Chapter 357: I Beg You. |
"..."
Chen Mang smiled as he looked at Xiao Pangzi in front of him. He had met Xiao Pangzi many times through the Cyber Mine, but this was the first time seeing him in person. Seven years had passed, and the current Xiao Pangzi was vastly different from before.
Even...
He couldn't even be considered fat anymore.
There were visible traces of fitness training. He had gone from being purely obese to having a solid, sturdy build with a layer of muscle underneath the fat.
He had initially contacted Xiao Pangzi solely to gather information about the Naomi Civilization, but after interacting so many times, a hint of genuine friendship had gradually formed.
Immediately after...
The middle-aged man standing beside Xiao Pangzi appeared much more restrained. His voice was somewhat hoarse as he hesitated, "Are you the owner of that thing?"
Because of their existing friendship, Xiao Pangzi seemed relatively relaxed.
He had seen with his own eyes how the eerie anomaly that had once enveloped the entire Naomi Civilization was resolved across space by the person standing before him.
To this day!
He still remembered that incident clearly.
One day, everyone in the Naomi Civilization had suddenly looked up toward a certain point in the universe. It hadn't affected their daily lives, but the entire scene looked extremely bizarre, as if the gates of hell had been thrown wide open and grotesque horrors had spilled out from within.
And this exact incident had been resolved by the young man standing right here.
Even now, no one else in the Naomi Civilization knew about this. No one knew that their civilization had once experienced such a terrifying disaster. This was a cognitive alteration far more terrifying than simply modifying memories.
Across the entire civilization, only the few of them were aware of what had transpired.
And after that incident concluded...
This young man before him had left him with a few words.
-
"I have already solved the problem for you."
"Go back."
"Keep that Refrigerator safe. Do not lose it. It does not belong to you. Its owner will come to retrieve it in a few days. Rest assured, he will not harm you."
"Your life has only just begun at this moment."
"The Goddess of Fate has already taken back her demands. From now on, she will only offer you gifts, unconditional gifts."
-
Ever since then...
He had never again touched that Refrigerator he took out from the desk. Instead, he had sealed it inside a massive vault. Furthermore, he announced his semi-retirement, nearly fading from the public eye as he supported his son in taking over the empire he had built.
He knew his own limits best.
All his current achievements were entirely dependent on that Refrigerator. What kind of entity could the owner of the Refrigerator be? They were bound to be an incredibly terrifying existence.
Especially...
Right before this young man arrived, he had just received intelligence stating that the Civilization Federation had discovered a Wormhole suddenly appearing within their territory. The other end was located deep within the Dark Abyss, and the "Civilization Mark" imprinted inside the Wormhole belonged to a level-five civilization: Human Civilization.
Currently, the federal government was holding an emergency meeting, fully scanning to see if anything had emerged from the Wormhole.
They suspected that a civilization from the other side of the Dark Abyss had crossed the entire void and arrived.
Adding to the fact that Chen Mang had just arrived, even a fool could piece the clues together to reach an obvious conclusion.
An existence of this caliber.
If he hadn't known, it would have been fine. But since he did know, it was truly difficult for him to face Chen Mang with a normal state of mind, unlike his son.
"It's me,"
Chen Mang said, smiling as he looked at the Father of Xiao Pangzi. "But if you like it, there's no harm in leaving it with you. It's just a little toy. I only need to take away my Palace. My Palace was drawn here by this little toy."
At this time, Xiao Pangzi spoke up excitedly, "Master Mang, how about we head upstairs first? A banquet has been prepared."
"Alright."
Hearing Chen Mang's agreement, a hint of relief flashed through the eyes of Xiao Pangzi's father. The existence he had treated as his most precious treasure for so many years, the greatest secret he had never even let his son know about... turned out to be nothing more than a toy casually created by someone else?
He had originally thought that when Chen Mang said he wanted to retrieve his belongings, he meant taking away the Refrigerator. In the end, it was actually the Palace?
The owner of that Palace was actually Chen Mang?
If that was the case...
He recalled the few lines of text carved inside the Palace.
Time bows in submission here; space curls up here.
Karma is written here; fate is judged here.
Past and future both converge at this very moment.
All things will eventually return to silence; only this hall remains eternal.
