Chapter 358: The Palace Appears in the World |
"..."
Chen Mang looked at the Space Bag placed beneath the mechanical arm nearby. It contained a massive amount of resources, far exceeding the combined total of the Extreme Evil Civilization and the Good Cat Civilization. This was all the wealth the Father of Xiao Pangzi had accumulated over the years, and he had left it all to him.
"Sigh."
After a long while, he let out a soft sigh.
Although he had figured out exactly what was going on, he still felt that the way these events unfolded was far too surreal. Besides, since the old man went through the trouble of returning, he could have at least brought back some other news so Chen Mang could know what would happen in the future.
However, in the future timeline, he had already lost contact with the Naomi Civilization for 137 years.
So, he couldn't have brought back any news about him anyway.
It was just that...
"..."
"The Naomi Civilization had no information about us for 137 years."
"Is there a possibility that shortly after we returned from the Good Cat Civilization... we perished?"
"This..."
Lao Zhu froze slightly. His first instinct was to offer some reassuring words, insisting that such a thing would never happen, but after some thought, he decided to tell the truth. "That is a possibility. After all, if we developed normally, it is impossible for the Naomi Civilization to go 137 years without hearing any news about the Human Civilization."
Chen Mang frowned deeply and remained silent. If that were the case, according to the established future, he would face a catastrophe. And the timing of that disaster had to be sometime after Doba, or rather the Goblin Clan, finished constructing The Palace.
It was highly likely that he would die in that very disaster.
And right before his death...
He threw The Palace into a Time Fissure.
Initially, he thought this was a method his future self used to help his present self develop rapidly. But looking at it now, it seemed more like... a method of Fighting to the Death?
Wait a minute!
He suddenly realized something.
When the Future State and Present State of a Cosmic Taboo Item collided, it would trigger a violent explosion. If the volume was small, it would result in a localized blast like the one that killed the Father of Xiao Pangzi. But if the volume was large, the resulting explosion would be exponentially more devastating.
And his Palace was larger than an entire planet.
When the Future State and Present State of The Palace met, the resulting explosion would be unknown and utterly terrifying. It might even rival a level 2000 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon!
He wasn't sure.
Without a point of reference, he couldn't even guess its approximate power, not unless he could obtain specific relevant data.
A moment later.
"Phew..."
Chen Mang let out a soft breath. He had roughly sorted out a lot of things. According to the normal established future, after leaving the Naomi Civilization, he would encounter an extremely terrifying crisis. He would likely even perish in this crisis, and the Stellar Train would be destroyed.
Although he had no idea what kind of crisis could possibly destroy the Stellar Train.
However—
At least one point in time was crucial: before The Palace was fully built by the Goblin Clan, he definitely would not encounter this crisis.
Building The Palace was no easy feat. Given the technological level of the Goblin Clan, it would still take a very, very long time. There was no need to rush this for now.
It was something far off in the future.
Furthermore!
In the established future, he hadn't taken these resources with him when he left the Naomi Civilization. This time, having acquired so much wealth, the train would become much stronger. The disaster that was originally supposed to put the train in peril might now be safely overcome.
Right at that moment!
Xiao Ai's voice suddenly echoed in his ear.
"Captain, I have good news. Over the past seven years, with the support of the train and their collaboration with the research center, the technological level of the Goblin Clan has significantly improved. According to Doba, many of the difficult problems in The Palace blueprints they submitted last time have been completely overcome."
"They have now entered the final stages."
"It is estimated that it will be completely finished in less than three months."
"..."
Chen Mang, who had just breathed a sigh of relief a moment ago, suddenly fell silent, his expression darkening. After a long pause, he muttered softly, "Is that supposed to be good news?"
"Is... is it not?"
Xiao Ai seemed a bit confused.
"I suppose it is."
Chen Mang sighed, picked up the Space Bag, and walked back down the tunnel the way he came, preparing to explain the general situation and reasoning to Xiao Pangzi.
Right now, he felt like a cancer patient who had just been handed a critical condition notice.
All he could do was sit back and wait for death.
In three months, the day The Palace was completed would be the exact turning point when the disaster was imminent.
At this point in time.
Even if he ordered a delay in the construction of The Palace, it would be utterly meaningless. It would be like Carving a Mark to Find a Sword. The completion date of The Palace was merely a rough temporal marker; there was no actual causal relationship between the disaster and the physical completion of the structure itself.
And according to the Father of Xiao Pangzi, this crisis most likely occurred when he left the Naomi Civilization and returned to the Dead End Star System.
Which meant...
