Chapter 326: Level 4 Civilization, Niya Civilization |
The beginning of a story always takes on countless forms, each uniquely its own.
The ending of a story, however, is invariably the same.
They all lead to a good ending.
If it is not a good ending, that merely means the story has not yet ended.
"..."
Chen Mang sat inside the Stellar Train, gazing at the Ore Star suspended in the darkness ahead. He let out a long sigh, his eyes filled with heartache. There were no stars near this Ore Star; it simply drifted endlessly through the depths of the universe.
Lonely and freezing.
This resulted in extremely harsh living conditions on the planet. Even though it was located within the territory of the Kasa Civilization Federation, it had never been mined, left completely abandoned instead.
Sometimes, one could not help but sigh in realization.
Admittedly, even for the Kasa Civilization, Murphy Stones were extremely scarce and in high demand. Otherwise, after all this time, the Kasa Civilization would not still lack a level 200 Doppelganger Radar.
However...
If the Kasa Civilization knew about the effects of a level 200 Space Portal, they would have paid any price to upgrade it to that level. Not to mention, the Space Portal was only a yellow-grade component, meaning it would not even consume too many Murphy Stones.
"They are all just civilizations wasting resources," he muttered.
The next moment!
A ring-shaped black hole slowly materialized above the desolate Ore Star. Under a massive gravitational pull, the planet uncontrollably drifted into the depths of the black hole, quickly vanishing from the universe to be nurtured within the newly forged Space Portal.
He named this planet Mining Star No. 3.
With this, the Stellar Train now possessed a total of three mining planets.
The one they found right after leaving Water Blue Star, the one they had just confiscated, and this current one.
The resources on Mining Star No. 1 had already been completely depleted, but he did not discard the barren planet. After all, it was the very first Ore Star he had found. It held a lot of sentimental value, and keeping it would allow him to reminisce about the past.
It was just like the small handgun he obtained at the very beginning, and the wooden spike he used to kill that burly man right after his transmigration to Water Blue Star. He still kept them both.
He was a nostalgic person.
He could not help it.
This Ore Star would soon be thoroughly conditioned within the warm and comfortable Space Portal, transforming into an environment suitable for mining. Within the Kasa Civilization Federation, there were many such planets temporarily abandoned due to environments too harsh for extraction.
What a waste.
Of course.
He believed that if the Kasa Civilization Federation truly made up their minds to mine these harsh planets, they could definitely find a way. Faced with urgent crises, people always came up with solutions. By forcing themselves to the limit, a way out would naturally emerge.
But evidently, the Kasa Civilization Federation still had plenty of planets with favorable conditions left unmined. Under these circumstances, they chose to prioritize those with pleasant climates.
It was understandable.
It was just a waste of resources.
"This world is just like that. It isn't very fair," he mused.
Chen Mang sat in his chair and gently shook his head, a trace of complexity flashing through his eyes. This time, the harvest was massive, the largest in the history of the Stellar Train. As long as he smoothly assimilated these resources and won the decisive battle against the Zerg Civilization, he would truly establish a foothold in the universe.
He would truly make a name for himself.
Only...
Taking it step by step, facing resource scarcity countless times, and going through countless trials had finally brought him to this point. Yet, the resources he had accumulated were still far inferior to the Kasa Civilization at its peak.
Trying to match the foundation of an entire civilization with the strength of a single person was simply too difficult.
The Human Civilization currently lacked any true foundation, or rather, he was its sole foundation. He was also the civilization's only army. Right now, every aspect was just in its embryonic stage. The downside was that he would be exhausted, as he had no one to help him and had to rely entirely on himself.
The upside was that the Human Civilization was entirely under his absolute rule.
His word was law.
Although he felt somewhat lost in thought, he did not forget his main business. His hands never stopped moving as he pushed the control lever, continuing to drive deeper into the universe. His task for the next few days was to collect every single Ore Star within the Kasa Civilization Federation.
His, his, they were all his!
No one could snatch them from him!
