"It seems this world is quite complex.
The information the original host knew was likely not comprehensive. It's hard to say how much was inaccurate, or how much was intentionally allowed for her to know.
Therefore, it can only be used as a reference, not to be fully trusted. I'll have to investigate the specifics myself.
As for the genetic technology issues.
There are likely two possibilities.
One is that there were indeed flaws in the technology initially, forcing this situation. However, later it was discovered that this method was more conducive to controlling the New Humans and maintaining the superior status of Natural Humans, so they never changed it. Instead, they even modified the gene pool more severely.
Another possibility is that those Natural Humans never considered New Humans as their own kind from the start. Coupled with related restrictions, controlling the lifelines of New Humans might have been a plan from the beginning. Yes, this possibility is even greater.
After all, New Humans weren't originally called New Humans.
They were called Artificial Humans.
Although the records in the book are somewhat vague, the term Artificial Humans likely persisted for some years. It was only when the number of Artificial Humans grew that the Natural Humans, under pressure, changed the name to New Humans.
But regardless.
The relationship between Natural Humans and New Humans is definitely not as peaceful as it appears now. I don't know if the original host was too naive, or if she simply didn't get involved in deeper struggles and therefore didn't know much about this aspect."
Even though Ding Yun didn't obtain a vast amount of information from the original host's memories, she was able to make her own analyses and deductions based on the fragments she had.
In her opinion, the original host might have known some inside information, but not much. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been so naive as to directly submit her illegal findings to the main consciousness.
Moreover, the sudden decrease in population and the imbalance in the world back then likely held significant issues. Without large-scale wars, disasters, or catastrophic natural events like plagues, how could there be such a drastic change in population numbers and proportions?
Even if environmental pollution had some impact.
The impact wouldn't be that significant or rapid.
And the historical records from that period were quite vague, suggesting something was definitely hidden.
Unfortunately, these matters couldn't be resolved by simply thinking about them. So, Ding Yun quickly pushed her doubts aside and tentatively activated the network function in her consciousness chip, intending to connect to this world's network and gather as much information as possible.
Then, she was hit by a shock.
It almost caused the chip to crash.
Fortunately, the consciousness chip had a self-protection function and automatically shut down, activating protection mode, thus preventing damage.
Ding Yun felt a sharp pain in her head and couldn't help but groan again before her eyes fully opened:
"Ah... damn it, how can the ionizing radiation pollution here be so severe? Even information waves can't get through.
No, what is this place?
Is this the pollution zone?
Why is it as desolate as a post-apocalyptic survival game?"
As Ding Yun opened her eyes and took in her surroundings, she immediately forgot the throbbing pain in her head.
The impact of her environment was far greater than the pain.
Looking around, Ding Yun saw only devastation, ruined buildings, decaying steel, a gray, smog-filled sky, and poor air quality.
It felt no different from the environment in a post-apocalyptic survival game, perhaps just lacking zombies.
"Ionizing radiation pollution, right. I remember now, the ones chasing the original host were all robots. The original host could only escape to areas with heavier ionizing radiation pollution to avoid being chased by robots and be safer.
But I still need to leave here quickly. Although New Humans' genes have been adjusted to be more resistant to ionizing radiation pollution than ordinary humans, prolonged exposure can still lead to cancer. And now that I'm on the run, I can't go to a hospital for treatment.
So I must leave this place quickly..."
Understanding her current situation, Ding Yun immediately made a decision: she had to leave this place as soon as possible. Ionizing radiation is different from electromagnetic radiation. Even with severe electromagnetic radiation pollution, the short-term impact on the human body is not significant, let alone the fact that electromagnetic radiation rarely reaches a polluting level.
However, ionizing radiation pollution is fatal.
If she doesn't leave quickly.
No matter how much of a New Human she is, she won't be able to withstand it.
However, Ding Yun soon discovered that she was somewhat powerless. Although she desperately wanted to leave this polluted area, when she tried to stand up, she realized that her current body was severely injured. Not only were her feet wounded, but her legs also had minor fractures, and her body had numerous other wounds.