"..."
The Father of Xiao Pangzi's expression gradually grew complex. If those lines were referring to Chen Mang, then Chen Mang might be even more terrifying than he had imagined. It was highly likely that he came from a top-tier civilization, perhaps even a god-level civilization!
After the banquet ended.
Chen Mang sent Xiao Pangzi away. Looking at the slightly apprehensive middle-aged man sitting across from him, he said softly, "Relax. Take me to see that Refrigerator."
"Okay."
The middle-aged man took a deep breath and slowly stood up. He led Chen Mang, Biao Zi, and the others from the living room into his study. After pressing a hidden mechanism on the bookshelf, the entrance to a pitch-black tunnel appeared on the floor.
From the outside, the entire building looked like a residential block, and the interior matched.
There was absolutely nothing luxurious about it.
Everything was as ordinary as could be.
If one had to point out something unusual, it would be that there was no one else living in this residential building. The entire block belonged exclusively to Xiao Pangzi's family.
"Master Mang, please!"
Following behind the middle-aged man, Chen Mang stepped into the tunnel and stood on a conveyor belt, rapidly descending deep into its recesses. The walls on both sides bore heavy traces of artificial excavation, and the interior was plated with thick steel, evidently boasting formidable defensive capabilities.
Even if a bomb exploded on the surface, the tunnel would not collapse.
Of course.
This only applied to small-scale ground warfare.
If a true civilization war were to break out, a single shot from an Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon would blow the entire planet to pieces. These steel plates would naturally be as useless as paper.
"Quite simple,"
Chen Mang chuckled as he looked around. Lighting a cigarette and leaning against the conveyor belt's handrail, he added, "The food was good. You've made so much money over the years, yet you keep your home so unadorned? Why not indulge a bit?"
"There's nothing much to indulge in,"
The middle-aged man replied in a low voice. "As long as my wife and children can live well, that's enough. No matter how wealthy one becomes, there is a ceiling to lifestyle improvements. Whether you have a net worth of ten billion or a trillion, the material life you lead doesn't change all that much."
"Even the most expensive things only cost so much."
"Spiritual richness is true wealth, and it has no limits."
"What's more..."
"The wealth I've accumulated over the years has entirely relied on that little toy of yours, Master Mang. After our last conversation, I figured it out. This fortune was never mine to begin with. I'm merely holding onto it temporarily."
"I have converted all of it into physical resources, storing it alongside the Refrigerator in the preservation vault. Now, it is time to return the items to their rightful owner."
"Hold on."
Chen Mang furrowed his brows slightly and raised a hand to interrupt the man. "I came on this trip with only one purpose: to see Xiao Pangzi and take back my Palace. I have no intention of ransacking your home. You might be underestimating my character."
"Over these past years..."
"I have always plundered civilizations. Since when does a mere merchant have the qualifications to be robbed by me? Your meager loose change wouldn't even cover my travel expenses to get here."
"Of course,"
"I know you are wealthy and have accumulated quite a fortune, but just leave that wealth to your son. Alright, say no more about it."
The middle-aged man hesitated slightly, seemingly wanting to say something else, but ultimately decided to remain silent. At that moment, the conveyor belt stopped. The man immediately stepped off and walked over to a massive vault door embedded in the wall.
After pressing his finger onto a flat panel on the surface of the door...
A green light flashed, and the sound of rotating gears gradually echoed out.
"It's right in here."
The vault door slowly opened, and what came into view was... an almost inexhaustible sea of iron ore. It filled the entire warehouse, stretching out endlessly like a vast ocean as far as the eye could see.
"..."
Having just stepped off the conveyor belt, Chen Mang stared at the scene before him and abruptly froze in his tracks. Although his expression remained perfectly composed, the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.
The warehouse itself was ten meters high.
The iron ore was piled up to a height of seven meters. It was a spectacular sight, looking much like a massive logistics distribution center. Most importantly, every single piece was high-grade Level 10 Iron Ore.
A single unit of Level 10 Iron Ore was equivalent to one billion regular units!
One thousand units meant one trillion.
To put it bluntly, even if this warehouse was only three meters deep, the ore piled here would total at least 8,000 to 9,000 trillion units of iron ore!