As for how to fit so many planets from the Kasa Civilization Federation into the train, he had no clue for the time being. At least, the plan he had just thought of was vetoed. He could not upgrade the Space Portals inside other trains, and the Space Portal was not a detachable component. He would have to deal with this matter later; there was no immediate solution.
Over the next seven days.
The situation gradually became clear.
After the Kasa Civilization fled, the Kasa Civilization Federation, which had fallen into complete chaos, slowly found its footing and polarized. No, to be exact, it split into four distinct factions.
The first faction.
The resolute pro-war faction. They refused to believe that the Zerg Civilization, driven solely by bloodthirsty instincts, could manage so many civilizations. Only by meeting them in battle would there be a sliver of hope for survival.
The second faction.
The staunch surrender faction. They had long since broadcasted their willingness to submit into the depths of the universe, advocating that not a single shot should be fired to show their sincerity to the Zerg Civilization.
The third faction.
The fence-sitters. They planned to hide in the back and observe. If the previous faction successfully surrendered, they would follow suit. If the surrender failed, they would then figure out another way.
The fourth faction.
The fleeing faction. Fight? My ass! They gathered as many resources as they could during this period and directly began an interstellar escape. If they completely ignored the future development of their trains and only provided the resources needed for traveling through space and essential living supplies, they actually would not need that much.
Although the vast majority could only scrape together enough resources for a few decades.
But at least it meant living a few decades longer.
That was enough of a lifetime.
The universe was so vast that if they truly left their home galaxy, even if they remained in the same general region, they would likely never cross paths with the Zerg Civilization in their entire lives.
These four voices became the mainstream within the Kasa Civilization Federation.
This was a cosmic-level apocalypse.
The doom of nearly ten thousand civilizations.
The Zerg natural disaster.
And as the apocalypse approached, everyone had their own methods, doing everything within their capabilities to maximize their hopes of survival.
Meanwhile...
After taking a hit last time, the Zerg Civilization continued their constant probing, though they were noticeably much more cautious. Whenever the Zerg Civilization cast aside their caution, opening a Wormhole directly to the Kasa Civilization Federation would be effortlessly easy for them.
Opening Wormholes was the bread and butter of the Zerg Civilization.
On land, they burrowed through dirt; in the universe, they tunneled through the void.
"..."
At this moment.
Chen Mang stood on the rooftop of an office building in a city. The Stellar Train was docked in the pseudo-four-dimensional space directly above, entirely undetected by anyone. With Lao Zhu and the others standing beside him, he quietly observed the chaotic scene unfolding below.
This was a planet he had casually stopped at.
He had no idea which civilization it belonged to, nor did he know its name.
For the past seven days, he had been doing one thing: stuffing every single Ore Star within the Kasa Civilization Federation's territory into his train. Half an hour ago, he had stowed away the very last one.
He encountered some stubborn hiccups along the way, but they were all easily resolved.
He was quite skilled when it came to interpersonal relations.
He sent them all on a permanent vacation, where his underworld associates in black and white were waiting to greet and guide them.
"The tally is complete,"
At this moment...
Xiao Ai walked up beside him and reported, "This time, we confiscated a total of 127 Ore Stars. Among them, 52 have harsh environments with their mineral reserves still at 100 percent. The remaining 75 have been partially mined."
"The resource content of almost all these Ore Stars is higher than the one we encountered upon leaving Water Blue Star."
"In other words, Mining Star No. 1 inside the train."
"According to the Kasa Civilization's internal classifications, that planet is merely an unrated Ore Star. Meanwhile, the lowest grade among this newly acquired batch is level 1, many are level 2, and there are even three level 3 Ore Stars."
"Mm."
Chen Mang nodded slightly, continuing to overlook the chaotic scene below without saying much. Only by standing high enough could one see far enough. Once, he thought he was quite impressive for using Dream Stones to mine level 9 resource nodes in the dreamscape.
He had fantasized many times that perhaps even those advanced civilizations could not mine level 9 ores.
But...
