Xiao Yu had not expected that the final outcome of the Battle of the Galactic Center would be like this, ending in such a way.

The Crocodilian Alien Beast died, its corpse dismembered. Each of the great existences present obtained a portion of its flesh and blood, and even the Guardian Civilization and the Python Alien Beast, its two allies, did not spare it. Xiao Yu saw that, in the earlier scramble, before the Guardian Civilization and the Python Alien Beast fled, they each tore off a large chunk of the Crocodilian Alien Beast’s flesh and then began their escape.

From the moment Xiao Yu arrived until now, throughout this entire incident, the Sweepers Civilization had not paid any attention to Xiao Yu. Apart from including Xiao Yu within the scope of its two Spatial Starburst attacks, in this meeting there was no interaction whatsoever between Xiao Yu and the Sweepers Civilization. But through the Sweepers Civilization’s behavior, Xiao Yu had completely confirmed his own conjecture and learned his own identity.

The Sweepers Civilization had departed. Now, in this region of space, only the Taihao Alliance and Xiao Yu remained.

“Can we now talk once, as equals, openly and candidly?” After all enemies had left, Xiao Yu sent a message to Technology Taihao.

Technology Taihao fell silent for a moment, then replied, “We can. We do indeed need to talk. Although I have always watched your growth in secret and exerted much influence during your growth, I still did not expect your speed of growth to become this fast. This greatly exceeded my expectations.”

“Why did you cultivate me?” Xiao Yu asked.

“Because the three of us in our Taihao Alliance all want to advance to the level of a Level 7 civilization.” Technology Taihao answered very quickly. “We have now become Taihao civilizations. We can no longer advance to a Level 7 civilization by normal channels.”

“How will you borrow my power to become a Level 7 civilization?” Xiao Yu asked again. Although he already had a rough conjecture in his heart, Xiao Yu still wanted to verify it once more from Technology Taihao’s mouth.

“As long as you eliminate the Sweepers Civilization, the three of us Taihao will become Level 7 civilizations.” Technology Taihao answered. “Because we have participated frequently and closely in your growth. You and our Taihao Alliance already possess a bond that cannot be severed.”

“From the so-called Luck Value?” Xiao Yu asked.

“Yes, from the so-called Luck Value.” Technology Taihao answered.

During the exchange between Xiao Yu and Technology Taihao, Specter Taihao, Alien Beast Taihao, and Xiao Yu’s Specter companion all remained silent. But the exchange was conducted openly, and these beings could learn the content of Xiao Yu and Technology Taihao’s conversation at any time.

“What is Luck Value?” Xiao Yu asked.

“I do not know.” Technology Taihao said. “I truly do not know what exactly Luck Value is. But we are very clear on how this ethereal thing called Luck Value exerts an effect upon a real existence. Perhaps it is a rule set by the Lord of All Things hidden within the universe, or perhaps all of this is merely coincidence, who knows? In any case, I do not know. My experience tells me that there is such a thing as Luck. And after following this rule of Luck Value, our Taihao Alliance has obtained certain benefits. Then why should we violate this thing?”

These words set Xiao Yu thinking deeply. Xiao Yu had also pondered this question before, wondered what exactly this thing called Luck Value was. But unfortunately, Xiao Yu could not arrive at a clear explanation either. He could not know why, after a civilization is eliminated, the Luck Value of one’s own civilization would increase and one’s fortune would improve.

“I want to ask the most important question.” Xiao Yu temporarily put the question of Luck Value aside and asked the question that he and the Specter companion were most concerned about. Although the Specter companion had already asked Technology Taihao this question once before, at that time Xiao Yu’s strength was too weak, and it was very possible that Technology Taihao had not told the truth. Now the two sides intended to talk openly and candidly and determine matters of future cooperation. Under these circumstances, Technology Taihao naturally could not lie. Otherwise, if Xiao Yu did not discover it, that would be fine, but once discovered by Xiao Yu, it would be a very serious problem. Xiao Yu believed that Technology Taihao would understand the pros and cons and make the correct choice.

“Was Earth destroyed by you?” Xiao Yu asked this question.

“It was not us.” Technology Taihao immediately gave a clear answer.

“Then who destroyed Earth?” Xiao Yu asked, following up.

“We do not know. We truly do not know.” Technology Taihao answered. “But we can be certain that it was not done by any existence within our Milky Way. It was not the Alien Beasts, not the Sweepers, not the Guardians. We have made some conjectures on this point. The conclusion is that the existence that destroyed Earth was very formidable. It was at least at the level of a Level 7 civilization, at the very least.”

