Translator: AnubisTL
"..."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes as he stared at the lines of text that appeared on the control panel screen.
When he learned that Tuotuo's Mechanical Princess AI had reached Tier 200, he had tested it. Upgrading the Train Auxiliary AI from Tier 100 to Tier 101 required two murphy stones. The Train Auxiliary AI was a green-grade Accessory.
The Space Gate, however, was a yellow-grade Accessory.
Upgrading it from Tier 100 to Tier 101 required three murphy stones.
In other words—
The higher the grade of an Accessory, the more murphy stones it would require to level up after reaching Tier 100.
It was obvious that upgrading a seven-colored grade accessory past Tier 100 would cost far more murphy stones than upgrading lower-grade accessories.
And this!
Was yet another advantage for him.
Or perhaps Tier 0 Authority was designed to scale, becoming more powerful the later it was used. While it was still effective early on, its true potential wouldn't be realized until later. Just imagine the power of the Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannon if he could upgrade it to Tier 200!
And what about the Zerg Civilization?!
One shot, one kill!
Upgrade!
After consuming 1 million units of iron ore, he upgraded the space gate accessory in Carriage 10, which was used to store forests, from Tier 100 to Tier 101.
"That was expensive," he muttered.
It had only cost him 1.01 million units of iron ore to upgrade it from Tier 1 to Tier 100.
This wasn't a standard accessory. Each time he crafted one, he had to upgrade it again to reach a higher Tier.
Chen Mang glanced at the train's remaining balance: 2.45 billion units of iron ore.
Without hesitation, he poured 1.3 billion units of iron ore into the space gate accessory in Carriage 10, instantly upgrading it to Tier 200 and unlocking a brand-new overpowered effect!
This was the first Tier 200 overpowered effect in the Stellaris!
Space Gate (Tier 200 Overpowered Effect): Can accommodate a planet with a diameter of up to 100,000 kilometers.
"..."
Chen Mang sat stunned in the Stellaris's locomotive cabin, staring at the information on the control panel screen. He rubbed his eyes, which felt slightly strained, then reopened them to confirm he hadn't misread. Finally, he murmured, "This is... a bit overpowered."
When he had leveled up from Tier 100 to 101, the system had informed him that the space gate's dimensions had increased from 10,000 meters to 20,000 meters.
At the time, he had mentally calculated. Even if the Tier 200 overpowered effect proved useless, the increased area alone would be enough to accommodate a population of 10 billion.
But now...
Upon reaching Tier 200, the space gate's dimensions suddenly disappeared from the display, replaced by this overpowered effect.
Without hesitation, Chen Mang rose from his seat and strode towards Carriage 10 via the horizontal elevator. (TL: the Travelator he created to move between carriages)
In Carriage 10, Chen Mang pushed open the space gate. Inside, he had previously transplanted the entire forest from the "Tropical Jungle" in the Pink Zone. He had expected to find a vibrant, thriving scene.
Instead, he was met with the void.
Utter blackness.
Not a single ray of light penetrated the darkness.
Like a black hole, it devoured all surrounding light, creating a chilling, soul-stirring effect. A person with a weak will, gazing into this abyss for too long, might find themselves drawn into its depths.
"..."
He turned his head to stare at the small text on the screen beside the space gate, remaining silent for a long time.
This space currently holds no planets.
It can accommodate any unclaimed planet. To claim one, approach it within 10 million kilometers.
Inside is a Stellar Compartment to ensure the planet remains habitable, but it consumes energy. Avoid prolonged power outages to prevent unforeseen incidents.
When the space gate reached Tier 100, Chen Mang truly felt like he had achieved something extraordinary.
It measured 10,000 meters in both length and width—equivalent to 14,000 soccer fields.
But when the space gate reached Tier 200, he was utterly bewildered. How had it suddenly become capable of containing an entire planet? This was an enormous leap! The changes from Tier 1 to Tier 100 hadn't been nearly this drastic.
