Chapter 150: Warhammer 40K, the civilization of endless war, all worlds fall silent!

……

Three-Body Universe, Earth.

Luo Ji's Snow Mountain Manor.

The fire in the fireplace was burning brightly.

When Luo Ji heard Sai Wen's words, his teacup halted in midair.

He did not speak.

He merely slowly closed his eyes, then exhaled a deep, long breath.

That breath seemed to have been held for a lifetime.

Shi Qiang sat opposite, watching Luo Ji's expression, and pulled the cigarette from his mouth.

"Luo old brother, did you hear that? The Dark Forest is over."

"Yes, it's finally over."

Luo Ji opened his eyes and set the teacup on the table.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"The burden on my shoulders can finally be put down."

"I hope this universe can become a field of sunlight wheat in the future."

……

Space Military Base.

Zhang Beihai stood before the command platform, his hands behind his back.

Sai Wen's words on the firmament were repeatedly played by the base's broadcast system.

"The era of the Dark Forest is over."

Zhang Beihai's mouth corner slowly rose.

The amplitude was very small.

But everyone present who knew him was stunned.

Because Zhang Beihai never smiles.

"The dark universe."

Zhang Beihai said softly.

"Finally, light has arrived."

……

PIA Headquarters.

Wei De sat behind his desk, with a pile of documents spread out in front of him.

He gazed at the new sun of the Three-Body Star System on the firmament, remaining silent for a long time.

Then he picked up the cup of black coffee that had gone cold on the table and took a sip.

"Light has arrived."

"Perhaps."

He set the cup down.

"I should retire."

The secretary poked his head in from outside the door:

"Mr. Wei De?"

"Go find my resignation letter."

Wei De leaned back against the chair.

"I once took this position for the advancement of humanity."

"Now that the Dark Forest is over, I think I should do what I truly want to do."

……

Singer Star System.

On a certain broken satellite.

The Singer Elder huddled behind a rock.

Its home planet had long been blown up by Ultraman.

It was one of the few survivors.

It heard Sai Wen's declaration.

"The era of the Dark Forest is over."

The Singer Elder's body began to tremble.

It was not fear.

It was an emotion it had never experienced in its hundreds of millions of years of existence.

"The Dark Forest era is over, Ultraman has come!"

"We no longer need to suspect and guard against each other, nor do we need to exterminate any civilization!!"

"The sunlight wheat field is coming!"

……

And in a distant fragment of space in the universe that had collapsed into two dimensions.

Cheng Xin was feeling her way forward in the darkness.

The Zeroers had transformed her body, enabling her to survive in extreme environments, in order to gather enough matter to return to the great universe.

She doesn't know what happened on Earth.

She also doesn't care.

She merely mechanically, repeatedly, day after day, searches for those insignificant mass fragments in the dimensional ruins.

The greatest change in this universe has nothing to do with her.

As an atoner, she must complete her task year after year in this universe.

……

Marvel Universe.

Tony put down his glass and clapped twice.

"Beautiful."

"Without killing a single person, without destroying a star, he solved a problem that a civilization had struggled with for hundreds of rounds, and incidentally ended the survival law of an entire universe."

He gave a thumbs up.

"Perfect score."

"Ultraman, indeed is an admirable race!"

Dragon Ball World.

The King of Worlds clasped his hands, tears streaming.

"This is the Ultraman of the Land of Light..."

"Not using force to crush everything, but using force to protect everything."

"If you can win, you fight; if you can win, you can also choose not to fight. Such a realm..."

He wiped the corner of his eyes.

"Higher than this King of Worlds of mine, I don't know where."

Warhammer 40K Universe.

Jīlǐmàn drew the Sword of Justice and re-slung it behind his back.

"Sevin ended the Dark Forest."

"Jīlǐmàn's voice echoed in the hall. 'He proved something with a sun.'"

"True order is not maintained by fear."

"It is maintained by protecting with force."

He turned and looked at the imperial battle flag hanging deep in the hall.

"When will our empire understand this principle?"

The flagship of the Star People's Union.

Sidney the Grand Marshal finally brought the coffee to his mouth.

