Chapter 354: "Why was the signal cut off?" |
But soon after.
The leader of the Good Cat Civilization tossed this ridiculous thought to the back of his mind. Perhaps the Human Civilization might have accepted his surrender seven years ago, but it was absolutely impossible now. It was a thought best left as just that—a thought.
He only had one thing to do right now.
Fortify the Good Cat Civilization into an impenetrable iron fortress and strictly guard against the Human Civilization's attack.
Defend to the death.
Perhaps there would be a silver lining.
Chen Mang was in no rush to launch an attack. Instead, he looked at the large screen on the side of the train's cabin. It displayed the dreamscape of a cyber-miner aboard the train, and Xiao Pangzi was currently standing on the screen.
Less than a day had passed inside the train.
Seven years had passed in the outside world.
But in Xiao Pangzi's eyes, they had been out of contact for seven years.
"You are finally here."
Xiao Pangzi stood alone on an Ore Star in the southern frontier of the Naomi Civilization, looking at the mysterious traveler before him. The current Xiao Pangzi looked much more mature than before. His entire demeanor was steadier, having shed much of his former childishness.
Clearly, Xiao Pangzi had grown a lot over these seven years.
Xiao Pangzi looked at the mysterious traveler with a slightly dazed expression. "You must have been very busy all these years. I originally thought you would never appear again. Many things have happened over these seven years, both concerning my family and within the civilization itself."
"Let me think about where to start."
Perhaps because they had not seen each other for years, Xiao Pangzi had a strong desire to pour his heart out.
"First is my father."
"He suddenly changed a lot. He no longer puts work first and has started to return to the family. They say he earns much less than before, but that is only compared to the past. I know his actual income now."
"I never would have guessed."
"He is actually the wealthiest man in the Naomi Civilization, far surpassing the supposed richest man known to the public..."
"He is truly wealthy."
"He has also officially started grooming me as his successor. I used to be somewhat repulsed by this idea, wanting to carve out a place in the world with my own two hands. But now I have thought it through. Refusing to take a shortcut when one is available and insisting on struggling alone—is that not a kind of foolishness?"
"There is one more thing."
"Seven years ago, an unknown Palace appeared within the Naomi Civilization. For all these years, the Naomi Civilization has been continuously studying this Palace. Not long ago, they finally made new progress. They discovered a hidden basement deep within The Palace, and inside that basement sat a safe."
"It is just..."
"That safe is rather special. The government has been unable to open it no matter what methods they try. Calling it a safe is a bit of a stretch—it actually has no lock or password keypad at all. It is just a massive chunk of iron, exceptionally heavy."
"Word has it that the government even bombarded it directly with heavy firepower, but the safe remained perfectly sealed without a single crater, crack, or sign of damage."
"Other than that, nothing much else has happened."
Xiao Pangzi stood alone, muttering to himself, while Chen Mang listened quietly, occasionally chiming in with a response.
The conversation ended.
Sitting in the train's cabin, Chen Mang looked at the Doppelganger Radar display on the control console screen. The Naomi Civilization was located on the other side of the Dark Abyss. This was his next target. Before long, he would traverse the void and head to the Naomi Civilization to reclaim his Palace.
He had not yet decided on the exact method to get there...
The most foolish approach would simply be using the method of creating a Wormhole.
Creating a Wormhole spanning 1 million light-years would require approximately 150 trillion units of iron ore.
If the Dark Abyss had a diameter of 10 million light-years, it would cost 1,500 trillion units of iron ore.
Although it was incredibly expensive.
It was not entirely unacceptable.
The only problem was that the exact diameter of the Dark Abyss remained unknown. What if it was nearly a hundred million light-years, or even hundreds of millions of light-years across? The resources required would then far exceed anything he could afford.
At that point, he would be caught in a dilemma.
Retreat.
All previous resource investments would be completely wasted.
Advance.
There was no telling how much farther the road ahead stretched.
As for now—
After briefly handling the remaining matters inside the train, Chen Mang lingered no longer. He immediately prepared to head to the Good Cat Civilization once more. The first Wormhole he had created had already been destroyed.
The Refrigerator he had tossed out had also been long destroyed by the Wormhole.
