Apocalypse: My Items Can Upgrade Infinitely

Ling Shuyan took a deep breath, staring intently at the man.

Lin Feng coughed lightly. Seeing the woman’s incredibly grave expression, he began to speak calmly:

"Director Ling, what do you think is the ultimate purpose for the existence and evolution of all life?"

Ling Shuyan answered without hesitation:

"To propagate the species’ genes. Given a finite lifespan, the meaning of existence lies in how to better reproduce and seize more living space and resources."

Lin Feng nodded.

"Correct. But what if, through evolution, an individual’s power and lifespan grow longer and longer—long enough to witness the rise and fall of their own race?"

"At that point, other methods become necessary to ensure the continuation of the race’s genes..."

Ling Shuyan’s brow furrowed.

"Are you saying Genetic Radiation comes from this?"

"No, that’s only a very small part of it."

At this point, Ling Yi, who could no longer stand by and watch, joined the conversation. She pursed her lips, shot a disdainful glance at Lin Feng, and then said to Ling Shuyan:

"This guy isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. Let me handle the theoretical stuff!"

"In reality, any race capable of producing a Tier Three Life Form will, without exception, come to dominate its home planet."

"Planets or moons are the cradles of life, but life can’t stay in the cradle forever. To do so would be to stagnate, which is no different from sealing one’s own fate."

"Their ability to defend against and explore outer space would be severely limited. A single asteroid impact could cripple or even wipe out an entire planetary civilization."

"Although the probability of such an accident is low, over a long enough timeline—tens or hundreds of millions of years—it’s entirely possible for it to happen."

"Take the Dinosaur civilization in the long river of Blue Star’s history, for example. From their emergence to their domination of the planet, they existed for a full 240 million years, only to be wiped out by a meteor strike in the end."

"Compared to them, humanity, with only a million years of history, is like a newly fertilized egg—not yet fully developed."

"This is the fundamental reason why you—why we—can absorb Life Energy so quickly and awaken all sorts of Superpowers. It’s also the root cause of our ability to fuse with the Zerg Race or its genes."

"Because humanity as a whole is still in a follicular stage, our genes are susceptible to contamination and various mutations. Without tens of millions of years, it’s difficult to reach maturity. This is similar to why the main research institute wants to experiment on adolescents."

"You’ve probably already noticed that the Superpowers awakened by children are extremely rare and have immense potential. Compared to the ordinary Physical Enhancement adults get, they are far more valuable to cultivate."

"Alright, these are all effects of the Alien Zerg Race invasion. Facing a colonial invasion by Aliens is also one of the survival threats to a species’ civilization."

"But compared to merciless natural disasters, colonization, while catastrophic, at least provides an opportunity for forced growth, indirectly accelerating human evolution."

Having said that, Ling Yi took a sip of her Coke to wet her throat before continuing:

"Getting back on topic, when a planetary civilization is fortunate enough to avoid all the disasters I mentioned and its race develops safely to the point where they’ve mastered a stable channel for promotion to Tier Three..."

"At that time, the number of Tier Three Life Forms on the planet will grow and grow due to their long lifespans."

"This, in turn, will trigger another crisis..."

"A planet’s resources are not infinite. With a large number of Tier Three Life Forms consuming them, the living space and resources for the lower-level population will be constantly encroached upon and squeezed, eventually leading to a sharp decline in the new generation."

"To solve this resource problem, they must turn their sights beyond their own planet to the other planets within their star system."

"And so, a new problem arises. The costs and returns of exploring the outside world are usually not proportional. This also presents a great challenge to the race’s technological level."

"Relocating a part of the population to survive on an Alien Star would cost far more than simply supporting them. Unless they can first crack the problem of stable thermonuclear fusion, colonizing an Alien Star is just a dream."

"That’s why most planetary civilizations have chosen another path—a shortcut, and the only way forward..."

As she spoke, a look of longing appeared in Ling Yi’s eyes:

"That is, the birth of a Tier Four Cosmic Life, a single being that embodies tens of millions of people. It not only contains half of the race’s genetic sequence within its body but also possesses a powerful Life Force that allows it to survive in the Cosmos."

"From then on, the Tier Four Life Form leads the race into deep space. Even if the entire race perishes, as long as the Tier Four Life still exists, it can rely on its internal Genetic Radiation to spawn new members of its race on any planet."

"And the resources they consume while traveling the stars are far less than what it would take to build a fleet and launch an expedition. It’s much more convenient and energy-efficient."

"This way, they can solve the aforementioned problems and prepare an environment suitable for the race’s survival in advance."

"When the race faces a life-or-death crisis, the Tier Four Life Form can also step forward and turn the tide."

"This is the only choice a civilization can make when faced with the cold, harsh environment of the Cosmos."

"And civilizations that cannot give birth to a Tier Four Life will, sooner or later, fade away into the long river of history, becoming nothing more than archaeological ruins for later civilizations."

"As for the Mental Realm..."

"A Tier Four Life needs to ensure its own genes are not coveted and exploited by other races. It also must cope with the dark encroachment of the cold Cosmos and prevent itself from developing deep space phobia and ultimately losing its sanity."

"To do this, it will condense the vast Spiritual Energy within its body into its own Mental Realm, which serves as a spiritual anchor to prevent it from losing itself in the dark, boundless Cosmos."

"Furthermore, the unique method of synthesizing this Mental Realm becomes ingrained in the genes of the race’s descendants."