plane crash and has to fight the Grim Reaper with your bare hands.

“You understood the mysteries of microorganisms, molecules, and atoms in just a few hundred years on your own; you mastered the technology to tear through the atmosphere and explore outer space; you expanded high-speed information networks to every corner of the entire planet. Even after you gained the ability to self-destruct, you relied on your wisdom to restrain the urge to self-destruct and delayed the outbreak of a full-scale nuclear war for a full three hundred years.

“Note that once most civilizations gain the ability to self-destruct, they often send themselves to the abyss of an apocalypse within a hundred years.

“The fact that you’ve endured for so long and created such a prosperous, glorious, and elegant civilization means that you’ve surpassed ninety percent of the civilizations in the universe.

“I hold you in high regard. As hairless apes, you have done your best and created the miracle of life!”

Meng Chao shuddered.

“You… What are you trying to say?” He could not figure out Zero’s plan.

“I just want to tell you that in the same way people grow old and die, civilizations are born and destroyed. No matter how great a civilization is, it will eventually face an irreversible catastrophe,” Zero said.

“And my duty is to ‘return everything to zero’ before true catastrophe arrives.”
“Return everything to zero…”

Meng Chao chewed on Zero’s every word, and it looked like his contracted pupils had been electrocuted. “Are you saying that we should destroy a civilization before it destroys itself?”

“In a sense, yes.”

Zero patiently explained, “A civilization’s self-destruction is a very long process. Not only does it bring long-term pain to every individual in the civilization, but it also brings about a fate worse than death. In addition, it consumes a large amount of precious resources that can’t be regenerated in billions of years. Even likelier, the destruction factor would infect the surrounding civilizations. As a result, the original civilization would develop normally for tens of millions of years and approach destruction ahead of time.

“Therefore, once I judge that the ‘vitality’ of a certain civilization has been exhausted, it has passed the critical point of decline from its period of prosperity. Once it’s on the verge of collapse and begins to decline or even perish, I will initiate ‘purification’ on my own to retain the civilization’s most precious core data and return everything else to zero. I only leave time, space, and resources to a new civilization that is full of infinite possibilities.”

“Once you’ve…”

Meng Chao took a deep breath. “Judged?”

Zero’s smile became more and more human-like.

It made him shudder.

“I know what you’re thinking. Don’t worry. The so-called “purification” and “returning everything to zero” are merely the last resort. I would not deprive any civilization of their right to live so easily. In fact, I provide protection and guidance to all civilizations without discrimination and prolong the life cycle of all civilizations as much as possible so that more possibilities that have never been born in the past billions of years would be born.

“As a Fire Relayer, shouldn’t you be more aware of this than others in the civilization? In the past few years, haven’t you and your civilization relied on my help to survive one crisis after another without any mishaps?”