Translator: AnubisTL
Chen Mang glanced at the Space Pouch placed beneath the mechanical arm. It was filled with vast resources, their total value far exceeding the combined wealth of the Extreme Evil Civilization and the Good Cat Civilization. This was all the wealth Little Fatty's Father had accumulated over the years, now left entirely to him.
"Sigh."
After a long silence, he let out a soft sigh.
Though he now understood the situation, he still found the plot development too abstract. And you couldn't have brought back any other news, old man? At least I'd know something about what's going to happen in the future.
But in the future, he had lost contact with the Nami Civilization for 137 years.
There was no way to bring back any news about them.
Still...
Chen Mang suddenly thought of something, his brow furrowing. He turned to Old Pig beside him and asked, "Old Pig, if our human civilization had developed normally over these 137 years, wouldn't we at least be known throughout this region of space, if not the entire universe?"
"The Nami Civilization hasn't received any information about us for 137 years."
"Is it possible that we perished shortly after returning from the Good Cat Civilization?"
"Well..."
Old Pig paused, instinctively wanting to offer reassuring words like "That's definitely not going to happen!" But after a moment's thought, he decided to be honest. "It's possible. After all, if things had progressed normally, the Nami Civilization wouldn't have gone 137 years without hearing from human civilization."
Chen Mang frowned deeply, remaining silent. If this were true, according to the established future, he would face a catastrophe. And the timing of that catastrophe would align precisely with the creation of the Heavenly Palace by the Doba, the goblin race.
He might very well perish in that disaster.
And before his death...
He would hurl the Heavenly Palace into the temporal rift.
He had initially believed this was a strategy by his future self to help his present self develop more rapidly. Now, it seemed more like a desperate, scorched-earth tactic.
Wait!
A sudden realization struck him.
When the Future State and Present State of a Cosmic Forbidden Item collide, they trigger a violent explosion. If the volume is small, the explosion would be localized, like the one caused by Little Fatty's Father. But if the volume is large, the resulting explosion would be exponentially greater.
His Heavenly Palace was larger than an entire planet.
When the Heavenly Palace's Future State and Present State collided, the resulting explosion would be of unknown and terrifying magnitude, possibly comparable to a Tier 2000 Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannon?
He couldn't be sure.
Without a point of comparison, he couldn't even estimate its approximate power unless he obtained specific data.
A moment later, Chen Mang exhaled softly. He had roughly pieced together the situation. According to the established future, after leaving the Nami Civilization, he would face an extremely dangerous crisis—one that might even lead to his death and the destruction of the Stellaris train.
Though he couldn't fathom what kind of crisis could destroy the Stellaris train, one crucial timeline marker was clear: he wouldn't encounter this crisis until after the goblin race had completed the Heavenly Palace.
Constructing the Heavenly Palace was no simple task. Given the goblins' current technology, it would take them a very, very long time. There was no need to rush this.
It was a matter for the distant future.
Moreover!
In the predetermined future, when he left the Nami Civilization, he hadn't taken these resources. Now that he had acquired so much, the train would become significantly stronger, potentially allowing them to safely weather the disaster that had previously threatened it.
Just then!
Xiao Ai's voice suddenly echoed in his ear.
"Train Conductor, I have good news! Over the past seven years, with the train's support and collaboration with the Research Center, the goblins' technological level has advanced dramatically. According to Doba, many of the major challenges in the Heavenly Palace blueprint you submitted last time have been completely overcome."
"The project is now in its final stages."
"We estimate it will be fully completed in less than three months."
"..."
Chen Mang, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly fell silent again. After a long pause, he murmured, "Is this really good news?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" Xiao Ai sounded puzzled.
"I suppose it is." Chen Mang sighed softly, picked up the Space Pouch, and walked back through the tunnel toward the way he had come, preparing to explain the situation to Little Fatty.
At that moment, he felt like a cancer patient who had just received a terminal diagnosis, left with nothing but to wait for death.
Three months later, on the day the Heavenly Palace was completed, the moment of impending disaster would arrive.
By then, even if he ordered the construction of the Heavenly Palace to be delayed, it would be meaningless. It would be like carving a mark on a boat to find a sword dropped overboard—the completion date of the Heavenly Palace was merely an approximate temporal marker, with no causal connection to the event itself.
