novelraw Chapter 462: Future Route
Chapter 462: Future Route
Just as Xiao Yu had said, the condition required for a Level 5 Civilization to advance to a Level 6 Civilization determined that the process could not be peaceful. War and slaughter would inevitably accompany it.
Xiao Yu even began to suspect whether in this universe there existed some being that had deliberately formulated such rules, with the aim of preventing civilizations from living together peacefully and forcing them to wage war against one another. The selfishness of civilizations determines that a given civilization is unwilling to let other civilizations enhance their strength, while the expansiveness of a civilization determines that it will stop at nothing to raise its own strength. This is an irreconcilable contradiction.
Applied to Xiao Yu himself, Xiao Yu wanted to raise himself to a Level 6 Civilization, so he would attempt to obtain the unique technologies of other civilizations, while at the same time he was unwilling to let other civilizations rise to Level 6, and would keep his own unique technologies secret. In other words, Xiao Yu was only willing to take and unwilling to give.
When every Level 5 Civilization is only willing to take and unwilling to give, there is truly no solution other than war.
“Our Divine Ark Civilization’s path forward must be paved with the flesh and blood of other civilizations. Only by slaughtering enough civilizations, so that the path we pave is long enough, can we tread this road and enter the category of a Level 6 Civilization. In this process, we may succeed, or we may fail and become the stepping stones for other civilizations to advance. This is a journey filled with blood and fire. Everyone, prepare yourselves mentally in advance.” Luka Two spoke faintly, his voice full of a peculiar desolation.
The meeting room fell silent. Everyone was pondering this issue.
“We possess the Sphere of Death, elementary spatial weapons, and Four-Dimensional shields. We may even, in the near future, have a Continent-Class spaceship made entirely from the flesh of a Level 4 Alien Beast. By analyzing the Molian Civilization’s technology tree and, through analysis of the Guardian Civilization’s spaceship, achieving development at the level of applied technology, our new-type spaceship can have a cruising speed of thirty-five times the speed of light. We also possess computing modules with twenty times the efficiency of what we have now. Among Level 5 Civilizations, we are an invincible presence. I do not believe our civilization will fail.” Luka Three said.
“I believe every Level 5 Civilization thinks the same, and none of them believes it will fail.” Luka Two said softly. “Do not underestimate any Level 5 Civilization. Any civilization that has been passed down for tens of thousands of years possesses profound foundations.”
“This scene reminds me of an ancient legend. In the primordial era, when we were still confined to the surface of a planet, in the wilds there circulated the legend of raising gu. People would place dozens or hundreds of poisonous insects together and make them kill each other, and in the end only one poisonous insect could survive. How similar our predicament is to those gu insects. Among dozens or hundreds of Level 5 Civilizations, only one Level 5 Civilization can smoothly reach the category of a Level 6 Civilization.” Xiao Yu sighed. “But I do not believe this fact is unchangeable.”
“Oh? Master, do you have other methods to achieve the goal?” Luka Two asked.“Compared to war and slaughter, I prefer to obtain the unique technologies of other civilizations by means of peaceful trade. Our mode of existence is not the same as that of the Molian Civilization. Our society as a whole is composed of spaceships rather than planets. Our people are better suited to live on spaceships rather than on planets. We possess powerful mobility. We can very conveniently take all our materials with us, wander through the universe, and communicate with other civilizations.” Xiao Yu said. “A trading market with a fixed base is easily attacked, resulting in total loss. We are different. All our military strength is carried with us. I do not believe any Level 5 Civilization can pose a threat to us.”
“War has always served political ends. So long as the political objective can be achieved, I do not care whether war happens or not. Then let it be so. In our future contacts with other civilizations, war will only be a backup means, to be used only when peaceful methods fail.”
“The galaxy is empty enough as it is. Even if we could become the final victor and render this galaxy utterly silent, it might not be a good thing for us. I even have a conjecture. I wonder whether the disappearance of Level 7 Civilizations has anything to do with the scarcity of Level 6 Civilizations…” Xiao Yu said with a sigh. “But in any case, improving our own strength is what matters most. Even peaceful trade requires powerful strength of our own as a backing. Let it be so. Continue analyzing these ships of the Guardian Civilization. If we cannot make breakthroughs at the level of fundamental science, then gains at the level of applied technology will do.”