"The evaluation is only two words."

She put down the cup.

"Awesome."

The chief of staff didn't dare to respond.

Because he couldn't think of a more accurate evaluation than these two words.

……

The screen on the sky dimmed slowly.

The story of the Three-Body Universe ends here.

The Dark Forest was dispelled by light, hunters lowered their guns, and stars once again illuminated the cradle of civilization.

But the sky curtain did not close.

The image lingered in darkness for three seconds.

Then, a line of text emerged.

Golden, heavy, each stroke as if forged from blood and war.

【The next universe is about to be displayed.】

The subtitles disappeared.

Instead, a picture appeared.

Fire.

It is fire.

The fire that spreads across the sky and earth, devouring everything, burning for ten thousand years without ever being extinguished.

In the center of the image, a huge golden throne hovers above the flames.

A figure sits on the throne.

That figure has dried up, like a mummy weathered by time for ten thousand years.

But deep in its eye sockets, a faint golden light flickers.

At the bottom of the image, a line of text appears.

【If the Three-Body Universe is a dark forest.】

【Every civilization is a hunter with a gun, daring not to make any sound.】

The text dissipated.

A new line emerges.

【Then this universe is a sea of burning fire.】

【Every living being screams in the flames, and the fire will never be extinguished.】

The view rapidly pulled back.

Star system. Star cluster. Nebula.

The picture of the entire Milky Way unfolded.

Warfire everywhere. Ruins everywhere. Corpses everywhere.

Human corpses. Alien corpses. Demon corpses.

Piled up into mountains.

Covered the surface of every planet.

At the bottom of the picture, the last line of text slowly emerged.

【Warhammer 40K Universe.】

【About to be revealed.】

On the sky-screen, the image of that golden throne froze.

All realms fell into a new round of silence.

And Guilliman gradually froze.

Land of Light, before the plasma spark tower.

Ultraman Father had just shown an approving smile at the way to handle Seven.

He not only punished the sin of the Three-Body, but also gave it a chance for rebirth.

This perfectly interpreted the Land of Light's creed that 'power is used for protection'.

But when the image on the sky-screen switched from a warm star to a burning galaxy,

when the desiccated corpse figure sitting slumped on the golden throne appeared,

Ultraman Father froze.

"A burning sea of fire... every living being screaming in the flames?"

Beside him,

Zoffy's brows were tightly furrowed,

"Is this a metaphor, or... a documentary?"

"Judging by the intensity of the energy reaction, it doesn't look like a metaphor."

Ultraman Father's voice sank, his eyes like torches, fixed firmly on the sky-screen,

"Moreover, that figure on the throne..."

"His life signs are in a superposition between life and death."

"What kind of civilization would treat such an individual as a totem?"

He felt a strong unease rise in his heart.

The Land of Light has witnessed the rise and fall of countless civilizations, and has fought against dark emperors like Belial and the Ampere Alien.

But this despair that pervades the entire galaxy and lasts ten thousand years is unprecedented.

Wandering Earth Universe, Navigator Space Station.

Liu Peiqiang and Makarov had just been raising a toast to the rebirth of humanity's "new branch," the Trisolarans.

The spiciness of the vodka slid down the throat, bringing a hint of warmth.

"The Dark Forest is over, how good."

Liu Peiqiang leaned against the porthole, gazing at the deep universe outside,

"Hopefully one day our universe can also welcome such 'light'."

Before his words finished, the sky-screen suddenly changed.

The golden throne,

the burning galaxy.

and the phrase 'every living being screams in the flames'.

The space station was deathly silent.

MOSS's red camera flickered at a frequency increased by thirty percent.

Liu Peiqiang froze.

"MOSS,"

he struggled to speak, "Analyze the authenticity of this preview."

"Insufficient information, cannot conduct effective analysis."

MOSS's synthetic voice showed no emotion, yet it made everyone present feel a chill,

"But according to the energy spectrum and gravitational lensing effect in the image, the 'burning galaxy' is not exaggerated rhetoric."

"That star system is indeed in a state of large-scale, high-intensity, long-term war."

