Chapter 362: "Will They Fall For It?" |
The other party had now lost all information about him.
Originally, they were in the light and he was in the dark.
Now, things were different.
The roles of offense and defense had switched.
He was in the dark, and they were in the light.
Most importantly—
The enemy had lost every possible means to keep him in check. As long as he didn't attract the attention of that Level 7 civilization, this Level 6 Green Mountain Civilization was completely powerless against him.
As for now...
He still needed to wait.
—
"Progress: 1.7%. Estimated time remaining: 287 days."
The Doppelganger Radar component did not merely expand his field of vision; it also shared synergistic effects with many other train components, such as the Train Auxiliary AI.
The AI could acquire the database information of all deceased AIs within the radar's range over a certain period of time.
His current radar range spanned 100 million light-years.
With such an enormous range, the time required to extract this data naturally increased. Even a Level 1000 AI needed a full 287 days to complete the task.
"..."
Chen Mang looked with slight hesitation at the Stellaris Train's current resources. He only had 7.9 quadrillion units of iron ore left, which was not even enough to form a single Background Unit.
This amount was getting a bit low.
He still needed to set aside some reserve ammunition. Although he possessed the Stellar Cabin, firing a Level 2000 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon still cost 100 trillion units of iron ore per shot. It was not a small sum, but it was sufficient.
Information was crucial.
It could not be delayed.
The next moment—
After consuming 500 trillion units of iron ore, the Train Auxiliary AI was directly upgraded to Level 2000. The cost was much smaller than he had anticipated.
Xiao Ai was simply too powerful, so powerful that it made him forget the Train Auxiliary AI was essentially just a green-grade component.
It was not a Prismatic-grade component.
Upon reaching Level 2000, her Computing Power saw a massive boost. The progress bar that originally required 287 days was instantly shortened to just 11 hours.
"That's enough,"
Chen Mang chuckled softly as he looked at the newly emerged Overlimit Effect.
—
"Train Auxiliary AI Level 2000 Overlimit Effect: Computing Power is massively increased. The level limit for simulating the Overlimit Effects of Primordial Blueprints is raised to Level 2000. Furthermore... it can hack into all AIs of a lower level than itself and seize complete control, provided they are within a one-light-year radius."
—
If the Level 200 Overlimit Effect was considered a Divine Level Extraordinary Effect that brought about a qualitative change...
Then the Level 2000 Overlimit Effect was a heaven-and-earth transformation, a difference as vast as the sky and the ground.
They were simply not on the same dimensional plane.
Being able to directly hack into all AIs of a lower level meant...
He wouldn't even need to expend a single ounce of ammunition.
He could effortlessly annihilate all hostile trains.
This overwhelmingly powerful Overlimit Effect brought him inner joy, but it also stirred a faint sense of apprehension. If a Level 2000 Overlimit Effect was already this formidable, a Level 5000 one would likely be even more terrifying. Although upgrading to that level would cost an astronomical amount of Murphy Stones, there was no guarantee that those god-tier civilizations did not possess such vast reserves.
Before his strength reached a certain threshold, he absolutely had to keep a low profile.
Otherwise, he could easily be crushed and erased by a higher-dimensional strike.
At the very least, he needed to ascertain his enemies' true strength before initiating a war.
The next moment—
The Stellaris Train vanished from its spot. Using the Refrigerator, it appeared on the outskirts of the Dead End Star System. It then generated a short-distance, one-way, disposable Wormhole spanning 1,899 light-years, arriving directly 0.7 light-years behind the fleet of trains guarding the exterior of the Dead End Star System.
That fleet, consisting of exactly seven trains, was dispatched by the Green Mountain Civilization.
Through some unknown method, they had completely sealed off all space in this sector of the Dead End Star System.
If he hadn't been able to use the Refrigerator to travel outside the Dead End Star System and then use a Wormhole to jump behind this convoy, getting out of the Dead End Star System would have been quite difficult. It truly was a miraculous technique.
"It's a bit of a pity,"
Chen Mang murmured in a slight daze as he looked at the fleet of trains on the control console screen.
In his earlier years.
He hadn't realized just how absurdly powerful the Refrigerator's Level 200 Overlimit Effect truly was, which was why he hadn't been overly secretive about it. If someone possessed an intimate understanding of his civilization, they could keenly deduce this fact.
That particular Overlimit Effect was not a Universe-Unique OP Effect.
Other civilizations also had a chance to obtain it.
