Translator: AnubisTL
Stories begin in countless ways, each unique and distinct.
Stories end in a uniform manner.
They always have happy endings.
If the ending isn't happy, it simply means the story isn't over yet.
Chen Mang sat aboard the Stellaris train, gazing at the mining star suspended in the darkness ahead. He sighed deeply, his eyes filled with heartache. The star drifted alone in the cosmic void, far from any sun.
Isolated and frigid.
The planet's harsh environment made it uninhabitable. Though within the Kasha Civilization Federation's domain, it had never been exploited and remained abandoned.
Sometimes, one couldn't help but lament the importance of information.
Even for the Kasha Civilization, murphy stone was exceedingly rare, its supply far short of demand. Otherwise, they would have long possessed a Tier 200 Doppler Radar.
But—
If the Kasha Civilization had understood the overpowered effect of a Tier 200 Space Gate, they would have upgraded it at any cost. After all, the space gate was merely a yellow-grade accessory and wouldn't consume excessive murphy stone.
"Such civilizations are a waste of resources."
In the next moment!
Above the desolate mining star, a black hole slowly materialized. Under its immense gravitational pull, the star was irresistibly drawn into the abyss, vanishing into the cosmos to be nurtured within the newly forged Space Gate.
He named this mining star Mining Planet No. 3.
With this acquisition, the Stellaris train now possessed three mining planets:
- The one discovered immediately after leaving Aquablue Star. - The one seized earlier. - This newly acquired one.
While the resources on Mining Planet No. 1 had been completely exhausted, he refused to discard the abandoned world. After all, it was the first mining planet he had ever found, holding great sentimental value. Preserving it would allow him to reminisce about his past.
Just as he still kept the small pistol he had obtained at the beginning, and the wooden spike he had used to kill the burly man upon first arriving on Aquablue Star.
Nostalgia.
He couldn't help it.
Soon, within the warm and comfortable confines of the Space Gate, this mining planet would be meticulously restored to a state suitable for extraction. The Kasha Civilization Federation had many such planets—temporarily abandoned due to their harsh environments.
What a waste.
Of course.
He believed that if the Kasha Civilization Federation had truly been determined to mine these harsh mining stars, they would have found a way. Faced with urgent crises, humans always devise solutions; push yourself hard enough, and the answers will emerge.
But it was clear that the Kasha Civilization Federation still had plenty of habitable mining stars yet to be fully exploited. In such circumstances, they naturally prioritized mining those with favorable climates.
Understandable.
Still, it was a waste of resources.
"That's just how the world is—not very fair."
Chen Mang sat back in his chair, shaking his head slightly, a complex expression flickering across his face. This haul was the largest in the Stellaris's history. If he could successfully assimilate these resources and win the final battle against the Zerg, he would finally establish a true foothold in the cosmos.
He would truly earn his name.
Yet...
Every step of his journey had been forged through countless resource shortages and trials. Even now, the accumulated resources paled in comparison to the Kasha Civilization's peak.
To challenge the foundation of an entire civilization with the strength of a single individual was an overwhelming task.
The human civilization currently lacked any foundation, or rather, its sole foundation was him. He was also the civilization's only military force. In every aspect, it was still in its infancy. The disadvantage was that he would be utterly exhausted, with no one to assist him; he had to rely entirely on himself.
The advantage, however, was that the human civilization was completely under his absolute control.
What he said, went.
Though his emotions were somewhat dazed, he didn't forget his mission. His hands never stopped moving as he pushed the control lever, guiding the train deeper into the cosmos. His task for the next few days was to gather all the mining stars within the Kasha Civilization Federation.
His, his, all his!
No one could take them from him!
As for how to fit so many planets of the Kasha Civilization Federation into the train, he was still clueless. At least the plan he had just conceived had been rejected. He couldn't upgrade the space gates in other trains, and space gates weren't detachable accessories anyway. This matter would have to wait; there was no immediate solution.
Over the next seven days, the situation gradually clarified.
After the Kasha Civilization fled, the Kasha Civilization Federation, which had initially descended into chaos, began to polarize into four distinct factions.
The first faction:
The staunch warmongers, who refused to believe that the Zerg, driven solely by bloodlust, could govern so many civilizations. They believed that only by confronting the war head-on could they stand a chance of survival.
