Translator: AnubisTL
"Huh?"
Chen Mang, who had just stood up, paused in confusion and sat back down, staring at the panel that had popped up on the control panel screen.
[Simulation 1 complete. The Cosmic Empowerment's overpowered effects are as follows!]
[Refrigerator Tier 5 Overpowered Effect: Extreme Preservation. Any food placed in this refrigerator will be preserved in perfect condition, retaining its original taste and quality upon removal.]
[Refrigerator Tier 10 Overpowered Effect: Can convert monster flesh into small amounts of iron ore.]
[Refrigerator Tier 20 Overpowered Effect: Contains a Cosmos within, expanding its internal space.]
[Refrigerator Tier 50 Overpowered Effect: Placing low-intelligence creatures like Cosmic Behemoths inside the refrigerator for cultivation will slightly accelerate their growth rate.]
[Refrigerator Tier 100 Overpowered Effect: Requires no electricity and can remain operational indefinitely.]
[Tier 200 Overpowered Effect: Refrigerator]: Daily acquisition of random resource units, ranging from 1 unit of iron ore to 100 billion units of iron ore, completely randomized.
[Tier 500 Overpowered Effect: Refrigerator]: The refrigerator can self-destruct without consuming resources. It automatically recharges, with the destructive power increasing the longer it charges. The maximum power is equivalent to the full-force strike of a Tier 1000 Seven-colored grade firepower accessory.
[Tier 1000 Overpowered Effect: Refrigerator]: Can absorb all Cosmic Forbidden Items scattered throughout the universe, acquiring them in varying quantities at irregular intervals.
[(PS: In this simulation process, the Tier 1000 Overpowered Effect is the sole Unique Overpowered Effect, the only one of its kind in the universe.)]
[(Once a Unique Overpowered Effect is confirmed and saved, no other civilization will ever be able to obtain it through re-screening. Moreover, once saved, the civilization that acquired it will be permanently unable to re-screen the Cosmic Empowerment for that accessory.)]
[Save or Re-screen?]
Chen Mang stared at the panel on the control panel screen, momentarily stunned. After a long pause, his expression turned complex as he remained silent. It was the Tier 1000 Overpowered Effect—the very one from the future.
In truth, he suddenly felt a mischievous urge.
What would happen if he chose not to save it now?
Would the future change?
Undoubtedly, the future would be altered. However, the existing refrigerator would remain unchanged. As long as no other civilization obtained this Unique Overpowered Effect, the refrigerator on the Nami Civilization's planet would remain the only one in the universe possessing it.
The next moment—
"Save."
He naturally wouldn't indulge in such mischief. Just as everyone standing on a rooftop feels the urge to jump, few actually follow through with the impulse.
The results were satisfactory.
Especially the Tier 500 Overpowered Effect, which was quite impressive.
To reach its maximum potential, it required a Charging period of 1,000 years.
At first glance, this seemed like an impossibly long time.
But...
In truth, all it would take is tossing it into the temporal rift and having Doba retrieve it later. Throwing it into a black hole would also work, but that would be overkill and retrieving it would be problematic.
If used wisely, it could serve as another cost-effective offensive option.
Powerful weapons aren't necessarily the right ones.
Take the Good Cat Civilization, for example. They possessed powerful weapons and fired several shots into the Cosmic Void, but their resource consumption was so exorbitant that they couldn't afford to use them. What's the point of such weapons? Only weapons that can be sustained are truly effective.
Afterward—
Chen Mang didn't linger. He re-screened the remaining Accessory Blueprints before rising to leave the locomotive cabin.
He'd been too busy lately.
Time for a day off.
The human civilization was advancing at an astonishing pace.
Especially after annihilating the Good Cat Civilization and the Extreme Evil Civilization, the massive influx of resources had not only replenished all war losses but also provided a substantial surplus. These resources, in turn, further bolstered the human civilization's strength.
Like a snowball rolling downhill, their power continued to grow exponentially.
The human civilization had already reached Fifth-Tier Civilization status and was rapidly approaching Sixth-Tier Civilization.
