Chapter 346: Extreme Evil Civilization |
One year passed.
During this year.
The Stellar Train remained obediently within the Dead End Star System, steadily developing.
In any given galaxy, even if all the Ore Stars were completely hollowed out, new ones would gradually mature over time. Furthermore, while it was possible to completely destroy every Ore Star in a galaxy, completely mining them all was impossible.
This held true even in a barren wasteland like the Dead End Star System.
The Ore Stars he had mined were only the ones with massive resource reserves, places where the Kasa Civilization had established nearby wormholes. The smaller Ore Stars, which did not contain enough resources to justify the cost of building a wormhole, were left to be scavenged by the surrounding minor civilizations.
There were simply too many of them.
"..."
Chen Mang sat in the train cabin, gazing at the control panel. Although his resource reserves had swelled significantly after the last few battles, it was still Water Without a Source. He had heavy expenditures, but very little incoming revenue.
The output of the Cyber Mine was too slow. It could only be counted as a supplementary income, not a primary source of revenue.
He still needed to take action.
He had to head to other galaxies.
And today—
The time had finally come for him to set out toward other galaxies. Once the testing for the Universe Ge Lei developed by the Human Civilization was complete, he could launch a war to plunder more resources.
He looked at the control panel, specifically at the second Civilization Wonder they had constructed.
"Divine Silence."
An incredibly unique Civilization Wonder.
The effects of this Civilization Wonder were as follows:
-
"Weaponized Wonder. Upon consuming energy to activate, it unleashes a full-powered strike from a god. The strike range is equivalent to the radar's detection range."
"The god's attack possesses the attributes of 'Absolute Accuracy' and 'Absolute Armor Penetration.' None can withstand it."
-
Unlike Zerg's Silence, Divine Silence was an offensive Civilization Wonder.
It was his first time seeing something like it.
As far as he knew, out of the three Civilization Wonders within the Naomi Civilization, not a single one was offensive.
Most importantly—
Divine Silence was located deep within the Dark Abyss, a full 130,000 light-years away from the Dead End Star System. That distance alone exceeded the range of his Doppelganger Radar, but through testing, he discovered something incredible.
No matter where he was.
He could tap into the power of Divine Silence at any time to unleash that full-powered god's strike.
However...
He was not entirely sure of its exact destructive power. He had not tested it yet, as the activation cost was far from cheap. It required a staggering one quadrillion units of iron ore, which was nearly half of his current total reserves. If he ever encountered a life-threatening situation where all other methods failed, he could resort to Desperate Measures and give it a try.
After acquiring this Civilization Wonder.
He had also obtained his second Miracle Box.
"..."
Chen Mang toyed with an unlit cigarette in his hand, carefully examining the patterns along its paper. Yes, the reward from the second Miracle Box was exactly this cigarette.
It was not some Prismatic-grade Civilization Tenet.
But rather... a special item.
The Miracle Box had yielded an entire pack of cigarettes. It had no brand and featured a pure white exterior. Inside were 19 cigarettes; one was missing. He constantly suspected that someone had secretly smoked the missing one, but after careful consideration, he realized that was practically impossible. It had likely just contained 19 from the start.
It just felt a bit awkward.
The effect of this special item was profound: upon lighting a cigarette from the pack, as the wisps of white smoke rose, the Human Civilization would enter a state of absolute concealment, becoming completely untraceable by any detection method.
Not even God-level Civilizations would be able to detect them.
A single cigarette lasted for 24 hours.
It was an incredibly powerful special item.
An absolute power of cosmic law.
However...
He could not use it for now. Although he was no longer a negligible ant in the universe, he wasn't much stronger than one either. He simply did not pose enough of a threat to draw the attention of higher civilizations yet.
It was a great trump card to keep hidden at the bottom of his stash.
Following that—
He turned his attention back to the control panel screen, bringing up the component information for the Doppelganger Radar. Today, he planned to upgrade this component to Level 500. It was originally at Level 200, boasting a detection range of 100,000 light-years.
Indeed.
It was time to go to war. If they didn't, the Human Civilization was going to starve to death.
His original plan had revolved around the Starlight Civilization, which had been randomly traversing the universe. They had visited quite a few resource-poor galactic regions devoid of powerful civilizations, so he could have easily headed there to plunder.
But...
After he and Xiao Ai ran the calculations, they reached a sobering conclusion: mining in those galaxies would require him to build his own wormholes to connect the various Ore Stars. The final data showed that the profit margins would be razor-thin.
The reason he had made a fortune in the Dead End Star System was that the Kasa Civilization had built all the wormholes. He hadn't needed to spend a single dime.
