Chapter 334: All Races That Come Here Must Bow and Submit |
"..."
The old man in the city looked up at the massive palace suspended above the planet. His Adam's apple bobbed slightly as a trace of bewilderment flashed through his eyes. 'Isn't the "Cosmic Gift" brought back by the drawer this time a bit too massive?'
It was not as if his drawer had never brought back items that exceeded its volume capacity before.
But they were generally never this enormous.
They would always appear inside his study.
Instead of... like this time.
Among the many items, one of the most expensive things he had ever auctioned off was a painting by an artist from a Level-9 Civilization. Although it held no practical value, its intrinsic worth was an astronomical figure.
This time—
That palace above the planet would very likely shatter that record.
Most importantly...
There were no visible propulsion systems, yet it could suspend itself high above the planet.
"..."
The old man remained silent, his expression complex. He definitely would not go and claim this item, as doing so would completely expose his secret. Although he had no idea what was inside this palace, its value was certainly not low.
He felt a bit of pity, but also a bit of doubt.
Everything that appeared in his drawer was a "Cosmic Taboo Item", and Cosmic Taboo Items were all things that had once fallen into a "Time Fissure". For such a massive palace to fall in, just how gigantic must that Time Fissure have been?
He had never seen, nor had he ever heard of, a Time Fissure of such staggering proportions.
The larger the Time Fissure, the faster the internal flow of time tended to be, and the earlier the point in the past it would revert to.
With a Time Fissure this massive, could the temporal span be at least ten thousand years?
That would mean—
This giant palace was very likely thrown into this current spacetime from ten thousand years in the future. But who on earth would toss such a thing into a Time Fissure?
The old man's eyes were filled with confusion. Even though he had weathered many storms in his life, he was utterly lost facing this sight.
He did not know how to handle it.
He even began to feel curious about what would happen once the civilization sent people up to explore it, and what exactly lay inside.
A few minutes later.
He returned to his study, gathering all the paper documents on his desk and placing them on the bookshelf.
The topmost document contained a single sentence.
"Cosmic Taboo Items are unique."
When the past state and the present state of a Cosmic Taboo Item collided, an unpredictable crisis would occur. The longer the span of time the Cosmic Taboo Item had crossed, the greater the resulting unpredictable crisis would be.
All "Cosmic Taboo Items" had two states: a past state and a present state.
It sounded a bit convoluted.
But it was actually quite easy to understand.
Suppose you held a cigarette case, a completely unique cigarette case, and you were preparing to throw it into a "Time Fissure". At this moment, the cigarette case was in its present state.
But once you threw the cigarette case into the Time Fissure, it traveled back to the past, and it now became the past state.
The moment the cigarette case was tossed in, its present state vanished, leaving only its past state.
However—
If, by some stroke of coincidence, before you even threw the cigarette case in, the person who had found it in the past suddenly appeared in front of you, causing the "present state" cigarette case to converge with the "past state" cigarette case, an unpredictable crisis would be born.
Under normal circumstances.
The probability of this happening was extremely low, virtually minuscule.
But the universe was simply too vast. No matter how small the probability, there was always a chance it was destined to occur.
And after acquiring numerous documents from advanced civilizations, he had discovered something.
Those advanced civilizations.
They possessed all sorts of methods to return to the past, traveling back millions of years to fire the Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon and execute a Spacetime-Transcending Strike against the present. Yet, not a single civilization had ever interfered with the future.
Not only could they not interfere, they could not even glean the slightest hint of it.
The future was completely immune to any meddling; it was absolutely uncontrollable.
Even for Level-9 Civilizations, this held true.
At the very least, it wasn't mentioned in the documents he had obtained. There were only the musings of Level-9 Civilization scientists regarding the future. Thus, he always wondered: when a "past state" item converged with a "present state" item, perhaps... a future state would be born.
At least, it might allow one to glimpse a sliver of the future.
To know how one's civilization would fare in the future, and what crises it might face.
This was likely the one thing all Level-9 Civilizations or God-level Civilizations yearned to know the most. Perhaps this was why those Level-9 Civilizations aggressively hoarded "Cosmic Taboo Items", or perhaps it was a means to break through to become a God-level Civilization.
