Chapter 280: Otherspace Storm and the

Guided by this mainstream ideology, the Administrators overthrew the existing Empire's rule, voluntarily withdrew from the sight of each race, and covertly safeguard the evolution of life, preventing it from being crushed at the budding stage by harsh natural conditions or hostile incursions.

When various nascent civilizations encounter obstacles in history, fall into internecine wars, or find their technological development hitting an impasse…

The Administrators also create a hollow body, transfer their consciousness into it, then mimic the appearance of various races, disguising themselves as members to blend into those civilizations.

They end conflicts as extraordinary generals, leaders, and politicians, and guide technological progress as outstanding inventors.

When the created body dies, the Administrators' consciousness returns to its original form, a body whose appearance is almost indistinguishable from a human's.

Physical flaws such as disease and limited lifespan had already vanished back when the Administrators were still in the Tyrant stage, during the early establishment of the Qiumin Empire.

Thus, those Administrators of the time possessed virtually endless time to "hide" in the shadows, silently offering guidance and inspiration.

If a civilization falls into uncontrollable self‑destruction, the Administrators will follow the "natural law", cease attempts at rescue, and watch a civilization's extinction—or its rebirth from nothing.

There are many reasons they refuse to emerge from the shadows or intervene directly, but the crucial point is that the Administrators are extremely unwilling to be worshipped as "gods" by the civilizations.

Because the Administrators believe the sole characteristic of matter is objective reality.

And this objective reality is experienced through bodily observation, a direct, tangible comprehension, not relying on so‑called "feeling".

The Administrators believe that the origins of the flesh and consciousness are products of the long‑term development of the material world, not created by any deity.

The formation of consciousness does not stem from a vague, ethereal soul, but from a highly advanced nervous system—that is, the brain.

The brain is the material organ of consciousness.

During their long development, the Administrators have not been without religious belief.

But they quickly corrected this "error", deeming that reliance on themselves alone is the correct developmental path, embodying absolute materialism.

Of course, the Administrators will not impose this view on other civilizations; they simply do not wish to be treated as deities.

Between 78 million and 66 million years ago, the entire galaxy rose to its "peak".

According to the storage unit's account, over those twelve million years, countless civilizations exchanged, traded, and also engaged in mutual hostility and war.

As long as a war does not escalate to genocide, the Administrators will not readily intervene covertly, since war is also a "component" of natural law.

Thus, throughout the galaxy, all emotions—joy, weariness, yearning, affection, fear, jealousy, and the full spectrum of sentient beings' feelings—pervade.

Emotions erupt.

Among them, emotions run especially high in civilizations that worship and follow imagined deities, and in societies that, upon reaching a certain prosperity, resort to extreme forms of amusement.

Finally.

The timeline reaches 66 million years ago, when an unprecedentedly massive "storm"—one even the Administrators could not foresee—suddenly erupted.

The "eye of the storm" at the Milky Way's core spread across the galaxy, and even the entire material universe, in essentially an instant.

The individual members of civilizations collapsed irrepressibly; their bodies and souls were seized and plundered by "creatures" that dwell in a space unlike normal dimensions.

Among those "creatures" were even the imagined "gods".

Even those who survived by luck endured the storm's aftershocks—distortions and mutations—combined with ever‑present, highly seductive whispers in their ears, subjecting them to both physical and mental torment.

Until they became playthings of the "gods".

Low‑level civilizations will be completely confined to their home worlds, while wars among high‑level civilizations grow even more brutal, with bloodlust, slaughter, and genocide becoming commonplace.

One could say the galaxy had utterly degenerated then, civilizations regressed, all reverting to primitive states, each race existing only to please the "gods" and indulge their own desires.

…

Upon hearing the storage unit reach this point, Sui Bian, his brows tightly knit, realized that the "storm" was an Otherspace storm.

And those "gods" seized the chance to break out of Otherspace and become demons venturing into the material universe.

At that moment.

The storage unit continued its emotionless exposition: "Through this cataclysm, the Administrators realized that the soul is not a vague void, but a material that objectively exists…

…"

Having also experienced an Otherspace storm.

Yet with near‑infinite lifespans, a steadfast will forged by millions of years of "travelling" through the galaxy, and pinnacle‑level technology, the Administrators actually suffered little loss.