Makarov put down the bottle and muttered:

"We are still struggling to escape a star..."

"while humans in another universe have already made themselves live in hell?"

This contrast's impact is far more suffocating than the Trisolarans' droplet.

The sky-screen,

gave no more time for the myriad realms' audience to think.

The picture lit up,

A grand and mournful hymn rose, as if gathered from the deathbed prayers of billions.

A new line of subtitles appeared.

【In the 41st millennium AD, the Human Empire rules over a million worlds.】

【But this is no longer an era worthy of pride. It is a dark age utterly consumed by endless war, bloodthirsty aliens, demons from the warp, and omnipresent internal corruption.】

【Here, there is no peace, no hope.】

【Here, there is only eternal war.】

The subtitles disappeared,

The camera suddenly pulled down, cutting into a planet's surface.

The sky was iron‑rust colored, dyed by incessant gunfire into perpetual twilight.

The land had long become a blackened mire, mixed with metal shards, congealed blood, and the green bodily fluids of unknown creatures.

Countless soldiers in ragged uniforms shouted hoarsely, charging toward the enemy position as alien creatures spewed energy beams.

Laser beams easily tore apart and vaporized human bodies, flesh and blood flying everywhere.

One soldier had half his body melted, yet with his remaining hand he detonated the grenade in his chest, perishing together with the monster that lunged at him.

In the distance,

A huge two‑legged mech, wielding a chainsaw sword, split a towering tens‑meter‑high armored beast in half.

Scalding entrails and acidic blood poured down like rain, corroding the soldiers below into puddles of white bone.

No tactics.

No schemes.

Only the most primitive, savage attrition.

Life here is the cheapest resource.

This brief three‑hundred‑word scene, without a single narration, vividly displays the meaning of "eternal war" before the myriad worlds.

Land of Light.

Tai Luo Ao Te Man trembled all over.

"This… this is too horrible!"

"They're humans! Why is this happening?!"

"Even the humans of Earth forty thousand years later are still waging this… this meat‑grinder‑like war?"

"And not a single giant of light comes to help them?"

"Impossible! We, the Land of Light, guard cosmic peace and will never allow such despair to spread!"

Sai Wen stood to the side, silent.

He had seen many dark civilizations, but treating sacrifice as daily routine and ignorance as faith…

This surpassed his understanding.

"Why don't they unite against the true enemy?"

Sai Wen felt doubtful and worried.

Ultraman Father answered in a deep voice:

"Perhaps, in their eyes, everyone is an enemy."

Cybertron Planet.

Qing Tian Zhu gazed at the desperate charge of human soldiers on the sky screen, the blue light in his optical sensors dimming.

"The right to freedom belongs to all sentient life……"

"But this empire treats life itself as a consumable."

"This is more painful than the tyranny of the Overwhelming Heaven Tiger."

"Hahaha!"

Wei Zhen Tian's mad laughter echoed in the base of the Overwhelming Heaven Tiger,

"Look at these puny humans!"

"They have finally learned the truth of Cybertron: peace is a lie, only war is eternal!"

He stopped laughing, his crimson sensors flashing with excitement.

"But… the 'Emperor' sitting on the throne is rather interesting."

"A half‑dead leader can still drive an entire civilization to bury itself with him."

Flagship of the Star People's Union.

Grand Admiral Xi De Ni's face turned iron‑blue.

"Absurd!"

She slammed her fist on the armrest,

"Our federation expands through science and reason, while they rely on fanatical superstition and meaningless slaughter to sustain themselves?"

"Such an empire ought to have been swept into the trash heap of history among the stars!"

The hymn on the firmament grew more shrill,

The scene switched.

【In this burning galaxy, who is fighting?】

A line of subtitles appeared, and immediately the first faction was displayed.

【1. Human Empire (ImperiumofMan)】

【Leader: Emperor of Mankind—a monarch who suffered fatal wounds in the battle ten thousand years ago.】

【Now he is confined to the ancient life‑support system known as the Golden Throne, little different from a desiccated skeleton.】

To maintain his faint spark of life, and to light a navigation beacon named "Star Torch" for the entire empire in the dark universe, the empire must sacrifice a thousand psykers' souls to him each day.

