Chapter 338: Zerg's Silence |
Soon enough—
Xiao Ai's voice echoed through the train once more.
"You can think of the universe as a giant mainframe. There is a set of hidden underlying rules maintaining its operation, and during this process, various bugs, or accidents, frequently occur."
"For example... erasure."
"When the rules of the universe prepare to erase a certain civilization, or when one civilization acts to erase another from the timeline, an immense amount of processing is involved. There is a place called the "Universe Backup" that stores everything that happens on our timeline during this period."
"Including the very words I am speaking right now."
"When a civilization is erased, everything regarding that civilization in the Universe Backup is permanently deleted."
"This is permanent erasure."
"Not even the gods themselves could bring them back."
"And as for the so-called Immortal Emperor..."
"Immortal and imperishable."
"It can roughly be understood as him possessing the ability to infinitely reload his own save file from the "Universe Backup". Since files can be deleted, they can naturally be restored. This allows one to achieve a state where as long as the universe exists, the person cannot die."
"..."
Chen Mang remained silent. He knew that both level 200 and level 500 were massive hurdles.
The Divine Level Extraordinary Effect obtained at level 200 was a massive upgrade for a component, a qualitative transformation.
But the "Universal Level" Extraordinary Effect obtained at level 500 involved the manipulation of cosmic rules.
It was a threshold that only a Level 4 Civilization could touch.
He had chatted a lot with the chubby guy recently. From his descriptions, Chen Mang hadn't thought the "Level 5 Civilization" Naomi Civilization was all that powerful; they sounded rather ordinary. But now, it seemed the chubby guy simply didn't know much about the core strength of his own civilization.
A Level 5 Civilization had definitely come into contact with level 1000 components.
If even level 500 components could utilize cosmic rules, then level 1000 components went without saying.
Then...
What about those Level 6, Level 7, Level 8, and even God-Level Civilizations?
Just what kind of terrifying existence would a civilization of that caliber possess?
With a single thought, countless galaxies could be casually annihilated.
After a long while.
Chen Mang finally spoke up, "In other words, your current utilization of the "Universe Backup" is limited to accessing the databases of all AIs that have died within the past ten years?"
"Can you perform a restore?"
"I cannot."
Xiao Ai answered crisply and cleanly, "Even upgrading to level 1000 wouldn't allow me to do that. If I could restore from the "Universe Backup", it would mean that even if you died right now, Boss Mang, as long as I survived, I could use the backup to resurrect you."
"It wouldn't even be called resurrection."
"It would simply be a file reload."
"Equivalent to a hard reset."
"However..."
"Even if reaching level 2000 granted this Extraordinary Effect, it would be a paradox. After all, if you die, Boss Mang, I would inevitably perish alongside you. At that point, I wouldn't have the ability to trigger a restore anyway."
"That being said..."
"The others aboard the Stellar Train are quite fortunate."
"As long as you don't die, Boss Mang, they effectively have eternal life through infinite restores."
"Thinking carefully about it, the Infinite Resurrection of the "Zerg Civilization" should also be a form of exploiting the "Universe Backup". It's just that they are a bit more perverse, possessing it as an innate ability."
Chen Mang nodded slightly.
He felt a faint sense of worry about the future, yet mingled with a trace of anticipation.
Once they stepped out of the Dead End Star System, though...
He would encounter far more powerful civilizations and greater clashes of cosmic rules. It would be like walking on a steel blade. No one knew what trump cards and methods the other side possessed. Every step would be perilous. It was undoubtedly dangerous, but if he could truly reach the summit, the sense of achievement would be unparalleled.
Human nature inherently feared the treacherous peaks.
Yet, upon successfully conquering the summit, the surge of triumph welling up from within would be immensely intense.
He glanced at the "Resource Panel".
He still had 1,315 trillion units of iron ore.
More than enough to end a war.
Now, everything was in place; even the eastern wind was blowing in his favor. He was fully prepared on his end. It just seemed like the "Zerg Civilization" wasn't ready yet. Naturally, he wouldn't be gentlemanly enough to wait for them to prepare before making his move.
"So, right now..."
Chen Mang didn't even plan to rest for another day. He carefully checked the levels of the train's various components and their upgraded Extraordinary Effects, then slowly pushed the control lever, driving toward the nearest Wormhole left behind by the "Kasa Civilization".
"Prepare for war."
