Chapter 597: Observers Don’t Interfere with the Observed
“Your research sounds quite challenging. Have you achieved any significant results?”
“Just some clumsy methods that aren’t worth mentioning, mostly things I heard from others. Nothing really worth discussing.”
The First Mother Star truly lived up to its reputation as the most prosperous planet. The moment the four left the port area, a swarm of robots surrounded them.
“Need accommodation? Only three hundred star coins per day at our place.”
“We offer two hundred eighty star coins per day, including three meals, boiling water service, charging stations, and even nuclear energy charging.”
“Their place had a portable nuclear power plant explosion – very unsafe. Better come to ours, a three-hundred-year established business that’s never had any safety issues.”
“Choose our accommodation! Six Unity Stage masters have stayed at our hotel. Only three hundred thirty star coins per day.”
As a scientist who traveled extensively, Growth had seen much of the world. He skillfully guided the three others away from these annoying robots.
“My apologies for this spectacle.”
“No problem at all, it’s quite the local specialty experience.”
“Since this is our first time on the First Mother Star and we’re unfamiliar with the routes, could you recommend a place to rest?”
“You three must be tired from your journey – my oversight. Come, let me take you to the most luxurious hotel.”
Growth lightly tapped the ground with his foot and said, “Take us four to the Science Academy Guesthouse.”
Without using any transportation vehicles, Growth’s body moved, and the three with Jiang Li felt something pushing them forward from beneath their feet.
“This ground is quite interesting. We haven’t seen anything like this on the Ninth Mother Star.”
At first glance, it appeared to be ordinary magnetized pavement. But upon crouching down for a closer look, the differences became apparent.
The ground consisted of countless tiny spheres clustered together. When pedestrians stated their destination, the spheres would form conveyor belts that transported people to their locations.
If someone wanted to sit, they simply needed to assume a “sitting” posture, and the spheres would rise from the ground, quickly forming chairs for people to sit on.
There was no need to worry about wind hurting one’s face from high-speed movement either. A magnetic energy barrier would form around pedestrians, protecting them from wind while preventing collisions between people.
Growth turned his head to explain: “This is the latest technology, but the construction costs are too high. Many local governments aren’t willing to fund this.”
“Besides, this function is mainly for tourism purposes. Visitors to the Ninth Mother Star don’t even rank in the top one hundred tourist destinations across the universe, so implementing this there would be pointless.”
Jiang Li and his two companions took in the bustling streets of the First Mother Star as they passed by.
Buildings were constructed according to personal preferences – some built on the ground, others underground. Some people had modified themselves into mobile houses – these were Core Formation Stage cultivators.
It was easy to distinguish between Qi Refining Stage and Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators by their clothing. Qi Refining Stage cultivators dressed plainly, their body parts appearing pieced together and somewhat mismatched. Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators wore bright, elegant clothing and maintained complete human forms.
The cost of living on the First Mother Star was exorbitant, making survival difficult for Qi Refining Stage cultivators. Despite this, many Qi Refining Stage cultivators still sought to make their mark on the First Mother Star, hoping to advance to Foundation Establishment Stage through their own efforts.
Most Qi Refining Stage cultivators lived in slums – something Jiang Li observed through his spiritual sense, as these areas weren’t visible from the broad main roads.
Jiang Li also noticed many people holding signs and protesting – both Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators. Their signs read: “Accelerate the Implementation of the Protection Law.”
Meanwhile, another group consisting entirely of Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators carried signs saying: “Qi Refining Stage Cultivators Get Out of First Mother Star!”
Clearly, the conflict between the two sides was intense.
Noticing the trio’s attention on the protests, Growth explained: “You’ve probably noticed the extreme wealth disparity here. Life is very difficult for Qi Refining Stage cultivators.”
“Therefore, some legislators proposed implementing the Protection Law to provide basic living allowances for Qi Refining Stage cultivators. Many Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators support this legislation.”
“But some Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators aren’t happy about this. They feel their annual taxes shouldn’t be wasted on these Qi Refining Stage cultivators. If Qi Refining Stage cultivators find life difficult, they should just leave the First Mother Star. The universe is vast – they can go anywhere. Why must they stay here specifically?”
“Both sides remain deadlocked and frequently hold protests.”
“However, in my opinion, the government is quite likely to implement the Protection Law. But implementation is one thing – effective enforcement is another matter entirely.”
“Don’t the Rulers intervene in this matter?” Bai Hongtu asked.
“The Rulers are observers from the highest vantage point. Social phenomena fall within their observation scope. Why would observers interfere with their subjects of observation?”
“The Rulers’ responsibility is to maintain humanity’s most basic survival conditions. Everything else falls to the government – that has nothing to do with the Rulers.”
Jiang Li shook his head slightly, disagreeing with Growth’s perspective. Although the Observer World’s technological level surpassed the Mingzhong World, when it came to living conditions, the Mingzhong World was superior to this place.
“We’ve arrived.”
The tiny spheres gradually slowed until they stopped completely. The four had reached the Science Academy Guesthouse.
“As a Science Academy member, I can invite colleagues to stay here as guests. The three of you won’t need to spend anything.”
After checking in, Growth asked again: “Would you three like to visit the Science Academy’s internal technology exhibition hall? It displays many fascinating inventions not available to the public. But please don’t mention this to outsiders after you return – it wouldn’t look good.”
Jiang Li smiled. “You just met us, yet you’re willing to take us to such a confidential place?”
“Ah, I feel like we’ve been friends forever since we met. I trust your characters completely.”
“Shall we go then?”
“Let’s go.”
…
“This is called Hypnosis Glasses, invented by a genius scientist. It can interfere with ordinary people’s minds, though the number of uses, duration, and scope of interference are all limited.”
“What happened to this scientist?”
“He was sentenced to three hundred years in prison for rape. Calculating now, he and his urn probably weigh about two pounds combined.”
“Considering the danger of this invention, the Science Academy destroyed the invention data. Only this model remains here.”
“And this – the holographic simulator. The government classified this as a Level One hazardous item, prohibiting anyone from using it.”
“Soul Exchange Machine – as the name suggests, it can swap two people’s souls. When this machine first launched, it was hugely popular. Many people swapped bodies with others out of curiosity, but problems quickly emerged – identity confusion, forced exchanges, and some people occupying bodies and refusing to swap back, claiming those were their original bodies.”
“Due to these various issues, the government ordered production to cease and the invention data destroyed. This is also just a model.”
“These are research papers about artificial intelligence development. People wanted to give robots human-level intelligence for convenience, but when robots developed intelligence, they competed with humans for social control and tried to overthrow human society to establish a robot world.”
“The three Rulers led a group of Unity Stage experts to destroy all robots’ intelligence chips and banned research on artificial intelligence issues.”
“Don’t you have a bit too many dangerous inventions here?”