Chapter 350: Second Universe |
The "Extreme Evil Galaxy".
Within the "Holy Land", a pocket dimension created by "Satan", the resources had now been almost entirely gathered into the train. This accounted for nearly all the resources the "Extreme Evil Civilization" had ever managed to amass.
The "Extreme Evil Civilization" did have a leader.
However, unlike the leaders of other civilizations, the leader of the "Extreme Evil Civilization" was merely a puppet. The true ruler pulling the strings was "Satan". Naturally, all the resources prepared before the war had been hoarded here under his control.
The sheer quantity was staggering.
From this single battle, the spoils far exceeded the sum of everything he had acquired previously. Setting aside the miscellaneous loot for a moment, the raw resources alone amounted to an astronomical figure.
These resources consisted primarily of iron ore.
7,892 trillion units.
Not only did this completely reimburse all the expenditures of the recent conflict, but it also yielded a massive additional profit.
Inside the "Stellar Train", Chen Mang looked at the data on the control console screen and let out a long breath. This battle had nearly emptied the train's reserves, but with the replenishment of these 7,892 trillion units of iron ore, the resources within the train had reached an unprecedented high.
He had to admit.
The "Dead End Star System" was truly far too barren.
Even if he were to dig through the entire "Dead End Star System" from top to bottom, he would never find this many resources.
Of course.
These resources also represented the absolute total reserves of the "Extreme Evil Galaxy", without a single scrap left over. Since the "Extreme Evil Civilization" had been preparing to migrate to the "Dead End Star System", they had already completely mined out almost every single exploitable "Ore Star" within their home galaxy.
Only about seventy percent of the "Ore Stars" remained unmined.
These remaining "Ore Stars" were incredibly poor in mineral content. Constructing a "Wormhole" specifically to mine them would be a complete loss, rendering them economically unviable. These low-yield "Ore Stars" could only be left for the nearby, third-rate civilizations to scavenge.
In the universe.
Even for a third-rate civilization—one incapable of traveling even a tenth of a light-year from their home—there would always be an "Ore Star" waiting for them to mine, free from competition. This was exactly why there was a steady, endless stream of civilizations constantly advancing and injecting fresh blood into the cosmic stage.
If all civilizations could simply travel to mine an "Ore Star" without needing to construct a "Wormhole" or pay any toll to reach it directly...
Then no civilization in this universe would ever advance. The cosmic hierarchy would become entirely rigid. There would not even be civilization tiers anymore; those god-level civilizations would simply slice up the universe like a cake, dividing it into sections and devouring every last resource within their respective territories.
It was precisely because of the existence of these incredibly numerous yet low-yield "Ore Stars" that a continuous stream of new civilizations could emerge.
A day later.
Chen Mang embarked on the journey back. He had not completely annihilated the "Extreme Evil Civilization"; instead, he allowed them to continue surviving within the "Extreme Evil Galaxy".
However.
Lacking the backing of "Satan" and stripped of so many resources, it was now fundamentally impossible for them to invade other galaxies. In fact, if they were to suffer an attack from another tier-four civilization at this moment, they would almost certainly face extermination.
Naturally.
If they could manage to hang on, years down the line, once those meager "Ore Stars" gradually matured and replenished their resources, they might still have a glimmer of hope to return to the peak of their civilization's power.
As for now.
From now on, the voice of the "Extreme Evil Civilization" would no longer be heard in this region.
"Not bad at all,"
Chen Mang chuckled softly, controlling the "Stellar Train" as it shuttled through the "Wormhole". He gazed at the bizarre, kaleidoscopic scenes flashing past on both sides of the tunnel without saying anything else. Although this operation had been fraught with danger and more than a few thrills, a successful resolution was always a good thing.
With this batch of resources.
He could comprehensively strengthen all of the train's components once again.
Including the "Carriage Steel Armor". That component could finally receive another upgrade.
If only every galaxy could be like the "Extreme Evil Civilization". By gathering all their resources in advance, he did not have to waste any extra time after securing victory. He could simply pack up all the resources and leave, making things incredibly convenient.
It was quite nice.
