Chapter 424: Negotiation, Successfully Bluffed

The voice of the Fungus Civilization conveyed a hint of helplessness:

"Ah… it's indeed them.

We cannot know their names; they often adopt the names of the highest artists from other civilizations to identify themselves, and if you wish, you may also call them 'Li Bai.'

For life forms like you composed of carbon, they usually maintain a non-aggressive curiosity.

Your literary works, especially those imaginative and deeply emotional poems, have an irresistible charm for them.

Also, your Dinosaur Civilization might have had interactions with them.

They usually do not take action, but our awe of them has never lessened one bit; we dare not show the slightest disrespect."

However, the tone of the Fungus Civilization suddenly became cold and resolute, as if a chill had pierced through the void:

"But all of this only reinforces our resolve to annihilate you, because you have indeed deterred us.

You might underestimate our strength and determination, as this deterrence is not unbreakable.

If we are willing to pay a certain price to activate those extreme interference tactics, then the tens of thousands of broadcast transmitters you have prepared will temporarily lose consciousness under this interference, and your broadcast deterrence plan will completely fall through.

Moreover, we will eradicate every trace of your civilization, especially your art.

The Dinosaur Civilization did not create much art, and the Li Bai Civilization will not resent us because of them.

Now, we still have one question, and the answer to this question will directly determine your fate.

How can you be sure that it isn't the 'Li Bai Civilization' secretly aiding you?

If you truly have their favor, then contacting them in a crisis would be the most reasonable choice.

According to the information you provided, the 'Li Bai Civilization' does not know of your existence."

This indeed was the biggest loophole in Lin Sen's statements and the final probe by the Fungus Civilization.

Because now the Fungus Civilization also could not confirm whether that "existence" was merely a fabrication by Lin Sen.

If Lin Sen's explanations could not dispel their doubts, the Fungus Civilization would have to risk taking extreme measures to completely erase the existence of the Divine Vessel Civilization.

Deterrence, especially when ignorant of the technological capabilities of the opponent, has never been an easy task. It is like a double-edged sword, which can either protect oneself or bring about destruction.

Lin Sen took a deep breath, his voice heavy and slow, as if the air around him had solidified into ice.

The negotiation had reached its most critical turning point, and Lin Sen understood that every sentence he spoke next could decide the fate of the Divine Vessel Civilization, and perhaps even more civilizations.

"In fact, I received two pieces of information at the end," Lin Sen's voice trembled slightly, barely perceptible, each word as if unearthed from the deepest part of his soul.

Obviously, Lin Sen was also aware of the weight of these two pieces of information, and this inevitably made the Fungus Civilization more solemn.

"The first piece concerns the seeking of redemption through broadcasting humanity's poems, of which you are already aware.

As for the second revelation, I still have not fully understood its meaning. I cannot and dare not disclose the specific information to you.

"All I can tell you is that it pertains to the answer to returning to zero.

"I have a premonition that if I were to reveal it to anyone, not only would our civilization be destroyed, but you would hardly escape unscathed either."

At this point, Lin Sen closed his eyes, as if engaging in a silent prayer, or trying to calm the tumultuous waves within his heart.

All that could be done had been done; the rest was up to the Fungus Civilization to decide.

"The answer to returning to zero." That was Lin Sen's final bargaining chip in the negotiations with the Fungus Civilization.

In that instant, the conference hall of the Fungus Civilization seemed frozen by icy coldness, plunging into dead silence. All the delegates appeared to be stripped of their ability to think by an invisible force, leaving only emptiness and shock.

They had originally thought that the reason Human Civilization was so unique was because it was favored and protected by the Li Bai Civilization, or possibly by a higher-level civilization.

But they had never imagined that this "higher level" was far beyond the limits of their imagination, even reaching a height that made them shudder.

If the Li Bai Civilization was the initial stage of a Divine-level Civilization, then the Returners were the peak of the universe, the most taboo existence within their cognition.

The existence behind Humanity surprisingly had the answer of the Returners, which meant that this "existence" might have transcended the constraints of the universe.

In their understanding, such an "existence" should not and could not exist.

They would rather believe that all this was Lin Sen's fabrication and nonsense.

This shocking information was quickly uploaded to the Mother World of the Fungus Civilization, causing high alert among the upper echelons.

To verify the authenticity of Lin Sen's words, they urgently initiated a grand plan named "Ponang."

In a distant interstellar region, several Constant Stars were used as fuel and thrown into a gigantic starry sky furnace.

As the mass of the Constant Stars completely decayed into energy, this power even broke through the constraints of dimensions, converging into an immeasurable force in High-Dimensional Space.

The Fungus Civilization spared no expense in utilizing such vast resources, all for one purpose—to break through Lin Sen's mental barriers and peer into his inner secrets.

Although this method could not fully probe a person's every thought, it could at least capture a part of the truth.

After paying such a huge price, the Fungus Civilization finally glimpsed a part of Lin Sen's thoughts, a name that struck their understanding like lightning—"Liu Cixin."

In the deepest parts of Lin Sen's mind, the entire universe was created by this "Liu Cixin" deity.

Could this universe really have a Creator Civilization?

What Lin Sen said, although concealed, was all true.

This discovery filled every member of the Fungus Civilization with an unprecedented fear and reverence.

What seems completely illogical sometimes appears all the more terrifying.

For a civilization that had reached their level, how could they assert that gods did not exist?

In the vast, boundless universe, there are some powers that they absolutely must not touch lightly.

The Fungus Civilization seemed to be caught in a tremendous choice, falling silent once again.

10 seconds, 20 seconds…

1 minute, 2 minutes…

10 minutes, 20 minutes…

After a long 20 minutes.

The reply from the Fungus Civilization finally arrived:

[You have garnered a chance for survival for your civilization!

We are just a patrol fleet of the Fungus Civilization.

We have just received the directive from the Supreme Governance Court of the Mother Civilization to cease our attack on you!

Now, we can talk.]

No one knew what the Fungus Civilization had gone through in those 20 minutes.

But, Lin Sen had once again won the bet, no, he had successfully bluffed.

The Divine Vessel had survived once again!