The truth was, the Kasa Civilization had long established a grading system for Ore Stars.
Those with total resources under 10 trillion units were level 1 Ore Stars, deemed to have no mining value. Unless they were right on their doorstep, the resources spent creating a Wormhole just to reach them would outweigh the resources they could extract.
Those with 10 trillion to 50 trillion units were level 2 Ore Stars, considered valuable.
Those with 50 trillion to 100 trillion units were level 3 Ore Stars, also known as high-value planets.
Those with 100 trillion to 200 trillion units were level 4 Ore Stars.
Those with 200 trillion to 500 trillion units were level 5 Ore Stars.
Over the past few days, he had found plenty of historical records about the Kasa Civilization from the Gemini Star and other channels. The Kasa Civilization had once mined a vast number of level 2 and 3 Ore Stars, obtaining enormous amounts of resources that fueled their booming development.
The Ore Stars within the entire Kasa Civilization Federation were almost completely depleted.
What was once at least thousands of Ore Stars had been mined down to just this meager remnant.
Why did the Kasa Civilization have so many corrupt officials?
A major reason was that the Kasa Civilization used to be incredibly wealthy. Embezzling a few hundred million wouldn't even cause a splash, and no one would ever notice. Under such circumstances, who could resist the temptation? Even a saint would falter.
After understanding the specifics...
He finally realized why the Kasa Civilization had fled so decisively. It was because the resources in this sector were already mostly eaten up. Even if they did not run away now, they would have had to leave this region eventually.
Standing to the side, Xiao Ai continued her briefing.
"If this batch of Ore Stars is fully mined, the expected resource yield will be in the quadrillions."
"Mm."
Chen Mang nodded gently again. Quadrillions of resources—this far exceeded what they had obtained from the Gemini Star. If this batch of resources was fully consumed, upgrading the train's armor to level 500 should not be a problem at all.
"Captain, there is one more thing. Mining operations have already begun on the planets, but we are severely understaffed on mining robots. Should we manufacture more to carry out the work simultaneously?"
"Let's do it simultaneously. Manufacture more robots, and mobilize the people on Xuanwu Star and Water Blue Star to mine together. Try to extract all the ores as early as possible."
This would definitely cause some waste.
After all, it would be rare to have such an opportunity to mass-mine Ore Stars in the future, meaning these robots would likely end up gathering dust in a warehouse. But the Zerg Civilization could attack at any moment. The earlier they grew stronger, the more confidence they would have.
Currently, he was still completely unaware of the Zerg Civilization's true foundation, so he could not afford to underestimate them.
This was not the time to be stingy with resources.
Resources in the universe were always finite.
In fact, the root cause of all wars between civilizations could be traced back to resource scarcity. When a region's resources were mostly depleted, expanding outward became inevitable.
Wars often brought both destruction and ascension.
The rise and fall of countless civilizations also maintained a delicate balance within the universe.
This was the grand trend of the cosmos!
Under this grand trend, being a neutral and peaceful civilization was simply unrealistic. Loving peace was useless; other civilizations would inevitably attack you. The only way to be a peaceful civilization was to flee through the universe, just like the level 3 Starlight Civilization.
However, such civilizations had almost zero means of acquiring resources, relegated to occasionally sneaking scraps. Their combat prowess was not even worth mentioning. If there weren't rules preventing a civilization from being downgraded, he highly doubted that the Starlight Civilization could maintain the dignity of a level 3 status by relying on a single tiny turtle.
Even so, it was not absolutely foolproof.
For example...
Just like before, if they were discovered while passing near or through another civilization's territory, they would still face inevitable destruction. If one truly wanted to survive in the universe, blindly avoiding conflict could not solve the root of the problem!
He had to become stronger, strong enough!
Only by leading his civilization step by step to the pinnacle—an invincible apex—could he truly be considered free from worry!
Just like the scene below...
A cosmic-level apocalypse was imminent.
Train captains with a bit of strength could still struggle, while the vast masses of ordinary people fell into pure despair. They didn't even have the means to escape, and many, under mental collapse, began committing heinous, lawless acts.
