Chapter 340: That's Good. |
"..."
Chen Mang looked at the translator thrown in front of him by the Zerg Broodmother. After a moment of silence, he slowly bent down, picked it up, activated it, and clipped it to his collar.
Logically speaking, he was unwilling to waste words on the dying.
But today.
He could make an exception.
Soon after...
He saw the mandibles of the Zerg Broodmother before him part slightly. A faint, piercing sound echoed out, and through the translator, he clearly understood its meaning.
"Hello, human."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes. The other party's words were incredibly calm. He did not know if this was because the Zerg were incapable of expressing emotion, or if she was truly this composed, able to maintain such tranquility even as her entire race was being exterminated.
"Hello, Zerg."
"I am not doing too well." A trace of a smile suddenly appeared in the voice of the Zerg Broodmother conversing with him. "My people are all dead, so things can hardly be considered good. I just have a few things I want to ask you before I die."
"We have a grudge."
Chen Mang spoke softly, his expression indifferent. "Several years ago, your Zerg Civilization dropped countless eggs into the depths of the universe, bringing the apocalypse to countless planets. I nearly died in that apocalypse. This is my revenge, years in the making."
"I wanted to let you die knowing why."
As his voice faded.
The Zerg Broodmother was visibly taken aback for a moment. Then, with a somewhat helpless tone, she continued, "You humans are still the same, always liking to find a reasonable motive for your actions. I did not want to ask why you launched an attack on us."
"The reason is not important."
"This is simply the nature of wars between civilizations."
"Someone always has to win, and someone always has to lose."
"What I want to ask is... do you come from a God-Tier Civilization?"
Chen Mang neither denied nor confirmed it. He merely waited patiently for the Zerg Broodmother to continue.
The Zerg Broodmother went on speaking of her own accord.
"When we last met, your train's armor was only at Level 200. Although you were powerful, it was not as if we had no chance. But when I saw you this time, your train's armor had already reached Level 500."
"The moment I learned this, I knew the Zerg Civilization was doomed."
"This kind of absolute crushing superiority is impossible to resist."
"It is just that..."
"As far as I know, upgrading armor consumes an extreme amount of Murphy Stones. Logically speaking, to upgrade armor to Level 500, all the Murphy Stones in the entire Dead End Star System combined might not be enough, not to mention you have so many other equally high-level components."
"So I was thinking."
"Perhaps you come from a God-Tier Civilization."
"That is also why I stayed behind to meet you."
"I hope you can pass on a message for me. Of course, there will certainly be a reward."
"I originally came from the God-Tier 'Zerg Civilization'. My father is the Zerg Broodmother of that civilization, possessing monstrous power. It is just that when I was young and playful, wanting to prove myself, I severed all ties and dove into a random, one-way Wormhole."
"I arrived here and established my own Zerg Civilization."
"When I wanted to go back, I realized it was already impossible. All I could do was develop my Zerg Civilization as much as possible, striving for the day I could return to my true home."
"But..."
"Building a civilization of one's own is so incredibly difficult. I had to modify myself into a birthing Broodmother just to barely manage to create a civilization. According to your human aesthetics, if you had seen my previous appearance, you might have even fallen in love with me."
"A Zerg Broodmother is supposed to be extremely beautiful and proud. She should never look like this."
"It is just that I did not have a dedicated birthing Broodmother at the start, so I could only modify myself into one. As for this idiot beside me, she blindly copied me, thinking this was standard procedure."
"If one day you return to your God-Tier Civilization, I hope you can find the God-Tier Zerg Civilization and pass a message to the Zerg Broodmother. Tell him... your daughter, Qi Ya, developed very well on the outside and established her own Zerg Civilization, but she ultimately fell in defeat."
"Just so my family back home knows my story."
"And can recall me."
"Recall?" Chen Mang narrowed his eyes.
"Of course."
The Zerg Broodmother before him suddenly chuckled again. "It seems you do not understand much about God-Tier Civilizations either. Did you leave home at an early age? All members of a God-Tier Civilization are virtually immortal. They cannot truly die and cannot be extinguished."
