Translator: AnubisTL
"What do you mean?"
Chen Mang glanced at the military bases on the Green Mountain Civilization's commercial planets displayed on the Doppler Radar. He turned to Xiao Ai beside him and asked softly, "These military bases are all AI-managed. Can you gain access to their AI without alerting anyone and extract their resources?"
"Absolutely," Xiao Ai's voice echoed through the train. "I don't even need to enter the military bases. From here, I can directly take control of their AI and ensure it remains undetected for a short period."
"As for the periodic reports they send upward, I can handle that perfectly too."
"After all, this isn't an intrusion."
"It's a complete takeover of operational control."
"These are two different things. I have access to everything in the military base AI's database, so I naturally know what needs to be reported periodically."
"Good."
A hint of a smile flickered in Chen Mang's eyes as he nodded slightly.
This was perfect.
Admittedly, deploying a single Two-Dimensional Foil could instantly destroy the Green Mountain Civilization's entire galaxy. With only seven galaxies in their territory, roughly seven foils would bring their civilization to an end.
But that approach would mean losing access to all the resources the Green Mountain Civilization had accumulated over the years.
This method, though slower, promised the greatest rewards.
An hour later, an armored train, escorted by a swarm of hovering vehicles, sped along the highway toward the Stellaris train stationed on the outskirts of the city. Just as it was about to collide with the Stellaris, it slammed on its brakes, screeching to a halt.
Immediately afterward—
Several fully armed soldiers wearing electronic helmets emerged, carrying massive storage boxes. Speaking fluent Cosmic Language, they approached the Stellaris, saluted, and solemnly announced:
"Under orders, we are here to transfer two Foundation units of iron ore stored within the Changrong Star military base. Please confirm receipt."
In the next moment—
The door to Carriage 7 of the Stellaris slid open. Biaozi, leading members of Guard Team One, stepped out, his expression grim. With a curt wave, he signaled: "Confirmed."
Not a single unnecessary word was spoken throughout the entire exchange.
The soldier escorting the resources remained silent, merely observing the process. Once it was complete, he turned and left without taking any photos for confirmation, requesting receipts, or requiring any delivery slips.
He departed without any proof of delivery.
This was because Xiao Ai, having seized control of the military base's AI, had issued a First-Level Top-Secret Military Order. Anyone receiving such an order was authorized only to execute it, with no right to inquire about its specifics, and forbidden from disclosing it to anyone—not even their direct superiors.
Thus, they waited here.
Doing nothing.
The military base personnel themselves delivered the two Foundation units of iron ore.
The entire process was far simpler than when they had infiltrated the City AI on the planet invaded by the Kasha Civilization.
The Train Auxiliary AI's Tier 2000 Overpowered Effect allowed it to infiltrate and gain complete control over any AI with a lower Tier within a one-light-year radius. This capability extended beyond just the Train AI; it could also infiltrate AIs like those governing military bases.
It was a complete and total invasion.
Even the anti-intrusion traps in the AI's deepest databases were completely under Xiao Ai's control.
This was dimensional reduction crushing!
"Truly terrifying," Chen Mang murmured, watching the retreating squad disappear into the distance.
Is this the method of advanced civilizations? he wondered. Without firing a single shot, they've secured two Foundation units of iron ore, and I can't even comprehend how they did it.
He had always trusted Xiao Ai implicitly.
Whether based on the AI's fundamental logic or Xiao Ai's unwavering loyalty, he had believed Xiao Ai would never betray him.
But now...
He wasn't so sure anymore.
What if another train had a Tier 3000 or Tier 5000 AI? The Stellaris, which he had poured so much time and resources into building, would become a mere plaything in their hands, completely under their control.
Anyone on the train could betray him.
Old Pig, Biaozi, Xiao Fang—it didn't matter.
Even if Xiao Fang poisoned him with a deadly toxin, he would find a way to survive.
But Xiao Ai was different. If Xiao Ai betrayed him, everything would be over. The Stellaris would fall, and human civilization would be doomed.
The Train Auxiliary AI's Tier must be prioritized above all else!
Chen Mang silently gazed at the train's current iron ore reserves.
13.39 Foundation units of iron ore.
Enough!
He had to upgrade the Train Auxiliary AI to Tier 5000 first. Only then would he have the confidence to face any threat. He believed that even a 7th Tier Civilization wouldn't possess an AI of such advanced Tier.