It was just that when her consciousness first merged with her body, the sensation wasn't that acute.
But as she tried to stand, the pain in her wounds intensified, and as the fusion of her consciousness and body deepened, her senses gradually returned.
It was difficult to not feel the pain anymore.
This body, let alone traveling long distances to leave the polluted area, would struggle even to walk steadily. Furthermore, if left untreated, some of the minor fractures might worsen. In addition to this, Ding Yun felt dizzy, not because of the previous ionizing radiation.
It was dizziness caused by severe blood loss.
In short, her current physical condition was dire, so bad that long-distance travel to get away from here was impossible.
For a moment, it seemed like there was no better option than to wait for death.
As for her golden finger, the Daughter Spring Eye.
The name itself explained its function. Drinking it could quench thirst, but what was the difference between drinking it and drinking poison?
It was a question whether she could survive.
She didn't even know where her next meal would come from.
And then to drink Daughter Spring water and get pregnant...
This was hardly a way to seek a quick death.
Thinking about it, Ding Yun felt a sense of despair. This start was too difficult. Compared to the golden fingers in her previous worlds, except for the Eternal Emperor System, none of the others were as suitable for her current situation as this Daughter Spring.
However, although Ding Yun knew survival would be difficult.
She didn't want to give up or wait for death.
So, after a moment of hesitation, Ding Yun quickly used the clothes she was wearing to bandage herself. Then she started looking at the sky, using the sun to determine direction.
She was also contemplating which direction would be easier to leave the radiation-polluted area.
Even though the sun was not very clear through the smog at this time, its vague outline was still visible. Coupled with the fact that Ding Yun could freely access the original host's memories, even those the host herself barely recalled, she could still sift through them. After looking at the sky for a while and recalling memories,
Ding Yun finally found a direction for survival.
Then, she began to walk slowly in that direction, trying her best not to worsen her injuries.
As for the result, she didn't get far.
She couldn't hold on for even five kilometers.
Covered in wounds, having lost a lot of blood, and without food for a long time, coupled with being in a high-concentration ionizing radiation polluted area, her ability to walk this far was a testament to her strong willpower.
Just as she was about to faint, she faintly saw some figures, and someone even called her name. It seemed to be someone from the original host's memories.
Then, Ding Yun collapsed and fainted.
It wasn't her soul that fainted.
It was her body that couldn't take it anymore and fainted.
As for her soul, forcing it to awaken would further damage her body. So, Ding Yun could only gamble and temporarily retreat into her consciousness chip to reduce the strain on her body.
She hoped it wasn't a hallucination.
That someone was indeed looking for her.
Whether they wanted to help her or capture her, even in the worst-case scenario, they wouldn't execute her on the spot. As long as she survived, being captured was better than immediate death.
It wasn't her first time in jail, after all.
At worst, she'd escape again.
Only by living could there be a future.
Once dead, everything would be over.
As it turned out, what Ding Yun saw was not a hallucination. Because a day later, the consciousness chip promptly sent her a message: her physical body had recovered enough to support her soul's revival.
However, Ding Yun did not choose to revive immediately.
Since her physical condition was improving, it clearly indicated that there was no immediate life threat. If there was no life threat, why wake up so soon? It was better to wait a while longer, until her body recovered better, at least to the point where she could walk freely. That way, if the situation turned unfavorable.
She would have a healthy body to attempt an escape.
So, Ding Yun remained in a dormant state for a few more days. It wasn't until five days later, when the consciousness chip scanned and confirmed that her body had basically recovered, and symptoms like fractures and blood loss had disappeared, that she left the consciousness chip and regained control of her body.
"Fan Lihua's brainwaves are responding!"
"My goodness, I was so worried she might have brain death, or develop other strange conditions due to ionizing radiation pollution. Now it seems the situation is better than I expected. It looks like...
No, her brainwave recovery is too fast.