"Target: The "Zerg Civilization"!"
The next moment—
A Universe Broadcast was transmitted from the "Stellar Train".
-
"Human Civilization": By the mandate of heaven, the Human Civilization officially declares war on the Zerg Civilization today. To the Death.
-
This Universe Broadcast was not sent through the train's onboard audio system—the broadcast speed of the audio system was far too fast. Instead, it was transmitted using a captured special item.
Its transmission speed was the speed of light.
Of course.
The Zerg Civilization definitely wouldn't receive this broadcast.
In fact, no civilization would receive this message for hundreds of years.
But—
That didn't matter.
It was primarily for a sense of ceremony.
After all, this was the "Human Civilization's" first step on the path of conquest, their very first time proactively initiating a war against another civilization. A little ceremony was necessary. The history books of the future would remember this day.
The next moment!
The Stellar Train's speed violently surged, tearing toward the nearest Wormhole!
The war had begun!
This war broke out with extreme suddenness.
The tens of thousands of civilizations within the "Kasa Civilization Federation" were completely unprepared. In their eyes, since both sides had entered a stalemate, dragging things out for five or six years would have been perfectly normal behavior.
After all, wars between civilizations often lasted for decades.
Back then, it took several hundred years for the "Mechanical Civilization" to be wiped out.
Things never moved this fast.
The "Zerg Civilization" didn't react in time at all, and the people within the "Human Civilization" were even more oblivious; Boss Mang hadn't mentioned or discussed this matter with them whatsoever.
It wasn't until—
The "Stellar Train" abruptly appeared at the frontline encampment of the "Zerg Civilization's" army and began a frenzied bombardment amidst blinding flashes of light.
The other civilizations gradually began to receive the news.
Only then did they belatedly realize.
The war seemed to have started.
The "Human Civilization" had taken the initiative to attack, and the size of the attacking army was... one train.
"Boom!"
The universe was silent.
But as this scene illuminated the area in front of the train, Chen Mang, standing at the control console, still imagined the sound echoing in his mind.
The pitch-black, curtain-like deep space was suddenly torn apart.
Several blinding, spear-like beams from the "Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon", carrying a level 200 attack intensity, erupted from the gun barrels atop the steel behemoth. Like lightning bolts hurled by a supreme god, they carved scorching trails of death through the vacuum, unleashing a devastating strike upon the Zerg Civilization's "Motherships" ahead!
Level 200!
This far exceeded the defensive capabilities of those motherships.
The defensive energy range of these motherships was only 15,000, which was level 150.
For a Level 2 Civilization...
This already represented an incredibly profound foundation.
After all, reinforcing armor to level 150 didn't just consume massive amounts of resources; it also required a huge amount of precious Murphy Stones!
However—
In the vast universe...
Never think of yourself as an unparalleled monster, and certainly never think you are the sole protagonist.
In some unreachable corner, there is always someone more monstrous, someone with even more main-character energy, quietly watching you jump around like a clown.
The so-called foundation of the Zerg Civilization was virtually reduced to fragile pottery before these several level 200 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon blasts. They were instantly obliterated, and the fragments that weren't completely vaporized were sent rocketing into the depths of space at terrifying speeds.
This was the frontline of the "Zerg Civilization".
A massive army was massed here.
They possessed a vast number of Zerg motherships. Every ship boasted a defensive range at level 150, an average attack energy range around 170, and peak values hitting 230.
Each Zerg mothership was swarmed by hordes of Zerg monsters.
They blotted out the void, occupying an enormous expanse of space.
It was an incredibly chilling sight.
The Doppler Radar showed that the exact number of Zerg monsters in this sector of space ahead was 37.92 million.
An astronomical figure.
And yet—
This was only the "Zerg Civilization's" vanguard, not their main force. Their overall strength had long surpassed what a standard Level 2 Civilization should possess. When several main cannon blasts detonated amidst the "Zerg Civilization's" frontline army...
The swarming tide of Zerg monsters immediately launched a counterattack.
First.
A huge number of Zerg motherships scattered, fleeing in different directions. Simultaneously, countless Zerg monsters charged fearlessly toward the Stellar Train.
This was the "Zerg Civilization's" standard tactic.
First, they used the sheer number of their monsters to deplete the enemy's energy reserves. Once the enemy's energy was nearly exhausted, they would swarm them all at once.
It was incredibly simple.
