Translator: AnubisTL
After issuing his instructions, Chen Mang settled into the locomotive cabin and halted his current star-harvesting operation. The efficiency was simply too low; without a powerful magnet to assist him, the process would take an exorbitant amount of time.
Even if a powerful magnet proved insufficient, he would need to find another method.
Brute-force collection was clearly not viable.
He glanced at the Civilization Wonder he had just acquired on the train's screen:
"New Universe."
This was the human civilization's fifth Civilization Wonder, obtained upon upgrading the "Space Gate" to its maximum level. Like the "Space Gate," it was located in Carriage 13 and had materialized directly within the train, where he had subsequently placed it.
The previous four wonders were:
"Insect Silence," "Divine Silence," "Miracle Descent," and "One Finger."
Suspended in mid-air within Carriage 13, the "New Universe" resembled a miniature Milky Way galaxy. Countless faint points of light shimmered within it, creating a mesmerizing 3D projection-like effect. It was a truly captivating spectacle and made for an excellent exhibit.
Its effect was:
[Special Wonder: For each planet added to the train, the civilization possessing this wonder will illuminate one light on the Civilization Wonder.]
"Oh?" Chen Mang raised an eyebrow, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. He'd noticed that some of the lights on the "New Universe" Civilization Wonder, floating in Carriage 13, seemed brighter than others. Now he understood: the planets already on the train were illuminating those specific lights.
Interesting. I didn't expect this kind of interactive effect.
If the "Powerful Magnet" could randomly grant the ability to absorb planets, he could not only amass a vast collection of stars but also fully illuminate the Civilization Wonder. He wondered what benefits would unlock upon full illumination.
Now all he needed was for the blueprint for the Powerful Magnet to be manufactured.
The pressure's on Qi Kexiu.
He then turned his attention to a new panel that had appeared on the train control panel screen.
[Human Civilization, Civilization Empowerment: For each Civilization Wonder recognized by the Cosmic Rules, gain a box containing a random mysterious reward, up to a maximum of nine.] (Seven-colored)
[The human civilization has successfully created a Civilization Wonder recognized by the Cosmic Rules. The universe has named it 'New Universe.']
[Successfully obtained a box containing a random mysterious reward.]
Time to open another box.
This was the fifth box he had obtained.
The last two times, he had received cigarettes and a lighter. He wondered what this one would contain.
Surely not a bar?
Chen Mang muttered to himself as he opened the box on the table. In the next moment, he stood frozen, his expression blank. Inside the box was indeed a bottle of beer.
Really? Beer?
Does this thing have telepathy?
He picked up the logo-less bottle of beer and turned it over in his hand. A special item—a special item targeted at civilizations. Most of the special items he had obtained from these boxes were aimed at civilizations, with very few focused on individuals.
After all, individual strength paled in comparison to the power of a civilization.
Item Effect: After your civilization enacts a Prohibition Order and enforces it with at least 90% effectiveness, a drop of Nectar will materialize within this beer bottle every ten years. Consuming this Nectar grants Cosmic Immortality, preventing natural death from old age.
If the Prohibition Order is lifted or its enforcement falls below 90% effectiveness, the item becomes inactive, and all those who have consumed the Nectar will lose their Cosmic Immortality.
"Interesting," Chen Mang murmured, gazing thoughtfully at the item's effect. He didn't particularly need the immortality-granting Nectar, but he found the item intriguing—bound to a civilization's policy, capable of altering its developmental trajectory.
"Train Conductor, should the human civilization implement a Prohibition Order?"
"No need," Chen Mang waved his hand dismissively. Though he wasn't fond of alcohol himself, he acknowledged that there was no true substitute for it during times of celebration. For a civilization, it was practically indispensable.
More importantly...
Ten years.
It would take ten years after the Prohibition Order was enacted to obtain a single drop of Nectar.
He couldn't wait that long.
At the current rate of progress, in ten years, if he ever lost his appetite for beef, not a single cow would remain alive in the entire universe. This item would be utterly useless.
As for trading...
