Chapter 418: Death God Eternal Life

Zhao Shirou respectfully whispered, "I am willing to hear the God's story."

Xu Zhi, walking ahead among the ruins, began, "A long, long time ago, there was a race living on the edge of lava, possessing unparalleled wisdom."

The moment Zhao Shirou heard this, she knew the ancient God was recounting the past glory of her people, the Ishdars.

"They advanced their technology relentlessly, and eventually, every single one of them possessed immense power, knowledge as vast as the sea, and perfect, handsome appearances. They could even download any desired information from the network, becoming truly omnicompetent individuals."

"They called themselves the Divine Race. Each individual mastered the 'C language of the gods,' capable of modifying the genes and memories of other life forms, wielding power comparable to deities. A single person, if sent to an outer domain, could destroy or rule an entire tribe of magical beasts!"

"Indeed, dispatching just one citizen to an outer domain was enough to unify that vast lava region!"

"Conquering and ruling the world held no meaning for them; they already had more than enough land."

"A civilization developed to such an extent was already unimaginable. Without restrictions, even a single citizen could hack into their social network, crippling their own civilization."

"When every member of a race possesses the power to easily destroy their own kind and disrupt order... if the members are not restricted, then their destruction is inevitable."

At this point, Xu Zhi looked at Zhao Shirou. "So, what could possibly restrict them? Written laws? Self-discipline? Morality?"

Zhao Shirou fell silent.

There was almost nothing that could restrict their actions.

Similar to technologically advanced societies of old, with television and computer networks, written social laws, police forces, patrols, and arrests would no longer be able to restrain them. The destructive power a single individual could unleash was terrifying, and it could be done with secrecy! Attacking shopping malls, networks, or stores could paralyze an entire province!

This was an inevitable trend when civilization reached such an extremely advanced stage.

"This is a very interesting story of civilization."

Zhao Shirou paused, then said, "I suppose their only way to prevent self-destruction was to embed 'laws' deep within their genes, establishing a 'guilt-death mechanism.' This would be the only way to make them abide by laws, much like humans in earlier societies."

"Yes, you are very clever."

Xu Zhi smiled, continuing to walk through the ruins of the streets. He then suddenly sat on a wooden bench in a park's fountain plaza. From afar, it seemed as though he was recalling the ancient glory that once graced this land.

"Establishing the 'guilt-death mechanism' was the only choice for this civilization. Externally, they continued as before, but internally, strife ceased. They began to embrace happiness, harmony, kindness, and lawfulness, with no distrust. They built firewalls, which also allowed them to dismantle the high walls between human hearts... Working together, their civilization consequently developed to an even more astonishing degree, with technological iterations reaching unimaginable levels."

"However, no civilization's system is perfect. As a result, they inevitably developed three major weaknesses."

"First, though the laws were written deep within their genes, individuals with genetic defects could still potentially emerge. Despite extreme efforts to prevent this, a probability of one in several hundred million still meant a possibility of occurrence... As long as there was a possibility, it would inevitably happen with the passage of time! This is the terror of time; any low-probability event eventually becomes a certainty!"

Zhao Shirou remained silent.

This truly could not be solved.

The terrifying aspect of the murderer was not that he broke free to kill indiscriminately; after all, no matter how great an individual disaster, it couldn't destroy a civilization... Just like before, he was eventually apprehended, albeit at a huge cost.

The true horror of the murderer was his ability to act as a top-tier "hacker." After breaking through the "guilt-death restriction," he was unfettered, able to directly study their firewall and create viral invasions.

This was unavoidable.

The birth of such a murderer could not be monitored by the Sky Net, because every "Divine Race" member was too powerful. The moment they broke free, they were no longer bound by "laws" and could send "normal" commands to evade Sky Net's surveillance.

He only needed to hide for decades, researching the corresponding virus...

"This is the first fatal flaw," Xu Zhi chuckled.

"The second weakness: For any law, there must be someone who holds the key. As the 'Sword-Holder,' their benevolence or malevolence could destroy the entire civilization. If a successor in any generation harbored ill intent, it would be unavoidable."

Xu Zhi interspersed a short story for Zhao Shirou: the tale of Cheng Xin, the "Sword-Holder" from *The Three-Body Problem*. When someone holds the button to a civilization, the mindset of that person determines its continuation or destruction.

Zhao Shirou fell silent after listening.

Lady Caroline and the next successor, Milivina, were undoubtedly of good character, but what about the future? Across generations of successors, there would inevitably come a day when a problem arose...

As long as it was possible, it would inevitably occur with the passage of time!

Zhao Shirou felt a deep unease and anxiety. She couldn't help but ask excitedly, "The person at the pinnacle of society, responsible for controlling and modifying the laws—that's the second flaw. So, what is the third flaw...?"

She had known about these two flaws all along, as had all the people of Ishdar.

"The third flaw is that the Ishdars cannot become Gods," Xu Zhi stated calmly.

"What?!"

Zhao Shirou's eyes widened.

She instantly realized: "Yes! Before, no 'deities' appeared, and the Ishdars hadn't considered this because at that time, the concept of an Eighth-Tier deity didn't even exist."

However, as soon as the Ishdars were destroyed, "deities" appeared so quickly, yet none had appeared among the Ishdars before...