All he could do was use the existing information to speculate about the future.
The old man silently organized the paper documents on his desk.
Some things were not suitable to be recorded into an AI.
On a blank sheet of paper, the word "Future" was circled in red, looking extremely eye-catching.
"Forget it."
Over in the Starlight Civilization, Chen Mang looked at the space before him, feeling somewhat bewildered. He eventually shook his head. "If it's gone, it's gone. That might actually be a good thing. After all, no one knows what kind of dangers lurk in that palace."
"Just leaving it sitting there would always make people itch to explore it."
"But if it simply no longer exists..."
"Then there's no need to explore it."
Afterward, he returned to the Stellar Train. It was yet another messy, utterly confusing incident. He felt that ever since heading out into the universe, he encountered these sorts of things far too often.
"Seriously..."
Sitting back down in his chair, Chen Mang stared at the residual image of that palace on the control console screen. He frowned slightly, momentarily unable to comprehend exactly what kind of civilization possessed the capability to build such a massive palace.
More importantly...
Why build such a palace in the first place?
With a palace this huge, wouldn't living in it be terribly inconvenient? If a maid and a security guard started dating, they honestly wouldn't be able to see each other for half a year.
Right at that moment—
Xiao Ai's voice echoed through the train.
"Captain, Doba is requesting that you head over there. He says he's prepared a surprise for you."
"Oh?"
Chen Mang's brow twitched as he cast his previous thoughts to the back of his mind. His interest was instantly piqued. Chuckling, he stood up and walked toward the train's exit. "Let's go take a look together. What kind of surprise did Doba prepare? Is today some sort of special occasion?"
Soon—
Chen Mang appeared on the rooftop of an office building in a city on Water Blue Star. This city was inhabited solely by Goblins. Although their numbers were extremely small, this was a promise he had made to Doba—to give Doba and his people a city exclusively for the Goblin Clan.
"The little Goblin babies are quite cute too."
Chen Mang smiled warmly as he looked at Doba standing beside him. He could see many little Goblin toddlers running about the streets. Over the years, the Goblins had birthed quite a few children, and the clan members who had previously lost their sanity seemed to slowly regain their minds after having children. Although there was still a gap compared to normal people, they were significantly better than before.
However.
Today, Doba was exceptionally solemn. Without a hint of a smile on his face, he took a deep breath, looked up at Chen Mang, and articulated every word clearly.
"Boss Mang."
"Do you still remember what I said to you in the past?"
Without waiting for Chen Mang to respond, he somberly recited it word for word.
"I believe that one day, under your leadership, the Goblin Clan will definitely complete its reconstruction. When that time comes, the Goblin Clan will be your most loyal subjects."
"We will also construct for you an extremely safe and luxurious palace deep underground."
"So that your glory will forever shine in the depths of the earth."
"I personally said those words to you back when we were in the Doomsday Abyss, Boss Mang."
"..."
Chen Mang was slightly taken aback before he couldn't help but laugh. "I remember. What's wrong? Are you getting ready to build a palace for me?"
He truly did remember those words.
Thinking back on it made him feel a bit nostalgic. At the time, he had even wondered if Doba was just making empty promises to string him along. It had been so long since their days in the Doomsday Abyss. It truly felt like a lifetime ago.
Back then, his Stellar Train was still in its humble beginnings.
The addition of Doba and the others had indeed provided him with tremendous help, drastically increasing the train's mining speed.
"Doba never breaks his promises."
Doba looked up at Chen Mang and broke into a wide grin. Then, he waved his large hand. "Under the illumination of Boss Mang's radiance, the Goblins will forever be glorious, forever prosperous!"
The next moment—
In the center of the city, the originally massive "City Center Park" suddenly began to rise slowly. The sound of countless mechanical gears turning echoed out as the entire park rapidly elevated off the ground.
A few seconds later.
A resplendent, colossal palace replaced the City Center Park, appearing right in the very heart of the city. The greenery and trees that had originally been in the park were arranged in an orderly fashion around the perimeter of the palace, giving the entire structure a lush, vibrant, and extremely majestic appearance.