Even a small fraction of civilizations and races that, guided covertly by the Administrators to reject "gods", managed to survive the storm's early onslaught.

However, that small group of survivors became the focus of collective attacks from the degenerate civilizations.

And shortly after the storm began.

The Administrators, using phenomena observed over millions of years combined with experiments, trials, and repeated verification, reached a conclusion: Otherspace is like a mirror of the material universe.

The complex and diverse emotions of sentient beings—joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure—whether positive or negative, can project within Otherspace.

According to the Administrators' speculation, Otherspace originally resembled a vast, boundless, crystal‑clear "Sea of Souls".

However, various projections caused this Sea of Souls to give rise to numerous special "creatures".

And these "creatures" venture into the material universe, ravaging, beguiling, and deceiving all races, driven by an instinct to obtain more emotional feedback.

Reaching this conclusion plunged the Administrators into intense self‑doubt, even implicating them in turning the Sea of Souls so turbid and making the Otherspace storm ravage the galaxy.

If they had noticed Otherspace earlier, if they had pre‑emptively restricted each race's free development, emerged from the darkness, and forcibly managed them in their own way, could the current situation have been avoided?

But how does this approach differ from that of the Qiumin Empire millions of years ago?

It is precisely this contradictory cycle that prevents the Administrators from discerning whether their methods are right or wrong.

Nevertheless, the outcome is set; what the Administrators must consider is how to completely resolve Otherspace's impact on all races.

There were two initial proposals.

First, to immediately emerge from the shadows, wielding thunderous force to re‑govern the galaxy, using the massive population base to forge a consensus—

There are no monsters or false gods in the universe.

This converging wave of collective thought, an idealist‑materialist cognitive force, will surpass all evil deities and demons, forging a hard rivet that pierces and suppresses Otherspace.

The second is to develop a once‑and‑for‑all "vaccine" that shields all intelligent life from Otherspace's corruption.

Thus, the Administrators acted decisively, first aiding civilizations that reject "gods", then rallying the scattered peoples across the galaxy, using absolute technology and power to crush opposition and re‑establish the Qiumin Empire of millions of years ago.

At the same time, the most scholarly Administrators are also seeking and developing the "vaccine" solution.

Regardless, the Qiu Min clan will never forget that they are the administrators' identity, doing their utmost to save all sentient life.

Initially, everything proceeded smoothly.

Even after hiding for tens of millions of years, the administrators remain supreme beings; the beam matrix formed by their fleet treats corrupt, fallen civilizations and low- and mid-level demons that have entered reality equally—

Burned.

Even high-level demons, the administrators can, at varying costs, drive that hideous lot back into the other dimension.

The same applies to the vaccine.

The administrators, using their experience creating semi-biological, semi-mechanical species such as the Huragok (Engineer) race, and also using genetic fragments from all races including the administrators themselves, created a 'parasite' capable of coexisting with sentient life.

That parasite is like a lampshade, covering the host's emitted 'emotional light' to prevent a projection in the other dimension.

All phenomena proceeded step by step as planned.

However, the administrators who stepped forward into the open also became targets, not just of those fallen civilizations and ugly demons, but also of the upper-echelon evil gods in the other dimension.

Since the administrators' will is steadfast and cannot be swayed by whispered temptations, corruption must be carried out through physical contact and infection.

Even the once most trusted assistants and partners, the AIs responsible for aiding research and commanding warships, could be corrupted by another kind of demon, turning against their masters in the midst of battle and choosing to betray the administrators.

Only the vaccine aimed at the other dimension remained unaffected.

But, already in a state of self-doubt, now faced with repeated betrayals, seeing the Milky Way become the evil gods' 'granary' and 'amusement park'...

No longer is he the administrator who wished to protect all things, vowing to shine like a star's warm radiance to let life blossom.

His mindset shifted abruptly, and with the traps and schemes laid by the evil gods, facing an imminent extermination, leading to the thought 'life is not worth protecting',

'Erase everything',

'Return to nothing' and other radical ideas came to dominate.

The vaccine is no longer a vaccine, but a weapon forged by the administrators capable of devouring all sentient life, aimed at the other dimension and demons—the Flood.

Holding a vengeful fury of mutual destruction and annihilating everything, the vast majority of administrators, by actively accepting infection and assimilation, directly drove the Flood into the 'interstellar' stage.