After all, even though the Train Auxiliary AI was a green-grade Accessory, upgrading it to Tier 5000 would require an astronomical amount of murphy stone—a sum that even a 7th Tier Civilization would struggle to afford.
In the next moment—
After consuming 5 Foundation units of iron ore, the Train Auxiliary AI was instantly upgraded to Tier 5000!
It became the first Tier 5000 Accessory on the Stellaris!
Upgrading the Train Auxiliary AI from Tier 1000 to Tier 2000 had cost 500 trillion units of iron ore, but advancing from Tier 2000 to Tier 5000 required 5 Foundation units.
In other words, 50,000 trillion units of iron ore.
Two extra zeros.
A hundredfold increase in consumption.
An exorbitant price.
Considering that the Train Auxiliary AI was merely a green-grade Accessory, one could only imagine the resources required to upgrade seven-colored grade Accessories or even armor to this Tier.
Without devouring the Green Mountain Civilization, even if he wandered the cosmos for ten thousand years, he would never accumulate such vast resources.
Plunder remained the fastest path to wealth accumulation.
The faster the plunder, the lower the cost.
And now, he possessed the Stellaris's first Tier 5000 Overpowered Effect.
[Train Auxiliary AI Tier 5000 Overpowered Effect: Can detect all information in high-dimensional space and emit a "Dimensional Collapse Wave" to forcibly compress all targets in high-dimensional space back into three-dimensional space.]
[Upon detecting hostile targets, it can arbitrarily "delete" one dimension of their four-dimensional existence.]
[Both effects only work against hostile entities with AI Tiers lower than its own.]
Chen Mang silently gazed at the Tier 5000 Overpowered Effect before him, the first of its kind on the Stellaris train.
He finally understood just how absurdly powerful a Tier 5000 Overpowered Effect could be.
Especially the latter ability.
It could arbitrarily erase any one of the four dimensions of existence: length, width, height, and time.
By removing one of each spatial dimension, the target would be reduced to two dimensions, becoming utterly flat—essentially a cost-free, miniature Two-Dimensional Foil that ignored Armor Tier.
Even if the opponent possessed Tier 5000 armor, it would be meaningless as long as their AI Tier was lower than his.
It would be a complete and utter annihilation.
A bloodless annihilation.
Conversely, if the 'time dimension' were erased, the target would become a wandering statue in the cosmos. The train itself would lose its temporal dimension, forever unable to perceive the passage of time. Its occupants would neither die nor retain consciousness, becoming living dead adrift in the universe.
Moreover, the effect could detect entities from High-Dimensional Space.
This hardly seemed like an AI anymore; it was more like a radar system.
Whoosh
Chen Mang exhaled softly. His primary goal had simply been to upgrade his AI to Tier 5000 to prevent others from controlling it. Now, the Tier 5000 Overpowered Effect had given him an unexpected surprise.
Most importantly—
After this upgrade,
He learned that the next Overpowered Effect would unlock at Tier 10,000.
He also learned that Tier 10,000 was the ultimate limit.
The end of this universe.
Even with countless murphy stones—even if all the murphy stones in the universe were gathered—it would be impossible to upgrade an accessory from Tier 10,000 to Tier 10,001. This was a cosmic constraint, the universe's final boundary.
If a train's every accessory reached Tier 10,000, it would truly represent a God-Tier Civilization—and one of the most elite among them.
Throughout history!
In all the years of the universe, only one civilization had ever achieved this: the divine race.
Only the divine race, with their cheat-like ability to infinitely draw upon all cosmic resources and murphy stones, could accomplish this. No other civilization could.
"Tier 10,000, huh?"
Chen Mang pondered silently, sensing the distance wasn't insurmountable.
After assimilating the Green Mountain Civilization, he figured that absorbing a few dozen more Green Mountain-level civilizations, followed by a dozen or so Seventh- and Eighth-Tier Civilizations, would bring him close to achieving that level.
His potential was limitless.
As long as he focused on development, steadily acquiring resources, and avoided premature demise, he was destined to reach the pinnacle, witnessing the full splendor of the cosmos firsthand.
"Not bad," he murmured after a long pause, a smile spreading across his face. "How are you feeling, Xiao Ai?"