Even less necessary.
He no longer needed to barter with any civilization. The entire universe was now fertile ground awaiting his conquest, and everything born within it belonged to him. What sense was there in trading with himself?
All that remained was to wait for the Accessory Blueprint for the "Powerful Magnet" to be deciphered.
At this thought, Chen Mang mused aloud, "Perhaps it's time to assemble a new research team?"
"Human civilization has already reached Eighth-Tier status. Qi Kexiu's research team was originally recruited from the First-Tier Peace-Seeking Civilization. They might be struggling to keep up with our civilization's progress."
"We need to find new research teams from advanced civilizations."
"The God-Tier Human Civilization seems promising."
"Let's check it out first."
One day later, Chen Mang successfully arrived at Anne Star, a bustling commercial planet within the God-Tier Human Civilization, by repeatedly traversing wormholes.
The entire process went unnoticed.
His train and wormholes were cloaked with absolute stealth technology, rendering them undetectable even by the God-Tier Human Civilization's full-Tier radar. Their technology was a Tier above.
As their train smoothly entered Anne Star's central train station through official channels, a quick scan easily cleared them through customs.
Their cover story: an inspection team from a major corporation.
In a civilization as advanced as the God-Tier Human Civilization, society's operations inevitably rely on sophisticated AI management. Xiao Ai, already at full Tier, could effortlessly infiltrate all train AIs and fabricate verifiable false information in the AI Database, making their deception child's play.
"Basic stuff."
"Not bad."
Chen Mang stood on a bustling street in Anne Star's commercial district, observing the diverse crowd. People of every skin color mingled here, and his yellow complexion didn't seem out of place. Still, the differences compared to his human civilization were striking, even to the naked eye.
Occasionally, a figure would glide past—entirely transparent, composed of countless blue and white code fragments. Lacking flesh, organs, or blood, they resembled the corpse of a programmer who had coded all night and died suddenly.
He learned from a nearby billboard that these beings were called "Mechanism Persons."
In essence, they had abandoned all organic carbon-based forms, possessing no flesh, no diseases, no death, and, of course, no sex—they didn't even have dicks anymore.
Having completely digitized themselves, their core data was stored in the Data Center. Through data transfer, they could travel to planets tens of millions of light-years away in mere seconds, expanding their range of activity exponentially.
The billboard detailed the advantages of this form, and it was even free!
Completely free, not a single credit charged.
"Train Conductor."
Xiao Ai quickly accessed the database and provided detailed information about this form: "This form has virtually no drawbacks. Even sexual activity can be realistically simulated through data input, and in theory, it can achieve Eternal Life."
"The only drawback is—"
"The data must be stored in the Data Center. If your data is deleted by the Data Center, you will truly die. However, storing your data in the Data Center is quite expensive."
"Becoming a Mechanism Person is essentially becoming a slave to the Data Center."
"You must work continuously until you can no longer afford the storage fees."
"The advertisements claim that after becoming a Mechanism Person, you no longer need to buy a house, rest, sleep, or own a car. You can go anywhere you want by transferring your data through the Data Center."
"In reality, after becoming a Mechanism Person, you must work around the clock just to afford the next storage fee."
"Hmm."
Chen Mang nodded slightly. From this perspective, it was clear that the God-Tier Civilization, the human civilization, had not regulated capitalism within its own civilization. He didn't mind marketization; for a civilization to develop and prosper, marketization was essential.
Within his civilization, a citizen could go to a supermarket and buy many things they couldn't produce themselves, or things that would be prohibitively expensive to make.
This was a product of marketization.
This had value.
But if the civilization's enterprises lacked oversight and focused solely on profit, such situations would arise. He didn't want to see this happen within his own civilization.
However,
Based on his observations and information from the God-Tier Civilization "Human Civilization's" communication platforms, it was clear that its people still had a strong sense of identity with their civilization.
This was somewhat self-evident.
Which God-Tier Civilization's people wouldn't feel a strong sense of identity with their own civilization?
Beyond that,
He also saw many fascinating things.
