Chapter 554: Development Constraints, the Basin’s First Official Diplomacy! Translation

Many factors limited the continuous progress and development of human science and technology. Three very important points needed to be met.

First, technical barriers.

Technical barriers did not simply mean that a certain material or discipline had reached its limit and could not be broken through without the help of external forces.

Rather, it meant that the knowledge was too unbearable for humans to carry out more in-depth research.

A very simple example would be if civilization returned to the Stone Age like the basin, then only 100 hardworking and intelligent people were enough to push forward the technological progress and manufacturing capability of the civilization.

These 100 people would need to learn how to build stone tools, houses, and hunting and make corresponding upgrades to them.

It was not hard to find these 100 people if you had a population of 1,000,000 at most.

After the Stone Age, to advance into the Bronze Age, then you would need 1,000 smart people.

The 1,000 people would be evenly distributed among the previously derived disciplines and would inherit the knowledge of their predecessors. They would be able to master the craft after at least 10 years.

Then, even if their lifespans were very short and only about 50 years long, they would still be able to use about 20 to 25 years of their lives to push technology forward.

To be able to find these 1,000 people, you would need a population of 5,000,000.

The limitation of technology and humans would often be evident through this. The growth was not a simple steady growth but would often be a sudden explosive breakthrough.

When technology developed and reached the Steam Age, at least 100,000 intelligent and diligent humans would have inherited the previous knowledge and completed advanced research within the next ten years.

When technology developed into the Information Age, there had to be at least 1,000,000 to 5,000,000 intelligent people to retain this knowledge and continue to study it.

However, compared to the previous generations, the time left for these people could be counted with your fingers on both hands.

When they had completely accepted and learned the existing knowledge of humans, they would have arrived at the age of 30.

By the time they reached the pinnacle of their field and started to research further, they would already be over 50 years old.

The lifespan of human beings has often exceeded the 70-to-80-year-old mark of this generation, and it would seem that they had at least 30 years to continue their research.

Unfortunately, the human brain slowly degenerated over time, and around this age, they would have already passed the age of creativity.

This was the ultimate reason for technical barriers in scientific development.

For humans to surpass the Information Age and enter into the Interstellar Age, a total of 10 million to 50 million intellectual humans had to study the information of the past and expand it further.

According to the analogy of these numbers, the entire Earth would have to be loaded with at least 50 billion human beings to birth such a large amount of intellectual humans!

Otherwise, scientific technology would forever be stuck at this barrier!

The second was creativity.

Every scientific research scholar who could promote the explosion of technology and the development of invention had more or less out-of-the-box imagination that ordinary people did not possess.

Their generation would constrain their ideologies, but their souls would be able to wander freely in the future.

The modular items in front of them had not been mass-produced but were constructed to very extreme limits.

They had completed technological breakthroughs through an alternative way, allowing human civilization to advance through different means.

At the same time, they had left a rich theoretical foundation for the later generations.

The third was the environment.

Smart people were not completely determined by their natural gifts, nor were they nurtured into talented people.

They were like blank pieces of paper, and the environment around them was the person who painted on them.

A person with a high IQ could merely source food better and live slightly longer than average people when living a life of precarious riots.

However, in a fast-paced era with peaceful development, they had the potential to become great mathematicians and physicists who left a mark on history…

These three key points were indispensable in the development of civilization.

…

The dim light of the lamp illuminated the third floor of the underground shelter and made it a very warm sight.

Su Mo finished up the last sentence on the paper and turned to the next page. He closed his eyes and leaned against the head of the bed, deep in thought.

The discovery of the adventurer terminal was indeed exciting news.

The terminal’s field camping module allowed them to have a mobile campsite.

The functions of the other three modules were also incredibly abnormal!

The small vehicle module was able to transform into three different vehicles to fit the terrain.

The first form was a small off-road motorcycle that could be used on the plains and consumed 15% of power per 100 kilometers.

The second form was a snowmobile that could be used on snow and consumed 10% of power per 100 kilometers.

The third form was a kayak to travel on water, which requires manual operation and consumed only 2% per hour.

There was no aircraft form to soar the skies, but it was reasonable when it was named a “small” vehicle module.

Among the remaining two modules, the emergency module could change into all kinds of urgently needed things.

It could transform into things such as first aid kits, small oxygen tanks, gas masks, heat insulation gloves, and dozens of other small things.

Although these things had to be replenished at the after-sales service store of the Sunix Military Industry after completely being used up, there was still the system to rely on.

The last one, the holographic decoy projection module, as the name suggested, could release a 1:1 holographic image of a real person.

There was a “bug” that this projection could perfectly deceive the enemy’s senses, but it could also simulate body odor, had physical volume, and even performed pre-set actions.