But it was also devastatingly effective, having never met its match.
At this point, enemies were usually forced to retreat and figure out a way to locate the "Zerg Civilization's" Broodmother to execute a decapitation strike.
However—
Today, the Stellar Train did not plan to follow that script.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!!"
The six "Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannons" mounted atop the train, controlled by Xiao Ai, began to continuously bombard the space ahead. The instant countless monsters came into contact with the light cannons, they were vaporized as if plunging into the core of a supernova.
Massive clouds of purplish-green blood mist formed eerie nebulas under the illumination of the universe's stars.
Like clouds of cosmic dust.
They looked exceptionally dazzling.
There was no sense of gore, but rather a rare, breathtaking beauty.
At this moment.
Those hundreds of "Zerg Motherships" also launched their counterattack. Countless tumor-like gun muzzles swelled on their surfaces. Following that, myriad light energy blasts blanketed the "Stellar Train" like a torrential hailstorm.
They struck with pinpoint accuracy.
Not because the enemy's aim was particularly stellar.
But because the Stellar Train simply made no attempt to dodge.
Without exception.
All of the attacks were directly neutralized by the armor.
When the energy range exceeded 10,000, there were no longer such rigid level restrictions. It wasn't that a level 101 light cannon was absolutely incapable of damaging level 102 armor; it was just that the resulting damage would be minor.
This allowed the Zerg Civilization's strategy of crushing the strong with sheer numbers to remain undefeated.
Except...
When the defensive armor reached level 500!
An insurmountable chasm appeared between the two—a gulf that couldn't be filled no matter how many lives were thrown at it.
Many ants could indeed bite an elephant to death.
But no matter how many ants there were, they could never bite to death a stellar behemoth spanning two light-years in length.
Right now, facing this Zerg Civilization, he was that very stellar behemoth.
The strength of the two sides wasn't even in the same dimension.
Right at this moment—
Xiao Ai's voice sounded within the train.
"Captain, the dead Zerg monsters are continuously resurrecting on a nearby dead star and rejoining the battlefield. Currently, we cannot determine the location of the "Antenna Worms" in this sector."
This was exactly what made the Zerg Civilization so terrifying.
Infinite Resurrection.
Seemingly endless, striking fear into the hearts of all.
The "Mechanical Civilization" had indeed researched and developed components capable of locating "Antenna Worms", but Chen Mang's crew hadn't acquired that blueprint, nor had they engineered it themselves. They possessed no means of tracking down the Antenna Worms.
"There's no need to look,"
Chen Mang said softly, his expression tranquil as he gazed out the window at the massive, newly birthed purple nebulas. "Once all the "Motherships" here are destroyed, initiate a "Wormhole" jump. We'll head straight into the heart of the Zerg Civilization to hunt for their Broodmother."
Killing these Zerg monsters was pointless.
As long as the Broodmother died...
Only then would the Zerg Civilization be considered annihilated. Once the Broodmother perished, these monsters would naturally die off as well.
"Understood."
This battle lasted a mere ten minutes.
Ten minutes later.
Deep in space, the number of Zerg monsters had barely dwindled. An infinite tide of resurrected Zerg charged in from the rear. Even though Chen Mang had destroyed that initial dead star, the monsters merely respawned on other dead stars to rejoin the fray.
They annihilated dozens of dead stars along the way.
Only then did they realize this was a trap set by the "Zerg Civilization". The Zerg's resurrection had absolutely nothing to do with those dead planets. The Zerg certainly weren't foolish enough to station their "Antenna Worms" on them; those dead stars were purely deliberate misdirections designed to waste an enemy's resources.
The "Antenna Worms" were merely level 1.
It was safe to say they possessed zero capability to survive in open space and could be crushed with a casual pinch. Their only function was granting the ability to resurrect the dead Zerg monsters in their designated sector.
Originally, Chen Mang thought the Antenna Worms must be hiding inside one of the Zerg motherships. But even after he destroyed every single mothership one by one, the Zerg monsters just kept resurrecting.
"Hmph."
Chen Mang scoffed coldly. "Quite a clever trick."
He truly couldn't find the location of the "Antenna Worms". Even the Doppler Radar couldn't spot them. Logically speaking, no matter how immense the monster horde was, with Xiao Ai's level 500 computing power, she could easily process the data of all the monsters in a short time to pinpoint the Antenna Worms.