He finally understood why Tuotuo had pushed the AI to Tier 200.
Tier 200 was a monumental threshold—a leap from Mortal to Divine.
He also understood why Tuotuo hadn't considered pushing the AI's Tier any higher. The next overpowered effect wouldn't appear until Tier 500.
Upgrading the space gate from Tier 100 to Tier 101 cost three murphy stones. Each subsequent Tier upgrade required three more murphy stones. To reach Tier 200 using murphy stones would have required a staggering 14,580 murphy stones.
Over ten thousand murphy stones.
Upgrading a green-grade space gate would cost slightly less, but not by much. He could only imagine the scolding she must have received when she upgraded the AI to Tier 200.
To upgrade from Tier 200 to Tier 201 would require 300 murphy stones.
He had calculated it.
To reach Tier 500, he would need a total of 224,550 murphy stones.
220,000 murphy stones!
That was an astronomical figure. He wasn't even sure if the entire Aquablue Star held that many murphy stones.
Whoosh
Chen Mang took a deep breath. It was only now that he truly grasped the power of Tier 0 Authority—or rather, that after nearly a year of hard work, he was finally about to leave the newbie village.
He was about to enter the grand stage of civilization.
It was time to make his move!
His cheat on Aquablue Star had only scratched the surface of its potential, failing to unleash its true value. Only by entering the cosmic civilization stage would he truly feel like he had come home.
The only regret was...
"Damn it, where are all my trees?!"
Unfortunately, the creatures within this space gate—small animals and such—had been teleported to other space gates.
This was the Tier 100 overpowered effect of the space gate: when the gate shattered, all living beings within it would be transferred to another space gate within the train.
Upgrading from Tier 100 to Tier 200 was essentially the same as shattering the gate.
The small animals were all thriving.
But the tropical plants he had painstakingly transplanted had turned to ash and vanished.
Damn it!
Still—
Chen Mang gazed into the black abyss of the space gate, then lowered his head to light a cigarette, a grin spreading across his face. "Xiao Ai, cancel that announcement about Neon City. We don't need their permission anymore."
"Take the whole planet with us."
"Tell that University Professor to stop his petty pilfering. Just transplant some of the rarer plants to other residential districts. Leave the rest where they are."
"We're taking the whole planet anyway."
He was ecstatic.
This Tier 200 overpowered effect not only solved the problem of the train's limited capacity but also addressed the issue of the survivors having nothing to do.
Now that he had taken Aquablue Star, the survivors would remain on it, mining the constantly refreshing resources of the planet's mines.
Most importantly—
Even though he had decided to live as a nomadic civilization, surviving solely on the train without a permanent base, he still felt uneasy. After all, he had come from another world where not having a piece of land to call his own always left him feeling unsettled.
Now, that feeling was gone.
He had simply stuffed the entire planet into the train.
With a base of operations and the flexibility of a nomadic civilization, it offered both security and stability.
Who said you couldn't have the best of both worlds?
"Fish-Fried Bear Paw, indeed," Chen Mang mused, flicking the ash from his cigarette into the darkness. He watched the crimson ember slowly descend into the void and disappear completely before striding towards the locomotive cabin.
"Seal off this space gate. We don't want professor and the others falling in while they're moving the trees."
"Once we've completely mined the Seven-Colored Zone and stockpiled some resources, we'll set off for the mining star 0.3 light-years away."
"All trains on Aquablue Star are to be disbanded and integrated into the Stellaris."
"All survivors must be implanted with Iris Chips."
"Using the city ruins as a foundation, we'll rebuild the city. Record all repeatable resource coordinates. I'll upgrade the Off-Road Motorcycle Production Line to Tier 200. From now on, all survivors will live in the city and travel to the mines for mining via automated transportation after sunrise."
"Work at dawn, rest at dusk."
"And..."
Chen Mang continued issuing orders as he strode towards the locomotive cabin.
The appearance of the Tier 200 space gate was a game-changer, a breakthrough that shattered the deadlock.
