“Because I am from the Specter Race. That’s right, in your terminology, I am generally referred to as a member of the Specter Race.” This message was transmitted by the unknown entity.

The moment he received this message, Xiao Yu froze. Xiao Yu knew very well what kind of existence the Specter Race was. He had even had close contact with a Specter before. They were the souls of deceased members of the human race, transformed after death. They were ferocious, violent, and bloodthirsty, rampaging across the universe and slaughtering every living being they encountered…

However, due to the bloodline connection that could not be severed even in death, the Specters had saved Xiao Yu. At the time, that Specter group was still very weak, unable even to conduct faster-than-light travel. And yet, relying on their unique stealth methods, they carried the even weaker Xiao Yu on a journey spanning over six thousand light-years, helping him escape the pursuit of the Guardian Alliance.

In the pitch-black universe, two feeble races supported each other, advancing step by step.

But… there was another Specter here?

“No, you’re not a member of the Specter Race,” Xiao Yu said slowly. “I know of a Specter Race that exists in the Milky Way. They were formed from the souls of my deceased kin, and I can clearly feel that you are not one of them.”

“I’m not lying to you. The Specter Race that your kin transformed into is still roaming the Milky Way. Taking advantage of the period during which the Guardian Civilization and the Sweepers have both vanished, they are rapidly slaughtering other civilizations and growing stronger. They are retracing my path. I am a member of the Specter Race, truly and genuinely a Specter. Or rather, I am the previous generation of the Specter Race.”

Every word spoken by this unknown existence was being broadcast in real time by Xiao Yu and shared with the scientists.

“It’s lying to us,” Luka Two shook its head and said. “This is basic knowledge.There must be relevant records in the Galactic Encyclopedia obtained from the Molian Civilization. That is, in the universe, no, we are not sure about the entire universe, but at least in the Milky Way, at any given time, only a single Specter Race can exist. This fact has been confirmed by the Guardian Civilization.”

“Yes, I know that,” Xiao Yu said. “It’s lying to us. If it’s not lying, then that would mean… the Specter Race formed from my kin has already perished.”

The reason was simple. Since only one Specter Race could exist in the Milky Way at a time, and this entity claiming to be Specter Race wasn’t lying and also wasn’t formed from Xiao Yu’s kin, then the only possibility left was that the Specter formed from Xiao Yu’s kin had already died.

A nameless worry began to rise in Xiao Yu’s heart.

“My kin… it’s been so long. How are you all doing now?” Countless thoughts churned in Xiao Yu’s mind.

He forced himself to calm down, and said to the unknown existence, “There is no doubt that you are a great and powerful being, so there is no need for you to deceive someone as weak as I am. I have seen the Specter Race before, and that Specter was not you. Since only one Specter Race can exist in the Milky Way at a time, how do you intend to explain this problem?”

Throughout the exchange, Xiao Yu did not slow down his fleet. In fact, he had even increased its speed. Now, Xiao Yu’s speed had reached six times the speed of light. This was Xiao Yu’s limit.

“If I hadn’t been on the verge of death, would your kin have had the chance to transform into the Specter Race?” The entity countered, then continued, “In other words, if the previous generation of the Specter Race wasn’t about to die, would the next generation have ever come into being?”

Xiao Yu remained silent.

He couldn’t determine whether the statement was true or false. Nor did he know whether he should believe it.

“As you said, is there some kind of mysterious inheritance among the Specter Race? That doesn’t make sense,” Xiao Yu replied.

“It truly doesn’t make sense. But the very existence of the Specter Race itself defies logic,” the unknown being said with a laugh. “From the ignorance of my birth to now, on the brink of death, I have experienced tens of millions of years. I once fought the Guardian Alliance and the Sweepers with my own hands. I even forced them to unite just to resist me. If not for the Neutron War Star, I, alongside my main civilization, might have annihilated both of those great civilizations. But the Neutron War Star was too powerful. It inflicted grievous wounds on me, left me dying, and I’ve since been drifting through the universe, clinging to life. Because of me, my main civilization also went extinct.”

Xiao Yu sharply caught onto a term: Neutron War Star. At that moment, it was as if a valve in his memory had been opened. Memories from long ago resurfaced in Xiao Yu’s mind.

It was shortly after capturing the Luka Civilization, when Xiao Yu had asked them about the Specter Race. They had responded like this.

“Thirty million years ago, facing an extraordinarily powerful Specter Race, there was even precedent for the Sweepers and Guardian Civilization to join forces against it. Even so, the two civilizations nearly suffered a crushing defeat. In the end, it was the Sweepers who deployed the Neutron War Star to annihilate that Specter Race.”