This was too illogical!

It was as if the Ishdars were deliberately suppressing the emergence of deities.

Xu Zhi sighed, "The Ishdar civilization had long reached an incredibly terrifying level... Was it that they couldn't become Gods? No, their technological conditions had already met the requirements."

"Because once a being became a God, they would no longer be restricted by the 'guilt-death mechanism.' Caroline's dream was to create a perfectly equal world where everyone was a God and possessed great power. But if a true God emerged, inequality would inevitably follow; they might enslave common people! This would conflict with her ideal utopia, turning it into a hierarchical world of the strong preying on the weak, much like the transcendent world, and destroying the entire civilization's structure."

"They had already researched space technology but dared not make it public, fearing that other life forms would use it to become Gods... Because if other life forms ascended, the Ishdar civilization itself might be destroyed by those 'deities'."

Zhao Shirou's hair stood on end, and goosebumps covered her entire body.

This was the true reason why no Gods had appeared throughout the vast era of the Ishdars' advanced civilization!

"No wonder! No wonder..." Zhao Shirou's mind went blank.

Was this the truth of history??

She closed her eyes, her eyelids trembling, her long eyelashes fluttering. "How tragic... That ancient civilization called itself the Divine Race, yet it restricted its own people from becoming Gods... This is the third major weakness. If a race and its civilization are forever limited to the seventh tier, they will inevitably be eliminated by the future; this is also the inevitability of time."

Xu Zhi smiled faintly. "These three major weaknesses—the birth of a murderer, the Sword-Holder's change of heart, and the civilization forever remaining at the seventh tier... Each of these fatal factors, once triggered, would lead to extinction. Moreover, with the passage of time, an error is bound to occur at every step."

"Is our destruction inevitable?"

"From the very beginning, was our perfectly happy social structure on the wrong path??"

Zhao Shirou took a deep breath. It was hard to imagine the truth being so cruel.

"These three issues were fatal. So, Caroline, along with her think tank and scientists, constantly sought solutions, but they simply couldn't find any. In her deductions, destruction seemed inevitable; with the passage of time... at some point, the outbreak of even one of these three weaknesses would lead to instantaneous annihilation."

Xu Zhi said, "She was an extreme person. Since the Ishdars were destined for death, what method would she use to salvage their demise?"

"Thus, she conceived a terrifying plan: 'The Civilization Eternity Project,' also known as 'The Divine Race Immortality Project'."

"This final plan would be activated when the Ishdars faced destruction... She had originally thought the outbreak might occur during Milivina's generation, but she never imagined it would come so soon."

Hearing this, terrifying waves crashed over Zhao Shirou, one after another.

She had never imagined such a colossal secret hidden beneath the iceberg.

And this ancient God was witnessing the rise and fall of the Ishdar civilization before her eyes, seemingly standing still, observing the torrent of history.

Is this what a God is?

Eras change like oceans turning into mountains, while they stand above, observing calmly, forever immortal.

She had always practiced passively before, but now she suddenly felt a strong desire to become stronger.

"Once the Ishdars faced destruction due to those three problems, the 'Divine Race Immortality Project' would be activated to ensure the continuation of the Divine Race. What exactly is that plan?" Zhao Shirou felt a chilling dread upon hearing the name, as if it were the idea of a mad person.

Xu Zhi smiled, countering with a question: "Do you think a civilization, a race, can exist permanently?"

Zhao Shirou paused. This was a question about the eternity of civilization. After careful thought, she respectfully replied, "No civilization can last forever. Succession, destruction, and emergence are all inevitable..."

"Indeed..."

Xu Zhi sighed profoundly, then said coldly, "Such a fanciful idea is impossible to achieve! From that moment on, Caroline knew that a truly perfect and happy society could not exist in the world; it only belonged in a dreamland... Yes, unless you live in a dream, why not have a beautiful dream instead! Everything exists in a dream! Everything is possible!"

"Live in a dream..."

Zhao Shirou shivered, her entire body breaking out in goosebumps!!

Xu Zhi continued to stride forward through the ruins, asking, "No civilization can last forever, just as no life can last forever... So, how do you think life could achieve immortality?"

Zhao Shirou fell silent again, a hint of determination flashing in her eyes. "Immortality? No life can truly exist forever, I suppose. Those who don't die of old age will be killed. True immortality might be a different form entirely. For example, perhaps a person's true death is when everyone forgets them and stops discussing them; then they are truly gone... Mr. Levis, in a sense, is still alive because he lives forever in our hearts, in a corner of our memories."

Xu Zhi praised her. "Indeed, when the deceased are remembered, when a civilization is recorded in history, living in people's memories, living in others' dreams—that is another form of immortality, isn't it?"

"Living in memories?"

Zhao Shirou paused, then an incredibly unbelievable thought suddenly struck her mind!

Xu Zhi suddenly chuckled faintly. "The Divine Race Immortality Project, however, cannot truly achieve immortality; it's a paradox. Because as long as they live, they can be killed and destroyed. Perhaps only a *dead* Divine Race... can achieve immortality."

Zhao Shirou's eyes widened. "The final solution to prevent civilizational extinction, the 'Divine Race Immortality Project,' is... the immortality of the *dead*?"