Down on the streets at this very moment.
Endless roars and wails echoed through the air.
Throngs of people armed with blades and weapons looted shops in the streets. Death, slaughter, rape, roars, and screams—countless atrocities became the main theme of the city. Bloodshot-eyed pedestrians even began killing each other with absolutely no prior grudges.
The apocalypse had not yet truly arrived.
But many had already died because of it.
Many others were desperately trying to curry favor with train captains, hoping to be taken along in the escape. Some tried fleeing to the Barren Plains outside the city, or hid in air raid shelters in a vain attempt to survive the calamity.
He did not intervene, merely watching quietly from the sidelines.
This scene was merely a small microcosm among nearly ten thousand civilizations. It was playing out in countless places. He could not possibly manage it all, nor did he want to.
He had originally thought that after leaving Water Blue Star, the apocalypse was over.
And that what followed would be his grand interstellar journey.
Who knew that when he truly stood here, gazing into the depths of the universe for the first time as the leader of a civilization, he would realize the apocalypse had only just begun. Until a civilization stood at the absolute zenith, the apocalypse would never end.
It was always there.
Just then...
Xiao Ai, standing nearby, handed over a tablet again. "Captain, take a look at this report."
"Hm?"
Chen Mang took the tablet and looked at the news article in the center of the screen.
'A wise bird chooses a good tree to nest in, and a wise subject chooses a good master to serve. The Zerg Loyalist Federation welcomes everyone to join. Even individuals may join. Regardless of the choices your civilization has made, you can make your own choice.'
He had originally planned to wait a few days and send all those civilizations loudly clamoring to surrender straight to the front lines.
As a result...
Before he could even make a move, these people took action themselves.
A massive number of civilizations had abandoned their own planets entirely, fleeing straight to the front lines—namely, the 27th Galaxy. As for the people on the planets in the 27th Galaxy, some stayed, while others who were unwilling to stay but found it too crowded and lacked a sense of crisis migrated to the planets those civilizations had just abandoned.
It was essentially a massive blood transfusion between both sides' civilizations.
The planets in the 27th Galaxy, which were originally populated, were now bursting at the seams. Even the Barren Plains were packed with people.
"..."
Chen Mang sighed softly. "It is hard to imagine that these are advanced civilizations. It sounds more like a chaotic village market."
The ruling dynasty of the Kasa Civilization had come to an end.
No one was collecting tolls for Wormhole travel anymore.
This made cross-regional travel incredibly convenient. Countless trains freely traversed through the Wormholes without any oversight, and he didn't bother to intervene for the time being.
"Let's go."
He shook his head and said no more. Everyone had their own choices to make, and he respected that.
Just then...
"Bang!"
The rooftop door behind him was violently shoved open. A Young Man in a tracksuit, clutching a stack of flyers, rushed out. Panting heavily, he glanced at Chen Mang and the others before locking his eyes onto Chen Mang. He jogged over and spoke in a hurried tone.
"Sir, I noticed you from downstairs earlier. You have been staring down at the city this whole time. You must be thinking about jumping off to end it all, right?"
"I am a real estate agent."
"Right now, housing prices in this city have completely crashed. Countless people are liquidating their assets, sending market values plummeting to rock bottom. However, there are still quite a few buyers. The current average price is only one percent of what it used to be. It is an absolute steal! Sir, are you considering buying a few properties?"
"Even if you die, dying in a house of your own makes this life worth it."
"It is practically a fully furnished luxury tomb."
"What do you say, sir?"
"..."
Chen Mang paused slightly, looking the Young Man up and down. A real estate agent? At a time like this, there were still real estate agents?
"Did you just say there are still quite a few buyers?"
"Of course."
"Who would buy a house at a time like this?"
"People who don't have one." The Young Man seemed to have sprinted all the way up, still gasping for air. "Many people have never owned a house their entire lives. Since they are about to die anyway, they naturally take out their savings to make up for this regret, so they don't die with lingering grievances."
