Zhang Yuan surfed the internet with great interest for half a day. According to the regulations, he currently has no speaking rights, only browsing rights, but that's enough. Viewing the Human Alliance from a bystander's perspective actually allows him to see more clearly.

For him, it's quite an interesting thing.

If he had to describe it, the online atmosphere here is somewhat similar to when the Earth Era first set off, the atmosphere of Earth Civilization...

It's not bad; it's a civilization with a bit of ambition.

But compared to the New Human Civilization, there's still room for improvement.

There are all kinds of topics on the internet, with many people discussing the development of War Stars, the construction of spaceships, the population screening in Virtual Worlds, how to solve Earth Civilization's issues if they really possess Curvature Technology, and so forth.

Some believe they should directly conquer and take over the regime of the other side; with Curvature Technology and a War Star, crushing Earth Civilization would be no problem. Others feel that political means should be used to solve these issues, and force is inadvisable.

As for Zhang Yuan personally, over at Earth Civilization, solve whatever can be solved as much as possible; if it's impossible to solve, and Earth people refuse, then there's nothing that can be done.

A forced melon doesn't taste sweet; if Earth people choose to degenerate themselves, what can other civilizations do? It's like if someone willingly remains poor, how can others help him?

Overall, people's speeches here are quite polite, not very aggressive, and they show a reasonable level of rationality, with the collective intelligence roughly around 100.

Zhang Yuan sighed; a normal third-level civilization without too many coincidences is just like this: technology in a long-term stagnant state, relying only on large projects to "extend life," hoping that time can accumulate good results.

But if you want to maintain this balanced state long-term, it's very difficult. During the stagnation, collective intelligence will gradually decline.

The greatest truth of the Universe is "movement"; stagnation leads to regression. For human ideology, if there is no technological progress for a long time, the masses will gradually degenerate, and many people will feel that since technology isn't progressing much anyway, it doesn't matter if they slack off a bit.

But if everyone thinks this way, even the Transcendent will have a hard time stopping this trend of degeneration.

Therefore, no one knows how long this dangerous balanced state can be maintained; only the continuous progress of technology, discovering some sinners, educating the masses, and other factors can keep it ongoing.

"After acquiring the technology we gifted, it should be able to sustain for a long time."

...

At the same time Zhang Yuan was examining the Human Alliance, a secret internal meeting occurred on this planet. All the leaders attending the meeting were from the three civilization branches, possessing real power.

The meeting place was set within the War Star, the safest location. There were no high-tech devices here, the only advantage being its safety.

"Let's get straight to the point: what do you think of the envoy from the Kunlun Mountain branch?" a gray-haired elder said.

He sat facing the doors at the round meeting table, his expression naturally imposing.

"No suspicious spots have been found for now, nor does he seem like an Alien disguised... if he really were an Alien in disguise, we could not fathom the motive behind such an act."

"The other party is indeed very friendly and capable, has helped us achieve many results. Simply estimating, one person's research capability surpasses that of six hundred top experts on our side!"

Six hundred?

This number made everyone's face change.

Zhang Yuan's mannerism seems simply like coming to greet and exchange pleasantries, entirely out of a kinship with fellow humans. If they had to think of a conspiracy theory, they indeed can't fathom a logical reason.

"Should we really let that curvature spaceship go? It's a ready-made spaceship... also, can we detain this Level 5 Civilization transformer for research?" one of the leaders said reluctantly. What they are most concerned about now is Curvature Technology; without warp speed, they are forever stuck in third-level civilization.

Although Zhang Yuan claims he would transmit Curvature Technology to them, who knows what the final outcome will be?

For them, this ready-made curvature spaceship is very real.

And coupled with Zhang Yuan himself, he is also very real.

"Old Tang, can we really dare to seize this Amoeba Faction's ship? How big a trouble would it cause? Besides, the other side might have countermeasures; you should know the risk involved, it's not worth it."

Although the Amoeba Faction is withdrawing from the Milky Way, the entire withdrawal process will last tens of thousands of years.

In the short term, the influence of this faction still exists.