Xiao Yu fell slightly silent, then continued to ask, “You knew the specific time when Earth would be destroyed. Long before Earth was destroyed, you already knew that at that time Earth would be destroyed. Yet you did nothing. You did not attempt to save Earth, did not issue an early warning, did not rescue Earth’s humanity.”

“Yes. We admit this.” Technology Taihao answered. “That is indeed the case. Several million years ago, when I carried out genetic modification upon you Earth humans, I already knew that Earth was going to be destroyed. But you must understand, the universe is vast and endless. Although our Taihao Alliance counts as a top existence within the Milky Way, in the context of the entire universe, what are we? Some things, even if we know of them, are not things we can stop. We cannot even participate.”

“Why did you modify us Earth humans?” Xiao Yu continued to press.

“Luck, or rules.” Technology Taihao answered. “As Taihao civilizations, we are always somewhat different from normal civilizations. We can sense the existence of these rules. The rules told us that by modifying Earth’s apes we could obtain Luck Value, so we did so.”

“What manner of existence is a Taihao, and how do they differ from ordinary civilizations? Rules? Who set these rules?”

“I can tell you this simply, by way of example, you try to cheat during an examination, but in the process of cheating you are discovered by the invigilator. The invigilator will not drive you out of the classroom, but will only pay more attention to you to prevent you from cheating again. Cheating refers to advancing to a Level 7 civilization. Being driven out of the classroom refers to annihilation. Luck is your method of cheating. The higher your Luck Value, the greater your chance of successfully cheating without the invigilator noticing. It is also possible that the higher your Luck Value, the more favorable the invigilator feels toward you, so that even if you are discovered cheating, leniency will be shown. And the Taihao civilizations are the examinees who were caught failing at cheating. In order not to anger the invigilator and be driven out of the classroom in the end, we can only choose to keep a low profile, to continue taking the test honestly, and in this process continually accumulate Luck Value, attempting to draw the invigilator’s favor, or, in other words, to improve our methods of cheating.” Technology Taihao answered.

“But at present, you seem not to be low profile.” Xiao Yu said. “You are gradually becoming active. You are participating in various affairs, and even in this dispute you formed an alliance to try to obtain the relics of a Level 7 civilization. Are you not afraid of drawing the invigilator’s attention?”

“The invigilator has fallen asleep, or rather, the invigilator has temporarily become distracted.” Technology Taihao answered. “We can feel this. The restrictions from the rules are continuously weakening, perhaps there are some formidable existences, Level 8 or Level 9 civilizations and the like, that are challenging the rules hidden in the unseen, attempting to drive the invigilator out of the classroom. All of these are matters that cannot be stated with certainty. For us pitiable beings who have never even seen a Level 7 civilization and can only rely on conjecture as to whether Level 8 and Level 9 civilizations exist, who can be certain of these things?”

In that instant, Xiao Yu thought of many things. Various chaotic thoughts were spinning in his mind, Chen Mo, the extragalactic galaxy, Level 7 civilizations, spatial lifeforms, the invigilator, cheating, Luck Value, and so on, endlessly entangling in Xiao Yu’s mind, making it impossible for him to sort out a clue.

“You also do not know what kind of existence the invigilator actually is?” Xiao Yu asked, somewhat helplessly.

“Yes,” Technology Taihao answered. “It might be some civilization of exceedingly powerful strength. It might be the Lord of All Things of our entire universe, or perhaps those ethereal immortals and the like. Who can say clearly?”

“Then what is the matter with the soul stone? Who gave me the soul stone? Why is it that when I reached the level of a Level 5 civilization, I discovered another soul stone, which led to one citizen of our Divine Ark Civilization combining their soul with a computer?” Xiao Yu asked, somewhat heavy-hearted.

“As for the soul stone that created you, we do not know. We have absolutely no leads. We do not know where it came from, do not know who brought it, and do not know its specific operating mechanism.” Technology Taihao answered. “However, there is one point I can tell you. The Sweepers Civilization, relying on its own superb biotechnology, once attempted to manufacture soul stones themselves according to the principle of the soul stone, in order to achieve certain purposes. But the soul stones they manufactured seemed to differ somewhat from the authentic soul stone. The soul stone you later encountered was a counterfeit made by the Sweepers Civilization.”

“Sweepers Civilization? Counterfeit?” Hearing these two terms, Xiao Yu felt a chill rise in his heart.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep