Chapter 717: Eternal Civilization

"There seems to have been one..." Andrei thought bitterly, finally finding a few clues from the corners of his conscious mind.

"Codename—Eternal Civilization. It was a special civilization discovered when the Titan Civilization was continuously expanding its explored Cosmic Boundary."

"Their technological level was extremely developed, having embarked on a path of mechanical immortality. When the Titan Civilization discovered them, their entire race had already completed Mechanical Ascension."

Grasping this one thread, he pulled out many clues. Andrei continued, "They didn't display too strong of an aggressive consciousness externally, or rather, discovering that the overall Strength of the Titan Civilization far exceeded theirs, they were forced to only reveal a peaceful side."

Li Yu listened silently. It was impossible for the Eternal Civilization not to have ambitions for external expansion. The issue of resources was a realistic problem faced by all civilizations.

Let alone a highly mechanized Eternal Civilization; to build such massive Mechanical Lifeforms, the resources consumed would definitely be an astronomical figure.

It would be strange if they didn't think about external expansion. It was just that they clearly didn't choose the Titan Civilization as their expansion target.

Currently, the Civilization Cluster led by the Star Glory Empire primarily survived in an area that basically matched the former coverage of the Titan Civilization.

And beyond this area was the vast and boundless Barren Cosmic Belt, or essentially a no man's land of sorts.

It was primarily filled with Void Turbulence and Spatial Rifts.

Throughout Interstellar history, many people had thought of crossing that no man's land, but basically, they all went without returning.

There were also cases of returning after hundreds of years, but according to the records in their navigation logs, the coordinate locations they experienced were extremely messy, without any rules whatsoever.

According to Li Yu's understanding, that region was not a restriction left behind by the Creator Civilization.

The main cause was the war between the Titan Civilization and the Creator Civilization.

The level of that war was too high, and the duration too long. After the war ended, a ring-shaped "ruins zone" formed around this Interstellar space.

It primarily blocked the Major Civilizations from exploring outward, and simultaneously intercepted the explorations of external civilizations.

Various thoughts flashed through his mind, as he listened to Andrei continue speaking: "At that time, the Titan Civilization had friendly exchanges with them, but the other party mainly interacted with several major Titan Civilizations such as the Emperor Titans."

"Because the other party were all Mechanical Lifeforms, the Life Titans didn't have much interest in them either."

"Eternal Civilization..." Li Yu indicated his understanding, and then projected the Dark Void on the Holographic Screen.

"Have you seen this Dark Void?" Li Yu inquired, and then carefully described the characteristics of this Dark Void.

Andrei and Bloodlust felt dizzy listening to it.

"Similar to a Temporal Glitch, but the matter inside is tangibly existent, yet it cannot appear in the outside world..."

"Dimensional world?" Andrei couldn't help but say.

Li Yu shook his head: "No, there are no physical parameters. It's like a stationary painting. No, more accurately, it should be an album."

"It feels like a part was intercepted from time, and then underwent secondary cutting."

Andrei roughly understood Li Yu's meaning, thus becoming even more shocked: "Such technological methods, even I, in the Titan Civilization, have never heard of them."

"The Titan Civilization could proficiently utilize Information-State Technology and regionally adjust the Time Flow Rate, but according to the theory you mentioned, the difficulty is uncommonly massive."

Speaking to this point, Andrei felt as if he had spoken too absolutely, and then added: "Or maybe it's just that I didn't have the qualifications to understand this kind of Technology."

"Yeah, the difficulty is uncommonly massive..." Li Yu repeated it once, his meaning hard to decipher.

Bloodlust didn't provide any useful information and could only watch Andrei, this Traitor, converse freely with Li Yu.

After confirming that Andrei didn't have any more useful information, Li Yu suddenly asked: "Interested in working for me?"

If it were before, Andrei would somewhat still have some pride.

After all, the reason he fell into Li Yu's hands previously was entirely because of Codri, this double agent. He himself wasn't entirely convinced in his heart.

However, the shock brought to him by the battle Recording just now still lingered in his heart.