For example:
Clothes that could instantly change styles and colors.
An earring priced exorbitantly high, which was essentially a miniature black hole.
A university student's graduation project was designing a functional model of the universe.
"Historical Reenactment" had become a popular form of immersive theater.
It was essentially "Spacetime Reversion," but here it was far more widespread. Elderly couples, with nothing better to do, often enjoyed revisiting their younger days, watching themselves holding hands and falling in love.
It was somewhat like... a replay.
Just as many gamers enjoyed downloading replays to admire their own skillful plays, people in Historical Reenactment could relive the highlights of their lives.
These weren't matters of combat prowess.
No full-tier radar, no full-tier armor.
Just ordinary daily life.
It had to be admitted that human civilization's foundation was still weak. They had a long way to go before reaching God-Tier Civilization status. For instance, if you randomly pulled someone from their civilization and asked what tier human civilization was, they would hesitate, stammering uncertainly.
There was no help for it.
Human civilization was advancing too rapidly.
With each Advancement, all textbooks on current Civilization Levels and official websites listing civilization tiers had to be updated.
The foundation simply couldn't keep up.
"Oh?"
Just then—
Chen Mang noticed something that caught his attention. He walked to the most bustling part of the city, where the towering buildings on both sides of the street displayed the same advertisement on their exterior screens:
[Virtual Online Game: "New Universe" - Official Public Beta!]
Virtual Online Game.
This concept was hardly novel. He had encountered it in Low-Tier Civilizations, and even his own civilization had developed virtual online games to a considerable extent. In the God-Tier Civilization of the human civilization, virtual online games were naturally a common form of entertainment.
However, the marketing for this particular virtual online game was intriguing.
It claimed to be the largest "Virtual Online Game" in the history of the entire universe, utilizing a Full-Tier AI with a maximum level of 10,000 and dedicating 100% of its computing power to the game. The game boasted a map mirroring the Observable Universe at a 1:1 scale, with countless planets for players to explore.
It promised countless unexpected events for players to discover.
It promised countless fortuitous encounters to surprise players.
The gameplay was simple:
It followed the development model of a "Train Civilization." Players would start from scratch, gathering various resources to build their own train, gradually joining other civilizations, establishing their own, or ultimately vying for dominance over the universe.
This gimmick alone was already impressive.
Using 100% of a Full-Tier AI's computing power far surpassed Xiao Ai's capabilities. To date, nothing on the Stellaris train had ever required Xiao Ai to expend its full computing power.
Dedicating a Full-Tier AI entirely to a game was clearly beyond the capabilities of any ordinary company.
Even a company from a God-Tier Civilization couldn't possibly create a Tier 10,000 AI.
Even if the resources existed to build such an AI, no civilization would ever allow it. The resources would be confiscated and put to better use by the civilization itself.
But the most explosive gimmick of all was yet to come!
The virtual online game "New Universe" was jointly developed by 27 God-Tier Civilizations. It offered multiple playable races, each with its own racial talents—except for the Human Clan.
The game almost perfectly replicated the civilization structures of the real universe.
This gimmick was truly explosive.
With 100% of a Full-Tier AI's computing power dedicated to the game, and a Data Center capable of handling a massive number of players, using such an AI solely for gaming was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
"This doesn't make sense..."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes slightly. This setup clearly went beyond a simple game; he sensed there was something more he didn't know.
"Xiao Ai, investigate the true purpose of this game."
"Understood."
Having Xiao Ai was like carrying an intelligence center with him.
However,
Many God-Tier Civilizations possessed Full-Tier AIs, leading to a widespread awareness of the risk of AI Database intrusions. As a result, they increasingly favored physical storage methods, making much classified information undetectable.
Soon—
Xiao Ai spoke with a peculiar tone: "I've found information about our civilization."
"In the game's backstory, there's an Eighth-Tier Civilization called the 'Human Civilization,' led by a figure named Chen Mang. It's classified as a Chaotic Civilization."
"And they're the villains."
(End of the Chapter)
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