Translator: AnubisTL
But the Good Cat Civilization's Leader quickly dismissed this absurd notion. Perhaps seven years ago, the Former Human Civilization might have accepted his surrender, but now it was utterly impossible. The thought was best left as a fleeting fantasy.
His sole focus now was to fortify the Good Cat Civilization into an impenetrable fortress, bracing against the human civilization's inevitable assault.
Hold fast.
Perhaps a sliver of hope remained.
Chen Mang refrained from launching an immediate attack, instead turning his gaze to the large screen on the locomotive cabin's side wall. The screen displayed scenes from the Dream Realm of a Cyber Miner aboard the train, with Little Fatty standing prominently within the projection.
Less than a day had passed inside the train.
Seven years had elapsed in the outside world.
In Chen Mang's perception, he had spoken with Little Fatty just moments ago.
But in Little Fatty's reality, they had been out of contact for seven long years.
"You've finally come."
Little Fatty stood alone on a mining star in the Nami Civilization's Southern Frontier, gazing at the Mysterious Traveler before him. He appeared much more mature than before, his demeanor now steadier, the childish air about him significantly diminished.
It was clear that Little Fatty had grown considerably over the past seven years.
He gazed at the Mysterious Traveler with a dazed expression. "You must have been incredibly busy all this time. I never thought you'd reappear. So much has happened in the past seven years—both within my family and within the civilization itself."
"Let me think... where should I start?"
Perhaps it was because they hadn't seen each other in so long, but Little Fatty felt an overwhelming urge to confide in him.
"First, there's my father."
"He's changed so much. He no longer prioritizes work above everything else and has started focusing on family. They say he earns far less than before, but that's only compared to his previous income. I now know his true earnings."
"I never imagined..."
"He's actually the wealthiest person in the Nami Civilization, far richer than the publicly acknowledged richest man."
"He's truly wealthy."
"And he's finally started formally grooming me as his successor. I used to resist this, wanting to make my own way in the world, but now I understand. Why take the long, hard road when there's a shortcut? Isn't that just foolish?"
"There's one more thing..."
"Seven years ago, an unknown 'Heavenly Palace' appeared within the Nami Civilization. Over the years, the Nami Civilization has been studying this Heavenly Palace. Recently, they finally made a breakthrough, discovering a hidden underground chamber deep within the palace. Inside the chamber, they found a safe."
"But..."
"This safe is quite peculiar. No matter what methods the government tries, they can't open it. Though it's called a safe, it has no lock, no keypad, nothing. It's just a heavy iron block."
"Rumor has it that the government even bombarded it with heavy firepower weapons, but the safe remains perfectly sealed, without a single dent or crack."
"That's all I know."
Little Fatty stood alone, muttering to himself while Chen Mang listened quietly, occasionally responding with a word or two.
The conversation ended.
Chen Mang sat in the locomotive cabin, gazing at the Doppler Radar display on the control panel screen. The Nami Civilization lay on the opposite side of the Cosmic Void, his next target. Soon, he would cross the void and reclaim his Heavenly Palace from them.
He hadn't yet decided how to get there.
The simplest approach was to create a wormhole.
Creating a wormhole spanning one million light-years would require approximately 150 trillion units of iron ore.
If the Cosmic Void's diameter was ten million light-years, the cost would escalate to 1.5 quadrillion units of iron ore.
Though exorbitant, it remained within acceptable limits.
The only uncertainty was the Cosmic Void's precise diameter. If it stretched to nearly a hundred million or even several hundred million light-years, the resource expenditure would far exceed his capacity.
In such a scenario, he would face a dilemma.
Retreating would mean wasting all previous resource investments.
Advancing would mean venturing into an unknown distance.
For now—
After briefly handling other matters aboard the train, Chen Mang wasted no time preparing to return to the Good Cat Civilization. The wormhole he had created earlier had already been destroyed.
The refrigerator he had thrown through the wormhole had long since been obliterated.
A new wormhole was needed.
He consumed another 110 trillion units of iron ore to create a one-way, single-use wormhole directly to the Good Cat Civilization. He made no attempt to conceal his presence and didn't linger.
It was like returning to his own backyard.
As the Stellaris train slowly emerged from the snake-like maw of the wormhole and materialized in an unfamiliar region of space, it had once again arrived at the Good Cat Civilization.
This time, however, the reception was far different.
No longer were they greeted with flowers or the surrender broadcasts of a subjugated civilization.
The moment the Stellaris appeared, several nearby planets lit up simultaneously, like light bulbs suddenly switched on. The once azure worlds blazed with daylight brilliance, a clear sign that their planetary-grade defense weapons had been activated.
Then—
Chen Mang witnessed a dazzling spectacle.