The Gravemind calling itself 'Chimo' lived up to expectations, seizing command of the main fleet from the traitors, that is, from the AIs.

Furthermore, relying on the convenience of unified thought, with absolutely rational and efficient distribution, material productivity reached an unimaginable level.

Moreover, fighting the Flood in conventional ways only helps increase its numbers, technology, and wisdom.

Although it is like a flood sweeping the galaxy, it must be said that the Flood truly cleanse the chaotic filth.

The rampaging demons were successfully driven out, the storms in the other dimension gradually subsided; in a sense, the Flood remains a kind of vaccine.

If the physical universe were left with only the Flood, then the Sea of Souls would also return to clarity and tranquility.

But this ending…

This had long since betrayed the administrators' original intention.

Therefore, those administrators who remained on their homeworld Khira, still holding to their original hearts and reason, prepared to end this meaningless 'revenge' and to create once more a green, growing environment for life.

The rational faction likewise made two preparations.

First, they gathered all surviving and rational kin, constructing a technological product worthy of representing the pinnacle of their kind—

Ark.

By using this supercelestial body to 'consume' Earth-like planets, they quickly manufactured the superweapon known as the Halo.

When the Flood was about to devour the entire galaxy, they would release a cross-phase pulse wave aimed solely at the Flood, to achieve the goal of reshaping the galaxy and severely damaging the other dimension.

At the same time.

Among the rational faction, the administrators with the most profound learning also used the utter chaos within the other dimension, and its independence from space, time, and physical properties, to attempt to peer into the 'future'.

Through a probe that sacrificed their own lives as payment, the rational faction, from countless possibilities, read that the maximum outcome after activating the Halo was that the Milky Way would have over sixty million years free from other-dimensional influence.

Among them.

What most excited the scholars was that, in sixty-three million years, within the remote Solar System, on Earth at the Third Orbit, there would appear beings genetically and outwardly similar to them, like brothers or sisters.

But the reason for their excitement was not that 'nature' had forged their special relationship with humanity; rather, among infinite possibilities, humanity is the most likely to resolve the other-dimensional threat and take over the role of managing the galaxy.

Thus.

After the 140,000-kilometer-long Ark was completed, the rational faction produced six Halos each with a diameter of 10,000 kilometers, first transmitting them to various locations across the galaxy.

After completing the deployment of the Halo matrix, the Ark then manufactured various numbers of shield worlds.

Before the Halos were fully activated, these administrators would enter the shield worlds' interiors and complete the lockdown procedure, thereby evading the Halo Pulse's attack, preparing to continue safeguarding the galaxy for their people.

Especially, they prepared to await humanity's rise, acting as mentors to guide humanity forward.

For example, the administrator named Ariya Hongtu Jingmo, whose storage-body prototype stands before Sui Bian, is an expert in the field of artificial stars and celestial-level architecture.

However, the evil gods of the other dimension also noticed the rational faction's intent, preparing to forcibly intrude into the real universe to seize control of the Ark, the Halos, and the shield worlds.

However, if the Gravemind Chimo, who inherited the administrators' radical ideology, and 'his' Flood tide were destroyed before they could consume the galaxy, then the goal of reshaping the galaxy and severely damaging the other dimension could not be achieved.

However, if the Gravemind and Guilty Spark, who inherited the Administrators' radical ideology, and "his" Flood tide were destroyed before they could consume the galaxy, then the goal of reshaping the galaxy and severely damaging slipspace could not be achieved.

Ariya Hongtu Jingmo and the other administrators had their memory storage bodies act as stewards of the shield worlds, and they completed the shield worlds' lockdown procedure in advance.

Finally, the rational faction immediately adjusted the Halo's harmonic frequency to destroy any form of advanced life possessing an extremely complex nervous system, thereby activating the Halo.

Only small animals, such as rodents, or the semi-mechanical, semi-biological Huragok tribe, as well as insects and plants, could survive the Halo's 'flash'.

Only small animals, such as rodents, or the semi-mechanical, semi-biological Huragok, as well as insects and plants, could survive the Halo (Superweapon)'s "flash".

Thanks for everyone's support, thanks for subscriptions, tips, recommendation tickets, and monthly tickets~!!

Thanks for everyone's support, thanks for subscriptions, donations, recommendation tickets, and monthly tickets~!!

(End of chapter)