Chapter 373: King of Lighters |
"But..."
The Grand Elder of the Rugged Civilization first praised Chen Mang, then suddenly changed his tune.
"..."
Chen Mang sat in his chair, his expression perfectly calm as his knuckles rapped lightly against the armrest: tap-tap-tap. Through that single 'but', he knew the conclusion to this saga with the Rugged Civilization would not be a particularly pleasant one.
In all likelihood, the Rugged Civilization would not be returning to their main clan.
'Just as I expected,' he mused.
Between civilizations, plundering was always the most convenient method. All cooperation was merely a waste of time.
The Grand Elder of the Rugged Civilization looked at Chen Mang with a solemn expression and said seriously, "But..."
"A Level 9 civilization on the verge of becoming a God-level civilization is destined to face the combined siege of many existing God-level civilizations."
"There is no avoiding this."
"I want you to be clear that this is not my original intention. This is simply the law of the universe. After I return to the main clan, I will not hold a very high position. I cannot dictate these matters."
"But if Human Civilization truly falls in the battle to break through from Level 9 to a God-level civilization..."
"I will use all my connections and resources to the absolute limit to keep you, your family, and your friends safe. As for everyone else, forgive me, but I am powerless to help."
"..."
Chen Mang paused for a moment, his expression completely tranquil, before continuing, "What I am more concerned about right now is whether our agreement from three months ago still stands."
"Naturally."
"I am not someone who likes to go back on his word. Moreover, even if I wanted to break my promise, traveling through a Bloodline Wormhole prevents us from taking anything with us. Those resources can only be left to you. Not to mention, you helped the Rugged Civilization solve such a massive dilemma."
"This bit of return is warranted."
The Grand Elder of the Rugged Civilization spoke with utmost sincerity.
Hearing this, Chen Mang chuckled.
"Very well."
"In that case, I will also make you a promise. If, in the future, Human Civilization faces encirclement by the Star Arrow Clan while ascending to a God-level civilization, I will wipe out the entire Star Arrow Clan, but I will spare you, your family, and your friends."
The Grand Elder of the Rugged Civilization was taken aback for a moment, then nodded solemnly. "Alright."
The three-month period had arrived.
Under Chen Mang's watchful gaze...
A crimson Wormhole surged into existence near every single planet within the entire Rugged Civilization. In a flash, countless Wormholes fully materialized all at once. These Wormholes were vastly different from the ones he had seen before.
They were entirely blood-red.
They looked exactly like the gates of hell.
On all the planets of the Rugged Civilization, countless unclothed clansmen were slowly drawn in by the gravitational pull, completely taken away by the Wormholes, leaving not a single person behind.
And he also gave the newly appointed Holy Arrow a parting gift.
A Refrigerator.
Nowadays, Human Civilization was no longer as weak as it had once been. They even had their own unique civilization greeting gift—the Refrigerator. It was quite handy.
After personally seeing off the Rugged Civilization...
Chen Mang checked the radar to reconfirm that all the resources had indeed been left behind. Only then did he completely relax. The corners of his mouth curled into a smile as he waved his hand grandly. "Load the cargo!"
The territory of the Rugged Civilization was by no means small.
The number of planets was also immense.
Even though the Rugged Civilization, just before leaving, had ordered everyone to gather all their resources to make it easier for him to collect and take away, there were still many things that simply couldn't be centralized.
For example...
The planets where all the architecture was perfectly preserved—he definitely had to take all of those!
The bustling metropolises on the prosperous planets of a Level 7 civilization were quite nice; they absolutely could not be put to waste.
Furthermore, the Rugged Civilization had developed here for a long time. There were Wormholes everywhere, leading to various planets. These were also part of their foundational wealth. If he were willing to station himself in this region, it would be truly perfect.
"..."
He left the tedious task of collecting resources and planets to his subordinates.
Meanwhile, Chen Mang sat in the train's control room, looking at the console screen.
The train currently had 69 Background Units of iron ore left. He had pretty much spent all of the spoils from the Green Mountain Civilization last time, so now it all depended on how much of a harvest this Rugged Civilization could bring him.
He then glanced at the Doppelganger Radar.
Currently, on the radar, the territory of Human Civilization was massive, spanning hundreds of millions of light-years. The former territory of the Rugged Civilization, after their withdrawal, had entirely fallen under the banner of his Human Civilization.
Although he had casually drawn the borders of his civilization's territory himself, doing so required that there be no civilization of a higher or equal level within that mapped boundary.
Within this region...
His was the only Level 6 civilization.
All the other Level 6 civilizations from past years had been annihilated by the Rugged Civilization. Only the Green Mountain Civilization had managed to scrape by simply because the Rugged Civilization couldn't spare the manpower to deal with them.