Stellaris, High-Tier Talent Carriage 5.
Chen Mang sat on Yan Yao's bed, gazing thoughtfully at Ji Chuchu, who was massaging his legs at the foot of the bed. He remained silent, pondering the greatest hurdle to advancing to a Sixth-Tier Civilization: upgrading the Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannon to Tier 2000.
Before venturing to the Mediocre Civilization, he should first upgrade the light energy main cannon to Tier 2000.
After all, this was the entity that had annihilated the Niya Civilization using Cosmic Eradication. Such a foe demanded utmost caution.
Though he was currently a Fifth-Tier Civilization himself, he possessed no means of Cosmic Eradication. Was this truly a capability of Fifth-Tier Civilizations?
In the cosmos, delay was both its greatest flaw and its most captivating allure.
When you fired a main cannon into the depths of space, you would only witness the explosion's fiery bloom after an immeasurable span of time.
When you sent a message to a friend tens of millions of light-years away, the message would need to relay through countless relay stations, arriving only after an eternity.
When you gazed with the naked eye into the cosmic abyss, the light you saw had actually been emitted eons ago.
In the universe, no one could see the present; all they perceived was the past.
Therefore—
Hundreds of thousands of light-years beyond the Niya Star System, in a remote region unclaimed by any galaxy...
A Cosmic Behemoth drifted through space when a small wormhole suddenly materialized on its surface. Two men in work uniforms emerged from the wormhole.
Spatial fragments constantly tore through the void around the Cosmic Behemoth, yet the men stood calmly on its surface, seemingly oblivious to the extreme environment. Normally, even the strongest cultivators from a cultivation civilization couldn't survive in such conditions.
"Let's see..." The younger man muttered, glancing at the tablet in his hand. "The system indicates a Cosmic Landmine was shot down in this zone seven years ago. Another Civilization Big Bang, I suppose."
"Normally," he continued, "the system programs Cosmic Landmines to only attack civilizations with radar ranges exceeding 100,000 light-years—a hallmark of Third-Tier Civilizations. They avoid provoking Fourth-Tier Civilizations. But a Third-Tier Civilization shouldn't have the means to shoot down a Cosmic Landmine in the first place."
"Alright." The young man glanced at the completed progress bar on the tablet and tapped the "Explore" button in the corner. A virtual radar display appeared on the screen, rapidly scanning all civilizations within a 1 million light-year radius.
The process was slow, taking several minutes.
Once the progress bar completed, he received the "flight log" from Cosmic Landmine No. 3 just before its destruction.
"Everything was normal."
"The flight log shows that Cosmic Mine No. 3 had a black hole integrity of 96%, its Energy Transmission and Operation Device was functioning perfectly, and all systems were in optimal condition. Upon radar detection, it launched an attack on its target."
"So far, everything checks out."
"The civilization was called the 'Human Civilization'."
"What an arrogant name."
"And then..."
The young man froze, staring at the historical log on his tablet. He suddenly fell silent, his mouth opening and closing slightly, unable to utter a word.
"What's wrong?"
The middle-aged man beside him, looking weary, leaned closer. His old friend had already retired, and he himself had long grown tired of this job, the initial novelty completely gone. He too longed for retirement.
But when he saw the historical log on the tablet, he froze in disbelief.
"Cosmic Mine No. 3... was swallowed by a Cosmic Behemoth?"
"Swallowed whole?"
"Cosmic Mine No. 3 was nearly two light-years in diameter! What kind of Cosmic Behemoth has a mouth big enough to swallow that thing whole? Did it just pop it in like a candy?"
The two exchanged bewildered glances.
Though they found it hard to believe, the historical logs clearly stated this.
The middle-aged man swallowed hard, pausing for a long moment before rasping, "This Cosmic Behemoth likely doesn't belong to that Third-Tier human civilization. A creature of this scale is beyond their control."
"Raising a Cosmic Behemoth to this level would require astronomical resources. Even if you drained every last drop from a top-tier, long-established Third-Tier Civilization, you still wouldn't have enough."