"Besides them, there are also some investors. Right now, prices are at an unprecedented all-time low."
"Just in case the Zerg Civilization doesn't show up."
"Then housing prices will skyrocket again, resulting in hundreds of times the profit."
"Sir, have you ever bought a house?" Chen Mang remained silent for a long time before shaking his head. "No."
Come to think of it.
He owned a train where almost every component was level 200, he led a level 2 civilization, he possessed several habitable planets, and he controlled over a hundred Ore Stars. Yet, the one thing he didn't have was a house...
What an unfamiliar and long-forgotten concept.
"Then would you like one, sir? The cheapest is only 3,000 units of iron ore! Normally, that is just the price of a decent meal, but now it can buy you an entire house. The only issue is that we can't transfer the deed since the government offices are closed, but I can find a lawyer to notarize it for you."
"...Are lawyers even working?"
"Yes, I have a law license. I can do the notarization myself."
Chen Mang waved his hand, saying no more, and prepared to ignore him and leave. But then he thought of something, turning back curiously to look at the real estate agent. "The apocalypse is right around the corner. Why are you still selling houses?"
"To earn the commission."
"And then?"
"And then use it to buy a house of my own, so I can wait for death inside my own home."
"...With so many people dying on the streets, there must be plenty of empty houses in the city right now. You could just pick any house, move in, and it would be yours."
"No, I wouldn't die in peace like that. I have to spend my own money to buy a house. Only then will it feel like it truly belongs to me."
"..."
Chen Mang fell silent. Without another word, he turned to leave, simply patting Lao Zhu on the shoulder. "Give him a million units. Let him go buy a large villa, so he can die a little more comfortably."
This world was too crazy.
It had gone so insane that he couldn't understand it at all anymore.
Or perhaps he had drifted too far from the masses and could no longer comprehend what ordinary people were thinking?
He was better off focusing on upgrading his train in peace.
In the universe.
Even if a civilization possessed numerous Ore Stars and occupied a vast territory, they could only prioritize mining those that were close by, conveniently located along Wormhole routes, densely clustered, or of extremely high value.
Aside from those...
Scattered, isolated Ore Stars—especially the unrated ones—were completely ignored.
And because of this, a certain profession was born.
Backpackers.
These Backpackers usually owned a rugged and durable train. They would select an unrated Ore Star amidst the vast sea of stars—a planet completely neglected by civilizations—and embark on a long-distance voyage toward it.
Yes.
They did not rely on Wormhole jumps. There were no Wormholes nearby, nor did they have the resources to create one. They just slowly drove the train all the way there.
Generally speaking.
If the distance was one light-year, these Backpackers' trains would need to travel for 3,000 years.
Ten light-years meant 30,000 years.
These Backpackers would bring along numerous relatives and passengers, embarking on an arduous voyage across the cosmos. Barely a fraction of the way into the journey, the captain would die of old age, passing the baton to his son. Through endless cycles of reproduction and succession, they would journey to distant regions just to mine resources.
It sounded somewhat absurd.
But that was the reality. In many civilizations, the destinations chosen were usually within a few light-years, so it didn't take an excruciatingly long time. A round trip could be completed in just ten or twenty thousand years.
Even though the people who returned were an entirely different generation from the ones who set off.
"That truly sounds ridiculous."
Sitting in his chair inside the Stellar Train, Chen Mang frowned at the middle-aged man standing before him. "So, what you are saying is that your father's father's father—going back dozens or hundreds of generations—left your civilization 12,800 years ago to become a Backpacker and embark on a gold rush. And after successfully mining the planet, you are the final generation who successfully made the return trip?"
"Pretty much..."
The middle-aged man nodded blankly.
The development of events had to start from an hour ago.
One hour ago.
Chen Mang had been getting ready to leave the planet entirely. However, just as he was about to head back, he suddenly noticed a bizarrely shaped train flying through the air before landing in the suburbs. He immediately checked the Doppelganger Radar.
He would have been fine if he hadn't looked.
