Chapter Sixty-Nine: Earth – The Beast Tide (XI)

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Room C4. Sun Meng arrived as agreed. Upon seeing the other person, he was taken aback, for his counterpart looked almost identical to a human.

"Hello, I'm a contestant from Bluewater Star. My name is Mu Xingye," the man said with a smile, extending his hand.

Sun Meng hesitated for a moment, then clasped his hand in return. "Earth, contestant Sun Meng. Pleased to meet you." As their hands met, the audience on both sides grew visibly excited.

Why had Earth's civilization always yearned to find traces and evidence of other intelligent life? It was not only the pursuit of the unknown, but also the longing to find a "companion." Humanity had always considered itself unique—yet secretly hoped not to be alone. Since joining this contest, they had encountered all manner of civilizations, though most were only humanoid, and some not even carbon-based.

Yet the humans of Bluewater Star seemed almost like Earth’s twin siblings. Their civilization had developed in much the same way, except that throughout their history, the Grand Xia civilization had always been dominant, steadily guiding Bluewater Star's progress. Thus, Bluewater Star had become a unified civilization, unlike the fragmented nations of Earth.

"Please, have a seat! At first, I was simply curious, but now I am even more confident. No need to stand on ceremony—sit down!" Mu Xingye said with a friendly smile.

Sun Meng nodded and took a seat opposite him.

"You’re interested in our civilization's gene-nuclear weapon technology? Which aspect, specifically? You can browse the technical branches on this list," Mu Xingye said, displaying a transparent screen.

From the earliest gene-nuclear energy solution, to the cultivation and shaping of gene-nuclear materials, and finally to the fabrication and use of various weapon types—the list, though it contained only names and brief introductions, clearly showed that their technology was not only advanced, but comprehensive, like a fully developed technological tree.

"So, gene-nuclear energy is a semi-biological power naturally emitted from the genetic evolution of organisms under cosmic radiation!" After reading the introductions, Sun Meng grasped the concept.

"Exactly. Even with the same evolutionary conditions, different civilizations experience different outcomes under the system’s intervention. I believe that many civilizations have endured intense cosmic radiation, but only our Bluewater Star civilization has managed to build a technology-based society founded on gene-nuclear energy," Mu Xingye replied.

"In other words, every chosen civilization is unique?" Sun Meng was surprised. He hadn’t anticipated this. "But we see that all civilizations’ technology trees..."

"Have a similarity rate of eighty-five or even ninety-five percent?" Mu Xingye’s smile never faded. "That’s true, but fundamentally, most civilizations fall into one of three categories: essential evolution of life, technological evolution, or aberrant evolution. The first is the continuous fusion of life with the laws of the universe; the second is the constant analysis of those laws through technology; and the third is random adaptation to circumstances."

"So, ultimately, we can only walk a single path—only then can we reach the end." Sun Meng frowned. The other knew far more than he did. He didn’t doubt Mu Xingye’s words, for all earlier clues suggested his knowledge was based not on speculation, but on genuine, precise information.

"Yes, but that's a concern for the distant future. For now, what matters most is breaking through to Tier Three civilization. Only by achieving this before the assessment can we qualify for the next stage. If you trust me, we can work together," Mu Xingye said.

"This, then, is the purpose of this trade conference," Sun Meng replied, taking a deep breath.

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"Exactly. We have formed an alliance with the Pimon civilization, because we deduced that among all contestants, there are only one or two, like us, who reached the late stage of Tier Two from the outset and have some clues about the next stage of evolution. To increase our chances of advancement, we need one or two informed collaborators."

Sun Meng was silent for a few seconds, watching Mu Xingye's expression. Then he said, "What you really need is a few high-level cannon fodder, isn’t it?"

Mu Xingye blinked. "That's right. But your risk of dying is less than one percent, and I’ll do my best to keep you safe. This is an opportunity—a chance for your civilization to take a leap into the ranks of advanced civilizations."

"I accept," Sun Meng replied after a brief silence.

On Earth, Xu Xiao’s room was suddenly opened. The deputy leader, accompanied by other key members, entered.

"Xu Xiao! Do you realize what you’re doing?"

Xu Xiao stood up. "Honestly, have you forgotten that we lost control of him long ago? What we should do now is try to resonate with him little by little, so he remains aligned with our civilization’s ideology and perspective, isn't that right?"

"So you’re just going to let him agree to this? You’re betraying our civilization!" the military chief growled through clenched teeth.

"Do we really have a choice?" Xu Xiao replied calmly, pointing at the screen. "Their culture is incredibly similar to ours. I can secure significant benefits for our civilization. Remember, in this competition, survival and evolution are equally important."

"You—"

"Enough," the deputy leader interrupted, raising a hand to silence the secretary. He turned to Xu Xiao.

"We entrusted you with communication with the contestant because we trust you. He represents Earth’s future, and you play a crucial guiding role. The future of our civilization lies in your hands. Never forget that, and always be responsible for it."

"I will never forget. I will always be an Earthling," Xu Xiao said serenely.

"Very well, we won’t disturb you further," said the deputy leader, departing with the others.

At this moment, a simple agreement appeared before Sun Meng—a cooperation pact between the two civilizations. Bluewater Star would provide Earth with the fundamental technology for gene-nuclear weaponry and related developments in cold weaponry, while Sun Meng would, in the upcoming Tier Three beast hunt, launch a targeted assault on a weak point.

"Is that all?" Sun Meng was surprised. He’d half expected some superficially generous but secretly treacherous clauses, but the terms were strikingly straightforward.

"These are just the terms for our next operation. The formal alliance will be negotiated after we advance to Tier Three," Mu Xingye explained. "I can sense that you’ve fully developed your physical potential, so any word games or hidden traps would be laughable to you, wouldn’t they?"

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Sun Meng smiled as well. "Then I look forward to the day we sign the alliance. I hope that agreement will not disappoint my civilization." He had to admit, a civilization so similar to humanity was hard not to like.

"Ah, by the way!" Mu Xingye suddenly added. "Could your enchantment system be part of this exchange?"

"Certainly," Sun Meng replied with a smile.

After completing the exchange, Sun Meng took his leave.

"This civilization is indeed worthy as an ally, though the degree of complementarity between your two peoples isn’t very high, especially in the coming stages. You’re clearly on a technological evolution path, while they pursue essential evolution of life. In the future, if you follow the collective civilization route, they won’t be the best partners," said Pix, emerging from the shadows.

"That’s no concern of yours. As long as we cooperate smoothly, that’s all that matters," Mu Xingye responded. "Besides, collective civilizations don’t necessarily need to share the same path."

Pix shrugged. "Suit yourself. The upcoming hunt is critical. There can be no mistakes."

Meanwhile, Sun Meng encountered Kekelaru.

"Why aren't you at your station? Have you completed another trade?"

Sun Meng replied, "You look quite pleased. Seems you’ve made quite a haul."

"Indeed! After this, our civilization should reach late Tier Two in no time!" Kekelaru said, beaming.

At that moment, a projection of Pix appeared in the sky above.

"Esteemed participants of this exchange, I am Pix, contestant of the Pimon civilization and the organizer of this event. I have an important announcement to make."