Chapter 333: Where the Hell Did We End Up! |
"..."
Inside the Stellar Train's cabin.
Chen Mang sat alone in the train, gazing into the depths of the vast universe. He remained silent, currently having no clue about the situation. All he knew was that the Level 10 Telescope had slipped from his grasp. As for how it ended up in the hands of that plump young man's father, who was an unknown number of light-years away...
He was completely in the dark.
A lot had happened recently.
Might as well...
Relax for a bit first.
It had been a long time since he last unwound.
Back in the apocalypse, he could often find time to relax. Although resources were tight back then, at least he didn't have so many things to deal with. Ever since leaving Water Blue Star, his responsibilities had multiplied, and his free time had steadily diminished.
"Xiao Ai, have Ji Chuchu and Yan Yao come over."
"Understood."
It seemed it really had been too long since he last called for them; even the name Ji Chuchu felt a bit unfamiliar to him now.
Soon after—
Ji Chuchu and Yan Yao pushed open the cabin door and walked in together, followed by a row of heavenly, beautiful women.
"Who are they?"
"These are the ones sent over from Xuanwu Star last time. You haven't enjoyed their company yet, Lord Mang."
"Right, I think I remember something like that."
Chen Mang nodded. He had completely forgotten about the matter. He casually grabbed a few Red-Heart Nuts from the drawer and tossed them into his mouth as a snack before waving his hand. "Play a tune first to liven things up."
Meanwhile—
Countless light-years away.
An old man sitting in a study was writing furiously when his pen suddenly ran out of ink. This minor interruption made him frown slightly. Ever since he woke up yesterday, he had been feeling restless, as if something was about to happen.
And this little incident only intensified his ominous premonition.
He didn't hesitate.
He made a call to the Guard squad he had hired at a high price in the southern frontier and asked in a deep voice, "What is the situation?"
A response quickly came from the other end of the line.
"Everything is fine. Your son is happily repairing his armed robot without any issues. Any pirates approaching this Ore Star will be eliminated by us immediately."
Hearing this, the old man breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Keep it up. Once the mission is successfully completed, a generous gift will be presented along with the final payment."
"Understood."
After confirming that nothing had happened to his unfilial son, the old man finally poured himself a cup of hot tea. Yet, he still felt a heavy weight pressing down on his chest.
'Does my body finally need to be repaired?'
In a daze, the old man pulled a device from his pocket, inserted the needle tip into his body, and checked his real-time physical data. Although he possessed immense wealth, he still had to wait until his body was truly failing before undergoing restoration.
The same applied to anyone, no matter how rich they were.
It had nothing to do with money.
The longer the interval between restorations, the longer a person could live.
To this day, civilization had yet to discover a method for human immortality. Or rather, such a method shouldn't exist in the first place. Even the universe wasn't eternal; how could anything born within it live forever?
This included—
The Cultivation civilizations.
Even after achieving the rank of Immortal Emperor in a Cultivation civilization, the sought-after immortality wasn't true eternal life. It merely meant sharing the lifespan of the universe. The moment the universe perished, their lives would also come to an end. It wasn't true transcendence over all things.
Everything within this universe had to rely on the universe itself.
The old man sat back down at his desk, flipping through the various books and notes scattered across it. He had recently acquired an incredible item originating from a Cultivation civilization, specifically... a Level 6 Cultivation civilization.
This was no small matter.
His current civilization, the Level 5 Naomi Civilization, had only been established for five thousand years. However, a Level 6 Cultivation civilization must have existed for at least millions, if not tens of millions of years.
It required an immense accumulation of time.
Furthermore, Cultivation civilizations were a typical form of civilization with an extremely uneven development curve. They were absurdly weak in their early stages. At Civilization Levels 1, 2, and 3, they were virtually no match for any other civilization of the same level. Even though they became incredibly powerful in the late stages, given the current state of cosmic civilizations...
Being weak in the early stages meant they were doomed to never reach the late stages.
With everyone able to step on them, how could they survive long enough to reach their peak?
