Translator: AnubisTL
Stellaris Train, Inside a Carriage.
Chen Mang closed the "Kasha Daily" on his screen, stood up, and walked to Carriage No. 2. His gaze swept over the mountain of resources piled up within the space gate, and a smile crept onto his lips. He stretched out his arms and inhaled deeply.
The air was thick with the scent of freedom.
It was the aroma of sudden wealth.
He loved it.
All the resources had been pre-synthesized by the Kasha Civilization into Tier 10 materials. A single piece was worth 1 billion units of resources. For example, the iron ore at his feet was a Level 10 Iron Ore.
He picked it up and examined it closely.
Level 10 Iron Ore had a unique appearance.
Pitch-black throughout, yet faintly translucent, with flickering flames visible within. It looked less like ore and more like a meticulously crafted work of art. Just holding it in his hand, he could feel the immense energy contained within.
Level 10 Iron Ore was far more visually striking than 9th-Tier Iron Ore.
And Level 10 Copper Ore had an entirely different appearance.
The object felt weightless in his hand, its overall color a brownish-yellow with red gas swirling slowly inside, resembling a high-end, dynamic version of the marbles he played with as a child.
He had tested it at the crafting station.
The maximum synthesis level was Tier 10. Without Tier 11 iron ore or Tier 11 copper ore, this seemed to be the limit.
Perhaps Tier 10 ore was the highest grade of mineral in the universe.
However, he had never encountered Tier 10 ore.
The highest-grade ore he had mined was from a Tier 7 mine. He hadn't even visited a Tier 8 mine. If pressed, the Tier 9 mine in the Cyber Mine could barely count, but that was a special case.
"90 trillion units of copper ore and 90 trillion units of iron ore," Chen Mang murmured, staring at the resources before him.
"Trillions..."
This was an utterly staggering amount!
The last time he upgraded the train, when he received funding from the Black Tortoise Civilization, he had obtained 5 trillion units of iron ore. He glanced at the cost to upgrade the Train Armor from Tier 102 to Tier 200.
30 trillion units.
At the time, he had considered this an astronomical figure, believing it would be nearly impossible to acquire such vast resources in a short period.
It would likely take years of gradual accumulation.
Back then, he had reluctantly spent 4 trillion units of iron ore to upgrade his armor from Tier 102 to Tier 115, a change that felt almost negligible. The resources had vanished like water poured into the sea—gone in an instant.
But—
Now it was different!
Now he felt that upgrading his armor to Tier 200 would only cost 30 trillion units of iron ore?
Such incredible value for money?
They say you get what you pay for, but with such a low price, could the quality really be good?
Most importantly!
Armor was the most resource-intensive component to upgrade on the train, bar none. It required even more resources than many Seven-Colored Grade accessories. Yet even upgrading the armor to Tier 200 would only cost 30 trillion units of iron ore!
That meant the 90 trillion units of iron ore he had would be enough to upgrade every single accessory on the Stellaris to Tier 200!
From this day forward!
The Stellaris would officially enter the era of all accessories being upgraded to Tier 200!
This would undoubtedly be a momentous occasion in his life, one worth recording for posterity!
So, the next step was clear—
Upgrade!
Chen Mang took a deep breath, standing inside the warehouse and gazing at the scattered resources. He lit a cigarette and abruptly asked, "Xiao Ai, how's the information gathering going?"
"Still collecting. I should have an answer soon. The Seven-Colored Firepower Accessory Blueprint, which consumes copper ore, isn't particularly rare within the Kasha Civilization Federation. After all, blueprints can be copied almost infinitely. The real scarcity lies in murphy stone."
"Good. Don't hesitate to spend what's needed to acquire the resources."
"Understood."
Currently, the train's powerful firepower accessories all used iron ore ammunition. He needed one that consumed copper ore; otherwise, what would he do with his 90 trillion units of copper ore?
He strode back to the locomotive cabin.