What's more, Li Yu hadn't abused him or anything. Moreover, this guy was also a Titan and had escaped the lock-on of the Annihilation Device.

No matter how you looked at it, he seemed like a super thick thigh to hug.

"Alright..." Without thinking for too long, he agreed, but then added: "However, the binding devices on my body..."

"I'll help you undo them, but temporarily you can only stay by my side. You understand, trust needs to be slowly cultivated." Li Yu had a smile on his face, wearing an expression of "I think highly of you."

"Mm." Andrei had no objections. He could also roughly predict that Li Yu wouldn't let him leave easily.

However, Bloodlust on the side was a bit dumbfounded.

The fragile alliance the two of them had just established couldn't even withstand the first test.

More importantly, this Traitor actually received favor and took a huge step towards complete freedom.

"I... I can also work for you." Bloodlust couldn't help but say as well.

"Wait a bit, it's not the time yet." Li Yu shook his head. Relying on his own cooperation, Andrei had barely gained his trust.

This Old Fellow wasn't there yet.

Hearing this, Andrei felt quite pleased with himself. Everything feared comparison. His old rival had fallen a step behind him and was already being stepped on his head by him.

"Keep an eye on him during this time. I won't send you out of the Ancient Starpath for now," Li Yu ordered.

"Yes..." Andrei became even more joyous. The offensive and defensive alliance instantly turned into a relationship between warden and prisoner.

"By the way, do you know if that Eternal Civilization has any relatively powerful Weapons or devices..." Li Yu seemed to casually mention it.

"Uh..." Andrei's expression was somewhat awkward. He lowered his head and said, "I'm not too clear about this. My understanding of that civilization is limited to knowing its general information."

Li Yu's expression didn't show whether he was disappointed or not; he just waved his hand and had them leave.

After the two left, he looked at the Holographic Screen before him. Various pictures flashed by, ultimately freezing on a giant mechanical Metal Box.

He had only taken a general look at the time, while the Transformers had established a concrete model, and the mechanisms on its surface were clearly visible.

A large number of patterns containing geometric principles were engraved on the silvery-white metal exterior. They shouldn't be words, otherwise, he should have been able to recognize them.

Aside from being a mechanical civilization, there wasn't a single piece of evidence to equate the fleet in the Dark Void with the Eternal Civilization.

However, no matter how massive the Universe was, there couldn't possibly be too many mechanical civilizations at this tier.

"Those capable of trapping that group of guys in the Dark Void, besides the Titan Civilization, are probably only the Creator Civilization..."

Li Yu's eyes flickered. Without figuring out what was in that Mechanical Crate, he was truly somewhat... Restless with worry.

"However, there is one thing I should be able to try." Li Yu took out an eyeball-shaped object. It was very similar to the Warlock's Eye, but this one was green.

[Orb of Agamotto: A treasure from the Sorcerer Supreme. Can foresee a certain event and reveal all possibilities.]

This was also an item from Odin's Vault.

It was almost used up by him. Besides this Orb of Agamotto, he only had the Cosmic Cube left.

......

At the same time, in a certain unknown space also within the Ancient Starpath, the gigantic Fallen Titan abruptly opened his eyes, turning his gaze toward another direction.

On the walls of this bizarre space filled with various eerie colors, it seemed blurry images were faintly being generated.

Simultaneously, his eyes suddenly became incomparably profound.

Incomparably profound... but also seemingly unchanged.

Those were still a pair of eyes no different from those of an ordinary Interstellar human, the pupils as profound as the abyss.

Calm and indifferent, carrying a reassuringly tranquil power, without even the slightest change in his gaze.

Yet it felt as if it encompassed the entire Universe, with all information reflected in those eyes. He was "observing" this world.

Just literally, he was looking at everything in this world with his eyes.

Some information was condensed into a snapshot, seen thoroughly by a pair of eyes.

It seemed to be a massive fleet, with two Mechanical Black Dragons suspended within it.

This scene was projected on the Information State Membrane, clearly visible, yet hazy.

"They seem to have been touched. Only Life Source Essence should be able to draw them out. Someone brought the Tree of Life to the Ancient Starpath."

