Chapter 176: The So-Called Cycle

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“It’s unbelievable that there’s such a powerful civilization in this galaxy. It’s even comparable to our peak…”

The higher-ups of the Civilization Annihilator had a heated debate about the background of the Administrator who had suddenly appeared.

Of course, they knew about the existence of this lost robotic empire, but they had only known about it recently.

At that time, they learned through the communication of the Pyro Alliance that there was still a remote artificial intelligence civilization in the Milky Way, but they were too arrogant to care about it.

Naturally, they did not know what the Administrator had done in the galaxy. They did not even know when the Ring Crisis had happened.

At that time, they were still known as the Observer and all the observation instruments were concentrated on the native civilizations that they treated as pets.

Those who were self-conscious about being the successors of the Enlightened Ones did not think that there could be a civilization stronger than them in the galaxy, but deep-rooted arrogance was always the root cause of the destruction of the powerful.

Even now, they were unwilling to admit that the Administrator, who had suffered a shocking loss of 0:10000, was much stronger than them.

“That’s it! That artificial intelligence civilization is indeed very powerful, but as long as they are still in this universe, they will definitely not be our match!”

Another high-ranking member of the Civilization Annihilator spoke loudly about their last resort and looked at the Reality Penetrometer that had been installed in a huge instrument.

This was their divine artifact, the supreme masterpiece left behind by the Heaven Awakener.

When they first discovered this mysterious spherical instrument, they didn’t associate it with the Enlightened Ones. Instead, they treated it as an ordinary relic.

However, as the research progressed, they gradually unraveled some of the secrets of the instrument.

To a certain extent, it could change the laws of the universe. This was the main power of this instrument.

Even though it sounded incredible and not something that the civilizations in this galaxy could produce, the Civilization Annihilator verified its effect through experiments.

This changing the law effect could only be effective for a very short period of time, because the universe seemed to return to normal very soon.

However, if used properly, it could also achieve the same effect as a wishing machine.

Although each activation required countless resources and a long preparation time, the Civilization Annihilator had only used it a few times in history.

However, the Civilization Annihilator who was still called Observer at that time used the instrument one last time out of curiosity, wanting to see the truth of the Milky Way.

Thus, they discovered that they were in a fake universe, and they were trapped inside.

The collapse of the entire clan only lasted for a short while. After that, their thoughts underwent a huge reversal.

They firmly believed that there was a way to leave this virtual world, just like what they thought the Enlightened Ones had done.

And this Reality Penetrometer was explained by them as a product of a console in the virtual world. Otherwise, there was no way to explain why it could produce such magical effects.

The artificial intelligence civilizations, on the other hand, were perceived by them as the controller of the virtual world, the supervising robots left behind by the creator of the virtual world.

They logically perfected their theory of the virtual world and regarded it as the supreme truth. They fanatically carried out their decision to lead all living beings in the Milky Way out of the sea of suffering.

“I really didn’t expect that the preparations we made to let the world see the truth of the world would actually be used on such a matter…”

Some of the higher-ups were distressed by the activation of the Reality Penetrometer. If they were to change the original plan of breaking through the virtual world into destroying the Administrator, it would take them a long time to activate it again.

And they would definitely suffer more misunderstandings because they could not show the Milky Way civilization any evidence.

“But there’s no other way. That strange artificial intelligence civilization is unexpectedly powerful. This is the only way to ensure that the plan can continue.”

After everyone expressed their stance, the Reality Penetrometer finally began its final activation procedure.

The Civilization Annihilator had confirmed their wish. It was not to destroy the Administrator but to obtain the power to destroy the Administrator.

Even at this final juncture, they only wanted to regain their dignity and let the world see that they were stronger, not to directly eliminate the threat.

The fleets of the Civilization Annihilators began to retreat. The fleets that had wreaked havoc in the galaxy had been destroyed by the Administrator, leaving only a few mobile fleets on the periphery.

Now, in order to buy time for the Reality Penetrometer to be activated, these fleets all stopped at the planetary pass in hopes of delaying the Administrator a little.

The civilizations of the Milky Way, who had seen the power of the Administrator, all silently placed this lost robotic empire in an unspeakable position.

On the mother planet of the Pyro Alliance, the atmosphere had changed from the previous death match to a joyous one. A large number of celebrations took place almost every moment on the planet.

Logically speaking, this kind of half-time opening of champagne behavior shouldn’t happen. After all, the war between the guardians and the civilization annihilators had yet to be completely decided.

However, anyone with a discerning eye could tell which one had the crushing momentum. The leaders of the Pyro Alliance did not even go to retrieve the country’s borders. Instead, they gave the entire country a three-day holiday.

