Chapter 4: The Global Immortal Cultivation Assistance Program

As the high-level meeting was drawing to a close, someone suddenly stood up and said, “I have a premonition that this ‘Last Child of Earth’ might become the savior of all humanity…”

The speaker was Li Yuanzhe.

He adjusted his glasses and continued, “Although my ‘Earth’s Last Child Research Department’ has been established for less than twenty-four hours, the data we’ve collected from multiple sources in this short time is enough to prove that he’s a genius with an exceptional capacity for learning and analysis…”

The military chief across the table asked, “Can you be more specific?”

Li Yuanzhe’s expression grew solemn. “According to our experts, the solar helium flash will occur in three years. The maximum speed of our spacecraft is sub-light, which is also the threshold of what the hull can withstand—any faster and it would break apart! Even at that speed, it would take at least ten to twenty years to escape the solar system…”

“It’s like trying to outrun an avalanche on foot, hoping for a chance at survival. All the world’s leaders know that the so-called escape plan is just a last-ditch struggle carried out in unison…”

They simply could not resign themselves to doing nothing and waiting for extinction. Building spaceships with all their might, the viability of the escape plan had become a question everyone chose to forget.

Now, with Li Yuanzhe bringing it up, everyone’s faces darkened.

The military chief asked, “So you believe that the secret techniques this Last Child uses to strengthen his body can prevent the solar helium flash?”

Li Yuanzhe placed a stack of documents on the table, his eyes sweeping the room as he spoke in a firm voice, “You may find this hard to believe, but these documents not only prove he’s a genius—they also show that the techniques he’s practicing have a twelve percent probability of being the legendary cultivation of immortality!”

The statement provoked a range of reactions from those present—shock, disappointment, indifference, even admiration.

Under the piercing gazes of these powerful elders, Li Yuanzhe felt a faint pressure, yet he stood by his conviction.

“On Earth, we cannot create ships capable of both light-speed travel and withstanding such speeds. Now, with all of humanity aboard the ships, lacking abundant materials and testing grounds, the difficulty has only escalated. Instead, why not place our hopes in cultivation? If it can be brought to the utmost, then with divine arts and supernatural powers, perhaps he could contain or even neutralize the energy unleashed by the solar helium flash!”

An elder nearby coughed twice and said, “Your proposal is somewhat fantastical, even bordering on the absurd—but that’s alright! None of us sitting here are too conservative to appreciate that progress requires bold imagination and careful verification. However, let’s suppose the Last Child truly is cultivating immortality. According to legends, cultivation takes decades, even centuries, to reach a modest level, and attaining true immortality requires thousands or tens of thousands of years. We only have three years—not enough time, not even close…”

Li Yuanzhe seemed to have anticipated this objection.

“My team has studied this issue,” he replied. “They’ve concluded that those who spent thousands of years cultivating in legends either secluded themselves in deep mountains or wandered the world, and their time was largely devoted to searching for resources to aid their cultivation—heavenly treasures, spirit stones, and so on. As for those who remained in closed-door cultivation, it was usually because they had no resources left and had no other choice. Now, with all humanity departed, the resources of Earth are equivalent to being at the sole disposal of the Last Child. I suggest that as long as he’s willing to cultivate, we should mobilize all available resources to help him locate and acquire everything he needs, sparing him the time-consuming search.”

“With the vastness of Earth supplying just one person, and his prodigious intellect, his chances of success in three years are much greater than our chances of escaping the solar helium flash through sub-light speed travel.”

The military chief, known as Elder Number Four, responded, “From the moment humanity left Earth, the planet was effectively abandoned. Using its resources to aid the Last Child’s cultivation poses no issue. But in my experience, other nations are unlikely to let us proceed unchallenged…”

The highest authority in Xia was a council of ten elders, each representing different sectors.

The elder who had coughed earlier and supported Li Yuanzhe was Elder Number Six, who oversaw diplomatic affairs on Earth.

He glanced at the military chief. “Number Four, our nation is no longer the weak and bullied country it once was. Diplomacy now requires both firmness and flexibility. Although providing global resources to the Last Child will be difficult, since it involves other nations’ territories, for now, let him use what’s on our own soil. It would be wasted otherwise, and even if he uses it to the fullest, we won’t run out in the short term—after all, our land area is among the top three in the world.”

Number Four sighed. “Cultivation… it still feels like we’re acting a bit recklessly.”

Number Six smiled. “With humanity on the brink of extinction, if there’s no other way, a bit of recklessness may create hope. There’s an old saying—only by putting yourself in a deadly situation can you be reborn.”

No one else at the meeting objected. All agreed it was worth a try.

The desire to survive is overwhelmingly powerful.

If you told all humanity that eating Old Ba’s Secret Burger would let your body withstand the solar helium flash, a third of mankind would stay up all night just to eat it.

Li Yuanzhe left the meeting room, documents in hand.

Standing in the corridor, he gazed through the window at the distant blue Earth.

His feelings were conflicted. The Last Child’s extraordinary abilities were undeniable, yet whether he could truly help humanity survive the helium flash remained unknown. All that talk of divine arts and supernatural powers at the meeting—everyone knew the truth. People just need a reason to believe.

But the thick document in his hand was real enough.

Even if the global aid for cultivation plan ultimately failed to save all humanity, ensuring the survival of the Last Child alone would suffice. The fire of humankind must not be extinguished—by any means, at least one human must live on.

On Earth.

Chen Chushi was still studying his spells.

Analysis was his greatest passion.

Unraveling layer upon layer of mysteries was like progressing through the levels of a game, but the sense of fun and achievement was far stronger than any game.

He fetched a notebook and pen from a convenience store, sketching diagrams and jotting down numerous ways to circulate magical power. He then distilled these into mnemonic formulas, so that if he ever met other humans, they could learn and use them easily.

After filling an entire one-hundred-page notebook, he finally deduced the most stable method of operation.

He compiled it into a complete mnemonic and hesitated over what to name it. Despite his love for analysis, naming things was not his strength. But in the end, the simpler and more powerful, the better. At the top of the mnemonic, he wrote: “Beginner’s Water Technique.” As soon as he finished writing, the system’s voice rang out!