Going to other galaxies would be a completely different story.
Although upgrading the Doppelganger Radar would attract more Universe Ge Lei, he felt he was more than adequately prepared. If it was just Universe Ge Lei, Xiao Lu could handle them. If it was other civilizations, he would deal with them himself.
The next moment—
After consuming 100 trillion units of iron ore, the Prismatic-grade component, the Doppelganger Radar, was upgraded to Level 500. Its detection range expanded to... a staggering one million light-years!
This was ten times its original range!
And it acquired a brand-new Overlimit Effect.
-
"Doppelganger Radar Level 500 Overlimit Effect: Detection range is drastically increased. It can now detect all special entities within its range and pinpoint the precise cosmic coordinates of any location within the radar's coverage."
-
Chen Mang glanced at the Overlimit Effect. The description was somewhat vague. He wasn't entirely sure what it meant by 'detect all special entities within its range' or what qualified as a 'special entity.'
But at this moment, his entire attention was captivated by the visuals flashing across the Doppelganger Radar's screen.
In most strategy games, there was a crucial tactic known as 'clearing the fog of war' or 'opening the map.'
In other words, acquiring greater vision.
And right now—
The display covering a one-million-light-year radius flooded his screen. Only then did he realize just how many neighbors the Dead End Star System actually had. He had been completely oblivious before.
There were a total of four star systems.
They were as follows:
To the left of the Zerg Civilization was a galaxy named the Good Cat Galaxy. It boasted a diameter of 170,000 light-years, and the entity dominating it was a level-four civilization.
Diagonally below the Mechanical Civilization Ruins lay another galaxy named the Extreme Evil Galaxy. It had a diameter of 60,000 light-years, and it was also controlled by a level-four civilization.
Additionally.
Directly beneath the Dead End Star System along the Z-axis, there were two more galaxies.
The Qiuya Galaxy and the Zhiping Galaxy.
Both of these galaxies belonged to a single entity: the level-five civilization known as the Great Desolation Civilization.
This was the first time he had encountered a civilization with a four-character name.
It certainly was a mouthful...
Within a million light-years, there were only these four galaxies. Aside from them, the vast majority of the remaining space consisted of barren zones between galaxies. While these zones weren't quite as desolate as the Dark Abyss, stars and planets were still incredibly scarce.
These void zones were often gathering places for countless unrated, minor civilizations.
For instance, Blue Star, his home before his transmigration, was located in such an area.
It was worth noting...
He also spotted many Universe Ge Lei on the Doppelganger Radar. They all took the form of Star Behemoths, numbering over forty in total. Yet, not a single Star Behemoth sensed his detection waves or charged toward him.
His radar level had far surpassed the detection threshold of these Universe Ge Lei.
He no longer needed to worry about being detected by these relatively low-level Universe Ge Lei. Instead, his only concern was whether he might be sensed by higher-tier Universe Ge Lei.
Among these four galaxies.
The most resource-rich ones were the two galaxies directly below the Dead End Star System on the Z-axis. However, since he couldn't defeat a level-five civilization, he had to shift his targets to the other two. Between those remaining two, the one with the most abundant resources—
Was not the Good Cat Galaxy with its 170,000 light-year diameter.
Surprisingly, it was the 60,000 light-year wide Extreme Evil Galaxy.
Small, but fiercely packed with wealth.
His target was set!
The Extreme Evil Galaxy would serve as the first battleground for the territorial expansion of the Human Civilization. The next step was to probe this civilization's strength, while simultaneously keeping a close eye on the level-five civilization below to ensure they showed no signs of attacking.
Under the Level 500 Overlimit Effect, he easily obtained the precise cosmic coordinates of the level-four civilization occupying the Extreme Evil Galaxy.
This civilization was aptly named the Extreme Evil Civilization. The name made them sound like a gang of interstellar triad thugs.
After pulling out his Telescope, he inputted the cosmic coordinates of the Extreme Evil Civilization. He prepared to observe the internal situation of this society.
The image gradually magnified.
From an angle resembling a higher-dimensional overhead view, he took in the entirety of the Extreme Evil Galaxy. He locked onto a specific planet belonging to the Extreme Evil Civilization and zoomed in continuously.
Very soon—
As the visual slowly cleared up.
Chen Mang blanked for a moment.
This Extreme Evil Civilization was rather bizarre...
On this planet, the individuals walking down the streets—if they could even be called humanoids—all had three heads and six arms. Every single one of them sported three heads and crimson-red skin. Furthermore, many of them bore eerie, glowing patterns across their exposed flesh.
