Translator: AnubisTL
"An entire race has fled?"
The elder slowly opened his eyes. After a long silence, he rasped, "Understood. Investigate."
The Second Universe wasn't entirely inaccessible from the First Universe.
By fulfilling certain stringent conditions, one could return.
But—
For an entire race to escape to the First Universe was unprecedented, unheard of.
He was merely curious.
He had no desire to bring his own civilization back to the First Universe.
Not everyone wished to return. After escaping from the Second Universe to the First, death in the First Universe was final, erasing one completely from existence. He preferred his current state: immortality, eternal life.
Life held infinite possibilities.
He could sleep as long as he pleased.
There was no fear of his civilization's destruction or sudden death.
It was far more comfortable and carefree than life in the Second Universe.
At that moment—
Chen Mang sat in his Stellaris train, gazing at the "lighter" in his hand with a sigh. He had just sold a lighter with a Vitality of 10,000 to the Auction House, receiving 80 million units of Hell Iron Ore in return.
He had obtained this lighter recently through a "Spacetime Reversion" exploit, essentially glitching the system.
Of course, he hadn't brought just one lighter for his experiments. He had concealed several small items on his person, all now classified as Hell Forbidden Items, each with a Vitality of 10,000.
He had already tested them.
He couldn't absorb the Vitality from the Hell Forbidden Items. This meant he couldn't utilize their primary function: enhancing his physical strength by drawing upon their internal Vitality.
"A bit of a shame," Chen Mang muttered, tossing the lighter aside with a hint of regret. He had hoped to boost his physical prowess, perhaps even reaching the point where he could shatter a planet with a single punch.
But now it seemed...
That dream would remain unfulfilled.
Just then—
Chen Mang felt his staff suddenly tremble again, this time with a subtle vibration. A white light emanated from the staff, which was immediately detected by the Doppler Radar. Countless white dots materialized on the radar screen—hundreds of thousands of them.
Each dot represented the same special item: "Hell Garments."
The Doppler Radar displayed all instances of this item within a million light-years, precisely pinpointing each location.
"Hmm?"
Chen Mang gazed at the scene thoughtfully. When his staff had guided him to the Hellfire Stone, he'd already suspected that the Hell Prefix series might have some kind of set bonus.
But—
He still found it hard to believe, too unrealistic.
After all, these special items weren't unique. While they weren't exactly common, they weren't exactly rare either. If they were part of a special set, shouldn't they be rarer?
When he only had three Hell Prefix items, the staff had guided him through vibrations. The fact that it had never vibrated in the First Universe likely meant the Hellfire Stone didn't exist there.
During his raids on the Kasha Civilization, Chen Mang had seized numerous special items, but he had never encountered this particular one before.
This item likely originated exclusively from the Second Universe.
Now that he possessed four of them, the guidance had become increasingly clear, appearing directly on his radar for even more intuitive tracking.
"Let's check it out," he said without hesitation.
Chen Mang jumped off the train, used the refrigerator to return to the city, and headed toward the nearest white dot on his radar. It was still within the slum near the Floodgate Entrance, but this time, a different vendor was there.
Chen Mang crouched down to examine the set of clothing laid out on the vendor's white cloth. He had expected something like casual wear or a suit, but instead, it was a combination of a white T-shirt and beach shorts.
It looked like a vacation set—as if all you needed were sunglasses and flip-flops to feel the Hawaiian sea breeze.
"How much?" he asked, looking up at the vendor.
"30 million units of Hell Iron Ore," the vendor replied hastily. "This special item is extremely rare, and..."
"Here."
Chen Mang, too lazy to argue, simply tossed over a Space Pocket containing 30 million units of Hell Iron Ore. He wasn't short on funds these days; in fact, the ore held little value for him personally.
Is it really that rare?
There were a hundred thousand deposits within a million light-years. While not exactly abundant, it hardly qualified as "extremely rare," right?
Back inside the train, Chen Mang examined the garment. It was a special item that, when worn, rendered the wearer undetectable by any radar, regardless of Tier.
He paused, slightly stunned.
During the price negotiation with the merchant, he hadn't even bothered to check the item's effect, nor had he held high expectations. He certainly hadn't anticipated such an overpowered effect.
Undetectable by any radar?
Does that mean if someone wore this, even my Doppler Radar wouldn't be able to detect them?
The only way to spot them would be with the naked eye—by which point they'd already be right on top of you.
Such an incredible item...