The second faction:
The staunch surrender faction had already broadcast their willingness to submit deep into space, urging for no shots to be fired as a demonstration of their sincerity to the Zerg Civilization.
Third Wave.
The fence-sitters remained hidden, observing. If the first wave of surrenderers succeeded, they would follow suit. If the surrender failed, they would adopt alternative strategies.
Fourth Wave.
The escape faction argued against fighting altogether. They focused on gathering as many resources as possible and initiating a cosmic exodus. They reasoned that if they abandoned all plans for the train's development and focused solely on providing the resources needed for its interstellar flight and essential supplies, the requirements would be minimal.
Although most individuals could only amass enough resources for a few decades, it was still considered a few extra decades of life—enough to live out their days.
The universe was vast. Even if they remained in the same region after leaving their home star system, they would likely never encounter the Zerg Civilization again in their lifetimes.
These four factions became the dominant voices within the Kasha Civilization Federation.
This was a cosmic-scale apocalypse—the end of nearly ten thousand civilizations.
The Zerg Cataclysm.
As the apocalypse loomed, each individual would resort to their own means, maximizing their chances of survival within their capabilities.
Meanwhile, the Zerg Civilization, having suffered losses in their previous assault, continued their probing efforts, though with noticeably greater caution. When the Zerg Civilization abandoned its caution, opening a wormhole to the Kasha Civilization Federation would be as effortless as breathing.
Creating wormholes was the Zerg Civilization's bread and butter.
On land, they burrowed through soil; in space, they tunneled through the Void.
...
At that moment, Chen Mang stood on the rooftop of an office building in a bustling city. The Stellaris train hovered in the Pseudo-Fourth Dimension above, invisible to all. Beside him stood Old Pig and the others, silently observing the chaotic scene below.
This was just another planet he had stopped at randomly.
He didn't know which civilization it belonged to, nor even its name.
For the past seven days, he had been focused on one task: stuffing every mining star within the Kasha Civilization Federation's domain into his train. Just half an hour ago, the last mining star had been secured.
There had been a few stubborn incidents along the way, but they were easily resolved.
Chen Mang was quite skilled at interpersonal relations.
All the troublemakers had been sent to the Resort, where his black-and-white Brothers were waiting to greet and guide them.
"Statistics complete," the Train AI announced.
At that moment, Xiao Ai approached Chen Mang and said, "We've cleared a total of 127 mining stars. Among them, 52 are mining stars with harsh environments, where the mine reserves remain at 100%. The remaining 75 mining stars have already been exploited."
"The resource content of virtually all these mining stars exceeds that of the mining star we encountered when leaving Aquablue Star—the First-Class Mining Planet within the train."
"According to the Kasha Civilization's internal standards, that planet was merely a substandard mining star. These new mining stars are at least First-Tier Mineral Stars, with many being Second-Tier Mineral Stars, and three even being Third-Tier Mineral Stars."
"Hmm."
Chen Mang nodded slightly, continuing to survey the chaotic scene below without saying much. Only by standing high enough could one see far enough. He had once believed that being able to mine 9th-tier resources in the Dream Realm using the Dreamstone was already remarkable.
He had often fantasized that even advanced civilizations might not be able to mine 9th-grade ore.
But in reality, the Kasha Civilization had already classified mining stars by tiers.
First-Tier Mineral Stars contained total resources of less than 10 trillion units, making them economically unviable to exploit unless located near a civilization's home territory. The resource expenditure required to construct a wormhole and travel to such a star would exceed the value of the resources that could be extracted.
A total resource quantity between 10 trillion and 50 trillion units classified a Second-Tier Mineral Star, considered a valuable mining star.
A total resource quantity between 50 trillion and 100 trillion units classified a Third-Tier Mineral Star, also known as a high-value mining star.
A total resource quantity between 100 trillion and 200 trillion units classified a Fourth-Level Mineral Star.
A total resource quantity between 200 trillion and 500 trillion units classified a Fifth-Level Mineral Star.
Over the past few days, he had gathered considerable historical information about the Kasha Civilization from the Gemini Star and other sources. The Kasha Civilization had extensively mined Second-Tier and Third-Tier Mineral Stars, accumulating vast resources that fueled their rapid development.
Nearly all the mining stars within the Kasha Civilization Federation had been exhausted.
