Translator: AnubisTL
Chen Mang stared at the translator the Zerg Queen had hurled before him. After a long silence, he slowly bent down, picked it up, activated it, and clipped it to his collar.
Normally, he wouldn't waste words on the dying.
But today, he would make an exception.
Soon, he saw the Zerg Queen's mandibles twitch slightly, emitting a faint, grating sound. Through the translator, he clearly understood her words.
"Greetings, human."
Chen Mang's eyes narrowed slightly. The Queen's tone was utterly calm, leaving him unsure whether it was due to the Zerg's inability to express emotions or genuine composure, allowing her to remain so serene even as her race faced annihilation.
Still, he replied softly, "Greetings, Zerg."
"Not exactly 'not bad,'" the Zerg Queen said, a hint of amusement entering her voice. "With all my clansmen dead, it's hardly 'not bad.' I merely wished to ask you something before I die."
"Revenge," Chen Mang said, his expression impassive. "Years ago, your Zerg scattered countless eggs across the cosmos, plunging countless worlds into apocalypse. I nearly perished in one such apocalypse. This is vengeance long overdue."
"So you'll understand why you're dying."
The Zerg Queen Mother paused, then continued with a hint of resignation, "You humans are always the same, always seeking rational justifications for your actions. I'm not asking why you attacked us."
"The reason doesn't matter."
"This is how Civilization Wars work."
"Someone always wins, and someone always loses."
"What I want to know is, are you... from a God-Tier Civilization?"
Chen Mang neither confirmed nor denied, patiently waiting for the Zerg Queen Mother to elaborate.
The Zerg Queen Mother continued, "When we last met, your Train Armor was only Tier 200. Though powerful, there was still a chance to defeat you. But now, your Train Armor has reached Tier 500."
"The moment I learned this, I knew the Zerg Civilization was doomed."
"Such absolute crushing superiority is impossible to resist."
"But—"
"As far as I know, upgrading armor requires an immense amount of murphy stone. Theoretically, even all the murphy stone in the Niya Star System combined might not be enough to upgrade your armor to Tier 500, let alone the numerous high-Tier accessories you possess."
"I've been thinking."
"You might be from a God-Tier Civilization."
"That's why I agreed to meet you here."
"I want you to deliver a message for me. Of course, there will be a reward."
"I once belonged to the God-Tier Civilization known as the Zerg Civilization. My father was the Zerg Queen Mother of that civilization, wielding immense power. But in my youth, driven by a desire to prove myself through reckless play, I severed all ties and plunged into a random one-way wormhole."
"Arriving here, I established my own Zerg Civilization."
"When I tried to return, I discovered it was impossible. All I could do was develop my Zerg Civilization as much as possible, hoping that one day I might find a way back to my homeland."
"But..."
"Establishing a civilization from scratch is incredibly difficult. I transformed myself into a Reproductive Queen just to barely create my own civilization. According to human aesthetics, if you had seen my original form, you might have fallen in love with me."
"Zerg Queen Mothers are supposed to be supremely beautiful and proud, not like this."
"But I didn't have my own Reproductive Queen to begin with, so I had to transform myself into one. As for that fool beside me, she blindly imitated me, thinking this was the standard procedure."
"If you ever return to your God-Tier Civilization, I hope you'll find the Zerg Civilization there and deliver a message to the Zerg Queen Mother. Tell her: 'Your daughter Kira has thrived in the outside world, establishing her own Zerg Civilization, though she ultimately fell in battle.'"
"This way, my family will learn my story."
"And I can be summoned back."
"Summoned back?" Chen Mang's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Of course."
The Zerg Queen Mother suddenly chuckled again. "It seems you don't know much about God-Tier Civilizations. Did you leave home early? All clansmen of God-Tier Civilizations possess near-Eternal Life, indestructible and immortal."
"As long as my family knows the approximate cosmic coordinates of my death..."
"...they can summon me back."
"Naturally, this foolish roe deer beside me won't be summoned back. The naming of civilizations in the cosmos is exclusive; no one accepts civilizations with the same name as their own. I named my civilization 'Zerg Civilization' hoping that as its Civilization Level advanced, my family would notice and bring me home."
"I don't know why she copied my name."
"If her civilization level truly develops, only destruction awaits her."