And they're selling it for only 30 million?
This was practically a fire sale!
But those who thrived in the Black Market weren't fools. He quickly deduced the likely reason: while the item sounded powerful, it was largely useless except against individuals with extraordinary strength.
Take himself, for example.
Even if he could approach an enemy train undetected, he'd be powerless to act, reduced to a mere observer.
However, if given to someone like Satan or a divine apostle—individuals who concentrated immense power within themselves—this special item would be like adding wings to a tiger.
"Quite potent," Chen Mang murmured, a sudden smile spreading across his face as he gazed at the hundreds of thousands of white dots on the Doppler Radar. It seemed the black market trade might still be viable.
By endlessly farming "Hell Forbidden Items," he could acquire vast quantities of Hell Iron Ore.
With this ore, he could then purchase massive amounts of "Hell Garments," which he could later sell to an advanced civilization in the First Universe. While some details needed refinement, the overall strategy was sound. Acquiring more of these items couldn't hurt.
But at that moment, the staff emitted another blinding white light. This time, the guidance became even clearer. The Doppler radar displayed 1,090 white dots, each corresponding to a special item: the "Hell Sandals."
"A vacation set, huh?" Chen Mang's expression turned slightly odd.
Inside the locomotive cabin, a small wormhole materialized out of thin air, directly connecting to the nearest white dot—a one-way, single-use wormhole leading to a planet 120,000 light-years away.
It's getting easier and easier.
Without hesitation, Chen Mang grabbed Xiao Ai and stepped into the wormhole, emerging on the distant planet.
The "Hell Sandals" special item was being auctioned at an Auction House.
The auction was scheduled to begin in seventeen days.
Chen Mang didn't want to wait.
He found the Auction House and offered a high price to buy the item outright. They refused, citing the market price of 3 million. When he raised his offer to 30 million, they readily agreed. Even in Hell, cash is king—the ultimate Tier 0 superpower.
The effect was—
Wearing these sandals would grant effortless agility, increased movement speed, and the ability to walk freely on water.
Pretty ordinary, really.
Perhaps useful on a planet, but given his current civilization level and the crises he faced, this special item's utility was practically nonexistent.
But that didn't matter.
He wasn't after the special item's inherent effects anyway.
With this acquisition, he now possessed six special items bearing the "Hell Prefix":
- Hell Staff - Hell Hat - Hell Shades - Hellfire Stone - Hell Garments - Hell Sandals
Chen Mang returned to his cabin on the Stellaris train, donned all the special items, and stood before the mirror, gazing at his reflection.
He wore a white T-shirt and gaudy beach shorts.
Sandals on his feet, staff in hand, hat and shades on his head, and the Hellfire Stone twirling between his fingers.
He looked...
Exactly like someone on a seaside vacation.
Just then—
A panel slowly materialized on the train's screen.
[You have collected six pieces of the Hell Set. The Hell Set consists of seven pieces. Collecting all seven will officially unlock the Hell Set.]
[The Hell Set is the only set in the First and Second Universes.]
[There are no other sets.]
[The Hell Staff, Hell Hat, and Hell Shades can only be obtained in the First Universe.]
[The Hellfire Stone, Hell Garments, and Hell Sandals can only be obtained in the Second Universe.]
[The final special item is called the Hell Bracelet.]
[Once someone obtains the complete Hell Set, no one else will be able to obtain it again.]
"Hmm?"
Chen Mang glanced at the panel that had appeared on the train's screen, his eyes narrowing slightly. He had guessed correctly—it was indeed a set, named the "Hell Set." The name sounded incredibly imposing, claiming to be the only set of its kind across both universes.
But it wasn't just the set itself that was unique.
The very concept of sets was unique to this one. There were no other sets recognized by the Cosmic Rules, such as "One-Two Set" or "Three-Four Set."
The panel didn't mention any specific effects of the Hell Set, nor did it offer any further guidance.
Its location remained unknown, as did the universe where it originated. All he knew was its name: the Hell Bracelet.
"..."
Chen Mang mentally noted the name before speaking aloud, "Xiao Ai, does your database contain any information about the Hell Bracelet?"
Xiao Ai was no longer the same entity he had once been.
He was no longer the being with a nearly empty database.
Having absorbed the databases of countless AIs, Xiao Ai had become almost like an encyclopedia, possessing vast knowledge.
Soon, Xiao Ai's voice echoed through the locomotive cabin.