Chen Mang had resolved all the issues the Stellaris had encountered that day, providing what could be considered a perfect solution.
Inside the locomotive cabin, Xiao Ai's voice echoed.
"Train Conductor, two years ago, during the apocalypse, the Mechanical Civilization injected Aquablue Star with a special serum, forcing its core energy to overflow and form a mine. This process is irreversible."
"It's essentially destroying a planet from within."
"In three years, Aquablue Star will become a dead star."
"Would rebuilding the city ruins now waste too many resources?"
"No."
Chen Mang sat in his chair, gazing at the information flashing across the control panel screen. After a moment's pause, he said softly, "Even planning a single city is difficult to make perfect, let alone an entire planet or a civilization's grand design."
"We don't need to rebuild too elaborately."
"Just rebuild it to a functional level, similar to a wasteland civilization."
"In three years, I'll find a more habitable planet."
"Understood."
Xiao Ai's voice gradually faded from the locomotive cabin. He had only provided a general framework; the specific details would need to be refined by Xiao Ai, Old Pig, and others. Leave the professional work to the professionals.
Chen Mang's role was simply to set the direction.
With everyone implanted with Iris Chips, Xiao Ai now managed all the survivors.
Under these circumstances...
The Aquablue Star Civilization might be entering its lowest crime rate period in history. Any trace of criminal activity would be immediately detected and punished, while every individual's efforts would be meticulously recorded.
This was a remarkable achievement.
For any civilization.
There would always be those toiling silently in the shadows, but what was truly lacking were the eyes to see them.
This level of real-time management, down to the individual level, would be devastating for those with malicious intentions.
However, for those who simply sought a peaceful life, it would provide an unprecedented sense of security.
"It seems..."
"It's time to seriously consider a name for our civilization."
Chen Mang gazed at the Civilization Token in his drawer, its progress bar nearing 100%, and murmured to himself.
The Military Progress, previously at 84%, had instantly maxed out to 100% after he fired the "Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannon."
In a daze, Chen Mang pressed the button on the control panel for the "Wormhole Radar." He wanted to scan the surrounding ten light-years for existing wormholes, to see if the Zerg Civilization wormholes near the two habitable planets had disappeared.
Those two wormholes from the Zerg Civilization had always hung over him like the Sword of Damocles.
He never knew when they might fall, constantly worrying that a Zerg Civilization invasion force could arrive in his zone at any moment.
Soon...
The two wormholes of the Zerg Civilization remained visible on the galaxy map, their images yet to fade.
"Hmm?"
He frowned slightly. A minor anomaly had occurred. A wormhole from an Unknown Civilization had appeared 3 million kilometers from the mining star—precisely at the coordinates he had identified as suitable for wormhole construction.
"Man-made, bearing the imprint of an unknown civilization. One-way, disposable wormhole. This is the terminus, formed two days ago. Internal stability: 96%. The coordinates of the other end are unknown."
A wormhole that had formed just two days ago.
He didn't know which civilization it belonged to.
He didn't know if anyone had emerged from it, nor whether their destination was the mining star. Such details were beyond the scope of the galaxy map.
A newly born wormhole.
Even in a galaxy map spanning 100,000 light-years, this event would be a mere footnote in the grand cosmic narrative.
Yet for him, it was a devastating blow!
This mining star was crucial to his plan!
It was his first target for breaking free from the cosmos. The resources it held would allow him to upgrade many of his train's accessories beyond Tier 200, achieving the transformative shift from Mortal to Divine. Anyone who dared to seize this mining star was sealing his fate!
Without it, Aquablue Star's resources were simply insufficient to support an interstellar voyage.
Besides this mining star, the next closest one was 378 light-years away, a distance Chen Mang couldn't reach in the short term.
In other words, this mining star was his lifeline.
"..."
After a long, grim silence, Chen Mang finally spoke softly: "Xiao Ai, you said the other day that this mining star was insignificant in the cosmos, and powerful civilizations wouldn't even notice it."