"Fortunately, among the God-Tier Civilizations, the human civilization and the Zerg Civilization maintain relatively good relations. You need not fear any risks."
"In return,"
"I can give you the token to the resource cave nearby. Approximately forty percent of its resources remain unmined. It's a resource supply station left behind by an Ancient Era civilization in the cosmos."
"With the demise of that civilization, this supply station has long been forgotten."
"The entrance to this resource cave lies within my territory."
"But the token is held by that fool beside me."
"I've always wanted to devour her civilization and seize the token, but though she's foolish, her civilization's strength is considerable, making her quite troublesome. It wasn't until the Kasha Civilization attacked us that I persuaded her to join forces and share resources."
"Simply agree to deliver this message,"
"and the token will be yours."
"..."
Chen Mang remained silent, his gaze fixed on the two obese Zerg Queens before him. He harbored hatred for the Zerg, but it was a weak, pitiful thing. Though he had long used it as justification for launching attacks against the Zerg Civilization.
But the real reason was indeed for resources.
However...
He wasn't used to the Zerg Queen's blunt way of speaking.
After all...
Humans preferred a more subtle approach.
As the Zerg Queen had said, in the Civilization War, there was no right or wrong. History was written by the victors. Someone always had to win, and someone always had to lose.
But...
He couldn't shake the feeling that there was a trap here. Setting aside the danger of letting a tiger return to the mountains, the Queen had no means to restrain him. Even if he made a verbal promise, took the token, and did nothing, what could she do?
She couldn't possibly have overlooked this.
There must be something she wasn't telling him.
After a long silence, Chen Mang finally spoke, "You know a lot about God-Tier Civilizations?"
"Not much. I was still young when I left home, but being part of the Royal Family, I naturally learned quite a bit through observation and osmosis."
"I'm not from a God-Tier Civilization."
"That's... unfortunate."
"But I believe I can one day reach the pinnacle of a God-Tier Civilization."
"Hmm... I'm suddenly feeling rather tired. Hurry up and kill me. I haven't slept properly in days. After I die, I want to sleep for a long time."
"I know this path will be difficult, but if you could tell me something about God-Tier Civilizations, it might help me avoid some detours."
"Just hurry up and get it over with. I want to sleep."
"..."
Chen Mang fell silent again. He had hoped to offer the other a way out—a chance to stay on his train and share knowledge about God-Tier Civilizations. But after learning he wasn't from such a civilization, the other showed absolutely no desire to live.
It was as if they didn't believe he could ever reach God-Tier status.
No hope whatsoever.
This irritated him.
"You just said my Train Armor is Tier 500. Even if all the murphy stone in the Niya Star System combined isn't enough, doesn't that prove I have sufficient potential?"
"It only proves you had a stroke of luck. In the universe, such opportunities are as common as grains of sand. Unless that luck stems from powerful backing, it's utterly worthless."
"I can let you stay on my train. Even if I fail, you'll at least live much longer."
"No, I just want to sleep peacefully and wait for my people to recall me. I have no desire to wander aimlessly with you. I'd rather die outright. After all these years of toil, I long for rest. Living a few more years means nothing to me."
Chen Mang fell silent, turning to walk back to his train. He suddenly realized he couldn't reason with this Zerg Queen Mother. Just moments ago, she had seemed desperate to live, even offering him a resource mine in exchange for delivering a message.
But upon learning he wasn't from a God-Tier Civilization, she had simply given up, resigned to death.
Since reasoning was futile, he would have to resort to other methods.
Soon—
Biaozi, who had been itching to act, leaped down from the train with his guard squad, shovels in hand. Leading the charge, Biaozi raised his shovel triumphantly, gazing at the alien planet and the two Zerg Queen Mothers before him. "Brothers, let's get to work!" he roared.
In short order, the two completely non-aggressive Zerg Queen Mothers were uprooted. Zhang Yi and Zhang Er each hoisted one onto their shoulders and carried them back to the Stellaris train.
"Enough talk. Just pack them up and take them away."
"We'll worry about the tokens later. Right now, I'm more interested in information about that God-Tier Civilization. I know better than anyone that in the cosmos, the most precious thing isn't resources, but information."
"Information barriers often lead to the swift demise of civilizations."
"That's why I spent so many days talking to Little Fatty. I desperately wanted to understand the inner workings of advanced civilizations so we could prepare for any threats."