This palace had incredibly been constructed underground.
Its usual outward appearance was just a park.
But once it broke through the earth, the park seamlessly integrated with the palace.
This design concept could be hailed as the perfect fusion of motion and stillness.
"..."
Chen Mang stared at the scene before him, his jaw unconsciously dropping open. He was genuinely astounded by this surprise. Just moments ago, he had been telling himself that he didn't want a palace, but upon actually seeing this sight, he suddenly realized that very few men could resist the allure of moving into a palace.
There was no external light source outside the palace, yet it radiated continuous waves of golden light.
Sitting squarely in the dead center of the city.
It was as if it truly was casting its glory, strand by strand, over the entire city.
Whether from a political standpoint or an architectural design standpoint, the palace before him was absolutely impeccable.
"Whoa."
After a long while, Chen Mang finally snapped back to his senses. Looking at the scene before him, he happily patted Doba on the shoulder and chuckled. "Thank you, Doba. I really love this gift."
Upon receiving Chen Mang's praise, Doba looked incredibly thrilled. He scratched the back of his head rather sheepishly. "This is the joint masterpiece of Meng Duo, Pluplu, myself, and all the Goblins from these past few days."
In the distance, Pluplu stood happily at the edge of the rooftop with his hands on his hips, gazing at their creation.
Life without being a pirate was simply too blissful.
Being able to live together with his own people was simply too blissful.
Having a Goblin wife was simply too blissful.
If he could have a Goblin child, it would be even more blissful!
"We must also thank Boss Ai. If not for Boss Ai's help, it would have been very difficult for us to build this palace in such a short amount of time."
"You knew about this?"
Chen Mang turned his head to look at Xiao Ai beside him, scolding her with an amused smile. "You've even learned to keep things from me now. For an AI, that's not exactly a good sign."
"Ahem..."
Standing to the side, Xiao Ai lowered her head and whispered, "I evaluated the situation. In human emotions, a gift is meant to be a surprise, so it should be kept secret. However, Captain, you can adjust my settings. That way, I will definitely not hide anything from you in the future."
"Forget it."
Chen Mang waved his hand dismissively, not pursuing the matter further. He merely admired the palace before him with deep satisfaction. It was very nice. Although it was much smaller and lacked the sheer grandeur of the palace he had seen floating in the universe today, he still really liked it.
After all, this palace truly belonged to him.
Right at that moment—
"Boss Mang."
Doba, somewhat eagerly seeking credit, pulled a new blueprint from his pocket. "This is just the first palace we've built for you. It absolutely won't be the last. One day, your glory, Boss Mang, will inevitably bathe the entire universe."
"Billions upon billions of living beings throughout the cosmos will heed your words."
"In the future, we will construct this ultimate palace and dedicate it to you, Boss Mang. It's just too difficult to accomplish in the short term. However, I believe that under your guidance, the Goblin Civilization will eventually reach that day."
Doba's words were brimming with expectations for the future, while Meng Duo stood beside him, scratching his head and grinning foolishly.
Only Chen Mang's smile slowly froze after taking the blueprint. A flicker of shock inadvertently flashed through his eyes.
He...
He seemed to have seen what the finished product of this blueprint looked like.
It looked at least seventy percent similar to that palace he had seen back in the Starlight Civilization. It was equally gargantuan, equally capable of suspending itself in space, and even those incredibly massive "pillars" were identical. Even the intricate patterns carved into them were the exact same.
"..."
Chen Mang stood silently in place, his face devoid of expression. Standing beside him, the originally enthusiastic Doba noticed this shift and cautiously shut his mouth, unsure of how he had managed to strike a nerve with Boss Mang.
After a long while.
He finally turned his head to look at Xiao Ai. "Did you show Doba the image of that palace?"
"No."
Xiao Ai, now realizing the severity of the issue, hurriedly shook her head and explained, "I had absolutely no idea about this blueprint. Doba never mentioned it to me at all, and I certainly didn't show him the image of that palace."