"Logically speaking, that should be true."
"Forget 'logically speaking.' I've noticed you have a knack for jinxing things. Everything that shouldn't happen, always does."
"The mineral content of this mining star is indeed low. The fact that they didn't arrive through a random wormhole but made a special trip suggests their Civilization Level isn't high. Moreover, the wormhole lacks a Civilization Imprint."
"Generally, only weak civilizations are afraid to leave a Civilization Imprint in their wormholes. Powerful civilizations like the Zerg Civilization always leave their mark on the wormholes they build, warning anyone who dares to enter that they're declaring war on the Zerg."
"Not very strong?"
"Definitely not."
"Then let's take them down."
Chen Mang studied the information displayed on the galaxy map, speaking each word deliberately: "Accelerate everyone's progress. The train still has 1.15 billion units of iron ore. Allocate 400 million units to manufacture 160,000 Mining Robots."
"Clear the Seven-Colored Zone mines as quickly as possible."
"Then we depart!"
As expected, their target was undoubtedly the mining star.
But the wormhole was still 3 million kilometers away from the mining star. At the Stellaris's speed, it would take 24 days and nights of non-stop travel to reach it. He didn't know how fast the enemy's forces were, but since only two days had passed, they shouldn't have landed yet.
He decided to scout ahead and assess the situation.
If it was just a small detachment from the enemy civilization, and they could defeat them, he'd destroy the wormhole first, then eliminate the detachment and claim the mining star for himself.
If the enemy brought reinforcements, he'd retreat.
But if they couldn't win...
He decided to run. First, he would plunder all the resources from the two planets still enduring the apocalypse. Then, he would head to the mining star 378 light-years away.
This was his plan.
"These people..."
"Damn them all."
"Every time I finally manage to get back on my feet, someone always pops up, trying to drag me back into the mud."
Chen Mang leaned back in his chair, his knuckles tapping lightly on the armrest as he muttered to himself.
His train hadn't been upgraded yet. It was only a Tier 22 train. The lowest-level train in the Pink Zone was Tier 22, while the highest-level train in the Seven-Colored Zone was Tier 27. Tier 27 was the maximum level.
Staying on Aquablue Star would no longer allow him to level up. He needed to venture into the depths of the cosmos to continue upgrading.
Though anger surged within him, he wouldn't let it cloud his judgment. With his train lagging in every aspect, charging forward would be futile. He would wait until he had fully exploited the Seven-Colored Zone's mines before venturing out to test the waters.
If he couldn't win, he would run. As long as the mountain remains green, there's always wood to burn.
The requirements to upgrade to a Tier 23 train were simple:
Upgrade Requirements: Consume 140,000 units of Tier 3 Iron Ore.
No accessory requirements, no resident population requirements—just 140,000 units of Tier 3 iron ore, or 14 million units of iron ore.
The next moment—
The train leveled up to Tier 23.
And that wasn't all.
There were no conditions for leveling up from Tier 24 to Tier 26.
After consuming 62 million units of iron ore, the train successfully jumped from Tier 22 all the way to Tier 26 in one go, just one step away from max level.
During this process, no new functions appeared on the control panel, and no new accessories became available to craft.
Only when preparing to upgrade the train to Tier 27 did the upgrade requirements become more demanding.
Upgrade Requirements: Consume 180,000 units of Tier 3 iron ore; number of residents on train must exceed 5,000; and the total accessory tier must exceed 500.
These conditions are quite demanding.
The requirement for over 5,000 survivors alone is something few can meet.
But—
He just happened to satisfy all the conditions.
After consuming another 18 million units of iron ore, two lines of text slowly appeared on the train's screen:
[Your train has reached Tier 27.
No more accessories can be crafted at this time.]
A new function has appeared on the control panel:
"Heart of Civilization."
[This function's effects become visible after establishing or joining a civilization. Currently, it remains grayed out. Stellaris does not belong to any civilization.]
No new craftable accessories have appeared either.
Tier 27.