But since Xiao Ai said she couldn't...
Then they truly had no idea where the creatures were hiding.
However, it didn't matter.
He wasn't planning on getting bogged down with these Zerg monsters anyway. Instead, he pressed a red button on the console. The "Spider Legs" slowly extended and began slicing into the fabric of space. He prepared to enter the Pseudo-Fourth Dimensional Space, disengage from the area, and press directly toward the core of the Zerg Civilization via a Wormhole.
When you had overwhelming power...
There was no need for subterfuge. Absolute force broke all schemes.
Petty tricks were utterly meaningless.
And yet—
The very instant the Stellar Train entered the "Pseudo-Fourth Dimensional Space", Chen Mang stared at the Doppler Radar screen, momentarily stunned, before suddenly breaking into a wide grin.
"Tch."
The radar screen clearly displayed a massive swarm of "Antenna Worms" crawling right inside the Pseudo-Fourth Dimensional Space.
Densely packed together, there were tens of thousands of them.
Like a plague of locusts.
It was a jarring sight.
He finally knew where the "Antenna Worms" had been hiding. They were actually lurking within the "Pseudo-Fourth Dimensional Space"! No wonder they were so hard to track. Thinking about it this way, the technological prowess of the "Mechanical Civilization" was truly impressive—being able to detect entities hiding even in the "Pseudo-Fourth Dimensional Space".
And even attack them.
Logically, creatures residing in the "Pseudo-Fourth Dimensional Space" couldn't be attacked from the outside world.
"What a shame."
Chen Mang suddenly felt a twinge of regret. It would have been great if the "Mechanical Civilization" had survived. Their research and development teams were leaps and bounds beyond his own. Although their internal conflicts had been too severe, their methods and technology were undeniably brilliant.
If not for the fact that this sector of space was so utterly devoid of resources...
The Mechanical Civilization promoting to a Level 4 Civilization shouldn't have been an issue.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
The next moment—
A light energy cannon blast thousands of meters wide violently slashed through the Pseudo-Fourth Dimensional Space. Countless "Antenna Worms" were vaporized before they could even be directly hit by the shockwave.
Why use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken?
Because it's satisfying.
He loved using it, it was effective, and he would gladly use it again.
He had always assumed that "Antenna Worms" were exceedingly rare, perhaps only one or two per sector. But now it seemed they weren't as rare as he'd imagined. There were tens of thousands of them blanketing this area alone.
After completely exterminating the Antenna Worms...
Chen Mang exited the Pseudo-Fourth Dimensional Space once more. He no longer intended to bypass the frontline. Reappearing in the depths of space, he unleashed a frantic bombardment upon the remaining batch of "Zerg Monsters".
Several minutes later.
Out of tens of millions of Zerg monsters, only... thirty million survived.
That was right.
His efficiency was incredibly high. In just a few short minutes, he had slaughtered nearly ten million Zerg monsters. But there were simply too many, and they were too spread out. A single cannon blast couldn't yield a massive return.
It was an extreme waste of resources.
Although they could no longer resurrect, wiping them out entirely would still demand a substantial amount of resources.
"..."
Chen Mang looked calmly at his resource panel. The "Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon" was undeniably powerful, but for a battlefield teeming with such vast numbers, it was slightly suboptimal. He needed a weapon capable of inflicting massive area-of-effect destruction.
The light energy main cannon primarily functioned as a single-point weapon.
If...
If only...
If only these monsters were lined up in a single row.
He glanced at a train component he hadn't used in a long time.
The Green-grade component, "Power Magnet".
-
"Power Magnet Level 100 Extraordinary Effect": The strong magnetic field can be freely manipulated, and its control range covers the area of the Target-Acquisition Radar.
-
An incredibly ordinary effect.
Only the range was a bit large.
The text panel specifically mentioned the Target-Acquisition Radar.
However, in practical application, it also synergized with the Doppler Radar. Theoretically, he could control any "iron object" within a radius of a hundred thousand light-years. It was just that the greater the distance, the exponentially higher the resource cost.
The next moment!
He spent 380.8 billion units of iron ore, instantly upgrading this component to level 500.
-
"Power Magnet Level 200 Extraordinary Effect": None.
"Power Magnet Level 500 Extraordinary Effect": None.
-
He didn't care about this at all. His eyes narrowed slightly as he pressed a button on the control console, his gaze locking onto a faintly trembling planet not far away.