Sitting before the control panel, he reviewed the information displayed on the screen for each accessory. The first upgrade, naturally, would be the armor. Though it always devoured vast quantities of resources, the enhanced security it provided was unmatched by any other accessory.
After consuming 26 trillion units of iron ore, countless fragments of the metal fused into the train's structure. The Tier indicator for "Armor" on the screen rapidly climbed, steadily increasing.
If you were to zoom out and look down at the Stellaris, you would see its outer armor constantly shifting, as if burning in flames.
The upgrade was complete only when the armor's Tier displayed 200, granting it a brand-new Overpowered effect.
[Steel Car Armor Tier 200 Overpowered Effect: When damaged in space, it can absorb core energy and rapidly regenerate.]
A simple and straightforward overpowered effect.
But...
Chen Mang frowned slightly. A Tier 200 overpowered effect was a God-Tier Overpowered Effect. Nearly all accessories, upon reaching Tier 200, would undergo a qualitative leap in performance—such as space gates or refrigerators. Why did this Tier 200 armor effect seem so ordinary?
Moreover, it seemed somewhat redundant.
The Tier 20 armor effect was: [Surface coated with 'Ion Coating'. When the carriage is damaged, it will rapidly repair itself.]
One effect offered rapid regeneration, while the other provided rapid repair.
Could it be that the Tier 200 repair speed was significantly faster? He had no way of gauging just how much faster. When faced with such questions, experimentation was the best approach. Just as he was contemplating how to blast his own train to test the armor, he quickly abandoned the idea.
For now, he lacked any means to inflict damage on his Train Armor.
When the opportunity arises, I'll have to investigate this rapid recovery mechanism more thoroughly.
It's worth noting that—
Once accessories reach Tier 100, there's no absolute tier suppression. A Tier 101 main cannon can still damage Tier 102 armor, though the damage inflicted will be less than against Tier 101 armor.
Everything is calculated based on the Energy Range.
Even when the attacking energy is lower than the defending energy, damage can still be inflicted, albeit at a reduced rate.
This allows for the possibility of "death by a thousand cuts"—a swarm of Tier 101 main cannons could slowly whittle down a train with Tier 121 armor. Naturally, the greater the tier difference, the lower the damage inflicted. If the tier difference reaches 20, it's essentially impossible to breach the armor.
When referring to Tier 101 main cannons, we're assuming they are Seven-Colored Firepower Components.
As for Tier 101 rapid-fire ballistas, even a billion of them wouldn't be able to penetrate basic defenses.
The rapid-fire ballista's energy range was far too low.
Huff.
Chen Mang exhaled softly. The Train Armor had finally reached Tier 200, instantly filling him with a profound sense of security. Now, even if the 27th Galaxy were to stage another Zerg invasion, he could withstand planet-destroying attacks without flinching.
Completely unaffected.
In some respects, the Stellaris train was now tougher than a planet. Destroying an inhabited planet would be far easier than destroying the Stellaris train.
And—
He glanced at the control panel screen displaying the train's interior. Xiao Lu wasn't sleeping today; instead, he was playing with Young Master Li and the others in the rear carriages. Right now, he was sitting atop Young Master Li's Cosmic Behemoth, the Star-Treading Sword Tiger, looking rather pleased with himself, chest puffed out.
This was the first Cosmic Behemoth Xiao Lu had defeated.
It was also the only member of his kind on the train.
In recent days, Xiao Lu had taken to visiting the Star-Treading Sword Tiger often. The beast had completely submitted, becoming Xiao Lu's first follower.
Although it was difficult to discern pride and happiness from a round, fluffy, green sphere, Xiao Lu genuinely radiated such an aura. Chen Mang watched the scene, his lips curving into a slight smile as he shook his head and chuckled. He lit a cigarette and leaned back in his chair.
Even Xiao Lu had subordinates now.
The last time Chen Mang visited the Mecha Research Center, he couldn't help but laugh when he learned that Xiao Ai had amassed a considerable number of Smart Chips and Research Chips as his subordinates. Now, even Xiao Lu had his own followers.
It seemed the people around him were gradually becoming bosses themselves.