Soon—
He returned to the "Dead End Star System". Suspended in the void of space, he reviewed the status of the various components in the train's logs. All the damaged parts had been fully repaired, with one sole exception: the Level 500 "Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon" that "Satan" had punched into oblivion during their first encounter months ago. It was damaged beyond repair.
The "Stellar Train" was now short one main cannon.
There were only five left.
However, that was more than enough. Among the remaining five main cannons, one was Level 1000, and the other four were all Level 500.
He did not wait any longer.
Instead, he prepared to consume his newly acquired stockpiles to give his train components a collective upgrade. The first one on the list was...
The "Spider Legs".
This was the very first functional component he had ever obtained. It had helped him tremendously back when he was weak and insignificant.
During the final battle with the Zerg, he had acquired a massive amount of spider silk. The "Power Magnet" had pulled it all into the train—amounting to hundreds of trillions of units. His "Spider Legs" were currently Level 500, and he only needed 100 trillion units of spider silk to push the component to Level 1000.
Spider silk could essentially only be used to upgrade the "Spider Legs" component; beyond that, it had little utility. As for activating certain "Overlimit Effects" of the "Spider Legs"—like shooting out silk webs—those abilities had largely lost their meaning for the "Stellar Train" at its current stage.
Without hesitation.
He immediately expended 100 trillion units of spider silk, upgrading the "Spider Legs" to Level 1000 in one fell swoop!
And it gained a brand-new "Overlimit Effect".
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"Spider Legs Level 1000 Overlimit Effect": The "Spider Legs" will pierce through space, allowing for free transit between the "First Universe" and the "Second Universe".
-
"..."
Chen Mang stared at the "Overlimit Effect" before him in silence.
The Level 200 "Overlimit Effect" was known as the "Divine Level Extraordinary Effect". Once any component reached Level 200, both its base attributes and its "Overlimit Effect" would undergo a qualitative leap.
The Level 500 "Overlimit Effect" was the "Universe Level Extraordinary Effect". Reaching this stage meant the component began to brush against the fundamental laws of reality.
As for the Level 1000 "Overlimit Effect"...
He felt inclined to call it the Ultimate "Overlimit Effect". This was practically nearing the absolute limit.
He did not know the maximum level cap for a component, nor did he know if the laws of the universe imposed any such restrictions on them, but he felt that a Level 1000 component had to be brushing right up against the finish line.
Going any higher might truly step into the realm of divine power.
Currently, there were only four Level 1000 components equipped to the train.
The "Telescope", the "Power Magnet", the "Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon", and the "Spider Legs".
Setting aside the "Power Magnet", whose Level 1000 "Overlimit Effect" was none, the "Overlimit Effects" of the other three components were absolutely absurd. And even though the Level 1000 "Power Magnet" lacked an "Overlimit Effect", its base attributes were still heaven-defying, capable of manipulating entire planets to form gravitational fields.
He had learned of the existence of the "Second Universe" through the information left behind by "Satan".
He had originally assumed that he would never enter the "Second Universe" in his lifetime, or at least not for a very, very long time. After all, unless an advanced civilization suddenly decided to strike him down, he figured it would be extremely difficult for him to die.
He had not expected this.
To get an opportunity to enter the "Second Universe" so quickly.
If he had not extracted the intelligence about the "Second Universe" from "Satan", he would not have even known what it was, let alone understood the significance of this Level 1000 "Overlimit Effect".
However...
"Xiao Ai,"
Chen Mang asked thoughtfully, "Does this mean I can resurrect infinitely from now on?"
"Even if I die and enter the Second Universe, it won't matter. I can just drive the train through the spatial rift cut by the Spider Legs and head right back to the First Universe."
"That is incorrect."
"Xiao Ai's" voice quickly echoed through the carriage. "Captain, there is an error in your understanding. One can only enter the Second Universe if their soul remains intact. Given the level of combat you are currently engaging in, if you are defeated, it is highly improbable that your soul would survive undamaged."
"For example, had you lost to Satan just now, I am certain he would not have allowed you to die with your soul in one piece."
"Secondly—"
"Even if your soul remained intact, there is only a certain probability of it entering the Second Universe, not a hundred percent guarantee. There is still a chance it would completely dissipate into the cosmos."
"Finally."