"..."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes slightly. He seemed to have figured out a way to break this deadlock. This crisis was likely already brewing in the Dead End Star System right now. In other words, his recent actions near the Dead End Star System had drawn the attention of a higher-level civilization.
That advanced civilization had laid a trap for him.
As long as he went back, he would be met with total annihilation?
In that case...
In truth, this crisis in the established future could easily be avoided. All he had to do was temporarily refrain from returning to the Dead End Star System...
That is, assuming they didn't have the capability to attack his past timeline.
Xiao Lu was still in the Dead End Star System guarding his past timeline. Once that unknown advanced civilization killed Xiao Lu, it would be the end of him as well.
He had to go back.
He had to go back as quickly as possible.
Moreover, if possible, he needed to find a way to absolutely secure his past timeline as soon as possible, and then rush back at top speed. Using this time and the new batch of resources to upgrade the train once more, he could launch a preemptive strike and catch the enemy completely off guard.
This was the only path.
The only path to survival.
Blindly running away would just be courting death. Without his help, it was impossible for Xiao Lu to fend off an attack from an advanced civilization alone.
Soon—
While rapidly pondering all this, Chen Mang arrived back at the residential building. He handed the tablet to Xiao Pangzi and explained the entire sequence of events from beginning to end. Xiao Pangzi didn't speak, nor did he cry. He merely sat frozen on the floor, perfectly silent.
Clearly...
Just moments ago, his father had been perfectly fine. How did he turn into a bag of minced meat in the blink of an eye?
He believed that Chen Mang hadn't killed his father, and he believed that this was his father's own choice.
It was just too hard to accept in his heart.
He had only just mended his relationship with his father. They hadn't even spent a few days enjoying a peaceful life together, and now they were Separated by Life and Death.
Fate made fools of people, and it was always an unpleasant feeling.
A long while later.
With red eyes, Xiao Pangzi finally looked up at Chen Mang and forced a smile. "Boss Mang, I don't blame you. My father saved the Naomi Civilization. For the sake of his death, I beg you here and now to take these resources, and I hope that in a critical moment in the future, you will shelter the Naomi Civilization just once."
Chen Mang remained silent for a long time before replying, "Alright."
This time, he didn't decline.
Right now, he really did need these resources.
Xiao Pangzi also smiled, though there was a trace of sorrow in his expression. "It is a pity my father is already dead. Otherwise, if he knew about this down below, he would probably be very happy."
Upon learning of his father's death, Xiao Pangzi seemed to mature in an instant.
The passing of a family member ranked among the most sorrowful things in this world.
However—
In some respects, the loss of a loved one could also force a person to grow up rapidly.
Forced to stand on their own.
The wife of the Father of Xiao Pangzi had already retreated to her room alone, the faint sounds of her heartbroken sobbing drifting out.
"Down below...?"
Chen Mang paused for a moment, thinking of the Second Universe. But he quickly shook his head. Under those circumstances, it was impossible for a soul to remain intact. Still, after some thought, perhaps wanting to give Xiao Pangzi a glimmer of hope to live for, and not wanting this family to be forever shrouded in grief, he spoke up somewhat hesitantly.
"Do you know about the Second Universe?"
"It is the place a person goes after they die."
"Even though your father died in the First Universe, he isn't truly dead. He may have already gone to the Second Universe. It is just that drifting from the First Universe to the Second Universe takes time, and this time is completely random. It could take a second, or it could take a hundred million years."
"I am not sure when your father will arrive in the Second Universe."
"But—"
"I can tell you that I have the power to travel between the First Universe and the Second Universe. If you want, I can take you there for a visit. I also promise that whenever I have the chance, I will keep looking for your father in the Second Universe."
"It is just that the Second Universe is vast, so I definitely won't be able to find him immediately."
"What you need to do is this."
"Shoulder your father's responsibilities and take good care of your mother. That way, when you eventually pass away and reunite with your father in the Second Universe, he will be truly happy—especially when he learns that he successfully changed the future and the fate of both his civilization and his family."
He spent a little time explaining to Xiao Pangzi exactly what the Second Universe was.
He even let Xiao Pangzi board the Stellar Train and brought him along to a planet in the Second Universe. Upon seeing the existence of those starving ghosts, Xiao Pangzi finally believed that the Second Universe was real.
The sorrow etched between his brows faded significantly.
It was replaced by a surge of renewed motivation.
This wasn't a permanent farewell, but a temporary separation.
"Alright!"
Back in the residential building, Xiao Pangzi's eyes were brimming with drive. He looked at Chen Mang and smiled. "Boss Mang, I know you have major things to handle, so you go ahead and busy yourself. My father left ninety percent of his resources to you, but the remaining ten percent is more than enough to keep our current businesses running. I believe I can make my father's enterprise even bigger."