There were two reasons why none of the civilizations he had encountered thus far possessed this method. First, a civilization undergoing normal development would not waste its resources to upgrade a Refrigerator. Second, even if they did upgrade a Refrigerator, they wouldn't necessarily trigger this exact Overlimit Effect.
However—
Level 4 and 5 civilizations definitely lacked the resources for such experiments, but Level 6 civilizations were a different story. They were not short on resources.
Once a Level 6 civilization realized a Refrigerator could possess such an Overlimit Effect, they could recreate the Refrigerator's Primordial Blueprint and repeatedly rescreen its Overlimit Effects until they also acquired this exact capability.
It was a bit of a pity that he couldn't hold a monopoly on it.
But fortunately, he was at least one step ahead of the rest.
Immediately after.
Without any hesitation, his voice slowly echoed through the train, "Xiao Ai, make your move."
"Understood."
The next moment!
The internal video feeds of all seven trains appeared in a split-screen layout on the console. Xiao Ai had directly seized complete control over their systems. If he wanted to, he could instantly activate their internal fire control systems and eradicate everyone aboard those seven trains.
No one ever put up defenses inside their own train; it would be a completely one-sided massacre.
However...
He chose not to do that.
He merely instructed Xiao Ai to transmit all the information from those trains' databases back to the Stellaris Train, covertly delete the access logs, and return control to them without anyone noticing.
Even the AIs of those trains were completely oblivious to what had just transpired, let alone their captains.
This was a total, overwhelming victory in information warfare.
He wouldn't alert the enemy just yet. If he was going to strike, he had to completely wipe out the entire Green Mountain Civilization in one fell swoop.
Since these seven trains were all military vessels, their databases contained a wealth of vital information. For example, the majority of the Green Mountain Civilization's strategic deployments and details regarding their foundational superweapons.
A civilization.
An advanced civilization was bound to possess its own foundational superweapons.
At lower Civilization Levels, everyone's superweapons were generally the same, such as Chrono-Retrogression. But at higher levels, civilizations developed their own unique foundational weapons, much like his Divine Silence, which ignored all defenses and guaranteed a hit.
Acting rashly without first understanding these variables could easily lead to a disastrous failure or result in the enemy dragging him down with them in their dying breath.
His luck was quite good.
These trains were part of a rather large military formation. The lead train belonged to the commander of the Third Army within the Green Mountain Civilization's Expeditionary Force.
The Expeditionary Force was the military branch responsible for the Green Mountain Civilization's external conquests. It possessed the greatest combat strength and enjoyed the most abundant logistics and resources. Consisting of eight armies in total, the one before him was the Third Army. Though it comprised only seven trains, none of these seven trains were ordinary.
First, their main cannons.
They were not Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannons, but a type of Prismatic-grade firepower component he had never seen before called the "X-Cannon."
Every single one of them was at Level 1000.
Moreover, their energy shields were uniformly Level 500.
This was by no means a low level.
Most importantly...
They carried a massive stockpile of ammunition.
Across these seven trains, they held a total of 12 Background Units of iron ore just for ammunition. It was an outrageously staggering amount, equivalent to the entire net worth of four of Xiao Pangzi's fathers.
And this was merely a single army within the Green Mountain Civilization's Expeditionary Force!
"They sure are rich,"
Chen Mang murmured, his eyes flickering with a greedy light. While he knew a Level 6 civilization would be vastly wealthier than a Level 5 one, he never expected them to be wealthy to this extreme extent.
Of course—
He was well aware that firing a single full-power shot from a Level 1000 Prismatic-grade weapon cost 10 Background Units of iron ore. Therefore, out of those 12 Background Units of iron ore, 10 of them were most likely permanent emergency reserves that would not be used lightly.
Using them would strictly require official application and approval.
Only the remaining 2 Background Units of iron ore ammunition could be used freely.
Even so, it was absolutely terrifying.
This was the equivalent of a nuclear submarine diving into the deep ocean while armed to the teeth with nuclear warheads.
Truth be told.
He was truly tempted to swallow up this batch of resources right now before heading to the Green Mountain Civilization. But in the end, he suppressed that impulse. If he was going to eat, he would go for the biggest meal possible!
Once he swallowed the Green Mountain Civilization whole and consumed all of their resources, he wouldn't just advance to a Level 6 civilization; he might even have the confidence to challenge the Level 7 civilization ruling this territory!
Time for a meeting!
Outside the Dead End Star System.
The Stellaris Train was practically right next to the enemy army, yet the opposition remained completely unaware of its presence.
