122: Twin-track propagation sparks anew, building eternity upon the red earth.

Chapter 125: Dual-Track Procreation Ignites the Sparks, Building Eternity Upon the Red Earth

Eight months after the destruction of the abyss core, many people gathered outside the nursery of the East Sea Barrier Base, waiting with bated breath.

Inside the incubators, several wrinkled infants slept soundly; they were the first batch of children born naturally after the apocalypse. Their parents were a young soldier couple—the father stationed at the Northern Territory Defense Line and the mother working in the terraced fields of the Southwest Purification Zone. Their meeting and their love had both blossomed on this reclaimed land.

Lin Zhou stood outside the crowd, looking at the tiny lives in the incubators, a rare soft smile touching the corners of his mouth. Beside him, Dr. Mary held a report, her voice full of gratification: "The genetic test results for these children are out. Although they haven't undergone artificial optimization, their bodies can already autonomously produce trace amounts of anti-dark matter antibodies—this is an adaptive mutation spontaneously generated by human genes after living in a purified energy environment for a long time."

This discovery sent ripples of excitement through the entire scientific research team.

Six months ago, faced with the predicament of a newborn birth rate of less than 1% within a population of ten million, Lin Zhou had made the decision to implement the "Dual-Track Procreation" Plan—neither abandoning the natural human instinct for reproduction nor neglecting to use technology as a safety net for the survival of civilization.

Natural reproduction was the "root" of the Eternal Kingdom.

A specific "Settlement Area" was designated within the base, where houses with small courtyards were built and allocated to newlywed couples and families with children. The research team developed a "Pre-pregnancy Purification Conditioner," distributed free of charge to all men and women of childbearing age, which could clear residual dark matter toxins from the body and reduce the probability of fetal malformation. Beside the terraced fields of the Southwest Purification Zone, large orchards and pastures were opened up to ensure pregnant women could eat fresh fruit, meat, eggs, and milk. Even the base's alarm system was set to a "Nursery Area Silent Mode," for fear of disturbing the infants in their swaddling clothes.

In their spare time, such scenes could always be seen in the square of the Settlement Area: young parents pushing strollers for a walk, and old veterans sitting under the shade of trees, telling the children stories of fighting God Devourers and Hell Envoys. The children's laughter was like crisp wind chimes, blowing away the haze of the apocalypse.

"Naturally nurtured children carry the memories and emotions of their parents, as well as the most primitive vitality of humanity," Lin Zhou said at the inauguration ceremony of the Settlement Area. "This kind of vitality is something no technology can replace."

Meanwhile, the cultivation of genetically optimized embryos served as the "safety net" for the Eternal Kingdom.

In the Embryo Cultivation Center of the Underground Seed Vault, hundreds of cultivation pods were operating quietly. Dr. Mary and her team had selected high-quality genes from various ethnic groups of Huaxia, survivors from Bear Country, and American scientists, removing segments susceptible to dark matter infection and then injecting trace amounts of purification energy. These embryos would complete a ten-month growth cycle in the cultivation pods and be adopted by volunteer families.

The first batch of genetically optimized children had been born last month. Their physical fitness far exceeded that of ordinary people, their resistance to dark matter was three times that of ordinary children, and they learned to walk and talk faster. The families adopting these children included both veteran couples who had lost their own children and young researchers who had volunteered.

That day, Lin Zhou went to visit an adoptive family. The father was Ivan, a veteran from Bear Country, and the mother was a nurse from Huaxia. The little boy they adopted was named "Ivan Lin." His eyes were like clear blue lake water, and when he smiled, a pair of shallow dimples would appear.

The little fellow was sprawled on Ivan's shoulder, tugging at his beard and babbling "Dada." Ivan's face was full of doting smiles, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes no longer showed the gloom left by the war.

"Commander, look how healthy he is," Ivan said, holding the child, his voice somewhat choked with emotion. "I used to think that once Bear Country was gone, my home was gone. Now I know that as long as the people are here, as long as the children are here, home will always be here."

Watching this heartwarming scene, a warm current surged in Lin Zhou's heart.

Dual-track procreation was not an "either-or" choice, but rather "complementary." Naturally nurtured children carried the warmth of human civilization, while genetically optimized children bore the responsibility of defending against future threats. They would study together in the Civilization Spark Museum, run together on the ridges of the fields, and listen to veterans' stories together under the defense towers. When they grew up, they would build this newborn kingdom together.

Beyond procreation, the reconstruction of the Eternal Kingdom was also progressing in a more profound direction.

The unpolluted forest discovered by the research team in the Northern Territory had been turned into an "Ecological Conservation Area." It contained not only wild animals but also rare plant seeds rescued from all over the world. Lin Zhou personally set the rules: any form of development was prohibited in the conservation area, and only researchers were allowed in for observation.

"We owe the Earth too much," Lin Zhou said. "The Eternal Kingdom is not only a kingdom for humans, but also a kingdom for all life."

Beside the terraced fields of the Southwest Purification Zone, the first "Hope Primary School" was built. In the classrooms, children sat at brand-new desks, following the teacher in reciting "At the beginning of life, human nature is good," reciting "Peace and Development," and reciting "Our Earth, Our Home."

On the defense towers of the Northern Territory Defense Line, "Cosmic Monitoring Radars" were installed, capable of monitoring any abnormal spatial fluctuations within the solar system. Soldiers stood guard day and night, their slogan being: "Guard the peace of one generation, protect the future of ten thousand generations."

On the first anniversary of the destruction of the abyss core, the Eternal Kingdom held a grand celebration.

A stage was set up in the square of the Settlement Area, performing the opera 'Dingjun Mountain'; on the field ridges, people danced joyfully; at the top of the defense towers, long-awaited fireworks bloomed, their golden light illuminating the night sky and millions of smiling faces.

Lin Zhou stood under the fireworks, looking at the people around him—Ivan holding his child, Dr. Mary busy handing out candies to children, Chen Hao recording everything with a camera, and countless unfamiliar yet hopeful faces.

The latest population statistics came through the communicator: this year, the number of newborns in the Eternal Kingdom had exceeded ten thousand.

Ten thousand new lives, ten thousand flickering sparks of hope.

Lin Zhou raised his glass toward the fireworks filling the sky and toward this reborn land, whispering softly, "To the future, to eternity."

As the fireworks fell, upon the earth was a never-ending hope.