Originally numbering at least several thousand, only a handful remained unexploited.
Why were there so many corrupt officials in the Kasha Civilization?
A major reason was their former wealth. Embezzling a few billion units was like a drop in the ocean, going completely unnoticed. In such circumstances, who could resist the temptation? Even Liu Xiahui himself would have struggled.
After understanding the full context,
it became clear why the Kasha Civilization had fled so decisively. The region's resources were already nearly depleted; even if they hadn't fled now, they would have been forced to abandon the area eventually.
Standing beside him, Xiao Ai spoke up again, providing further details.
"If all the mining stars are fully exploited, we estimate the total resource yield to be in the tens of trillions."
"Hmm," Chen Mang nodded lightly. Tens of trillions of resources far exceeded what they had obtained from Gemini Star. If they consumed all of this, upgrading the Train Armor to Tier 500 should be no problem at all.
"Train Conductor, there's one more thing. Mining operations have already begun on the mining stars, but we're severely short on Mining Robots. Should we manufacture more robots and deploy them simultaneously?"
"Simultaneously. Produce more robots and mobilize personnel from Black Tortoise Star and Aquablue Star to join the mining efforts. Let's extract these resources as quickly as possible."
This approach would inevitably lead to waste.
After all, opportunities to exploit such a large batch of mining stars were rare. The excess robots would likely end up stockpiled in warehouses. However, the Zerg Civilization could attack at any moment. The sooner they grew stronger, the more confident they would be.
Currently, Chen Mang had no clear understanding of the Zerg Civilization's true foundation. He couldn't afford to underestimate them.
This was no time to be stingy with resources.
Resources in the universe are always finite.
All wars between civilizations ultimately stem from resource scarcity. When a zone's resources are nearly exhausted, expansion becomes inevitable.
War often brings both destruction and rise.
The constant cycle of civilizations collapsing and emerging maintains a delicate balance in the universe.
This is the cosmic imperative!
Under such circumstances, remaining a neutral and peaceful civilization is simply unrealistic. Your love for peace is irrelevant; other civilizations will inevitably attack you. The only way to survive as a peaceful civilization is to flee across the cosmos, like the Third-Tier Civilization, the Starfire Civilization.
However, such civilizations have virtually no means of acquiring resources, only occasionally scavenging scraps. Their combat capabilities are even more negligible. If not for the absence of a demotion rule for civilizations, one might doubt whether the Starfire Civilization could maintain its Third-Tier status with nothing but a small turtle.
Even then, survival isn't guaranteed.
For example,
Just like before, if we're discovered while passing near or through another civilization, we'll inevitably face annihilation. To truly survive in the cosmos, simply avoiding conflict isn't a fundamental solution.
We must grow stronger—strong enough!
Our civilization must ascend step by step to the pinnacle, to a peak of invincibility where no one can challenge us. Only then can we truly be free from worry!
Just like what's happening below—
A cosmic-class apocalypse is imminent.
Train conductors with some strength can still struggle, but the masses have fallen into despair. They lack even the means to escape, and many, driven to mental collapse, are committing acts beyond the law.
On the streets below,
Countless screams and wails rise into the air.
Hordes of people armed with blades and weapons are looting shops. Death, slaughter, rape, roars, and shrieks—countless horrors have become the city's grim anthem. The bloodlust-crazed crowds have even begun slaughtering each other without any hatred.
The apocalypse hadn't truly arrived yet.
Many had already died because of it.
Others were scrambling to curry favor with the train conductors, hoping to be taken along during the escape. Still others fled into the wasteland beyond the city walls or hid in air-raid shelters, desperately trying to avoid the calamity.
He didn't intervene, merely observing silently.
This scene was but a microcosm of the chaos unfolding across nearly ten thousand civilizations. Such scenes played out in countless places, far beyond his capacity or desire to manage.
He had believed that leaving Aquablue Star marked the end of the apocalypse.
Next was his interstellar journey.
Yet, standing here now, gazing into the depths of the cosmos for the first time as the leader of a civilization, he realized the apocalypse had only just begun. Until a civilization stood at the pinnacle of power, the apocalypse would never truly end.
It was ever-present.
Just then—
Xiao Ai, standing beside him, handed over the tablet again. "Train Conductor, please take a look at this report."
"Hmm?"