It was a truly astronomical figure!
And clearly, this place was far deeper than three meters.
Chen Mang felt momentarily speechless as he turned his head to look at the Father of Xiao Pangzi. For a moment, he didn't know what to say. The combined wealth he had plundered from the Extreme Evil Civilization and the Good Cat Civilization might not even surpass the contents of this single warehouse.
Was this old man really just a merchant?
He had seen people with wealth rivaling a nation, but this was the first time he had ever seen someone... whose wealth could rival an entire civilization.
He suddenly felt a twinge of regret for speaking so absolutely just moments ago.
However...
Words spoken were like spilled water. Even with so many resources on the line, he couldn't afford to embarrass himself by going back on his word right then and there.
After a long moment of silence, he simply lowered his head, lit a cigarette, and said softly, "Not bad."
At this moment...
The Father of Xiao Pangzi spoke up again, sounding slightly embarrassed. "The Naomi Civilization strictly forbids individuals from privately constructing high-level trains, and their control over Murphy Stones is exceptionally strict. I simply had nowhere to spend these resources, so all the wealth from these past years has basically just piled up."
"It's pretty much all here."
"If possible..."
"I was thinking, could I offer this wealth to you as a dowry, Master Mang?"
"A dowry?"
Chen Mang froze slightly, a glint of shock flashing through his eyes. This was far more shocking than the mountain of resources had been! "Is Xiao Pangzi actually a crossdressing girl?!"
"Wait!"
"It seems..."
"I don't think I've ever personally seen Xiao Pangzi's junk!"
"That really could be the case! But who the hell checks if the other person has a dick before making friends with them!"
"No, no,"
Xiao Pangzi's father hastily shook his head in denial. "That's not it. My son is a proper man. A few years ago, my wife and I had another child. It's a girl, naturally beautiful. I was thinking that perhaps..."
"How old is she?"
"Three years old."
"Good lord. She's only three and you're already trying to matchmake her?"
"She could be a child bride."
"No need."
Chen Mang shook his head. "I don't really like forcibly bound marital relationships. Let's drop the subject. Where is that Refrigerator of yours?"
"In the deepest part of the preservation vault."
"Let's take a look at the Refrigerator."
"Alright." The next moment...
Chen Mang watched helplessly as countless mechanical arms extended from the warehouse ceiling, grabbing massive chunks of iron ore and sending them toward a chute at the entrance. The iron ore then slid down the pipes and directly into a pocket at the very bottom.
That pocket was extremely compact, yet the space inside was unexpectedly vast.
It seemed like it could never be filled.
This sight was incredibly mesmerizing. As he watched, Chen Mang even seemed to grow addicted, his expression gradually spacing out. Under the AI's calculations, a screen outside the warehouse continuously displayed the real-time amount of resources being cleared out.
The Father of Xiao Pangzi seemed to be doing this on purpose.
He hadn't just cleared a simple pathway.
Instead, he was using the mechanical arms to grab every last bit of the resources in the warehouse and drop them into the Space Bag.
Finally, the outgoing resources halted at a terrifying number.
-
"29,800 trillion units of Iron Ore, 2,690 trillion units of Copper Ore, 980 trillion units of Titanium Crystal Ore."
-
"..."
Chen Mang took a deep breath and lit another cigarette. The warehouse was filled entirely with Level 10 Iron Ore; there wasn't a single piece of Level 9 ore to be found.
There were no loose fractions involved.
After wiping out the Extreme Evil Civilization, he had confiscated 7,892 trillion units of iron ore.
After wiping out the Good Cat Civilization, he had confiscated 9,000 trillion units of iron ore.
It didn't sound like a lot.
But...
That was the sum total of all the resource reserves gathered over the years by the strongest civilizations within the two largest galaxies across a million light-years!
To put it outrageously, one could even say that batch of resources was the total accumulation of wealth across this million-light-year span over countless years.
Adding them together gave a total of 16,892 trillion units of iron ore. This was basically his entire harvest over the past period!
And yet, right now!
The iron ore in this single warehouse had reached nearly 30,000 trillion, which was nearly double the combined amount of the Extreme Evil and Good Cat Civilizations!
This was far more than just rivaling the wealth of a nation.