"Even if your soul stayed whole and you were lucky enough to enter the Second Universe, your train would not go with you. Furthermore, your memories would be wiped in the Second Universe, meaning you would still be unable to escape it."
"This component does not grant you the ability to resurrect. Its greatest utility lies in allowing you to glimpse the afterlife ahead of time, or to lay down groundwork in the Second Universe prematurely. This way, should you unfortunately die at the hands of a formidable enemy one day..."
"...assuming your luck holds out, you could rely on the preparations you made to secure a decent afterlife for yourself."
"..."
Chen Mang leaned back in his chair, lighting a cigarette before muttering softly, "The way you phrase that makes it sound like I am pre-burning joss paper for my own funeral. But then again, I suppose that makes sense. For someone like me—no parents, no children—I really do need to burn some paper money for myself in advance, otherwise there will be no one left to do it when I am gone. I just wonder if this method counts, and if the ledger will actually record it."
He had already figured out the best possible use for this "Overlimit Effect".
The database from the train belonging to "Satan" mentioned that the "Second Universe" also had trains, though they were referred to as Hell Trains. They, too, possessed various resource mines.
But—
He was confident that, since the two realms were virtually isolated from one another, the market prices for goods had to be completely different. This meant he could potentially act as an inter-dimensional merchant, exploiting the gap to rake in substantial profits between the two universes.
Chen Mang continued inspecting the other components. Once everything was fully prepared, he planned to drive the train into the "Second Universe" to take a look.
Right now, he was going to upgrade the "Carriage Steel Armor" straight to Level 1000!
He glanced at the resource cost. It was exorbitantly expensive—far higher than the cost of upgrading a "Prismatic-grade" component to Level 1000. It was hard to imagine that a basic green-tier component could demand such an absurd cost. It required a full—
3,750 trillion units of iron ore.
That was the equivalent of upgrading 3.75 "Prismatic-grade" components to Level 1000!
Though expensive, it was absolutely worth every penny.
Soon!
The 3,750 trillion units of iron ore they had just confiscated instantly turned to ash and melted into the train. The "Carriage Steel Armor" rapidly thickened, radiating an immense sense of heavy durability into the surrounding cosmos.
At this moment, he felt confident enough to drive the train right into the heart of a star for a bath.
Not even a stellar core could burn through his armor.
And it gained a brand-new "Overlimit Effect".
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"Carriage Steel Armor Level 1000 Overlimit Effect": Eternal Imperishability. Upon receiving physical damage, this armor will absorb all physical attacks, ignoring the attacker's level, and convert that energy to temporarily boost its own armor level for twenty-four hours.
PS: This Level 1000 "Overlimit Effect" is a unique "Overlimit Effect", the only one of its kind in the universe.
PS2: No other civilization will ever be able to acquire this "Overlimit Effect".
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"..."
The smile that had just been playing on Chen Mang's face slowly froze the moment he read this "Overlimit Effect", his eyes widening in sheer horror and disbelief.
He had never imagined...
That one day, the absurd notion of lifting oneself up by one's own bootstraps would actually become reality?!
The Level 1000 "Overlimit Effect" granted immunity to all physical attacks.
It sounded rather mundane at first glance.
After all, physical attacks accounted for a tiny fraction of cosmic warfare, making it seem almost useless. But when combined with the Level 500 "Overlimit Effect"—which granted immunity to all energy attacks—it equated to absolute invincibility.
True invincibility. Whether it was physical force or energy projection, nothing could inflict even a scratch upon him!
Complete and utter invulnerability.
"..."
After a long silence, Chen Mang let out a deep breath. He had never expected a single component to harbor two unique "Overlimit Effects". Right now, only one thought dominated his mind: his previous plans had to be scrapped entirely.
Every single train civilization currently residing in the "Dead End Star System" had to be broken up, reorganized, and packed into the planets housed inside his train.
He had to take all of them away.
The original blueprint for this "Carriage Steel Armor" was not his; it belonged to the "Machine Civilization". This meant that this unique "Overlimit Effect" did not intrinsically belong to the "Human Civilization", but rather to the long-extinct "Machine Civilization".
And the train civilizations scattered across the "Dead End Star System" were almost universally influenced by the "Machine Civilization". The component blueprints they used had all been passed down from those ancient machines.