This is already the highest level a train can reach within the Seven-Colored Zone. Yet, not a single Seven-Colored Grade Accessory has appeared. It's highly unlikely the train will ever acquire one through future upgrades.
They must be obtained from other zones.
Chen Mang glanced at the requirements for upgrading the train to Tier 28.
Upgrade Requirements: Consume 200,000 units of Tier 3 iron ore, have over 5,000 residents, a total accessory Tier exceeding 550, and at least one Pink or Seven-Colored Grade Accessory at Tier 50 or higher. The train must also leave the current planet.
This upgrade was no longer possible to complete on the Aquablue Star.
"..."
Chen Mang gazed at the information displayed on the control panel.
The train's biggest weakness remained its weak armor, currently only at Tier 22.
Such armor wouldn't provide enough security for deep-space travel. Before leaving Aquablue Star, he needed to upgrade the armor as much as possible and then raise the Tier of the "Energy Shield."
That way, if they encountered any unexpected dangers, they could use the train's special ability, "Absolute Defense," to withstand the attack.
Time passed slowly.
Over the next few days, the entire Seven-Colored Zone: Equatorial Core buzzed with activity.
In Neon City, something happened that left all train conductors utterly bewildered: the city had shut down.
What?!
Had they run off?
Even crushing their Neon City Entry Tickets wouldn't let them enter anymore.
Market trading?
No, no, no.
After the space gate reached Tier 200, Chen Mang no longer needed to trade with train conductors on Aquablue Star. In a few days, all survivors on the planet would become his miners, handing over all the resources they extracted daily.
He no longer needed Neon City as an intermediary.
All the resources on Aquablue Star were his.
He had already set his future course. The civilization he led wouldn't need many trains, and he wouldn't engage in war with other civilizations across a battlefront spanning tens of thousands of light-years. All the resources of the entire civilization would be concentrated on the Stellaris train.
Unite the power of civilization to build the Stellaris!
One train to carry an entire planet.
Thirteen days later...
All mines in the Seven-Colored Zone: Equatorial Core had been fully exploited, and all residents had returned to their Residential Districts. Some nervously glanced at the black screen, where Trainmaster Zhu had announced that the Stellaris was preparing to depart Aquablue Star today.
The entire journey would be broadcast live.
This announcement had left many residents feeling anxious.
After all, most people might have fantasized about winning the lottery—a low-probability event. But few could have imagined they would one day leave the planet where they were born and raised.
The fear of the unknown made many residents uneasy.
"Are we really going into space?"
Sitting in Residential District 1, Big Mao also gazed at the black screen with a hint of unease. While he had complete faith in the Stellaris, the dangers lurking in the deep cosmos were entirely unknown. Who knew what they might encounter?
Perhaps they would die.
Perhaps they would survive.
When he thought about it that way, it seemed like there was only a fifty-percent chance of death—not a high probability at all.
"..."
In the locomotive cabin, Chen Mang examined the train panel, checking the available resources.
[51.2 billion units of iron ore, 14.22 billion units of Wood, 43.49 billion units of copper ore, 12.4 billion units of Red Heart Rock, and 10.87 billion units of titanium crystal ore.]
All resources had reached the billion-unit level, representing the peak of the train's resource reserves.
Two of the six Seven-colored accessory blueprints he had taken from the Equatorial Core had already been used to craft the Wormhole Opener and the Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannon. The former had been upgraded to Tier 10, while the latter had reached Tier 50. The remaining four Seven-Colored Accessories had only been crafted and had yet to be upgraded further.
Just then, a short, agile train shot in from the distance, slowing down to dock with the Stellaris's locomotive.
As soon as it came to a stop, Erdan rushed anxiously toward the Flat Elevator in the first-floor locomotive cabin. After taking the elevator to the second-floor locomotive cabin, he urgently reported, "Lord Mang, something's happened! The barrier between all zones have suddenly disappeared!"
"The train radio is in chaos! It's no longer just showing individual zone conductors communicating with each other. All conductors across all zones are now sharing a single train radio!"
