Chapter Sixty-One: The Visit

"This is the first world we encountered. We call it the Wandering Earth realm," Wang Jing explained, pointing to the planetary engine spewing blue flames before them as he spoke to John Connor. "Because the sun in this world is aging and expanding, the people here built planetary engines to do what you see before your eyes."

John Connor stared in awe at the planetary engine piercing the sky. It was the first time he had witnessed such a magnificent spectacle, and he could not help but gape in astonishment.

Noticing John Connor's amazement, Wang Jing continued, "Their destination is Proxima Centauri, 4.2 light-years away. The journey will take nearly 2,500 years."

"Why not relocate them to another world, then? That shouldn’t be difficult for you," John Connor asked.

"It truly wouldn’t be difficult. At most, it would take ten years to complete a global migration. But what would that change? The Earth in another world would never be the same as their original home."

"Besides, it's not as if they can't survive here. With our help, their lives have improved significantly. Before, their staple food was worms and various types of fungi. Now, thanks to our joint efforts, they can eat white rice and even enjoy meat from time to time."

"This is nothing short of miraculous!" John Connor exclaimed, still gazing at the planetary engine.

"The other worlds are remarkable as well," Wang Jing said, leading John Connor to the world of the Resident Evil scenario.

"In this realm, a biotech crisis erupted. A corporation tried to wipe out humanity with a virus, intending to replace us—much like Noah's Ark, with the virus as the flood and the corporation as Noah. Their underground bases were their arks."

"They almost succeeded, but we intervened. We destroyed the corporation and distributed the cure across the entire world."

"Now, we're hastily building new cities to accommodate potential migrants in the future. For instance, if your own world fails to destroy Skynet, this could be a haven for relocation."

John Connor looked at the city rising before his eyes, and a surge of envy welled in his heart.

But in the next moment, he saw two Transformers carrying a long steel beam right in front of him. Pointing at them, he turned to Wang Jing and asked, "Are they migrants as well?"

"Yes, they came from the Transformers realm. Their planet became uninhabitable due to war."

"They are silicon-based lifeforms, a different race altogether. They are managed by their leader, Optimus Prime, while I serve as the permanent councilor for the Transformers, responsible for communication and coordination between our two races."

"Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention—the planetary engines you saw in the Wandering Earth realm are also Transformers."

Hearing Wang Jing's words, John Connor was stunned. "Weren’t those planetary engines built by the people themselves?"

"They were, but the Transformers have something called the AllSpark, which can turn any machine into a Transformer."

Listening to Wang Jing’s explanation, John Connor asked incredulously, "All the planetary engines?"

"Every single one," Wang Jing replied.

"Wouldn’t a single one of those be enough to sweep through several Skynet bases?"

Wang Jing promptly shattered John Connor’s fantasy. "Don’t get your hopes up. If it were possible, we’d have done it already."

"My teleportation ability can only handle about 300 tons at most, but the smallest planetary engine weighs over a hundred million tons—so the gap is astronomical!"

After Wang Jing finished, John Connor’s disappointment was clear.

"Couldn’t you use the AllSpark to turn all the Terminators into Transformers under our control?" John Connor persisted.

"That won’t work either. Machines with autonomous control programs retain their directives even after becoming Transformers. They just gain emotions, which means they could potentially be persuaded to switch sides."

"But it’s not worth the risk to strengthen the enemy for such a slim chance at success," Wang Jing said, once again dashing John Connor’s hopes.

"So, the only way to fight Skynet is with artificial intelligence?"

"Don’t be so pessimistic. The AI we use is the MOOS system from the Wandering Earth realm, which has been in operation for decades. The question is, if MOOS can’t defeat Skynet or eradicate it fully, your people could end up locked in an endless struggle with Skynet for generations to come."

"Unless you completely withdraw from Earth and perform a thorough cleansing, it will be almost impossible to eliminate Skynet. It will become a ghost—a shadow lurking in your collective memory, waiting to resurface when you or your descendants have forgotten, plunging you all back into the apocalypse and forcing you to relive the terror the Terminators once instilled."

Wang Jing’s vision of the future clearly unnerved John Connor, but that was precisely Wang Jing’s intention.

Seeing John Connor’s downcast expression, Wang Jing asked, "Do you still want to see the other two realms?"

Drawing a deep breath, John Connor nodded. "Yes, of course I do. An opportunity like this might never come again in my life."

"Alright, the next world is the Transformers realm."

Bringing John Connor to the Transformers realm, Wang Jing introduced the scene. "This is the Chengdu base in China, the transfer station for Transformers wishing to migrate."

"There are two factions among the Transformers. The first is the Autobots, the group we have taken in. They generally long for peace and fled to space when civil war broke out on Cybertron."

"The other faction is the Decepticons, our former enemies."

"Being mechanical lifeforms, they require energy to survive. Thousands of years ago, the Decepticons’ ancestors built a device in Egypt to destroy the sun and harvest its energy. But their plan was foiled when the Autobots’ ancestors stole the key."

"Half a year ago, we arrived in this realm, defeated the returning Decepticons, and dismantled their machine."

"The people of this world almost lost their sun forever."

"You actually possess weapons capable of destroying a sun?" John Connor gasped in astonishment.

Wang Jing, seeing John Connor’s shocked expression, knew he had never imagined such stellar-level weaponry existed on their side.

"Then why didn’t you destroy the sun in the Wandering Earth realm to obtain its energy?" John Connor asked after his shock subsided.

"Because the Earth in that realm has not yet left the solar system. Destroying the sun now would have a direct impact on them, so we have not done it yet."

"However, we are always searching for suitable stars from which to harness energy—we just haven’t found the right one yet," Wang Jing explained.

"What are your criteria for selecting a star?" John Connor asked, his curiosity piqued.

"The star system must be devoid of life and free of planets suitable for human colonization," Wang Jing replied.