Which meant...
If some advanced civilization happened to stumble into the "Dead End Star System", and happened to get their hands on a "Carriage Steel Armor" blueprint originating from the "Machine Civilization", they could expend a massive amount of resources and "Murphy Stones" to achieve these exact same invincible "Overlimit Effects".
He really did not want any of his future enemies to stumble upon an opportunity like that.
Therefore.
The best solution was to stuff everyone into his train and eliminate the possibility entirely.
At the very least...
He had zero desire to face an opponent wielding that kind of defense.
Of course.
He believed that even with immunity to both energy and physical attacks, there had to be various special methods capable of piercing such defenses. His own absolute armor-penetrating wonder, "Divine Silence", was one such example. But... employing those methods usually carried a steep price, and not every enemy would possess them.
While challenging god-level civilizations with just this was certainly unrealistic.
He felt that squaring off against a tier-five civilization lacking any particularly overpowered trump cards should not be a problem anymore.
Pack them up and take them away.
Everyone had to be packed up and taken away!
"Xiao Ai, run the calculations. If we bring absolutely everyone with us, how many planets will we need?"
"Acknowledged."
Soon—
"Xiao Ai" delivered the conclusion.
"The land utilization efficiency on many of these planets is quite poor. If we want to guarantee a seventy percent land utilization rate on every planet—meaning seventy percent of a planet's landmass is designated as human habitation zones, which is the baseline requirement for maintaining a passing Human Survival Happiness Index—we will need approximately 1,279 planets."
"Which means we will need to construct 1,279 Space Portals."
"Mhm."
Chen Mang gave a slight nod. A seventy percent land utilization rate meant that seventy percent of a planet's surface area would be dedicated to human living space. Cramming people in like that meant the happiness index definitely would not soar very high.
For example, the roads would remain in a state of congestion even in the dead of night.
Or, due to the reduction of natural landscapes, finding areas suitable for tourism would be a distant, almost impossible prospect.
Not to mention the rigid demands for fresh water, food, and electricity, which would lead to severe supply shortages, and so on.
However...
Those latter issues were completely trivial for the "Stellar Train".
Following the train's expansion, a single carriage could house up to 300 "Space Portals". Currently, there were just over a hundred high-level "Space Portals" inside the train. Building another thousand or so was more than doable; they would fit perfectly.
The existing "Space Portals" inside the "Stellar Train" were almost all Level 500, making them highly expensive to construct. A single Level 500 "Space Portal" required 700 billion units of iron ore.
But the reason those "Space Portals" were Level 500 was primarily because they were designed to contain stars, providing energy reserves for the train's propulsion and ammunition. If the goal was simply to house populations, Level 500 was overkill; Level 200 would be more than enough.
A Level 200 "Space Portal" only cost 1.3 billion units of iron ore.
Forging another thousand or so "Space Portals" barely cost a dime; to the current "Stellar Train", it was nothing more than a drop in the bucket.
Promptly—
After a moment of thought, Chen Mang issued his orders.
"Make the arrangements. Prepare to integrate all the train civilizations of the Dead End Star System into the interior of the train. Disband their original structures, assimilate them into the Human Civilization, and settle them across these 1,297 planets. Pick the planets carefully—try to select high-quality, habitable worlds."
"Understood."
Delegating this kind of administrative task to "Xiao Ai" was the perfect choice.
With these matters mostly settled, Chen Mang turned his attention back to the control console screen to check the rest of the components. At this moment, he genuinely wished he could resurrect "Satan" just to see if the demon could even lay a scratch on him without him having to resort to his ultimate weapons.
When someone acquires a hammer, they inevitably want to find a nail.
And they want to find an exceptionally sturdy nail at that.
"Satan" would have been the most perfectly sturdy nail.
What a shame he was already dead.
Throughout his entire journey, "Satan" had been the strongest opponent he had ever faced. His primary strength had not relied on his train, but on his own terrifying personal power. His every move could rend the fabric of space. Had they fought out in the open universe rather than inside the "Holy Land", the collateral spatial damage would have been catastrophic.
It was just a pity that he had died far too easily.
Impaled to death by a single spear.