Chen Mang gestured for Erdan to sit down casually before speaking.
"I'm the one who removed the regional barriers. Without removing it, you wouldn't have been able to reach the Seven-Colored Zone."
"Huh?"
Erdan was slightly stunned, a flicker of disbelief in his eyes. "The barriers can be manually removed? Then wouldn't survivors in the low-level regions be slaughtered by high-grade monsters running amok?"
He was already baffled by how the Stellaris had suddenly jumped from the Red Zone to the Seven-Colored Zone in such a short time—it was like cheating. Now he was being told that Lord Mang had manually removed the Area Barrier?
"Mm."
Chen Mang nodded lightly. At the center of the Seven-Colored Zone's Equatorial Core, there was an explanation of how the zones were formed. The so-called Regional Barrier was actually an Energy Shield with "set intervals."
It ensured that high-grade monsters couldn't reach low-level regions and that low-level trains couldn't travel to high-level zones.
It was a tool created by the Mechanical Civilization to combat the Zerg Civilization, designed to give planets facing the apocalypse more time to develop and increase the survival rate of survivors.
This detail wasn't originally part of the Mechanical Civilization's Dawn Project.
It was added by Tuotuo and her AI after careful consideration.
As it turned out, this addition significantly increased the survival rate of survivors.
This is why he offered incense to Tuotuo.
Though the Mechanical Princess was often perceived as a princess who remained aloof from the front lines and unaware of the suffering of the common people, her revival of the Dawn Project during the collapse of her civilization truly gave countless lives a chance to survive.
He was one of those countless lives.
And it was in this zone that he learned about the Zerg Civilization's most terrifying trait:
Infinite Resurrection!
To be honest, when he heard this news, despair nearly overwhelmed him.
Infinite Wormhole + Rapid Reproduction + Infinite Resurrection!
Was the Zerg Civilization the main character of the cosmos?
Rapid Reproduction was already a game-breaking ability, allowing for explosive troop deployment. Infinite Wormhole was the ultimate game-breaking ability, enabling those troops to reach enemy territory instantly. And Infinite Resurrection amplified both of these abilities infinitely.
In two words: I invincible.
Four words: "You are all fxcked!"
There was no chance of victory.
Every monster created by the Zerg Civilization could draw upon the core energy of any planet they were on to achieve Infinite Resurrection. Since these monsters lacked sentience and only possessed a primal urge to kill, the question of whether it was the same monster didn't even matter.
Even if the planet was a dead star.
They could still slowly revive by absorbing stray core energy scattered throughout the cosmos, though the process would be slower.
However—
This ability wasn't shared by every monster.
Among the Zerg eggs deployed on Aquablue Star, there was a monster called the Antenna Worm. Roughly the size of a stink bug, it was incredibly fragile, only Tier 1.
Its ability was to absorb core energy from planets or scattered throughout the cosmos.
Through this Antenna Worm, the monsters on this planet could achieve Infinite Resurrection, effectively granting their allies a group resurrection buff.
This monster was located in the Seven-Colored Zone.
If it was easily crushed, all monsters on Aquablue Star would lose their ability to revive.
To be honest, when he first entered the Seven-Colored Zone, his target acquisition radar didn't detect any monsters, including this Antenna Worm. The Antenna Worm was hiding inside an iron can, completely invisible to the radar. If it hadn't been for University Professor and his team, he would never have known such a monster was lurking in the Seven-Colored Zone.
The AI's database only mentioned the existence of Antenna Worms, without specifying where they might hide.
What was truly despairing was this:
The Mechanical Civilization wasn't weak at all. In fact, it was an incredibly powerful civilization.
For a long time, the Mechanical Civilization had completely dominated the Zerg Civilization, slaughtering them relentlessly. For 200 years, the Mechanical Civilization held an absolute advantage. The "great victories" the Mechanical Civilization initially announced in its all-civilization news weren't false propaganda. They were genuine victories at first. But the reason the Mechanical Civilization was ultimately annihilated after 295 years of war was the turning point that came in the 239th year.