Inside the train car.
Chen Mang swept his gaze across everyone's faces and presented the core topic of the meeting. "How can we destroy all of the Green Mountain Civilization's active resistance forces as quickly as possible without using a Two-Way Foil, while preserving their resources to the maximum extent?"
If it came down to a direct assault.
It was actually extremely simple.
He could appear at the core of the Green Mountain Civilization completely undetected, drop a single Two-Way Foil, and the war would essentially be over.
But that would be a war with zero profit.
All of the resources he coveted would be reduced to a two-dimensional state alongside the Green Mountain Civilization.
Yet, if he didn't use this method...
He wouldn't be able to obliterate all of their active forces instantly, which meant he would face a horrifying counterattack. Or, even worse, the enemy might destroy all of their resource vaults right before they were wiped out.
"Ahem..."
Old Zhu cleared his throat, taking the lead as he looked at the tablet in his hands. "Currently, we know that the Expeditionary Force has the authority to deploy four types of foundational superweapons."
"They are—"
"Two-Way Foil, Expanding Black Hole, Spatiotemporal Chaos, and Chrono-Retrogression."
"The Two-Way Foil doesn't pose much of a threat to us. We can completely abandon the territory of the Dead End Star System. Preserving this region isn't a strict necessity for us."
"If we lose the land but keep our people, we can eventually regain both. If we keep the land but lose our people, we will lose both in the end."
"The Expanding Black Hole is another method of territorial destruction. The Green Mountain Civilization possesses a unique technique to artificially transplant a black hole directly into the Dead End Star System, causing catastrophic damage."
"The same applies to Spatiotemporal Chaos. It can induce absolute temporal and spatial disarray within a specific area. For example, from my perspective, only three days might have passed, but to someone else, it could feel like three years. Everyone's perception of time and space becomes entirely warped. It doesn't actually alter time and space itself, but rather rewrites everyone's cognition. It's similar to a 'Cognitive Bomb'."
"Like the 'Lighthouse Curse' that the Naomi Civilization once endured."
"There's no need to elaborate on Chrono-Retrogression. It simply involves annihilating a region's past timeline, thereby causing devastating destruction to its current timeline."
"These four methods."
"They are all foundational superweapons designed to inflict colossal damage on a territory. As long as we are willing to abandon the Dead End Star System, we have nothing to fear from the first three. Only the last one poses a real issue."
"..."
Chen Mang pondered for a moment before speaking up. "Xiao Ai, synchronize the train's current strength stats for everyone to see."
Soon after—
After reviewing the train's current power levels, Old Zhu looked up at Chen Mang with a dazed expression. "Lord Mang... has the train really evolved this quickly?"
"If this is accurate, then we don't even have to fear that last weapon."
"We..."
"We seem to be invincible now."
"Is there even a point to having this meeting anymore? We should just charge straight in and crush them with the force of a thunderbolt."
"Captain Zhu."
Biao Zi spoke up with a hint of exasperation. "What Lord Mang means is how exactly we should suppress them. The train currently lacks a strong, definitive suppression method. If we use a Two-Way Foil, all the resources will vanish. The objective is to destroy the Green Mountain Civilization's active forces as quickly as possible while ensuring the resources are preserved."
"That seems nearly impossible."
Old Zhu thought it over for a moment before shaking his head. "If we don't use the Two-Way Foil, the moment the Green Mountain Civilization realizes they're under attack, they'll immediately launch a counteroffensive. That process alone will burn through massive amounts of resources."
"And if they realize they simply can't win..."
"They'll either detonate all their resource vaults before facing destruction, or pack everything up and attempt to flee, just like the Good Cat Civilization."
"Oh, right."
Old Zhu suddenly struck a thoughtful expression. "Or perhaps we could force the Green Mountain Civilization into taking that exact step? When they pack up all their resources and try to run, we appear and capture everything in one fell swoop, exactly like what happened with the Good Cat Civilization."
"But then we're back to square one," Biao Zi sighed helplessly. "Without resorting to something like the Two-Way Foil, you can't push them to that point of desperation. They will always believe they have a fighting chance. And once it devolves into a war of attrition, those resources will drain away like running water."
"But if we use the Two-Way Foil, everything is gone."
"Not to mention..."
"We still don't even know if the Green Mountain Civilization has a method to defend against a Two-Way Foil."
"That's not exactly right either," Old Zhu chimed in again.
