Rebirth of the Super Battleship

Chapter 436: Silicon-Based Lifeforms

Standing before this grand hall, Xiao Yu felt as though he had traversed across endless history, arriving at the distant past one billion years ago, witnessing stories that were either magnificent or tragic.

It seemed as if Xiao Yu could see countless lifeforms and mechanical devices busily at work, innumerable starships weaving through space. They were so powerful that even the intense radiation and strong gravitational field of a white dwarf were completely ignored. Using this planet as a base, they treated the white dwarf as their backyard, wantonly remodeling it, forcing it to grow into the image they imagined.

All of this stirred a deep yearning within Xiao Yu.

The intelligence he had obtained so far was already abundant, enough for him to form countless hypotheses.

First, there was no doubt this must be the ruins left behind by an advanced civilization. By now, Xiao Yu had basically come to believe that the structures he saw on the surface of the white dwarf were real, rather than illusions like those he had once encountered in the Aquila Nebula, confused by alien beasts. This was confirmed by many details, such as the numerous construction bases on the planet and the space fortresses still orbiting the world.

Then, for some unknown reason, this civilization withdrew. Xiao Yu speculated that their retreat might also be the reason this region had become extremely dangerous, and the cause of why, in those shattered starships he had seen, every lifeform had perished in such a strange manner.

What that reason was, Xiao Yu could not yet discern. He only knew that ever since these ruins had appeared, through the long span of one billion years, they had drawn civilization after civilization to venture forth, hoping to obtain advanced technology. Whether anyone had succeeded, Xiao Yu did not know. He only knew that many lives had ended here.

Xiao Yu also recalled his earlier speculation. If the Guardian Civilization had truly driven him into these dangerous ruins on purpose, then for what reason? Perhaps… they already knew about his special form of existence, and that this uniqueness gave him certain advantages in surviving within this perilous environment. Were they using his hand to obtain the sealed technology here?

That was not an impossible scenario, but Xiao Yu still could not be certain.

Xiao Yu continuously broadcasted the situation on this planet to the virtual conference room for the scientists to observe. As they watched the hall, where statues were scattered in disarray, Luka Four suddenly felt a spark of realization.“Master, these statues… perhaps they are not statues.” Luka Four said.

Luka Four was an authority in the life sciences, and Xiao Yu had no choice but to take his opinion seriously. Seeing Xiao Yu’s gaze fall upon him, Luka Four hesitated slightly before continuing, “Please bring me some specimens. I have a hypothesis that needs to be tested.”

“Alright.” Xiao Yu agreed. He selected one statue and directed several robots to lift it together, carrying it onto a Village-Class spaceship waiting outside. The Village-Class spaceship quickly took off, transporting it to the Russia Nation-Class ship. Onboard the Russia Nation-Class ship, Xiao Yu had built a specialized biological laboratory for Luka Four.

Luka Four rose, issued a series of commands through his computation terminal, and began manipulating mechanical arms to work. Xiao Yu saw him first chip some powder off the statue, placing it into an analysis device for testing, then prepare some culture-like solutions, busily experimenting with them.

After a long while, Luka Four finally let out a light sigh of relief. “Master, my hypothesis has been confirmed. These statues are not statues. They are lifeforms… or rather, they once were lifeforms. These statues are merely their remains.”

“Although my knowledge of the life sciences is shallow, I do know that after death, lifeforms normally do not turn into something like stone. Lord Four, could you explain this to us?” another scientist asked in puzzlement.

Xiao Yu himself did not pose this question. While Luka Four was conducting his experiments, Xiao Yu had been observing and analyzing in parallel. He had already received the experimental data. His conclusion was the same as Luka Four’s.

“So this kind of thing really does exist…” Xiao Yu and Luka Four exchanged a glance and gave a bitter smile.

“In that case, the strange manner of death we previously observed among those intelligent beings can basically be explained. This is not a war between civilizations, but a war between the very foundations of existence…” Xiao Yu sighed inwardly.