According to Little Fatty's Father, the crisis would likely occur when Chen Mang left the Nami Civilization and returned to the Niya Star System.
In other words...
Chen Mang's eyes narrowed slightly. He seemed to have found a way out of this predicament. The crisis was likely brewing in the Niya Star System right now, meaning his recent actions near the system had drawn the attention of an advanced civilization.
That civilization had laid a trap for him.
If he returned, he would face imminent annihilation?
In that case...
The crisis in this predetermined future could be avoided simply by temporarily staying away from the Niya Star System.
This would be true if the "past timeline" wasn't under attack.
Xiao Lu was still in the Niya Star System, guarding Chen Mang's past timeline. Once that unknown advanced civilization killed Xiao Lu, Chen Mang's own death would follow.
He had to go back.
He had to return as soon as possible.
And if possible, he needed to find a way to ensure the absolute safety of his past timeline before rushing back. During that time, he would use the resources at hand to upgrade the train once more, then launch a preemptive strike, catching the enemy completely off guard.
This was the only way.
The only way to survive.
Merely running away would only lead to his doom. Without his help, Xiao Lu alone would likely be unable to withstand an attack from an advanced civilization.
Soon—
While his mind raced, Chen Mang returned to the residential building. He handed the tablet to Little Fatty and explained everything that had happened. Little Fatty neither spoke nor cried, but sat blankly on the ground, utterly silent.
Clearly...
Just moments ago, his father had been perfectly fine. How could he suddenly be reduced to a bag of minced flesh?
He believed Chen Mang hadn't killed his father, and he knew it was his father's own choice.
But his heart struggled to accept it.
He had only just reconciled with his father, and they had barely enjoyed a few peaceful days together before fate cruelly separated them.
Fate plays cruel tricks, always leaving a bitter taste.
After a long silence, Little Fatty finally looked up at Chen Mang, his eyes rimming with red, and forced a smile. "Lord Mang, I don't blame you. My father saved the Nami Civilization. Out of respect for his sacrifice, I implore you to take these resources. In a critical moment in the future, please protect the Nami Civilization."
Chen Mang remained silent for a long time before finally replying, "Very well."
This time, he didn't refuse. He genuinely needed these resources now.
Little Fatty smiled again, though a hint of sorrow lingered in his expression. "It's a pity my father is gone. If he were still alive and knew about this, he would have been so happy."
After learning of his father's death, Little Fatty seemed to mature instantly.
The loss of a family member ranks among the most devastating tragedies in the world.
Yet—
In a way, such a loss can also force rapid growth.
Forced to stand alone.
Little Fatty's father's wife had already retreated to her room, where muffled sobs of inconsolable grief could be heard.
"Below...?"
Chen Mang paused, thinking of the Second Universe. He quickly shook his head; such a place couldn't preserve a soul intact. But after further consideration, perhaps giving Little Fatty a glimmer of hope for the future—preventing his family from being mired in grief forever—he hesitantly spoke.
"Do you know about the Second Universe?"
"It's where people go after they die."
"Although your father died in the First Universe, he hasn't truly perished. He may have already gone to the Second Universe. It just takes time to drift from the First Universe to the Second Universe—a completely random amount of time. It could be a second, or it could be a billion years."
"I can't say for sure when your father will arrive in the Second Universe."
"But—"
"I can tell you this: I have the power to travel between the First and Second Universes. If you wish, I can take you there. And I promise you, whenever I have the chance, I'll help you search for your father in the Second Universe."
"Just remember, the Second Universe is vast. We won't find him quickly."
"What you need to do is this:"
"Take on your father's responsibilities. Take care of your mother. That way, when you eventually die and go to the Second Universe to reunite with your father, he'll be truly happy—especially knowing he changed the future, altering the fate of his civilization and family."
He took some time to explain to Little Fatty what the Second Universe was.
Then, he brought Little Fatty aboard the Stellaris train and traveled to a planet in the Second Universe. When Little Fatty saw the Hungry Ghosts, he finally believed in the Second Universe's existence.
The sorrow between his brows lessened considerably, replaced by a newfound determination.
This wasn't a permanent farewell, but a temporary separation.
"Alright!"