"And with only one spaceship, even if obtained, the difficulty of reverse engineering is too great, almost impossible to solve. Moreover, the Kunlun Mountain branch is much stronger than us... why offend them?"

On this discussion, the leader from the Earth Era human branch also stood up to speak: "Everyone, listen to me for a moment. Mr. Zhang Yuan has indeed shown sufficient goodwill. He even allows our scientists to board the curvature spaceship for a series of investigations. Anyway, I absolutely do not agree with seizing the spaceship or taking hostages."

"Firmly oppose!"

"Wouldn't making such a foolish move infuriate kind fellow humans from a Level 5 Civilization? What kind of idiots would come up with that plan?"

The meeting room fell silent for a moment, then someone spoke again: "Will they really give us Curvature Technology? How do you know they have goodwill?"

"I don't know, but having gone to great lengths to arrive here, it's unlikely they're here merely to show off to us, right?"

"Professor Fang, how do you see this from your side?"

The team led by Professor Fang has been in contact with Zhang Yuan a lot these days, already impressed by his extraordinarily high thinking speed. He pondered for a moment and said: "This is definitely a civilization thousands of times stronger than us. What we manage to accomplish in a year, they complete in a day. Under such circumstances, what do we have worth coveting by them?"

"To detain them for research? That requires their willingness too, right?"

Another leader spoke with concern: "What if the other party isn't from the Kunlun Mountain branch but is actually an alien impersonating them?"

"They don't seem like it... If the other party was really stronger than us and wanted something, they would've just taken it; if they're weaker, no conspiracy or trick would work... Anyway, they can't be weaker than us! That's a fact! Let's not discuss conspiracy theories anymore!"

While everyone was letting their imagination run wild, exerting their creativity, the elder sitting in the middle coughed twice and spoke: "Since everyone isn't planning to target this somewhat strange Kunlun Mountain human, let's not overthink it."

"Since they're here, we should make ourselves comfortable. We must admit our own weakness."

"The next topic, what kind of technology do we need? Exactly which representatives should be sent to the so-called Information Outpost?"

"These 10 individuals must be well-prepared and ready to embrace risks."

This topic naturally piqued the crowd's interest more, and soon, a lively discussion ensued...

...

Day by day passed, and soon Zhang Yuan had stayed with this Human Alliance for six months, enjoying his time there.

Compared to the soon-to-be Level 5 New Humans, this Human Alliance seemed mediocre, but when compared to many other third-level civilizations, their spirit was quite commendable, with some room for future progress.

During this time, he also helped upgrade the auxiliary brain technology for the humans here, which was quite a significant technical breakthrough.

Having recorded his observations and conducted sufficient investigations, Zhang Yuan finally extended his invitation: "Dear compatriots, I've been staying here for six months now and have a certain understanding of your civilization. I would like to lead some representatives to the Amoeba Faction's Information Outpost to report the situation back to my civilization."

"Upon arrival, we will gift you some small tokens, particularly in terms of technology. Please send some knowledgeable individuals who can make decisions, ten scientists or relevant leaders will suffice."

It's here!

This invitation finally excited all the senior leaders of the Human Alliance, as they understood the implications!

After careful selection, three human branches each sent three people, along with Alliance Chairman Pei Ming, who also participated in this event.

Actually, the alliance chairman position doesn't hold any substantial power, although it carries some influence among the people. But if the representatives from the three sides really quarreled over some undetermined issues, serving as a mediator might prove beneficial.

Once decisions were made, Zhang Yuan boarded the curvature spaceship once more with these 10 humans.

These people were riding another civilization's curvature spaceship for the first time, curious and cautiously exploring, worried they might accidentally damage it.

One professor sighed: "Our scientists have inspected the spaceship, and except for some differences in quality, there's nothing significant that can't be caught up with. But the curvature engine... reverse engineering seems impossible."

Zhang Yuan responded: "Indeed, attempting to decode warp speed through reverse engineering is extremely difficult. If there were a thousand of these ships, perhaps it'd be worthwhile to attempt disassembly, but with only one, it holds little significance..."