"Mm. That Refrigerator is yours to keep."
"Thank you, Boss Mang."
After parting ways.
Chen Mang left the residential building, boarded the Stellar Train, and concealed himself in the pseudo-fourth-dimensional space. Sitting inside the train cabin, he remained silent for a long time before letting out a soft sigh.
He really couldn't bear to see that expression on Xiao Pangzi's face.
So, he had no choice but to tell a white lie.
Having hope was always better than having none.
Even if that hope was false.
The Father of Xiao Pangzi had transformed himself into a Cosmic Taboo Item and triggered an explosion through the collision of his Present State and Past State. Under those circumstances, it would be a damn miracle if his soul had remained intact!
It was almost one hundred percent certain that he hadn't made it to the Second Universe.
Utterly dead.
Erased in the truest sense of the word.
But right at that moment—
Xiao Ai's voice suddenly rang out inside the train: "Captain, I have analyzed the data detected during the explosion just now. There was a faint spatial fluctuation, and that fluctuation occurred after the blast."
"I have seen that kind of spatial fluctuation before."
"When a living being dies, there is a chance this spatial fluctuation will occur. It is the signature of a soul returning to the Second Universe..."
"Which means—"
"It seems the soul of the Father of Xiao Pangzi really did go to the Second Universe."
"How is that possible?"
Chen Mang furrowed his brow and asked, "Although an explosion of that magnitude wasn't very powerful, it was a taboo detonation governed by cosmic laws. Wouldn't that kind of explosion destroy the soul?"
If a normal human had been killed by a conventional bomb of that yield, their soul would most likely remain completely unscathed.
"Theoretically, yes," Xiao Ai continued, sounding somewhat puzzled. "But the Father of Xiao Pangzi had two souls. Although they were technically two individuals, their souls were fundamentally identical."
"Since my database contains no historical precedents for this kind of event, I am not entirely sure what happened. I can only roughly determine that some unimaginable phenomenon occurred, allowing the soul of the Father of Xiao Pangzi to remain whole."
"Moreover, both souls remained fully intact and actually merged into one."
"Before traveling to the Second Universe together."
Hearing this, Chen Mang was completely dumbfounded.
"What happens then? Does one plus one equal two?"
"I am not sure."
"But one thing is certain: Xiao Pangzi really does have a chance to see his father in the Second Universe, and the probability is actually quite high."
"..." Chen Mang's mouth twitched slightly. This was completely outside his realm of knowledge. "This isn't a normal situation, is it?"
"It is highly abnormal."
"Preliminary deductions suggest that the cosmic laws divided the taboo entity into four distinct parts—"
"The physical body of the Father of Xiao Pangzi in his Past State, and his physical body in his Present State."
"The soul of the Father of Xiao Pangzi in his Past State, and his soul in his Present State."
"When all four collided together..."
"The physical bodies exploded."
"And the souls fused."
"..."
Chen Mang looked up at The Palace hovering overhead, completely enveloping the entire planet. He felt a bit better now. Otherwise, he would have been plagued by the feeling that he was the one who had gotten the Father of Xiao Pangzi killed. Surviving in the Second Universe was still surviving; as long as one was 'alive', there was always hope.
As long as he eventually found the Father of Xiao Pangzi, he could bring him back to the First Universe at any time.
It was essentially a form of resurrection.
And right now, the most crucial thing for him to do was to explore The Palace.
Then, he looked down at the bronze key in his hand. The Father of Xiao Pangzi had given it to him. This was the first Cosmic Taboo Item to manifest after The Palace appeared. Suspecting that this bronze key might be connected to The Palace, the older man had kept it safe until he finally met Chen Mang and handed it over personally.
Getting into The Palace was very simple.
While the Father of Xiao Pangzi was still alive, he had used his connections to procure a laboratory green card for him. This allowed him to openly bypass the guards at the entrance of The Palace and enter legally as a researcher of the Naomi Civilization.
When the train landed at the entrance to The Palace.
The scene before his eyes was incredibly breathtaking.
The first thing that caught his eye were nine unbelievably massive pillars.
This Palace was comparable in size to a planet, and its mass far exceeded one. Taking it in at a glance, the oppressive aura it emanated shook him right to his core. The colossal Stellar Train looked utterly insignificant standing before it.
The train was currently tearing across the ground near the entrance of The Palace.
Those nine pillars were covered in totemic patterns. They were so enormous and sharp that they could be clearly seen with the naked eye even from a vast distance.
