Chapter Twenty-One: Consciousness Capacity

At this stage, the total population under Li Qingsong’s command had reached over 1,900. These individuals were currently dispersed across the four bases and dozens of factories and facilities he owned, working day and night to propel the continuous advancement of his overall technological level.

Yet, this number was still far too small. Determined, Li Qingsong poured a vast amount of resources into a brand-new clone cultivation factory, finally completing it after several months of construction. Located within a fully enclosed facility in the canyon, the factory stood five stories tall. The first floor served as the equipment and operations room, while the remaining four were dedicated to cultivation tank workshops. Each floor housed 500 tanks, totaling 2,000 across the entire structure. Since Li Qingsong’s total workforce was currently fewer than 2,000, this factory, capable of producing 2,000 clones every six months, would effectively double his manpower.

Filled with anticipation, Li Qingsong guided a clone to the cultivation factory. Before him lay a hall defined by a cool, pristine white aesthetic, filled with rows of machinery and equipment that continuously supplied the tanks with electricity and nutrients. The air was permeated with a faint scent of disinfectant, and every corner was impeccably clean. The clone carried a small case containing 2,000 tiny glass vials. Each vial held an embryonic cell processed by the highly advanced cell induction and gene-editing equipment aboard the spaceship "Deep Space." This was delicate work; to prepare these 2,000 embryos, Li Qingsong had to assign ten additional clones to the ship to ensure they were ready before the factory’s completion. Now, these embryos were carefully placed into the 2,000 tanks.

Six months passed in silence. At a predetermined moment, the clones drained the nutrient solution from the tanks and transported the newly born clones to the lounge one by one. Fresh nutrient solution was pumped into the tanks, new embryos were inserted, and a fresh cycle of growth began.

Li Qingsong’s focus shifted away from the tanks, centering instead on the newborns. The first clone opened its eyes, followed by the second, the third, and so on, until all 2,000 clones in the lounge had awakened.

Li Qingsong’s consciousness instantly extended toward them. In the next moment, he felt his consciousness "expand" significantly, granting him enhanced information processing, memory, and learning capabilities. Even problems that had accumulated through the clones' labor—issues he hadn't had time to address or ponder—were solved in an instant with the addition of 2,000 new brains. These included the blueprints for the heat-resistant steel mill he planned to build, the railway expansion plans for two new bases, and the design for a new type of crane, among others.

Of course, adding brains solved problems of "quantity," not "quality." Just as with the steel mill blueprints, the existing clones could have eventually produced them given enough time; the new brains simply accelerated the process. Problems currently unsolvable by his present technological level remained unsolvable, regardless of having 2,000 additional minds.

Nevertheless, Li Qingsong was satisfied. He realized that his capacity for learning and research had also increased by the equivalent of 2,000 brains. With such processing power, there was no knowledge he could not master.

However, these 2,000 new brains brought with them a sensation Li Qingsong had never experienced before. It was like a light vehicle suddenly being loaded with a heavy steel plate; he could immediately feel the weight. He realized that a vehicle’s load-bearing capacity is finite. As he contemplated this, an epiphany dawned on him.

"Although I don’t know where this ability comes from or what principles it is based on, it appears that the number of brains my consciousness can connect to simultaneously is limited, not infinite as I once assumed. This might be considered a limit to my 'consciousness capacity.'"

He hadn't felt it before, likely because the number of clones under his command had been too small—like a truck carrying only a handful of cotton, he couldn't feel the weight. But with 2,000 brains suddenly connecting at once, the "steel plate" had been placed in the cargo bed, making the limit perceptible. Though he could only vaguely sense that this limit existed, he could not yet determine the exact threshold.

It seemed he was still some distance away from that limit.

"In that case, I will leave it be for now," Li Qingsong decided. "I will address it when I actually approach the capacity limit. By then, I might have the population and technology required to find a way to expand it."

Setting the issue aside, he directed the 2,000 new clones to leave the cultivation center. Dormitories, food, water, daily necessities, clothing, and even spacesuits had been prepared in advance for them, along with 2,000 new work assignments. After a single day of adaptive training, the new clones were immediately integrated into the workforce.

Time flew, and the development of the Luoshen Star base progressed rapidly. In just four years, the scale of the base had expanded more than tenfold. The total length of the railway lines laid by Li Qingsong on Luoshen Star had surged to over 2,000 kilometers, connecting more than 200 sub-bases and mining centers. Every day, hundreds of heavy-duty trains traversed the cold, desolate landscape, transporting tens of thousands of tons of minerals into the canyon. In the industrial sector, Li Qingsong had constructed ten steel mills alone, with daily production exceeding 20,000 tons. Various machinery plants, foundries, chemical factories, and agricultural bases had also multiplied.

The total population under his command surpassed the 20,000 mark for the first time, reaching 20,156 clones. It was at this moment that Li Qingsong finally clearly perceived the boundary of his consciousness capacity. He realized that after connecting at most another thousand brains, his consciousness capacity would be filled, leaving him unable to connect any further clones.