He didn't plan to put this item in his auction house; it was too conspicuous. He intended to study it himself.
He had many enterprises under his name.
But the one that truly launched his career and remained his most profitable venture to date was the Fengtian Auction House. It brought him massive profits every year. Everyone wanted to know what acquisition channels he used to obtain those rare collectibles.
He owned several fleets of trains that voyaged far and wide year-round, collecting artifacts scattered across every corner of the universe.
However—
All of that was actually just a cover.
His true primary channel for acquiring these rare items was actually...
The old man slowly set down his pen, still feeling somewhat unsettled. He looked down and pulled open his drawer, his eyes landing on a teapot that had appeared there at some unknown time. He smiled; new goods had arrived.
It looked like a product of a Cultivation civilization.
Exactly what it was would require further appraisal.
Yes.
The treasure that had truly built his fortune was actually this drawer, a drawer belonging to this very desk. It was a desk he had purchased for a dirt-cheap price at an abandoned second-hand furniture market long ago, during his darkest days.
Once, while working late into the night, he accidentally dripped a nosebleed onto the desk.
A miraculous scene occurred.
The desk suddenly emitted a yellow glow, and the drawer popped open on its own.
From then on.
The drawer would periodically spawn all sorts of items. Some were extremely valuable special tools, some were Primordial Blueprints of parts never seen or developed within the Naomi Civilization, and others were collectibles from various high-level civilizations.
For example, there was once a painting by an artist from a Level 9 civilization that sold for an astronomical price.
A Level 9 civilization wasn't necessarily a God-tier civilization.
But a God-tier civilization was undoubtedly a Level 9 civilization.
It couldn't be faked.
That painting bore the artist's mark, as well as the civilization imprint of a Level 9 civilization. Just a single glance was enough to feel the endless sense of oppression radiating from it.
Relying on these items, he gradually opened his first auction house. Because the auctioned goods were sufficiently rare, he quickly made a name for himself in the industry.
Everyone was curious about his acquisition channels.
Only he knew the truth.
He had struck incredible luck.
Fate had taken pity on him.
For the first time, he felt that the Goddess of Fate truly existed. The very first item to appear in the drawer was a Level 10 Telescope. From that moment on, the gears of his destiny began to slowly turn.
Afterward, his work grew busier, and his business expanded immensely.
More and more items appeared.
Only this Telescope had never been sold; it was always placed on his desk.
First, because it wouldn't fetch much money, and second, because it was the first gift he had received from fate. It held immense commemorative value to him; his life had turned around at that exact moment.
But—
One day, his Telescope suddenly went missing.
He searched for a long time but couldn't find it. He remembered feeling both furious and terrified at the time. His fear wasn't merely about losing a Telescope, but that fate had withdrawn its favor, and his drawer would never again spit out any cosmic gifts.
His newly soaring life would crash-land once more.
Fortunately, perhaps because his life had been filled with so much hardship, the Goddess of Fate did not subject him to another disaster.
He locked himself in his study for three days.
During those three days, the study drawer continued to steadily produce a large number of cosmic gifts. Only then did he finally relax; the Goddess of Fate was still by his side.
Yes.
He had named these items cosmic gifts. He didn't know where they came from or why they appeared in his drawer.
Until one day!
The old man's cloudy eyes gradually unfocused as his thoughts drifted far away, staring at the increasingly blurry handwriting on the paper. That was probably the biggest crisis he had faced since building his fortune. After making his money, he had always kept a low profile.
Because he knew his supply line wasn't exactly legitimate. He couldn't let it be exposed, otherwise, people would definitely come to rob him.
He had been as low-key as possible.
But an incident still occurred.
During a certain auction, someone suddenly pointed out, "Why are all the lots in this auction Cosmic Taboo Items?"
At the time, he didn't understand the concept of a Cosmic Taboo Item. He only hurriedly stepped forward to explain.
Only later did he learn the truth.
In the universe.
There was a special existence known as a Time Fissure. These Time Fissures were like pores on human skin; a few would occasionally pop up, and they almost always led to the past.
However, the time gap wasn't usually very long.