“Leader, we’ve just reconnected with the Galaxy Community, and we’ve contacted other civilizations in the galaxy through them.”

“The headquarters of the Galaxy Community suffered a devastating blow. The Civilization Annihilator used the Colossus to attack the giant space station and locked it in an isolation barrier.”

“However, the community still managed to rebuild a temporary headquarters in a galaxy and has been contacting other civilizations. We are the last batch.”

A diplomatic officer from the Pyro Alliance reported this news to their leader. At the same time, he brought another piece of good news:

“In addition, the defeat of the Civilization Annihilator has been confirmed. As you said, the Administrator easily destroyed the fleet that we had no way of dealing with like teaching a lesson to a child…”

The leader of the Pyro Alliance, who had been in a relaxed state for a long time, changed his position comfortably. However, the first thing he said was, “Are there any civilizations that are absent? Logically speaking, if we somehow attracted the attention of the Civilization Annihilator, other civilizations should have a chance to escape.”

In response, the diplomat shook his head and said, “At present, it seems that every civilization is very lucky to have survived. Even if some have lost all their territories, their fleets in exile have also been found in the refuge areas. They should be under the protection of the lost empires.”

“That’s not bad. Although happy reunions seem to only exist in novels, we were lucky enough to reach this ending.”

The leader was genuinely happy about this matter. The others were infected by his smile and laughed as well. They felt that it was quite good to get such a happy ending in this galactic crisis.

However, as they laughed, someone thought of something and said sadly, “However, those civilizations controlled by the Civilization Annihilator with the fungal spores seem to have no way of being saved…”

“Although they have surrendered, it is also a fact that they have been deceived. Perhaps after the destruction of the Civilization Annihilator, there will be dozens of civilizations buried with them.”

His words caused everyone to fall into silence. The destruction of a civilization was only a few words on the report, but behind it represented the countless creatures that had experienced a long period of evolution turning into the dust of history.

In response, the leader of the Pyro Alliance was very calm.

He said, “It is normal to have compassion, but everyone has to pay the price for their decisions. Speculation is occasionally useful, but it is not always effective.

“Every person who chooses to escape will share the burden of their responsibility with others. If they don’t pay any price, then who should those who are fighting to the death complain to?

“The collective will, technological level, civilization’s strength, choice and judgment, and even luck are all part of the progress of civilization. We are still standing here, but they have perished, which means that we have done better than them.

“We can only work harder and take this as a warning before continuing to move forward.”

The leader finished his words in one breath, which made everyone in the hall regain their vitality. The sadness from before was swept away, and they became full of enthusiasm.

“Leader,” one of them said, “are we going to retrieve the destroyed Civilization Annihilator fleet? We might be able to reverse engineer the wreckage and discover the secrets of the lost empire.”

“Yes! Of course we have to take it back!” Although his words were very passionate, the leader still maintained his lazy state. He only held a plan in front of him.

“Studying the remains of these lost battleships has always been a rare opportunity. We didn’t get a share of the spoils during the battle between the Watcher and the Voyager. We can’t miss it this time.”

“But that will be after the holidays, now it’s time to rest. There’s no need to be so anxious.

“I know what you want to say, but only a small part of the secrets of the lost empire’s power is contained in these remains.”

He looked around at the others and projected dozens of scenes of the battle between the lost empire’s battleships onto the scene. He then pointed it out to everyone.

“We have been studying these remnants for more than a day or two in the Milky Way. No matter how bad our standards are, we can more or less find some differences.”

“I have a research report from the Mingbow Science and Technology Nation. They were lucky enough to obtain a portion of the wreckage during the battle between the Watcher and the Voyager and conducted research on it.

“Research has shown that the technology used by the lost empire’s battleships is not much different from the technology we use.”

“They might have some kind of extraordinary energy utilization method that can make their shields and cruising ability much stronger than ours.”

“But in fact, the weapons they use are not much different from ours. Some of them are even popular currencies in the Milky Way.”

“But why would the same weapon have 200%, 300%, or even 500% effectiveness in the hands of the lost empire? This is the truth we need to find.”

While speaking, the leader pointed out a secret that the Galaxy Community had once discovered in the legacy of the Silent in front of the surprised faces of the people around him.

“Perhaps, our understanding of the lost empires is not entirely correct. They are not completely lost, but through some mysterious method similar to a cycle, they have been strengthening themselves.

“The effect of this cycle is minimal, but with the support of the length of time, it has a terrifying effect.

“Weren’t you guys always curious about why 1 was so certain that the Administrator would win? That’s because I believe that the cycle they are undergoing is far longer than other civilizations….”