He needed to create a new Wormhole.
Consuming another 110 trillion units of iron ore, he created a one-way, single-use Wormhole leading straight to the Good Cat Civilization. He made no attempts at concealment and did not pause for even a moment.
It was just like returning to his own backyard.
As the Stellar Train slowly emerged from the snake-like maw of the Wormhole and appeared in an unfamiliar patch of the cosmos, the train had once again arrived at the Good Cat Civilization.
This time!
Greeting them were no longer flowers, nor a Civilization Broadcast offering surrender.
The very instant they appeared.
Several nearby planets lit up almost simultaneously like giant lightbulbs. Several formerly azure worlds suddenly became as bright as day—a sign that their planetary-grade defense weapons had been activated.
Immediately following that—
Chen Mang witnessed an incredibly dazzling spectacle.
The Good Cat Civilization welcomed his arrival with an exceptionally brilliant fireworks display.
Countless energy light cannons fired from the planetary-grade defense weapons on the planets, blasting toward the Stellar Train from every possible angle!
Close on their heels, the nearby space warped as more than a dozen Wormholes sprang up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain with rapid swooshing sounds.
Massive train armies poured out of the Wormholes, their radars locking onto the Stellar Train. There were no warning declarations or provoking words; they simply opened fire the moment they met.
For a time.
Alarms blared loudly inside the cabin.
These were the sirens triggered by the train being locked onto by radar. Because so many radars had locked on, the short alarm bursts merged into one continuous, deafening wail. Yet, a single line of text slowly floated up on the train's control console screen.
-
"No threatening attacks detected."
-
The Good Cat Civilization's strength was formidable.
A veteran Level 4 Civilization.
But—
That was the extent of it. The Stellar Train's power was not something a Level 4 Civilization could match. One of the prerequisites for advancing to a Tier-5 Civilization was possessing a Level 1000 Prismatic-grade firepower accessory. Since the Good Cat Civilization had not advanced to a Tier-5 Civilization, it meant they did not possess a Level 1000 Prismatic-grade firepower accessory.
Although there were many attacks.
They were nothing more than a disorganized mob, utterly useless.
"..."
Chen Mang sat calmly inside the train. After face-tanking the first wave of attacks in the silent cosmos, countless scorching light cannons slammed into the Stellar Train's armor and rapidly annihilated into nothingness.
Because the disparity in levels was simply too vast, they failed to breach the defenses at all.
A Level 1000 armor.
When facing a Level 4 Civilization, unless the Good Cat Civilization could pull out another black hole, it would be an absolute massacre.
So, next.
It was time for a counterattack.
He slowly pressed the red button on the control console.
The engraved patterns on the five Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannons mounted on the train's roof lit up as they began to charge power. Right after, several beams from the Level 500 Akhenaten Main Cannons launched precision strikes against high-threat targets in the vicinity.
Countless planets and trains were reduced to fragmented debris amidst the blazing pillars of light.
Right at this moment—
A distinct alarm suddenly rang out again inside the train.
Chen Mang looked toward the Doppelganger Radar screen and chuckled softly. Just as he had anticipated, the Good Cat Civilization had indeed secretly constructed a Wormhole leading to the Dead End Star System, and their forces had already traversed it to arrive there.
Evidently.
The Good Cat Civilization had dispatched an army to the Dead End Star System, preparing to kill him in the past timeline.
As long as the Good Cat Civilization's army began an indiscriminate bombardment of the Dead End Star System, with a little luck, they would eventually hit him in the past.
This was a nearly flawless, unsolvable method.
No one could protect their past self. If the timeline were stretched out like a massive wall, every single node would be a point requiring defensive installations. There were trillions upon trillions of such nodes across the timeline; no civilization could possibly protect them all.
But...
He had found a solution.
Chrono-Retrogression was a civilization-level technique acquired after advancing to a Level 4 Civilization. While highly effective, it possessed a fundamental flaw: to travel to a specific region's past timeline, one must first physically travel to that region.
In other words.
For the Good Cat Civilization to head to the Dead End Star System's past timeline to find him, they first had to dispatch an army to the Dead End Star System, and then initiate Chrono-Retrogression from that specific location.