And Time Fissures didn't stay open for very long either.
Moreover, Time Fissures were often confined to an extremely narrow space. It was impossible to use them to alter timelines, making them essentially a moderate-sized glitch in the universe.
If he had been highly educated, teachers would have taught these concepts in school.
Unfortunately, he hadn't received much schooling and didn't know this so-called common sense.
Later—
If an ordinary item was tossed into a Time Fissure, it would travel back to the past. At that point, the item itself became a glitch in the universe.
Because.
Theoretically speaking, this item had appeared in the wrong time and space—an era where it did not belong.
At that point.
The item became a Cosmic Taboo Item, an erroneous existence within the universe. It could still be used just like a normal item, only its designation changed somewhat.
And his drawer!
The drawer he depended on for his livelihood could cause any Cosmic Taboo Item in the universe to randomly appear inside it.
Of course.
There had been quite a few unexpected incidents as well.
For instance, an item he had once auctioned off mysteriously vanished from the buyer's safe, only to reappear in his drawer. Although it was a bit tricky to handle, he had managed to resolve it smoothly without causing too much of a stir.
He didn't know who had coined the term.
But he always felt that things weren't so simple; the difference between a Cosmic Taboo Item and a regular item wasn't just in the name.
Through the drawer, he would occasionally obtain documents and historical records from various civilizations. Despite his lack of formal education, his understanding of cosmic civilizations was now on par with that of university professors.
He had learned that.
In the past, several civilizations had spent exorbitant sums to endlessly purchase Cosmic Taboo Items—any kind would do.
They had even hired the Goblin Civilization for this purpose.
The process involved finding a Time Fissure, tossing a large batch of items inside, and then having the Goblins enter the fissure to retrieve the objects that had been transformed into Cosmic Taboo Items, effectively mass-producing them.
In the universe.
Only the Goblin Civilization and Cultivation civilizations could traverse a Time Fissure.
The former could almost entirely ignore the effects of altered time flow, while the latter possessed immense lifespans that could withstand the erosion of accelerated time.
No one else could enter a Time Fissure.
Anyone who entered would instantly age, and by the time they emerged, they would have already died of old age.
Traversing a Time Fissure in a physical body was an extremely difficult endeavor, and the same held true for trains.
Every secret in the universe.
Could be unraveled with a single method, which was...
Finding the differences and finding the commonalities.
Those few...
Those civilizations that had once aggressively purchased or manufactured Cosmic Taboo Items were, without exception, Level 9 civilizations.
That single piece of information was already enough.
The Naomi Civilization was a Level 5 civilization. He had visited the restricted Civilization Library, a place of immense value. Almost all the information regarding the Naomi Civilization's current explorations of other civilizations was housed there.
This library was not open to the public.
Its primary function was preservation and legacy.
To pass knowledge down to future generations.
Only special personnel were permitted to enter and view the records.
He had been there, and the information regarding high-level civilizations was incredibly sparse. Even for Level 6 civilizations—just one tier higher—there was barely any data. The information barrier between each civilization level was practically overwhelming.
Their understanding of high-level civilizations was even less than his own.
That was also why the painting from a Level 9 civilization had sold for such an astronomical price back then. He had just started out and didn't realize its true value. It nearly caused a huge disaster, and in the end, the money for the painting didn't even land in his pockets—it was snatched away by others.
However, he also gained many opportunities because of it. From then on, his development was met with green lights and support all the way, allowing him to become a famous entrepreneur.
It was just that...
Later, whenever he obtained items related to high-level civilizations, he didn't dare sell them anymore. The prices were simply too high. Not only would he not get much of the cut, but it would also easily draw fire onto himself.
A business couldn't grow too large.
Once it became too large, it would no longer be his own business.
It would become someone else's business.
In this civilization with strict restrictions on civilian armed forces, the civilization itself was like an insurmountable mountain to him. No matter how much money he made, he was nothing but a walking blood bag. Whenever those elites' children wanted to start a business, he would be forced to vacate his position.
It was just that...
"Sigh."
