Chapter 384: Activating the Self-Destruct Sequence |
Today, the interior of the Stellar Train was exceptionally lively.
They weren't discussing the next combat operation. Instead, they were gathered simply to name the soon-to-be-born First Heir of the Human Civilization. Everyone was buzzing with excitement, secretly hoping their suggested name would be chosen.
That wouldn't just be a tremendous privilege; it would be the ultimate honor.
In the future, no one at the drinking table would be able to boast harder than them.
Xiao Ai, in particular, was the most enthusiastic.
She had generated ten thousand names in a single breath, presenting them for Chen Mang to review one by one.
"..."
Chen Mang rolled his eyes at the fiercely expectant AI beside him. "This is way too troublesome. Besides, I don't have any expectations for the child. More accurately, there's nothing left to expect. What am I supposed to hope for? That he achieves something great in his career? Or that he lives a peaceful and safe life?"
"Sigh."
As he spoke.
The crowd in the control room exchanged somewhat awkward glances.
He had a point.
Normally, naming a child carried a certain level of expectation, like hoping they would have a successful career or enjoy a safe, peaceful life. But with Boss Mang around...
What career was there to develop? The moment this child was born, he would inherit the greatest enterprise in the entire universe.
His only job would be to succeed the Human Civilization.
As for safety...
With the current technological level of the Human Civilization, dying would actually be a difficult task.
There really was nothing left to expect. From that perspective, Boss Mang's child was almost unfortunate. At the very least, he would be born without a life goal, unlike their own children who would still have something to strive for.
"Why don't we call him..."
Chen Mang pondered for a moment before speaking up. "Let's call him Chen Jiang. It symbolizes a great river, representing endless vitality, and the hope that the Human Civilization will be passed down for generations to come."
"Good name,"
Lao Zhu agreed with a serious expression. "That's a great name, grounded yet grand!"
The rest of the crowd chimed in with their agreement.
"Then it's settled. We'll use it as his childhood name for now. If we think of a better one later, we can change it."
Chen Mang cheerfully repeated the name in his mind a few times. He actually found it quite catchy. Chen Jiang, Chen Jiang. It sounded majestic and lacked any bandit-like undertones. He sounded like a righteous person.
Unlike his own name, Chen Mang, which did not sound like it belonged to a good guy at all.
Thus, the most symbolically significant meeting in the history of the Human Civilization came to a close. The moment it ended, Lao Zhu took wide strides toward the rear carriages, walking much faster than usual.
"Hey?"
Biao Zi looked at Lao Zhu's retreating back and hurriedly called out, "Lao Zhu, why are you running so fast?"
"To find a wife," Lao Zhu replied.
"You're crazy," Biao Zi muttered in confusion. Normally, Lao Zhu never seemed in a rush for such things. Could it be that seeing Boss Mang having a child today had infected him, and now he wanted one too?
Uncle Li, who was following nearby with his thoughts drifting, suddenly had a spark in his eyes upon hearing their conversation. He also quickened his pace, practically speed-walking toward the rear carriages.
"Uncle Li, where are you rushing off to?"
"To find a wife too."
"Hey, what is wrong with all of you today?"
Meanwhile, the already distant Uncle Li felt an uncontrollable surge of excitement. Captain Zhu really had a sharp mind. If he found a wife now and had a child, that child would be the exact same age as Boss Mang's!
If it was a boy, he would become the founding team for Boss Mang's heir!
He would be a trusted confidant who grew up alongside the First Heir, securing a spot in the core management of the future Human Civilization. Uncle Li could use this to further cement his own status.
If it was a girl, they would be childhood sweethearts. If they developed feelings for each other and got together, his status would skyrocket even higher!
Even if they just remained friends.
It would still be a massive advantage.
He really needed to hurry up and find a good wife. She had to be educated, with excellent morals and character, preferably born into a scholarly family!
The young man walking behind Uncle Li paused for a moment before realization dawned on him. With a face full of excitement, he hurriedly chased after Uncle Li. He also needed to find a wife quickly and have a child.
Of course.
His child certainly wouldn't be qualified to play with Boss Mang's child.
But—
His child could play with Uncle Li's child! If his kid firmly followed Uncle Li's kid, wouldn't that just be replicating success? Who said success couldn't be copied?
This was the perfect copy-paste strategy.
The impending birth of the First Heir caused undercurrents to surge within the Stellar Train.
It also brought a ripple of emotion to Chen Mang's thoughts.