"No, Train Conductor. My database contains no information related to the 'Hell Bracelet'."
"Hmm."
Chen Mang nodded slightly. This final special item was undoubtedly extremely rare, possibly even unique. There was no point in actively searching for it; such things depended on fate.
When fate aligned, they would meet.
If fate wasn't on their side, the universe was vast, and even a lifetime of searching might yield nothing.
Afterward, Chen Mang returned to the Niya Star System and used Spacetime Reversion to travel back 100,000 years. He recruited a large number of workers from Aquablue Star, each bound with countless lighters.
He mass-produced Hell Forbidden Items with a Vitality of 100,000 in a single batch.
Over the next month, Chen Mang created wormholes to travel to several civilizations within a 100,000-light-year radius. He visited numerous planets, selling the Hell Forbidden Items to acquire vast quantities of Hell Iron Ore. With this ore, he purchased a large number of special items.
For example, "Hell Garments."
He bought over ten thousand of them.
A month later.
Chen Mang dusted off his pants and swaggered away, returning to the Niya Star System in the First Universe to begin his new journey.
He left behind a group of Auction House bosses staring blankly at the sudden flood of high-Vitality lighters flooding the market.
Did some guy carry a "Lighter Production Line" on him when he died?
And then drift through the Cosmic Void for a hundred thousand years, somehow enabling mass production of lighters?
The market was thrown into temporary chaos.
Normally, the price of an item isn't artificially inflated; it has intrinsic value, so market fluctuations are minimal. But these lighters... a significant portion of their value stemmed from scarcity. Chen Mang's floodgate-like release of supply, causing only temporary chaos rather than price collapse, spoke volumes.
Gold, for example, has inherent value beyond its scarcity.
Yet even so...
In his previous world, a flood of goods like this would have caused violent price fluctuations.
But...
Chen Mang didn't care about any of that.
The Second Universe wasn't his main battlefield; he was just a passerby—at least for now. He'd worry about it after he died.
He wasn't dead yet.
"Not bad at all."
Back in the First Universe's Niya Star System, Chen Mang grinned at the control panel screen. He'd been wondering how long he'd live, but now he didn't need to worry. When he eventually died and went to the Second Universe, his skills would ensure he wouldn't just survive, but thrive.
At that moment, his train still held tens of millions of units of Hell Iron Ore.
Unusable.
Just pure rock.
He hadn't planned to use it anyway; he just wanted to collect it. Before leaving the Second Universe, he'd hidden the remaining Hell Iron Ore on a dead star, buried deep underground and shielded to prevent detection.
If he ever truly died...
He could retrieve the Hell Iron Ore from that location and rise again.
Chen Mang stretched languidly, washed up quickly, and then lay down on his bed, gradually drifting into sleep.
It had been a long time since he'd slept.
He was exhausted.
He slept soundly.
Fully refreshed, Chen Mang sat at the control panel to tally the spoils from annihilating the Extreme Evil Civilization.
First, the resources.
The train now contained a staggering 4.137 quadrillion units of iron ore.
There had been even more originally, but he'd spent 3.75 quadrillion units upgrading the armor to Tier 1000, consuming a significant portion.
Next, a panel popped up on the control panel screen.
[Human civilization has met the Advancement Conditions and has automatically been promoted.]
[The range of this Advancement Ripple is 100 million light-years.]
[All First-Level and higher civilization entities will receive this Advancement Ripple in their own way.]
[The transmission speed of the Advancement Ripple is the speed of light.]
[The 4th Tier Civilization 'Human Civilization' has successfully advanced to a Fifth-Tier Civilization.]
Chen Mang glanced at the panel with a soft chuckle, leaned back in his chair, and pulled out a Hellfire Stone to light a cigarette. It worked well enough, though it burned his hand a bit.
Civilization advanced again.
The Advancement Conditions for a Fourth-Tier Civilization required a peak attack energy range exceeding 100,000, equivalent to the full-power strike of a Tier 1000 Seven-Colored Firepower Component. This requirement had already been met during his battle with Satan.
In a mere decade, the human civilization had surged from a First-Tier Civilization to a Fifth-Tier Civilization.
This was what advanced civilizations referred to as the "Civilization Big Bang."
Driven by some stroke of luck or other factors, a civilization could rapidly grow stronger, its Civilization Level skyrocketing in a short span. Such civilizations were universally targeted for annihilation by advanced civilizations.
Unfortunately for them, the advanced civilizations surrounding him were either too slow to react or too weak to suppress him.
