After delivering the speech that coalesced the Empire's will and future prospects, Samuel Young did not immediately return to the depths of the palace.
He stepped down from the high platform and truly blended into the celebration crowd.
At this moment, he was no longer the eternal symbol perched high upon the throne, but more like a monarch inspecting his people and catching up with meritorious old subordinates during a grand festival.
He discussed the star maps of the distant frontiers with the Primarchs and generals, confirmed the minor adjustments of livelihood policies with internal affairs officials, and looked forward to the technological breakthrough directions of the next decade with the tech leading figures.
The atmosphere was solemn yet harmonious. Every subordinate who had the honor to converse with the Emperor felt that vision transcending space and time and a trust as deep as a mountain.
When his gaze swept over the crowd and finally fell on a man and a woman with outstanding auras who were talking in low voices with several senior officials of the Investigation Department, an extremely subtle ripple could not help but form in his eternally calm heart lake.
That was Leon S. Kennedy and Ada Wong, as well as their quirky daughter beside them, Lynn, who was looking around curiously with wide eyes.
Looking at them, especially Leon and Ada, Samuel Young's thoughts for a moment seemed to pierce through the barriers of time, returning to the distant past when he had not yet set foot in this main universe and was still trapped in the memories of his past life.
At that time, to him, Leon was still "Leon the Loot-All" who fought his way out of Raccoon City in the games and animated movies, a symbol forever running and fighting in crises;
And Ada was that unpredictable "Auntie Wong" who wandered in the gray areas, forever enigmatic.
He remembered that before he crossed over, his latest memory only went up to Resident Evil 4 Remake.
At that time, although Leon had been through hardships, he was still a top-tier agent in his prime;
Ada was still that mature woman where charm and danger coexisted.
And the versions of them seen in Resident Evil 6 had only become a middle-aged uncle with more mature charm and a mystery girl whose allure remained undiminished.
However now, the two standing in front of him indeed looked almost indistinguishable from their Resident Evil 6 period. Leon had a middle-aged appearance carrying the vicissitudes of time yet remaining tough and handsome, while Ada had the mature woman aura that was even more charming after the precipitation of time.
But Samuel Young knew clearly that their actual ages had long surpassed the state corresponding to that point in time in Resident Evil 6.
It was the Empire's technology that had forcibly prolonged their youth and prime, as well as that of all Imperial citizens.
This directly indicated Samuel Young's scrutiny of the Empire's current level of biotechnology.
The Empire's tech tree was already lush and leafy under the irrigation of multiversal resources, but a bottleneck still existed in completely conquering the ultimate barrier of aging and death.
Thanks to the biotechnology from different universes and its own tireless research and development, the Empire had achieved miraculous accomplishments in the field of disease prevention and treatment.
The combination of advanced nanobiotechnology with customized enhancement vaccines and gene repair agents had long swept the various terminal illnesses that made humans pale at the mention of them in the early twenty-first century of the main universe, such as cancer, various genetic diseases, and even many malignant infectious diseases, completely into the garbage dump of history.
Even the common cold had become an extremely rare antique disease.
This allowed the basic health level and life expectancy of the Imperial citizens to achieve their first qualitative leap.
As for fighting aging itself, the Empire had likewise made milestone progress.
Aging, in essence, is the result of the combined action of multiple complex mechanisms such as the limit of cell division times, namely telomere depletion, protein misfolding and accumulation, mitochondrial functional decline, and stem cell exhaustion.
The Empire's special nanorobot technology played a key role in this regard.
These tiny, programmable mechanical units could be injected into the human body. They could not only precisely clear accumulated metabolic waste and misfolded proteins, but also replace in part, or assist, those key cells whose functions had declined due to telomere shortening, such as certain dermal fibroblasts and partial cardiomyocytes, to perform specific physiological functions.
Because their materials had extremely high biocompatibility and their designs simulated natural cell signals, they almost never triggered immune rejection reactions.
This was equivalent to providing the human body, this precision instrument, with a tireless, repairable, and replaceable miniature maintenance legion, thereby drastically delaying the speed of natural aging.
This technology was even applied to the realm of daily life.
The high-end skincare and cosmetics series produced by the Imperial state-owned enterprise Atlas Group were no longer the idiot tax products of the early twenty-first century that mostly relied on marketing and concepts with limited actual effects.
Their core ingredients were specialized cosmetic nanorobots acting on the epidermis and dermis, along with matching biological essences.
These nanorobots could penetrate deep into the muscle base, intelligently repair environmental damage such as ultraviolet rays, stimulate the regeneration of collagen and elastin, efficiently lock in moisture, and improve skin texture and smooth out fine lines from the root.