Sitting in the control room, he gazed at the political mother planet of the opposing God-Level Civilization, the so-called "Human Civilization," in the distance. After a long while, a faint smile graced his lips. "Suddenly having a child... it feels a bit strange."
"I hope Xiao Fang has a smooth delivery."
"Captain, you worry too much," Xiao Ai's laughter echoed through the room. "With our civilization's current technological capabilities, it's impossible for the birth to be anything but smooth. It will go off without a single hitch, ten thousand percent guaranteed."
"I can bet my life on the safety of both mother and child."
"Even if, by some miraculous one-in-a-million chance, something goes wrong."
"We can just fish them right back out of the Second Universe."
"Of course,"
Chen Mang chuckled. "I know that, but this is my first child. It's only natural to be a little anxious."
Deep down, he didn't actually hold much romantic love for Xiao Fang. There was affection, certainly, but true love was absent. Now that she was suddenly pregnant with his child, he accepted the baby, but he intended to maintain his current lifestyle and dynamic with Xiao Fang.
Love.
That was something from a long, long time ago.
He couldn't find it within himself anymore.
"Give Xiao Fang more preferential treatment from now on."
"Understood."
"Next, send a letter of surrender to this God-Level Civilization 'Human Civilization.' Let's see how they react. If they're willing to submit, it will save us a bit of trouble."
"Right away!"
Ten minutes later.
A notification panel slowly materialized on the train's control console screen.
-
"The universe is a grand stage; come if you want to die."
-
"Captain, they rejected the offer and sent back a declaration of war," Xiao Ai reported.
"I can see that."
Chen Mang shook his head without further comment. Since things had come to this, the next steps were much simpler. He glanced at the train's remaining resources.
He still had 3,511 Background Units of iron ore.
More than enough to wage a war.
The next moment—
He casually pressed the red button on the control panel. Simultaneously, atop the Stellar Train—which was cloaked near the political mother planet of the God-Level Civilization "Human Civilization," entirely undetected—the intricate patterns on the Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon slowly began to glow.
Immediately after.
A blindingly intense light enveloped the surrounding space almost instantaneously.
This was a blast from a Level 10,003 Akhenaten Light Energy Main Cannon. A single shot consumed 200 Background Units of iron ore, and that was with the train's Stellar Cabin bearing 99.99 percent of the energy drain. Inside the Stellar Cabin, hundreds of millions of stars rapidly extinguished.
The war had begun.
This was the Stellar Train's ultimate strike. The attack wasn't simply meant to annihilate the political mother planet of the God-Level Civilization "Human Civilization"; it was a declaration of their existence to the entire universe, a flawless demonstration of their might!
A massive black hole instantly engulfed the political mother planet before them.
The planet was obliterated in a fraction of a second, leaving not even a speck of dust behind. Then, countless crimson beams erupted from the surrounding void. That wasn't an aftereffect of his main cannon; it was the defensive response of the God-Level Civilization "Human Civilization."
However...
Before this Level 10,003 main cannon, those defenses appeared exceptionally fragile.
They couldn't block it at all.
A max-level main cannon was unequivocally the strongest weapon in the universe. Such firepower was completely unstoppable. The only countermeasures were fleeing or employing an even higher-tier defensive module.
"The enemy hasn't collapsed,"
Xiao Ai quickly reported. "They immediately entered a state of maximum combat readiness. Orders are being broadcasted from multiple locations across their territory. That political mother planet wasn't their sole command center."
"Right now, numerous radar stations are running on overdrive, desperately trying to detect our presence, but all have failed."
"However, I have located their other command centers."
"Once we wipe out these locations, their civilization will essentially be paralyzed."
Leaning back in his chair, Chen Mang looked at the dozen or so glaring red dots on the screen. He said nothing, simply tapping the control console a few times. Instantly, the Stellar Train initiated high-frequency spatial jumps.
Every jump obliterated a red dot.
The entire process was swift and clinical.
There was zero resistance.
The enemy couldn't detect them, nor could they withstand their attacks. They didn't even need to raise their shields. From the very beginning, this was a completely one-sided massacre.
Since the beginning of the apocalypse.
Everyone had followed a path of high attack and low defense.
The same held true even at the God-Level Civilization stage. Everyone remained a glass cannon. While there might be gaps between different God-Level Civilizations, those differences lay in other areas. When it came to pure firepower, everyone had maximized their stats.
No one could defend against anyone else.
