The galaxy is so large that even after seven hundred Cosmic Eras of expansion, the Interstellar Alliance can't see the end of it. If one confines their vision to a single planet or race, that is undoubtedly a narrow-minded foolishness.
Lin casually threw the mud he picked up into a container. He wanted to collect minerals from this Earth for geological investigation. This Earth had attracted enough of his attention. Although he said that similar planets existing in the universe was normal, he had actually told a lie.
That "Information Projection Theory" wasn't accurate. To be frank, it was just nonsense from some academic fraud that he heard on the Interstellar Alliance news when he was bored. That person is now being used as material for meme videos across major websites.
But when a person's strength is great enough, even a sneeze is a landslide. This sentence is even more appropriate between civilizations. Even if he told these humans exactly what that fraud said, after witnessing things beyond common sense, they would have no choice but to believe Lin words.
"As expected... no matter how I look at it, this Earth is highly similar to the mother planet in records."
Lin sized up the environment; no one could hear his muttering.
From his few days of investigation, this Earth was highly consistent with the Earth his ancestors came from, both in terms of environment and humanities. The language and grammar were also almost identical, with only small parts of the grammar modified for communication between cosmic civilizations after people left Earth.
This level of similarity was truly strange. Moreover, he had been sending distress signals to the Interstellar Alliance for the past few days, but all messages had vanished without a reply. He even doubted if it was a bad signal or if the long-distance communication company had been blown up.
Most importantly... actually, his ancestors' Earth had also experienced a Honkai eruption.
After defeating the Honkai, his ancestors had a technological level sufficient to head toward the universe, truly taking the first step toward the vast starry river.
These similarities couldn't help but cause him doubt.
"Once she makes a decision, I'll leave." Lin wiped the dirt off his hands and sighed as he walked back toward the direction he came from. "I should find time to have Teacher come and take a look at this planet..."
Actually, it would be very simple for Lin to solve the Honkai on this planet. Honkai only changes and evolves according to a civilization's technological level. From reports from various planets, even for civilizations with the highest technological level before leaving their planet, Honkai is only a planetary-scale disaster.
But Lin didn't want to directly help the people on this planet. He had no relation to them; they were just passing by at most, with the connection of only a single meal. Civilizations are born and perish every moment in the universe; how could the survival of a tiny Earth hold back his footsteps?
However, he also had his considerations.
...
"Have you considered it? My time is limited."
Lin walked slowly back to the shelter and saw the black-haired woman standing at the entrance at a glance.
Along the way, Lin had encountered many Honkai creatures. This was his first time seeing the Honkai of a civilization up close, but their structures ultimately disappointed him. They weren't creatures worth marveling at—just normal species still confined to certain forms.
However, this could be considered an increase in his knowledge. Lin would surely see more during his journey through the universe.
He had liked the black-haired woman's gaze since they met—resolute yet not lacking in kindness. Only such a person could lead humanity to survive on a disaster-ridden planet.
So, what kind of choice a person with such a gaze would make was also somewhat expected.
"...Humanity does not accept any of your help. You can leave."
Lin gave a whistle. He said flippantly, "I knew it..."
Should he proceed to praise the black-haired woman's principle of not giving up on any human being? No, no, no. Lin didn't have such high morals. One is one, two is two. No matter what choice the woman made, he wouldn't be surprised; he would only do what he had said.
"We will defeat the Honkai ourselves and rebuild our home amidst this wasteland." The black-haired woman seemed to have come specifically to explain her choice to Lin. After saying it, she turned to return to the shelter.
Lin stretched and began to call for his ship, curling his lips at the woman. "Even if it means you'll perish next?"
"Even if we perish, it has nothing to do with an alien like you." The woman's tone didn't show the slightest wavering. She was a natural-born leader. "What I want to protect is humanity, not something else."
Whether it was leaving most people behind to linger or being transformed into another form, that wouldn't be human anymore.
Just like this guy Lin looked exactly like a human, but hundreds of years after his ancestors stepped into the universe, they had already turned into a vastly different cosmic biological species.
"Do you think I lack empathy? Are cosmic beings all such cold-blooded existences?" Lin stared meaningfully at the woman who had stopped walking. He seemed to have seen through her thoughts. "The two solutions I gave you are both practical and effective methods of defeating Honkai that have been verified on other planets."
Lin didn't lie this time. These two solutions were methods used by two races before they left their mother planets. What he didn't say, however, was that he alone could stay on Earth and wipe the Honkai clean; for him, it would just be a small favor, an insignificant stop in a long life.
"That's why I said those are the methods of other races. I want to win using the human method."
"How will you win? Is there a plan?"
"..."
"Isn't this just going to your deaths?" Lin laughed sarcastically. His ship had already flown from above them to behind him, landing silently. "Acting on impulse without a strategy is just stupidity."
"By the way, the 'humanity' you speak of is just yourself, right? Leaving aside the transformation plan, I think quite a few people would support the shelter plan."
"What you want to do is divide humanity?"
"I have no interest in the internal strife of an inferior species with less than a million left. Just a friendly reminder."
He wasn't so merciful as to save an entire species from dire straits. The perishing and birth of civilizations are the laws of the universe. At most, he would only provide some verified solutions.
But if there were a chance, Lin would still come back here to observe their fate when he remembered it during his travels.
For him, with a nearly infinite lifespan, it would just be the interval of a nap.
Lin said nothing more, boarded his ship, and without a second glance at the shaky shelter, flew toward the universe.