"Hey! Hey! What are you doing?"
The Zerg Queen frantically squirmed her plump, white body, accidentally knocking Zhang Yi, who was carrying her, off balance. He stumbled, his face flushing slightly, and fell silent.
Immediately afterward, Zhang Yi pushed the Zerg Queen away. Covered in slime that had oozed from her body, he glanced around in confusion before hoisting her back onto his shoulders and heading toward the Stellaris train.
An hour later, Chen Mang arrived on Aquablue Star with Old Pig and the others, their expressions calm. They gazed at the Zerg Queen, now placed in the wasteland, and resolved to extract information through harsh interrogation.
Uncle Li, who had been brought along, stood with a solemn expression, ready to prove his worth at any moment. On the train, he was the only one with extensive experience in interrogation, a skill he owed entirely to Master Shen's patronage.
"Speak," Chen Mang said softly, leaning on his cane as he gazed at the Zerg Queen Mother before him. "This is no time for bargaining. You have no leverage left. If you wish to avoid physical suffering, tell me everything you know about the God-Tier Civilization."
"I will verify your information."
"If you lie, you know the consequences."
He didn't need to mention the Zerg Civilization's mass slaughter of humans to exert pressure. Such rhetoric would be meaningless—the kind of talk reserved for the audience, not the stage. All he wanted now was information about the God-Tier Civilization.
"I..." the Zerg Queen Mother murmured, lowering her head. "In our Zerg Civilization, there's a rule: whoever takes my virginity must marry me. I've always been a virgin until just now, when one of your subordinates claimed it."
"Bring him here."
"Once I see him, I'll tell you everything."
"Huh?"
Standing nearby, Old Pig couldn't help but exclaim in disbelief, "What are you saying? You've spawned countless Zerg Monsters, yet you claim to be a virgin?"
"Is parthenogenesis really so surprising to you?"
"It's not that it's surprising, but in my understanding, parthenogenesis is typically associated with lower-tier organisms, like paramecia."
"That's just your limited understanding."
Old Pig was momentarily silenced, unable to retort.
Soon—
A bewildered Zhang Yi was brought forward.
Upon seeing Zhang Yi, the Zerg Queen's massive body rapidly developed countless fissures. Her skin and fat began to slough off, until finally, a tall, slender woman who perfectly matched human aesthetic standards stood in her place.
"I've shed the identity of 'Reproductive Queen.' This is my true form."
"Even by your human standards, marrying him wouldn't be a loss for me, would it?"
"As long as we can marry, I'll tell you anything you want to know. But the marriage must be conducted with a 'Doomsday Marriage Certificate'—a union recognized by the Cosmic Rules."
"..."
Chen Mang glanced at Zhang Yi, who stood beside him with a bewildered expression, and felt a headache coming on. How the hell did things escalate to this point?
How did the plot even get here?!
He had initially just wanted to see what the Queen Mother looked like and check out that black hole.
Around him, Old Pig, Biaozi, and the others stared at Chen Mang with equally bewildered expressions, clearly unsure how to proceed with the unfolding drama.
Huff
After a long silence, Chen Mang took a deep breath and turned to the Zerg Queen. "First, let me make it clear: Zhang Yi is a crucial member of my train. I can't simply give you permission to marry him. I need to ask you a few questions."
"Humans and Zerg are different."
"When you're together or intimate, will you suddenly produce a swarm of insects?"
"No," the Zerg Queen replied with a gentle smile. "It seems you truly aren't from a God-Tier Civilization. In such civilizations, all races are equal. We're all composed of flesh and can reshape our bodies almost at will."
"The reason the Zerg you've seen appear so monstrous..."
"That's because that was the optimal combat form."
"The extremely obese form you saw earlier was the optimal reproductive form."
"For beings from advanced civilizations, choosing one's appearance and physique is a matter of personal freedom. There's no racial prejudice; even humans can deconstruct their bodies into Zerg forms at will. The only prejudice that exists is the bias advanced civilizations hold against Low-Tier Civilizations."
"This is a Cosmic Consensus."
"In my current form, I possess no special abilities—only an aesthetically pleasing appearance. I'm essentially a beautiful vase."
"No different from you humans."
"The same body."
"For the Zerg Civilization, this capability doesn't require reaching an advanced civilization level. It's an innate talent—the ability to choose one's form and abilities."
