Vol-2: 123. The Truth of History

123. The Truth of History

N4 sat beside Li Aozi, her legs crossed, high heels on the ground, revealing her beautiful ankles. She rested her chin on her hand, her eyes sparkling with a faint light:

"I'm curious, why do you keep provoking major nations? What's your goal?"

"To go to space." Li Aozi didn't bother to hide it: "You'll find out soon."

"You could choose to cooperate, just like Abyss Heavy Industries did."

"And that's why you guys haven't gone to space in 300 years."

Li Aozi said mischievously:

"Because capital seeks profit. Sponsors won't let you do things that are thankless. Developing space travel requires a thousand private companies to provide various components and materials, at least 200,000 workers, and selecting the best astronauts from hundreds of millions of people across the country, then sending them into a space filled with Calamity, never to return—there's no commercial value in that."

N4 blinked her beautiful eyes and said:

"I didn't expect you to be smarter than I thought sometimes."

[220/12/21/23:09_Du Zexin: This woman is tougher to deal with than I imagined. She doesn't have a single electronic device on her, even her terminal is a biochip.]

Li Aozi glanced at the drone's flashing camera, shrugged. Du Zexin's aversion to [Biochemists] was too strong, possibly influenced by the route disputes.

"If I were you, I wouldn't make myself too smart, otherwise..."

"What?"

"Smart people always have flexible backgrounds, rather than sticking to their own stance."

"Interesting point, I guess you've met a formidable enemy, big trouble."

N4 glanced at the players:

"These are your astronauts? You want to take these little guys into space? I don't understand, what's your goal with this group?"

Li Aozi didn't hide it. To someone with N4's intelligence level, hiding was pointless. It would only pique her curiosity, prompting her to investigate further and figure out more, making things more troublesome.

So he answered:

"If you know Cresta, you should know what's out there in the universe."

"I see... you know the truth about Calamity?"

"I know everything from Entropy Monarch to the destruction of the Old Era."

Li Aozi timely released a mission 'Witness the Past' to the players, allowing everyone to watch his conversation with N4.

At the same time, he downloaded the material he had recorded from the Abandon Mist and projected it through a moldy projector:

"I learned the truth about Azure Star a long time ago. Come and listen, some things need to be laid bare."

He pointed to the projection of the Abandon Mist in the video:

"Look, this thing is called Abandon Mist. It can recreate things from the past, usually erupting from underground, looking like the ocean, but it's just an information sea. You can directly use electronic devices to record this information, like this dolphin. If your device is good enough, it can directly analyze its genetic information and the memories in its brain at this moment."

"Do you know where the Abandon Mist comes from?"

Li Aozi pointed to the Calamity in the sky:

"Like Calamity, it's not a natural phenomenon, nor is it a virus, or even just a disaster. Its source is a being that could be considered a deity."

"We can call Him—Entropy Monarch."

"Oh my god!"

The players were stunned; it was their first time experiencing such a high-stakes main storyline. Two streamers had already opened their live rooms, recording this moment in the plot.

"God?" Du Zexin's consciousness switched back to the mobile armor, asking over the broadcast: "Is there really a god in this world?"

"Yes." The one who answered was N4. She placed her hand on her knee, explaining: "For humanity, there are many entities that can be called gods, and for the universe... gods are not so out of reach."

"I can clearly tell you," Li Aozi explained, "everything you've received—[Mechanic], [Martial Artist], [Biochemist], and our most powerful [Mutants]—these legacies are all pathways to godhood in the universe."

"Cresta has such records?" N4 glanced at Li Aozi, her expression puzzled.

N4 didn't know Li Aozi's 'Echoer' theory, and Li Aozi didn't intend to explain it to her, leaving her to keep guessing.

"—Yes."

Li Aozi lied through his teeth, enjoying his moment, using his extraordinary charisma to keep everyone's attention on his gestures:

"Cresta, also known as the 'White Tower.' They were organizations from the Old Era specifically designed for communication with extraterrestrial civilizations. A long time ago, Cresta was informed that there was a major threat on Azure Star. To prove their ability to enter the interstellar stage as soon as possible, Azure Star had to do so to enjoy the rights of cosmic immigration."

With various Old Era relics and inscriptions from the video, Li Aozi continued explaining:

"According to interstellar principles: a civilization must be able to leave its home planet on its own strength, or it will be considered primitive animals.

——Leaving the home planet here actually refers to being able to perform various activities within one light-year.

No civilization can directly contact those above atomic-level civilization.

No civilization may interfere with the progress of a civilization that has not left its home planet, nor may they use newly elevated civilizations as battlegrounds.

For civilizations with potential and about to enter the cosmos, a certain level of assistance may be provided, but not in the form of colonization or excessive aid that could lead to psychological dependency."

"Yes, by interstellar standards, you all on Azure Star are essentially no different from monkeys."

"But fortunately, a galactic-level civilization called the Fenis Federation recognized Azure Star's potential, maintained contact with Azure Star, and prepared to bring Azure Star into the fold, developing it as a subsidiary civilization."

"The Martial Artist's Qi strength, Mechanic's magnetic field energy, Biochemist's cell source power, Healer's life force, Plunderer's energy, and our Mutants' incredibly powerful Omega Energy, along with a unified power classification standard—these all came from extraterrestrial civilizations."

"The rise of the Red Arrow Empire happened because they obtained leftover knowledge from the White Tower. It's not so much a rise as it is a revival."

