Chapter 128 Civilization

Everything about this base seemed different from Base No. 12, from leaving the train to a dedicated conference room was merely over a hundred meters, yet the three thick iron doors, each two meters thick in the hallway, indicated the level of security here.

The vast conference room was devoid of any lavish decor, but the red carpet with white-covered sofas and cushions scattered around gave it a homey feel.

Xinghe was ushered into the conference room, and naturally, Gao Yuan was invited in as well, followed by Xiang Weiguo and Luo Xingyu. It was their first informal meeting, so they were definitely allowed in, but Yu Shunzhou and the rest were ruthlessly left outside.

Li Wen stopped before a semicircle of sofas in the empty space at the front, beside an unusual sofa because it was significantly larger, clearly intended for Xinghe.

"Please sit."

Li Wen had quite condescended, yet Xinghe didn't take a seat.

Xinghe stood there, turning his head first to look at Gao Yuan, then he glanced at Xiang Weiguo and Luo Xingyu, and finally, he turned to face Li Wen.

"I can now leave the protection of the mecha, as I have completed the physical adaptation work for an alien planet, as well as the learning process for the Earth's language."

After uttering a single line, Xinghe made no movement, as there seemed to be no need for any apparent action to disengage from the mecha.

The mecha began to transform suddenly, first the chest area silently opened, followed by two arms, two legs, and lastly, the facial covering retracted backwards.

A person walked out from within the mecha.

Everyone was dumbstruck, including Li Wen, who was supposedly the most worldly man on the planet.

Under the watchful eyes of all, Xinghe completed the process of leaving the mecha behind.

All things considered, Xinghe looked just like a person.

This wasn't a trivial statement since alien beings could be strangely diverse in appearance, and as a sentient being, Xinghe could have taken on any form.

But since Xinghe's mecha was human-shaped, it wasn't particularly odd that Xinghe and humans looked quite similar.

Short hair of a somewhat unusual length and color—it appeared to be ink-green, but reminiscent of the granny grey that sometimes revealed different tints under the light.

The ears were a bit pointed; the eyes, somewhat elongated; the nose, proud and dainty; the lips almost identical to those of humans; the figure slim and tall, with skin that seemed a bit green.

Xinghe, in any case, looked like a human—no, he was essentially a particularly unique human, differing more than black and yellow races do from one another, yet not excessively so.

Apart from shock, there was more shock; even Gao Yuan's first response was to question if this was still an alien?

"I am called Xinghe, a carbon-based life form that requires water and food. Genetically speaking, there is a one-thousandth difference between us. I come from a star system not so far away and am pleased to meet you," Xinghe said bowing slightly, but the information he revealed was considerable. Li Wen, almost instinctively bowing in return, said to Xinghe, "You... you look very much like us."

"Yes, that's precisely what's fascinating, and it is the main reason we have continuously explored you—because we should have been created by the same civilization," Xinghe said.

Li Wen was momentarily breathless, then with a look of disbelief, he said, "Created?"

"It's hard to imagine such a high degree of coincidence in the universe, so we must have been created by another, more ancient civilization. Just like we have done, the species on Earth were intervened by a civilization, like a seed being planted, and the fruit that eventually grew was a new seed."

Gao Yuan's voice trembled, "Were we created by you?"

Xinghe looked at Gao Yuan, he or she smiled, "No, as I said, we were all created, it's just that we were earlier and evolved into a higher civilization."

Li Wen cast a pleading look at the others nearby, but everyone was just as confused and puzzled as he was.

Xinghe took a step forward, first making a very serious expression, but then he smiled, adopting a more relaxed demeanor, and finally, he or she settled into a calm expression.

The tone was just as calm.

"There's no need to doubt, our genes are almost identical to our creators', and even Earth's mammals are highly similar to the original planet of our civilization. Therefore, we have long been sure that the planets of our two civilizations were modified by the creators, just like how plants are brought to a suitable apprentice to grow, where seeds are sown, and eventually, our own genetic lineage grows. The universe is vast, but there are few planets suitable for life; for life, there are not so many coincidences."

Li Wen licked his lips, his voice heavy, "Then the theory of evolution..."

"It's not completely wrong, but it's not correct either. Humans didn't evolve from apes, but from an original species. However, the creators only provided the genes, not the civilization, because this ensures the diversity of civilizations. Having enough samples of civilization ensures their continuation in the universe. If Earth's humanity and our civilization were the same, then we would all have been extinct."

"Where are our creators?"

Li Wen asked, but Xinghe shook his or her head, saying, "I don't know. That's a higher-level civilization, but we highly suspect that the creators' civilization has already been terminated."

Gao Yuan noticed a word, 'terminated,' and it was clear that Li Wen noticed it as well.

"You said 'terminated'?"

"Yes, we found ten planets with human civilization traces, two of which had already faced civilization extinction, leaving only us and Earth. Therefore, Earth is our focus of attention. We are searching for and following in the creators' footsteps, but further exploration has been forcibly halted because there are problems with our original civilization, now on the verge of extinction."

Suddenly, Xinghe seemed somewhat perplexed, clearly pondering for a moment before abruptly saying, "This isn't what we should be discussing right now. The important thing is to deal with the threat from the Serpent People civilization."

The amount of information was so great that everyone who heard it had a hard time digesting it, and at that moment, Xinghe looked at Gao Yuan and smiled, "This is our first real meeting, hello."

Xinghe reached out a hand towards Gao Yuan.

Gao Yuan looked up at Xinghe, as Xinghe was much taller than he was.

Xinghe was over one meter ninety in height. Also, he was dressed in a darkish tight suit, which is normal to wear inside a Mecha. But when facing Xinghe again, Gao Yuan's eyes didn't know where to rest.

The clothes were too tight, and looking at Xinghe's chest, well...it rose slightly. Looking at Xinghe's face, it matched Earthlings' aesthetics quite well, but if you called him a man, he seemed too pretty, and if a woman, she seemed to lack a softness.

Xinghe reached out a hand to Gao Yuan, speaking in a very cheerful tone, "I felt that after I left the Mecha, you should be there, so I waited for you. I've always thought that our formal meeting should have a sense of ceremony."

Gao Yuan extended his hand and shook hands with Xinghe, then he blurted out, "So are you male or female?"

Xinghe wasn't confused, but he smiled and said, "We've long since not had much distinction of gender. Gender is more about psychological identification rather than physiological limitation. For me, there isn't a clear recognition of gender, but for you, you are welcome to regard me as either male or female."