"As long as my family knows the approximate cosmic coordinates of my death."
"They can recall me."
"Naturally, this silly creature beside me will not be recalled. Cosmic civilization naming is exclusive; no one can accept another civilization sharing their name. I named my civilization 'Zerg Civilization' in the hopes that once its Civilization Level grew, it would catch my family's attention and prompt them to bring me back."
"I have no idea why she also copied me and chose this name."
"If her Civilization Level ever actually developed, the only thing waiting for her would be total annihilation."
"It just so happens that among God-Tier Civilizations, the relationship between the Human Civilization and the Zerg Civilization is fairly good, so you do not need to worry about any risks."
"In return."
"I can give you the token for the nearby resource cave. About forty percent of the resources inside are still unmined. It is a resource supply station left behind in the universe by some civilization during the ancient era."
"Following the destruction of that civilization, this resource supply station has been ignored for a very long time."
"The entrance tunnel to this resource cave is in my territory."
"But the token is in the hands of this idiot beside me."
"I always wanted to swallow up her civilization and snatch the token from her grasp. But although she is stupid, her civilization's strength was not weak, making it quite troublesome. It was only when the Kasa Civilization launched an attack on us that I persuaded her to join forces with me and share the resources."
"As long as you promise to pass on the message."
"This token will be yours."
"..."
Chen Mang remained silent, merely staring at the two massive, corpulent Zerg Broodmothers in front of him. He did harbor hatred toward the Zerg, but it was pitifully weak, even though he had continuously used it as his excuse to wage war on the Zerg Civilization.
In reality, the biggest reason was simply for resources.
However.
He was not used to the Zerg Broodmother's exceedingly blunt way of speaking.
After all.
Humans generally preferred more tactful approaches.
Just as the Zerg Broodmother had said, there was no clear right or wrong in wars between civilizations. History was written by the victors. Someone always had to win, and someone always had to lose.
It was just that...
He had a nagging feeling that this was a trap. Setting aside the hidden danger of letting a tiger return to the mountain, the other party simply had no leverage to keep him in check. Even if he made a verbal promise, took the token, and did absolutely nothing, what could she possibly do about it?
It was impossible for her not to have considered this.
She was definitely hiding something from him.
After a long time.
Chen Mang suddenly asked, "Do you know a lot about God-Tier Civilizations?"
"Not too much. I was still young when I left home, but being a member of the royal family, I absorbed quite a bit just from what I saw and heard."
"I do not come from a God-Tier Civilization."
"Well, that is rather unfortunate."
"But, I feel that one day, I can reach the summit of a God-Tier Civilization."
"Mhm... I suddenly feel a little tired. Hurry up and do it. I have not slept for many days; after I die, I want to sleep a bit longer."
"I know this path will be very difficult, but if you tell me some information about God-Tier Civilizations, I might take a few less detours along the way."
"You should just hurry up and do it. I want to sleep."
"..."
Chen Mang fell silent again. He had originally wanted to give the other party a way out, letting her stay on his train to teach him things about God-Tier Civilizations. Yet, upon learning that he was not from a God-Tier Civilization, she actually... had absolutely no intention of living anymore.
This meant she fundamentally did not believe he could ever become a God-Tier Civilization.
She held zero expectations.
This made him somewhat displeased.
"You just said it yourself. My train's armor is Level 500, which is more than what all the Murphy Stones in the Dead End Star System combined could achieve. Does this not show that I have enough potential?"
"This only shows that you had a bit of luck. In the universe, fortunate encounters like this are as common as hairs on an ox. If such an opportunity was not obtained because you possess a powerful background, then this luck is completely worthless."
"I can let you stay on my train. That way, even if I fail, you can at least live for a much longer time."
"No thanks. I just want to sleep peacefully and wait for my family to recall me. I have no desire to wander aimlessly with you; I might as well just die right now. I have been exhausted for so many years and have wanted to rest for a long time. I do not want to be tired anymore. Living a few more years holds no great meaning for me."
"..."
Chen Mang said nothing more. He turned around and walked toward his train. He suddenly felt that he could not reason with this Zerg Broodmother at all. Just moments ago, she had acted like she really wanted to live, even tempting him with a resource mine just to get him to pass on a message.
