Translator: AnubisTL
Some time ago, the 27 God-Tier Civilizations jointly launched a virtual online game called "New Universe." This game was exceptionally unique: death within the game meant true death, and blueprints and resources obtained in-game could be brought into reality for practical use.
To this day, "New Universe" remains the most popular game in this universe, without exception.
He had been curious about this game at the time.
However, after annihilating the Former Human Civilization, their AI promptly deleted the database, preventing him from obtaining much information. Now, he had finally acquired relevant details from the Zerg Queen Mother.
"New Universe."
A game spearheaded by the Former Human Civilization, its design philosophy was remarkably similar to his own speculations. By using vast quantities of Dreamstones, various civilizations' citizens were sent as players into a virtual online world constructed from the same material. Their mission: to harvest resources from the remote corners of the universe.
Just as he had predicted.
In the vast cosmos, resource-rich zones were the exception, not the rule. Most regions were resource-poor, lacking sufficient materials to justify the cost of establishing wormholes for extraction. However, by utilizing Dreamstones, the extraction costs could be drastically reduced, allowing resources to be transported back to God-Tier Civilizations.
This maximized the utilization of cosmic resources.
The 7th Tier Civilization, the Rugged Civilization, had left him a total of nearly 10,000 Foundation units of iron ore.
In contrast, the God-Tier Civilization, the Zerg Civilization, had left him nearly 100,000 Foundation units of iron ore.
The difference wasn't as vast as it seemed—only tenfold.
While the God-Tier Civilizations had higher daily operational costs, the primary reason for the discrepancy was the difficulty of resource extraction for these advanced civilizations. The game's design concept had been proposed by the Former Human Civilization, but creating the Virtual Online Game required massive quantities of Dreamstones, which the Former Human Civilization lacked. Thus, they collaborated with all 27 God-Tier Civilizations to develop the game.
A truly ingenious design.
"Quite interesting."
Chen Mang nodded slightly. The game's AI was a Full-Tier AI, jointly developed and maintained by all God-Tier Civilizations, with resources evenly distributed among them. Its sole purpose was to manage and operate the game.
This design was intriguing and could help him gather resources from across the cosmos more efficiently.
Of course, this required the game to be promoted to as many civilizations as possible. The God-Tier Civilizations alone had too small a population, making resource collection too slow.
The rest unfolded naturally.
After the Stellaris train effortlessly annihilated the Former Human Civilization and seventeen Immortal Emperors, its demonstrated power spoke for itself. The God-Tier Civilizations remained silent for a long time, not even bothering to coordinate their strategies before collectively choosing to submit and join the human civilization.
In such a situation, communication was pointless.
What was there to discuss?
Even united, they couldn't defeat it.
Submission was their only option.
Sixty days later, only one God-Tier Civilization remained in the universe: the human civilization. The remaining civilizations had all chosen to join it, though this wasn't the kind of integration truly recognized by the Cosmic Rules.
After all, they weren't the same race.
But—
Did that even matter anymore?
When you possess overwhelming power, you become the Cosmic Rules. Whether the Cosmic Rules acknowledge you or not ceases to matter; as long as human civilization recognizes you, we are all part of the same civilization.
Human civilization formally migrated out of the train. All Inhabited Planets were relocated from the train to their former territories, the lands of the "Former Human Civilization." Aquablue Star, the place where his dreams had begun, naturally became the core planet, serving as the nexus of political, economic, and military power.
It was now the most central planet in human civilization and, indeed, the entire universe.
Consequently, Aquablue Star's real estate prices began to skyrocket.
Many real estate agencies even chose to withdraw their listings, refusing to sell. The prices were rising so rapidly that selling quickly meant losing more money.
Numerous alien civilizations flocked to Aquablue Star, the Political Mother Planet of human civilization, to observe and learn.
In an instant, the planet became extraordinarily bustling.
This was a civilization that had risen suddenly, almost overnight, and many were curious about its rapid ascent.
Thus,
On Aquablue Star, in Taiping City, before a magnificent structure meticulously crafted by Doba and his goblin artisans, countless guides led groups of tourists from alien civilizations to marvel at the site.