The effects were immediate, long-lasting, and natural.
In terms of price, thanks to large-scale production and extremely abundant resources, the selling price of Atlas's top-tier Eternal Youth series, if placed in the early twenty-first century, would merely be equivalent to the level of mid-range brands at that time, truly achieving the democratization of cutting-edge technology for the people.
Under the combined effects of the aforementioned multiple technologies, the average lifespan of ordinary human citizens in the current Human Empire, excluding unnatural deaths such as accidents and wars, had already reached an astonishing 235 years or so.
This was an epoch-making achievement, meaning that the vast majority of people could enjoy a healthy, vibrant life lasting more than two centuries, witness the reproduction of several generations of their families, and accumulate unimaginable knowledge and experience.
However, this was still not immortality.
There existed a blurry, yet real ceiling to the extension of lifespan.
The deep-level programming errors of cells, the complete exhaustion of telomeres, the irreversible depletion of neural networks, and even the subtle changes in the connection between soul and body over a vast amount of time, and so on...
These deeper issues involving the essence of existence still could not be fundamentally resolved by existing nanotechnology and gene therapies.
Even for the Astartes, who possessed part of Samuel Young's bloodline and had undergone numerous surgical enhancements, according to the Biology Department's most optimistic model projections, their lives were not infinite; it was just that their upper limit was much further and blurrier than that of ordinary people.
Samuel Young himself had also pondered more radical paths.
He had tried having Alexia use his blood and tissue samples to attempt to decipher the code of immortality that might be contained within his Emperor's body, but the research eventually hit a standstill.
His existence itself was too special, being a combination of psychic energy, genetics, and some higher-dimensional essence. Its immortal characteristics were difficult to be deconstructed and replicated by conventional science.
He had also envisioned whether he should guide himself to ascend in dimension, and then attempt to lead the entire human race to leap together, breaking free from the physical limitations of the material universe to achieve some conceptual eternal existence.
But this thought, after personally experiencing the ultimate blasphemy inflicted upon humanity by the Qu civilization in Universe Two-Two (All Tomorrows) in the name of perfect form and eternal existence, was completely cast to the back of his mind.
He was profoundly aware that happiness and the meaning of life could not be uniformly defined and bestowed by any single existence, even himself.
Everyone had their own answers for a beautiful life and a valuable existence.
Forcibly imposing one form of eternity upon all individuals, even with good intentions, might eventually evolve into another form of tyranny and a cage.
The finiteness of life was perhaps precisely one of the driving sources of its preciousness, its passion, and its continuous pursuit of meaning.
Therefore, seeing Leon and Ada—
These two characters who, in his past life cognition, seemed forever unable to truly settle down due to their respective heavy pasts and stances, had actually come together in this world, started a family, and even had such an adorable daughter...
After his initial astonishment, Samuel Young felt a complex wave of emotion well up in his heart.
The flood of time had changed too much and also created unexpected possibilities.
But this emotion was soon tinged with a trace of loneliness that only an immortal could comprehend.
Even if the average lifespan reached 235 years, time was still merciless for those veterans, veteran employees, and old partners who had followed him since the inception of the Empire and fought side-by-side since the founding days of Atlas.
Many had already finished their long and fulfilling lives, passing away peacefully surrounded by children and grandchildren after achieving success and recognition.
Watching generations of familiar faces gradually being replaced by newborn, vigorous faces, a sense of loneliness as an eternal observer standing outside the long river of time would occasionally creep into his heart quietly.
However, when he turned his gaze to his side—
Those Primarch descendants who had similarly surpassed ordinary lifespans and shined like stars;
Looking at Alexia and Halsey, whose wisdom and companionship were second to none;
Looking at Athena, the forever rational and loyal partner;
Looking at Tinas Lothlorien, who represented long-standing friendship and being closer than family...
This loneliness then gradually dissipated under the warm sunlight like morning mist.
He was not truly all alone.
He had descendants connected by bloodline, like-minded confidantes, countless loyal followers, and even an entire vibrant Empire celebrating under the sun.
His existence had long since merged into this great enterprise spanning the sea of stars.
Thus, Samuel Young brought his attention back to the present.
He walked over to Leon's family and spoke a few words gently with Lynn. The girl's eyes sparkled with pure curiosity and adoration for the legendary Emperor.
He spoke briefly with Leon and Ada, affirming the Investigation Department's contributions over the years.
Then, he integrated deeper into the crowd, clinking glasses with his Primarch descendants and listening to the latest anecdotes or challenges from their respective jurisdictions;
Discussing the boundaries of a certain frontier biological project with Alexia and Halsey;
Exchanging insights on the cultural integration of different races with Tinas;
Even reminiscing about the eventful past years with several white-haired yet still hale and hearty founding father level veterans...