"Phew..."
Chen Mang was finally starting to lose his calm. It was a temptation anyone would find hard to resist, and he too found it difficult, especially since the other party was actively thrusting it into his hands.
A man might be able to remain faithful in a relationship. He could refrain from taking the initiative to pick wild flowers while his marriage lasted, and reject flirtatious signals out of a sense of responsibility.
But if a flawless ten-out-of-ten beauty aggressively threw herself at him, guaranteeing no strings attached and promising she would never interfere with his normal life...
Then, in all likelihood...
The man would run even faster. In ninety-nine out of a hundred cases, this was a Honey Trap.
The analogy wasn't perfectly fitting, but the general sentiment was the same.
Finally...
Once all the resources had been cleared out, the Father of Xiao Pangzi stepped into the warehouse and pointed toward the Refrigerator sitting in the very center. "It's right here."
"..."
Chen Mang snapped out of his daze and also walked into the warehouse. He took in the lingering scent of iron ore in the air—truly the most intoxicating fragrance—and spotted the lone, solitary Refrigerator sitting in the corner.
Its appearance was very familiar.
It was his Refrigerator.
It was the one he had manufactured in the future. The Overlimit Effect didn't originate from a Primordial Blueprint of the Mechanical Civilization, but rather from a Primordial Blueprint developed by their own Human Civilization.
Pulling open the Refrigerator door...
Inside the door, there were still some messy, random items scattered about.
"These should be the Cosmic Taboo Items the Refrigerator collected recently. Ever since our last conversation, I haven't opened this Refrigerator again," the Father of Xiao Pangzi explained as he stepped forward and peered inside. But very quickly, his body went rigid with disbelief. He stared into the interior, completely incapable of uttering a single word.
He saw...
Right at this moment, inside the Refrigerator.
An elderly man was lying within. A male elder... whose facial features were completely identical to the Father of Xiao Pangzi!
There was still plenty of clutter inside the Refrigerator, and the bottom surface was littered with food scraps.
Immediately after.
Upon seeing Xiao Pangzi's father, Chen Mang, and the others, a flicker of relief and excitement flashed through the eyes of the old man lying in the Refrigerator. Just as he was about to say something, a jolt of pure terror surged into his eyes. He only had time to violently snap off one of his own teeth and throw it outside the Refrigerator.
The next moment!
The elderly man inside the Refrigerator abruptly exploded, bursting into a mist of blood.
At the exact same time.
The Father of Xiao Pangzi, standing right at the entrance of the Refrigerator, also suffered the exact same fate. His body exploded, and he died a sudden, violent death with eyes full of terror and confusion!
It took only a fraction of a second.
There was absolutely no time to react.
When the dust settled.
A faint stench of blood lingered in the air, and the ground was covered in pulverized flesh. He was dead beyond any shadow of a doubt. A Medical Pod would definitely be completely useless here.
"What's going on?!"
Chen Mang glanced around and touched the brooch on his chest, his expression gradually turning ugly. Xiao Ai informed him that the radar showed no entities attacking him nearby, and that the power fluctuation originated from that precise spot.
It was unclear who had killed the Father of Xiao Pangzi.
It was equally unclear why an identical Father of Xiao Pangzi had appeared inside the Refrigerator.
But he knew one thing right now.
He couldn't clear his name even if he had a hundred mouths. How was he supposed to explain this to Xiao Pangzi? If he claimed he wasn't the killer, would Xiao Pangzi even believe him?
Anyone would suspect that he had murdered him out of greed for the mountain of wealth, right?
At this moment.
He looked down at the "tooth" the old man inside the Refrigerator had thrown out before dying. Picking it up, he pinched it with a bit of force, crushing it to reveal a tiny microchip hidden inside. His face slightly grim, he activated his brooch and summoned the train.
He then tossed the chip to Xiao Ai as she stepped out of the train carriage.
"Decrypt the information on this chip."
"If Xiao Pangzi tries to come down, stop him. I haven't figured out how to explain this to him yet."
Following that, he took a deep breath, massaging his temples to soothe a budding headache. He glanced at the solitary Space Bag left isolated off to the side. It seemed incredibly lonely. This Space Bag contained a massive amount of resources.
