My Dream Connects to 3000 Years in the Future

Chu Bamboo came to a sudden halt, his eyes sweeping across the Hive’s fifth underground level in surprise. This place was completely different from what he had imagined.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind. Finally, he asked, “Hive, is there anything you want to tell me?”

“It is as you see,” Hive said softly. “Father, my fifth underground level is also part of the civilization-preservation system.”

What greeted Chu Bamboo’s eyes were rows of ‘metal coffins,’ each one emanating a frosty vapor.

‘One, two, three… nearly a hundred of them?’

Chu Bamboo walked between the life support devices, his eyes silently scanning each one.

Most of the occupants in the life support devices were strangers. But occasionally, he spotted a familiar face.

He stopped abruptly, his gaze fixed on one of the pods in the very center. A storm of emotion churned in his eyes.

Reaching out, he gently wiped the frost from the glass. Chu Bamboo stared at the figure inside, seemingly frozen for all eternity.

“…” Chu Bamboo was silent for a long moment before his voice came out, slightly hoarse. “Hive, is she Guan Qianyu or Guan Xinlin?”

“…Guan Xinlin? Who is that?” Hive’s voice held a note of confusion.

‘I see. The Guan Qianyu from the future.’ Chu Bamboo pursed his lips and, with almost no hesitation, commanded, “In that case, unseal everyone here.”

Hive was silent for a long moment before saying cautiously, “My deepest apologies, Father.”

“…What do you mean?” Chu Bamboo’s brow began to furrow.

“You must have realized by now that I was in a dormant state,” Hive’s voice turned bitter. “Far, far too much time has passed. Due to various accidents, system degradation… compounded by complete isolation from the outside world… I was unable to maintain my own consciousness or control over the entire facility… and was forced to rely solely on automated protocols…”

“Alright, spare me the jargon!” Chu Bamboo cut Hive off, having keenly picked up on the implication. “Are you telling me they’ve all malfunctioned? That they can’t be unsealed?”

“No, it would be more accurate to say most of them have malfunctioned…”

“That’s a relief.” Chu Bamboo sighed. ‘That means some of them are still functional.’ “Tell me which ones can still be unsealed!”

Then, as Hive highlighted the remaining functional life support devices, Chu Bamboo’s eyelid twitched. Only eight pods on the entire floor were still operating normally. That was a success rate of less than ten percent.

Chu Bamboo had Divine Techniques for repairing machinery, but that was irrelevant now. The issue wasn’t the broken pods—it was the people inside them, who had likely died the moment their pods failed.

It was clear that Lin Xia’s Ice Seal Divine Techniques weren’t exactly foolproof.

Feeling a bit somber, Chu Bamboo paced in front of the pods before stopping to look at the occupants of the eight functional units. He made his decision. “Fine. Unseal Guan Qianyu first. And…”

Chu Bamboo’s gaze shifted to another pod. “Huo Yuan!” he added.

“Command accepted. Commencing execution.” Hive’s tone suddenly became robotic. The two life support devices began to tremble faintly. Tubes connected to the pods started pumping in some kind of special substance, while simultaneously seeming to extract… ‘Energy?’

“The Energy from the Ice Seal Divine Techniques?” Chu Bamboo mused.

After a moment of calculation, Hive provided the precise data. “Estimated time to successful unsealing: one hour and twenty-seven minutes.”

“Estimated time until subject regains consciousness: two hours and forty-eight minutes.”

“Warning!” Hive’s voice suddenly turned grave. “Father, individuals who have just been unsealed may suffer from some memory loss. In some cases, even complete amnesia.”

“…What?” Chu Bamboo’s expression faltered, but he quickly caught the nuance. “Are there exceptions? And you said ‘may’… which means it isn’t guaranteed?”

‘If it was really complete amnesia, then how do I explain Lin Xia from the last timeline? Or is it an issue with the development of her Divine Techniques… Is the Lin Xia of this timeline weaker than the last one?’

‘But didn’t she gain experience from the future? Logically, she should only be getting stronger!’

“Correct. The more powerful the individual, the more of their memory they are able to retain. Also,” Hive hesitated for a moment, “there are the special artifacts you created. They can also be used for memory infusion.”

“I see.” Chu Bamboo lowered his gaze. After some thought, he decided to wait.

He sat down cross-legged and began to cultivate.

Time ticked by.

Finally, with a sharp hiss and a mechanical clang, the two life support pods opened.

Wisps of frosty air seeped out from inside…

Chu Bamboo opened his eyes, his thoughtful gaze sweeping over the two pods.

“…Hive, time report!” A slightly weary voice suddenly echoed from Guan Qianyu’s pod. Wearing a white lab coat, Guan Qianyu struggled to climb out. “This time, it’s my turn for maintenance… Huh?!”

Guan Qianyu stared at Chu Bamboo in astonishment.

Chu Bamboo stared back at Guan Qianyu with a strange look on his face. ‘Didn’t Hive say there would be memory loss… No, the implication is that Guan Qianyu is very powerful, isn’t it?’

A brief silence fell over the room, and then…

“…Where am I? Mommy, Daddy…” Huo Yuan’s voice rang out, weak and filled with a jumble of emotions—confusion, disorientation, and fear.

Huo Yuan’s voice seemed to snap Guan Qianyu out of her daze. She took a deep breath, the rims of her eyes turning red. Pursing her lips into a smile, she said, “I never expected… then again, it makes sense. Lin Xia said this was one of the places you were most likely to reach.”

Guan Qianyu stepped forward and embraced Chu Bamboo tightly. He stiffened, not for any particular reason… except that Guan Qianyu’s body was as cold as ice, making him shiver involuntarily. Any hint of romance was completely lost on him.

Guan Qianyu quickly pulled away and walked over to the other open pod, lifting Huo Yuan out. She pressed a spot on Huo Yuan’s neck, and the girl immediately slumped, unconscious.

Guan Qianyu then placed a hand on Huo Yuan’s forehead. After a moment of silent assessment, she sighed. “Her condition isn’t good…”

“How bad?” Chu Bamboo asked, moving to Guan Qianyu’s side.

“According to the information from my Gene Modification Divine Technique, she seems to have retained only the memories of a three-year-old,” Guan Qianyu said, rubbing her temples as if fighting off a headache. “But we should be able to determine whether the damage is temporary or permanent by tomorrow. It’s most likely temporary… after all, she’s quite powerful.”

“It’s just… now that I’m seeing you,” Guan Qianyu turned to gaze at Chu Bamboo, her expression momentarily dazed and her voice thick with a thousand emotions, “it means three thousand years have passed… I can’t believe I actually made it this long.”

Taking a deep breath, a brilliant smile spread across Miss Guan’s face. “But it’s alright. After all, I waited for you, and you’re finally here.”