Chapter 487: The Natural Selection! Escape Is a Fact, But I Did Not Betray!
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"The Trisolaris universe really is a world that drives one to despair. From the very beginning, you have to be on guard like a thief."
V couldn't help but sigh.
But what made him feel even more hopeless wasn't their own situation, but those civilizations that were being forced to descend dimensions, enduring the agony of that collapse.
Civilizations of higher dimensions had more technology and more advantages in laws of reality, yet the ceaseless dimensional strikes forced them to abandon their original plane, compelled to descend to survive.
All the sciences they once excelled in had to be rebuilt from scratch, just for a chance at their species' continued existence.
And in the new dimensional space, what awaited them wasn't lasting peace, but the attacks and annexation from civilizations already there.
Wanderers were destined to be lonely and forsaken.
And even civilizations of lower dimensions would one day be forced to descend further, becoming part of that Infinity army of the displaced, turning into wanderers who had lost their homes.
Yet the instigators of all this could still sit upon their own complete dimensional domains, silently watching everything, using their invisible tentacles to manipulate the survival or extinction of countless civilizations.
From the very moment of the Big Bang, this universe had already been steeped in exploitation and oppression.
"Now we have to go back to using old antiques from decades ago to carry out missions. Back to square one. Honestly… it's kind of nostalgic."
Jack Wells chuckled bitterly. Since this was already an established fact, so be it. It wasn't as though losing faster-than-light technology meant their Exploration Division would suddenly be unable to complete its tasks.
"This doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing for us. The more complicated the situation in a universe, the better it tempers our ability to deal with problems."
"In my opinion, the odds of us successfully integrating the Three-Body universe aren't low at all."
Xu Shiming was optimistic. Familiar with Chinese classics, he understood the Daoist principle that reversal is the movement of the Dao—nothing remains invincible forever. Universal Megacorp was simply the new variable.
But the preacher from the Halo universe clearly didn't understand this. He remained stubborn: "I don't think so. The chance of integrating the Tri-bodyuniverse is absurdly low. If we could turn back, I wouldn't stay here for a single second."
The preacher hated fighting losing battles. If it were up to him, they should have just fired up the Aether Resonance Engines and blasted this entire universe to bits from the start, saving themselves the anxiety.
After all, in a universe that revered the Dark Forest law like this, revealing one's position at any moment could bring photon strikes, dimensional reduction weapons, or something even more terrifying—cosmic law-level doomsday devices. Every second they spent in the solar system was another gamble with annihilation.
Anyone who claimed they could accomplish integration under such suffocating pressure was either insane, spouting nonsense, or simply eager to drag everyone down with them.
When the Preacher laid his thoughts bare, quite a few others silently agreed. With no objections raised, tacit approval was almost the same as consent. Seeing this, Li Ang knew he needed to give them some ideological reinforcement.
"The greatest advantage this universe offers us lies in the high probability that god-tier civilizations here still preserve their eleven-dimensional domains. That's of immense value to our God-Creation Project."
When conflicts arise within a team, a good leader never wastes time placating each faction's emotions. Instead, he quietly cuts off any path of retreat and points out the vast rewards waiting ahead—enough to make them risk their lives willingly.
And besides, if even the leader himself was charging into danger alongside them, what reason did subordinates who only had to follow orders have to shrink back?
"At present, the Science Nexus has only defined nine dimensions. But the dimensions occupied by the Reducer civilizations likely extend beyond that, possibly including intact eleven-dimensional domains."
"If we can seize those domains and harvest the technology points of hundreds of thousands of civilizations, Universal Megacorp may be just one step away from becoming a true god-tier civilization."
Li Ang's voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to every corner of the chamber. He didn't directly refute or soothe the Preacher's fears. Instead, he carefully laid out the gains and losses.
The God-Creation Project initiated in the Warhammer universe had indeed set the Megacorp upon the path toward godhood, but that was only the beginning.
If becoming a god-tier civilization was like climbing a mountain, they hadn't even reached halfway up—at best, they had only just left the foothills.
"The dimensional reductions and speed-of-light suppression in the Trisolaris universe aren't necessarily irreversible. Perhaps we can discover a way to delay its collapse—or even rekindle it with new life."
"And if not, we can at least leverage the Reducers' eleven-dimensional domain technology to create an entirely new world in another universe."
"Picture it: in Birchworld, we sculpt a fantastical realm of eleven dimensions—ancient divine beasts, hidden immortals, and a cataclysmic war between gods and demons."
"And everything that happens there unfolds beneath our gaze."
Li Ang's talent for painting visions had not dulled. Guided by his words, the others could already see that magnificent, resplendent world before them.
It wasn't like the illusory signals simulated in the Matrix—it was a tangible reality etched into the universe.
In the past, humanity prayed before temples, saying that an almighty God had made mankind in His own image. But now humanity shouted with its deeds: "The almighty human race creates gods in its own image!"
This was a cause worth bleeding and dying for, a feat of eternal glory. Faced with such an opportunity, how could they turn away?
"Of course, we could just pat ourselves on the back, walk away, and blow it all to ashes with the Aether Engines. But then what? Miss the treasure hidden beneath the waves forever?"
"Sorry, but I'm a greedy captain. I can't bear to watch gold sink out of sight. And the reason I called you to dig alongside me is because I know—you're the same kind of people."
Li Ang was indeed a born leader. These words struck precisely at the secret desires in everyone's hearts.
By now, wealth, personal indulgence, even power no longer satisfied those who had reached their level. To leave their names in history and realize their ultimate worth—that was what they sought.
It fit perfectly with Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
Human civilization might be a single thought away from unveiling the ultimate truth.