Good.
For many bosses, one of the greatest sources of satisfaction came from seeing their subordinates thrive. Witnessing their success brought him genuine joy.
Xiao Lu's Tier progressed in tandem with the Train Armor.
When the armor reached Tier 200, Xiao Lu's Tier simultaneously reached Tier 200!
Xiao Lu was a Cosmic Behemoth with s-rank potential, requiring Level 180 to reach adulthood. Once fully grown, his Devouring Combat form could stretch up to 0.1 light-years, allowing him to effortlessly swallow the entire 27th Galaxy, including its star, in a single gulp.
Not now.
This place is too conspicuous.
Though it sounded absurd and helpless, he actually checked the Kasha Daily every day. Information appearing in the Kasha Daily was always high-value, but the sudden disappearance of Black Tortoise Star had gone completely unreported.
No one cared.
He found this utterly ridiculous.
Even though the Kasha Civilization Federation comprised nearly ten thousand First-Tier Civilizations, the sudden disappearance of the only First-Tier Civilization among them should have warranted at least some inquiry or investigation.
Yet there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. No one paid any attention.
Only a few information platforms in the 27th Galaxy discussed the matter, their tone filled with unease and fear.
Over the past two days, he had found a quiet corner in the cosmos for Xiao Lu to fully manifest its complete form. He wanted to see what it looked like—a body 0.1 light-years wide was almost beyond his imagination.
Perhaps...
This was the true Cosmic Behemoth!
Exploding stars was merely its most basic ability, hardly worth mentioning!
He now believed that some Cosmic Behemoths truly could devour stars.
As for that Star-Treading Sword Tiger thing, let alone destroying a planet, it would struggle to even demolish a stadium.
Inside the Resident Car:
Young Master Li and the others stood nearby, smiling as they watched Xiao Lu and the Star-Treading Sword Tiger playing in the distance, chatting among themselves.
"Lord Mang has made quite the haul this time. The Stellaris train is likely on the verge of a qualitative leap."
"Perhaps Lord Mang's civilization can finally resume its reconstruction plans. We no longer need to fear the Kasha Civilization or the Zerg Civilization."
The old man from Jimei Tourism Company gazed at the scene before him, sighing with emotion. "If only Miss were still here... everything would finally be looking up."
"Huh?"
"Young Master Li, does your Cosmic Behemoth have an upset stomach? It's been lying motionless on the ground all day, trembling violently and sweating so much it's practically dehydrated."
"It does seem that way. I'll go check on it."
The Star-Treading Sword Tiger, with Xiao Lu riding on its back, lay prostrate on the ground, its body shaking like a leaf. It could clearly sense its Boss's aura suddenly surging, the overwhelming pressure making even breathing difficult.
Others couldn't sense it, but as a Cosmic Behemoth, it was acutely sensitive to such a presence.
It desperately wanted to struggle to its feet. This was its boss, who would never harm it.
But its body remained unresponsive.
Boss is so strong!
A few minutes later, Xiao Lu was rolling around on the ground in high spirits, while the Star-Treading Sword Tiger, tongue lolling, followed closely behind, darting around like a devoted follower. The soul-shaking terror had vanished.
Boss had just given it a good thrashing.
Afterward, it felt much better, no longer afraid.
How miraculous!
It was simply thrilled that its boss had grown even stronger, which meant it had become stronger too, by extension.
"Um..."
Standing at a distance, the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion glanced at Young Master Li beside him, his expression slightly odd. "Young Master Li, your Cosmic Behemoth seems to be more capable than you are."
"Get lost," Young Master Li retorted, rolling his eyes. Once he confirmed the Star-Treading Sword Tiger was unharmed, he relaxed. I knew it! he thought. How could a Cosmic Behemoth suddenly get sick? Its constitution must be terribly weak.
Yet inwardly, he felt a surge of smug satisfaction.
His Cosmic Behemoth had grown so close to Lord Mang's Cosmic Behemoth that, in a sense, cough.
"Like father, like son," he thought.