They all relied on mutual deterrence.
But since the enemy currently posed absolutely zero threat to him, it naturally devolved into a one-sided slaughter. Military star systems were erased as if crushed beneath a boot. The battles were bizarrely effortless—even easier than his fights when the apocalypse first began.
But right at that moment—
An unexpected situation arose.
"Captain, I've tracked the activity trail of the God-Level Civilization 'Human Civilization's' max-level AI. I've sent its exact coordinates to the console. We can head there at any time and seize absolute control of it."
"However, just now."
"Due to our attacks, massive swathes of the God-Level Civilization 'Human Civilization's' territory have fallen. This triggered a fail-safe they left behind known as the 'Firmament' system. It is an irreversible and unstoppable process."
"I only intercepted this data because of the traces their max-level AI leaked just now."
"The sole purpose of this system is to launch all high-yield weaponry at every other God-Level Civilization without exception when their own civilization is on the brink of collapse. The system has already activated. The other twenty-six civilizations are about to face a frantic, dying strike from the God-Level Civilization 'Human Civilization.'"
"How powerful is the strike?"
"Extremely powerful. Theoretically, these weapons are enough to rip a layer of flesh off the remaining twenty-six God-Level Civilizations. After all, the God-Level Civilization 'Human Civilization' was considered top-tier among its peers."
"Originally, these weapons were meant to fall on our heads."
"But they couldn't lock onto us."
"Ignore it. Let's capture that AI first."
"Yes, sir."
Thirty seconds later.
The Stellar Train executed a spatial jump, arriving inside a Dark Abyss. There was nothing around except for a solitary, abandoned Ore Star.
Who would have thought?
The God-Level Civilization "Human Civilization" had actually hidden their max-level AI right in the center of a Dark Abyss. It truly was an absolutely secure location, practically impossible to notice.
But unfortunately for them, they had still been found.
But just then—
The solitary, abandoned Ore Star suddenly blossomed into a burst of fireworks right before his eyes. It was spectacularly brilliant.
They had self-destructed.
"Captain, the max-level AI wiped its database and self-destructed before I could even initiate a hack."
"And right before it detonated, it issued one final command."
"Activating the self-destruct sequence for all resource vaults within their civilization's territory."
"However..."
"I managed to intercept and block that command in time, but I couldn't stop its self-destruction. Since it wiped its database before blowing itself up, I currently cannot retrieve any information from it."
"I see."
Chen Mang nodded slightly, watching the gorgeous fireworks in the distance. With the explosion of this planet, the God-Level Civilization "Human Civilization" was officially wiped out. The entire war had ended phenomenally quickly.
It was really that simple.
When two sides were no longer on the same dimensional level, wars concluded swiftly. They had suffered zero casualties and barely even utilized their armor. The only time they had to rely on it was right before destroying a military star system.
Unable to locate them, the enemy had resorted to fighting to the death by dropping a catastrophically powerful weapon of mass destruction onto their own star system, hoping to catch them in the area-of-effect blast.
Naturally, Chen Mang and his crew were completely unharmed.
But that star system had perished by its own people's hands.
Once he fully absorbed all the resources of the God-Level Civilization "Human Civilization," he could deal with the other God-Level Civilizations in the exact same manner. His civilization would then hold an insurmountable lead across the entire universe. His goal would finally be achieved.
"Many civilizations will definitely be observing this battlefield next. Broadcast a Civilization Broadcast outward using the title 'Human Civilization.'"
"The message is this: Within fourteen days, all God-Level Civilizations must surrender seventy percent of their civilization's resources and submit to the Human Civilization."
"Let's finish off these civilizations as quickly as possible."
"Understood."
The God-Level Civilization "Human Civilization" had thus perished.
And the new God-Level Civilization, the true Human Civilization, was born.
Because the war ended so rapidly, it would barely even take up a page in the history books. The citizens of the old God-Level Civilization "Human Civilization" didn't even realize what had happened; they continued living their everyday lives on their respective planets.
This was perfectly normal.
The territory of such a civilization was so vast that it was common for the eastern borders to be engaged in brutal, apocalyptic warfare while the western borders continued to sing and dance in peace.
"The story here is almost drawing to a close,"
Chen Mang murmured, sitting before the control console as he gazed at the information on the screen. His thoughts gradually drifted far away, unable to help but reminisce about his entire life.
He really was getting older.
He was starting to grow fond of reminiscing about the past.