Sitting quietly in the train, Chen Mang patiently listened to their debate. Although many of their suggestions were impractical, the clash of ideas sparked plenty of inspiration within him.
His current strength was stuck in an awkward transitional phase.
If he were a bit weaker, he wouldn't even have to deliberate on this matter—he would just turn tail and run, or fight a desperate battle to the death.
If he were a bit stronger, he could just suppress them with overwhelming might and claim absolutely everything.
Being trapped in this awkward middle ground...
Meant he had to start making compromises.
He truly couldn't bear the thought of watching resources that rightfully belonged to him go up in smoke during a drawn-out war. It was all just a massive waste.
"Should we try... besieging a stronghold to strike at their reinforcements?"
Xiao Ai hesitantly proposed, "How about we first swallow up the resources of this stationed army? Then, as the Green Mountain Civilization continuously dispatches reinforcements, we devour them one by one. Finally, by the time the Green Mountain Civilization realizes what's happening, we charge straight into their core territory."
"Will they fall for it?"
Chen Mang frowned and asked, "A Level 6 civilization has countless brilliant tacticians. Would they really make such an amateur mistake?"
"Let's test it out."
Once they reached a consensus.
Chen Mang stopped overthinking it. Many things could not be figured out just by sitting and pondering; answers were only found by taking action and constantly adapting along the way.
The next moment—
The Stellaris Train rapidly leaped through a Wormhole. It concealed the information of its components and purposely avoided using its tyrannical "seize AI control" ability, fearing it might terrify the subsequent reinforcements into fleeing.
Instead, it relied purely on the raw mechanical strength of the train itself.
Continuously firing its Level 700 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon.
After a bitter battle that dragged on for a full ten minutes, it barely managed to swallow up the seven enemy trains.
A total of 10.6 Background Units of iron ore were seized as spoils.
The final enemy train had already been charging up, ready to burn 10 Background Units of iron ore to fire its Level 1000 main cannon. He had to urgently seize control of that train's AI to halt the launch.
It wasn't merely because his heart ached for the wasted iron ore.
More importantly, if word got back that his train could face-tank a Level 1000 main cannon shot unharmed, he was terrified it would scare off the incoming reinforcements.
The universe remained dead silent.
This rapidly concluded skirmish failed to attract the attention of any other civilizations. Through intercepting the data transmissions sent back by those trains, Chen Mang felt a faint sense of satisfaction. He had tried his hardest to conceal the identity of the Stellaris Train, and it seemed he had succeeded.
The message the enemy had transmitted back read:
It contained no mention whatsoever of the Stellaris Train.
Rather...
"An unknown civilization's train has launched a surprise attack on our forces. Their strength is overwhelming and unstoppable. Requesting backup... requesting backup..."
"Excellent."
Chen Mang nodded, thoroughly pleased. A Level 6 civilization absolutely possessed zero-latency communication methods. The message should have already reached the Green Mountain Civilization by now. All he had to do next was sit back and wait for the reinforcements to arrive.
However—
"Wait!"
Chen Mang suddenly stared at the Doppler Radar map in sheer bewilderment. He watched as the Green Mountain Civilization moved at breakneck speed to completely... seal off the space surrounding its entire territory, as well as the neighboring regions!
This meant!
Not a single soul within the Green Mountain Civilization could manifest a Wormhole to leave.
By the same logic, no one could open a Wormhole to enter their territory either.
It was the equivalent of directly burying themselves inside a massive, impenetrable turtle shell.
This script...
Was not playing out how he had imagined!
"You've got to be kidding me."
Chen Mang murmured absentmindedly as he stared blankly at the Doppler Radar. "A single deployed army encountered an attack from an unknown train and was annihilated. There was no other information, and that unknown train didn't even display completely overwhelming dominance."
"And the Green Mountain Civilization just immediately chose to shrink back into their shell?"
"They wouldn't even send a scout over to take a single look?"
"Isn't that being far too overly cautious..."
He knew full well that many advanced civilizations in the universe were simultaneously incredibly arrogant and intensely cautious. They were unbelievably arrogant when facing weaker civilizations, yet intensely cautious when confronting those stronger than them.
But he never expected anyone to be cautious to this absurd degree.
After a long period of silence.
He couldn't help but let out a long sigh and give a slow thumbs-up. Impressive!
Even as their enemy, he had to admire their extreme vigilance.
No wonder they managed to become a Level 6 civilization. With this kind of terrifying prudence, reaching Level 7 in the future was practically guaranteed.