It made perfect sense.
Over the past few days, he had emerged from his grief. Since what had happened was irreversible, he could only accept it. His focus now was on regaining his composure, performing well, and finding his place aboard the Stellaris.
If the opportunity arose, he would rebuild his Great Onion Civilization.
He patted the green onion sprouting from his head.
There were undoubtedly remnants of the Great Onion Civilization on nearby planets. In a few days, he planned to ask Lord Mang for permission to take these clansmen with him. With enough time and opportunity, he could begin repopulating their numbers, allowing the Great Onion Civilization to once again stand proudly in the world!
Continue upgrading!
Inside the Stellaris's locomotive cabin, Chen Mang's work never stopped. After upgrading the "Armor" to Tier 200, he set his sights on the remaining Seven-Colored Grade Accessories!
First and foremost, the Seven-Colored Grade Firepower Accessory: the "Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannon"!
He had previously upgraded this accessory to Tier 101.
This time, after consuming 5 trillion units of iron ore, he directly upgraded it to Tier 200 and obtained a brand-new God-Tier Overpowered Effect.
[Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannon Tier 200 Overpowered Effect: The beam's power continuously increases as it travels. The farther it travels, the greater the damage it inflicts, with no upper limit to the damage amplification per light-year interval.]
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes, studying this God-Tier Overpowered Effect, his mind racing.
Is this God-Tier Overpowered Effect strong?
It felt incredibly powerful.
Damage amplification with no upper limit.
Theoretically, if he fired the main cannon now and the beam encountered no significant celestial bodies or other obstructions, allowing it to travel unimpeded through the cosmos, then, theoretically, after traversing hundreds of millions of light-years, a single shot could easily obliterate the Kasha Civilization and the Zerg Civilization.
Every living being within a radius of 100,000 light-years might perish.
Hundreds of millions of light-years sounded like an absurdly vast distance.
But—
Some superclusters can span hundreds of millions of light-years in diameter.
While a true light beam is theoretically impossible in the universe due to cosmic limitations, even if it achieved or surpassed the speed of light, it would still be akin to an infant's first steps on the cosmic scale.
He would never live long enough to see the edge of the universe.
The universe was simply that vast.
In such an immense realm, where many things developed randomly and naturally, it wouldn't be surprising to find not just a Train Civilization, but even a Dung Civilization where consuming feces granted power.
However...
His light beam attacks required a full year to travel one light-year. Firing a shot toward the Zerg Civilization now would take tens of thousands of years to arrive, with each light-year of travel amplifying its destructive force.
The effect was devastating.
But truly unleashing it required an immense amount of time.
Moreover, it didn't necessarily require the full power of a Tier 200 Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannon. While Tier 200 was ideal due to its high initial intensity, any Tier above 101 could, after tens of thousands of years of travel, annihilate any enemy!
Annihilate any enemy!
So far, only this accessory could achieve such a feat. Should he fire a test shot first?
He felt a restless urge as he glanced southward on the galaxy map.
Within this vast region:
To the left lay the Zerg Civilization, to the right the Kasha Civilization, and above the ruins of the Mechanical Civilization. Only the southern expanse remained empty.
There were no planets, no stars, no dust clouds.
To the south lay the Cosmic Void.
Cosmic Voids are unique structures in the universe, often vast in scale, containing virtually no galaxies, stars, or visible matter. They are immense empty regions, like deserts in the cosmos.
They stand in stark contrast to the densely populated regions of galaxies and superclusters, forming a crucial component of the cosmic web.
Typically spanning tens of millions to billions of light-years in diameter, Cosmic Voids are never small. Their average density is 10-20% lower than the cosmic average, and they primarily consist of dark matter with trace amounts of gas, often appearing spherical or ellipsoidal.
If the universe were likened to a block of cheese, the densely clustered regions like Galaxy Clusters would be the cheese itself, while the Cosmic Voids would be the "holes."
Full of holes.
