Chapter 374: Awesome |
"..."
Chen Mang silently placed the "King of Lighters" into a nearby drawer. This item didn't have an inherent name; he had dubbed it the King of Lighters himself. At the very least, he felt the name was quite fitting.
Perhaps it would come in handy in the future.
However, this incident served as a wake-up call.
He should avoid storing such high-yield, single-use explosives on the train whenever possible. Otherwise, just like the lighters, they might one day be triggered by some chaotic power of universal rules. Dying like that would be far too unjust.
After spending some time taking inventory.
He finally finished tallying the resources acquired this time. The sheer quantity far exceeded what he had obtained from the Green Mountain Civilization, even though that haul had already been massive.
But...
The gap between a Level 7 Civilization and a Level 6 Civilization was simply too vast.
He had obtained a total of 2,872 Background Units of iron ore from the Green Mountain Civilization!
It was a ridiculously exaggerated number. Such an abundance of iron ore had allowed him to upgrade the Steel Train Armor to max level, making him virtually invincible throughout the universe.
And the Rugged Civilization had brought him even more resources.
He looked over at the train's resource panel.
"9,877 Background Units of iron ore, 1,028 Background Units of copper ore, 998 Background Units of titanium crystal ore, 736 Background Units of crimson heart rock, 1,239 Background Units of timber."
The greatest harvest this time was acquiring nearly ten thousand Background Units of iron ore from the Rugged Civilization.
This astronomical amount of resources was enough to completely push the Stellar Train to its absolute peak.
Moreover.
He had also gained many hidden resources from the Rugged Civilization. For instance, perfectly intact planets with complete infrastructure had been stored away using the Space Portal. Similarly, several partially mined Ore Stars had also been collected through the Space Portal.
He had even harvested a significant amount of Murphy Stones, totaling 0.19 Background Units.
This was the first time the quantity of Murphy Stones aboard the Stellar Train warranted the use of "Background Units," a true universal-scale measurement.
Even though it was only 0.19.
It was already an excellent haul.
The Green Mountain Civilization had only yielded 0.03 Background Units of Murphy Stones.
It was worth noting.
If he did not use his 0-Level Authority and instead relied on Murphy Stones, the process of upgrading the armor from level 5,000 to level 10,000 would require approximately 1,000 Background Units of Murphy Stones.
It would take thousands of Rugged Civilizations to gather that amount of Murphy Stones.
"Not bad."
Sitting inside the train carriage, Chen Mang exhaled softly as he gazed at the resource panel. The current stockpile of resources provided a deep sense of security. Next, it was time to initiate another comprehensive upgrade.
Once all the primary components were upgraded to their maximum levels, he felt he would have nothing to fear, even from a god-level civilization.
The next component to upgrade...
"Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon."
Previously, upgrading the armor from level 5,000 to level 10,000—its maximum level—had consumed a total of 2,500 Background Units of iron ore, nearly draining his entire fortune at the time.
That price had far exceeded the normal cost required to upgrade Prismatic-grade components.
The Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon was currently at level 2,000. Upgrading it to level 5,000 only required 100 Background Units of iron ore, and pushing it from level 5,000 to level 10,000 would only take another 1,000 Background Units.
He only needed to expend 1,100 Background Units of iron ore.
In one breath, he leveled the level 2,000 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon straight to level 10,000—max level!
Several panels immediately popped up on the screen.
-
"Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon Level 5,000 Overlimit Effect: Attacks fired will transform into terrifying black holes, melting all dimensional universes within the targeted area."
"Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon Level 10,000 Overlimit Effect: Firepower is massively enhanced."
-
These were the two Overlimit Effects gained after the Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon reached max level.
The level 5,000 Overlimit Effect seemed quite powerful.
The level 10,000 Overlimit Effect, on the other hand, appeared remarkably plain.
However, he knew one thing very well in his heart.
That was...
This level 10,000 Overlimit Effect was likely even more terrifying.
At this stage, the simpler the description, the more it meant the raw stats had reached an absolute pinnacle.
Level 10,000.
This was the ultimate limit of parameters.
Just then—
A new line of text slowly surfaced on the train's control console screen.
-
"Human Civilization is the first civilization in the entire universe to obtain a max-level 'Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon' component. This component is automatically upgraded to the 'Sanctuary' grade."
"As a result, the Civilization Wonder 'One Finger' has been awarded."
-
"..."
Chen Mang froze in place. This time, he was thoroughly dumbfounded.
What was going on?
Human Civilization was the first to upgrade the Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon to max level?