How did she recover so quickly?
No, it seems even better than normal!"
As the two women finished speaking, Ding Yun had already successfully regained control of her body and opened her eyes.
She then realized she was likely lying in some kind of treatment device. The surrounding equipment looked cold, but it was indeed quite technologically advanced and not dilapidated. Besides that, there was no one around her; the voices seemed to be coming from some instrument.
Before Ding Yun could react further, the instrument she was lying on automatically opened and lifted her up. Simultaneously, a small robotic arm next to her pressed a button on her body. The button then turned into a fluid that enveloped her entire body.
Forming a highly enclosed suit.
After that, she was pushed out of the room.
She passed through several sealed corridors and finally emerged into a larger area resembling a conference hall. Inside, four people were seated: three women and one man.
"Ji Hua?"
At a glance, Ding Yun quickly recognized one of the individuals the original host had some impression of and asked hesitantly.
"It seems your mind hasn't been affected.
Sit down. This time, you owe us a life, and you should now realize that your previous ideas were too naive and you shouldn't have ignored my advice."
The woman named Ji Hua raised her hand, and a seat appeared beside them. As she invited Ding Yun to sit, she reminded Ding Yun that she owed them.
During the time it took Ding Yun to walk to the seat and sit down, she had used her consciousness chip to rapidly extract keywords and search her memories of the original host for any information related to Ji Hua. She finally recalled some details.
This Ji Hua had provided her with many instruments for gene research back then. She had also warned her that the main consciousness was not absolutely fair but was controlled by Natural Humans.
She advised Ding Yun not to act rashly even if she found results.
If she truly wanted to resist and save the future of the New Humans, it was best to join their organization rather than acting on her own.
However, the original host hadn't fully believed her.
She thought that the world's main consciousness, as advertised, was absolutely fair and just, and its primary core tenet was human inheritance and safety, which should be fine. Her research results concerned human safety, and reporting them to the world's main consciousness should activate its core tenet.
To make them pay attention to the relevant issues.
But the final outcome was as described earlier!
"You must have many questions. Frankly, you're quite lucky. We didn't expect to be able to save you. We didn't think you were so tough, but you actually survived.
You didn't trust us much before, and we didn't trust you much either, so there were some things we didn't tell you. Now that you've experienced a near-death situation, I think you can believe us now!
Believe that there's a problem with the world's main consciousness!"
Seeing Ding Yun's silence and thoughtful expression, Ji Hua immediately pressed on.
Their organization had many members, but few had talent and depth in genetics. Otherwise, why would they have contacted this seemingly simple and sweet Fan Lihua, provided her with special assistance, and even sent people to rescue her?
Initially, when Fan Lihua contacted the main consciousness, they had already prepared a rescue plan. The reason they didn't rescue her immediately was to let her see the truth. But ultimately, they hadn't expected Fan Lihua to evade so many of their planned rescue points and deliberately run into a radiation-polluted zone that even they dared not enter, let alone establish a presence in.
This was why they missed the optimal rescue window.
Fortunately, they still managed to save her.
Otherwise, their losses would have been considerable.
All their prior investment would have been in vain.
"What's wrong with the world's main consciousness?"
Since the topic of the world's main consciousness had come up, Ding Yun decided to follow along and ask directly.
This time, Ji Hua answered very concisely:
"What's advertised about it is correct. The core of the world's main consciousness is indeed human inheritance and safety. Any feedback concerning human inheritance and safety will definitely be responded to.
However, there's one thing they don't mention: Natural Humans have never considered us New Humans as humans.
What concern is our inheritance and safety to them?
And how can the world's main consciousness respond?
When you send information, the world's main consciousness will only think you've violated relevant laws and must be apprehended.
Given this, do you understand?"
"Heh, it's truly laughable. A total of over two billion New Humans are not considered humans at all in the core definition of the world's main consciousness. In the eyes of those Natural Humans, we are no different from robots!
We are just tools they created!
That's why they used to call us Artificial Humans!"