Different civilizations often have different names for these regions. In the Kasha Civilization, this area is referred to as "The Void"—the ultimate emptiness, where nothing exists. No train, not even his, could traverse this region.
There were no resource replenishment points along the way.
Although his train's energy consumption was reduced by 99.9%, making it practically energy-free, it still relied on absorbing core energy flowing through space. This core energy originated from planetary leakage, but the region he was traversing contained no planets at all. Where, then, could the core energy leak from?
Forget about an overpowered effect.
Even a God-Tier Overpowered Effect would fizzle out halfway through, grinding to a halt.
Moreover, the interior contained no stars or any luminous matter. If Hell truly existed, it would undoubtedly be located within the Cosmic Void—an absolute cosmic forbidden zone, untouched by any being, impossible to explore.
It was also the most desolate region in the universe.
Under most circumstances, this zone was utterly useless, serving only to expand humanity's understanding of the universe's diversity. Chen Mang had known this since leaving Aquablue Star to join the Kasha Civilization Federation, but he had never given it much thought, given its lack of practical applications.
But now—
Chen Mang's eyes narrowed slightly. For a beam attack to travel tens of thousands of light-years unimpeded through a Galaxy Cluster or a densely populated region of galaxies was asking the impossible.
It was like the energy beams he had fired shortly after leaving Aquablue Star.
They should have traveled nearly two light-years by now.
Perhaps they had already struck some dead star and dissipated into the void.
But within the Cosmic Void, there would be no resistance!
A clear path!
Effortlessly traversing tens of millions, even hundreds of millions of light-years would be trivial. When the beam he unleashed crossed the southern Cosmic Void and reached the other side after hundreds of millions of years, the resulting explosion would shake the entire universe!
The thought made his expression darken slightly.
He genuinely wanted to fire a shot just for the fun of it.
Even if he wouldn't live to see the consequences, the urge remained.
And if he felt this way, others surely would too.
Humans are inherently destructive.
It's in our nature.
Think of childhood: the fascination with lighters, burning things; flooding ant nests; the urge to jump from rooftops; the desire to smash exquisite porcelain.
Humans are born to destroy—themselves, beautiful things, everything within reach.
Train Civilizations likely exist beyond this region.
Perhaps there's a Train Civilization on the other side of the Cosmic Void, where someone has already upgraded their Arcanon Main Cannon to Tier 200 and fired a shot millions, even hundreds of millions of years ago, destined to arrive in the future.
No one can say for sure.
"..."
Chen Mang pondered for a long moment. He reasoned that if there were a civilization on the other side of the Cosmic Void, they had undoubtedly already fired a shot, though it would take an eternity to arrive.
No.
He had to fire one too.
Can't let them get the upper hand.
In the cosmos, the potential gains from assuming a strange civilization is an enemy far outweigh the potential gains from assuming it's a friend. Conversely, the potential harm from assuming a civilization is a friend is catastrophic.
He had little interest in broadcasting "Hello World" to every civilization in the universe. He preferred more practical methods.
He was past the age of making friends.
No time to waste.
Chen Mang didn't linger. He immediately pushed the train to its maximum speed. After searching through the official wormholes of the 27th Galaxy for some time, he found a strategic wormhole leading south. As a member of the Free Army, he had free access to strategic wormholes.
Of course, this wormhole was one-way.
But...
That didn't matter.
Two hours later, the Stellaris train had reached the southernmost point. Numerous other trains were emerging from wormholes behind them, using this location as a staging area to launch a multi-pronged assault on the Zerg Civilization.
They were all part of the Free Army.
Operating beyond any control, they could do whatever they pleased within the Zerg Civilization's domain.
However, they received no logistical support.
Everything had to be self-supplied, like bringing your own armor to war.
The Stellaris train slowly detached from the group, venturing alone into the vast cosmos. Accelerating to its maximum speed, it finally reached the edge of the Cosmic Void after approximately forty hours.
...
Inside the locomotive cabin, Chen Mang gazed ahead, his eyes filled with awe. Though he had long known the Cosmic Void's approximate dimensions and studied countless astronomical images of it, the sheer impact of standing before it in reality was overwhelming.