When the system displayed that Human Civilization was the first to max out armor, he hadn't been surprised. After all, most other civilizations likely prioritized upgrading their energy shields.
Nobody bothered to upgrade physical armor.
That was completely normal.
But...
What he hadn't expected was that he would also be the first to max out the Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon. This was a highly common offensive component across all train-based civilizations!
His expression gradually turned peculiar.
He couldn't help but feel...
That perhaps everyone, himself included, had overestimated the strength of god-level civilizations. He originally thought god-level civilizations were the endpoint of this universe—the ultimate, most powerful forces in existence.
Now, it seemed that even god-level civilizations hadn't reached the true endpoint. For instance, they apparently lacked the capability to upgrade components to max level.
Setting aside the ordinary resources required for maxing out levels.
He believed a god-level civilization definitely had those in abundance.
The real bottleneck was the massive amount of Murphy Stones consumed when upgrading Prismatic-grade components to max level. Pushing the Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon from level 2,000 to level 10,000...
If one didn't have 0-Level Authority...
It would require a staggering 12,000 Background Units of Murphy Stones.
That...
Was indeed a bit terrifying.
Could it be that even god-level civilizations couldn't fork over that many Murphy Stones?
At the same time.
His Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon officially transformed into the "Sanctuary" grade. All max-level components automatically converted to this tier.
It also gained an exclusive "Sanctuary" Overlimit Effect.
-
"Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon 'Sanctuary' Overlimit Effect: Absolute Hit."
"Not bad at all."
Chen Mang sat in silence for a long moment before leaning back against his chair. He took a deep breath and slowly lit a cigarette. This was truly an unexpected delight.
He took a closer look.
Firing the level 5,000 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon once, even after being mitigated by his stellar core chamber, would consume 10 Background Units of iron ore.
A single shot from the level 10,000 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon would cost 100 Background Units of iron ore.
Completely acceptable.
The price was reasonable.
However, he couldn't use it for the time being. He simply had too few stars stored inside the train; they weren't enough to cover the 99.99% energy discount required for such a high-intensity attack.
He had to load up on more stars.
Fortunately, the Rugged Civilization's territory had no shortage of stars. He would pack them all up and take them away shortly. He then turned his attention to the newly acquired Civilization Wonder, "One Finger." This was the fourth Civilization Wonder the Human Civilization had obtained, and it was located in Carriage 13, right alongside "Miracle's Descent."
The difference was...
The physical appearance of this Civilization Wonder was actually a statue of himself. The pose featured him stretching out a finger, pointing into the distance, gazing deep into the cosmos.
Its effect was—
-
"Special Wonder: The civilization possessing this Wonder will enjoy favorable weather."
-
Rather ordinary.
It could be said that this Civilization Wonder had virtually no practical effect. Just like the Wonder "Zerg's Silence," it was a purely symbolic monument.
After all, the current Human Civilization was fully capable of manipulating the weather on its own to ensure perfect climates. They didn't need this blessing-like Wonder effect at all.
Immediately after.
As another panel materialized on the screen.
He also successfully received his fourth mystery box.
-
"Human Civilization, Civilization Tenet: For every Civilization Wonder built and recognized by the universal rules, gain a box containing a random mystery reward. Maximum limit: nine." (Prismatic)
"Human Civilization has successfully forged a Civilization Wonder recognized by the universal rules. The universe has named it 'One Finger'."
"Successfully obtained a box containing a random mystery reward."
"Time to open another box."
Rubbing his hands together in sheer curiosity, Chen Mang popped open the box in front of him. A burst of white light erupted, instantly shattering into countless specks of light that vanished, directly integrating into the train.
Immediately after.
A message appeared on the train's control console screen.
"Train's Murphy Stone quantity increased by 1 Background Unit."
This mystery box had yielded 1 Background Unit of Murphy Stones.
An excellent reward.
The entire Rugged Civilization only possessed a grand total of 0.19 Background Units of Murphy Stones. If 1 Background Unit of Murphy Stones were given to any other civilization, their leader would be grinning from ear to ear.
Except for him. To him, it was meaningless.
He didn't need Murphy Stones.
This mystery box was essentially a bust.
He then turned his attention to the other components. The train was still overflowing with resources; he couldn't possibly spend them all. As for the third most important component on the train, that was naturally the "Train Auxiliary AI."
At present, the Train Auxiliary AI was level 5,000.
After consuming 200 Background Units of iron ore, it leveled up to 10,000.
-
"Train Auxiliary AI Level 10,000 Overlimit Effect: Before a battle begins, the AI will calculate and manipulate all quantum states, simulating millions of possibilities within seconds to select the optimal solution."