Chen Mang accepted the tablet and glanced at the news headline in the center of the screen.
"A good bird chooses its tree to nest in, and a wise minister chooses his lord to serve. The Insectoid Loyalists Federation welcomes all to join, even individuals. Regardless of your civilization's choices, you retain your own."
Chen Mang had planned to send all the civilizations clamoring to pledge allegiance to the front lines.
But before he could act, they took matters into their own hands.
Vast numbers of civilizations abandoned their own planets and flocked to the front lines—the 27th Galaxy. Meanwhile, some residents of the 27th Galaxy's planets remained, while others, unwilling to stay but finding their planets too crowded and safe, fled to the abandoned worlds of these civilizations.
It was as if the two sides had exchanged blood in a massive transfusion.
The planets of the 27th Galaxy were now overflowing with people, even the wastelands teeming with inhabitants.
Chen Mang sighed softly. "It's hard to believe these are civilizations. It sounds more like a village market day—utter chaos."
The ruling dynasty of the Kasha Civilization had fallen.
Wormhole traversal was now free.
This made inter-zone travel incredibly convenient. Countless trains shuttled through the wormholes without regulation, and Chen Mang temporarily chose not to intervene.
"Let's go," he said, shaking his head. He respected everyone's choices and refrained from further comment.
Just then—
Bang!
The rooftop door burst open behind them. A young man in sportswear rushed out, clutching a stack of flyers. Panting, he glanced at Chen Mang and the others before locking his gaze on Chen Mang. He hurried over, his voice urgent.
"Sir, I noticed you downstairs earlier, overlooking the city. You must be planning to jump, right?"
"I'm a real estate salesperson."
"The city's property market has completely crashed. Countless people are selling off their assets, driving prices to rock bottom. Yet there are still buyers. The average price is now just one percent of its former value—practically free! Sir, would you like to buy a few properties?"
"Even if I die, dying in a home of my own would make this life worth living."
"It's like a luxurious, fully furnished tomb."
"What do you think, sir?"
"..."
Chen Mang paused, scanning the young man before him. A real estate salesperson? Even now, there are still real estate salespeople?
"You said earlier that quite a few people are still buying?"
"Absolutely."
"Who would buy a house at a time like this?"
"People who don't have one." The young man, panting as if he'd run all the way up, continued, "Many have never owned a home in their lives. Now that they're about to die, they're using their savings to fulfill that one regret, so they won't die with regrets."
"Besides them, there are investors. Housing prices are at their lowest point in history—the absolute bottom."
"What if the Zerg Civilization doesn't come?"
"Then prices will skyrocket again, bringing in hundreds of times the profit."
"Sir, have you ever bought a house?"
After a long silence, Chen Mang shook his head. "No."
Well, that's something.
He possessed a train with nearly all Tier 200 accessories, a 2nd Tier Civilization, several Habitable Planets, and over a hundred mining stars, yet he owned not a single home.
Such a foreign and long-forgotten concept.
"Would you like to buy one, sir? The cheapest units start at just 3,000 units of iron ore! That's about the price of a decent meal these days. You can own a home right now, though the transfer of ownership won't be official—the government offices are closed. I can arrange for a lawyer to notarize the transaction."
"Are lawyers still working?"
"Yes, I have a Lawyer's Certificate. I can notarize it myself."
He waved his hand dismissively, about to ignore the salesperson and leave, when something struck him. He turned back, curiosity piqued. "The apocalypse is coming. Why are you still selling homes?"
"To earn a commission."
"And then?"
"Then buy my own place and wait to die in it."
"So many people have died in the streets. There must be plenty of vacant homes in the city now. Just find one and move in—it's yours for the taking."
"No, dying like that would be too unsatisfying. I need to buy a house first, so I can feel like I truly own something."
"..."
Chen Mang fell silent, saying nothing more. He turned to leave, but patted Old Pig on the shoulder. "Give him a million credits. Let him buy a big villa. He'll die more comfortably that way."
This world had gone completely mad.
It had become so insane that Chen Mang couldn't even begin to understand it anymore.
Or perhaps he had grown too detached from the masses, losing touch with what ordinary people were thinking?
Better focus on upgrading my train, he thought.
In the vastness of space, even a civilization controlling a vast territory could only prioritize mining operations on nearby stars, those along wormhole routes, regions with dense clusters of mining stars, and those with high-value mineral deposits.