"For human civilization, however, you need to reach a certain level of Civilization Level."
"Enough talk. So you're saying you're no different from a normal person, right?" Chen Mang frowned.
"That's correct."
"Wait a moment."
Chen Mang, his expression darkening, pulled Zhang Yi aside. After a long pause, he steeled himself and asked, "Do you want a wife?"
Zhang Yi tilted his head, pondered for a moment, then nodded earnestly. "Yes."
"What do you think of that woman?" Chen Mang asked, pointing to the Zerg Queen Mother in the distance.
"Good," Zhang Yi replied.
"Do you want her to be your wife?"
"No," Zhang Yi shook his head. "One isn't enough. I want two. My brother doesn't have a wife either."
Chen Mang took another deep breath. "Aren't you bothered that she's the Zerg Queen Mother?"
"Huh? The Queen Mother isn't a beggar. Why would I be bothered?"
"The prefix is 'Zerg.'"
"No, she doesn't even mind that I'm dumb."
"That's good."
An hour later, an unbelievable wedding ceremony was held in Aquablue Star's "Doomsday Abyss."
Leading the procession, Zhang Yi, dressed as the groom, grinned broadly as he embraced the Zerg Queen Mother. They walked down the red carpet, tossing candies to the guests lining the sides. The attendees were few, consisting only of high-ranking personnel from the Stellaris train.
Zhang Yi's smile stretched so wide it nearly reached his ears. He had never imagined he would have a wife, knowing his own mental limitations. Yet here she was, beautiful and a Queen Mother no less.
However, the Zerg Queen Mother beside him didn't seem particularly happy, muttering resentfully under her breath, "Copycat, copycat! Always copying everything, from beginning to end! It's driving me crazy!"
Behind them...
Zhang Er, beaming as brightly as ever, was also embracing a woman—another Zerg Civilization Mother Empress who had shed her reproductive form. She looked somewhat vacant, mirroring Zhang Er's goofy grin.
Yes.
The two brothers were getting married on the same day.
Zhang Damei, sitting in the audience, stared at the scene in utter bewilderment. She had been handling official duties at the Law Enforcement Bureau when she inexplicably received news that her two brothers were getting married together. She rushed to attend the ceremony, but where had these two beauties come from? She had never seen them before. Had they just suddenly appeared?
Standing in the audience, Chen Mang watched the scene and couldn't help but sigh again. He slowly closed his eyes and gently massaged his temples, still struggling to comprehend how things had spiraled into such an absurd situation.
It was as if someone had pressed the fast-forward button.
Suddenly, he was here.
He had annihilated the Zerg Civilization and then handed over the two Zerg Civilization Mother Empresses as wives to his subordinates.
Well, whatever.
It wasn't so bad, he supposed.
At least everyone seemed happy.
But...
They definitely wouldn't be able to have children now. Fortunately, he had cleaned up thoroughly, so Zhang Yi wouldn't have to worry about the women bringing children from previous relationships. What the hell is this ridiculous mess?
"Thank you, Lord Mang, for bestowing this marriage upon us."
At that moment, Zhang Yi approached, his arm around the Zerg Queen Mother, his face beaming with excitement. "Now our Zhang family has two emperors!"
"...Congratulations."
After toasting everyone, Zhang Yi couldn't resist pulling his wife into a corner. With the pride of a treasure-giver, he retrieved several meat sandwiches from the refrigerator and offered them to her. "Honey, try these! They're delicious."
Chen Mang, observing this scene, sighed deeply and lit a cigarette. She's a princess from a God-Tier Civilization—what hasn't she tasted? Why would she like something like this? he thought. The power imbalance between these two is just too great. Zhang Yi's going to suffer after the marriage. Even without her family's support, the innate arrogance of a God-Tier Civilization will remain.
However, the next moment, the Zerg Queen Mother took a bite of the meat sandwich, her eyes lighting up instantly. She grabbed over a dozen more from the refrigerator and stuffed them into her mouth, chewing and swallowing rapidly. Then, her cheeks bulging, she turned to Zhang Yi, gave him a thumbs-up, and nodded enthusiastically. "Delicious! So delicious, darling!"
"You..."
Zhang Yi stared at the scene before him, slightly stunned. "Honey, you can really eat! Are you full yet?"