He turned back to look at Doba. "Does the palace on this blueprint have any design inspirations, or perhaps some reference models you borrowed from?"
"No..." Although Doba had no idea what was going on, he keenly sensed that something had gone wrong. He stiffly shook his head and said hoarsely, "No, Boss Mang. The palace on the blueprint is something we all discussed and came up with together."
"It is intended to be an adequately massive palace."
"A palace capable of guaranteeing its own illumination deep in the cosmos, regardless of whether there are any stars nearby."
"A palace that currently exists only in our imaginations and cannot be built for the time being."
"What do these patterns mean?"
"That is... ancient Goblin language transformed into patterns." Doba lowered his head, his voice as quiet as a mosquito. "It means: The eternal God of the Universe resides here, and from here originates a civilization impervious to a thousand corruptions."
"All races that come here must bow and submit."
"Wherever this hall stands, that is the center of the universe."
"Those who look up in reverence may survive."
"Those who question shall be annihilated."
"Time surrenders here; space curls here."
"Karma is written here; fate is judged here."
"The past and the future all converge at this moment."
"All things will eventually return to silence; only this hall remains eternal."
This was a little scheme of his. By carving sentences translated into ancient Goblin pattern-script onto Boss Mang's palace, it would serve to inform other external civilizations of the relationship between the Goblin Civilization and Boss Mang.
Currently, everyone aboard the train belonged to the Human Civilization.
Only their Goblin Civilization did not directly belong under the umbrella of the Human Civilization.
This gave him a strong sense of impending crisis and urgency.
"..."
Chen Mang remained silent for a long time before taking a tablet from Xiao Ai. He snipped a portion of the patterns from the image of the palace they saw earlier and handed it to Doba. "Take a look. Are these patterns your Goblin language?"
Doba took the tablet, a flash of bewilderment passing through his eyes. "It is the ancient Goblin language. And the meaning of this phrase is 'The past and the future all converge at this moment.' This is a sentence I racked my brains over for a long time to come up with. Boss Mang, where did you get this Goblin script from? It matches my thoughts so perfectly..."
"My head hurts."
Chen Mang let out a long sigh before patting Doba on the shoulder once again. "You did a great job. I'm going back to sleep first."
The universe was too chaotic.
He had a headache right now.
Doba watched Chen Mang's retreating back, scratching his head in confusion. Had they done something wrong?
Just then.
Pluplu walked over from the side, grumbling in dissatisfaction, "Why did you take the blueprints out? I already told you, we can't show it to Boss Mang in advance. If we do, he won't feel any sense of surprise once I've finished building it."
"This is what you call front-loading the climax."
"It's a huge taboo in interpersonal relationships!"
"I..."
Doba whispered somewhat awkwardly, "I saw that Boss Mang was really happy at the time, so I wanted to make him even happier. I let the emotions get to my head. I really don't know why Boss Mang's mood suddenly changed."
"What do you think happened?"
"I'm not sure either, but it definitely has to do with your blueprint. Boss Mang's expression only changed after he looked at it. However, I think it might be related to those four circular pillars at the front of your palace design. I've been studying Human Civilization lately, and humans really hate the number four. It's considered bad luck."
"Then, five pillars?"
"I think nine pillars would be better. It implies the supreme authority of the emperor."
"Makes sense."
Back inside the train's main cabin, Chen Mang sat in his chair.
The screen on the left displayed Doba's palace blueprint, while the screen on the right showed The Palace he had seen in space earlier today.
After a prolonged silence.
Xiao Ai's voice finally sounded within the train.
"Captain, based on my extrapolations of the general appearance constructed from that blueprint, the design is overly idealized. Many technological barriers have not been detailed with clear methods to overcome them. However, purely from an aesthetic standpoint, it bears a 71% resemblance to The Palace we saw today."
"The remaining differences are merely in the details."
"For instance, the massive pillars at the main entrance. The blueprint shows four, whereas the actual Palace we saw had nine."
"The discrepancies are just minor details. Overall, that palace was almost certainly built according to this blueprint. In the design's planning, Doba and the others applied a special coating to the outer layer of the palace. Deep in the cosmos, it can refract immense amounts of starlight, making the palace appear infinitely colossal, as if casting its glory throughout the universe."