In terms of function, the terminal had indeed considered all the aspects needed for an adventurer. There was basically no need to be afraid of situations that were hard to get out of in the wild with this in hand.

‘To be able to duplicate it with the system…

‘I would need about 90,000 survival points for the adventurer terminal’s current stage, which is wishful thinking.

‘However, if we were to research the technology behind it…

‘We would still need more people! More scientific researchers and a perfect scientific research laboratory!’

The terminal was similar to ordinary items, which you could use corresponding materials to reduce the upgrade cost.

The modular item on hand would give a survival point discount for duplication each time a core technology to build it was mastered.

It was just like the game “Command and Conquer: Red Alert” on Earth, where a laboratory was needed to unlock the manufacturing of various technological items.

At this stage, without a complete laboratory facility and tools, as well as people in the basin, to be able to carry out large-scale research would be complete nonsense.

‘It seems that it’s necessary to upgrade the shelter level and expand its properties to help with the research.

‘Nevermind. When the winter is over, I’ll upgrade it immediately if I’m able to meet the conditions to upgrade to Level 6!’

After opening his eyes, Su Mo wrote down the urgent needs of the territory on the paper. His mind lit up and he came up with a plan.

The underground shelter would have to pass an obstacle level after every 5 levels.

Previously, they had been stuck on Level 5 for a long time.

After passing Level 5, it was much easier to advance after Level 6 onward. With the current conditions of the basin, it would only require going through another two disasters for another upgrade.

By that time, the shelter would be able to add an additional floor to serve as a laboratory in the basin.

‘Considering that the underground shelter has not been upgraded for a long time. . .

‘At that time, I might be able to use the survival points to upgrade the underground shelter in an all-around way. There’s also a possibility to upgrade some special attributes…

‘Perhaps it won’t be too difficult to research these things!’

Su Mo quickly figured it out and closed the diary, leaving it beside the table, and then lay down slightly.

It was like a poor boy who was brought to a prosperous city and experienced the luxurious life of a rich man. He was unable to calm down his emotions.

Similarly, Su Mo’s mood was the same after seeing such supernatural module technology.

Before he had experienced the functions of the terminal, Su Mo had somewhat attributed the development of the Blazeland to modular technology.

Now, he was completely convinced.

Modular technology did not originate from the Blazelanders or the Butterfly Universe or even the humans from different parallel universes.

This thing’s existence was like a game that belonged to a higher level of technology, that was put into a form that humans could understand!

‘The technology from behind the door?’

With lingering thoughts, Su Mo switched off the lights, and the room plunged into darkness.

After a while, the sound of breathing gradually calmed down and sounded rhythmical.

The entire underground shelter was immediately overcome with a drowsy atmosphere.

It was silent the whole night.

When six-thirty arrived and the sun climbed into the sky, Su Mo who had slept peacefully through the night opened his eyes.

Whoosh…

Su Mo did not feel anything when he was fast asleep but as soon as he woke up, the cold winds rushed toward him and dispelled all the sleepiness.

He glanced at the thermometer in the bedroom and saw that the third floor’s temperature was only 1 degree.

He pulled up his quilt and leaned on the head of the bed, picking up the psychic energy water next to him. Su Mo took three mouthfuls continuously and had completely woken up.

‘It’s so cold. I have to quickly get some coal as soon as possible!”

With a trace of anxiety, Su Mo sat up and opened the game panel with his mind.

[Record: A letter has been received from your ally, Zhu Ling, the ancient ent. Would you like to check the message immediately?]

“Yes!”

The letter that the game prompted was similar to when Zhu Ling had first sent an alliance request a week ago.

Su Mo was overjoyed as he saw the small golden envelope reappear in the upper right corner of the interface and the system prompt. He immediately clicked to check the message.

There were only five days before the arrival of the blizzard. He would have to launch an attack on Black Rock Base Camp if he wanted to form an alliance with the ents.

Su Mo had to act fast.

He discussed the plans with Chen Shen and the others during dinner time the day before, then proceeded to send a greeting to Zhu Ling.

Meanwhile, it was unclear whether Zhu Ling had a different sleep schedule or was busy with something. He did not reply to the letter before 11 o’clock and had only responded at 4 o’clock in the morning.

[Record: The letter is being loaded…]

Without the high-profile and suppressive scenario when they first formed the alliance, Zhu Ling was much calmer after understanding the “true strength” of the basin.

As the game panel’s record flashed on the interface, a screen animation slowly played and revealed the content within.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

The letter that was sent by Zhu Ling used standard Huaxia characters.

There were not many words in the letter but it was very beautiful and had a different kind of elegance to it.