After observing them for half an hour...
He gathered a considerable amount of intelligence. This society was also structured as a 'Train Civilization,' but it had clearly undergone significant modifications. This civilization seemed to be comprised of a demonic race that worshipped Satan. By relying on the Power of Faith, their individual combat strength was already quite formidable.
Later on.
When they transitioned from a divine-focused civilization into a train-based one.
They managed to transfer this Power of Faith into their trains.
This allowed them to forge a wide variety of peculiar train components boasting bizarre functions—components that could exclusively be used by the trains of their civilization.
Normally speaking.
Most major civilizations couldn't be bothered to deal with the minor, unrated civilizations within their territory. First, there were simply too many of them to manage. Second, they were completely insignificant; destroying them yielded virtually no resources, making the effort entirely pointless.
However, based on his observations.
Many train captains from the Extreme Evil Galaxy frequently visited those unrated civilizations to perform 'miracles' and harvest the Power of Faith. They would then use this gathered faith to strengthen their own unique train components.
"Interesting..."
Chen Mang looked at the Wormhole Generator on his control panel screen. It was currently at Level 200, capable of opening wormholes up to a maximum distance of 100,000 light-years. That wasn't quite enough; it needed an upgrade. He also wanted to see if the subsequent Overlimit Effect would somehow reduce energy consumption.
After consuming another 100 trillion units of iron ore.
The component was pushed straight to Level 500. Its maximum range expanded, now capable of establishing wormholes that spanned one million light-years.
Additionally, it gained a brand-new Overlimit Effect.
-
"Wormhole Generator Level 500 Overlimit Effect: The wormholes created will generate zero spatial fluctuations, making them exceptionally difficult to detect."
-
"Not bad."
Chen Mang nodded silently. Although it didn't reduce his energy consumption, this was perfectly acceptable. His movements could remain much more clandestine.
The Extreme Evil Galaxy was 780,000 light-years away from him.
Situated diagonally below the Mechanical Civilization Ruins.
To forge a permanent, two-way wormhole leading straight to the Extreme Evil Galaxy, he would need to consume a staggering 1,700 trillion units of iron ore.
This single expenditure alone.
Would completely drain the total reserves of the Human Civilization.
Fortunately, however...
He didn't need a two-way connection, nor did he need it to be permanent.
The next moment—
He expended 100 trillion units of iron ore to construct a one-way, single-use wormhole. As the swirling portal slowly tore open in front of him, a new journey began.
It was worth mentioning.
Building a wormhole that spanned 100,000 light-years required 30 trillion units of iron ore.
Meanwhile, creating one that spanned 780,000 light-years only cost 100 trillion units of iron ore.
This had nothing to do with the component's level.
It was simply a rule of scale: the longer the distance a wormhole covered, the lower the cost per light-year.
Admittedly.
He could have easily forged seven 100,000-light-year wormholes and one 80,000-light-year wormhole, reaching the Extreme Evil Galaxy through multiple layovers. Doing so would have meant he wouldn't even need to upgrade the Wormhole Generator to Level 500. However, the total cost would have been significantly steeper, exceeding 200 trillion units of iron ore.
However—
The vast majority of level-four civilizations were forced to choose the latter method. They relied on multiple wormhole relays to reach distant locations.
Although it cost far more resources.
They had no other choice.
After all, they didn't have access to an abundance of Murphy Stones. Even if they did, they would prioritize upgrading other components. The Wormhole Generator ranked far too low on their list of priorities.
Shortly after.
Chen Mang slowly pushed the control lever, guiding the train into the wormhole. After traveling for roughly half an hour, he successfully arrived at the Extreme Evil Galaxy, a staggering 780,000 light-years away. The moment the train emerged, he didn't hesitate for a split second, immediately tossing several Refrigerators out into the void of space.
Following that, he instantly utilized a Refrigerator to warp back to the Dead End Star System.
He didn't bother turning back to destroy the single-use wormhole he had created.
He would just let it dissipate naturally.
The wormhole he forged emitted extremely low spatial fluctuations, making it incredibly difficult to detect. But if he actively attacked it to destroy it, the resulting spatial tremors would be massive.
The lesson learned from the Apostle of the God Race was still fresh in his mind.
When in someone else's territory, it was best to avoid causing large spatial and energy fluctuations. Otherwise, he would be easily discovered. This kind of operation was best handled with maximum stealth; keeping a low profile was essential.
Back in the Dead End Star System, Chen Mang kept his eyes glued to the Doppelganger Radar's display. He waited patiently for a moment. No one approached the area around the Refrigerators. Clearly, that level-four civilization had failed to detect his wormhole insertion.