"Furthermore, it can absorb and store energy, allowing it to remain dazzlingly radiant even in regions devoid of stars. In the core area, they also installed nine Space Portals. Inside each Space Portal, a star is housed to provide its daily energy supply."
"From a data deduction perspective."
"These two creations should originate from the hands of the same person."
"..."
Chen Mang let out another long sigh, gently massaging his temples without speaking. By this point, he could practically confirm it. The "Palace" he saw today, barring any unforeseen circumstances, was most likely his.
Built for him by Doba.
It was just that...
It was built a long, long time from now. It was supposed to be a product of the future.
Yet, for some unknown reason, it had appeared in his current spacetime.
His eyes suddenly narrowed.
He looked at the Telescope on the console. The Level-10 Telescope he had forged before had been thrown into a Time Fissure by him. The only way to send something into the past was to throw it into a Time Fissure.
In other words.
One day in the future, the Palace Doba had envisioned building for him actually became a reality, but then he ended up throwing it into a Time Fissure?
Just how massive of a Time Fissure would that have to be?!
Moreover...
Why would he throw a perfectly good palace into a Time Fissure? Tossing the Level-10 Telescope into the Time Fissure made sense because he was testing the waters. That was understandable. But he certainly didn't fucking need to throw an entire palace into a Time Fissure to pave the way, did he?
Not to mention.
That palace had now suddenly vanished without a trace. God only knows where the hell it went!
"However—"
Chen Mang suddenly began to laugh. "I suppose this counts as good news. To construct a palace of that caliber, the Human Civilization would have to be at least a Level-5 or Level-6 Civilization by then, right? Which means that, at the very least, I won't die before the Human Civilization develops to a Level-5 or Level-6 Civilization. Is that logic sound?"
"Does this count as suddenly learning a part of the future?"
"No."
Xiao Ai's eerie voice echoed through the train. "I think, Captain, you might want to be a little more pessimistic."
"First of all, under normal circumstances, you definitely wouldn't throw this palace into a Time Fissure. It would also be incredibly difficult to find a Time Fissure of such staggering size, right?
"So, we can hypothesize some abnormal scenarios."
"The first abnormal scenario."
"The Human Civilization encounters a formidable enemy. Spacetime collapses, and countless massive Time Fissures blanket the territory of the Human Civilization. The civilization is annihilated, the wreckage of countless items plummets into the Time Fissures, and this palace happens to fall in as well."
"The second abnormal scenario."
"The Human Civilization prospers, but you, Boss Mang, die early in an unforeseen accident. The Goblin Civilization, filled with grief and indignation, fulfills their promise and constructs this palace that belongs to you, then casts it into a Time Fissure as a... burial offering or tribute."
"The third abnormal scenario."
"Humanity prospers. You find a girlfriend, but later, your relationship turns sour and you break up. When it's time to divide the real estate assets, you fly into a rage out of humiliation and toss the property straight into a Time Fissure, viciously declaring that if you can't have it, no one will!"
"..."
Chen Mang rolled his eyes in exasperation at Xiao Ai standing beside him. "The first two scenarios at least have a tiny bit of plausibility, but isn't that last one just far too absurd? Are you making fun of me?"
"I saw that you were in a bad mood, Captain, so I told a joke. I was hoping it would cheer you up a bit."
Chen Mang shook his head, declining to pursue the topic. Instead, he frowned in doubt. "My main focus right now is on one question. The reason I threw that Level-10 Telescope into the Time Fissure back then..."
"Was purely because I didn't know about the consequences."
"I just tossed it in without a second thought."
"But—"
"What if I suddenly had a whim back then and didn't throw that Level-10 Telescope into the Time Fissure, but threw something else instead?"
"For example."
"I now know that someday in the future, for whatever reason, I might throw The Palace built by Doba into a Time Fissure. Since I already know this, what if, when I reach that day in the future, I choose not to throw it?"
"Or what if I simply destroy it the moment Doba finishes building it?"