“You… have been drifting for over thirty million years? Hm? You mentioned a term, Main Civilization. What does Main Civilization mean?” Xiao Yu asked.

“You are the Main Civilization,” the unknown being replied. “Every Specter Race has its own Main Civilization. The Specter Race formed from your deceased kin, its Main Civilization is you. I, too, had my own Main Civilization. But my Main Civilization has already perished.”

This exchange contained far too much information. For a moment, countless thoughts surged through Xiao Yu’s mind.

“You once said… your Main Civilization was dragged down by you? And that’s why it went extinct?” Xiao Yu asked.

“Yes.” The tone of the message sent by the unknown being now carried a hint of sorrow. “As I said, the existence of the Specter Race is inherently illogical. So this matter, too, cannot be explained by logic. It’s something beyond our understanding. Perhaps, only the fabled, elusive Level 7 Civilizations can fully comprehend and decode it.”

After a pause, the unknown being continued, “By now, having reached your current level of growth, you’ve probably heard of the concept of Luck Value. If we must explain it, this illogical connection may be interpreted through that. Between the Specter Race and its Main Civilization, there exists a peculiar bond. Through this bond, every time the Specter Race slaughters a civilization, the Luck Value gained will be added to the Main Civilization. I don’t even need to ask, I already know that during this recent period, your luck must have been exceptionally good. No matter what desperate situations you encountered, you always managed to turn danger into safety, surviving again and again. That is entirely because the Specter Race tied to you through this mystical connection has been constantly slaughtering civilizations. In fact, even when you raided a market established by a Level 5 Civilization and weren’t pursued, simply because I happened to be nearby, that too, was due to this reason.”

The unknown existence spoke with great emotion.

At that moment, Xiao Yu felt something almost unbelievable.

“You being here, wasn’t that your own decision? But according to what you’re saying, if my luck hadn’t been good, I wouldn’t have encountered you, and you wouldn’t be here? But… how could my fortune influence your decision?” Xiao Yu murmured.

“I don’t know. But my experience from surviving for tens of millions of years tells me, this is how things are. Perhaps the ultimate answer can only be known by the mysterious universe itself. The universe… is far less simple than it appears,” he said with a sigh. “The Luck Value gained from civilizations slaughtered by the Specter Race is transferred to its Main Civilization. Naturally, where there are benefits, there are also consequences. If the Specter Race suffers a significant setback, if it is gravely wounded or on the verge of death, those events will also reflect upon its Main Civilization. Back then, when I was struck down by the Neutron War Star and left on the brink of death, that situation was clearly mirrored in my Main Civilization. During that time, its luck, or rather its Luck Value, plummeted to the worst level imaginable. It struggled desperately for over twenty million years, but in the end, it still couldn’t escape its fate. It was overtaken by the Neutron War Star and died under its assault.”

Xiao Yu remained silent, but his mind was racing as he processed all this information. After a moment of reflection, Xiao Yu had to admit that, while he still couldn’t confirm the truth of it, at least from a logical standpoint, there were no flaws in what had been said.

“If you really are the previous generation of the Specter Race, then even someone as powerful as you couldn’t withstand the Neutron War Star? No, and your Main Civilization as well. If you were that strong, then surely your Main Civilization was also unimaginably powerful. The two of you joined forces, and still couldn’t defeat the Neutron War Star…”

Xiao Yu couldn’t remember how many times he had heard that name, Neutron War Star. And each time it was mentioned, it was always paired with words like invincible and unstoppable.

“The Taihao from the Large Magellanic Cloud died beneath the Neutron War Star. The Guardian Civilization that allied with Taihao suffered devastating casualties. Their flagship, the Radiance, was severely damaged. Of the hundreds of civilizations that participated in the battle, a great many were wiped out. That formidable Specter Race was gravely wounded by the Neutron War Star and pushed to the brink of death. Even the Guardian Civilization, which had held a deadlock with the Sweepers for tens of millions of years, was utterly defeated the moment the Neutron War Star appeared. From then on, they obediently began safeguarding weak civilizations and siphoning off their developmental potential in exchange for Luck Value.”

“Has the Neutron War Star really reached such terrifying levels of power?”

Xiao Yu was lost in thought, dazed.

“Oh, the name of my Main Civilization, you may have heard of it,” the unknown being said slowly, his voice filled with an inexplicable sorrow. “It was the Micron Civilization, famed across the Milky Way… tens of millions of years ago.”