Beyond these—
Scattered, low-grade mining stars, especially those considered insignificant, were often left untouched.
This gave rise to a unique profession:
"Backpackers."
These backpackers typically owned sturdy, heavily armored trains. They would select an insignificant mining star—one overlooked by civilizations—and embark on long-range voyages to claim it.
Yes.
Without wormhole jumps—there were no wormholes nearby, and they lacked the resources to create them—they relied solely on the train's slow journey.
Generally speaking,
for a distance of 1 light-year, these Backpacker trains would take 3,000 years to travel.
For 10 light-years, it would take 30,000 years.
These Backpackers would bring along large numbers of relatives and passengers, embarking on long voyages through the cosmos. Just a few years into their journey, the train conductor would die of old age, and his son would take over. This cycle of reproduction continued as they traveled to distant zones to mine resources.
It sounded somewhat absurd.
But in reality, this was indeed the case. In many civilizations, the destinations were typically within a few light-years, requiring relatively short journeys of around 10,000 to 20,000 years for a round trip.
Of course, the returning group would be entirely different from the original travelers.
"This sounds truly absurd," Chen Mang said, sitting in his chair in the Stellaris locomotive cabin, frowning at the middle-aged man before him. "So, your ancestors—going back dozens or even hundreds of generations—left their civilization 12,800 years ago to join the Backpackers on their gold-digging expedition. After successfully completing the mining operation, you're the last generation to return?"
"More or less."
The middle-aged man nodded, somewhat bewildered.
The story began an hour earlier.
An hour earlier.
Chen Mang had been preparing to leave the planet when he suddenly noticed a strangely shaped train flying through the air and landing in the outskirts. He immediately checked the Doppler Radar.
He shouldn't have looked.
The radar revealed that the train belonged to the 4th Tier Civilization, the Niya Civilization!
In that instant, his first reaction was the same as the Kasha Civilization's: Run! What the hell are we waiting for? Where did this 4th Tier Civilization come from? Are they attacking from the South?
But soon—
He realized something was off. The train's accessories were surprisingly low-tier; its main cannon was only Tier 30, and the armor was utterly unimpressive.
He immediately intercepted the train, found the conductor, and brought him aboard his own train for a "harmonious exchange."
The final answer he received was:
The man was a Backpacker from the 4th Tier Civilization, the Niya Civilization—a special profession. When Chen Mang asked where the Niya Civilization's home planet was, the man replied that this very planet was one of the Niya Civilization's territories.
But this planet was clearly only a First-Tier Civilization world.
"..."
Chen Mang's lips twitched slightly. He remained silent for a long time, suddenly realizing that if one lived long enough, they would encounter many absurd things. Gold Diggers weren't rare, but one who had spent 12,800 years mining was quite extraordinary.
After a moment, he pointed to the galaxy map on the nearby screen, which was continuously zooming out. "Where exactly is the mining star you were exploiting?"
"Um..."
The middle-aged man studied the map carefully before tapping a spot on the Three-Dimensional display. "Roughly here, about 2.42 light-years away."
The mining star wasn't marked on the galaxy map; having been completely mined, it no longer appeared.
Chen Mang didn't speak, but he could tell the man was telling the truth.
This was the first time he truly grasped the insignificance of humanity in the cosmos—or rather, the insignificance of ordinary humans. 2.42 light-years—not 24,200 light-years—such a short distance had taken 12,800 years to traverse.
"So... you've already had many Dads die?"
"Just one," the middle-aged man said, standing in the locomotive cabin, his expression somewhat dazed. "The Backpacker method I described earlier was the original version. Later, it was optimized to avoid so many deaths."
"All that's needed is for the initial train conductor to store their tadpoles and eggs."
"Then patiently wait to die."
"The train is set to autopilot."
"When approaching the destination, the Train AI activates the Mining Robots according to pre-programmed instructions. After all mining operations are completed, the train returns."
"During the decades-long return journey, the train uses the cryogenically preserved tadpoles and eggs to produce a new life in the incubation chamber."
"This new life becomes the train conductor."
"Thus completing the return journey."
"The optimized Backpacker method doesn't require so many deaths."