There was no light ahead.
No luminous objects.
Only absolute darkness.
Utter nothingness.
Looking into it felt like staring into an abyss. Prolonged observation even induced a sense of imbalance, as if one were falling. This sensation was unique, one most people would never experience in their lifetime.
It could completely shatter one's understanding of the universe.
Ahead lay endless darkness.
Behind them clustered vast galaxies, forming cosmic walls.
The darkness was a hundred times deeper than the night on a planet, an absolute void.
The entire universe seemed cleaved in two by a single stroke. If the civilizations in this region had been of the Martial Fantasy type instead of the Train Civilization, this sight would have undoubtedly spawned countless legends—tales of two Cosmic-Class powerhouses clashing in a battle that darkened the heavens and shattered the earth, ultimately splitting the universe in half!
The overwhelming sense of solitude was so profound it felt as if the cosmos itself were evaporating or extinguishing.
"Good thing I'm not a philosopher," Chen Mang murmured. The scene filled him with awe, but if he were a philosopher, he might have been forced to contemplate the meaning of existence.
"That's because you haven't taken a wife," Xiao Ai's ethereal voice echoed through the train. "There's a saying in the Peace-Seeking Civilization: 'Marry a good wife, and you'll find happiness; marry a bad wife, and you'll become a philosopher.'"
"Me?" Chen Mang shook his head, his voice soft. "How many lives does she have to make me a philosopher?"
He lingered no longer.
Instead, he slowly pressed a button on the control panel.
In the next moment—
The Arcanon Main Cannon at the top of the carriage began charging rapidly, its barrel glowing with intricate patterns. After charging for over ten seconds, the train shuddered violently as an overwhelmingly powerful beam of light shot deep into the Cosmic Void at extreme velocity!
Immediately afterward, the cannon charged twice more.
He sent three blessings from the Stellaris train, each aimed at a different direction.
Visible to the naked eye, the three beams quickly entered the Cosmic Void, becoming the sole sources of light in the region. As they gradually diminished in size, it became clear that their effective Energy Range was only Tier 101.
But this was under normal circumstances.
After traveling hundreds of millions of light-years and passing through the Cosmic Void, that Energy Range would reach a terrifying level, one that no civilization could withstand.
Without exception.
Nor could anyone intercept such an attack.
These three shots had consumed 240 billion units of iron ore.
This was a cross-dimensional attack, with the timeline as its horizontal axis!
"..."
In the locomotive cabin, Chen Mang watched the three shrinking beams of light, silent and unmoving. He might not have been the first to open Pandora's Box, but he had certainly unlocked it. He didn't trust the hypothetical civilization on the other side of the Cosmic Void, a civilization he had never met.
Even less did he believe that every member of that civilization could suppress their destructive impulses.
So he chose to retaliate.
He wouldn't live to see the moment when those three beams of light, after traveling for billions of years, finally detonated.
He wouldn't survive that long.
But when that day came, he hoped his descendants would judge his decision as justified.
Let posterity evaluate his merits and flaws.
Only then did Chen Mang summon Xiao Lu to the locomotive cabin, gently stroke his head, and smile. "Go now," he said. "Show me your combat form. Let's see what effect all the achievements I've invested in you these past few days have truly had."
As if understanding, Xiao Lu nodded and flew out of the train, soaring into the depths of space.
Meanwhile, the Stellaris train accelerated in the opposite direction at breakneck speed.
Soon, Chen Mang realized something was wrong.
The Stellaris train was now traveling at a terrifying speed—163,000 kilometers per hour, a staggering 160,000 kilometers! Yet Xiao Lu seemed to be moving even faster, at an almost absurd rate.
Roughly nine days passed.
Yes.
Nine days.
A full fucking nine days.
By the second day, he was already regretting his decision. Maybe I should just watch it next time, he thought. But then he remembered he'd already wasted two days. Turning back now would mean all that time was for nothing.