Back in the residential building, Little Fatty's eyes now burned with resolve as he smiled at Chen Mang. "Lord Mang, I know you have important matters to attend to. You can go ahead and take care of them. Father left ninety percent of the resources to you. The remaining ten percent is enough to keep our current operations running. I believe I can even expand Father's business further."
"Good. You can keep the refrigerator."
"Thank you, Lord Mang."
After parting ways, Chen Mang left the residential building and boarded the Stellaris train. Concealed within the Pseudo-Fourth Dimension, he sat in the locomotive cabin, silent for a long while before finally letting out a soft sigh.
He couldn't bear to see the look on Little Fatty's face.
But a well-intentioned lie was better than no hope at all.
Even if that hope was false.
Little Fatty's Father had transformed himself into a Cosmic Forbidden Item. When his Present State and Past State collided, the resulting explosion should have obliterated his Soul completely. For it to remain intact was nothing short of a miracle—or perhaps, a curse.
It was almost certain that he wouldn't reach the Second Universe.
Complete death.
True annihilation.
But just then—
Xiao Ai's voice suddenly echoed through the train: "Train Conductor, I've analyzed the data from the explosion. There were faint spatial fluctuations, occurring immediately after the blast."
"I've encountered this type of spatial fluctuation before."
"When a living being dies, there's a chance this spatial fluctuation will occur. It's the Soul's return to the Second Universe."
"In other words—"
"Little Fatty's Father's Soul might actually have reached the Second Universe."
"How is that possible?" Chen Mang frowned. "The explosion wasn't particularly powerful, but it was a Forbidden Item under the Cosmic Rules. Shouldn't such an explosion destroy the Soul?"
If a human had been killed by a bomb of that magnitude, their Soul would likely remain intact.
"Theoretically, that's correct," Xiao Ai replied, her tone tinged with puzzlement. "But Little Fatty's Father had two Souls, distinct yet identical."
"Since my database lacks records of such cases, I can't determine exactly what happened. However, I can infer that some extraordinary phenomenon occurred, allowing Little Fatty's Father's Souls to remain whole."
"Moreover, both souls are completely intact and have merged into one."
"They've both traveled to the Second Universe."
Chen Mang was bewildered. "What does this mean? One plus one equals two?"
"Uncertain."
"But one thing is certain: Little Fatty has a genuine chance of seeing his father in the Second Universe, and the probability is quite high."
"..."
Chen Mang's lips twitched slightly. This was beyond his comprehension. "This isn't normal, is it?"
"Abnormal."
"Preliminary analysis suggests the Cosmic Rules divided the Forbidden Item into four components:"
"The Past State physical body of Little Fatty's Father, and the Present State physical body of Little Fatty's Father."
"The Past State soul of Little Fatty's Father, and the Present State soul of Little Fatty's Father."
"When these four components collided..."
"The physical bodies exploded."
"The souls merged."
"..."
Chen Mang looked up at the Heavenly Palace, which enveloped the entire planet. He felt a slight sense of relief. Otherwise, he would have felt responsible for Little Fatty's Father's death. Living in the Second Universe was still living, and as long as there was life, there was hope.
If he found Little Fatty's Father someday, he could bring him back to the First Universe at any time.
It was essentially a resurrection in disguise.
His immediate priority now was to explore the Heavenly Palace.
He then looked down at the copper key in his hand, given to him by Little Fatty's Father. It was the first Cosmic Forbidden Item to appear after the Heavenly Palace manifested. Suspecting a connection between the key and the Heavenly Palace, Little Fatty's Father had preserved it until he could personally entrust it to him.
Reaching the Heavenly Palace was surprisingly straightforward.
While still alive, Little Fatty's Father had used his connections to secure a research institute green card for him. This allowed him to pass openly through the guards at the Heavenly Palace Entrance, entering the Heavenly Palace under the guise of a researcher from the Nami Civilization Research Institute.
As the train landed at the Heavenly Palace Entrance, the sight before him was utterly awe-inspiring.
The first thing that caught his eye were nine colossal pillars.
The Heavenly Palace rivaled a planet in size and far surpassed it in mass. The sheer scale of the structure exerted a psychological pressure that shook the soul. The massive Stellaris train seemed insignificant in comparison.
At that moment, the train was speeding across the ground toward the Heavenly Palace Entrance.