“In another three hundred years we will exit curvature flight, and then I will look for an inconspicuous star system to serve as our development base…”
After arranging all these matters and setting the tone for future development, this meeting ended, and the scientists once again plunged into busy work.
A full three hundred long years passed amid this day-after-day busyness. During this period, there was considerable development at the level of applied technology, while in contrast there was still little progress at the level of fundamental science.
As in times past, during these three hundred years the Guardian Civilization’s fleet did not come in pursuit again, nor did the Taihao Civilization appear. This reality more or less put Xiao Yu at ease.
Over these three hundred years, the terrifying reproductive ability of intelligent beings was on full display. By now, the number of intelligent beings under Xiao Yu’s command had doubled, reaching as many as eighty billion, occupying as many as ninety Home ships. If the voyage continued for another one or two hundred years, Xiao Yu’s fleet would be unable to accommodate so many intelligent beings.
However, Xiao Yu did not feel anxious about this. A huge base of intelligent beings meant more and more scientists who could contribute to the development of the Divine Ark Civilization. After these three hundred years, the number of scientists in the Central Research Academy of Science had reached as many as two hundred thousand and was still increasing rapidly.
In fact, with a population of eighty billion, a total of two hundred thousand scientists was a rather small proportion. Even in the Earth era, among seven billion humans, the number of scientific workers was more than this. It was only that the fusion of races, frequent crises, and other matters had suppressed the explosive growth in the number of scientists. Now that all was peaceful, the growth in the number of scientists naturally surged.
“The next step is to construct Continent-Class Home ships. Rest assured, the more intelligent beings the better. I will never think there are too many…” With this mindset, when the population had just broken through eighty billion, Xiao Yu even convened a special celebration. At the celebration he specially rewarded a couple who had given birth to decuplets.
In contrast to the vigorous growth in the number of intelligent beings was Xiao Yu’s gradually depleted stockpile of materials. After the war with the Molian Civilization, Xiao Yu had encountered the Guardian Civilization’s pursuit, and now there had been five hundred years of long voyaging. Over this span approaching one thousand years, Xiao Yu had basically had no chance to stop and overhaul, and everything consumed had come from earlier reserves.
However, it did not matter. Now, in every respect, it was time to stop and catch a breath. So long as he casually found a star system, Xiao Yu would obtain inexhaustible supplies. The decay engine could convert any matter into energy, and in the universe the one thing least lacking is matter.
Xiao Yu, controlling the vast fleet, disengaged from curvature flight and quietly hovered in the void. The energy released by the collision between a neutron star and a white dwarf was still powerful even after spanning five hundred light-years, but it could no longer exert a sufficient impact on Xiao Yu’s fleet. Casting a glance at that still-bright point behind, Xiao Yu withdrew his mind.
Here, the distance from the Galactic Center was roughly twenty three thousand light-years. The stellar density here was not low; within Xiao Yu’s visible field there were countless stars. The nearest star to Xiao Yu was a subgiant emitting white light, but unfortunately there were no planets around it. So Xiao Yu excluded that target. His gaze continued to search the void, looking star by star, excluding them one by one.
“This star is about fifteen light-years from us. It is a young star, with a mass of roughly 1.7 times that of the sun. There are two planets around it, one gaseous and one solid. Around the gas giant there are also dozens of moons. In addition, it has two belts of rocky debris. Very good, very good. This star system is well suited for our Divine Ark Civilization to settle down.”
“Then let us advance. In this star system we will complete yet another era of great development. This star system will become a refueling station for our Divine Ark Civilization. After replenishing here, we will set out on the road of seeking out the Level 5 Civilizations in the Milky Way. What awaits us ahead may be brutal war, or bizarre conspiracies. Before facing all that, let us rest well first.”
“The tentative duration of this stay will be two hundred years. After two hundred years, we will depart.”
Under Xiao Yu’s control, the vast fleet once again entered curvature flight. Only this time Xiao Yu’s cruising speed reached about thirteen times the speed of light. At such a speed, after one year and two months, Xiao Yu would reach the target.