"Amazing!" Xiao Ai's euphoric voice echoed through the train. "The sensation is unprecedented! My computing power is astonishingly fast. I can process all the affairs of the human civilization's planets using just 1% of my capacity, completing them in mere moments."
"My current computing power far exceeds the needs of the human civilization."
"It's practically inexhaustible."
"Feels a bit wasteful, doesn't it?"
"Don't worry, it won't go to waste. I'll find tasks to keep your computing power fully utilized."
With that, Chen Mang departed without lingering.
Instead, they created a wormhole to the nearest Commercial Planet, 78 light-years away. After entering the planet using the same method, they seized control of the military base AI and ordered it to deliver resources to them.
They didn't have to do anything.
They simply sat back and received the resources.
Xiao Ai's AI control was undeniably powerful, but its range was too limited—it only worked within one light-year. If only it could operate within radar range...
Chen Mang quickly shook his head, dismissing the thought with an exasperated smile.
That would be absurdly overpowered.
His radar range extended a hundred million light-years. If he could hack into every AI within that range, he'd become virtually invincible. In such a scenario, there would be no room for smaller civilizations to thrive within the territories of larger ones.
The advanced civilizations could simply use this method to effortlessly destroy all the lesser civilizations within their domains.
The universe was vast.
These advanced civilizations were like giant sharks, their immense power allowing them to easily devour entire schools of fish and claim vast territories. Yet even with such dominance, they couldn't completely eliminate every shrimp and fish within their domains.
The vast universe teemed with vibrant life.
Every civilization had the opportunity to rise to the top.
But emerging into prominence also meant stepping into the hunter's line of sight.
Perhaps...
Someone had already noticed the anomaly that was the human civilization.
Chen Mang gazed into the depths of space, sitting calmly in his chair, saying nothing. Whoever sought to exploit the human civilization would be sorely disappointed.
The Stellaris train was advancing at an astonishing pace.
Soon, the planet's 2 Foundation units of iron ore were packaged and hauled away.
Chen Mang reopened the wormhole and sped toward another Commercial Planet.
Within this galaxy alone, there were over thirty such Commercial Planets, each with its own military base. It would take many trips.
It was exhausting work.
After completing the initial run, Chen Mang stopped making individual trips. Instead, he created wormholes to all the remaining planets simultaneously.
Upon landing, he tossed out the refrigerator.
By having Xiao Ai control different robots to exit the refrigerator, Chen Mang could simultaneously control the Military Base AIs of all the Commercial Planets.
The speed increased dramatically.
Vast quantities of iron ore flowed endlessly into the Stellaris train.
Foundation unit of iron ore.
This was a single unit.
But the name of this unit spoke volumes. Iron ore that could be measured in such units was considered a civilization's foundation—a resource that should never be used lightly. Losing it would inflict catastrophic damage on the civilization.
Just then—
As everything proceeded smoothly,
Chen Mang, sitting in the locomotive cabin, suddenly raised an eyebrow. Through the Doppler Radar, he detected that the Green Mountain Civilization had dispatched another military fleet to the Niya Star System. Their mission: to maintain the blockade of Niya's space and guard its outer perimeter.
They're back again?
"Strange..."
Chen Mang stared at the radar display with a puzzled expression. Did the Green Mountain Civilization really want him dead so badly?
That doesn't make sense.
Logically, after suspecting a 7th Tier Civilization had attacked their military stationed on the outer fringes of the Niya Star System, the Green Mountain Civilization should have been acting with extreme caution, retreating into a defensive posture like a turtle withdrawing into its shell. Why would they launch a preemptive strike?
Didn't the Green Mountain Civilization fear retaliation from the 7th Tier Civilization?
A mere human civilization, lacking significant resources, hardly seemed worth the risk.
In the vast cosmos, the pursuit of profit always lay at the heart of every conflict. From Chen Mang's perspective, for the Green Mountain Civilization, avoiding confrontation with a 7th Tier Civilization should take precedence over eliminating a potentially threatening future civilization.
Unless...
There was something within the human civilization that Chen Mang didn't know about—something so vital to the Green Mountain Civilization that they were willing to gamble, even suspecting the 7th Tier Civilization had already intervened.
"Xiao Ai," Chen Mang said, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Retrieve all communication records from the Green Mountain Civilization for the past few days."
"Understood," Xiao Ai responded crisply.
(End of the Chapter)
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