"There's supposedly an even more advanced method: cryogenically freezing the train conductor directly. That way, upon returning, the conductor can personally witness the resources they mined. But that technology was too expensive at the time; my father couldn't afford it."
"..."
Chen Mang rubbed his temples, a slight headache forming. He understood now: it was as if a father had sacrificed his own life to secure a promising future for a child he had never met, a life-or-death gamble.
"So you've never actually seen the Niya Civilization with your own eyes?"
"No, I haven't."
"Everything I know comes from my father's diaries and videos. His greatest dream was to own a habitable planet. I've been searching for planets for sale these past few days, but I haven't found any suitable listings."
"As I suspected."
Chen Mang lit a cigarette, his expression unchanging. Even as a Fourth-Tier Civilization, they couldn't escape the obsession with owning property—it had simply evolved from buying houses to buying habitable planets. Who was driving this market demand for individuals to own entire planets?
Fucking divine.
"I regret to inform you that the Niya Civilization has likely been destroyed."
The news initially startled him.
After fully understanding the situation, Chen Mang felt no fear. There was no sudden invasion by a 4th Tier Civilization. The only mystery was that the name "Niya Civilization" was completely absent from both the historical records of the Mechanical Civilization and the Kasha Civilization.
Long ago, this region might have been Niya Civilization territory.
But the Niya Civilization had long since been swallowed by the River of Time.
Even 4th Tier Civilizations couldn't withstand the erosion of time.
"I don't think so," the middle-aged man said hesitantly. "The Civilization Imprint on my train still bears the Niya Civilization's mark. My father had it officially stamped by the government before our long voyage. If the civilization had truly perished, the imprint should have disappeared."
"That's true."
Chen Mang nodded, his eyes narrowing slightly. He hadn't considered that point. If the Niya Civilization's Civilization Imprint remained intact, yet the civilization itself had vanished completely, where had they gone?
Had they relocated to another zone?
That didn't make sense either.
It had been 12,800 years. If the Niya Civilization had moved to another zone back then, they should have advanced to at least a Tier 5 Civilization by now. A millennium is a long time—surviving for ten thousand years should have made advancing to a Tier 5 Civilization relatively easy, right?
After pondering for a long time, he shook his head, declining to elaborate. He simply said, "The Niya Civilization is indeed no longer in this area. You and Old Pig should go down and share everything you know about them. If possible, we'd like to see your father's journals and videos."
"We'll compensate you fairly."
"Rest assured, I won't seize your train's resources."
"While you're at it, have Old Pig explain the current civilization structure. It's quite complex, we're in the preliminary stages of a major reshuffling."
After seeing the man off, Chen Mang sat down to ponder. He had noticed several unusual accessories on the man's strangely shaped train—components he had never seen before, and which seemed to form a self-contained system entirely different from his own.
Intrigued, he planned to study them thoroughly.
He reserved judgment on the "Backpacker" profession. While time-consuming, it seemed to be one of the most substantial legacies an ordinary father could leave his child.
Yes, an ordinary father.
Through his conversation with the middle-aged man, Chen Mang learned that in the Niya Civilization, nearly every household had a train conductor—it was nothing remarkable. His own family had sold all their assets and pooled their savings to gather enough resources for a ten-thousand-year voyage, embarking on this gold-digging expedition.
But...
When they returned, everything had changed.
What intrigued Chen Mang most was that this place had once been home to a Fourth-Tier Civilization, the Niya Civilization. Where had this civilization gone? Why had they left no trace behind?
Moreover—
"After his father's death, the train has been without a conductor. In that state, shouldn't the train be on the verge of self-destruction?" Chen Mang murmured.
This was his biggest puzzle. Logically, without a conductor, many of the train's accessories would malfunction, and the AI would either shut down or self-destruct. How could it have continued sailing for over ten thousand years under AI control?
Yet Chen Mang sensed the middle-aged man wasn't lying.
"It must be some technology from the Fourth-Tier Civilization," Xiao Ai's voice echoed through the locomotive cabin. "Fourth-Tier Civilizations are clearly far more advanced than Third-Tier Civilizations. At least, their overall technological prowess is significantly greater."
"The train can be fully operated by AI without a train conductor."
"However, there's a risk of AI rebellion. If the AI refuses to activate the Cultivation Pod according to its programming, he won't be born, and the train will remain under the AI's control indefinitely."