The Good Cat Civilization welcomed his arrival with a spectacular fireworks display.
Countless Energy Light Cannons erupted from the planetary-grade defense weapons, firing at the Stellaris from every angle!
Immediately afterward, more than a dozen wormholes materialized in the surrounding space, sprouting like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.
Large numbers of Train army units poured forth from the wormholes, their radar locking onto the Stellaris. Without warning or provocation, they opened fire the instant they appeared.
In an instant, the alarm sirens in the carriages blared incessantly.
These were the radar lock-on alarms, their short, sharp alerts merging into a continuous wail due to the sheer number of radar locks. Yet, on the control panel screen in the locomotive cabin, a panel slowly materialized:
"No threat detected."
The Good Cat Civilization was a formidable power—a long-established Tier 4 civilization.
But...
That was all they were. The Stellaris train's capabilities far surpassed those of a Tier 4 civilization. A prerequisite for advancing to Tier 5 was possessing Tier 1000 Seven-colored grade firepower accessories. Since the Good Cat Civilization hadn't reached Tier 5, it meant the Civilization lacked Tier 1000 Seven-colored grade firepower accessories.
Though the attacks were numerous, they were as disorganized as a rabble, utterly ineffective.
Chen Mang sat calmly in the train, enduring the first wave of attacks. In the silent vacuum of space, countless scorching Light Cannons slammed against the Stellaris's armor, instantly annihilating themselves.
Due to the overwhelming Tier disparity, not a single attack breached the Stellaris's defenses.
Tier 1000 armor.
Against a Tier 4 civilization, unless the Good Cat Civilization could pull another black hole out of its hat, it was an absolute rout.
Now...
It was time to retaliate.
He slowly pressed the red button on the control panel.
The five Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannons on the train's roof lit up with glowing patterns, charging their energy. Then, multiple Tier 500 Arcanon Main Cannons began precisely targeting high-threat targets in the vicinity.
Countless planets and ships were reduced to fragments in the searing beams of light.
Just then—
A unique alarm suddenly blared through the train again.
Chen Mang glanced at the Doppler Radar screen and chuckled softly. As he'd predicted, the Good Cat Civilization had secretly constructed a wormhole leading to the Niya Star System and had already arrived there.
Clearly, the Good Cat Civilization had dispatched its military to the Niya Star System, intending to kill him in the past timeline.
If their forces began indiscriminately bombarding the Niya Star System, they might, with a bit of luck, eventually stumble upon him in the past.
This was a nearly unsolvable tactic.
No one could protect their past selves. If the timeline were stretched into a great wall, each point would require a defensive position. With quadrillions of such points, no civilization could possibly defend them all.
But...
He had found a solution.
Spacetime Reversion, a Civilization Means unlocked upon advancing to a 4th Tier Civilization, was powerful but had a critical flaw: to travel to a past timeline in a specific zone, one had to first reach that zone in the present.
In other words, for the Good Cat Civilization to find him in the past timeline of the Niya Star System, they had to first send their military to the Niya Star System and then initiate Spacetime Reversion from their current location.
While in Spacetime Reversion, it's impossible to leave the current zone.
His ability to freely enter and exit the First and Second Universes while in Spacetime Reversion was entirely a bug, or rather, a special mechanism.
The solution was simple: leave someone at home to guard their territory.
The next moment—
On the Doppler Radar screen, the Good Cat Civilization's military forces, which had just emerged from the wormhole and arrived in the Niya Star System, vanished from the radar the instant they appeared.
Beyond the wormhole wasn't the Niya Star System.
Instead, it was—
An endlessly gaping maw of blood-red teeth.
The entire army, wormhole and all, was swallowed whole by Xiao Lu in a single gulp.
This was his solution.
With Xiao Lu guarding their home, he dared anyone to try and invade.
"Failed."
In the study, the Good Cat Civilization's Leader grimaced as he read the message on the screen. The assassination team's mission had failed; the human civilization possessed a Cosmic Behemoth of terrifying power.
Their entire army had been devoured the moment they arrived in the Niya Star System.
"No!"
The Leader rose and glared at the generals on the screen. "Deploy three more assassination teams immediately. We don't need the main forces on the front lines—redirect them to the Niya Star System."
"You've all seen it."
"Even our main forces can't inflict any damage on that train."
"The train's armor is likely Tier 1000."
"The gap is too vast."
"Our only chance of victory is to reach the Niya Star System and attempt to destroy human civilization from a past timeline. The Niya Star System spans 100,000 light-years in diameter. By setting the wormhole exit in a remote zone and immediately activating Spacetime Reversion upon exiting, the Cosmic Behemoth won't be able to catch up."