Seventeen hours later.
The "Stellar Train's" edict had been broadcasted down the chain of command. Every civilization was making multi-layered preparations to fully integrate into the "Stellar". Naturally, not a single one refused; after all, there was not a single civilization in the "Dead End Star System" with the courage to defy the orders of the "Human Civilization".
Especially after catching wind of the rumors that Lord Mang had actively initiated an invasion and secured a massive victory.
Of course.
This assimilation process was no simple task. The command had been given, but executing it flawlessly would take at least a year or two to finalize all the logistical arrangements. Even with a super-AI like "Xiao Ai" overseeing the operation, managing such a colossal influx of populations was a highly complex engineering feat.
It was time to upgrade the AI to Level 1000.
That would bolster its computational power immensely.
Meanwhile, Chen Mang sat alone in the conductor's cabin, pulling the control lever to slowly drive the train forward. It gradually accelerated, and just as it reached peak velocity, the "Spider Legs" rapidly deployed, slicing open the fabric of space.
The scenery surrounding the train began to shift and warp.
They plunged into the dimensional rift.
It felt like stumbling headfirst into a black hole.
Immediately after.
As the environment flashed repeatedly between illusion and reality, the train finally glided to a smooth halt. They had safely arrived in the "Second Universe". The "Doppler Radar" still functioned perfectly here. It instantly powered up to gather as much data as possible, extending its sweeping range to a full million light-years.
At the same time.
"Xiao Ai" began processing at breakneck speeds.
On one hand, it rapidly scanned for any noteworthy anomalies within the radar's radius; on the other, it swiftly absorbed the database information of any recently deceased AIs nearby. This influx of data would help it build a comprehensive understanding of the "Second Universe".
Soon—
After this intense processing lasted for a full half-hour.
"Xiao Ai's" voice finally sounded within the cabin.
"Captain, I am afraid I have disappointing news."
"Let's hear it,"
Chen Mang said, staring at the images displayed on the "Doppler Radar". The "Second Universe" was, just as its name implied, an entire universe. He could see countless planets on the radar screen. At a glance, there was no discernible difference between this place and the "First Universe".
It lacked any of the visual hallmarks typically associated with "Hell".
There were still shining stars, radiating familiar warmth. It was neither a desolate, freezing wasteland nor a purgatory eternally engulfed in roaring flames.
Had he not known this was the "Second Universe", he might have easily mistaken it for some uncharted corner of the "First Universe".
"According to the data I have collected, there is virtually no price discrepancy between here and the First Universe. For instance, the Murphy Stones and iron ore that are relatively scarce in the First Universe do not suddenly become commonplace junk here."
"They remain equally rare and heavily sought after."
"There is essentially no profit margin for an inter-dimensional merchant."
"Furthermore..."
"The resources gathered here cannot be utilized in the First Universe."
"All resources here bear the 'Hell' prefix—such as 'Hell Iron Ore' or 'Hell Murphy Stones'. These materials can exclusively be used to construct Hell Trains; they are incompatible with the components of any train from the First Universe."
"This means that not only are we unable to act as inter-dimensional merchants,"
"We cannot even bring these resources back to fuel our own advancement in the First Universe."
"To sum it up."
"Even if someone from the First Universe possessed the ability to travel freely into the Second Universe, it would be largely pointless. The only real benefit might be getting lucky enough to reunite with deceased friends or family, catching up on old times."
"In all other aspects, the reality here aligns perfectly with the intel from Satan's database."
"The inhabitants here are almost entirely immortal."
"Even if they lack basic living provisions, they will only suffer the pangs of hunger—they will never actually starve to death."
"If someone truly yearns for immortality and is willing to pay the price, then the Second Universe would actually be an excellent destination for them."
"..."
Chen Mang gave a faint nod without speaking, gazing calmly at the radar screen. It was impossible for this place to be entirely useless. There had to be an advantage hidden here.
It was just...
Difficult to unearth at first glance.
"There is a city not far from here. Let's go take a look and see what a city in Hell looks like."
"And while we are at it, we can observe the people living there."
"Let's not rush to conclusions."
"If nothing else comes of it, we will just treat it as a sightseeing tour to broaden our horizons."
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