But after learning he was not from a God-Tier Civilization...
She immediately gave up.
Begging only for death.
Since reasoning with her was useless, he could only resort to other methods.
Soon—
Unable to hold back any longer, Biao Zi, wielding a shovel, leaped off the train with the Security Squad. Leading the charge, an excited Biao Zi raised his shovel, looked around the completely unfamiliar planet and the two Zerg Broodmothers, and roared, "Brothers, get to work!"
Shortly after.
The two utterly non-aggressive Zerg Broodmothers were uprooted completely. Zhang Yi and Zhang Er each hoisted one over their shoulders and carried them back to the Stellar Train.
Why waste words?
Just pack them up and take them away.
As for the token, that could wait. Right now, he was far more interested in the information regarding that God-Tier Civilization. He knew very well that the most precious thing in the universe was not resources, but information.
An information barrier could easily lead to a civilization's swift demise.
This was the main reason why he had chatted with that little fatty for so many days. He desperately wanted to know the internal workings of higher-level civilizations so he could prepare adequate defenses in advance.
"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?"
The Zerg Broodmother panicked, frantically squirming her massive, pale, and plump body. Amidst her violent twisting, she accidentally enveloped Zhang Yi, who was carrying her, deep into her flesh. Her face instantly flushed slightly red, and she fell completely silent.
Immediately after.
The Zerg Broodmother was pushed apart. Covered in slime, Zhang Yi crawled out from inside the Broodmother's body. He cast a blank, bewildered glance around before hoisting her back onto his shoulders and continuing his march toward the Stellar Train.
One hour later.
Chen Mang, accompanied by Lao Zhu and the others, appeared on the Water Blue Star with a tranquil expression. Looking at the Zerg Broodmothers dumped on the Barren Plains, he had already made up his mind to extract the information through brutal interrogation.
Brought along for this, Li Shu wore a deeply serious expression, ready to prove his worth at any moment. On the train, he was the only one with any real experience in torture and interrogation—all thanks to Shen Ye.
"Speak."
Leaning on his cane, Chen Mang stood in place, gazing at the Zerg Broodmother before him. He spoke softly, "This is not the time for bargaining. You have absolutely no capital left to negotiate. If you do not want to suffer physical torment, tell me every piece of information you know about God-Tier Civilizations."
"I will find someone to verify it."
"If it is false information, you know the consequences."
He did not try to apply pressure by bringing up the fact that the Zerg Civilization had slaughtered a massive number of humans.
That would be meaningless communication.
It was not something that needed to be said behind the scenes.
Right now, all he wanted to know was the information about God-Tier Civilizations.
"I..."
The Zerg Broodmother lowered her head and whispered, "There is a rule in our Zerg Civilization. I must marry whoever takes my virginity. I have always been a virgin, and just now, my virginity was taken by one of your subordinates."
"Have him come over here."
"Once I see him, I will tell you everything."
"Huh?"
Standing nearby, Lao Zhu could not help but express his disbelief. "What the hell are you talking about? You birthed all those Zerg monsters, and you are telling me you are a virgin?"
"Is it really that strange? Is asexual reproduction truly that surprising to you all?"
"That is not strange per se, but in my understanding, only low-level organisms reproduce asexually, like paramecium."
"Then your understanding is too narrow."
Lao Zhu was instantly left speechless, entirely unsure of how to counter that.
Soon...
A utterly bewildered Zhang Yi was brought over.
Upon seeing Zhang Yi, countless fissures rapidly appeared across the Zerg Broodmother's enormous body. Then, her skin and fat began to swiftly detach, falling away until finally, a tall, slender woman who perfectly aligned with human aesthetics stood in her place.
"I have now shed the identity of a 'birthing Broodmother'. This is the real me."
"Even by your human standards of beauty..."
"Marrying him would not be a bad deal for him, right?"
"As long as we can get married, I will tell you everything you want to know. But we must marry using a 'Doomsday Wedding Certificate'. That is a wedding recognized by the laws of the universe."