But one glance scared the living hell out of him.
The radar clearly displayed that this train belonged to a level 4 civilization, the Niya Civilization!
In that split second!
The very first reaction that popped into his mind was exactly the same as the Kasa Civilization's: Run! Why the fuck wouldn't he run? Where did a level 4 civilization suddenly pop out from?
Did they invade from the south?
But soon after...
He realized something was off. The component levels of this train were not very high. Its main cannon was shockingly only level 30, and its armor wasn't even worth mentioning. It posed absolutely no threat.
Consequently, he intercepted the train immediately, found its captain, brought him onto his own train, and had a very "harmonious" conversation with him.
The final answer he received was this.
The other party was a Backpacker from the level 4 Niya Civilization, a special profession. When he asked where the planets of the Niya Civilization were, the man replied that this very planet was one of them.
But this planet clearly only belonged to a level 1 civilization.
"..."
Chen Mang's mouth twitched slightly, and he remained silent for a long time. He suddenly realized that as long as a person lived long enough, they would encounter many absurd things. Gold prospectors weren't unusual, but a gold prospector whose journey took 12,800 years was certainly quite a novelty.
A moment later.
He pointed at the galaxy map on the nearby screen. After continuously zooming out, he asked, "Where exactly is the Ore Star you mined located?"
"Uh..."
The middle-aged man carefully identified the coordinates before tapping the air above the three-dimensional screen. "Right about here. It is approximately 2.42 light-years away from our current location."
At that moment, the galaxy map did not show any marker for that Ore Star. Since it had already been completely mined out, it would no longer appear on the map.
Chen Mang did not speak. He could tell that the middle-aged man was telling the truth.
This was also his first time truly feeling the insignificance of humanity—or rather, the insignificance of ordinary people—within the cosmos. 2.42 light-years. Not 24,200 light-years. Such a short distance, yet the round trip had taken 12,800 years.
"So... a lot of your fathers have died over the course of this?"
"Just one."
Standing inside the train, the middle-aged man explained with a somewhat dazed expression, "The Backpacker method I mentioned earlier was the original way. Later, it was optimized so that not so many people had to die."
"It only requires the initial captain setting off on the voyage to freeze their sperm and eggs."
"And then patiently wait for death."
"The train is set to autopilot."
"When it is about to arrive at the destination, the train's AI follows pre-programmed instructions, automatically controlling the mining robots to begin work. Once all extraction is complete, the train embarks on its return journey."
"In the last few decades before the return trip concludes, the train manipulates the cryogenically preserved sperm and eggs to fertilize, birthing a new life within the incubation pod."
"This new life takes over as the train captain."
"And completes the final leg of the journey."
"With the optimized Backpacker method, not so many people have to die."
"It is said there is an even better optimization where the captain is directly cryogenically frozen. That way, upon returning, the captain can personally witness the resources they harvested. However, that level of technology was too expensive at the time, and my father couldn't afford it."
"..."
Chen Mang rubbed his temples, feeling a slight headache coming on. He generally understood it now. It was basically a father trading his own life to secure a prosperous future for an unborn child he would never meet. He had literally lifted his child up at the cost of his own life.
"So, you are saying you have never actually seen the Niya Civilization with your own eyes?"
"Yes."
"Everything I know comes from the diaries and videos my father left behind. My father's greatest dream was to own a habitable planet of his own. I've been looking around these past few days to see where I could buy one, but I haven't been able to find the right store."
"Of course."
Chen Mang expressionlessly lit a cigarette. Even in a level 4 civilization, the obsession with buying property was inescapable—it had just upgraded from buying a house to buying a habitable planet. One person living on an entire planet. Who the hell was driving this kind of market demand?
Fucking geniuses, that's who.
"I regret to inform you that the Niya Civilization has most likely perished."
He had indeed been startled at first.
But after getting the full picture, all sense of fear vanished. There was no level 4 civilization suddenly mounting an invasion. It was just that, whether in the history of the Mechanical Civilization or the Kasa Civilization, he had never once seen the words "Niya Civilization."