He muttered softly.
"Still lacking a little."
He didn't need any Extraordinary Effects. All he needed was the fundamental stat boost from each upgrade; with every level, the magnetic force intensified.
The next moment!
He spent another 100 trillion units of iron ore, elevating it to level 1000.
The Extraordinary Effect remained "None".
But this time—
Chen Mang broke into a grin.
It was just as he had anticipated.
Those dead stars, ore stars, and various other planets could now be freely manipulated by his "Magnetic Radar".
So now.
Things had become much simpler.
Chen Mang leaned back in his chair, gazing out into the depths of space at the boundless sea of Zerg monsters charging toward the train. "The train now possesses the ability to manipulate celestial bodies," he said softly. "Theoretically speaking."
"We can freely manipulate the rotational speed, trajectory, and gravitational fields of the nearby planets."
"We can exploit the gravitational zones of these "planets". When the Zerg monsters approach, we can utilize the planets' rotation and orbital velocity to slingshot them toward the next gravitational node."
"By continuously repeating this process, after multiple slingshots..."
"We can have these Zerg monsters ricocheting back and forth between several celestial bodies, ultimately compressing them into a single, dense straight line."
"This involves a staggering amount of calculations."
"I can't do it."
"But—"
"For you at level 500, it shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Of course," Xiao Ai's laughter echoed through the train. "A genius idea, my Captain."
The "gravitational slingshot effect" referred to a maneuver in space where spacecraft used the gravity of planets to alter their velocity or trajectory.
It could generate a massive surge in speed, much like a slingshot.
Very quickly!
Under Xiao Ai's control, driven by the "Power Magnet", several planets surrounding the Stellar Train began to shift their trajectories and rotational speeds.
At the same time.
Xiao Ai's voice slowly filled the train's cabin, devoid of emotion and saturated with a mechanical tone.
"The Zerg monsters are too numerous; the gravity of ordinary planets is insufficient."
"Gas giants are required for stronger gravity. The Power Magnet cannot physically reel in a gas giant, but there is one stored inside the train's No. 105 Space Portal."
"Requesting deployment."
"Deployment authorized," Chen Mang said softly.
"Deployment complete."
"Deployed at an oblique angle relative to the monster swarm. The planetary gravity has altered the Zerg horde's velocity vector. Their speed is too low to achieve escape velocity."
"Initiating first slingshot."
Immediately after.
An incredibly spectacular scene unfolded in front of the train.
Millions of monsters, as if manipulated by an invisible, ruthless hand, were dragged in by the gravity of the "gas giant". Stripped of all control over their trajectory, they were violently slingshotted off to one side.
"Initiating second slingshot."
Slingshotted once more.
Another batch of monsters, ensnared by planetary gravity, was hurled directly into the gravitational field of a different planet.
Meanwhile, the first batch that had been tossed had already caught the gravitational pull of their target planet and was now being hurled toward the gravitational field of yet another star.
After all, Zerg monsters were beings of flesh and blood.
Their speed was completely incapable of breaking free from the gravitational pull.
If it had been the Stellar Train, a gravitational field of this magnitude wouldn't have been able to hold it at all.
"Initiating third slingshot."
Xiao Ai precisely executed each step of the operation.
And on a side monitor...
The optimal slingshot sequence, simulated by Xiao Ai after countless complex calculations, was continuously displayed.
This was simply not something human effort could accomplish.
It required rapid, pinpoint calculations of trajectory angles across multiple consecutive jumps. Perhaps in a laboratory, given ample time, researchers could calculate the perfect answer. But in real-time combat, only an AI—and only a high-level AI at that—could pull this off.
The human brain had not yet evolved to produce calculations of this magnitude with such speed and precision.
"Gas giant rotation accelerated. During the slingshot sequence, the Zerg monster swarm will naturally spiral into a tightening formation."
"Fourth slingshot."
"Fifth slingshot."
"At the conclusion of the ninth slingshot, the formation will reach the theoretical ideal. Immediate firing will be required; otherwise, the cluster may disperse at the tail end."
"Requesting firing authorization."
"Denied."
Chen Mang took a deep breath, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, and lit it. He stared out the window at the monster swarm gradually converging into a single straight line, a brilliant glint shining in his eyes.
"You adjust the angle for me; I'll fire the shot myself."
"Understood."