He seemed to be talking to himself. Fallen Angels fluttered up and down around him.

"Is it you, little guy? I haven't gone looking for you yet, but you've come looking for me... Interesting..."

Seemingly sensing that someone was observing, one of the Mechanical Black Dragons let out a hideous roar. Ripple-like energy surged out. The scene, which was already like looking through frosted glass, instantly disappeared.

"Let them come to the Ancient Starpath, there's work to do." He ordered.

Instantly, several Fallen Angels flew out from the ranks and left the Information State Membrane.

......

The Ancient Starpath, The Fallen City. They were situated between the middle section and the high-risk section.

Even among scavengers and adventurers, very few dared to come to this section.

The Cosmic Calamities here were more frequent and more dangerous.

But The Fallen City sat here steadily. Rumor had it that the City Lord of The Fallen City was originally just a lowly scavenger.

However, he had great luck in the Ancient Starpath and found an ancient ruin, thus establishing The Fallen City. Relying on its unique geographical location and various resources within the Ancient Starpath,

in a short span of a few thousand years, he developed The Fallen City into a large-scale Interstellar armed faction.

Such a story of a grassroots rise inspired scavenger after scavenger to rush into the Ancient Starpath to find Civilization Ruins belonging to themselves.

This was a city that looked extremely ancient, vastly different from the common metal structures in the Interstellar space. Its entirety was constructed from a type of black-cyan stone.

The surrounding space was extremely stable. Various non-standard Spaceships took off and landed here. This should be the deepest supply point in the Ancient Starpath.

Whether returning from the Ancient Starpath or heading deeper, this was a necessary transit point to purchase various supplies, equipment, and resources.

The exclusive monopoly business allowed them to gather exceedingly massive wealth.

However, today, this place welcomed an unusual fleet.

Several standard Spaceships with uniform Coatings landed here. A section of the port had long been cleared out. Security personnel of The Fallen City guarded the surroundings, blocking others who wanted to watch the spectacle.

"It's Uniformed Dogs. Why would they come to this place?"

Such scavengers and Marauders gathered around. They held extreme disdain for the Major Civilizations, using this method to maintain their remaining self-esteem.

"Yeah, and they seem to be people from the Star Glory Empire. Haven't this group of pampered guys always scoffed at the Ancient Starpath?"

"..."

Buzz!

The Blast Door of the most massive warship among them slowly opened. The first to descend were two lines of soldiers wearing red Armor.

"What army is this? How come I've never seen them before?"

"They even seem to be females. Look at the hump Armor on their chests."

The crowd was extremely surprised, their eyes involuntarily taking on somewhat peculiar colors.

Someone even blew a whistle—

"Hey, babes..."

Bang!

Before his whistle sound could fall, a thumb-thick blood hole appeared on his forehead. His eyes gradually lost focus as he fell heavily to the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust.

A puddle of red and white liquid flowed out from beneath his head, not knowing what it was.

Not far away, a guard wearing red Armor coldly retracted the Energy Rifle in her hands.

Seeing this, the crowd instantly became Silent as a Winter Cicada. Although they were all figures Living on the Edge, no one wanted to lose their lives for no reason.

In reality, most people were still relatively cautious; only a very small number of people were rather frivolous.

Subsequently, a woman wearing a black-red Combat Suit walked out.

The tight-fitting combat uniform outlined her perfect figure, her eyes carrying a trace of indifference and solemnity.

"Your Excellency Saida, you've come from afar. It's been tough on you."

A High Echelon of The Fallen City, who had been waiting here for a long time, hurriedly stepped forward and greeted her.

"Where is Walker?" She didn't even look at the person before her, asking with a frown.

She clearly didn't think that the guy in front of her possessed the qualifications to receive her.

"The City Lord is waiting for you..." This High Echelon's expression was somewhat stiff, but he still said respectfully.

"You'd better pray he indeed has a sufficient price." Saida's tone was indifferent, not carrying the slightest emotion.

"Yes, yes..." The High Echelon carried a fawning smile, leading the way in front and walking towards the depths of The Fallen City.

(End of this chapter)