"Ahead lies the Human Civilization Museum, documenting every stage of humanity's rise. See those ruins? They date back to ancient times, when the Stellaris was just an ordinary train and this planet faced the apocalypse brought by the Zerg Civilization."
"The land was shattered, and the people suffered terribly."
"It was here that the Stellaris fought its first major battle, slaying a colossal spider monster."
"..."
"And here, behind this space gate, lies the first mining star the Stellaris exploited after leaving Aquablue Star. It contained approximately 10 trillion units of iron ore."
"So little?"
"At the time, the Stellaris train was in a resource-poor zone, making resource acquisition extremely difficult."
"..."
"These are some of the Civilization Wonders acquired by the Stellaris train, all highly ornamental. This one is called 'New Universe,' awarded to the Stellaris train for being the first in the universe to upgrade the 'space gate' accessory to its maximum Tier. That one over there is called 'Creator.'"
"..."
"This is Biaozi, a core member of the Stellaris train. After a fierce battle, his mech suit was completely destroyed. We kept it as a memorial to his bravery."
"That one over there is the 'goblin train,' the enemy train we destroyed during our first encounter with the goblin race. This event marked the beginning of a gradual shift in our fates. Today, the goblin race holds the highest status among foreign civilizations within human society and enjoys our utmost trust."
"And this..."
The grand and majestic museum was bustling with activity, attracting a large number of foreign visitors.
"Hah..."
Biaozi and Old Pig stood in a room within the museum, overlooking the crowd below. They exchanged glances, both wearing smiles. Ever since they learned that Lord Mang planned to open the museum to the public...
They began to hatch their own schemes.
Who wouldn't want their name to be remembered for eternity? Who wouldn't want their heroic deeds to be known by all?
So,
They treated Doba to several rounds of drinks, finally convincing him to leave their mark on the museum.
For example, Biaozi, who had once framed a piece of mecha debris inside the train, moved it to the museum. Every tour guide's explanation of it filled him with secret satisfaction.
As for Old Pig...
He had nothing tangible to display in the museum. After all, his achievements were intangible—invisible and intangible—not something that could be clearly exhibited. If he had died, it would have been simple: a photograph and a list of his accomplishments.
But he hadn't died.
So,
He commissioned two statues. One was of Lord Mang, placed at the museum's entrance, leaning on his cane and gazing into the distance, his cloudy eyes seemingly filled with concern for the world's troubles.
The other was a statue of himself, standing behind Lord Mang.
His name and achievements were engraved on the pedestal beneath his statue.
He considered his proposal perfect.
Perhaps it was too perfect.
Everyone wanted to add themselves to the list.
And so—
Several new statues now stood at the entrance of the Human Civilization Museum. Lord Mang stood at the forefront, followed by Old Pig, Biaozi, Doba, Uncle Li, and others, creating a lively scene. Beneath each statue, their respective positions on the train were inscribed.
Surprisingly, Uncle Li held the most titles:
"Former Train Conductor of the Breeding Carriage, Accountant of Neon City, Resource Expenditure Collector for the Train, and current Principal of Human University."
The long list of titles was dizzying to read.
"It seems we're finally on the right track," Old Pig remarked, gazing wistfully at the endless stream of people below. "I think I've finally found a good ending."
The human civilization had become the most powerful in the universe. God-Tier Civilizations were now constantly contacting Tier 9 Civilizations, who in turn contacted Eighth-Tier Civilizations, creating a cascading network.
Layer upon layer, civilizations flocked to join the human civilization daily. Soon, true universal unification would be achieved.
As for him—
From his initial position as deputy train conductor to the story's near conclusion, he remained the deputy train conductor. His rank hadn't changed, neither promoted nor demoted.
A promotion was definitely out of the question now.
Any further advancement would mean taking Lord Mang's position.
He was content with maintaining his current rank; at least Lord Mang still recognized his work.