There was no way he'd let an AI handle something this satisfying—of course he was going to pull the trigger himself!
Very quickly—
The ninth slingshot concluded.
A full twenty million Zerg monsters—a force capable of effortlessly eradicating a Level 1 Civilization—had, at this moment, been forcibly wrangled into a perfectly straight line by an invisible, omnipotent hand.
And the credit belonged to the dozen or so planets surrounding that straight line.
The scene was breathtakingly majestic.
He had never seen anything like it.
It was human nature: if you held a hammer, you wanted to pound a nail.
And during the act of pounding that nail, the more perfect the nail was, the more satisfying it felt to strike it. To be able to drive a nail perfectly and flawlessly straight into a plank of wood with a single, mighty blow...
The resulting euphoria was no less than reaching the peak of the highest mountain.
The scene before him, in his eyes, was an absolutely perfect nail.
The next moment—
Chen Mang smashed his fist onto the button on the control console. Accompanied by the slight tremor of the train, a searing beam of light shot toward the Zerg monsters ahead.
The perfect angle.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Deafening explosions echoed in the depths of Chen Mang's mind.
He subconsciously held his breath.
Afraid of missing even a single detail.
When the final swing of the gravitational slingshot was completed, tens of millions of Zerg monsters were stretched and contorted within the gravitational vortex, twisted into a winding, pitch-black "river of flesh and blood".
Immensely spectacular.
Immediately after.
Like the Book of Genesis, light was born.
The "Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon" atop the Stellar Train hummed violently, and a searing spear of light pierced straight into the monstrous chain at a flawless angle!
In this instant.
The very concept of aesthetics was subverted.
If the universe had an aesthetic ranking board, the scene playing out right now would absolutely secure a spot on the list.
The universe lacked no massacres, but it severely lacked massacres imbued with such artistic beauty.
When the light cannon struck the carapace of the first Zerg, in slow motion, countless monsters behind it were gradually frozen into a purplish mist by the light beam. Massive amounts of this purple blood mist blossomed into nebulas.
Under the starlight, it was breathtakingly radiant.
Like an astronomically expensive fireworks display.
The entire "monster chain" was ignited like a string of New Year firecrackers, popping and detonating in succession. The husk of every single Zerg monster became the explosive charge for the next sympathetic detonation.
A few seconds later.
Everything grew quiet.
The Doppler Radar showed that not a single Zerg monster survived.
The residual purple Zerg blood mist emitted a faint violet glow in the void, forming what looked like an extraordinarily magnificent "portrait of the apocalypse".
A perfect angle.
A perfect massacre.
A perfect execution.
Everything had progressed in the absolute most perfect direction. Only after confirming that not a single monster remained did Chen Mang finally release his held breath.
Truthfully, even if a single monster had slipped through, it wouldn't have mattered.
But right now—
His mindset was no longer merely about slaughtering this batch of Zerg monsters, but about crafting an exceptionally dazzling work of art. If there had been any omissions, while it wouldn't have affected the bigger picture, it would have ruined the aesthetic perfection.
With this!
The dust had settled.
Everything was flawless.
This was the ultimate form of the aesthetics of violence.
At this moment.
Chen Mang snapped back to reality. He glanced down at the ash that had fallen onto the corner of his clothes at some point, then raised his head again to gaze forward, quietly appreciating the spectacle through the wisping smoke of his cigarette.
The corners of his mouth couldn't help but uncontrollably curve upwards.
Satisfying.
Too damn satisfying.
Though it had consumed a considerable amount of iron ore, he had unlocked a brand-new method of attack. In the future, when facing massive hordes of enemies like this, he wouldn't have to suffer headaches anymore.
Just drag them into a single straight line, and then blast them with one shot.
Then everything would be quiet.
Right at this moment—
A panel suddenly floated above the train's control console.
-
"Human Civilization, Civilization Tenet: For every Civilization Wonder constructed that is recognized by the rules of the universe, obtain a box containing a random mysterious reward. Maximum limit: Nine." (Prismatic-grade)
-
Before he could react.
Another panel popped up.
-
"The Human Civilization has successfully created a Civilization Wonder recognized by the rules of the universe. The universe names it 'Zerg's Silence'."
"Successfully obtained a box containing a random mysterious reward."