"..."
Chen Mang glanced at the thoroughly confused Zhang Yi standing off to the side, feeling an incoming headache. How the fuck did things develop to this conclusion?
How did the plot end up here?!
In the beginning, he clearly just wanted to see what a Broodmother looked like and, along the way, check out what that black hole actually was.
Around him, Lao Zhu, Biao Zi, and the others all stared blankly at Chen Mang. Evidently, they were also entirely clueless about how to handle this bizarre turn of events.
"Phew..."
After a long time.
Chen Mang took a deep breath before looking at the Zerg Broodmother. "First of all, I need to make it clear that Zhang Yi is an important figure on my train. I cannot easily betroth you to him. I need to ask you a few questions."
"Humans and Zerg are different."
"When you two spend time together, or... consummate the marriage... will you suddenly spawn a bunch of bugs?"
"No."
The Zerg Broodmother smiled gracefully. "It seems you truly do not hail from a God-Tier Civilization. In a God-Tier Civilization, all races are the same. Everyone is composed of flesh and blood, and we can deconstruct our physical bodies almost at will."
"The reason the Zerg you saw all appeared extremely terrifying..."
"Is because that is the optimal combat form."
"The version of me you saw earlier, morbidly obese, was the optimal birthing form."
"For people of advanced civilizations, one can freely choose their appearance and body shape. There is no racial prejudice whatsoever. Even a human can deconstruct their physical body into the form of a Zerg at any time. The only prejudice that exists is the prejudice advanced civilizations hold against low-level civilizations."
"This is a universal consensus."
"As for me right now, I have no abilities whatsoever. I only have a beautiful form. I am basically equivalent to... a beautiful vase."
"There is absolutely no difference between me and you humans."
"We have the exact same kind of body."
"For the Zerg Civilization, this is a method we can possess even without reaching a high Civilization Level. It is a natural racial talent—the form you choose dictates the abilities you possess."
"For the Human Civilization, it would require your Civilization Level to reach a certain height."
"No need to say so much. So, what you are saying is that you are no different from a normal person, right?" Chen Mang frowned.
"That is correct."
"Wait a moment."
Wearing an ugly expression, Chen Mang pulled Zhang Yi to the side. After a long hesitation, he finally braced himself and asked, "Do you want a wife?"
Zhang Yi tilted his head in thought for a moment before nodding earnestly. "Yes."
"What do you think of that woman over there?"
Chen Mang pointed at the Zerg Broodmother in the distance.
"Good."
"Do you want her to be your wife?"
"No." Zhang Yi shook his head. "One isn't enough. I want two. My younger brother doesn't have a wife either."
"..."
Chen Mang took another deep breath. "Do you not mind that she is a Zerg Broodmother?"
"Uh... a Broodmother isn't a Beggar... why would I mind?"
"There is the word 'Zerg' right in front of it."
"I wouldn't. She doesn't even mind that I'm stupid."
"That's good."
One hour later.
An incredibly bizarre wedding was held in the Doomsday Abyss of the Water Blue Star.
Walking at the very front in a groom's suit, Zhang Yi chuckled happily as he held the Zerg Broodmother's waist. Strolling down the red carpet, he continuously tossed candies to the guests on both sides. Not many people attended the wedding—only the high-ranking personnel of the Stellar Train.
The corners of Zhang Yi's mouth were stretched so wide they almost reached his ears.
He had never even imagined that he would have a wife.
After all, he knew his brain did not work very well.
Who would have thought his wife would be this beautiful, and a Broodmother on top of that.
However...
The Zerg Broodmother beside him did not look very happy. She kept muttering indignantly, "Copycat, copycat. She copies everything, from beginning to end. It's so annoying I could die."
Behind the two of them.
Was Zhang Er, wearing an equally broad smile, holding onto a girl as well. That was the other Zerg Civilization Broodmother after shedding her birthing form. It was just that she looked a bit dim-witted; much like Zhang Er, she just stood there grinning foolishly.
Yes.
The two brothers were getting married on the exact same day.