"I'm sorry, Leader, but this plan is infeasible."
On the screen, a general in military uniform shook his head in denial.
"Why?"
The general's expression turned grave as he replied in a deep voice, "To create a wormhole, we must ensure that both its entrance and exit points are in spatially stable zones. Currently, something has happened to the Niya Star System. The entire system and its surrounding regions are in a state of spatial chaos and instability. Under such conditions, opening a wormhole is impossible."
"There's only one zone where a wormhole can be established, but that zone..."
"The Cosmic Behemoth is stationed there."
"How is this possible?" the Good Cat Civilization's Leader demanded. "How could an entire galaxy be forced into a state of instability and chaos?"
"We don't know yet. I'll dispatch investigators after the battle."
"Forget about 'after the war'! If we lose this battle, there won't be an 'after the war' for us, you damn procrastinators!"
The Leader of the Good Cat Civilization grimaced. "What about Plan B? How's the execution going on that front?"
Plan B referred to:
Penetrating hundreds of light-years into the Cosmic Void, then activating Spacetime Reversion to travel back 870,000 years. From that point in the past, they would fire a high-Tier Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannon toward the Niya Star System, allowing its power to gradually amplify over the vast expanse of time until it reached its target.
This was the trump card of a Fourth-Tier Civilization, capable of delivering a devastating blow to the Niya Star System.
Though resource-intensive, such considerations became irrelevant in a battle for the civilization's very survival.
This method bypassed the need for wormholes to directly reach the Niya Star System, enabling a long-range Trans-Temporal Strike. By the time the human civilization detected the attack, it would already be nearing its target or have already struck the past timeline.
Their accuracy was limited; they could only estimate the approximate arrival time, with no precise certainty.
This was the first drawback.
The second flaw was that traveling only 870,000 light-years wouldn't significantly amplify the Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannon's power, failing to deliver a decisive, one-strike victory.
But—
At this point, it was the only option left.
Something was better than nothing.
However...
"I apologize, Leader," General Qian said, shaking his head gravely on the screen. "This plan has also failed."
"Reason."
"The human civilization has already used Spacetime Reversion to return to the past in the Niya Star System. They launched 100 Tier 500 Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannons into the Cosmic Void. These cannons have built-in tracking capabilities, and all our Light Cannons have been intercepted by theirs within the Void."
"All three of our launched cannons have been intercepted."
"Unless—"
"Unless we launch a total of 101 cannons, we can bypass all interceptions and ensure at least one reaches the Niya Star System."
"Then do it! What are you waiting for?"
"We lack the resources."
General Qian shook his head again.
"A single Tier 500 Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannon requires a staggering 1 quadrillion units of iron ore."
"The three cannons we've already launched have consumed 3 quadrillion units of iron ore. Combined with the cost of Spacetime Reversion, this has completely depleted our military's resource reserves. There are no more resources available."
Weaponry consumption was prohibitively expensive.
The Good Cat Civilization possessed Tier 500 Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannons, but they could barely afford to use them. Each shot cost 1 quadrillion units of iron ore—how many mining stars would they need to exploit to fire just one?
Normally, in combat, Tier 100 or 200 cannons were sufficient; Tier 500 cannons were reserved as a last resort.
He still couldn't fathom it.
Where did the human civilization get so many resources to fire 100 Tier 500 Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannons simultaneously? The sheer scale of consumption was astronomical—an unimaginable figure.
Even if you shook the entire Good Cat Civilization upside down, you couldn't extract that much resource.
"..."
The Good Cat Civilization Leader's expression darkened. After a long pause, he rasped, "What if we fire Tier 100 cannons instead of Tier 500?"
"Infeasible. Our travel distance is too short—only 870,000 light-years. This doesn't provide enough amplification for the Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannons. If we start with Tier 100, the power will be even weaker. Even if we reach the Niya Star System, it would be like a tickle."
"I mean, use these lower-tier cannons to exhaust the human civilization's interceptor cannons. Once they're depleted, we can fire the Tier 500 cannons."
The words hung in the air.
On the screen, the general remained silent for a long moment before speaking. "Leader, when low-tier light energy main cannons collide with high-tier ones, the lower-tier cannons are instantly annihilated. There's no possibility of attrition."
"In truth—"
"This war can already be stopped."
"The human civilization chose to fire 100 Tier 500 Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannons into the Cosmic Void to defend against our attacks. They chose defense, not offense. The spacetime reversion point wasn't 870,000 years ago, but a point in between."
"But—"
"Leader, have you considered that if the human civilization had chosen to attack and reverted spacetime to 870,000 years ago, your current 100 Tier 500 Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannons would have already traveled 870,000 light-years and reached the heart of our civilization?"
"The moment that train escaped the black hole, the Good Cat Civilization was already defeated."