Military composition:

• Space Marines (Adeptus Astartes): Super-soldiers created through brutal genetic engineering and organ implantation surgery; they are the Emperor's Angels of Death, standing nearly three meters tall, clad in heavy powered armor, the finest warriors of humanity, yet they have long since lost most of their humanity.

• Imperial Guard (Astra Militarum): An army composed of countless billions of ordinary humans, forming the cornerstone of the Imperial war machine. They are poorly equipped and inadequately trained; their sole tactic is to overwhelm the enemy with sheer numbers. They are the galaxy's largest and cheapest cannon fodder.

• Sisters of Battle (Adepta Sororitas): Fanatical female warriors, loyal adherents of the Emperor, wielding bolters and chainswords, purifying all heresy with fire and faith.

• Adeptus Mechanicus: The tech-priesthood of Mars, they worship machines and regard flesh as weak. They provide technical support to the Imperium, but most of their knowledge has been lost, leaving only mechanical imitation and prayer.

Slogans: "May the Emperor protect," "Loyalty is its own reward," "An impure mind is heresy."

The scene then cuts.

The camera arrives at the capital of the human empire, Holy Terra (Earth).

The magnificent, unimaginably vast palace occupies the entire Asian plate.

Countless Imperial Guard soldiers clad in golden powered armor and holding polearms stand statue-still.

At their feet lie hundreds of millions of pilgrims,

they prostrate themselves, crawling on the ground in the most humble posture.

offering their loyalty and prayers to the golden throne that emits a faint light deep within the palace.

That scene,

is magnificent and holy.

yet it exudes a deep-seated madness and pathology.

Like a massive pyramid scheme that has swept across civilization.

The myriad spectators are utterly speechless.

Ultraman Father's fist clenches with a creaking sound.

"Treating a dying 'hero' as the core of the state's operation, sacrificing a thousand living souls each day..."

"This is no longer protection; it is a curse!"

"Such behavior has already crossed the ethical bottom line of our Land of Light. We must stop it!"

Optimus Prime watches the introduction of those Space Marines, his massive metallic frame trembling slightly.

"They... have been remade into pure weapons, losing their dignity as living beings."

"How is this any different from the Decepticons mass-producing mindless robots?"

Megatron then lets out another approving laugh:

"I admire their efficiency!"

"A thousand psykers each day?"

"Great idea! But that Emperor is still too weak!"

"If it were me, I'd directly drain all the energy of the galaxy!"

Grand Marshal Sidney of the Starry Host looks at the zealous believers in the screen, his face full of contempt.

"The Emperor? Just a feudal charlatan propped up by worship."

"Our Human Federation has long entered a stellar republic, with technology advancing by leaps and bounds, yet they... they actually treat a feudal charlatan as a god?"

Wandering Earth Space Station.

Liu Peiqiang's lips twitch, ultimately only becoming a sigh.

"To survive, sacrificing part of humanity... this reminds me of the 'lottery' policy in our Wandering Earth project."

"But... but that was a reluctant measure taken so that the majority could survive."

"Their daily sacrifice of a thousand people, and it's utterly meaningless... MOSS, I don't understand."

"This action cannot be logically self-consistent."

MOSS's red dot blinks,

"Data shows that the empire's psyker sacrifice system is not the optimal solution for energy conversion."

"If switched to controlled stellar fusion power, it could save over 99.7% of human losses."

"But this civilization seems to have an irrational obsession with 'ritual feeling' and 'suffering'."

"Obsessed with suffering?"

Liu Peiqiang felt a bone-chilling cold.

Upon the sky canopy,

that grand hymn still echoes.

The desiccated bones upon the golden throne seem to silently gaze upon his empire that has burned for ten thousand years.

The picture slowly darkens.

A new line of problem appears before everyone's eyes.

【A civilization that regards ignorance as virtue, suffering as reward, and the leader's desiccated bones as a deity to worship…】

【What kind of enemy could drive humanity to such desperate straits?】

……