That year—
The Zerg Civilization's military suddenly swelled in numbers!
Initially, the Mechanical Civilization assumed the Zerg Civilization was finally resorting to desperate measures, exhausting its reserves for a final, desperate stand. But they soon realized the truth: it wasn't just an increase in the Zerg Civilization's military. It was the Zerg Civilization's military gaining the ability to resurrect infinitely!
Yes.
This is the Zerg Civilization's fourth Tier S ability:
Devour and Evolve.
After consuming any civilization, the Zerg Civilization retains its essence and rapidly disseminates it throughout the Zerg Civilization's population via the Queen Mother.
Normally, members of a civilization, even with differences, wouldn't vary drastically.
Yet the Zerg Civilization's monsters are incredibly diverse.
This is because the Zerg Civilization has devoured countless civilizations, creating a wide array of monsters. In the 239th year, after consuming a civilization with Infinite Resurrection, the Zerg Civilization's momentum became unstoppable.
"Did those Zerg Civilization bastards cheat?"
Erdan sat on a nearby chair, his eyes wide with shock. He muttered, "Infinite Wormhole + Rapid Reproduction + Infinite Resurrection + Devour and Evolve... How can any other civilization survive against that?"
"Compared to them..."
"The Mechanical Civilization's only train is so weak. The Mechanical Civilization is already extinct, and we're still behind the Zerg Civilization's main base, relying on their technology. How can we possibly survive?"
"Aren't they just blatant cheaters?!"
"Why does he get to cheat when we're all competing fairly?"
"I hate cheaters more than anything in this world!"
"Indeed."
Chen Mang sighed softly, lowered his head, and lit a cigarette, deeply agreeing. "Me too."
The enemy was simply too powerful.
So powerful it was starting to feel hopeless.
He recalled the scene he'd witnessed in the "Flesh Train" fortuitous encounter map within the Green Zone's "Kunlun Mountain."
A colossal worm monster, built around the skeleton of a flesh train, was surrounded by hundreds of mantis-like creatures constantly constructing it.
That monster.
It was the "Flesh Train" formed by the Zerg Civilization after devouring a large number of mechanical trains from the Mechanical Civilization.
It had once displayed its divine power on countless battlefields.
Seeing this, the Mechanical Civilization urgently began researching their own flesh trains. However, before they could make much progress, they were wiped out. Even as their civilization crumbled, they never solved the issues of the flesh train's uncontrollability and the train conductor merging with the train as it upgraded.
The failed flesh trains from that era were all locked away in a prison for continued research.
It was a path that had never been fully explored.
This was also a crooked path.
Not the righteous path.
From this perspective, the Zerg Civilization was an absolutely pure civilization. It took the essence and discarded the dross—a slogan every civilization claimed to follow, but only the Zerg Civilization executed it with absolute perfection and ruthless rigor.
The Goblin Civilization was another civilization devoured by the Zerg Civilization.
And the Zerg Civilization inherited the Goblin Civilization's unique trait: immunity to the Distorted Temporal Magnetic Field, meaning it was unaffected by temporal rifts.
This was utterly monstrous.
Many races possessed their own innate talents, but the Zerg Civilization's talent was the ability to transform the talents of all other races into its own.
However...
Perhaps due to the Goblin Civilization's unique nature, a bug occurred during its assimilation, causing goblins like Doba and Mundo to retain partial memories and cognitive abilities.
The Antenna Worm was dead.
Doba could never be revived again. In fact, since Doba joined the Stellaris, he had already lost access to the Antenna Worm's group resurrection buff.
Neither Doba nor he knew this.
Fortunately, he had never relied on Doba's ability to revive, never sending him on suicide missions.
Moreover—
The Antenna Worm's resurrection ability wasn't merely reviving the physical body; it also restored the soul and memories. Otherwise, Doba wouldn't remember the circumstances of his previous deaths each time he revived.