He looked at the civilization interface.
-
"Advancement Conditions: Peak attack energy range exceeds 300,000, possesses three Civilization Wonders, and territory reaches one hundred million light-years."
-
A Level 3000 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon—he didn't have that just yet.
However, once all the resources harvested this time were tallied up, fulfilling that requirement wouldn't be a major issue.
The territory reaching one hundred million light-years was already satisfied.
The Civilization Wonders requirement was also met.
Human Civilization currently possessed three Civilization Wonders: Zerg's Silence, Divine Silence, and Miracle Descent.
The latter was obtained when he upgraded his Armor to Level 10000.
Any component that was the first to be upgraded to Level 10000 by any civilization would automatically advance to the "Sanctuary" grade, which meant a max-level component!
After he upgraded it to the maximum level back then, he obtained the Civilization Wonder, Miracle Descent.
It was worth noting—
This Civilization Wonder was not located anywhere out in his vast territory. Instead, it appeared directly inside his train, situated in Carriage No. 13. Its shape resembled a... Prism Tower.
It looked somewhat like the Prism Tower from Red Alert.
It stood over twenty feet tall and was about ten feet wide.
Relatively compact.
Within the phantom image at its peak, the projection of the Armor blueprint hovered. It required no energy support; the top of the tower spun continuously while radiating a bright white light.
The effect of this Civilization Wonder was:
"Special Wonder: For the civilization possessing this wonder, the level of all components is increased by one by default."
-
An incredibly mediocre component.
Assuming a certain component of the Stellaris Train was Level 100, then under the buff of this wonder, that component's level would be 101.
But if it was Level 199, even after gaining that one level, he still wouldn't be able to use the Level 200 Overlimit Effect.
It was literally just one extra level.
It could save a bit of resources, but other than that, it was practically useless.
After all, it merely raised the default level by one.
For a component, gaining a single level truly didn't make much of an impact.
Unless...
Unless his strength reached the absolute pinnacle. For example, if a God-level civilization also possessed many max-level components, his extra level would push his to Level 10001. Though it seemed like just one level, it meant absolute dominance.
A Level 10001 Train Auxiliary AI could hack into any train with an AI lower than its own. With that one extra level, it would be an overwhelming suppression.
It was a Civilization Wonder designed to push the upper limits in the late game.
In the early stages, it was almost completely useless and wouldn't save many resources.
"Not bad."
Chen Mang gazed at the control console screen showing the Civilization Wonder situated in Carriage No. 13. He chuckled softly without saying another word.
And right at that moment—
Several new panels gradually materialized on the control console screen.
-
"Human Civilization, Civilization Tenet: For every Civilization Wonder built that is recognized by the laws of the universe, receive a box containing a random mysterious reward, up to a maximum of nine." (Rainbow)
"Human Civilization has successfully forged a Civilization Wonder recognized by the laws of the universe, named 'Miracle Descent' by the universe." "Successfully obtained a box containing a random mysterious reward."
-
This was his third box.
From a certain perspective, if he could construct nine Civilization Wonders, that would mean nine boxes.
It was just a pity.
Currently, he had no idea how to actively construct a Civilization Wonder; he could only acquire them passively.
Perhaps if the Present State of The Palace was completely built, it would count as a Civilization Wonder. But he had urgently called a halt to that construction. He already possessed the Future State and Past State of The Palace.
If he added the Present State to the mix...
He knew for a fact that if the Past State and the Present State ever collided, an explosion was guaranteed—an absolutely spectacular explosion.
He just didn't know if all three states meeting together would cause an explosion...
He figured they probably wouldn't.
At the very least, Yan Yao, Ji Chuchu, and the others hadn't exploded.
"Right..."
Chen Mang's thoughts drifted thoughtfully. He had originally treated the racial talents that Ji Chuchu and the others had randomly awakened as mere entertainment talents, something to amuse himself with during his leisure time.
But looking at it now...
It seemed they shared some inextricable link with The Palace.
After pondering for a while and failing to come up with any solid theories...
He temporarily shelved the thought.
Instead, he opened the newly obtained mystery box. It was unboxing time once again.
When he opened the first box...
The reward he had obtained was...
The "Higher-Dimensional Planet" rainbow Civilization Tenet.
Its effect allowed the civilization's territory, along with all planets under the civilization's name, to possess a higher-dimensional superposition state. They would never be forcibly collapsed into two dimensions, and they possessed priority when ascending to a higher dimension.
This made him...
"Wait a minute."