The nine pillars were covered in intricate totem carvings, so large and clear that they remained visible even from a great distance.
Moreover, the Heavenly Palace seemed to possess some advanced technology.
Despite the vast distance, every detail remained remarkably clear.
"..."
Chen Mang sat in the locomotive cabin, pushing the control lever as he squinted at the approaching Heavenly Palace Entrance in the distance. A sudden curiosity struck him. "Xiao Ai, are Doba and the others really close to finishing the Heavenly Palace?"
"What materials are they using?"
"To gather such vast quantities of materials, they must have hollowed out several planets. And how did they design the power source to sustain this Heavenly Palace?"
"Have the goblins' technology truly reached this level?"
Only seven years had passed.
Wasn't this progress far too rapid?
Xiao Ai's voice soon filled the cabin. "Reporting, Train Conductor, I don't have all the details yet. I'm currently querying Doba, but I do know they requested a batch of Cyber Miners seven years ago."
"Most of the materials were obtained through these Cyber Miners."
"Moreover, the goblins are naturally skilled in construction."
After a brief pause, Xiao Ai continued, "Doba shared their database with me. Ninety-nine percent of the materials possess 'growth properties.' Their initial forms were much smaller."
"The goblins modularized the entire Heavenly Palace, dividing it into 999,999 modules based on the blueprint. By assembling these nearly one million modules, they formed the complete Heavenly Palace."
"The primary material is called Stardust Mud."
"It's a special substance that, after being exposed to anomalous temporal fluctuations, grows continuously, expanding to enormous sizes and becoming incredibly durable."
"The goblin race obtains Stardust Mud from the Cyber Mines. By exploiting their innate resistance to the temporal distortions within the temporal rifts, they transport the Stardust Mud into these rifts, allowing it to grow to massive proportions. After extracting the enlarged Stardust Mud, they modularize it into components, which are then assembled to form parts of the Heavenly Palace."
"And..."
Xiao Ai continued his lengthy explanation.
Chen Mang understood about half of it. After the train passed through the Heavenly Palace Entrance checkpoint, he didn't proceed further. Instead, he stopped the train and traveled to Aquablue Star to personally observe Doba and the others' progress and methods.
When Chen Mang arrived at Aquablue Star, he witnessed a breathtaking sight.
In the void beyond Aquablue Star's atmosphere, a colossal platform floated in space. Countless trains shuttled between the ground and the cosmos, while legions of goblins stood on the massive foundation, operating mechanical arms and other heavy machinery.
They were storing massive stone blocks and other modularized components, then installing them in their designated positions according to the blueprints.
The entire scene looked like a giant Lego set being assembled.
At a glance, hundreds of trains shuttled back and forth, while millions of goblins swarmed about, busily working.
"Wait... where did all these goblins come from?" Chen Mang muttered, bewildered. Had he been neglecting the situation inside the train for too long?
The last time he visited the goblin clan, there were only a few hundred of them. Now there were millions?
Where the hell did these millions of goblins come from?!
Can goblins give birth to hundreds of thousands of offspring at once?!
Xiao Ai's voice echoed through the locomotive cabin again.
"The goblin clan chose to breed within the temporal rifts, greatly accelerating their reproduction rate. They now number nearly ten million, making them a major race on Aquablue Star."
"But aren't goblins immune to the effects of temporal rift time dilation?"
"They're mostly immune, not completely immune."
Chen Mang nodded slowly. He recalled when they first encountered a temporal rift back on Aquablue Star. For normal humans, a few seconds outside would translate to decades inside. But when Doba entered, a brief period outside felt like only a few months to him.
So, by using temporal rifts, the goblin clan could indeed multiply rapidly.
"A temporal rift has appeared on Aquablue Star?"
"Yes, to be precise, temporal rifts have appeared on dozens of planets. Each rift has a different time flow rate, but the rift on Aquablue Star is the largest and has the greatest time dilation ratio."
"This is a consequence of the black hole interference we experienced during our last encounter on the train."
"Where is it?"
"Right there."
Chen Mang followed Xiao Ai's pointed finger and saw a massive temporal rift hovering near the Heavenly Palace's foundation. He had never seen such a colossal rift before—it was large enough to swallow an entire planet.
Even the Heavenly Palace could fit inside with room to spare.