He then turned his attention to the updated Civilization Panel.
[Civilization Name]: Human Civilization
[Civilization Level]: Tier 5
[Civilization Leader]: Chen Mang
[Civilization Planets]: Aquablue Star, Black Tortoise Star, First-Class Mining Planet, Mining Star Two, Mining Star Three, Mining Star Four, etc.
[Civilization Population]: 58 trillion
[Advancement Conditions]: Maximum attack energy range exceeding 200,000, and possession of a Civilization Wonder.
[PS: Advancing to Second-Tier Civilization and each subsequent advancement will release an "Advancement Ripple" detectable by all surrounding civilizations. The higher the Tier, the wider the range of the Advancement Ripple.]
[Civilization Means]: Resource consumption for upgrading all train accessories within the civilization is halved, except for murphy stone consumption, which remains unchanged. Defensive Components such as "Armor" and "Energy Shields" are excluded.
"Well, well, well..."
Chen Mang gazed curiously at the Fifth-Tier Civilization's exclusive ability. This is quite powerful, he thought. While it lacked the terrifying burst potential of Spacetime Reversion in specific environments, it significantly boosted the civilization's overall strength.
If my civilization had tens of thousands of Combat Trains, this ability would be game-changing.
But...
His civilization possessed only one truly combat-ready train: his own.
After absorbing numerous civilizations into the human civilization, his Civilization Population had swelled to 58 trillion. Naturally, the trains of these assimilated civilizations now belonged to him as well. However, those trains were too weak to be considered Combat Trains for the time being.
Even so...
He suspected this Civilization Means might be even more potent for him. After all, his train's components were of higher grade, requiring far more resources for upgrades.
The Nami Civilization, the one Little Fatty belonged to, was a Fifth-Tier Civilization. According to his knowledge, their Territory spanned tens of millions of light-years, their power immense, and they possessed three Civilization Wonders.
Civilization Promotion was automatic; once the Advancement Conditions were met, there was no way to prevent it.
This meant...
No train in the Nami Civilization possessed a Tier 2000 Seven-colored grade Firepower Component.
For Chen Mang, however, this condition wasn't particularly difficult to meet.
If he wanted, he could fire the main cannon right now, but the cost would be depleting the train's painstakingly accumulated resources once again.
"Hmm..." Chen Mang muttered, "I'm starting to think the Nami Civilization isn't as strong as I thought."
"Train Conductor," Xiao Ai's voice echoed through the train, "I must remind you that your Stellaris's stellar engine provided 99.99% of the energy required to fire the main cannon. Other civilizations lack such an overpowered effect."
"Even if they could afford the upgrades, they wouldn't need them."
"Moreover,"
"Tier 200, Tier 500, and Tier 1000 are all critical thresholds. Each time you cross one, the murphy stone cost for upgrades increases exponentially. Other civilizations simply can't afford it."
"I know that, of course," Chen Mang chuckled. "I was just thinking out loud."
The Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannon's Tier 500 overpowered effect reduced energy consumption the closer it was to a star, while the Space Gate's Tier 500 effect allowed stars to be stored within the train.
Combined, these two effects created an absurdly powerful synergy.
Neither of these overpowered effects was unique. Other civilizations could potentially acquire them as well.
However, while not unique, obtaining both effects randomly and upgrading them to Tier 500 simultaneously still required a considerable amount of luck.
This luck wasn't his.
It belonged to the Mechanical Civilization.
Both of these overpowered effects had been extracted from the Mechanical Civilization's Accessory Blueprints.
He suddenly felt that the Mechanical Civilization might truly be favored by the heavens, blessed with cosmic fortune. If not for the Zerg, they might have had a real chance of becoming the second Fourth-Tier Civilization to emerge from the Niya Star System.
Perhaps even a Fifth-Tier Civilization.
But alas.
In the vast cosmos, fortune never favors a civilization forever.
He quite liked the Civilization Means he had gained upon advancing to a Fifth-Tier Civilization. The only downside was that this effect couldn't be applied to Defensive Components, as if they were somehow exempt.
From the very beginning, Defensive Components had always been the most resource-intensive accessory to produce.
Now, Chen Mang turned his gaze toward the Good Cat Civilization on the Doppler Radar. This would be the second stop in the human civilization's territorial expansion.
He and the Nami Civilization were both Fifth-Tier Civilizations now.