"Mr. Zhang, how do your civilization's most advanced spaceships compare to this one?" someone curiously asked.

"The speed is similar; all can reach ten times light speed. However, our most advanced ships are generally more agile than this one."

"Ten times the speed of light, wow... With warp speed, one can travel to countless places!"

Imagining the future scenarios of having curvature technology, everyone's mindset grew even more complex...

Seeing their slightly constrained demeanor inside the spaceship, Zhang Yuan said: "Let's chat freely; after all, the spaceship isn't large, and there are just a few people here, so no need to hold back. We might be spending a long time here."

"After this, you can choose to hibernate or stay awake... However, I suggest hibernation, as it will take a year and two months to reach the destination."

"Interstellar journeys are quite dull. The spaceship is too small, lacking entertainment facilities, not even a gym, making it easy to get bored."

"Mr. Zhang, don't you need to rest?"

Zhang Yuan replied: "In my current state, I can entertain myself with any topic for research, so it doesn't feel too boring. As for rest... generally, I don't opt for it."

Pei Ming remarked: "This truly surpasses the realm of humans; it's hard to imagine when we might reach this stage. The ability to remain motionless while working for a year is unimaginable."

"Whether it's good or bad, witnessing this state sometimes induces a subtle fear in me."

After getting acquainted, everyone realized Zhang Yuan was quite approachable, leading to lively discussions. In such a confined space, without conversation, it would indeed be utterly boring.

"Fear? Why be afraid—I actually envy this ability. It'd be wonderful if we could visit the Kunlun Mountain human branch in the future... and engage in mutual exchanges."

"But would you willingly abandon most emotions to establish a new philosophical system? How different is that from death?"

In just a short time, two distinct ideological factions emerged, and Zhang Yuan chuckled; it was just like the New Human Civilization.

With a smile, Zhang Yuan said: "Regarding thought modification, this step isn't easy to take. We'll provide you with some information. But know this—my current state lacks some human emotions, completely differing from my original self."

"Are you willing to do this? Not only you, but even society at large must make this choice. If most oppose, the plan cannot succeed."

Everyone remained silent. This issue seemed overly distant for them...

The curvature spaceship slowly lifted off and soon vanished from the Human Alliance's view.

As the starlight outside the window gradually disappeared, Pei Ming felt a bit nervous and asked, "What is the superiority of a Level 5 Civilization compared to a fourth-level civilization... is there any chance of conflict? If our alliance encounters a Level 5 Civilization, what would the final outcome be?"

This is a question of great concern to everyone.

Zhang Yuan replied, "I can only say that there's no way to compare the two. If your alliance were to encounter the true fleet of a Level 5 Civilization, it might crumble within a few hours."

A few hours?!

This result was entirely unexpected. They were a third-level civilization with War Stars, how could they be destroyed in just a few hours?!

"From what we currently understand, this is a qualitative change."

"A hundred Fourth-level Civilizations united together wouldn't be able to defeat a true Level 5 Civilization. In fact, a Fourth-level Civilization couldn't even take on a probe from a Level 5 Civilization. Any digital virus could easily cripple a Fourth-level Civilization."

At this point, Zhang Yuan recounted the war between the new humans and the Aleph Civilization's probe.

"In warfare, superiority is reflected in two aspects: The first is thought acceleration. Given the same math test, a superhuman can complete it in less than a minute, while ordinary humans are just reading the first question. In war, this translates into overwhelming reaction speed."

"The destructive power of cosmic warfare is extremely high, and it could likely end in a short time. Having rapid reaction speeds akin to Artificial Intelligence is definitely beneficial."

"The second is thought migration. All the robots on this spaceship can perform consciousness uploads. In other words, I can remotely control any robot at will."

"The tonnage of a spaceship doesn't fully showcase this advantage. But if expanded to cover an entire planet, this superiority becomes incredibly prominent! I can remotely control from one end of the planet to the other."

Pei Ming nodded seriously and said, "Understood. Even without considering the mind-boggling technology of Level 5 Civilizations, the superiority of individual units alone outstrips Fourth-level Civilizations by a huge margin."