"Cosmic Mine No. 3 probably wasn't shot down by that Third-Tier Civilization. It just had the misfortune of encountering a slumbering Cosmic Behemoth drifting through space, which swallowed it whole on a whim."
"Is that so?"
At that moment—
The radar on the tablet finished scanning. Scattered across the screen were countless civilizations, large and small, within a million light-years. The younger man pointed with a complex expression at the largest and brightest white dot.
"This is human civilization. They're already a Fifth-Tier Civilization."
"Seven years."
"Just seven years? A Third-Tier Civilization has become a Fifth-Tier Civilization in such a short time. Have you ever seen anything like this before?"
"Even the Civilization Big Bang couldn't have produced such rapid advancement, could it?"
The middle-aged man fell silent, sensing that war might be imminent. His own civilization was a Sixth-Tier Civilization, controlling a vast territory spanning thirty-two million light-years and encompassing seven galaxies.
It was an immense power.
This location lay within their territory.
No civilization would tolerate a newly emerged Fifth-Tier Civilization establishing itself within their domain.
Unless...
Unless this civilization was willing to completely submit to their rule, like the Mediocre Civilization had done, conflict was inevitable. Yet the civilization's response seemed strangely delayed.
"Let's return," the middle-aged man said gravely. "Report this to headquarters immediately. The Civilization Big Bang must be addressed swiftly. If they advance to a Sixth-Tier Civilization, they'll become far more difficult to handle. We must eradicate them at once to prevent endless future complications."
The young man didn't argue, nodding in agreement. He and the middle-aged man quickly returned to the wormhole and vanished into the Cosmic Behemoth's back.
This was a matter of grave importance.
They needed to report it immediately.
Meanwhile, aboard the Stellaris train:
Chen Mang was roughly calculating the exact cost of creating a wormhole through the Cosmic Void to reach the Nami Civilization. Before engaging the Mediocre Civilization in war, he planned to visit the Nami Civilization first.
To reclaim what was rightfully his.
The Heavenly Palace.
And the mysterious safe within it.
According to Little Fatty, the Nami Civilization had discovered a safe inside the Heavenly Palace. He suspected it contained something valuable, something Chen Mang would need.
Chen Mang wasted no time.
Time was of the essence.
Creating a wormhole spanning 1 million light-years would require 150 trillion units of iron ore.
If the Cosmic Void was only 10 million light-years wide, then 1.5 quadrillion units of iron ore would suffice. This calculation assumed a one-way, disposable wormhole—a type rarely used by civilizations exploring the cosmos.
What was the point of creating a wormhole that led to nowhere but death?
But Chen Mang didn't care. He had his refrigerator.
In the next moment—
As 150 trillion units of iron ore were pulverized into dust, a wormhole slowly opened. The Stellaris train entered, but when it emerged from the other end, it had already traveled a million light-years deep into the Cosmic Void.
This process was repeated ten times.
After consuming 1.5 quadrillion units of iron ore, they still hadn't reached the edge of the Cosmic Void.
By now, the Stellaris train had penetrated ten million light-years into the void.
They were now far from the Niya Star System.
Surrounded by nothing—no stars, no dust clouds, just utter emptiness—the Cosmic Void lived up to its name. It was the Sahara Desert of space, a vast expanse of nothingness stretching as far as the eye could see.
Finally!
On the twentieth jump,
Chen Mang spotted the edge of the Cosmic Void on the Doppler Radar, along with the radar signature of the Nami Civilization. At this point, they were only thirteen light-years from the void's edge.
He opened one last, shorter wormhole. When the Stellaris emerged, they had successfully arrived in the Northern Frontier zone of the Nami Civilization.
This was also a prosperous zone of the Nami Civilization.
Here, separated from him by a Cosmic Void, lay the Nami Civilization.
He now knew the exact diameter of this Cosmic Void: almost exactly 20 million light-years.
The cost of creating the wormhole for this journey had been 3 quadrillion units of iron ore.
That's not cheap at all.
It was nearly equivalent to the entire foundation of a 4th Tier Civilization. Even waging a full-scale war wouldn't consume this much resource.