Yet the Nami Civilization's territory already spanned nearly ten million light-years, while he barely controlled the small Niya Star System.
It was...
Simply incomparable.
For two Fifth-Tier Civilizations, his territory was far too small.
First, he would seize the Good Cat Civilization's resources.
Looking down, he observed the Fifth-Tier Civilization, the "Mediocre Civilization," currently occupying the former territory of the Niya Civilization, engaged in fierce combat. Once he devoured this Fifth-Tier Civilization, his civilizational territory would expand to a million light-years in diameter.
War remained the eternal melody between civilizations, and plunder remained the fastest means of acquiring resources.
New target:
The "Good Cat Civilization."
This civilization controlled a territory 170,000 light-years in diameter, possessing even greater resources than the "Extreme Evil Civilization."
Unlike the "Extreme Evil Civilization," the Good Cat Civilization was a true Fourth-Tier Civilization.
Backed by the "Cosmic Void," they could unleash devastating strikes. For example, by returning tens of millions of years into the past, aiming at the Niya Star System, and firing the Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannon into the Cosmic Void, the cannon's energy range would accumulate to thousands of Tiers over the millennia, culminating in a catastrophic blast.
Even if he and the Niya Star System were on the same side of the Cosmic Void, they could still use this tactic.
The enemy only needed to penetrate a few hundred light-years into the Niya Star System, find the right angle, and aim diagonally forward at the Niya Star System.
The only problem was...
The Good Cat Civilization was only 870,000 light-years away—too close. This meant they could only target his timeline up to 870,000 years in the past with their Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannon. Such a short distance wouldn't allow the cannon to reach its full potential, barely reaching Tier 1000.
In contrast, the light energy main cannon fired by the Nami Civilization across the Cosmic Void, spanning the entire void, had reached Tier 4798.
The only real concern was the possibility of the enemy targeting his past timeline. For example, if a light energy main cannon fired from the Cosmic Void three years ago were to arrive now, though its power would be limited, sheer luck could guide it through a chain of planets and stars to strike his current location.
That would be a major headache.
He needed to quickly find a way to protect his past. Constantly worrying about the past was holding him back, making him overly cautious.
Therefore—
This battle needed to be swift.
Before the enemy could react, he would obliterate their Political Mother Planet.
The plan was simple.
Chen Mang didn't linger. There was no need for rest; he had already fully recovered. The Stellaris train was now at its peak operational capacity, fully stocked with resources and stars, ready to withstand multiple large-scale wars.
He immediately created a wormhole spanning 870,000 light-years, leading directly to the core of the Good Cat Civilization, consuming 110 trillion units of iron ore.
The wormhole materialized.
As the Stellaris train, resembling a colossal serpent, slowly emerged from the wormhole, he had already arrived at the heart of the Good Cat Civilization.
At this point, his civilization's technological level far surpassed that of the Good Cat Civilization.
With Tier 1000 armor, even if he stood motionless, the Good Cat Civilization couldn't breach his defenses.
When the disparity in power reaches a certain point, there's no need for cunning schemes.
Direct confrontation is all that's required.
He made no attempt to conceal his movements, positioning the wormhole near the Good Cat Civilization's Political Mother Planet—an extremely risky maneuver, as the Political Mother Planet was undoubtedly the most heavily fortified location.
If a sudden wormhole had appeared near his train, he would have opened fire without hesitation.
Who knew what might emerge?
He had braced himself for a baptism of fire.
Yet...
Instead of bombardment, he was greeted by a barrage of urgent, forced private messages on the train radio.
"Greetings, Leader of the Human Civilization. This is the Good Cat Civilization. We have chosen to surrender."
"Please do not fire! Please do not fire!"
"We surrender!"
"Repeat: We surrender! We surrender!"
Chen Mang stared at the forced private messages on the train radio, a peculiar expression on his face. Not only were there forced private messages, but he was also receiving numerous "Civilization Broadcasts" nearby, all surrender broadcasts from the Good Cat Civilization.
He glanced at the time.
They had already begun broadcasting their surrender before he even opened the wormhole. Judging by the timeline, this must have occurred after he annihilated Satan.
Seriously?
They were a Fourth-Tier Civilization, and he was also a Fourth-Tier Civilization at the time, not yet having advanced to the Fifth-Tier. They surrendered without even putting up a fight?
Their territory was twice the size of the Extreme Evil Civilization's.
Their military strength should have been superior to the Extreme Evil Civilization's as well, right?
(End of the Chapter)
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