"My recommendation is this—"
"Leader, please gather the remaining clansmen and resources of the Good Cat Civilization and escape through a wormhole to another zone as soon as possible. This might offer a sliver of hope for the civilization's survival, preventing it from being completely—"
In the next moment—
During the video conference, the general's image on the screen suddenly went dark, the connection severed, and the signal lost.
"Where is he?!" the Good Cat Civilization Leader demanded, his face grim. "What happened to the signal?"
"Reporting, Leader," another general in the frame replied after a few seconds, having answered a call. "General Qian's Command Star has just been obliterated. He has been killed in action."
"The train has already destroyed our first wave of attacks."
"And it's now rapidly clearing out all our military planets."
"There's no way to stop it."
"..."
The Good Cat Civilization Leader leaned back in his chair, remaining silent for a long time. Finally, he spoke softly, "I understand. Everyone, listen to my orders: gather your families and resources and proceed to Wildgrass Star at maximum speed. Prepare for evacuation."
Immediately afterward, without another word, he pressed a button beneath his desk, rose from his seat, grabbed his coat from the chair beside him, and strode out of the room.
The study door opened to reveal a tunnel forged from pure steel.
On either side of the tunnel stood rows of armed guards.
When a civilization develops, it inevitably anticipates worst-case scenarios and prepares defensive measures accordingly. Evacuation is one such plan.
During each annual census, the Good Cat Civilization would select a group of orphaned youths and transport them to Wildgrass Star. These children would serve as the final spark to preserve the civilization's legacy during its escape.
After traversing the long, dark tunnel, the Good Cat Civilization's Leader emerged onto the surface. The ground was now covered with trains, and vast numbers of troops stood at the ready in the open space. This was a formidable force, one that dared to challenge any Fourth-Tier Civilization.
As a long-established Fourth-Tier Civilization, they possessed such a foundation.
Regrettably, all this foundation proved as fragile as bubbles before the approaching train, shattering at the slightest touch.
Dozens of wormholes shimmered in the sky, visible to the naked eye.
Massive armies and trains poured forth from these wormholes, converging on the planet's surface. The Leader couldn't evacuate everyone; only the Good Cat Civilization's military forces, the families of officers, and whatever resources could be carried were being taken.
These were all that a civilization could carry when fleeing.
Everything else had to be left behind.
The Leader of the Good Cat Civilization stood silently, gazing at the growing crowd ahead, swelled by the arrival of more and more people. A faint regret began to stir within him.
He had been too arrogant.
When the Stellaris train was trapped in the black hole, he had believed escape impossible.
Had he acted decisively then, launching a devastating Trans-Temporal Strike against the Niya Star System's past timeline, the human civilization would have been annihilated.
At that time, the human civilization possessed virtually no means of resistance.
In the end, he had been overconfident.
He had never imagined a train could escape the gravitational pull of a black hole.
But—
Regret was futile.
His decision not to act then had been purely to conserve resources. Could he truly be faulted for that? If he had pursued perfection in every choice, how much more resource would have been squandered? How could the Good Cat Civilization have achieved Advancement to a 4th Tier Civilization?
It was unavoidable.
Just as it was impossible for everyone to test their food for poison with a silver needle before eating.
If his wife were to poison him one day and he failed to detect it, he would simply accept his fate.
He didn't believe he was wrong; it was merely a low-probability event that he had the misfortune to encounter.
This calamity was destined to befall him.
Inevitable.
Yet...
A flicker of bewilderment crossed his eyes. Where could they possibly flee? The surrounding galaxies were already claimed. To escape, they would need to travel millions of light-years away, beyond the radar range of human civilization.
Their only option was to retreat to resource-scarce, non-galactic zones—the cosmic scraps of the universe.
Such regions typically consisted of a single star and a few small planets, often lacking even mining stars. After terraforming, they could barely sustain human life.
They would have to flee to such a place first, biding their time until an opportunity arose to strike back.
As long as they survived, there was always hope.
Just then—
He spotted a general in the crowd, the same officer who had informed him of General Qian's death on the screen earlier. The general was now leading his troops to join the exodus.
The leader of the Good Cat Civilization frowned at the refrigerator the general was carrying.
"You don't need a refrigerator to flee for your life. Are you planning to bring your microwave too?"
"This isn't my refrigerator," the general replied solemnly. "It's war booty. I wanted to take one last bite of their flesh before we left, to show them we won't be bullied."
"The train sent out several shuttlecraft. After we shot down a few, we captured this refrigerator from one of them. It's remarkably sturdy—it withstood direct hits from their main cannons without a scratch. I found it peculiar and brought it back for study after the war."
(End of the Chapter)
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