-
Immediately after—
In the distance, the purple blood mist born from the deaths of countless Zerg monsters seemed as if it had been pinned in place. It no longer dissipated, but rather remained eternally anchored in the depths of space.
This was within the territory of his "Human Civilization".
To be more precise.
The entirety of the Zerg Civilization was situated within his borders.
This time, it wasn't exactly him starting a war.
It was more like purging rebel factions from his own territory.
Looking at the galactic map now, he could clearly see a marker here for a "Civilization Wonder", named "Zerg's Silence".
Its affiliated civilization was the "Human Civilization".
If one tapped on it...
They could even watch a replay of that magnificent scene from just moments ago.
"This counts as a Wonder?"
Chen Mang snapped out of his euphoria, a flash of astonishment in his eyes. This was a genuine, unexpected delight. He originally thought that only physical structures built by hand could be considered Wonders.
But looking at it now...
It wasn't only architecture that could be bestowed the title of Wonder.
Events like this counted as well.
It made sense.
He knew that the "Naomi Civilization" possessed a Wonder that had formed completely by accident—a massive accumulation of abandoned trains piling up in a corner of space, eventually becoming the "Train Graveyard".
Bafflingly, it had received the universe's recognition and evolved into a Civilization Wonder.
Without any intentional guidance whatsoever.
The effect of that Civilization Wonder was: "Within this zone, there is an extremely low probability of a 'Train Soul' germinating. Embedding a Train Soul inside a train will grant its 'Train Auxiliary AI' an additional Extraordinary Effect."
"Not bad."
Chen Mang grinned widely. He vaguely understood the logic behind the formation of a "Civilization Wonder". It required a specific profound significance, not just an exorbitant construction cost.
And it wasn't just that it didn't need to be a building—it didn't even need to be a physical object.
Take the Human Civilization's first Civilization Wonder, "Zerg's Silence", for instance. It lacked any tangible physical form, existing only as a vast expanse of "purple nebula".
Moreover, he noticed something else.
As long as one approached this sector, a replay of that magnificent scene would automatically project onto a train's control console. It was immensely gorgeous and spectacular.
"What should I do about this..."
Chen Mang pondered hesitantly.
This was a good thing.
But paradoxically, it had thrown him into a dilemma.
Previously, he held no particular attachment to or concept of the "Human Civilization's" territory. He had just casually drawn a circle on a map, claiming this region belonged to humanity.
However, the civilizations inhabiting this region certainly didn't listen to him.
Furthermore.
This was still a resource-poor zone. He originally planned to drain it of all its viable resources and then migrate to another region, simply declaring a new territory when the time came.
But—
Now that his borders hosted their very first "Civilization Wonder"...
He suddenly found himself reluctant to part with this territory.
It was as if a deep, underlying bond had formed between him and this patch of space. He now wanted to plunder resources from the outside universe to build up his own domain, rather than abandoning it to develop elsewhere.
Doing so would be far more tedious and complicated.
"What a real headache."
"Zerg's Silence".
It was the Human Civilization's first Wonder, and the sole permanent mark he had left in the depths of the cosmos. No Civilization Wonder could simply vanish, and they were incredibly difficult to destroy.
Even if a civilization fell to ruin, its Wonders would remain, ripe for the taking by successor civilizations.
Look at the "Mechanical Civilization", the "Kasa Civilization", or the "Zerg Civilization"—in this entire region, none of these formerly mighty empires had ever managed to construct a Civilization Wonder of their own.
As for...
Whether the "Niya Civilization" had one or not, he wasn't sure. Even if they did, it had probably been erased.
Even a dominant Level 5 Civilization like the "Naomi Civilization" only possessed three Civilization Wonders within their borders.
"It's decided!"
Chen Mang took a deep breath. "Once I wipe out the Zerg Civilization, I'll head out to plunder resources and see if I can build this area up. If it really doesn't work out, I'll think of another way then."
Xiao Ai's voice quickly echoed through the train: "Are you planning to settle down in the "Dead End Star System"? Just because of a single Civilization Wonder?"
"Yeah."
Chen Mang nodded, speaking with a hint of emotion. "It's like a man going out for a night of fun. Right when he pulls up his pants and is about to walk away, the other party suddenly ends up pregnant. It becomes incredibly hard to just up and leave at that point."
"After all, it's your own flesh and blood."
"Especially the very first one."
"Naturally, you can't bear to let it go."