[The mighty king of the humans, the highest of the Heavenly Court, Lord Su Mo. I’m Zhu Ling, the lord of the ancient ents.

[I have been made aware of your generosity. The Ents need a strong alliance like the Heavenly Court, and we welcome the people from the Heavenly Court to visit our territory.

[Because of our status, we both will not be able to leave our territories to visit each other’s territory, which is a shame, but I believe that this alliance meeting will greatly deepen our relationship to fight against the upcoming disasters together.

[Please do arrange for your people to travel as soon as possible if it is convenient for you…]

Su Mo was aware of the other’s caution and fear through his attitude from the letter.

It was obviously because the news that Zhu Chuan brought back had worked!

In the eyes of the ancient tree people, the current strength of the basin had been significantly elevated, and they had the status of being able to fight against the gods.

After spending another 50 disaster points, he replied to Zhu Ling, and once he confirmed the number of people, time, and location, Su Mo got up swiftly.

Unlike his sneaky trips to Freedom City of the Demon clan, this trip to the ents’ territory was an upright “diplomacy” in the basin.

Their strength seemed to be equal, but in fact, the two sides were both uncertain about each other without former contact.

It was possible to turn this into an opportunity for mutual benefit or it could make this a life-and-death dispute between the two.

After thinking about it again and again, Su Mo decided to lead the team himself.

After getting dressed and washing up, Su Mo tiptoed down to the second floor without disturbing Su Chan who was still fast asleep.

In the cold winter, the four kids in the shelter were not afraid of the cold at all.

Moore was still lying on the ground fast asleep without caring about his image, and Big Spark and Small Sparks leaned against Moore and pressed their hands on his belly.

Only the alert Oreo hurriedly shook the hair on his body and stood up excitedly as he sensed Su Mo approaching.

“Hey, you sure are comfortable in this weather!”

He brought along the happy Oreo and reached the empty first floor and slowly pushed open the door of the shelter.

Swish…

Another gust of cold wind blew through and could make anyone shiver involuntarily.

The temperature of the snowfall was not that evident without the wind. After a day of exposure to the sun yesterday, although the ambient temperature today was the same, the apparent temperature had slightly dropped by two or three degrees.

Su Mo closed the door and walked up the high slope of the shelter again and looked toward the distance. He could clearly see that very few people were out in the open in the village during the early morning. There were only a few that were seen washing their faces and leaving as they shivered.

Without the heating system, the human body would have consumed too much heat at night, which unconsciously stimulates the nervous system to release information to the body to increase rest in order to reduce unnecessary heat consumption.

This was true on Earth and also in the doomsday wasteland.

Su Mo maintained his good morning exercise routine and went on a 5-kilometer run with Oreo. He did not stop until he was dripping with sweat.

Then, he spent another half an hour practicing the Su family’s gun technique routines and returned to the village around eight o’clock.

Compared to before, the number of people had increased significantly, and at least 80% of the people were hurriedly washing up and sorting out the houses.

The cafeteria in the back of the village also had steam oozing out, which indicated that it was time for breakfast.

“Hmm? Li Hu, did you go out to train too?”

The cold outside world and the stimulation of the body after exercising would produce steaming like water boiling.

Su Mo sat down in the cafeteria and immediately smiled as he saw Li Hu, who entered the cafeteria in the same condition as himself.

“Yeah, shelter lord. After my body healed, I would panic if I skipped exercise for a day or two.

“I couldn’t sleep so I decided to get up and do some training!”

Li Hu, similarly to Su Mo, was thirsty after his rounds of exercise, and picked up the tea on the table, gulping it down completely. The two exchanged glances and laughed.

“Hmm? You seem to be in a good mood today. Did you receive a reply?”

It did not take a long time for more and more people to walk into the cafeteria. The leadership also joined and the table instantly became lively.

“Yeah. Chen Shen can start making arrangements for it. Help me gather the people I mentioned yesterday and I’ll bring them over to the ents’ territory to pay them a visit.

“Let’s witness the strength of our neighbors!”

Chen Shen paused and asked, “Shelter lord, we put on a very big performance the last time. Are you sure there won’t be any problems?”

“Don’t worry. The reason they trusted it was because we had a good record. Not to mention, I’ll be leading the team this time. There won’t be any problem!”

Su Mo waved his hands and replied very casually as if it was a trivial matter. The others were immediately relieved after hearing his answer.

It was not always about fighting and killing but also about building good relationships.

As long as the ents were not fools, they would not risk straining the relationship between both parties before fully grasping the strength of the basin as it would only be disadvantageous for them.

This was precisely the reason Su Mo was willing to take the risk!