The old man let out a long sigh, looking tiredly at the books on his desk. Although his lifespan could still be extended for a long time, he was ready to let his son slowly take over his enterprise.
He wasn't like other people.
Birthing a whole bunch of children.
To pick out a perfect successor.
Perhaps because he had risen from humble beginnings, he valued family ties more deeply. He didn't want to see his children tearing each other apart over wealth. Having just one child was perfect. One child to inherit all his wealth and... secrets.
He wasn't short on money.
His wealth rivaled that of an entire nation. To put it bluntly, the combined wealth of an entire Level 3 civilization might not even equate to what he possessed.
But he didn't dare spend it.
Nor did he have a place to spend it.
As long as he didn't construct a train, his current fortune was enough to sustain a life of ultimate luxury, with all living conditions maxed out, for nearly a million years.
Of course.
He hadn't told his son how incredibly wealthy their family was, mainly because he didn't know how to explain it...
He was afraid of scaring the boy.
He had once gathered the children of a group of Level 4 suppliers, hoping they would play with his son so he wouldn't be so withdrawn. The result? His son complained that those kids were all spoiled rich kids whose flamboyant behavior he despised.
Hearing that left him feeling rather helpless.
Those were merely the children of Level 4 suppliers. Above them were the Level 3, Level 2, and Level 1 suppliers—all of whom depended on your father to eat. You are the truest rich kid here.
The gifts of fate had long been secretly priced.
Although this desk hadn't demanded anything from him yet, he always felt that one day, when it finally did, it would be a demand he couldn't possibly refuse. He didn't know how much longer he had to live, and he only wished for his son to inherit his wealth and legacy as soon as possible.
He never believed that anything in this world came for free.
But he had no choice.
As long as his wife and son could live happily and joyfully without having to bow down for basic necessities, that was enough. What did paying the price matter?
"Hey, do you think..."
At that moment, in a certain train docked in the Pseudo-Four-Dimensional space of the universe, a Young Man with long hair suddenly had a thought. He mused, "Boss, if his dad can shell out so much money to hire us, wouldn't we make even more if we just kidnapped the kid?"
"We could pull this one last job and retire, right?"
"..."
The scarred man sitting in the driver's seat remained expressionless as he replied coldly, "In our line of work, the biggest taboo is saying you'll retire after one last job. Nine times out of ten, that 'last job' ends in disaster."
"Besides, how many times have I taught you guys?"
"Take pride in whatever profession you choose."
"If you make a promise, deliver on it. Only then can you eat well and sleep soundly. Keep life simple, and you'll be a lot happier."
"Go, more pirates are coming. Get ready to strike."
"Come on." The Young Man with long hair scratched his head in frustration. "Why are there so many pirates coming to this Ore Star? Is there something special about this rock? Staying parked in Pseudo-Four-Dimensional space long-term burns through a lot of resources. Add in all these pirates, and aren't we going to end up taking a loss on this job?"
"The escort fee is 100 billion a day. If you manage to take a loss on that, then you really should retire. Stop whining and get to work!"
"Finally fixed it."
Down on the Ore Star.
The plump young man stretched lazily, looking thoroughly satisfied after repairing his robot. He glanced up at the sun overhead. It was a beautiful day; he had specifically chosen an Ore Star near a host star.
Although it meant earning a little less, it was significantly more comfortable.
Some Ore Stars had truly horrendous survival environments. Sure, they paid better, but the conditions were unspeakable—definitely not a place meant for humans.
However, what struck him as slightly strange was...
Before coming here, he had heard that pirates frequently pillaged Ore Stars, stealing all the mined resources. He had been a bit worried at first, but it had been a long time, and he hadn't seen a single trace of a pirate.
Had the pirates overlooked this particular Ore Star?
Or could it be...
That there actually weren't that many pirates in the universe?
That made sense.
How could so many people choose to be pirates? It was too dangerous. Wouldn't it be better to get a proper job? Even if it didn't pay much, at least it offered peace of mind.
Inside the cabin of the Stellar Train.