"This was originally a good thing. The Old Era was already thriving, and with the help of cosmic civilizations, it solved basic needs, developed interstellar ships and gravitational wave antennas, and saved the energy crisis with high-energy laser nuclear fusion technology. Reaching space was just within reach."

"The first year of the Galactic Era, also known as the Calamity Era, saw the sky being sealed by overwhelming Calamity. Since then, the path to space has been blocked, and the future of civilization ended, leading to the Outer World Era. The White Tower also turned into an institution controlling energy and monopolizing extraordinary knowledge—GTB."

"Azure Star's environment is not suitable for Gamma-level or higher beings, but if GTB were willing to open up that knowledge, at least Gamma-level beings wouldn't have it so tough. They wouldn't need regular surgeries to stay healthy, and with that knowledge, Azure Star's people could reach Beta-level universally—it could be done simply by extending college education."

Li Aozi's words left everyone shocked, especially Du Zexin.

"No wonder I feel like reaching Beta-level… doesn't seem that hard." Du Zexin recalled, "Gamma-level might need power, but Beta-level seems achievable just by accessing official knowledge."

As a newly minted Beta-level, he felt this deeply.

"That's because you have access to the correct path of extraordinary knowledge, controlled by the authorities. Without education, there are no strong individuals. Granth is the best example. Granth, with a population of less than 30 million, only has six native Beta-levels, while Frost-Plated, with a population of 600 million, has 700,000 Beta-levels, spread across the military, government, and research sectors, and still feels crowded."

Li Aozi said:

"Imagine, if you add the people from the Outer World, Azure Star could have 2.6 to 3 billion Beta-levels in total. With the current four countries, with the abilities of these trash and incompetent scum, could they still govern the nation? What you need is an alliance, an absolute community; a nation is insufficient to manage such a powerful human race."

"3 billion Beta-levels… that would cause a qualitative change in productivity."

N4 considered more practical aspects:

"If GTB doesn't control that knowledge, humanity might erupt in a large-scale war within decades. Such a war would utterly destroy civilization on the surface."

"Don't try to spin it; you're not even fit to be called a civilization."

Li Aozi spread his hands:

"The Fenis Federation is very willing to see Azure Star develop. The White Tower explained the reason: from a cosmic perspective, Azure Star is ideally suited as a forward base to help the Fenis Federation strike at their mortal enemy—the Maxwell Consortium, a warlike star system. For this strategy, the Fenis Federation is even willing to help Azure Star achieve universal Gamma-level status."

In fact, Li Aozi didn't tell these people that in the universe, Gamma-level is the norm. To accommodate lower-level civilizations, Beta-level and Alpha-level standards were specially created.

Those who joined narrative-level civilizations are often born at Delta or Zeta level and above. Their civilization's productivity is terrifying; even if they wiped out everyone on Azure Star, it wouldn't consume more resources than hosting a school basketball tournament.

To put it bluntly, Azure Star is seen by cosmic beings as chimpanzees, only worthy of assistance from organizations resembling animal protection groups.

Thus, the Fenis Federation's actions, if not driven by some intent, would seem saintly in the eyes of other civilizations.

"I knew aliens wouldn't assist for nothing... so your goal is to secure support from the Fenis Federation and liberate Azure Star from Entropy Monarch?"

Du Zexin rotated his turret, as if shaking his head.

"It's not that I'm displeased; I understand the idea, but it could end up sending Azure Star people to the frontlines of a war... We've already lost enough lives to war."

"No."

Li Aozi said:

"Besides Entropy Monarch, Azure Star also faces a societal threat—society is a living civilization and can be called a monster. It's terrifying, but society is drawn by Entropy Monarch, and if Entropy Monarch is dealt with, they'll leave. To resolve Entropy Monarch, there are only two ways."

"Let's hear them."

"First, I apply for immigration to an alien planet, relocate all our people, and then use a planet-destroying weapon to destroy Azure Star. The juvenile Entropy Monarch would be directly eliminated. One and done."

This was Li Aozi's and the players' approach in their past lives.

"Sounds feasible, so what's the cost?" N4 asked.

"The cost is high. Firstly, the expense is considerable, but I'll figure it out. Secondly, a civilization without a home planet can only reside on territory given by others. As a nomadic civilization, their status is low, and they don't even have the basic right to interstellar communication and transport routes. Just like stateless individuals, even if someone conducts slave trade on Azure Star people, no one would care."

"There's also a more fatal issue—not everyone can go to space. About 20% of people will die directly during space migration, 30% will die from diseases not suited to the new home, and including conflict, occupational injuries, and losses—in the end, maybe only 25% will be able to develop civilization steadily."

"What's the second?"

"The second is a bit tricky." Li Aozi said, "A cosmic-level civilization can extract the juvenile Entropy Monarch and also divert society's attention, throwing the Entropy Monarch into a black hole, effectively sealing it. When the black hole evaporates, Entropy Monarch will grow back, and then you repeat the process."

"The benefit is that Azure Star retains its home planet, maintaining its geographic value and allowing it to officially become part of the interstellar community. And it avoids losing too many people through space migration."

"What's the cost?" Du Zexin was curious. "This sounds like appeasement, but it also seems viable."

"The cost is, you may have to wait for me for a while."

"How long approximately?"

"Oh, not too long."

Li Aozi said:

"At most, about a hundred years."