He planned to hand these resources over to Xiao Pangzi later and tell him exactly what had happened here.
His main concern was...
That the Father of Xiao Pangzi might have actually been killed by him. Not the present him, but the future him...
But...
He felt that no matter how unhinged his future self might become, he wouldn't sink so low as to use a friend's family member as a pawn in some scheme, right?
Soon enough.
The information was decrypted.
Chen Mang stood exactly where he was, his frown deepening as he stared at the information displayed on the screen. The situation was growing more bizarre by the minute. Could Xiao Pangzi really handle this truth?
On the chip...
Was the dying message prepared well in advance by the old man in the Refrigerator.
And that old man, identical to the Father of Xiao Pangzi, wasn't a twin brother. He was the Father of Xiao Pangzi from the future.
There were only a few sentences.
Not many.
But the amount of information contained within was massive.
-
"Greetings, Master Mang. I am Xiao Pangzi's father."
"A Cosmic Taboo Item is a product that falls into a Time Fissure. It possesses a Present State and a Past State. There will come a fleeting instant where both the Present State and Past State exist within the same spacetime. And if, at that very moment, the two states meet..."
"...An incredibly terrifying explosion will occur."
"The intensity of the explosion is primarily determined by its volume. Secondarily, the amount of time traversed also slightly influences the blast."
"If it is a small item, the collision between the two will only produce a very weak explosion."
"But if the item is massive, the resulting explosion is catastrophic!"
"It was only then that I realized why you threw the Palace into a Time Fissure, Master Mang. However, I spent my entire life searching and never found a Time Fissure that massive."
"After you arrived at the Naomi Civilization, that was the first time I met you. I tried with all my might to persuade you to accept those resources, but you ultimately refused. After you left that time, I never saw you again."
"I also lost all contact with you."
"Except..."
"137 years after your departure, the Naomi Civilization perished. A Level 7 civilization annihilated the Naomi Civilization, which had just ascended to Level 6, with lightning speed. If the Naomi Civilization hadn't ascended to Level 6, perhaps this tragedy would never have happened."
"The federal government had been incredibly cautious, yet they still failed to detect that the Naomi Civilization was located right inside the territory of a Level 7 civilization."
"Before I died, I felt immense regret. If I had been a little bolder back then, shamelessly pestering you until you took those resources away, perhaps the Naomi Civilization could have obtained your protection. Perhaps my son wouldn't have died."
"My son died in battle."
"I refused to simply wait for death. After you left, I constantly researched Cosmic Taboo Items, and I made a significant breakthrough on one project. I found a way to turn a living human into a Cosmic Taboo Item."
"By doing this, I could speak with my past self, essentially creating a cure for regret!"
"At the brink of death, I modified myself into a Cosmic Taboo Item and voluntarily jumped into an appropriate Time Fissure, hoping to be captured by the Refrigerator you gifted me, Master Mang."
"The odds of this happening were extremely slim."
"The universe spawns countless Cosmic Taboo Items every day. I had no guarantee that I would definitely be caught by that specific Refrigerator."
"But it was my only remaining option."
"I did not know what the result would be."
"I only hope that if I truly managed to return to the past, you absolutely must accept that batch of resources. If possible... I beg you to protect the Naomi Civilization when it is within your power to do so."
"Even though the Naomi Civilization has many flaws, I love my civilization."
"I cannot bear to watch it perish."
"I beg you."
-
There was only this passage.
"..."
Staring at the tablet in his hand, Chen Mang fell into a complex silence, standing completely still without saying a word for a long time.
At this point.
He finally understood where that bizarre explosion had come from and why it had suddenly occurred despite the absence of any attacking force.
There was no enemy.
It was the inevitable explosion caused when the Present State and the Past State of a Cosmic Taboo Item collided.
The Father of Xiao Pangzi...
He had used this method to send information from the future back to the past.
In reality...
Just tossing this microchip directly into the Time Fissure should have achieved the exact same result, right? Perhaps, just before he died, Xiao Pangzi's father figured that since he was going to die anyway, he might as well jump in himself.
He just didn't seem to realize that while his Present State was doomed to die regardless of whether he jumped or not, his Past State could have lived for another 137 years.