"It's actually not just about warfare, but all aspects of life. If you want to conduct a physics experiment, but the laboratory is on the other side of the planet, you can simply embody the relevant robot after becoming a Level 5 Civilization, eliminating the need for transportation."

"The same goes for meetings, they can even be held in virtual space."

"When war breaks out, it could unleash even greater performance..."

"Adding everything together, indeed, there's no comparison."

Zhang Yuan nodded, "You're absolutely right. In our conception, interaction among individuals from Level 5 Civilizations is no longer limited to reality, but can occur in the virtual world."

"We are building a global data center, where everyone's self-awareness can be stored. If necessary, anyone can embody a robot in reality to intervene in the real world."

"Modes of communication are no longer limited to speech or writing. We could exchange data directly in our minds, like computers. These are all under development, and could take thousands or even tens of thousands of years to achieve—very challenging modules."

"Once these are completed, humans may no longer be what they originally were."

A scientist sat in stunned silence for half a day before exclaiming, "It's incredible."

They felt a bit disheartened, thinking the Kunlun Mountain human branch was overwhelmingly powerful... Compared to it, even combining their three human branches didn't measure up to a fraction of Kunlun Mountain's strength.

Some even entertained the thought of joining the other side, only to quickly extinguish it...

Zhang Yuan was willing to answer almost all questions, as most things were clear to him by now.

Becoming a Level 5 Civilization takes more than just technological prowess; it requires many internal factors. If he can help a bit, he will try his best to do so.

A week later, the ten people could think of nothing more to ask, and all topics had been discussed...

Over the next few days, a series of fatigue-related emotions surfaced. In the curvature environment, the starlight was concentrated at one point in front, while all around was complete darkness. Watching this scene for half an hour can become tedious.

With all sorts of topics nearly exhausted, the days of waiting became quite long and boring.

Finally, someone could no longer endure and entered hibernation...

"Humans are really fragile, Mr. Zhang. Well, see you in a year," Pei Ming smiled wryly, indicating he was also going to hibernate.

He waved goodbye to Zhang Yuan.

"Goodbye, I understand your psychological state. The current environment indeed is very monotonous."

A year and two months quickly passed...

When Zhang Yuan reawakened them, they found that the spaceship was about to reach its destination.

Upon waking from hibernation, their bodies weren't fully under control for about a week, but they gradually returned to normal.

At this moment, the communication base station had finally been reached.

This signal communication station wasn't large, positioned near a cosmic string. Its Artificial Intelligence was continuously broadcasting externally: "This is the Amoeba Faction Information Communication Station, where first-hand information about the Milky Way can be traded, whether it's technology, commerce, or civilization information, all can be exchanged here."

"Curvature navigation is truly amazing. Covering such a great distance in just over a year," remarked a senior tech staff member, curiously looking around and confirming they'd traveled more than ten light-years.

This scene further fueled their curiosity and desire. In a while, they could own this technology themselves!

He added, "For so many years, it seems like we've never encountered such an information station before. It's a real eye-opener. If we need to contact anyone again, we can camp out here. It seems like we still have dozens of AmiBa Points left unused!"

Zhang Yuan laughed, "The Amoeba Faction has planted many signal stations, but they're quite sparsely distributed throughout the Milky Way, so not encountering one is normal. Here you can use AmiBa Points to purchase some information or contact other civilizations through superluminal communication."

All of them smiled helplessly, realizing that dozens of AmiBa Points would only be enough for a single contact, so they wouldn't spend them lightly.

Then, the same thought crossed their minds: "The world beyond a Level 5 Civilization is truly... mesmerizing."

If the Kunlun Mountain human branch hadn't been the first to contact this world, they might never have known.

However, on second thought, with the Earth Civilization being an even worse branch, there was a bit of comfort in that.

The curvature spaceship slowly docked at the platform, with the onboard artificial intelligence automatically handling the procedures.

[Identity verification in progress, please wait... Verification successful.]