"Furthermore, if allied units sustain damage, the AI can revert all trains belonging to the allied civilization to their exact state from five seconds ago."
"This ability costs nothing to activate and can be used infinitely."
-
"Awesome..."
Chen Mang silently gave his verdict. An AI could now manipulate time—how the hell was that reasonable? It had practically become a Lord of Time!
The moment the train sustained damage, the AI would instantly rewind it to its state five seconds prior.
This was almost on par with his Absolute Defense.
However...
What was even more badass!
Because of the "Miracle's Descent" Civilization Wonder, the actual operational level of his Train Auxiliary AI was 10,001. This meant that as long as the distance was close enough...
His train's AI could casually hack into the AIs of other trains, even if the enemy's AI was also level 10,000.
A difference of a single level was enough to crush the opposition.
And this wasn't just any ordinary level; it was a bonus level breaking past the absolute maximum limit.
This time, no notification popped up declaring Human Civilization the first to max out this component. It seemed another civilization had already beaten him to it.
He more or less understood why.
Few civilizations probably managed to max out Prismatic-grade components due to the exorbitant Murphy Stone cost. But for a component that was both critically important and inherently lower grade, it made sense that some civilizations would max it out.
The cost-performance ratio was simply too good.
"Xiao Ai, how do you feel?"
"I feel better than ever!" Xiao Ai's excited voice echoed through the train. "I feel like my mind is exceptionally clear right now, and my computing power is overflowing. All my current workloads don't even consume 0.01% of my processing capacity."
"If..."
"If I were placed on an ordinary planet with no civilization level, and that planet happened to have decentralized cryptocurrency, I believe with my computing power, I could mine enough to instantly become the richest person in the world..."
"As long as you're good. There won't be any more upgrades like this in the future; you've already hit the ceiling."
Chen Mang chuckled, leaning back in his chair. He simply had too many resources. For the first time, he felt like he couldn't spend them all. And this was just the wealth of a single Level 7 Civilization.
It was already more than he could ever use.
He shifted his focus to the next crucial component.
"Doppler Radar."
Back when his radar was level 500, he had been extremely cautious, afraid that an overly high radar level might trigger some Universe Ge Lei.
But now that his radar had reached level 5,000, he feared absolutely nothing.
With a radar at this caliber, let alone how few entities could actually detect him, even if they could, who would dare approach?
After expending another 1,000 Background Units of iron ore.
He upgraded the level 5,000 Doppler Radar directly to level 10,000.
-
"Doppler Radar Level 10,000 Overlimit Effect: Detection range is expanded. Enables ultra-long-range cross-dimensional strikes. Once an enemy is locked onto via radar, precise strikes can be executed even if the two parties are hundreds of millions of light-years apart. Furthermore, no matter where the target hides, once locked on, they will be revealed—even if they are inside a black hole."
-
The Overlimit Effect was just okay.
It wasn't overwhelmingly strong.
But the most badass aspect of this component wasn't the Overlimit Effect.
When he upgraded it to level 5,000, its detection range had expanded from the original 100 million light-years to a staggering 1 trillion light-years.
A full ten thousandfold increase.
However—
According to the latest data, the diameter of the entire universe was only 400 billion light-years.
The range he could probe far surpassed the diameter of the universe itself.
But after reaching level 10,000.
The specific numerical data for the detection range vanished, replaced by three lonely words: "Observable Universe."
The entire universe materialized on the screen.
A total diameter of 12 trillion light-years.
It wasn't that the "latest data" was inaccurate.
It was just that the diameter of the observable three-dimensional universe was indeed only 400 billion light-years. Beyond that boundary lay various higher-dimensional universes—chaotic regions born from cosmic expansion where time and space completely lost all meaning.
Expanding and collapsing entirely at random.
This 12 trillion light-year value was constantly shifting.
One moment it was 7 trillion light-years, the next it spiked to 892 trillion light-years, and then it plummeted to 3 trillion light-years.
Only the fixed "three-dimensional universe" with its 400 billion light-year diameter remained constant. On the fringes of the observable universe, the higher-dimensional realms formed by cosmic expansion were locked in an endless cycle of numerical collapse and restructuring.
Yet, no matter how the parameters fluctuated.
His Doppler Radar could observe it all.
Theoretically speaking.
It was absolutely impossible for any civilization to survive in such "higher-dimensional universe" regions.
The flow of time in these sectors was in a state of utter pandemonium. When the very fabric of space collapsed under such grotesquely volatile upper and lower limits, no living being could endure.