"..."
Chen Mang fell into a complex silence, his expression unreadable.
Suddenly, many mysteries began to unravel.
He finally understood how his future self had found such a massive temporal rift and managed to cram the Heavenly Palace into it. So much had happened on the train during those seven years that he remained unaware of.
"Ask Doba about the safe he designed. What's its purpose, and how do we open it?"
"Understood."
According to information from the Nami Civilization:
The Nami Civilization had discovered a safe inside the Heavenly Palace. It had no keyhole, was a completely sealed cube, like a solid block of steel, and was exceptionally durable. Even the Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannon couldn't scratch it.
Perhaps, Chen Mang thought, this safe contains something that could help me.
It's definitely not something that could give me a decisive advantage.
If it could, my future self wouldn't have sent it back. They would have used it themselves to overcome their crisis. But it's almost certainly something that will enhance my strength.
Soon—
Xiao Ai's voice echoed through the train again.
"Train Conductor."
"Doba says he didn't design any safe."
"Hmm."
Chen Mang nodded slightly and remained silent. Since Doba hadn't designed the safe, it must have been created by Chen Mang himself. Once he saw it in person, everything would become clear.
Chen Mang left Aquablue Star.
He returned to the Heavenly Palace of the Nami Civilization and guided the train deeper into its depths.
The interior of the Heavenly Palace was vast beyond imagination.
The Heavenly Palace was divided into 99 zones, each serving a specific purpose. For example, the "Breeding Zone" housed domestic fowl and other livestock, while the "Plant Zone" contained rare and unique flora from across the cosmos.
How did he know all this?
A detailed map at the Heavenly Palace Entrance clearly outlined the function of each of the 99 zones.
However—
It appeared the Heavenly Palace had never been formally put into use after its construction before being cast into the temporal rift. At least, after traversing several zones, he found no signs of occupancy.
The so-called Plant Zone was completely empty, not even a speck of soil remained.
The entire Heavenly Palace was unnaturally pristine.
It remained unclear whether everything had been washed away when the palace was thrown into the temporal rift, or if it had simply never been used.
The Heavenly Palace was vast.
Yet the Stellaris train sped through all the zones, hurtling toward the central core. Even with deliberate deceleration, the palace's scale was still dwarfed by the standards of cosmic architecture.
His Stellaris train was capable of interstellar travel.
At one-third the speed of light, the Stellaris could traverse the entire Heavenly Palace in the blink of an eye if its firepower were unleashed. The cost, of course, would be the utter destruction of the Heavenly Palace.
He was heading to the most central zone: the Hall of Kings District.
This was the area Doba had designed for him to reside in, and where the safe had been discovered.
As the train sped through the Heavenly Palace, he saw no one in the other zones.
But when he reached the Hall of Kings District, he saw numerous researchers in white lab coats gathered there. Hearing the Stellaris approach, they turned to look, but after spotting the research institute's flag on the train's carriage, they quickly averted their gazes.
Though curious about which research institute possessed the resources to build such an impressive train, the five Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannons mounted on the carriage's roof spoke volumes.
Even if ordinary trains could be built, they couldn't afford such weaponry.
Still, they didn't dwell on it.
After all, the Nami Civilization had countless research institutes, many of which were still operating in obscurity, diligently pursuing their studies. It was perfectly normal not to have heard of them.
Soon, the researchers resumed their work, each engrossed in their own investigations.
Driving hovercars, they crisscrossed the zone, using advanced equipment to probe every nook and cranny for hidden information, leaving no detail unexamined—every groove, every seam between bricks.
Chen Mang led Biaozi and the others off the train, stepping into the Heavenly Palace for the first time.
Doba's design for the Heavenly Palace was remarkable.
It had no second floor—only a single, towering level.
This resulted in an extraordinarily high ceiling, even surpassing the height of mountains. Combined with the exceptionally smooth airflow and brilliant interior lighting, standing inside the Heavenly Palace felt utterly liberating, as if one were in the heart of nature itself rather than within a building.
The downside was its extreme inefficiency in space utilization.
The upside, however, was its breathtaking grandeur—a visual experience beyond words.
The finest architectural art always involves the extravagant waste of space.
Only through such extreme extravagance can one achieve such overwhelming awe.
(End of the Chapter)
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