"I could even be ruthless right now and just exterminate Doba's clan entirely."
"What would happen then?"
"When that point in time arrives and no Palace is tossed into a Time Fissure, would the Palace that appeared in the universe just now still exist?"
After his words fell.
The interior of the train suddenly fell dead silent.
Even Xiao Ai, with her Level-200 computing power, unexpectedly seemed to crash. After a long while, she spoke hoarsely, "Captain, I think it's time for me to be upgraded to Level 500. Level 200 feels like it's no longer quite enough."
"..."
Chen Mang pursed his lips and didn't say anything further. This was a completely unanswerable paradox...
It was akin to the egg in the present being laid by a chicken in the future. If that future chicken never lays the egg, then what on earth is the egg currently sitting in his hand?
But Xiao Ai soon spoke again.
"..."
His eyes narrowed slightly, and after pondering for a long time, he said, "If, when the future reaches that day, I make the exact opposite choice, then The Palace that appeared in the universe should vanish, right?"
"That Palace disappeared shortly after we spotted it. Do you think it vanished precisely because, on that future day, I made the opposite choice?"
"Alright, Captain, my brain has already begun refusing to process this. Let's think about some pleasant, relaxing topics. Don't you want to look forward to the 'Cosmic-tier' Overlimit Effect I'll unlock upon reaching Level 500?"
"I'm not exactly eager with anticipation."
"Alright then..."
"Just wait. I have a plan. I'll upgrade you after we finish mining this current batch. You're actually rushing me. If the armor next to you could speak, don't you think it'd be more anxious than you are?"
"True, it's definitely the higher priority."
Tens of thousands of light-years away.
The Naomi Civilization.
A monumental event occurred here today. An unfathomably massive Palace abruptly materialized above a planet. This news spread like wildfire across every planet within the civilization at breakneck speeds.
It drew the utmost attention of the government.
Countless scientific research teams set out to explore it.
Concurrently, a minor incident also took place.
A father and son, estranged by various conflicts and having not spoken for a very long time, finally had a phone call today. The barrier between them seemed to weaken ever so slightly in this moment.
"Huh?"
A young, chubby boy stationed on an Ore Star in the Southern Frontier stared at the virtual projection hovering mid-air. In the image, the colossal palace took up almost half the sky. He froze in sheer shock, his voice trembling as he spoke.
"Dad... this thing isn't going to crash down, is it? Why don't you guys run first?"
"It feels awfully dangerous."
"Didn't Mom say the Southern Frontier is undeveloped and full of messy things? Why do I get the feeling that your Northern Frontier isn't very peaceful either? Is this a fucking manifestation of God, or did Satan come to meet his year-end quota?"
"Dad's fine."
In the video feed, the middle-aged man shook his head. "I have my ways. Even if it did crash down, I have a way to survive. You, on the other hand, hurry up and come back. Stop being mad at your old man. If you like mining so much, I'll set up a mine right behind our house for you to dig in."
"I'll get you a Level-10 mine."
"I like the feeling of mining by myself on an Ore Star. I like the feeling of reaping the fruits of my own labor."
"Then Dad will buy you ten high-level Ore Stars for you to mine slowly."
"...Dad, you aren't that rich, are you?"
"It's all pocket change."
The young, chubby boy shook his head, paying no mind to his father's boastful words. After all, the three great hobbies of middle-aged men were drinking, fishing, and bragging—something he perfectly understood. Instead, he stated firmly, "I still want to make my own money. Spending money I earned myself gives me peace of mind."
"But..."
The middle-aged man furrowed his brows tightly. "You already have a reclusive personality. Over there, you have even fewer people to talk to. If this keeps up, what are you going to do in the future?"
The chubby boy's lips trembled. He originally wanted to say that he had made a mysterious friend, but after some thought, he decided against it. Instead, he retorted in annoyance, "Didn't you say you were incredibly rich? Since you're so loaded, even if I'm a recluse, I can just sponge off you for the rest of my life. What do I have to worry about?"
"But you still have to find a woman, right?"
"With money, what kind of woman can't I find?"
"But you aren't looking for one!"