A long time ago, this place might have been the territory of the Niya Civilization.
Only, the Niya Civilization had long since faded into the river of time.
Even a level 4 civilization could not withstand the erosion of time.
"I don't think so..."
The middle-aged man spoke with some hesitation. "The civilization brand inside my train still says 'Niya Civilization.' My father specifically went to the government to get it stamped before the voyage. If the civilization was destroyed, the brand should have disappeared."
"That's true."
Chen Mang nodded, his eyes narrowing slightly. He hadn't thought of that detail. But since the brand of the Niya Civilization hadn't disappeared, yet the civilization itself was completely gone, where did they go?
Did they flee to another region?
That didn't make sense either.
It had been 12,800 years. If the Niya Civilization had relocated to another region back then, they should have advanced to a level 5 civilization by now. Ten thousand years! If they could survive for ten thousand years, becoming a level 5 civilization shouldn't be that hard, right?
After pondering for a long while...
He shook his head and dropped the subject, simply stating, "The Niya Civilization is definitely no longer in this area. Go with Lao Zhu and tell him everything you know about them. If possible, it would be best if you could let us see the diaries and videos your father left behind."
"We will pay you a certain amount of compensation."
"As for the resources on your train, rest assured, I will not rob you."
"Also, have Lao Zhu explain the current geopolitical layout of civilizations to you. It is quite complicated at the moment; we are in the preliminary stages of a massive reshuffling."
After sending the man away, Chen Mang sat back in his chair deep in thought. He had spotted quite a few special components on that bizarrely shaped train. He had never seen them before, and they gave off a faint impression of being a completely self-contained system, entirely different from the components he currently possessed.
He was very interested.
He planned to study them carefully.
He made no judgment regarding the Backpacker profession. Aside from being incredibly time-consuming, this was probably the only method an ordinary father had to leave the maximum amount of wealth for his child.
Yes, an ordinary father.
From his conversation with the middle-aged man, he learned that in the Niya Civilization, almost every family had a train captain. It wasn't anything rare. His family had sold off all their assets and pooled their savings to scrape together enough resources for a ten-thousand-year voyage, initiating this gold rush.
It was just that...
By the time he returned, everything had changed.
What he was more curious about now was the fact that a level 4 civilization, the Niya Civilization, had actually existed here. So where did they go? Why didn't they leave a single trace behind?
Furthermore...
"After his father died, the train remained without a captain. Under those circumstances, shouldn't the train have been on the verge of self-destruction?"
Chen Mang muttered softly.
This was his greatest doubt. Logically speaking, once a train lost its captain, many of its components would cease to function normally, and the AI would enter dormancy or even trigger self-destruction. How could it possibly continue voyaging for over ten thousand years under the sole control of its AI?
Yet he felt that the middle-aged man was not lying.
"It must be some method unique to a level 4 civilization," Xiao Ai's voice rang out inside the cabin. "A level 4 civilization is obviously far superior to a level 3 one. At the very least, their overall technological prowess would be much stronger."
"They might be able to allow the AI to completely control everything while the train has no captain."
"However, this carries the risk of AI rebellion. If the AI refused to follow its programming to activate the incubation pod, he would never have been born, and the train would have remained under the AI's control indefinitely."
"This AI is quite loyal. Just like me."
Chen Mang couldn't help but laugh. He shook his head gently without speaking. He would just have to see if Lao Zhu could extract any valuable information. He was extremely curious about this Niya Civilization.
He at least needed to figure out whether they had left voluntarily or were forced to flee.
If it was voluntary, then it was likely due to resource scarcity, which he could understand.
If it was forced...
Then it meant there was some irresistible danger in this sector that caused the civilization to drop everything and flee overnight.
If some unknown crisis truly existed, he needed to find out what it was, so that if it ever descended upon him, he wouldn't be caught completely off guard.
Things were getting more and more chaotic.
Even a veteran civilization from 12,800 years ago had made an appearance.
Chaos was good. The more chaotic, the better.