Having finished his rejuvenating release of stress, Chen Mang was back in work mode. He looked at the Doppler Radar screen, admiring the Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon shot currently traversing the Dark Abyss. It still had tens of thousands of years before it reached the Niya Galaxy, after traveling for who knew how many tens or hundreds of millions of years.
The destructive power of this Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon blast had reached an absurdly exaggerated level.
When it finally hit the Niya Galaxy, it would likely obliterate the star system in an instant, and the devastation might even spread across a wider sector, leaving the surrounding region in an extremely volatile and chaotic state for tens of thousands of years to come.
But—
If one ignored the catastrophic destruction this light energy cannon would bring and just appreciated it aesthetically, it actually looked quite nice. It was quite a spectacular sight.
He wasn't worried about it.
It was simply too far away.
It was an event scheduled for tens of thousands of years in the future. By then, he would have long since moved on to who knows where. There was no need to fret over it for now.
He cast another glance at the Zerg Civilization.
Still no movement. They didn't seem ready yet. This worked out perfectly, as he needed some more time himself. He checked the mining progress on those Ore Stars; they were nearing completion. With the massive workforce of mining robots, the extraction rate was very fast.
It was worth mentioning.
The nearly ten thousand civilizations within the Kasa Civilization Federation had become completely polarized.
Civilizations that confirmed a policy of non-resistance had entirely relocated to the 27th Galaxy, the star system closest to the Zerg Civilization. Aside from that, he had recently received quite a few discussion invitations sent to the Human Civilization from various other factions.
However... since these civilizations couldn't contact him directly, they resorted to spreading messages across forums and various other platforms.
He ignored all of them.
It wasn't time for discussions yet.
However, just as he was preparing to review the recent updates once more, a Refrigerator in the corner of the cabin began flashing a red light. This was the Refrigerator connected to the Starlight Civilization.
Inside, a red light bulb was hooked up via a cable.
If the Starlight Civilization had an urgent message, they would switch on the red light.
A relatively rudimentary but highly effective means of communication.
Cables.
They were considered a primitive method of signal transmission, but inside a Refrigerator, they were a perfect fit. Achieving instantaneous communication across countless light-years via a physical cable was much simpler and more convenient than running cables through Wormholes. Besides, the interior of the Refrigerator had no harsh environments to worry about.
"Hm?"
Chen Mang raised an eyebrow. He immediately set aside his work and strode into the Refrigerator, bringing Lao Zhu and Xiao Ai along. Upon arriving at the Starlight Civilization, they quickly spotted its leader hurrying over with an anxious expression.
"Chen Mang."
The face of the Starlight Civilization leader had entirely lost its usual calm. Instead, it was etched with anxiety and panic, to the point that even his steps were erratic. "We've run into a slight problem."
"The Starlight Civilization has always traveled to every corner of the universe via random Wormholes."
"This is the inherent ability of the starry sky behemoth beneath us."
"But this time—"
"It seems we've randomly jumped into a terrifying place. This random teleportation ability cannot be used consecutively, nor can it be actively triggered. It's an entirely passive behavior of Xuanwu beneath us. Even he can't control it."
"..."
A flash of surprise crossed Chen Mang's eyes. He knew the Starlight Civilization wandered the universe via random teleportation, but he truly hadn't known that they couldn't actively control the ability.
It sounded...
A bit like a simultaneously buffed and nerfed version of Meng Duo.
Meng Duo's random teleportation was controllable, but its range was relatively small—restricted to a single planet. He couldn't randomly teleport across the universe.
If that were the case.
Wouldn't a starry sky behemoth like Xuanwu be separated from its parents shortly after birth?
But this was no time to ponder such things.
He looked into the distance, following the direction the Starlight Civilization leader was pointing. His entire body instantly stiffened, his mouth slowly dropping open in shock. At that moment, he finally understood why the leader was so frantic.
Even... terrified?!
The sight before him was completely shocking and defied all common sense.
Bright. Intensely bright.
The entire sky was illuminated.