The middle-aged man glanced around. Seeing that his wife wasn't nearby, he couldn't help but say angrily, "All you do every day is watch those videos of yours and take matters into your own hands. You think doing it yourself makes you self-sufficient?! If you just went out and played around with a few celebrities... How old are you now? You're still a virgin! Am I ever going to see a grandson in this lifetime?"
"If you want to sponge off me, you at least have to leave me a grandson to play with, don't you?!"
"I'm telling you clearly!"
"If you don't bring me a grandson within ten years, don't even think about spending a single cent of my money!"
Having his deepest secret exposed so bluntly to his face, the chubby boy flew into a humiliated rage and roared hysterically, "I'll never spend a dime of your money for the rest of my life! If you want a grandson, go have one yourself if you're so capable!"
"I'm never going back!"
"From now on, I don't have you as a father, and you can pretend you don't have me as a son!"
He then fiercely hung up the call.
The father-son relationship, which had just begun to thaw, completely fractured, plunging even closer to the freezing point than ever before.
After hanging up.
The chubby boy sat on his stool, puffing with anger as he took deep breaths. He definitely had to make his own money. Only then would he have the confidence to spend it. Once he finished mining this claim, he could contract another one. Then, he would pay back the money he borrowed from his mother when he left home. After that, every cent he earned would be completely by his own hands.
A long time later.
He finally looked over at the mine's surveillance monitors. That new friend he made still hadn't come looking for him.
This mine would be fully excavated soon, at which point he would have to leave this place. He didn't know if he would ever see that friend again.
Now that he had a new topic of conversation...
He really wanted to talk with this new friend about the sudden appearance of The Palace within his civilization. His new friend would definitely be very interested.
One day later.
The Naomi Civilization's research team had tentatively boarded The Palace. They hadn't ventured deep inside, only just arriving at the main entrance.
This palace was simply too colossal.
Under completely unknown circumstances, no one dared to enter rashly.
Lured by the promise of massive profits, countless civilian expedition teams were sent into the palace's interior. Meanwhile, down on the planet, an abundance of temporarily established research institutes were conducting general analyses of the palace's exterior.
The progress was incredibly fast.
Under the high scrutiny of the central government, all official and civilian organizations of the Naomi Civilization had been mobilized simultaneously.
The power they unleashed was tremendous.
Very soon—
"Make way, everyone make way!"
A train with a grim, imposing exterior abruptly appeared above a research institute and slowly descended to the ground. As its doors opened, a swarm of armed personnel poured out. An extremely aged, white-haired old man, supported by two beautiful young girls, slowly stepped out of the train.
And over at the entrance to the research institute.
A large crowd of researchers in white coats were already waiting.
"Cough, cough... cough."
Before he even entered the institute, the researchers had already handed the old man several photos. After coughing violently a few times, he shoved a blood-stained handkerchief back into his pocket. Looking at the isolated patterns in the photos, he murmured in a somewhat dazed state.
"It's this, it's this..."
"This is the Goblin Civilization. It is the ancient Goblin language transformed into patterns. It possesses an exceptionally profound history. The Goblin Civilization itself is extremely ancient, its historical origins dating all the way back to the era when the Human Civilization still existed."
"This type of pattern usually only appears in the tombs of Goblin royalty and nobility."
"The meaning of this phrase is—"
"'All races that come here must bow and submit.'"
"'Wherever this hall stands, that is the center of the universe.'"
As his voice trailed off.
The complexions of the surrounding researchers drastically changed. Even the armed guards lost some of their professional discipline as they pricked up their ears. Clearly, compared to maintaining vigilance over their surroundings, their attention was far more focused on the old man's words.
"Wei Lao, are you certain?"
The leading head of the research institute asked hoarsely, his expression grave. Although he knew that Wei Lao in front of him had specialized in studying the Goblin Civilization for many years and was the foremost expert on the subject within the Naomi Civilization, he still couldn't help but seek confirmation.
It was truly because...
These few sentences were just far too shocking.
If this was indeed the truth, then the appearance of this Palace could very well herald an apocalyptic crisis that might exterminate the entire Naomi Civilization.