On the square, the music was melodious, bursts of laughter rang out, and the aroma of food intertwined with the luster of fine wine.
Samuel Young temporarily unloaded the heavy burden of being the eternal guardian, immersing himself in this hard-won moment of relaxation belonging to Samuel Young rather than the Emperor.
The sunlight was warm, the breeze was gentle, and the Empire's flags fluttered under the blue sky.
At least in this moment, amidst this celebration of a prosperous era built by his own hands, eternal responsibility and the joy of finite life reached a certain subtle, reassuring balance.
The next day.
The core area directly under the Emperor's jurisdiction and specifically used for handling cross-universe affairs, namely the Relic Core Area.
Here was already a giant artificial construct of unimaginably massive scale.
Its core function was to stabilize and maintain those spatial portals connecting different parallel universes.
At this moment, in the Starport's most central Portal Array Area, the most eye-catching thing was not the portals that had been operating stably for years, such as those leading to Universes Two-One and Two-Two, but a brand-new portal that had just completed its final calibration and been activated by the Emperor.
This portal followed the standard magnificent specifications of 6km by 6km. Its edges were formed by energy patterns flashing with gold, while the interior was like poured calm mercury, forming a mirror so massive it shook the mind, perfectly reflecting the lights.
The mirror surface was not static; liquid-like energy seemed to slowly circulate beneath it, exuding a deep, stable spatial fluctuation that held infinite possibilities.
In addition, the complex and efficient three-dimensional transportation network of the Relic Core Area, with maglev tracks used to transport heavy supplies and ship modules, crisscrossed here like the bones and sinews of a giant;
Preset ship navigation indicator lights drew clear guiding light bands in the air for various transport crafts and engineering ships to pass through in an orderly manner.
Countless engineering drones shuttled through it like worker bees, carrying out inspections and adjustments.
The entire area was filled with a solemn, efficient sense of order, an intuitive manifestation of the Empire's power and technology on a macroscopic scale.
Right at this moment, ripples began to form in the center of that massive mercury mirror.
The ripples spread rapidly, and immediately after, Spatial Portal Two-Three officially stabilized.
The Empire's advance forces, who had long been waiting in full array in the massive staging area in front of the portal, immediately entered the highest state of alert and action.
Inside the staging area, it was a dense, dark mass.
At the very front were the scout troop soldiers dressed in lightweight yet fully functional standard power suits, holding excellent hard-light rifles or reconnaissance equipment, as well as those slightly larger heavy armored scouts in CMC special power armor who looked like mobile fortresses. They were responsible for the forefront tactical reconnaissance and emergency response.
Beside or slightly behind them were the agents of the Investigation Department and the Inquisition, whose auras were colder and whose equipment was more personalized and excellent.
Their gazes were sharp, not only alert to possible physical threats but also ready at any time to respond to abnormal phenomena, information pollution, or potential heretical and alien ideological infiltration that might occur across universes.
And behind these elite infantrymen was the massive heavy vehicle convoy of the Engineering Department.
Behemoths such as prefabricated base modules, mobile fusion reactors, excavation and construction machinery, and communication relay stations towed by heavy maglev trucks lined up quietly, waiting to be sent to the other side of the portal to lay the first foundation pile for the Empire's rule.
As the spatial portal stabilized, the first batch of reconnaissance data from the other side of the portal was also quickly transmitted back:
Preliminary environmental scans indicated that the exit point was located on an Earth-like planet in the target universe. Basic parameters such as atmospheric composition, gravity, and radiation levels were all within human adaptable ranges, highly likely being Earth Two-Three. No large-scale hostile energy signals or abnormal spatial distortions were detected.
"All units pay attention. Begin the crossing according to the predetermined sequence!"
A calm command came over the broadcast in the staging area.
In the next moment, the torrent of steel began to surge.
The scout troops and agents formed a tight security formation and were the first to step into the spatial portal that resembled a mercury mirror. Their figures were instantly swallowed by the rippling waves.
Immediately following, under the guidance of lead drones, the heavy vehicle convoy of the Engineering Department slowly moved forward one by one. Their maglev engines let out low hums, smoothly sending these steel behemoths carrying the Empire's infrastructure power into the other end of the spatial portal.
Yet another unknown sea of stars was about to be incorporated into the territory of the Human Empire;
The human destiny of yet another parallel universe was about to welcome a decisive turning point...
______
(≧◡≦) ♡ Support me and read 20 chapters ahead – patreon.com/Mutter
Every 100 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter on Saturday.
Every 5 reviews = 1 extra chapter on Saturday.