Though logic told him sunk costs shouldn't influence important decisions, he reasoned that there was nothing urgent waiting for him, and this hardly qualified as a critical choice. So he pressed on.
After a full nine days had elapsed...
He finally received a message from Xiao Lu, signaling that they could begin. The Cosmic Behemoth, nurtured in the Giant Beast Car, not only shared a close bond with the train conductor but also possessed a means of telepathic communication—a skill originally exclusive to Cosmic Behemoths and their parents.
The next moment—
BOOM!
No sound reached his ears, yet the impact reverberated directly through his mind!
In the distance, a colossal entity suddenly materialized across the entire universe!
It was Xiao Lu.
Although Xiao Lu's combat form was 0.1 light-years wide, its length was much narrower. Since Xiao Lu was facing him directly, he only needed to run for nine days to reach it. If it had been facing sideways, nine days wouldn't have been enough; he'd have to run for several years to even attempt to reach it.
"..."
Chen Mang stared at the scene before him, his eyes wide with shock.
Even though he had been running for nine days straight, and Xiao Lu had been moving forward for the same duration, the moment Xiao Lu activated its combat form, its entire body instantly erupted into existence before him.
The full extent of its form was impossible to perceive with the naked eye!
It occupied nearly half the universe, resembling an endless wall or, more accurately, an arc.
Due to the immense distance, the light from its far end took an eternity to reach his eyes, distorting his real-time observation into something twisted and surreal—almost like Cthulhu himself!
That indescribable, unobservable feeling!
The sun in his previous world had a diameter of 1.39 million kilometers, already one of the largest objects in that galaxy. Yet Xiao Lu's width was 680,000 times the sun's diameter.
This stark comparison spoke volumes.
"What the fuck..."
Chen Mang gasped, jolted awake by the burning cigarette butt searing his fingertips. After frantically blowing out several puffs of cold air, he couldn't help but exclaim in disbelief, "This is fucking absurd!"
Though he had known the data theoretically, seeing it in reality was a completely different matter.
"Indeed, it's absurd," Xiao Ai's ethereal voice echoed through the train. "It even defies scientific principles. Train Conductor, do you grasp the sheer scale of 0.1 light-years? This isn't just about immense size."
"According to biological theory, such a colossal life form is fundamentally impossible."
"For starters, its neural signals would have to travel faster than the speed of light."
"And not just slightly faster—to traverse 0.1 light-years, even at multiple times the speed of light, would still take over a month. Yet this creature's neural signals reach its entire body instantaneously. This isn't just a Cosmic Behemoth; it might as well declare itself the Lord of the Universe!"
"..."
Chen Mang fell into a bewildered silence, his expression blank. Perhaps human vision simply couldn't comprehend such a scale. To his eyes, Xiao Lu's edges were completely blurred and distorted, with only the central region appearing somewhat clearer. As time passed, the clearer areas gradually expanded.
"We've also detected a variety of other data," Xiao Ai continued.
Xiao Ai continued explaining quietly, "Xiao Lu's combat form has a considerable mass. Even if it were to simply exist here without moving, its tidal forces would tear apart the defenses of low-tier trains thousands of kilometers away. Of course, the Stellaris train remains unaffected."
"Fortunately, its mass isn't too extreme."
"If it were any larger, this entire area would experience time dilation. One hour here could translate to several months outside. After all, Xiao Lu's sudden appearance—such a massive object abruptly thrust into the universe—would inevitably distort spacetime."
"No matter how vast the cosmos, localized regions can't withstand such disruptions."
"There's no precedent for something like this suddenly materializing. It's like a tumor in the human body—it grows slowly, its effects accumulating gradually. But if a massive tumor were to appear instantly, the consequences would be catastrophic."
"..."
After a long silence, Chen Mang finally sighed deeply, leaned back in his seat, lit a cigarette, and gazed at the scene before him. It was an incomprehensible mass of flesh, filling his entire field of vision, its movements defying all known laws of physics.
Conventional science had utterly failed.
He realized he shouldn't have named it Xiao Lu.