Within the blinding light, a colossal sphere of radiance could faintly be seen, occupying almost the entire sky. Yet, through the blur, one could discern that this massive silhouette was... a palace!
Yes, a palace.
Although it was quite a distance away.
Its surface structure remained distinctly visible. Take the gigantic pillars, for example—it was unimaginable just how tall and massive those pillars had to be for them to be seen so clearly from so far away.
The space and time across the palace's surface were subtly distorted.
Creating an exquisitely breathtaking scene.
This palace possessed the ability to reflect starlight, making it the brightest celestial body in the night sky.
He finally understood why the leader of the Starlight Civilization was so terrified.
Where the hell did they end up!
They were looking at The Palace?
"Wait for me. I'm going to bring the train over."
Without another word, Chen Mang turned around and strode back toward the Refrigerator. He needed to use the radar for a careful sweep; the naked eye simply couldn't discern much.
Soon after—
He brought the train over.
The image of The Palace before them quickly hovered on the Doppler Radar screen, along with all its associated data.
This palace was monumentally huge.
Nearly the size of Water Blue Star.
Calling it a heavenly palace was no exaggeration.
Something like this couldn't possibly have been born naturally from the universe, right?
While it was true that anything could be born in the universe, an object with such obvious signs of artificial carving couldn't just spring from the cosmic depths. It was eighty percent likely built by some other civilization.
It was just that...
"There are no life signs whatsoever."
Outside the train.
Chen Mang pointed at the screen mounted on the train's exterior and looked at the Starlight Civilization leader. "My radar shows that The Palace is currently completely empty. There's no one inside."
"There are two possibilities."
"First, it really is empty."
"Second, my radar can't detect them."
His Doppler Radar was Level 200, with a detection range of a hundred thousand light-years. In the grand scheme of the universe, it was absolutely sufficient for a Level 2 civilization. Even though his current resources were definitely enough to upgrade it to Level 500.
He had no intention of upgrading it any further.
Ever since he learned about the existence of Universe Landmines, he felt that navigating the cosmos was like playing a game of Minesweeper. Having an overly high-level radar wasn't necessarily a good thing; who knew what kind of mine he might accidentally sweep up?
Level 200 was enough for the time being.
He couldn't afford to push it higher.
It was just that...
Although reason suppressed his desire to explore, his instincts relentlessly urged him to go over and take a look...
Who could resist checking it out!
A heavenly palace drifting through the cosmos!
It could very well be a secret base left behind by some high-level civilization, filled to the brim with untold treasures and immense wealth.
"So it's probably empty?"
The Starlight Civilization leader breathed a long sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. Honestly, when they first randomly teleported into this sector, he had nearly been scared out of his wits. His immediate thought was that they had blundered into the home turf of some terrifyingly advanced civilization.
His first reaction was to hastily contact Chen Mang and flee into his territory before doing anything else.
The data from his own detection methods also indicated that The Palace was deserted.
He was gradually calming down.
If there were people inside, considering how abruptly they had appeared, someone would have definitely come out to give them trouble by now.
"That's wonderful news."
The Starlight Civilization leader immediately prepared to turn and leave.
"Where are you going?"
Chen Mang grabbed him to pull him back.
"Running in the opposite direction to wait for the next random teleportation. We need to get out of here right away."
"You don't want to go up and take a look?"
"Nope."
The Starlight Civilization leader shook his head without the slightest hesitation. "The Third Rule of Universal Survival: All curiosity is a curse from the Grim Reaper."
"Are you seriously not curious at all?"
"Not one bit."
"..."
Chen Mang didn't say anything further. He just hesitantly tilted his head to look at the massive palace occupying more than half the sky. He really did want to explore it, but this was clearly a remnant left behind by some high-level civilization.
Even if it was empty.
No one knew if there were any unknown entities lingering inside.
A high-level civilization could completely obliterate a lower-level one as easily as crushing a bug.
It wouldn't just be an overwhelming difference in raw stats, but an absolute dominance in rules and methods.
Even he was a little too intimidated to check it out...
But he still really wanted to...