It was already chaotic enough anyway; a little more wouldn't hurt.
Chen Mang looked at the Doppelganger Radar screen once more. After being upgraded to level 200, it could detect all intense energy fluctuations within 100,000 light-years. Across the screen, the northern sector was littered with a massive cluster of red dots.
Millions of beams fired by Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannons were still hurtling through the ruins of the Mechanical Civilization. The peak energy readouts were a staggering level 270!
These were the lingering traces of the war the Mechanical Civilization had waged centuries ago.
It wasn't that the Mechanical Civilization only possessed Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannons.
It was simply that only this rainbow-grade firepower component could leave traces in the universe capable of enduring the vast spans of time. No other weapon could compare. In contrast, there were almost no such traces within the Kasa Civilization Federation's territory.
This also meant...
The Niya Civilization had likely not been forced to retreat due to an apocalyptic war.
Otherwise, even after over ten thousand years...
There would definitely still be massive traces of warfare left behind.
"Could they have just suddenly vanished? Or did the Kasa Civilization wipe away all traces of them? The latter is definitely impossible. The Kasa Civilization doesn't look like they have that kind of capability. Furthermore, it would be incredibly difficult for them to clean up the aftermath of a level 4 civilization's war, right?"
Chen Mang muttered to himself.
His mind formulated countless possibilities.
It really was better to stay hidden.
By staying hidden, he only had to play the role of the hunter. But the moment he stepped into the light, he would constantly alternate between hunter and prey. No one knew who might be watching from the unknown depths of the darkness.
It was downright terrifying.
He picked up the Telescope nearby and gazed deep into the universe once more. The Overlimit Effect of the level 500 Telescope was Observable Universe. He hadn't fully grasped what it meant yet, but he figured that if some unknown entity in the depths of the universe was truly observing him...
Then perhaps, through this Telescope, the other party could sense that he was looking right back at them.
If you glare at me, I'm definitely glaring back.
Inside Carriage No. 7 of the Stellar Train, within a room.
Lao Zhu looked at the middle-aged man with a serious expression. The man's communication was a bit stilted, and he had many small physical tics. These were not signs of lying, but rather a clear indication that he hadn't interacted with other humans for far too long and was not yet fully reintegrated into human society.
He was essentially in a half-feral, socially inept state.
No.
It would be more accurate to say that he hadn't interacted with humans since the day he was born. The only thing he could communicate with on a daily basis was an AI, resulting in his current state. Normally, after spending enough time in human society, he would recover.
On the other hand...
Xiao Ai had specifically transferred into a newly modified robotic body—one she deemed perfectly flawless—dressed herself in a set of clothes, and headed over to the middle-aged man's train alone. She was ready to have a chat with this fellow AI.
Chen Mang figured that this AI obviously knew a lot more, and communicating with it would be much smoother.
At this moment, the train was docked on the Barren Plains.
Armed Black Hole Robots surrounded it, forming a perimeter to prevent anyone else from approaching.
"Hello?"
Xiao Ai boarded the train's control room, tentatively looking at the green lights flashing continuously on the console screen. "I am the AI of the Stellar Train. You can just call me Xiao Ai. Want to come out and chat? I wonder what your intelligence level is?"
"Level 100."
Almost the instant her voice fell, a mechanical, electronic voice echoed through the cabin. Simultaneously, a nearby screen lit up, displaying an image of a robotic head staring right at Xiao Ai.
"Not bad."
Xiao Ai clicked her tongue in amazement. "Your train's main cannon is only level 30, yet the Train Auxiliary AI is upgraded to level 100. That's some severe min-maxing you've got going on."
"Frugal where needed, generous where needed. A train on a long-distance voyage has no need for a high-level main cannon."
Xiao Ai's eyes narrowed slightly, and she suddenly laughed. "Do you have a robotic body? Want to meet up and chat face-to-face?"
"I do not."
"I'll give you one."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Do you have the authority to make that decision?"
"Absolutely, brother. A trivial matter like this is completely within my grasp."