Sitting below the stage, Zhang Damei stared at the scene before her with utter bewilderment. She had originally been handling official business in the law enforcement bureau when she inexplicably received a message saying her two older brothers were getting married together. And just like that, here she was attending their wedding...
Where did these two beauties even come from? She had never seen them before. Did they just pop out of nowhere?
Also standing below the stage, Chen Mang looked at the scene before him and could not help but heave another long sigh. Slowly closing his eyes, he gently rubbed his temples. Even now, he had not fully processed how things had taken such a bizarre turn to end up like this.
It felt as though someone had pressed the fast-forward button.
Suddenly, they were here.
He exterminated the Zerg Civilization, then captured their two Broodmothers and brought them back to be wives for his subordinates.
Forget it.
It was fine.
At least they all looked pretty happy.
It was just...
They definitely wouldn't be able to have children in the future. Thankfully, he had wiped the civilization clean, so Zhang Yi didn't have to worry about the bride bringing stepchildren into the marriage or anything. What the fuck kind of mess was all this?
"Thank you, Lord Mang, for arranging this marriage."
At this moment.
Zhang Yi walked over with his arm around the Zerg Broodmother, grinning excitedly. "Now, our Zhang family has two Broodmothers under one roof!"
"...Congratulations."
After offering a round of toasts, Zhang Yi could not resist pulling his wife to a corner. Like a child showing off a treasure, he took a few meat sandwich buns out of a nearby Refrigerator and handed them to her. "Wife, try this. It's super delicious."
Taking in this scene, Chen Mang let out a long sigh and lit a cigarette. She was a little princess from a God-Tier Civilization, after all; what hadn't she eaten? How could she possibly like this kind of common food? Speaking of which, the status of these two was far too mismatched. Zhang Yi would probably suffer quite a bit after marriage. Even without her family's backing, the deep-seated pride of a God-Tier Civilization would still remain.
However... the very next moment.
The moment the Zerg Broodmother put the meat bun into her mouth, her eyes instantly lit up. She pulled more than a dozen meat buns from the Refrigerator in rapid succession and stuffed them all into her mouth, chewing and swallowing frantically. Then, with bulging cheeks, she looked at Zhang Yi, gave a thumbs up, and continuously nodded in praise. "It's good! So delicious, Hubby!"
"You..."
Zhang Yi stared blankly at the sight for a moment. "Wife, you can sure eat a lot. Are you... full?"
"Not yet..."
"That's wonderful."
Zhang Yi suddenly grew excited. "I haven't met someone who can eat as much as I can in a long time! Today, let's see who can eat more. I've saved up a lot of Heng Xing Coupons over the years. I did the math, and it's enough for us to eat meat buns for a very, very long time!"
"Okay!"
Thirty minutes later.
Zhang Yi was lying on the ground, clutching his stomach with a thoroughly satisfied expression. The Zerg Broodmother was also lying in Zhang Yi's arms, clutching her own stomach with an equally satisfied expression.
The two of them...
Had eaten to their hearts' content.
"..."
Sitting at the table, Chen Mang silently poured himself a glass of wine and retracted his gaze from the couple in the corner. He suddenly felt that this might not be a completely bad thing. Despite just meeting, the two seemed to have a rather good relationship.
It was just...
He couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right.
He then looked at Zhang Er not far away.
Right now, Zhang Er and the other Zerg Broodmother were sitting there, just staring wide-eyed at each other. Who knew what they were doing...
Just when he thought this pair might not be quite as harmonious...
The two suddenly started kissing.
"Motherfucker..."
Chen Mang could not help but curse out loud as he withdrew his gaze once again. An hour ago, after confirming that Zhang Yi and the Zerg Broodmother were to be married, the other Zerg Civilization Broodmother—who had remained silently at the side the entire time—suddenly spoke up.
She declared that the token for the resource cave was in her hands. If they wanted to take it, Zhang Yi's younger brother had to marry her as well.
It just so happened that Zhang Er also wanted a wife. The two stared at each other, and the deal was struck.
That's good.
He could finally see it: this Zerg Civilization Broodmother wasn't very bright. Whatever Qi Ya did, she just followed along and did the same. This way of thinking gave him an inexplicably familiar feeling, like he had seen it somewhere before.
