Chapter 9: One Million Five Hundred and Fifty Thousand Years
And so, Su Hao studied, ate, and slept every day.
His understanding of life deepened, and he realized the greatness and fragility of life.
As he learned that life itself contained many miracles that could not be accurately understood through science, he specifically sought out various Daoist texts, Buddhist scriptures, and traditional Chinese medicine theories to understand how ancient sages viewed life and its miracles.
One concept mentioned in those texts left Su Hao puzzled.
"Heartforce!"
Heartforce is an important factor that can turn decay into miracles. Heartforce has the power to create miracles.
But what is heartforce? Some say it is the power of a person's thoughts, others say it is a person's beliefs, some say it is an inner desire, others say it is a longing for life, and there are even those who say it is an unwavering spirit in the face of difficulties... It is even said that life and death can be determined by oneself. If heartforce is directed towards life, one can live a long life, but if it is directed towards death, one will be plagued by illness.
These phenomena exist in reality, but science cannot explain them at the moment. It is believed that with continuous exploration by humanity, an answer will eventually be found.
So, in the "Light of the Universe," Su Hao established a new section called "Heart Study." He collected the works of ancient sages on life, consciousness, and the soul in that section, waiting for future in-depth study.
Meanwhile, his body grew increasingly frail, his appearance deteriorated, but the light in his eyes continued to shine.
He understood that his time in this world was limited.
Reflecting on his life over the past decade, there were no regrets. He had achieved what he wanted. If he had to mention a regret, it was that there was still so much to learn, and he hadn't even reached adulthood yet. He would never have the chance to meet the beautiful and sweet little sisters he had imagined.
During his treatment, Su Hao endured immense pain. He experienced firsthand the torment and helplessness of late-stage cancer patients. On one hand, there was hope for life, believing that miracles would happen, and on the other hand, there was unbearable suffering, hoping for a quick release.
Who wouldn't want to live happily? But some believe that suffering is inherent to life. Perhaps life is about finding hope in destruction?
This cannot be known for sure. Although Su Hao endured pain, he never had thoughts of ending his own life. One reason was because he had to face his parents' hopes, and the other was to collect information on the entire process of life from disease to its end, believing that this information would be useful someday.
No matter how Su Hao thought about it, no matter how his parents tried to keep him, that day would eventually come.
Su Hao's parents asked repeatedly by his side, "Xiaohui, do you have any wishes?"
Before his final moments, Su Hao managed to smile and said, "Thank you, Mom. Thank you, Dad."
At that moment, Luo Chaoxin approached with an expectant look, staring at his older brother.
Su Hao smiled but didn't pay attention to him. Instead, he said to his parents, "Goodbye!"
It was likely that once he closed his eyes, they would never see each other again.
In his heart, he silently said, "I'm sorry for taking up your son's time and not being able to accompany you in your old age. Luo Chaoxin, take care of your mom and dad."
Accompanied by heart-wrenching cries, Su Hao's consciousness once again plunged into darkness.
"Talented individual passes away at the age of sixteen, a cause for regret."
"The absence of a brilliant cultural figure for 50 years."
"The life of Luo Chaohui, the genius of the century."
"The most dazzling shooting star of this century, though short-lived, will surely amaze for a thousand years."
"Does anyone know the name of the missing one among the four great classics mentioned by Master Luo Chaohui?"
On this day, the entire world was filled with grief or joy. How they would evaluate Su Hao, he no longer knew.
...
Su Hao gradually regained consciousness. He found himself transformed into a toddler of about two years old, currently being carried on the neck of a tall and strong man. His small hands tightly gripped the man's head, afraid of accidentally falling to the ground.
Although he was mentally prepared, he still felt reluctant. In the previous world, he was on the verge of achieving success and fame. He hadn't had enough fun yet.
But now, he had to start from scratch, becoming a fragile little boy with no self-defense abilities.
From losing consciousness in the previous world to regaining consciousness now, Su Hao didn't feel that much time had passed. It was like he had just taken a pleasant nap. Upon waking up, all the suffering and pain from the illness had disappeared, and his body felt incredibly light and full of vitality. Although his hands and feet were short and weak, he didn't mind. He thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of being free from the torment of illness.
After waking up, Su Hao realized that the man carrying him was on the move. He was wearing tattered armor and held a sword and shield in his hands. For the time being, there didn't seem to be any danger, so Su Hao relaxed and let his consciousness enter the Space of the Pinball to check the logs.
As soon as his consciousness entered the Space of the Pinball, Su Hao was shocked.
It wasn't because the appearance of the Space of the Pinball had changed—it still looked like a living room. What shocked him was the clock on the wall. The displayed time filled him with deep fear.
"1532648 years, 3 months, 25 days, 3 hours, 3 minutes, 21 seconds."
Just with a nap, over one and a half million years had passed. This was an extremely exaggerated span of time, far beyond Su Hao's imagination. Human civilization has only had recorded history for about 5,000 years.
Waking up again, everything that had existed before was likely gone, all the grudges, loves, and achievements had all dissipated. The enormous wealth he had been proud of, the glorious reputation of the Hua Nation, and the worldwide praise—now they all seemed meaningless.
The only thing left was the silent information lying in the Space of the Pinball. Everything that had happened was recorded there, and only this information made the previous world appear vivid.
"Information?" Su Hao murmured.
Yes, he suddenly understood. Information was the most important thing. To put it simply, it was knowledge. For life, knowledge was the most crucial. All the knowledge he had learned existed here, treasures accumulated by civilization over countless years.
He continued to check the logs while contemplating. This "Light of the Universe" system is still not perfect. It cannot record more information during the exploration process. This aspect needs to be improved.
In the future, he would be able to determine his location in the universe through the comparative star maps.
"Missing a universal spatial coordinate system."
...
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