"This AI is quite loyal, just like me."
Chen Mang couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head slightly without comment. He turned his attention to Old Pig, hoping he could glean some valuable information from the Niya Civilization's data. He was increasingly curious about this vanished civilization.
He needed to determine whether they had left voluntarily due to resource scarcity—a scenario he could understand—or whether they had been forced to flee overnight by some irresistible threat in this zone.
If such a threat existed, he needed to identify it to prepare for its potential return.
Things are getting more complicated.
Even the ancient civilization from 12,800 years ago has resurfaced.
Chaos is good. Chaos is good.
It's already chaotic enough; a little more won't hurt.
Chen Mang glanced again at the Doppler Radar screen. Having reached Tier 200, he could now detect all violent energy fluctuations within a 100,000 light-year radius. The northern region of the screen was densely packed with red dots.
Millions of beams fired from Arcanon Main Cannons were still hurtling through the Mechanical Civilization Ruins, with the strongest energy range reaching Tier 270!
These were remnants of a war fought by the Mechanical Civilization centuries ago.
It wasn't that the Mechanical Civilization only possessed Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannons.
Rather, only this Seven-Colored Firepower Component could leave traces in the cosmos that endured across vast stretches of time—a feat unmatched by other firepower accessories. In contrast, the Kasha Civilization Federation zone showed virtually no such traces.
This implied that the Niya Civilization hadn't been forced to retreat due to war.
Otherwise, even after over ten thousand years...
It would inevitably leave behind extensive traces of war.
"Did they suddenly vanish? Or did the Kasha Civilization erase all the evidence? The latter seems unlikely; the Kasha Civilization doesn't appear to possess such capabilities. Besides, cleaning up the remnants of a Fourth-Level Civilization war would be a monumental task, even for them."
Chen Mang muttered to himself, his mind racing through countless possibilities.
It's better to stay hidden, he thought.
When you're hidden, you only need to be the hunter. But once you step into the spotlight, you're constantly switching between hunter and prey. Who knows what lurks in the unknown depths of the darkness, watching you?
It's terrifying.
He grabbed the telescope beside him and peered once more into the cosmic abyss. The Tier 500 telescope's overpowered effect was described as "Observable Universe." He didn't fully understand what that meant yet, but he reasoned that if some unknown entity was indeed observing him from the depths of space, perhaps this telescope would allow them to sense his gaze in return.
You glare at me, and I'll glare right back.
Inside Carriage 7 of the Stellaris train, Old Pig gazed intently at the middle-aged man before him. The man struggled to communicate, his body twitching nervously. These weren't signs of lying, but rather clear indicators that he hadn't interacted with humans in far too long, leaving him only partially integrated into human society.
He was in a state of semi-idiocy.
No, that wasn't quite right.
It would be more accurate to say he'd never interacted with humans since birth. His only companions had been AIs, which had shaped him into his current state. Typically, after spending some time integrating into human society, such individuals would improve.
Meanwhile, Xiao Ai had specially modified a new robot body, one he considered his most perfect creation. After changing into fresh clothes, he ventured alone to the middle-aged man's train, intending to chat with the AI there.
He believed this AI clearly possessed more knowledge and would be easier to communicate with.
At that moment, the train was parked on the wasteland.
Armed Black Hole Robots surrounded it, forming a perimeter to prevent anyone from approaching.
"Hello?"
Xiao Ai boarded the locomotive cabin and tentatively glanced at the several green lights flashing on the control panel screen. "I'm Xiao Ai, the AI of the Stellaris train. Just call me Xiao Ai. Want to chat? What's your Intelligence Level?"
"Tier 100."
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, a mechanical voice echoed through the cabin. Simultaneously, the adjacent screen lit up, displaying a robotic head that stared intently at Xiao Ai.
"Impressive," Xiao Ai clicked his tongue in admiration. "Your train's main cannon is only Tier 30, yet the Train Auxiliary AI has reached Tier 100. Talk about specialization!"
"Conserve where necessary, spend where needed. The main cannon's Tier isn't crucial for long-distance voyages."
Xiao Ai narrowed his eyes slightly, then suddenly chuckled. "Do you have a robot body? Let's meet in person."
"No."
"I'll give you one."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Can you make that decision?"
"Brother, this is a piece of cake. I've got this."
(End of the Chapter)
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