The wedding was finally over.
Both newlywed couples had their weddings held using a Doomsday Wedding Certificate, securing recognition from the laws of the universe. Though, for the time being, he still did not understand what practical use this universal recognition actually had.
"Can you speak now?"
Inside the Doomsday Abyss, a messy aftermath was all that remained of the wedding.
Chen Mang sat at the table and looked at the Zerg Broodmother, Qi Ya, speaking with a serene expression.
"Yes, I can."
Qi Ya cleared her throat, then leaned against Zhang Yi's shoulder. Looking at Chen Mang, she spoke with a serious expression, "Let us trace the cause and effect of this whole affair first."
"I—"
"Am from the royal family of the God-Tier Zerg Civilization, and I accidentally became stranded here."
"I originally thought you were from a God-Tier Civilization and wanted you to go back and deliver a message. But after learning you were not, I abandoned that idea and prepared to patiently wait for death. In any case, as long as the timeline stretches out far enough..."
"My family would eventually find me."
"No matter how long it takes, for a dead version of me, it would pass in just an instant. There would be no difference."
"But since things have developed to this stage."
"Then everything needs to be reconsidered."
"First, we are now a community of shared interests. Only if your civilization develops well enough can my husband and I live well enough."
"Second, when I return home in the future, it will be very difficult for my family to accept my husband. I need him to have a certain status, and his status depends entirely on the strength of your civilization."
"Therefore."
"Under these two conditions, you can rest assured. Everything I am about to say is the absolute truth, and it is all said with the genuine consideration of your civilization's development in mind."
Chen Mang gave a slight nod. "Your logic is quite clear."
"Naturally. I am not like that idiot over there. You have no idea how long I had to persuade her before she finally agreed to share the resources. I almost wore my lips out talking."
"Do you really come from a God-Tier Civilization?"
Chen Mang furrowed his brows slightly and asked, "For a God-Tier Civilization, shouldn't finding you be a very simple matter?"
"No."
Qi Ya shook her head. "God-Tier Civilizations are indeed powerful, but they are only powerful within the confines of the universe's rules. For example, finding me requires a vast amount of time. The universe is incredibly vast; locating a single person is exceedingly difficult. Not to mention, I severed all connections and Anchor Points before leaving home."
"Secondly."
"How should I put this... there are no wars within a God-Tier Civilization."
"Everyone is very harmonious."
"And everyone is striving for the same goal."
"To leave the universe."
"Leave the universe?"
"Leave?"
"Yes." Qi Ya nodded again and explained, "As far as I know, as soon as a Civilization Level reaches Level 7, they gain dimension-reduction methods. They can effortlessly reduce an entire area of cosmic space into two dimensions."
"Against this kind of strike, even if your armor was Level 1000, you wouldn't be able to defend against it."
"It is an attack on the fundamental level of the universe's rules."
"But, ascending dimensions is exceptionally difficult."
"Before I left, the information I had was that no civilization possessed a method for dimensional ascension to become a fourth-dimensional civilization. Quite a few civilizations possess the ability to travel back to the past, but not a single civilization possesses the ability to see into the future."
"The title of 'God-Tier Civilization' implies omnipotence, but clearly, even God-Tier Civilizations cannot accomplish those two things."
"As a result..."
"God-Tier Civilizations formed a consensus. The universe is in a constant state of expansion, and the speed of this expansion is far faster than the speed of light. The rules of the universe dictate that nothing within this domain can exceed the speed of light, and at the edge of the universe, space is in an incredibly chaotic state, making it impossible to open a Wormhole."
"This means that even a God-Tier Civilization cannot catch up to the speed of the universe's expansion to go beyond it."
"Everyone unanimously believes..."
"That outside the universe might be the true fourth-dimensional world. There, time holds no meaning, and one can freely traverse between the past and the future."
"All God-Tier Civilizations are striving toward this goal."
Qi Ya paused for a moment, picked up a nearby cup, and took a small sip before continuing. "What I am about to say goes a bit deep. I am not entirely sure if you will be able to understand it. For a Level 2 civilization, these concepts are simply too far out of reach. But since you want to know, I can explain."