"And the name sounds pretty good too, "Zerg's Silence". I like it. It's just that Civilization Wonders can't be relocated. Wherever they form is where they stay. If that's the case, doesn't it mean whichever civilization occupies this territory owns this Wonder?"
"That is correct."
"Then I definitely can't leave. If I let someone else occupy this Civilization Wonder, it would be a monumental disgrace."
Chen Mang secretly made up his mind.
He wasn't going to leave anytime soon.
This territory was his; it rightfully belonged to the Human Civilization. He would go outside to raid for resources, and when he was done, he would come back home.
From this day onward, the "Human Civilization" would no longer be a nomadic civilization.
According to his previous plan...
He was going to stuff the entire civilization inside the "Stellar Train", not bother establishing any permanent Wormholes or infrastructure, and just travel wherever he pleased. Although he verbally refused to admit it, it essentially made them no different from the "Starlight Civilization"—they were a drifting nomadic civilization.
It was just that the Starlight Civilization was a bit more peace-loving than he was.
But actually constructing a settled civilization was difficult.
He would need to expend a massive amount of resources to establish Wormholes across his domain. This was no small expenditure; creating a Wormhole wasn't cheap. Blowing through trillions of units of iron ore on a whim was completely normal.
There would be many other additional expenses as well.
The emergence of a single Wonder had rewritten his blueprint for the future.
"It's fine, really."
Chen Mang sat back in his chair, smiling softly at the console screen. "What plan ever goes exactly as plotted from beginning to end without fail anyway? Changing things up a bit isn't bad."
Right now.
He finally turned his attention to the effects of this "Civilization Wonder". Every entity defined as a Civilization Wonder by the universe was guaranteed to possess a special ability.
Like the Naomi Civilization's "Train Graveyard".
However—
In most cases, the special effects of these Wonders didn't serve much practical purpose. Their presence or absence wouldn't drastically alter a civilization's fate; they were primarily symbolic.
If a civilization possessed enough Wonders, it simply meant their overall strength definitely wasn't weak.
And the effect of the "Zerg's Silence" Wonder was...
-
"Any living being approaching this area will, either deep within their minds or via other receiving methods, bear witness to the replay of the 'Zerg's Silence'."
-
There were no other special effects.
The sole function was this retrospective replay.
It was purely ornamental.
But that was fine. Chen Mang was quite satisfied. He looked at the replay on the screen again. The characters painted on the exterior of the Stellar Train were clearly visible in the recording.
"Human Civilization · Stellar Train".
This counted as an eternal footprint he had left behind in the universe.
Except through extreme methods like civilization erasure, Civilization Wonders could not be destroyed. It would exist forever.
Ah, humans...
They always yearned to leave a long-lasting legacy behind while they were alive.
He was no exception.
It didn't really serve a practical purpose, but the desire was instinctual.
Xiao Ai's voice rang out through the train once more. "Captain, if you were to insert this footage into "Zhang Yiren's" new movie and use it as a promotional trailer, it would absolutely push the box office of that film to unprecedented heights."
"He would become a sensational hit overnight."
"When he first boarded the Stellar Train, he probably never imagined he'd reach such a lofty position one day."
"There's no rush for that,"
Chen Mang chuckled, shaking his head. "His current movie only covers the timeline up to when the Stellar Train first departed from Water Blue Star. This footage can be used in the sequel."
He was extremely satisfied with the footage as well.
It was the fruit of his painstaking efforts.
He had spent hundreds of trillions of units of iron ore on it, after all. That amount of iron ore was enough to upgrade a standard Prismatic-grade component all the way to level 500. This was also the very first level 1000 component aboard the "Stellar Train".
Afterwards—
He finally turned his gaze to the "mysterious box" resting on the control console. This was the reward bestowed by his Civilization Tenet. Upon opening the box, he stared at its contents, momentarily taken aback, a flicker of sheer shock flashing through his eyes.
His current "Civilization Tenet" was Prismatic-grade.
At the time, he hadn't been entirely satisfied with it.
He felt it wasn't as good as that other Civilization Tenet, the one that permanently locked a civilization's level at Level 3.
But right now.
He realized that the reward inside this single box alone was practically worth the equivalent of a Prismatic-grade Civilization Tenet.
If he could max out all the rewards from this Civilization Tenet, it would be equivalent to him directly receiving nine Prismatic-grade Civilization Tenets!
It was completely overpowered!