While in a state of Chrono-Retrogression, it was impossible to leave the current regional boundaries.
His ability to freely travel between the First Universe and the Second Universe while in a state of Chrono-Retrogression was purely a bug... or rather, a special mechanism.
The solution was quite simple as well.
He just needed to leave someone at home to guard the base.
The next moment—
On the Doppelganger Radar screen, the Good Cat Civilization's army that had just emerged from the Wormhole and arrived in the Dead End Star System barely showed their faces before vanishing from the radar entirely.
Outside the Wormhole was not the Dead End Star System.
But rather...
An endlessly massive, gaping bloody maw.
The entire army, along with the Wormhole itself, was swallowed whole by Xiao Lu in a single gulp.
This was his solution.
With Xiao Lu watching the house, he would like to see who dared to come.
"It failed."
Inside the study, the leader of the Good Cat Civilization stared with an ugly expression at the information popping up on the screen. The assassination squad's mission had failed. The Human Civilization possessed a terrifyingly powerful giant starry sky beast.
Their army had only just arrived at the Dead End Star System before being swallowed in a single bite.
"Unacceptable!"
The Good Cat Civilization's leader stood up and glared at the assembly of generals on the screen, speaking in a heavy tone, "Dispatch another three assassination squads. We do not need the main force on the frontal battlefield. Send the main force to the Dead End Star System."
"You all saw it as well."
"Even our main military force cannot inflict any damage upon that train."
"That train's armor is highly likely Level 1000."
"The disparity is too immense."
"Our only chance of victory lies in reaching the Dead End Star System and attempting to obliterate the Human Civilization from the past timeline. The Dead End Star System spans a full 100,000 light-years in diameter. If we set the Wormhole exits to other regions and activate Chrono-Retrogression the instant we exit, that giant starry sky beast will not be able to catch up in time."
"Apologies, Leader. This plan is not feasible."
On the screen, a general clad in military uniform shook his head in denial.
"Why not?"
The general spoke with a solemn, heavy expression, "To create a Wormhole, we must ensure that both the entrance and exit are in a state of spatial stability. It is unknown what has happened to the Dead End Star System, but its interior and all surrounding regions are currently in a state of chaotic spatial instability. Under these conditions, it is impossible to open a Wormhole. There is only one stable region where a Wormhole can be established, but that region..."
"That is precisely where that giant starry sky beast is stationed."
"How was this achieved?" the leader of the Good Cat Civilization demanded. "How is it possible to plunge an entire star system's spatial regions into an unstable and chaotic state?"
"That is currently unclear. I will send personnel to investigate after the war."
"Forget about 'after the war'. If we lose this battle, there won't be an 'after the war'. You damned procrastinators."
The Good Cat Civilization's leader wore an ugly expression. "What about the second plan? How is the execution progressing there?"
The second plan.
Referred to...
Penetrating hundreds of light-years deep into the Dark Abyss, then activating Chrono-Retrogression to travel back 870,000 years to fire a high-level Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon toward the Dead End Star System. Over the vast passage of time, its destructive power would continuously compound and amplify until it finally struck the Dead End Star System.
Delivering a devastating blow to the Dead End Star System.
This was the true trump card of a Level 4 Civilization.
Though the resource consumption was immense, in a battle concerning the very survival of their civilization, there was no longer any need to pinch pennies over resources.
This method bypassed the need for a Wormhole leading directly to the Dead End Star System. By executing a long-range Spacetime-Transcending Strike, the attack would either be on the verge of arrival or have already struck the past timeline by the time the Human Civilization even noticed.
They couldn't aim with perfect precision yet. They only had a rough time estimate; exactly when it would hit was uncertain.
This was its first flaw.
Its second flaw was that traveling a mere 870,000 light-years wouldn't actually amplify the power of the Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon by all that much, making it unable to deliver a decisive, absolute final blow...
But—
At this point, this was their only remaining tactic.
Better to have it than nothing at all.
However...
"Apologies, Leader."
The general on the screen shook his head grimly once again. "This plan has also failed."
"The reason."
"The Human Civilization had long ago activated Chrono-Retrogression in the Dead End Star System to return to the past, and they fired 100 Level 500 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannons directly into the Dark Abyss. Since the main cannons possess built-in tracking capabilities, all the light cannons we fired were entirely intercepted by their cannons within the Dark Abyss."