"Not yet," she replied.
"That's great!" Zhang Yi suddenly exclaimed, his voice brimming with excitement. "I haven't met anyone who can eat as much as me in ages! Let's have a competition today to see who can eat more. I've saved up a ton of stellar coupons over the years—I've calculated it, and it's enough for us to eat meat sandwiches for a very, very long time!"
"Sounds good!"
Thirty minutes later.
Zhang Yi lay on the ground, his face flushed with satisfaction as he patted his swollen belly. The Zerg Queen Mother lay nestled in his arms, equally content, her own belly round and full.
Both of them had eaten their fill.
Chen Mang sat at the table, silently pouring himself a drink. He glanced away from the pair in the corner, suddenly thinking this might not be such a bad thing after all. Despite having just met, the two seemed surprisingly affectionate.
Still... something felt off.
He looked over at Zhang Er, who was sitting motionless nearby, staring wide-eyed at another Zerg Queen Mother. He couldn't tell what they were doing.
Just as he was thinking this pair might not be getting along so well...
The two suddenly kissed.
"Fuck," Chen Mang muttered, averting his gaze again. An hour earlier, after it was decided that Zhang Yi would marry the Zerg Civilization Mother Empress, the Mother Empress, who had been silently observing the entire time, suddenly spoke up.
She revealed that the token to the resource cave was in her possession. To obtain it, Zhang Yi's younger brother would also have to marry her.
Since Zhang Er was also looking for a wife, a quick glare between them sealed the deal.
Perfect.
Chen Mang had figured out that the Zerg Civilization Mother Empress wasn't particularly bright. She simply mimicked Kira's every move, a pattern that felt strangely familiar, as if he'd seen it somewhere before.
The weddings finally concluded.
Both couples had been married using "Doomsday Marriage Certificates," recognized by the Cosmic Rules. Though Chen Mang didn't yet understand the practical implications of this cosmic recognition.
"Can you tell me now?"
Inside the Doomsday Abyss, the wedding aftermath left a scene of utter chaos.
Chen Mang sat on a table, his expression calm as he looked at Kira, the "Zerg Queen Mother."
"Yes, I can."
Kira cleared his throat, then leaned against Zhang Yi's shoulder, looking earnestly at Chen Mang. "Let's start by reviewing the situation from beginning to end."
"I—"
"I am from the Royal Family of the God-Tier Zerg Civilization, and I was accidentally stranded here."
"Originally, I thought you were from a God-Tier Civilization and wanted to send you back with a message. But after learning you weren't, I abandoned that idea and prepared to patiently await death. After all, if the timeline stretches long enough..."
"My family will eventually find me."
"No matter how long it takes, to my consciousness after death, it will feel like an instant—no different from any other moment."
"But since things have developed to this point..."
"We need to reconsider our approach."
"First, we are now bound by mutual interests. Only if your civilization develops sufficiently can my husband and I live comfortably."
"Second, when I eventually return home, my family will likely disapprove of my husband. He needs to attain a certain status, and his status depends entirely on the strength of your civilization."
"Therefore..."
"Given these two conditions, you can trust that everything I'm about to say is the truth, and that it's all genuinely considered for the development of your civilization."
Chen Mang nodded slightly. "Your logic is remarkably clear."
"Naturally. I'm nothing like that fool. You wouldn't believe how long I had to persuade her to share resources. I nearly wore my tongue out."
"Are you truly from a God-Tier Civilization?" Chen Mang asked, his brow furrowing slightly. "Shouldn't it be trivial for a God-Tier Civilization to find you?"
"No," Kira shook his head. "God-Tier Civilizations are indeed powerful, but their strength is still bound by the Cosmic Rules. For example, finding me would require an immense amount of time. The universe is vast, and locating a single person is exceedingly difficult, especially since I severed all connections and anchor points before leaving."
"Secondly," Kira continued, "how do I put this... God-Tier Civilizations have no wars. Everyone lives in harmony, striving toward a single goal: to leave the universe."
"Leave the universe?"
"Leave?"
"Yes," Kira nodded again, explaining, "As far as I know, once a civilization reaches Tier 7, it gains the ability to perform Dimensional Reduction. They can effortlessly collapse an entire universe into a two-dimensional plane."
"This kind of attack, even if your armor were Tier 1000, you couldn't defend against it."