After pondering for a while, he brought out a few Refrigerators from the train and deployed them into the depths of space, letting them drift freely. In the end, he decided against exploring. The danger was simply too great, and the entity was completely unknown.
Who knew what was inside.
However—
He could leave a few Refrigerators here for now. After some time passed, he could find a few brave souls to board the palace and investigate the situation. Or, he could simply wait until his own power was great enough before coming back to take a look.
"What do you think that thing is?" Chen Mang turned his head to look at the Starlight Civilization leader. "A pleasure palace for the elites of some high-level civilization? Or the cosmic tomb of some big shot?"
"It doesn't look like either."
The Starlight Civilization leader shook his head. "I think it's more like a civilization tomb."
"A civilization tomb? What's that?"
"When some civilizations realize they cannot escape the destiny of annihilation, they often gather their history, culture, and any other enduring legacies, storing them all in one place. They then leave this repository to drift through the universe, hoping that one day, it will be discovered and received by another civilization."
"It's a way of leaving their mark on the history of the universe."
"It's a surprisingly common practice. Many civilizations harbor a deep desire to pass down their history, even in the face of absolute extinction."
"This palace might very well be one."
Chen Mang nodded. He could completely understand this sentiment. Before the Mechanical Civilization was destroyed, Princess Tuotuo's final obsession was also to leave behind the true history of her people.
"According to what you're saying, doesn't that mean this place is packed with incredible treasures?"
"Hard to say."
The Starlight Civilization leader shook his head again. "If this thing truly is a civilization tomb, given its sheer scale, the civilization that built it must have been of a staggeringly high level. Generally speaking, civilization tombs are protected by layers of trials designed to prevent overly weak civilizations from claiming their legacy."
"In other words—"
"Whether the structure before us is a civilization tomb or not, it undoubtedly harbors massive dangers within."
"My advice is to stay as far away as possible."
"In this universe, even the greatest opportunity won't grant you immortality, but even the smallest crisis has a chance to permanently strip away your ability to see tomorrow's sun."
"When opportunities and crises coexist, it's like mixing chocolate with shit. You can't take a massive bite of shit just for a tiny taste of chocolate."
"..."
Chen Mang gave the Starlight Civilization leader an odd look. "I have to admit, your life principles definitely have a certain flavor to them."
"I manage."
Ultimately—
Chen Mang chose not to venture into this unknown Palace. He simply left the Refrigerators behind before taking the Stellar Train and returning to the Niya Galaxy.
The Starlight Civilization leader similarly wasted no time, quickly steering Xuanwu to flee the area.
Chen Mang had met many people in his life.
But this was his first time meeting someone who so flawlessly achieved 'unity of knowledge and action' like the Starlight Civilization leader.
Everyone had their own principles, but very few could stick to them perfectly when faced with overwhelming temptation. Even Chen Mang, who was usually quite cautious, couldn't help but feel an irresistible urge to explore The Palace upon seeing it.
The Starlight Civilization leader, on the other hand, had absolutely zero thoughts of doing so.
He only wanted to escape.
He didn't even want to go near it for a second glance.
Inside the cabin, Xiao Ai's voice rang out.
"That palace is coated in a specific type of layer that makes it extraordinarily bright against the backdrop of space. From a design standpoint, I don't think that's a very good choice."
"At the very least, it's a bit too glaring."
"It's like a firefly in the dead of night, desperately terrified of not being noticed."
"Not necessarily."
Chen Mang shook his head, replying softly, "The Doppler Radar can clearly detect The Palace. This means it either has no stealth equipment installed, or whatever it had has failed."
"A Level 200 Doppler Radar is quite a rare sight in the universe."
"If there were any other civilizations in the vicinity of The Palace, they would have definitely noticed it."
"But just now, when we went over."
"I noticed that there wasn't a single civilization within a radius of a hundred thousand light-years."
"There are plenty of planets."
"Yet not a single civilization."
"I left quite a few Refrigerators there. Once we consume all the resources in the Niya Galaxy, perhaps we can consider relocating to that area. The numerous Ore Stars there would serve as excellent nourishment for us. The only things we need to figure out are why that sector is utterly devoid of civilizations, and exactly what that Palace is."