"All three shots we have fired so far have been intercepted."
"Unless—"
"Unless we fire a total of 101 shots. That would bypass all interceptions and guarantee a single shot successfully reaches the Dead End Star System."
"Then do it! What are you waiting for?"
"We lack the resources."
The general shook his head once more.
"A single blast from a Level 500 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon requires a staggering 1,000 trillion units of iron ore."
"The three shots we already fired cost us 3,000 trillion units of iron ore. Coupled with the expenditures for Chrono-Retrogression, this has completely exhausted all our military's resource reserves. There are no surplus resources remaining."
The weapon consumption was preposterously expensive.
The Good Cat Civilization possessed the Level 500 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon, but they simply couldn't afford to use it. A single shot cost 1,000 trillion units of iron ore—how many Ore Stars would they have to mine just to scrape enough together for one blast?
Normally, firing at Level 100 or 200 was more than sufficient for standard combat operations. There was absolutely no need to utilize the Level 500 variant, which was strictly reserved as a last-resort trump card.
Even now, he couldn't wrap his head around it.
Where did the Human Civilization obtain so many resources to launch 100 simultaneous blasts? 100 shots from a Level 500 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon would consume a truly astronomical figure.
An unimaginable number.
If he were to grab the entire Good Cat Civilization, flip it upside down, and shake out its pockets, they still couldn't produce that many resources.
"..."
Hearing this, the Good Cat Civilization's leader turned ashen. He paused for a long while before asking hoarsely, "What if we don't fire Level 500 ones, and instead shoot Level 100 ones?"
"Infeasible. The travel distance is far too short at only 870,000 light-years, which does not grant the Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon much of a power boost. If the baseline is Level 100, the resulting impact would be even smaller. Even if it successfully hit the Dead End Star System, it would merely feel like a tickle."
"What I mean is, we use these lower-level main cannons to exhaust the Human Civilization's intercepting main cannons! Once their defenses are completely depleted, we fire a Level 500 cannon. How about that?"
As his voice fell.
The general on the screen remained silent for a long time before speaking. "Leader, when a low-level light energy main cannon collides with a high-level light energy main cannon, the lower-level side is directly annihilated. There is absolutely no possibility of exhausting the stronger attack."
"Actually—"
"This war can already be declared over."
"The Human Civilization chose to fire 100 Level 500 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannons into the Dark Abyss to defend against our attacks. They opted for defense, not offense. Their Chrono-Retrogression time point wasn't 870,000 years, but a number somewhere in between."
"It is just that..."
"Leader, have you ever considered that if the Human Civilization had chosen to attack and selected to use Chrono-Retrogression back to 870,000 years ago, those 100 Level 500 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannons would have already traveled for 870,000 light-years and slammed right into the heart of our civilization by now?"
"The moment that train escaped the black hole, the Good Cat Civilization was already defeated."
"My recommendation is..."
"Please, Leader, quickly gather a portion of our Good Cat Civilization's people and our remaining resources, and escape to another region via a Wormhole. In doing so, there might still be a sliver of hope to continue our civilization, saving us from..."
The next moment—
During the video conference, the general's feed on the screen suddenly went black. The feed was cut short; the signal was lost.
"Where is he?!"
The Good Cat Civilization's leader barked with a darkened face, "Why was the signal cut off?"
"Reporting to the Leader." On the screen, another general picked up a receiver, listened for a few seconds, and finally spoke. "The command star where General Qian was stationed was just blasted apart moments ago. He has sacrificed his life."
"That train has completely destroyed every single offensive line we sent out in our first wave."
"Furthermore, it has already begun to rapidly purge all of our armory planets."
"We cannot... withstand it."
"..."
The leader of the Good Cat Civilization slumped back in his chair, remaining silent for a long time. After a long while, he spoke softly, "I understand. Everyone, heed my orders. Take your families and resources, and proceed to the Weed Star at maximum speed. Prepare for evacuation."
Immediately following that.
He didn't waste another word. Pressing a button underneath his desk, he stood up, grabbed the coat draped over a nearby chair, and strode out the door.