"It's an attack on the level of cosmic rules."
"But ascending to a higher dimension is incredibly difficult."
"Before I left, the information I had was that no civilization possessed the means to ascend to a Fourth-Dimensional Civilization. Many civilizations had the ability to travel back in time, but none had ever been able to see the future."
"God-Tier Civilizations are supposed to be omnipotent, but clearly, even they couldn't achieve these two things."
"Therefore..."
"God-Tier Civilizations reached a consensus: the universe is constantly expanding at a rate far exceeding the speed of light. The Cosmic Rules restrict anything within this zone from exceeding the speed of light, and at the universe's edge, space is in such a chaotic state that wormholes cannot be opened."
"This means that even God-Tier Civilizations cannot outpace the universe's expansion to reach beyond its boundaries."
"The universal consensus is..."
"Beyond the universe lies the true four-dimensional world, where time loses its meaning, and past and future can be traversed at will."
"All God-Tier Civilizations are striving for this goal."
Kira paused, picked up her cup, took a small sip, and continued, "What I'm about to explain gets a bit complex. I'm not sure if you'll fully grasp it, as these concepts are quite advanced for a Second-Tier Civilization. But since you want to know, I'll explain it anyway."
"First,"
"Even the power of God-Tier Civilizations is bound by the Cosmic Rules."
"To escape the universe, one must break free from these Cosmic Rules."
"And to do that,"
"You need a Cosmic Forbidden Item."
"Any object that accidentally falls into a temporal rift and travels back in time becomes a Cosmic Forbidden Item."
"Now, imagine a scenario—"
"Where this time-traveling object encounters its counterpart in the Present timeline. This collision of past and present versions of the same object creates a Cosmic Rules anomaly."
"It's essentially a bug in the system."
"In theory, temporal rifts shouldn't exist within the universe. They're a cosmic glitch."
"Therefore,"
"The God-Tier Civilization began aggressively searching for temporal rifts, throwing various objects into them to manually create Cosmic Forbidden Items. Initially, they tried using the Goblin Civilization to retrieve the items, but this proved ineffective. The objects had to be thrown in and then reappear in the Present timeline at a specific future moment to merge with their original counterparts."
"Achieving this is incredibly difficult."
"Let me give you an example."
"Imagine you have a telescope. Right now..."
"Wait, why are you using a telescope as an example?"
"Uh, I just noticed one on the table next to you."
"Continue."
"Okay, let's say you've just created a telescope. There happens to be a temporal rift nearby, and you decide to throw it in. The entire process takes ten seconds. This 'telescope' exists in the Present timeline for only those ten seconds. Within that timeframe, the telescope that traveled back to the Past timeline must reappear before you."
"Only when the two meet will the 'rule chaos' occur."
"That's a very short window, right?"
"And you can't guarantee that the telescope returning from the past will appear at precisely the right moment."
"..."
Chen Mang didn't respond immediately. He had been pondering this matter for a long time, sensing something fundamentally wrong with it. After a long silence, he finally spoke, "I know a little about what you're describing."
"I roughly understand the logic behind it."
"But there's one question I've never been able to grasp."
"Before I throw something into the temporal rift, that object doesn't exist in the past. So how could I ever wait for it to return to the past and appear before me? Yet if I do throw it in, the past now has it, but I no longer have it in the present."
"Isn't this a logical paradox?"
"The past and present can't coexist simultaneously."
"Exactly."
Kira suddenly chuckled. "This is the fundamental principle behind the 'Rule Chaos' phenomenon. The Niya Star System has numerous temporal rifts. Have you ever tried throwing anything into one?"
"Yes."
"Later, did you ever see the object you threw into the past again?"
"I did."
"I knew it. After all, the temporal rifts in the Niya Star System are all on a single planet, so the chances of encountering it again are quite high." Kira nodded and continued, "Now, think back carefully."
"When you were about to throw that thing into the temporal rift, at that exact moment, was it also in someone else's possession?"
"..."
Chen Mang's eyes narrowed slightly.
When he was about to throw the telescope into the temporal rift, at that very moment, the "train conductor" had already been observing him through that telescope for quite some time.
Which meant...
Even before he threw it in, the telescope had already existed in the past.
"Because they were certain I would throw it in?"