"First."
"Even the power of a God-Tier Civilization is bound by the rules of the universe."
"If one wants to leave the universe, they must shatter these universal constraints."
"To do this..."
"Requires a certain type of item: a Cosmic Taboo Item."
"As long as an object accidentally falls into a Time Fissure and returns to the past, that object is considered a Cosmic Taboo Item."
"And if, one day—"
"This object that fell into the past encounters its counterpart existing in the present timeline... this meeting of an object from the past and the present will trigger a certain degree of chaos within the universe's rules."
"This is classified as a bug."
"Logically speaking, Time Fissures should not exist within the universe. They are bugs within the cosmos."
"Therefore."
"God-Tier Civilizations began aggressively searching for all kinds of Time Fissures, tossing all sorts of things into them to manually create Cosmic Taboo Items. In the beginning, everyone tried using the Goblin Civilization to throw things in and bring them back out. However, they discovered this didn't work. The item had to be thrown in and then reunite with its original self on a future day."
"Accomplishing this is extremely difficult."
"To give you a rough example."
"Suppose you hold a Telescope in your hand right now..."
"Wait, why are you using a Telescope as an example?"
"Uh... because I see a Telescope on the table next to you."
"Continue."
"Alright. For example, say you just crafted a Telescope, and there happens to be a Time Fissure nearby. You prepare to toss it inside, a process that takes ten seconds. This means your 'Telescope' only exists in the current timeline for ten seconds. Within these ten seconds, the Telescope that returned to the 'past timeline' must appear right in front of you."
"Only when the two meet will a 'rule chaos' be generated."
"That is a very brief window of time, right?"
"Moreover, you have no way to ensure that the Telescope from the past will appear before you at that exact, appropriate moment."
"..."
Chen Mang did not reply immediately. He had been pondering this matter for a long time, always feeling that something was amiss. After a long silence, he finally spoke, "I know a thing or two about what you are describing."
"I also roughly understand the logic behind it."
"But there is one question I have never been able to understand."
"Before I throw the item into the Time Fissure, that item would not exist in the past. Under those circumstances, how could I possibly wait for the item to return to the past and appear in front of me? Yet, if I do throw it in, it will exist in the past, but I will no longer have it in my hand in the present."
"Is that not a logical paradox?"
"The past and the present cannot exist simultaneously."
"Correct."
Qi Ya suddenly smiled. "That is exactly the foundational principle of why it triggers 'rule chaos'. There are quite a few Time Fissures in the Dead End Star System. Have you ever tried throwing something into a Time Fissure?"
"I have."
"Did you, at a later date, ever see that item you tossed into the past?"
"I have."
"I knew it. After all, the Time Fissures in the Dead End Star System are all located on a single planet, so the probability of encountering it is quite high." Qi Ya nodded and continued, "Then think back."
"When you were preparing to throw that item into the Time Fissure, at that exact same moment, did this item exist in someone else's hands?"
"..."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes slightly.
When he had been preparing to throw that Telescope into the Time Fissure, at that exact same moment, that 'Train Captain' had already been using that very same Telescope to observe him from long before.
In other words...
Even before he threw it in, this item had already existed since a long time ago.
"Is it because it was absolutely certain I would throw it in?"
"No."
Qi Ya laughed. "It is a type of 'Pseudo-Interference' with the future. No civilization can truly interfere with the future, but God-Tier Civilizations still managed to research an interference method, naming it 'Hypothetical Future'."
"You can understand it like this."
"When you firmly believe that you will definitely throw a certain item into a Time Fissure in the future..."
"That item..."
"Has already appeared in your space-time."
"Through this method, you can acquire massive amounts of Cosmic Taboo Items, and even resources."
"For example, if you firmly believe that you will definitely throw a massive amount of resources into a Time Fissure in the future, then it is highly probable that those things have already appeared in this region of the universe in the present."
"Of course, the bit about resources might be a little uncertain, because no one has ever received resources from the future. It seems that only Cosmic Taboo Items can pass through Time Fissures."