Then, the ensuing steps would be much simpler.
He just needed to conduct a close-range scan of this civilization's overall military strength before he could make his move.
If he could win, he would attack. If he couldn't, he would simply pick another target and come back to fight them some other day.
Even though he had only stayed in the Extreme Evil Galaxy for a split second, his Target-Acquisition Radar had successfully gathered the component data of all passing trains within a 0.1 light-year radius. He noticed that almost every single train shared a common component.
A Prismatic-grade component: "Gates of Hell."
Its effect was—
When a train was equipped with the Gates of Hell, expending a bit of the Power of Faith allowed the captain to resurrect dead crew members straight from hell. However, it only worked on the crew; the train captain themselves could not be resurrected.
"It's that strong?"
Chen Mang's expression turned a bit weird. Why did it feel like resurrection was becoming an incredibly common occurrence in this universe?
He could understand the Zerg Civilization possessing resurrection. After all, they were practically a god-level entity.
The God Race being immortal and indestructible was also par for the course. They were, in essence, the favored illegitimate children of the universe.
But...
How was it that even a mere level-four civilization had access to resurrection capabilities?
Why didn't he have it?
When would he finally get his hands on some means of resurrection?
Of course.
It was notably different from the Zerg Civilization's revival. The Zerg's Infinite Resurrection was an active combat tactic; their swarms of monsters springing back to life provided an endless stream of offensive power. On the other hand, the primary combat strength of the Extreme Evil Civilization didn't stem from their train crew members.
It was essentially the equivalent of having a Biao Zi who could respawn infinitely.
It sounded incredibly overpowered on paper.
But in reality, it wasn't all that useful.
It only served a supplementary role and did nothing to fundamentally alter the scale of true combat power.
Not only that.
If judged by the 'Universal Consensus,' the Extreme Evil Civilization could only be considered a pseudo-level-four civilization. After all, a true level-four civilization needed to be situated near the Dark Abyss. Since the Extreme Evil Civilization lacked proximity to the Dark Abyss, they were utterly incapable of unleashing the strongest tactics of a proper level-four civilization.
On the contrary, the other level-four civilization—the one dominating the 170,000 light-year wide galaxy—actually had a section of the Dark Abyss right behind their territory.
That civilization was known as the Good Cat Civilization.
From the looks of it.
The Good Cat Civilization's Doppelganger Radar clearly hadn't reached Level 500, or perhaps some other factors were at play. Otherwise, they wouldn't have turned a blind eye to the highly resource-rich zone sitting right next door. They should have taken action to claim it long ago.
Similarly, the Extreme Evil Civilization likely lacked a Level 500 radar as well.
Otherwise, their most pressing priority would be searching for a patch of the Dark Abyss and relocating their entire domain. If they had that radar capability, they should have encroached upon the Dead End Star System a long time ago.
"Wait, no..."
Chen Mang stared at the control panel screen, momentarily taken aback. After zooming in on the Extreme Evil Galaxy, he realized that the Ore Stars in their region had been mined almost entirely hollow. Furthermore, their fleets were amassing in massive numbers, looking exactly like they were staging a pre-war mobilization.
His mouth twitched slightly.
He suddenly realized.
This Extreme Evil Civilization definitely possessed a Level 500 radar! With no foreign enemies appearing on their scans, the reason they were amassing an army was undeniably obvious. They were preparing to hunt for a patch of the Dark Abyss.
Which meant they were planning to march straight toward the Dead End Star System's quadrant.
After all, the Dead End Star System appeared far weaker as a target.
The only reason they had delayed their invasion for so long was that they simply wanted to squeeze every last drop of resources out of their own galaxy's Ore Stars before packing up and moving.
Looking at it from this perspective...
His wormhole had been a bit of a waste. He didn't even need to initiate an expedition; the enemy clearly intended to march right to his doorstep.
The Dark Abyss covered an unimaginably vast territory.
Both he and the Good Cat Civilization were backed up against the exact same section of the Dark Abyss, just situated in different directions along its colossal perimeter.
"Hmm..."
Chen Mang fell into deep thought. Thank goodness he had upgraded his radar to Level 500; otherwise, the enemy would have arrived at his front door before he even noticed. The perimeter of the Dark Abyss was incredibly long, but civilizations couldn't survive in the void zones outside of star systems.
They had to live within established galaxies.
Therefore, for the Extreme Evil Civilization, there were only two viable targets to wage war against: the Good Cat Civilization and the Human Civilization.
Or rather...
There was really only a single option.