Chen Mang silently lit a cigarette. Logically speaking, this Civilization Tenet guaranteed that his civilization's territory would never be forcibly collapsed into two dimensions. A Two-Way Foil would be useless against him.
So where did his Dead End Star System go?
How was it collapsed into two dimensions by him?
'Let me think...' he mused.
A moment later, he flipped open the train's log and found the answer.
As it turned out—
In the past, to keep a low profile, he had canceled the mapping of his civilization's territory. Because the Dead End Star System was not included within the territory's borders, this had led to that very outcome.
"Mhm."
Chen Mang nodded. After a long silence, he snuffed out the cigarette in his hand and stopped dwelling on the matter.
'Forget it.'
'The Dead End Star System wasn't important anyway.'
'If it's gone, it's gone.'
'It doesn't matter.'
'A true man should roam the vast universe; how could he stay in one remote corner for too long?'
The second mystery box had yielded an item—a pack containing exactly nineteen white cigarettes. Lighting one would allow Human Civilization to be completely concealed for twenty-four hours. During that time, they could not be detected by any means.
He hadn't used a single one yet, as the opportunity to use them hadn't presented itself.
As for the third mystery box currently in his hands, it also yielded a special item.
It was a lighter.
Great, a matching set.
With both smokes and a light, all he was missing was some liquor and braised pork head.
Its effect was...
Once the lighter in his hand was ignited, every single lighter in the entire universe would burst forth with a flame at the exact same moment.
"Interesting..."
Chen Mang picked up the seemingly ordinary lighter with a bizarre expression. After testing it a few times, a flame sprouted. He simultaneously noticed that the other lighters sitting in his drawer and on his desk had all ignited on their own without being touched.
It was quite peculiar.
But what use was it?
Several minutes later.
Xiao Ai's voice rang out inside the train.
"Captain, please stop experimenting. Just a moment ago, the number of accidental fires across the various planets of Human Civilization spiked dramatically. The Fire Department is urgently drafting personnel from the Law Enforcement Bureau and other departments."
"The exact cause of the fires was originally unknown, but now it is."
"Should I announce it to the public?"
"No need."
Chen Mang coughed lightly. "Were there any casualties?"
"None."
"Every citizen of Human Civilization has an Iris Chip implanted. When the fires were detected, optimal escape routes were immediately coordinated through the Iris Chips. It just caused quite a bit of panic."
"The situation is currently being handled as an emergency."
"Good."
Chen Mang nodded, feeling slightly embarrassed as he toyed with the lighter in his hand again. This was a good item! It was an absolute rule-bending artifact. This thing was truly the King of Lighters—it could manipulate every single lighter in the universe.
He guessed that during those few minutes just now...
Countless civilizations across the entire universe had suffered varying degrees of fires.
Theoretically speaking...
If he kept clicking this lighter constantly, or even just occasionally pressed it, probably no civilization in the entire universe would dare to use such a thing as a 'lighter' anymore. It was far too uncontrollable.
Right at that moment—
"Huh?"
Chen Mang looked at a sudden anomaly on the Doppelganger Radar screen, somewhat astonished. "Why was a third of that Level 5 civilization suddenly wiped off the map?"
Within the hundreds of millions of light-years that now made up Human Civilization's territory, while there were no other Level 6 civilizations, there were a few Level 5 civilizations. At this very moment, a third of the planets within one particular Level 5 civilization's territory had blossomed into fiery explosions, reducing nearly half of the entire civilization to a field of ruins.
"Please wait a moment. I am capturing the database of the deceased AI and processing the information..."
"Processing complete."
"The leader of that Level 5 civilization possessed a special item—a 'Self-Destruct Lighter.' Its power was immense. Once activated, it would unleash a blast comparable to a Level 2000 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon, covering an exceptionally wide area. The only difference is that it doesn't cause dimensional reduction into a two-dimensional state."
"And just now..."
"The eccentric leader of this civilization perhaps wanted to smoke but couldn't find a lighter, so he activated this 'Self-Destruct Lighter,' lighting the final cigarette of his life. The price was his entire civilization being buried alongside him."
"..."
Chen Mang rubbed his nose silently. What did she mean 'wanted to smoke but couldn't find a lighter'? Even Xiao Ai had learned how to be glib.
It was purely because that lighter was also manipulated by his King of Lighters and had been forced to self-destruct.
This was a situation he hadn't anticipated.
He never would have expected a mere Level 5 civilization to be hiding such a massive trump card.
It was just that...
Although he had never heard of or seen such an item before, it certainly wasn't unique. Other civilizations in the universe definitely had them too. Of course... they definitely didn't have them anymore.
Because just now.
They had all exploded, reduced to nothing but fireworks.