"The young master should be born soon, right?" Biaozi said with a grin. "I've noticed Lord Mang visiting Sister-in-law Xiaofang frequently these days. He's clearly very fond of the child. When the young master is born, he'll be showered with endless affection."
"That's for sure," Old Pig chuckled. "Reincarnation is a true art. Who knows who managed to be reborn into Sister-in-law Xiaofang's womb? The life they'll have from birth will be something others can only dream of their entire lives."
"Maybe it's Master Kun reincarnated?"
"..."
Old Pig's lips twitched slightly at the suggestion. He turned to Biaozi. "That joke is a bit too dark. If Lord Mang heard that, he'd twist your head off on the spot."
Realizing his mistake, Biaozi shrank back, avoiding further discussion of the topic.
They had never referred to Ji Chuchu or Yan Yao as "sister-in-law" before, knowing full well that neither woman was Lord Mang's true partner.
Yet, no one could have predicted that Xiao Fang would ultimately rise to power.
A mere servant girl responsible for Lord Mang's daily needs had transformed into Sister-in-law Xiaofang, leaving both men to remark, "It's always easier for women to climb the ladder."
Most importantly, she had given birth to a son.
That made him the undisputed First Heir. With such overwhelming fortune descending upon them, there was no stopping it.
After Biaozi told that dark joke, both men fell silent.
Finally, Old Pig spoke up, "Since the Second Universe exists, and Lord Mang wasn't aware of it when he killed Master Kun, Master Kun's soul might still be intact. Maybe he's still alive in the Second Universe. Should we go there now and finish him off?"
"If he really reincarnates here, we'll be in serious trouble."
Though it was just a dark joke, Old Pig considered the implications. If such a thing were to happen, it would indeed spell disaster.
"That's unlikely," Biaozi hesitated. "Reincarnation was just a figure of speech. The Cosmic Rules state there's no such thing. Reincarnation is just a folk belief. Every new life is entirely new, with no past lives or future existences."
"That's good."
The two exchanged a glance but said nothing more on the matter, continuing their casual conversation as they sipped tea and watched the bustling crowd below.
Meanwhile, in another room, Doba, Mundo, and PuruPuru, the former goblin pirate captain, gathered to gaze upon the iconic symbol of human civilization—a structure crafted by their own goblin hands. A surge of pride and accomplishment welled up within them.
"Time flies!" PuruPuru remarked with a hint of nostalgia. "It's only been a little over a decade, and human civilization has already reached this point. I remember when I first met Lord Mang, I was just a carefree pirate, living without a worry in the world."
"Was being a pirate really that carefree?"
"Not bad, I guess. The only downside was not having any clansmen. I'd get lonely sometimes, but otherwise, it was pretty fun."
Doba chuckled and gazed down at the crowd below, his mind drifting back to his first encounter with Lord Mang. He recalled the day he was piloting his goblin train deep underground when he accidentally veered into the Doomsday Abyss and collided with Lord Mang's Train.
Before that day...
He didn't know how long it took, but in that pitch-black space, he had forged a goblin train that was uniquely his.
At the time, he couldn't explain why, but he had placed unwavering trust in Lord Mang. He sensed that this human was different from the others, possessing a special, irresistible charisma.
As it turned out, Lord Mang truly was unlike any other human.
The goblin race rose to prominence because of him, eventually becoming one of the most esteemed alien civilizations in the cosmos.
Now—
Inside the Stellaris train cabin, Chen Mang sat listening to Xiao Ai's report.
"Medical examination complete. The fetus is developing normally, and Xiao Fang's health is excellent."
"Hmm."
Chen Mang nodded slightly, a faint smile flickering across his face. His greatest concern now was awaiting the birth of his child. Once the child grew old enough to inherit human civilization, he would finally venture out to explore the true nature of the cosmos.
He had already chosen a name for the child: Chen Jiang.
A somewhat ordinary name, but a decent one nonetheless.
"Approximately 91 days remain until all civilizations at the Fourth-Level and above join human civilization. Integrating Low-Tier Civilizations will take longer, mainly due to their sheer number."
(End of the Chapter)
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