It seems they haven't detected me.
Chen Mang gazed thoughtfully at the Doppler Radar. A wormhole had suddenly appeared within the civilization's territory, an extremely conspicuous event. Nearby fleets were already converging on the location to investigate the anomaly.
Yet despite the approaching fleets, no one seemed to notice him. There were no targeting locks, no warning hails.
Looks like my Tier 500 Radar Jammer is working quite well.
He didn't linger.
Checking the coordinates Little Fatty had given him on the radar, he saw they pointed to a planet—Little Fatty's home world. Coincidentally, it was nearby, only 1,298 light-years away.
The area was dotted with permanent wormholes constructed by the Nami Civilization.
This was what a Fifth-Tier Civilization should look like.
Within their territory, numerous permanent wormholes connected planets, facilitating trade, communication, troop deployments, and resource transportation. Such extensive infrastructure required significant resource investment.
In contrast, Chen Mang's human civilization currently lacked a single permanent wormhole within its territory. This extreme focus on development had left other aspects neglected.
Who needs communication anyway?
Every available resource had been poured into upgrading the Stellaris.
Civilization building can wait.
Upgrade the train first. Once the train is upgraded, we'll have everything. Without it, even the most advanced civilization is just a toy for higher-tier civilizations, easily crushed.
However, Chen Mang couldn't use these wormholes.
Access required legal Nami Civilization credentials and payment in their digital currency.
Chen Mang steered the Stellaris toward the nearest wormhole. Before long, a panel popped up on the train control panel screen.
["External network detected. Requesting access to the train."]
["Authorize?"]
"Authorize."
Seven hours later, Chen Mang piloted the train to the nearest wormhole, one located above a planet. Outside the wormhole, several space stations and space-based weapons hovered in the cosmos, while inspectors guarded the entrance.
A line of trains queued up to enter.
Chen Mang maneuvered his train into the queue.
When his turn came, a mechanical arm holding a massive scanner swept across the train's roof. A moment later, the words "Authentication successful. Passage granted" slowly appeared on the large screen beside the entrance.
"Not bad," Chen Mang chuckled softly. He and Little Fatty had already discussed this beforehand.
Little Fatty's father had semi-retired, and Little Fatty was now taking over his father's business empire and network of connections. Chen Mang had asked him to secure a legitimate Nami Civilization identity for him.
This was no simple task.
The Nami Civilization maintained an Inner Network containing data on every train within their territory. Only authenticated trains were permitted passage, as this was crucial for the civilization's security. Allowing trains from other civilizations to freely enter their territory and use their wormholes would pose a grave threat.
For Little Fatty to insert Chen Mang's train information into the Inner Network required almost divine intervention.
This Inner Network was likely controlled by an incredibly powerful AI.
AI cannot be bribed.
It was a mystery how Little Fatty had managed to deceive or persuade the AI to do this. It certainly wasn't an easy feat.
They would discuss the details in person later.
After passing through several wormholes, Chen Mang felt like a prodigal son returning home. The train finally slowed to a stop on a vibrant blue planet, temporarily halting its journey across twenty million light-years.
He had finally reached the heart of civilization.
As the Stellaris train pulled out of the station, it sped along the train highway toward Little Fatty's home. Chen Mang glanced up at the Heavenly Palace, still suspended in the planet's atmosphere, seemingly unchanged in position.
It now orbited the planet like a moon, rotating in sync.
The palace's presence didn't affect the planet's illumination, though it had a minor impact on temperature. But this was a negligible issue that the Nami Civilization had already addressed.
Finally—
The train came to a gentle stop in front of an unremarkable-looking residential building.
Chen Mang stepped out with Biaozi and the others, spotting Little Fatty and his father standing before the house. He nodded with a smile. "Long time no see."
"Lord Mang...?" Little Fatty asked tentatively. Upon confirmation, he grinned widely and strode forward. "It's great to finally meet you in person! If you hadn't forbidden me from picking you up, I would have arranged the most extravagant welcome possible!"
(End of the Chapter)
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