The study door opened.
Outside was a tunnel forged from solid steel.
Both sides of the tunnel were lined with guards armed with firearms.
As a civilization developed, it invariably hypothesized many worst-case scenarios and prepared defensive contingencies. Evacuation was one such plan.
Every year during the census.
The Good Cat Civilization would always select a group of orphaned young boys and girls and bring them to the Weed Star. These children would serve as the final fireseed to carry on the civilization's legacy should they ever be forced into exile.
Traversing this long, gloomy tunnel.
The leader of the Good Cat Civilization reached the surface. The ground was entirely packed with trains. Vast armies and soldiers stood ready in the open plaza, fully equipped and prepared for action. This was an exceptionally terrifying military force, one with the might to challenge any Level 4 Civilization.
As a veteran Level 4 Civilization, he still possessed this foundational strength.
The tragedy was...
In the face of that train, all these foundations were akin to fragile bubbles, popping at the slightest touch.
Meanwhile, dozens of visible Wormholes had materialized in the sky above.
Swarms of armies and trains were pouring out from these Wormholes, landing on the planet and gathering together. He couldn't possibly take everyone. He could only take the Good Cat Civilization's military strength, the families and relatives of various officers, and haul away whatever resources they could carry.
This was all a civilization could manage to take during a desperate retreat.
They couldn't bring anything else.
The Good Cat Civilization's leader stood silently in place, looking ahead at the swelling crowd as more and more people arrived. At this moment, a trace of regret gradually welled up in his heart.
He...
Had been too arrogant.
Back when the Stellar Train had been trapped inside the black hole, he had assumed it was utterly impossible for the other party to escape.
If he had been a little more decisive back then, and directly launched an obliterating, apocalyptic strike upon the past timeline of the Dead End Star System, the Human Civilization would have undoubtedly perished.
The Human Civilization at that time possessed almost no means of resistance whatsoever.
In the end, he was simply too overconfident.
He never imagined that a train could possibly break free from a black hole's gravitational pull.
But—
Regret was meaningless now.
The reason he hadn't chosen that route back then was simply to save some resources. Could anyone really say he was wrong? If he ruthlessly pursued perfection in every single decision, imagine how many more resources would have been squandered along the way. How could the Good Cat Civilization have ever ascended to a Level 4 Civilization in that case?
It couldn't be helped.
It was just like how it was impossible for someone to test their meal with silver needles for poison before every single bite.
If one day your wife truly laced the food and you failed to notice...
Then if you died, you could only accept your fate.
He didn't believe he was in the wrong. This was merely an incredibly low-probability event, and he just had the horrific luck to run straight into it.
Destiny had ordained this calamity for him.
It was unavoidable.
It was just...
A flash of bewilderment crossed his eyes. Where could they escape to? The surrounding star systems were already occupied. To truly escape, they would undoubtedly have to flee millions of light-years away, out of the Human Civilization's radar range.
They could only head to those resource-barren non-system galactic zones.
The scraps of the universe.
These zones often contained no more than a single star and a handful of small planets, completely devoid of Ore Stars. After terraforming, they would only barely be able to sustain human survival.
They had no choice but to escape to such a place for now, waiting for an opportunity to fight their way back in the future.
As long as they survived.
There would always be hope.
Right at this moment—
He spotted a general amidst the crowd. It was the exact same general who had just informed him over the screen that General Qian had perished. Right now, he was also bringing his soldiers to assemble here, preparing to join the mass evacuation.
The Good Cat Civilization's leader frowned as he looked at the Refrigerator clutched tightly in the general's arms.
"You don't need to bring a Refrigerator while fleeing for your life, do you? Why don't you bring your microwave while you're at it?"
"This is not my personal Refrigerator."
"I captured it as spoils of war."
"Before leaving, we must at least tear off a chunk of his flesh. We need to let him know that we aren't to be trifled with."
The general spoke in a solemn and heavy tone.
"That train dispatched quite a few Shuttlecrafts. After we blew up several of them, we captured this Refrigerator from the wreckage of one Shuttlecraft. It is exceptionally sturdy—it can face-tank a main cannon without sustaining any damage. Finding it rather peculiar, I brought it back with me to slowly study after the war."