One of the main reasons he wanted to maintain a good relationship with the Starlight Civilization was...
The Starlight Civilization's random teleportation ability.
It was essentially a superior version of Meng Duo's ecological niche.
This civilization would constantly teleport randomly through the cosmos, allowing him to continuously seed Refrigerators. To be blunt, if the Human Civilization ever encountered an unavoidable disaster—so long as it wasn't a total timeline reset—having multiple backup plans meant he would always find a way to survive.
And in the event they found a promising sector.
It would become his new staging ground.
Take that sector, for example.
While the number of Ore Stars wasn't staggeringly high, the distinct advantage was the complete absence of any other civilization. No one would compete with him; it would all belong to him, ensuring perfect safety.
It was just that...
A radius of a hundred thousand light-years without a single civilization, not even a bottom-tier one—no matter how you sliced it, that was hardly a reassuring sign.
Chen Mang stayed silent, falling into deep thought as he gazed at the information on the control panel's screen.
But a moment later.
The Refrigerator in the corner of the cabin suddenly started flashing its red light again.
What now?
A hint of confusion flashed in Chen Mang's eyes. He quickly returned to the Starlight Civilization with Lao Zhu and the others. When they arrived, he saw the Starlight Civilization leader standing frozen, his trembling hand pointing towards the horizon. Chen Mang followed his gaze and was similarly stunned into silence.
Where the hell had they ended up this time?
"Did you guys randomly teleport again? Didn't you say you couldn't do it twice in quick succession?"
"N-no, we didn't."
"Then where did The Palace go?"
"It suddenly vanished."
"Wait, what do you mean 'suddenly vanished'?"
"Exactly what it sounds like..." The Starlight Civilization leader threw his hands up and clapped them together sharply. "Just like that, it was gone. Without the slightest sound or warning, it completely disappeared from the sky."
"..."
Chen Mang took the surveillance footage handed to him by the leader. In the video, the colossal palace truly did vanish abruptly. He stood in silence for a long time, utterly speechless. Something that unimaginably massive disappearing without a trace completely shattered his understanding of reality.
He was now incredibly thankful that he hadn't ventured inside.
Otherwise, only ghosts knew where he would be right now.
This damn universe was simply too dangerous!
Why was there always so much bizarre, incomprehensible bullshit everywhere!
Meanwhile—
Countless light-years away, in a study on a planet in the northern frontier of the Naomi Civilization.
The old man, who was writing at his desk, suddenly felt his drawer tremble slightly. Understanding instantly, he pulled it open. His drawer had brought him another cosmic gift. It was just that...
This time, it seemed a bit different.
When he opened the drawer, nothing was there.
It was completely empty.
The old man frowned slightly, running his hands around the inside of the drawer. Had the Goddess of Fate's favor finally run dry? Would there never be another cosmic gift?
Or perhaps the item was invisible.
Intangible.
A uniquely rare type of cosmic gift?
The value of a cosmic gift was entirely random. Sometimes it was just a completely useless pebble; there was no set range or standard. As for how many were delivered each day, that was equally random.
Everything was random.
Just then—
Piercing alarms suddenly blared outside the study. The old man froze for a moment, glancing toward the window. No, the alarms weren't just outside his study; they were echoing across the entire city. Looking down at the streets, he saw every single person craning their necks to look at the sky.
As if something up there had utterly captivated their attention.
Following the gaze of the crowds below, he too looked up into the sky. Instantly, his body turned to stone, his eyes wide with abject terror and disbelief!
He saw...
He saw an incomparably gigantic palace—a palace radiating an intense, star-like luminescence. At some unknown moment, it had materialized above the planet, occupying well over half the sky.
The only saving grace was that the massive structure remained suspended in the atmosphere, rather than crashing down.
Faintly, however.
He could sense it. This colossal palace was the latest Cosmic Taboo Item his drawer had brought back for him. It was just a tad too large to fit inside the desk, so it had appeared in the sky instead.