"No," Kira chuckled. "It's a form of 'pseudo-interference' with the future. No civilization can truly interfere with the future, but God-Tier Civilizations have developed a method they call 'Assumed Future.'"
"Think of it this way," Kira explained.
"When you're absolutely certain you'll throw something into a temporal rift in the future..."
"That thing..."
"...already exists in your timeline."
"Using this method, you can obtain vast quantities of Cosmic Forbidden Items and even resources."
"For example, if you're certain that you'll pour vast resources into a temporal rift in the future, it's highly likely that those resources already exist in this universe."
"Of course, the resource aspect is somewhat uncertain. No one has ever received resources from the future before. It seems only Cosmic Forbidden Items can pass through temporal rifts."
"What?"
Chen Mang frowned, pondering for a long moment before continuing, "Doesn't that make this 'idealism'? If I wish for something to happen, it will inevitably happen?"
"Not entirely. It's merely a probability, not a certainty. The factors determining this probability remain a mystery."
"Secondly..."
"The biggest problem is that even if it exists in this universe, how would you find it? The cosmos is vast."
"In short—"
"The research of God-Tier Civilizations is far too complex. Even if I explained it, you probably wouldn't understand. For your current civilization, resources are paramount. Focus on acquiring sufficient resources for now; worry about the rest later."
"You're too far removed from it."
Back in the locomotive cabin, Chen Mang sat silently, lost in thought.
He had hoped that his conversation with Kira would give him a more comprehensive understanding of the universe.
But instead, he felt even more confused.
One thing he was certain of, however, was that Kira's explanation wasn't entirely accurate.
After all, he had never firmly believed that a massive palace would be hurled into a temporal rift, yet there it was, right before his eyes. This wasn't the result of his power of conviction, but rather a choice made by his future self.
Just then, the AI's voice echoed through the train.
"Train Conductor, I think I understand now. There are contradictions in Kira's words. It seems even God-Tier Civilizations are uncertain. What they truly want to know is whether the future is predetermined or constantly changing."
"Put it plainly."
"In other words, is each person's life fixed, like acting out a script, or can we alter our fate through effort? Or perhaps even our efforts and opportunities are merely scenes in a preordained script."
"That's what they desperately want to know."
"They conducted numerous experiments."
"Arrived at different conclusions."
"And tried to explain the universe's inexplicable phenomena using these conclusions. But the more they explained, the more they realized their current conclusions needed to be overturned, requiring new ones and further experimentation."
"For example—"
"The God-Tier Civilizations discovered that if they firmly believed something would happen in the future, there was a probability of it occurring in the present. For instance, if they were certain they would throw a telescope into a temporal rift in the future, there was a chance a telescope would appear in this timeline at this very moment. They termed this phenomenon 'Assumed Future,' believing it was a means of influencing the future."
"But in reality—"
"It's no different from deciding not to eat tomorrow and then actually not eating. Would that be considered influencing the future?"
"If you really wanted to stretch the definition, you could barely argue it."
"The probability exists entirely because of numerous factors. For example, if you suddenly got diarrhea on the day you were supposed to throw the telescope, the telescope wouldn't appear in the past timeline."
"Therefore—"
"The 'Assumed Future' theory can be refuted. Everything we receive from the future has nothing to do with 'Assumed Future.' It's simply the choices our future selves will make, setting only a general direction."
"Once you understand this information, you can roughly use it to secure potential benefits for yourself, provided you can retrieve the objects you sent back from the future."
"..."
Chen Mang remained silent for a long moment before suddenly laughing. "Xiao Ai, you seem to have gotten much smarter since reaching Tier 500."
"Actually—"
"I think I've figured it out," Chen Mang interrupted.
"Even God-Tier Civilizations are still groping in the dark when it comes to these matters."
"But I'm certain of one thing."
"If my future self grows to a certain height, I'll definitely throw massive resources back through the Time Rift. And by then, I'll have found a way for my present self to receive them."
"It won't be purely based on luck."
"And if I obtain those resources, I can advance further, thereby altering the future. From this perspective, the future is constantly changing, not predetermined."
"Even if, as Kira said, no one has ever received resources from the future, I believe there must be something else—something very important."
"I think the Heavenly Palace is the key."
"I'm going to the Nami Civilization to retrieve my Heavenly Palace."
"In short—"
"First, retrieve the Heavenly Palace."
(End of the Chapter)
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