The superluminal communication system had developed to an impressive degree. Remote video communication was feasible, but to conserve data transmission, Zhang Yuan opted for the simplest form of text dialogue.

The light sphere slightly brightened, and everyone was filled with anticipation.

"There's approximately 3.2 units of data transfer redundancy. Have you decided what technology you want?"

The ten individuals nodded quickly. This topic had been discussed so many times in the past.

Curvature technology was a must-have priority. They also desired life extension technology and artificial intelligence, but due to data transmission limitations, they had to select only a few concise yet powerful technologies, including defenses against digital viruses and directions for human intelligence development.

Upon confirmation, Zhang Yuan entered a string of text into the system: "Dear New Human Civilization, hello, I am Zhang Yuan. I have successfully completed the mission. Identity Secret Key is QOS124... (a string of identity verification passwords)"

About an hour later, the light sphere initiated a response, "Dear Mr. Zhang Yuan, we are pleased with your return. We have received your request. Please prepare for reception."

Since every transmission of dialogue incurred a cost, everyone was thrifty, trying to make statements as concise as possible.

About half a day later, a constant stream of data was transmitted from a distant region!

Everyone's faces turned red with excitement, barely containing their joy. Zhang Yuan glanced at the data, certain they were the technologies he expected, with not many errors.

Roughly an hour later, the data transmission was basically complete, and the remaining data capacity had to send back Zhang Yuan's self-awareness, so it could no longer transmit technologies.

Several scientists had already enthusiastically begun examining them. Their personal terminals had received the data.

"Yes... so that's how it is! This formula is like this, I understand. Haha, I understand!" a physicist said excitedly, their whole body subtly trembling.

"It's surely correct. Even if we can't verify it through experimentation now, my intuition tells me it's correct!"

"And here... here!"

They didn't even care about their current surroundings, utterly absorbed.

Seeing their jubilant expressions, Zhang Yuan felt genuinely joyful, just as when he received a Bozeman Quantum Consciousness Converter from the "Yita" of Gaia Civilization, a feeling he could relate to.

"I hope this technology will help you develop better; also, I hope once you grow stronger, you'll find a way to solve Earth Civilization's challenges; and furthermore, I hope that in the future we will meet again, through this outpost station, you will be able to contact us."

"Let this curvature spaceship return you. I won't be going with you."

"I'm about to transmit my consciousness back to our civilization. Let's say goodbye here..."

The group paused, feeling a subtle sense of reluctance. Although their time together was brief, they knew he was someone they could rely on.

Yet, all good things must come to an end, even friendships must part ways someday.

Each of them belonged to their own independent civilization, regardless of whether good or bad, they must continue on their own strength.

After a while, Alliance Chairman Pei Ming finally spoke on behalf of everyone: "Dear Mr. Zhang Yuan, we are immensely grateful to you and to your civilization's generous gifts."

The fervently researching scientists also put down their computers and bowed deeply to Zhang Yuan to express their gratitude.

The gift was too substantial, substantial enough that mere words couldn't describe it.

Before boarding the curvature spaceship, Pei Ming resolutely said, "In truth, our entire alliance cannot guarantee solving Earth Civilization's problems... but I personally can try my best to promote this issue."

"And I'm willing!" The crowd echoed, and suddenly tears welled up uncontrollably. In the dim starry sky, in the distant horizon, there's actually a strong spark, and whenever they think of this, their hearts are filled with a driving force for progress.

This is a fact.

Pei Ming bowed again and loudly stated: "Moreover, we still aspire to be a great civilization... even if we aren't great now..."

"May your civilization always progress!"

"And may your civilization always progress!"

Watching the spaceship slowly depart, Zhang Yuan waved his mechanical arm forcefully, a subtle emotion rising within him.

All tasks had concluded...

Goodbye, friends, compatriots.

Goodbye!

(PS: Counting yesterday's update, this is where we'll leave off! With a new month starting, it's likely to be the final month of the wandering fleet, so I hope everyone can cast a monthly ticket recommendation, maintaining a good title. Thank you!)

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.