Furthermore, there seemed to be some sort of advanced technology operating inside The Palace.
Despite the extreme distance, his vision was crystal clear.
"..."
Sitting in the train cabin, Chen Mang pushed the control stick forward, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the gradually approaching entrance of The Palace. Suddenly, he grew a little curious. "Xiao Ai, are Doba and the others really close to finishing the construction of The Palace?"
"What kind of materials did they use?"
"With this much material required, they would have had to hollow out several planets. And how did they design a power source capable of supporting this entire Palace?"
"Is the technology of the Goblin Clan really at this level already?"
Only seven years had passed!
Wasn't this progress a little too fast?
Xiao Ai's voice soon echoed through the cabin: "Reporting to the Captain, I am not entirely sure of the specifics. I am currently querying Doba. However, I do know a little. Seven years ago, they requested a batch of Cyber Miners."
"Many of the materials were acquired through the Cyber Mine."
"Besides, the Goblin Clan is inherently skilled in architecture and construction."
Immediately after.
Xiao Ai paused for a moment before speaking again. "Doba has shared his database with me. Ninety-nine percent of the materials used possess 'growth properties.' Their original base forms were nowhere near this large."
"The Goblin Clan adopted a modular approach to construct the entire Palace. According to the blueprints, it was divided into exactly 999,999 modules. Once these nearly one million modules were assembled, they formed The Palace."
"The primary material is called Star Dust Clay."
"This is a very special material. When exposed to abnormal time fluctuations, it continually grows, drastically increasing in size while also becoming incredibly durable."
"The Goblin Clan obtained the Star Dust Clay through the Cyber Mine. Then, taking advantage of their innate racial ability to ignore the time dilation effects inside a Time Fissure, they carried the Star Dust Clay inside. They allowed the clay to grow to a massive size before bringing it back out to insert into the modular framework, forming a piece of The Palace."
"Also..."
Xiao Ai passionately rattled off a mountain of information.
Chen Mang only understood about half of it. Without hesitation, right after the train passed through the checkpoint at the entrance of The Palace, he stopped delving deeper. Instead, he parked the train right there and headed toward Water Blue Star, intending to see Doba's progress and methods with his own eyes.
When Chen Mang arrived at Water Blue Star...
He was immediately met with an astonishing sight.
In the void just beyond Water Blue Star's atmosphere, a gigantic foundation floated in space. Countless trains were constantly shuttling back and forth between the planet's surface and the cosmos. A myriad of Gophers stood on this colossal base, operating mechanical arms and various other heavy machinery.
They were taking massive stone blocks and other 'modular' components and, following the blueprints, slotting them directly into their corresponding positions.
The entire scene looked exactly like they were putting together Lego bricks.
At a glance...
Hundreds of trains were weaving back and forth, and millions of Gophers were bustling about.
"Wait? Where did all these Gophers come from?"
Chen Mang looked utterly bewildered. He suddenly wondered if he had neglected the situation inside his train for too long.
The last time he visited the Goblin Clan, there had only been a few hundred Gophers.
How were there millions of them this time?
Where the hell did these millions of Gophers pop out from!
Could Gophers give birth to hundreds of thousands of babies in a single litter?
Xiao Ai's voice sounded in the train once again.
"The Goblin Clan opted to breed inside the Time Fissure, which drastically accelerated their reproduction rate. At present, the Goblin Clan boasts a population of nearly ten million. They are already considered a major race on Water Blue Star."
"Don't Gophers ignore the time dilation effects inside a Time Fissure?"
"They mostly ignore it, but not completely."
Chen Mang nodded slightly. He recalled the time back when they were still on Water Blue Star. Back then, they encountered their first Time Fissure. When a normal person entered, a few seconds on the outside equated to decades on the inside. But when Doba entered, after a short while passed outside, Doba only felt like a few months had gone by.
In that sense.
It was indeed possible to use a Time Fissure to let the Goblin Clan rapidly multiply.
"A Time Fissure appeared on Water Blue Star?"
"Yes. To be precise, Time Fissures have appeared on dozens of planets. The rate of time dilation varies for each one. The Time Fissure on Water Blue Star just happens to be the largest, with the highest ratio of time dilation."
"This is a lingering effect caused by the gravitational interference from the black hole the train encountered last time."
"Where is it?"
"Right over there."
Chen Mang looked in the direction Xiao Ai pointed. Right beside the foundation of The Palace, an enormous Time Fissure loomed in the void. He had never seen a Time Fissure this massive; it was easily large enough to swallow an entire planet.
It was more than big enough to fit The Palace inside.
"..."