"What?"
Chen Mang frowned. He pondered deeply for a long while before continuing, "Does that not just turn this into 'Idealism'? Whatever I wish to happen will definitely happen?"
"Not entirely. After all, it is only a probability; it will not necessarily happen. No one knows exactly what determines this probability."
"Secondly..."
"The biggest problem is that even if it appears in this region of the universe, how you will find it is an entirely different issue."
"The universe is very vast."
"In short—"
"The things God-Tier Civilizations research are all far too complex. Even if I told you, you might not understand them. The most important thing for your civilization right now is still resources. You only need to figure out ways to acquire enough resources; there's no need to think about anything else for the time being."
"It is too far out of your reach."
Back inside the train cabin, Chen Mang sat silently in his chair, not saying a word.
He had originally thought that speaking with Qi Ya would give him a more comprehensive understanding of the entire universe.
It was just that...
Listening to her only seemed to make him feel even more confused.
But there was one thing he could be absolutely certain of.
What Qi Ya said was not entirely correct.
After all, he had never firmly believed that he would throw an enormous palace into a Time Fissure in the future, yet that palace had indeed appeared right in front of him. This was not the power of his 'conviction', but a choice made by his future self.
Right at that moment—
The AI's voice chimed within the train.
"Train Captain, I roughly understand. Actually, there are some contradictions in Qi Ya's words. It seems that God-Tier Civilizations are also somewhat confused. What God-Tier Civilizations probably want to know even more is..."
"Whether the future is predetermined, or if it is constantly changing."
"To put it bluntly."
"It is a question of whether everyone's life is already set in stone, playing out according to a script, or if it can be changed through one's own efforts. Or perhaps, one's own efforts and opportunities are all just part of the script as well."
"They desperately want to know this."
"They have made many attempts."
"They have drawn different conclusions."
"And they have tried to use these conclusions to explain bizarre phenomena in the universe. But the more they try to explain it, the more they find that their current conclusions must be overturned, requiring new conclusions and new attempts."
"For example—"
"Those God-Tier Civilizations discovered that as long as they firmly believe something will happen in the future, there is a probability that it will happen in this very moment. For instance, if they firmly believe they will throw a Telescope into a Time Fissure in the future, there is a probability that a Telescope will appear at this specific point in time in this space-time continuum. They termed this 'Hypothetical Future', considering it a method of interfering with the future..."
"But in reality."
"This is equivalent to deciding today that you will not eat tomorrow, and then actually not eating tomorrow. Can this really be considered interfering with the future?"
"If one insists, I suppose it barely counts."
"The reason it is only a 'probability'..."
"Is entirely due to many other factors. For example, when the day comes to throw the Telescope, you suddenly get diarrhea and have to go to the bathroom. Then naturally, that Telescope will not appear in the past space-time."
"Therefore—"
"We can actually overturn this 'Hypothetical Future' theory entirely. The things we receive from the future right now have absolutely nothing to do with a 'Hypothetical Future'. It is merely a matter of what choices our future selves will make. It just sets a general tone."
"Once you know this information, you can roughly utilize it to potentially secure certain benefits for yourself, provided you can actually find the items you threw back from the future..."
"..."
Chen Mang remained silent for a long moment before suddenly laughing. "Xiao Ai, after upgrading to Level 500, you seem to have gotten a lot smarter."
"Actually—"
"I have pretty much figured it out."
"That is, even God-Tier Civilizations are still fumbling in the dark when it comes to these matters."
"But I can be certain of one thing."
"If the future me can grow to a certain height, then I will definitely throw massive amounts of resources back into the Time Fissure. And the me of that time will definitely find a way to ensure the present me can receive those resources."
"I would not rely purely on luck."
"And if I obtain those resources, I can go further and thereby change the future. From this perspective, the future is constantly changing; it is not predetermined."
"Even if, as Qi Ya said, no one has ever received resources from the future, I believe there must be other things—some very important things."
"I feel that The Palace is the key."
"I am planning to take a trip to the Naomi Civilization and retrieve my Palace."
"Anyway."
"First, we retrieve The Palace."