This was a rule ability.
If only the Stellaris had a corresponding accessory...
"So..." Erdan said after a long silence, his expression complex. "Can we even fight this?"
"Definitely not," Chen Mang shook his head firmly. "We'd need at least a century to develop."
"In that century, the Zerg Civilization will undoubtedly devour more civilizations and grow even stronger. Wouldn't that make it even harder to fight?"
"That's a distinct possibility." Chen Mang looked seriously at the galaxy map displayed on the screen. "That's why my plan has always been to escape the Zerg Civilization as much as possible, rather than confront it directly. The mining star 0.3 light-years away is our first target."
"It's also our springboard to the cosmos."
"However..."
"Someone else has already beaten us to it. Fifteen days ago, a wormhole from an unknown civilization appeared near the mining star. Their pioneers may have already landed. We need to go there first to assess their strength."
"If we can fight, we fight. If we can't, we run."
It wasn't that he was afraid of battle.
Nor was he a coward.
It was simply that the Zerg Civilization was beyond human comprehension—a God-Tier Civilization!
You might as well declare them invincible right now.
He'd run first.
They were both cheaters, but the Zerg Civilization's cheat parameters were clearly more absurd and unreasonable.
"So, what do we do now?"
"Wait."
Chen Mang leaned back against his chair, closed his eyes, and began to meditate.
When he activated the regional barrier, he had already deployed all 100 shuttlecraft from the train. They were now speeding through the other zones at breakneck speed, slaughtering monsters everywhere.
Each shuttlecraft was equipped with a Tier 5 Energy Stone, costing 5 million units of iron ore.
Their priority was to eliminate high-grade monsters.
With the Antenna Worm gone, the Zerg Civilization's monsters could no longer revive. No matter how many there were, they were now like water without a source, destined to be wiped out sooner or later.
Of course, the monsters on Aquablue Star weren't limited to the Zerg Civilization. There was also the zombie horde formed from the core energy released by Aquablue Star itself. These zombies couldn't be completely eradicated; they would have to coexist with the planet.
...
Chen Mang leaned back in his chair, intending only to meditate. But perhaps because he was somewhat fatigued, he gradually drifted off to sleep.
Next, they would prepare to integrate the Aquablue Star into the Stellaris and implant Iris Chips in everyone.
Only Erdan remained, sitting alone in a chair with a complex expression. He stared at the galaxy map on the screen, unsure what to do.
The path ahead was uncertain, fraught with peril.
He preferred a simple death—hanging, jumping from a building—to dying from some unknown risk. Who knew how he would die? He had a feeling it would be gruesome. He had searched his family records, and he was the only one who had died such a death.
If only he could die of old age.
If not, dying of illness would be acceptable.
Meanwhile—
On Violet Cloud Star, a planet 0.4 light-years from the Aquablue Star, a young man sat in the locomotive cabin, gazing at the galaxy map on the control panel screen.
His eyes sparkled with an unusual light.
A few days ago, he had successfully completed the extremely difficult fortuitous encounter map "Withered Wood Meets Spring," earning a wealth of rewards.
The greatest prize was undoubtedly the special item embedded in the control panel: the galaxy map.
This item allowed him to see the distribution of civilizations within a ten-light-year radius.
It also revealed that his planet wasn't the only one facing an apocalypse. Two other planets in the vicinity were also under threat.
Moreover...
There was also a mining star just 0.1 light-years away.
If only he could reach that mining star...
"The Zerg Civilization..."
The young man stared at the galaxy map, his fists clenched as he gazed at the vast territory occupied by the Zerg Civilization. A cold glint flashed in his eyes.
"In time, I will slaughter the Zerg Civilization to the last one!"
The arrogance of youth.
The arrogance of a war god.
He had always believed this without a doubt. He was the sole protagonist on the stage of cosmic civilization, and no matter how strong others might be, they were merely supporting characters waiting for him to defeat them.
(End of the Chapter)
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