Turning back so easily would be no different than in the Yongle era, when Ming fleets reached the eastern coast of Africa.
If Zheng He had pressed on, rounding the Cape of Good Hope and continuing northward, he would have found the Americas—a land of Infinity gold—welcoming the weary Ming soldiers with open arms.
How was Megacorp now any different? The once-Infinity seas humanity had charted were replaced by the abyssal dark forest before their eyes.
They had come too far to retreat. One step back, and human civilization would remain stagnant. But one step forward—even if they perished gloriously—the Emperor would still carry human civilization and Megacorp's cause onward.
Then Alt Cunningham, on behalf of the Science Nexus, was the first to declare full support for Li Ang's decision. From this moment on, no matter how dire the troubles ahead, they would never again request a withdrawal.
Unless Li Ang himself gave the order.
"I agree we should continue with the mission. Since opening the stargate again will inevitably draw the attention of god-level civilizations, why not try to get as much done as possible while we're at it?"
"It's said that the Ether Resonance Engine has a thirty percent chance of blasting the consciousness of every living being in a universe into an entirely new realm world. That probability isn't low—it's worth testing."
Xu Shiming raised his hand with a smile.
As one of Li Ang's most trusted confidants, his loyalty to Li Ang was no less than that of V and the others.
Whatever Li Ang said, he would follow.
Even if doubts lingered in his heart, they would have to wait until after the mission was complete, because countless past experiences had proven a single truth again and again: Li Ang's orders were always correct.
Soon, another large group of people followed Xu Shiming in raising their hands, expressing their will to continue with the mission.
the Preacher remained silent for a moment, then exchanged a glance with V and the others before also raising his hand. "Since we can't escape so easily anyway, we might as well figure out a way to take something with us."
With that, everyone in the council chamber had approved the plan of action. Once their internal differences were settled, there would be far less resistance to completing the tasks ahead.
Seeing that there were no more dissenting voices, Li Ang finally nodded. Just as he was about to officially issue the order, the shipboard AI Loki suddenly chimed in with an alert.
Several red dots appeared in the solar system's holographic projection. They were breaking away from Jupiter's orbit and accelerating furiously in the direction of the Megacorp.
"What's going on? Have we been discovered?"
Morgan Blackhand frowned. Logically, it shouldn't have been possible for the local human warships to detect them—the technological gap between the two sides was still considerable.
"I don't think so. If they really meant to capture us, why send out so few ships? And their flight paths are scattered."
V studied the approaching warships' trajectories and realized they weren't heading directly for the War Moon at all. It was merely a coincidence.
Their target wasn't clear.
And most importantly, one of the red dots had clearly broken formation, rushing ahead alone, while the others remained in a neat triangular array—pursuing the one in front.
There seemed to have been a defection within this human fleet…
Could it be Zhang Beihai's ship, the Natural Selection?
The thought immediately struck Li Ang He ordered the location magnified and switched the view to real-time imaging.
Soon, before a massive backdrop of Jupiter, everyone saw a ship fleeing at full speed, breaking free of Jupiter's orbital zone. Behind it, several warships were accelerating in pursuit.
[Enemy communications channel intercepted. Relaying to headquarters.]
With Loki's swift response, the captured signal filled the command hall. Everyone could clearly hear the stern warning from the other side—
[Natural Selection, stop immediately! You are committing mutiny!]
Sure enough, the lone fleeing ship was the Natural Selection, the stellar-class warship Zhang Beihai had taken. That ship, along with the few behind it, would become some of humanity's scarce surviving vessels—
Preserving a spark of hope for human civilization.
At this moment, the Natural Selection had already crossed the orbits of Jupiter's sixteen major moons. As it passed Callisto's orbit, it accelerated past Jupiter's escape velocity.
From the perspective of the three fleet headquarters, the ship's silhouette was already fading into the distance.
Yet for the next week, they would still be able to trace its afterglow.
That faint trajectory line, shallow yet painful like a scar, cast a shadow over the human fleet before they had even gone to war.
The battle-hungry fleet seethed with the urge to drag this cowardly deserter back and execute him as an offering to the cause.
Moments later, the Natural Selection's response echoed across the channel:
[This is Captain Zhang Beihai of the Natural Selection. I want to speak to the fleet commander.]
Fleet Commander: [I'm listening.]
Immediately, Zhang Beihai's voice came through, heavy yet steady: [I take full responsibility for the Natural Selection's departure. This was my decision alone. No one else is involved.]
From the start, Zhang Beihai exonerated his crew, shouldering all the guilt himself. Of course, he didn't believe what he was doing was truly a crime.
On the commander's end, there was the sound of labored breathing, as if he were struggling to rein in his fury. Then came the next question:
[Why are you deserting?]
The tone was calm, but everyone could hear the suppressed rage beneath it.
[Escape is a fact. But I have not betrayed anyone.]
…
The transmission cut off there. Without their FTL devices, the Megacorp's communication systems were far weaker than before, easily disrupted by spatial factors, and unable to hold a stable link for long.
"Looks like they've run into internal trouble. Someone doesn't believe humanity can defeat the Trisolaran civilization, so they've fled with the spark of human hope."
Morgan Blackhand rubbed his lower lip. Fleeing before the war even began would be a heavy blow to morale. Without The Megacorp's intervention, the human fleet would be in for a hard time.
"Boss, should we step in to stop that deserter ship? This could be our chance to make contact with human civilization."
Alt Cunningham posed the question.
Strictly speaking, this was humanity's own business in the Trisolaran universe—it wasn't their place to meddle. But if The Megacorp simply showed up uninvited, misunderstandings were bound to arise.
All the more since they were certain to join this decisive war sooner or later. The Natural Selection had no reason to keep fleeing.
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