Xiao Yu was a human from Earth, Luka Four was a Luka, and the other scientists belonged to different races and civilizations. But they all shared one thing in common, they were carbon-based lifeforms. In other words, their development was based on organic matter. The biggest difference between organic matter and inorganic matter was the presence of carbon, which was why they were called carbon-based life.

But these statues… the experimental results had made it perfectly clear to Xiao Yu. They were lifeforms, but completely different from Xiao Yu, from Luka Four, and from all the other scientists. They were another mode of existence. They were not carbon-based life, but… silicon-based life.

These statues were the remains of silicon-based lifeforms.

The so called silicon-based life was not inherently mysterious. It was simply a matter of replacing carbon with silicon. Yet just this substitution of a single element brought about a tremendous change in survival mode. Silicon-based lifeforms were beings akin to stone, fundamentally different from carbon-based life.

After their death, they would leave behind forms resembling stone carvings. Those were not statues, but their corpses. This ruin was indeed left behind by an ancient civilization. But it was no ordinary civilization, it was a silicon-based civilization.

Xiao Yu seemed to understand why the intelligent beings he had seen earlier had all perished in such strange ways. The reason was simple, they were carbon-based lifeforms, and it was certain that in these dangerous ruins, there existed some kind of weapon specifically targeting carbon-based life. That was why they had been transformed from organic matter into inorganic matter.

“The reason is simple. These lifeforms are not ordinary creatures. They… are silicon-based lifeforms.” Luka Four stated with certainty.

Luka Four was an authority in life sciences. If he said so, it was almost certainly true. Moreover, Xiao Yu had independently reached the same conclusion.

For a moment, the conference room was filled with commotion.

“To think silicon-based life actually exists. Before this, I always believed it was only a theoretical construct, impossible in the real world.”

“Yes, it’s truly beyond imagination. I never thought that in my lifetime, I would see silicon-based life.”

“This must be thoroughly studied. We need to understand exactly what differences exist between silicon-based life and us carbon-based lifeforms.”

The scientists all began to talk excitedly.

Xiao Yu did not join in their discussion, because he had already thought of a very serious problem, one that revealed the true danger of these ruins. He and Luka Four exchanged a glance, and each saw worry reflected in the other’s eyes.

The problem was simple, and easy to realize.

“All my subordinates are carbon-based lifeforms. From what we have seen so far, all carbon-based beings who came here died. Wouldn’t that mean they are in danger too? If they all perish here as well, then haven’t all my efforts been in vain?”

Xiao Yu had not concealed the intelligence he had gathered earlier. The wreckage of starships, the manner of death of other intelligent beings, these were things all the scientists already knew.

The hubbub in the conference room lasted only a short while before gradually falling into silence. These scientists were all exceptionally brilliant; how could they not grasp the crucial point?

“What… should we do?” one scientist finally broke the silence, asking bitterly, “They all died. What about us?”

Xiao Yu did not answer the question. Instead, he cast his gaze once more to a place hundreds of billions of kilometers away. He knew the fleet of the Guardian Civilization was stationed there. The existence of this dangerous region blocked their advance and had once again plunged him into crisis.

Xiao Yu had not expected that this was where the true danger of the ruins lay. He did not know the source of this peril, what sustained it, or what mechanism produced such effects. He only knew that the danger of the ruins must still be present, otherwise, this place would not be so deserted.

Just think, a silicon-based civilization of at least Level 6. For the rest of the civilizations in the universe, how immense would that attraction be? Not to mention the temptation of inheriting advanced technology, even the research value of silicon-based life alone was enough to drive countless scientists mad with desire.

“I don’t know what to do.” Xiao Yu said calmly, “but I can promise this, no matter what happens, I will never abandon anyone lightly. Do not lose hope. I believe that our Divine Ark Civilization cannot be defeated by any hardship. Not by the Sweeper Civilization, nor the Guardian Civilization, nor a Taihao Civilization. Not even the ruins of a silicon-based civilization can break us.”

“Remain on high alert. In this period, monitor all vital signs closely. Do not overlook any case of unexpected death. This is the most dangerous time for our Divine Ark Civilization. Let us unite and overcome this trial together.”