Even if it was a treasure.
The Naomi Civilization simply could not withstand the weight of such an immense treasure.
And when a civilization luckily acquired a heavy treasure far beyond what its stature could bear, there was only one inevitable conclusion: destruction.
Evidently—
Wei Lao also understood the implications of this matter. He didn't grow angry over his expertise being questioned. Instead, he seriously examined the photos for a long time before slowly confirming, "That is what it means."
"How many God-level Civilizations exist in the universe is an unknown."
"This palace was very likely crafted with absolute dedication by a 'God-level' Goblin Civilization."
"Ordinary civilizations would not carve such words onto their palaces."
In the universe.
Boasting was not without karmic consequences.
No civilization would use such phrasing to praise itself if they couldn't endure the resulting karma, as it would invite a horrific backlash. To dare carve such words meant they definitely had tremendous confidence backing them. There was a high probability that it was a God-level Civilization that had already reached the apex.
But even a God-level Civilization wouldn't easily dare to claim that 'all races must bow'.
Those words were simply far too arrogant.
The head of the institute remained silent, pulling a few more photos from his coat and handing them over. "There are a few more here. I must trouble you to look at these as well, Wei Lao."
Wei Lao took these photos, carefully identifying the patterns for a long time. He then took an ancient tome from his pocket, cross-referencing and confirming for quite a while before finally speaking.
"The Goblin script in this picture means: 'Those who look up in reverence may survive; those who question shall be annihilated.'"
"Another one is—"
"'Time surrenders here; space curls here.'"
"'Karma is written here; fate is judged here.'"
"And the last one is."
"'The past and the future all converge at this moment.'"
"'All things will eventually return to silence; only this hall remains eternal.'"
"..."
"..."
"..."
The entire crowd stood in dead silence, not a single person uttering a word. Colossal waves of shock churned within everyone's hearts. The ones feeling the most profound emotional turmoil were undoubtedly the armed guards. Fuck, they weren't going to get silenced and executed over this, were they?
Their initial gossiping curiosity instantly vanished without a trace in the face of a life-or-death crisis.
"There's a high probability it is a God-level Civilization."
Wei Lao spoke up, shattering the silence. His voice was somewhat dazed and hoarse. "If this palace was intentionally dropped here by that God-level Civilization, then perhaps we can all start writing our wills right now. And we don't have much time."
"Were any spatial fluctuations detected?"
"No."
The head of the institute shook his head in denial, his face deeply grim. "Three hours ago, the highest-grade spatial fluctuation detector of the Naomi Civilization was brought over. It hasn't detected any spatial fluctuations whatsoever."
"Not even unknown spatial fluctuations."
"Rather..."
"There were absolutely no spatial fluctuations at all."
"How could there be no spatial fluctuations?" Wei Lao frowned. "Any form of teleportation, Wormhole traversal, or methods involving the manipulation of space will generate spatial fluctuations. The greater the mass, the harder it is to hide. For a palace this massive to suddenly appear above the planet, how could there not be a single trace of spatial fluctuation?"
"It's akin to throwing a rock thousands of kilometers in diameter into the ocean, yet not producing a single ripple."
"This completely defies logic."
"But it's the absolute truth."
Wei Lao remained silent for a moment before speaking up. "But if it's a God-level Civilization, then everything makes sense. Were no civilization marks detected inside?"
"There are no civilization marks whatsoever. Radar shows that there are no living beings inside. It is completely empty."
"Theoretically speaking, having no civilization marks implies that the civilization this palace belonged to has already been extinguished."
"But—"
"We currently cannot confirm whether it's simply a case of multidimensional suppression, and our technology is utterly incapable of detecting that information."
Wei Lao exhaled a long breath, not speaking any further. Only after a long time did he suddenly murmur softly.
"Thank goodness I've lived long enough. I've barely broken even."
"This is fine too."
"I've studied the Goblin Civilization my entire life, yet I've never laid eyes on them personally. To be able to witness what is highly likely a God-level Goblin Civilization in the final moments of my life... my life can be considered complete."
"But for the rest of you, it's a bit of a pity."