Chen Mang remained silent, a complex look washing over his face.
Suddenly, a lot of things made sense.
He finally understood how his future self managed to find a Time Fissure large enough to stuff The Palace into. Over the past seven years, so many things had transpired inside the train without his knowledge.
"Ask Doba what the deal is with that safe he designed, and how to open it."
"Understood."
According to the intelligence from the Naomi Civilization...
The Naomi Civilization had discovered a safe inside The Palace. It had no keyhole and was shaped like a perfectly sealed cube, almost like a solid block of steel. Furthermore, it was absurdly sturdy; even blasting it with the Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon wouldn't scratch it.
He thought...
Perhaps there was something inside this safe that could help him.
It definitely wasn't an item that would instantly guarantee victory.
If it was something that could resolve the crisis entirely on its own, his future self wouldn't have bothered throwing it back in time—he would have just used it to survive the disaster. But one thing was certain: it was undeniably something that could boost his strength.
Before long—
Xiao Ai's voice rang out inside the train once again.
"Captain."
"Doba... says he didn't design any safe."
"Mm."
Chen Mang nodded slightly and said nothing more. Since this safe wasn't designed by Doba, he must have been the one who made it. Once he saw it with his own eyes, everything would become clear.
Chen Mang departed from Water Blue Star.
He returned to the version of The Palace located in the Naomi Civilization and drove the train deeper inside.
The interior of The Palace was unimaginably colossal.
It contained exactly 99 districts, each with its own designated function. For example, there was the Breeding District, which was meant for housing poultry and livestock, and the Botanical District, designated for cultivating all sorts of rare and extinct plants from across the cosmos.
How did he know all this?
Simply because there was a sprawling floor plan right at the entrance of The Palace, detailing the functions of all 99 districts in absolute clarity.
However—
It seemed that after The Palace was completed, it was tossed in here before it could ever be officially put to use. At the very least, he had driven through several districts back-to-back without spotting a single trace of usage.
The so-called Botanical District was completely empty; there wasn't even a speck of dirt.
The entirety of The Palace was absurdly clean.
It was currently unclear whether everything had been scrubbed clean when it was tossed into the Time Fissure, or if it had just never been used in the first place.
The Palace was incredibly massive.
Even so, the Stellar Train rapidly blitzed through all the districts, speeding relentlessly toward the central core. And this was the result of actively trying to slow down. After all, no matter how immense The Palace was, that was only in comparison to normal buildings.
His Stellar Train was a vessel built to voyage through the cosmos.
At the Stellar Train's top speed—one-third the speed of light—crossing the entire Palace at full throttle would take merely the blink of an eye. The price, of course, would be smashing the entire structure to pieces.
The area he was heading toward was the absolute core.
The Palace King District.
This was the residential zone Doba had designed specifically for him. The safe had also been discovered in this very district.
Along the way.
He didn't see anyone in the other districts.
But when he arrived at the Palace King District, he saw quite a few figures wearing white lab coats gathered together. Hearing the commotion caused by the Stellar Train, they all turned their heads to look. However, upon seeing the research institute's banner painted on the train cars, they retracted their gazes.
They were certainly curious as to which research institute had the funding and capabilities to build such an extraordinary-looking train.
The five Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannons mounted on top of the cars spoke volumes.
Even if an ordinary train crew could afford to build them, they wouldn't be able to afford the energy to fire them.
Still, they didn't pay it too much mind.
After all, there were countless research institutes in the Naomi Civilization. Many of them operated in total anonymity, dedicating themselves to painstaking research. It was perfectly normal to run into one they hadn't heard of.
Soon enough.
The researchers simply minded their own business and resumed their work.
Driving hover cars.
They shuttled back and forth through every corner of the district, utilizing highly advanced instruments to uncover hidden information, refusing to overlook a single engraved pattern or the gap between two bricks.
"..."
Chen Mang led Biao Zi and the others off the train, physically setting foot inside The Palace for the very first time.
Doba's design for The Palace was quite interesting.
There was no second floor.
Only a single, sprawling ground floor.
This resulted in incredibly high ceilings—ceilings that towered higher than mountains. Coupled with exceptionally smooth air circulation and brilliant interior lighting, standing inside The Palace didn't feel the least bit oppressive. One wouldn't even feel like they were inside a building; it felt like standing in the middle of nature itself.
The downside was that its spatial utilization was horribly inefficient.
The upside was...
It was utterly breathtaking. The visual impact was simply beyond description.
The highest form of architectural art always lay in the sheer luxury of wasted space.
Only through the ultimate waste of space could one achieve the ultimate sense of awe.