It didn't fit.
"Great Old One" would have been a much more appropriate name.
If this creature were to appear within the observational range of any civilization that hadn't yet entered the space age, it could instantly transform that civilization from a technological era to a religious one, with the entire population worshiping the Cthulhu God.
Cosmic Behemoths truly are the darlings of the universe!
He had never fully appreciated the significance of S-rank potential Cosmic Behemoths before. He only knew that the strongest Cosmic Behemoth ever recorded by the Mechanical Civilization was B-Tier. Compared to that, he understood that S-rank was impressive, but he lacked a concrete understanding of just how formidable it truly was.
Now he knew.
In a word: Invincible!
"Xiao Ai," he said. "If I were to fire a Tier 200 Arcanon Main Cannon at Xiao Lu right now, would it have any effect?"
"Not almost," Xiao Ai replied calmly. "It would have absolutely no effect. It's defenses inherit the armor's Tier 200 protection, capable of withstanding most attacks. Even if a penetrating wound were inflicted..."
"Given its colossal size, a small puncture wound would be virtually meaningless."
"Even multiple penetrating wounds..."
"Xiao Lu also inherited the armor's Tier 200 overpowered effect, granting it rapid healing in space. Any damage would be fully restored in the blink of an eye."
"As of now," Xiao Ai concluded, "there are only two ways to kill Xiao Lu."
"First, kill him with an attack far exceeding the Tier 200 Energy Range. For example, Train Conductor, your Arcanon Main Cannon. If it could fire for hundreds of thousands of years, one shot would obliterate Xiao Lu without a doubt."
"But it would be nearly impossible to hit him."
"Second, throw him into a Cosmic Void, preventing him from regenerating his injuries, then overwhelm him with a massive, saturated barrage of attacks until he's dead."
"Apart from these two scenarios, Xiao Lu is practically invincible."
"No one can kill him."
"Is it really that hard to hit him?" Chen Mang frowned slightly. "The Arcanon Main Cannon fires at the speed of light. With such speed, it should be nearly impossible to evade, right?"
"Ah..."
Xiao Ai sighed wearily. "Train Conductor, Xiao Lu has already reached a monstrous level. Haven't you noticed? Are you still treating him like your usual little darling?"
"He fucking instantly expanded from something tiny to 0.1 light-years wide!"
"The moment an attack approaches, he'll shrink back down just as quickly. Who could possibly hit him then?!"
"Theoretically speaking!"
"Xiao Lu's sudden, instantaneous expansion to such a colossal size is essentially a controlled Cosmic Big Bang!"
"His expansion speed is far beyond the speed of light—light itself would have to call him 'Dad'!"
"Under normal circumstances, this entire zone would be utterly destroyed. All sorts of bizarre physical phenomena would occur, like spacetime paradoxes, even tearing the local spacetime structure to form naked singularities, completely violating the law of conservation of mass-energy."
"Maintaining such a colossal body requires an absurd amount of energy. I still can't figure out where Xiao Lu gets his power. Could it be the energy accumulated from the iron ore?"
"Logically, that energy might sustain his initial expansion, but it's definitely not enough to maintain this form."
"Wait a minute."
"Train Conductor, I suddenly realize why everything seems so peaceful. As time passes, our observations become clearer. We're not seeing Xiao Lu's front."
"We're looking at his ass."
"Should we ask him what his head is doing right now?"
"I'm worried he'll devour this entire region into a Cosmic Void."
"That bastard's already chomping down on everything like it's crunchy snacks!"
"Thank goodness there are no inhabited planets nearby, or we'd be facing a mass extinction event!"
Xiao Ai's emotions were running high, clearly conflicted by the discrepancy between Xiao Lu's existence and the information in his database.
"Hmm."
Chen Mang pondered deeply for a long moment before finally smiling. "In short, Xiao Lu is incredibly powerful, right?"
"Incredibly powerful doesn't even begin to describe it," Xiao Ai said wearily.
"He's a fucking Great Old One."
(End of the Chapter)
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