CHAPTER 527: CHAPTER 526: FOLLOW THE VINE TO FIND THE MELON

Somewhere in the starry sky.

A colossal nebula suddenly teleported into place.

After momentarily escaping danger, the Antimatter Civilization immediately held a meeting to discuss the next course of action.

"Damn it, I didn’t expect we’d fall for the schemes of the Entropy Civilization and let them get away!"

"The main issue is that we were too careless. The Entropy Civilization clearly took advantage of our desire to stop the Irreversible Expansion Wave. Their initial compliance also lulled us into a false sense of security!"

"Hmph, but the Entropy Civilization is too naive if they think they can trap us with just an Entropy Wall. We had agreed to investigate the mastermind behind the Entropy Tree together, and yet they tricked us. Next time we encounter them, we must make them pay the price!"

"That’s a certainty. Daring to plot against our Antimatter Civilization, whether or not the Entropy Civilization is the mastermind behind the Entropy Tree, we can’t let them off. Alright, let’s set these issues aside for now and get to the main topic!"

"This meeting’s main purpose is to discuss our subsequent strategies and how to deal with the current Cosmic Crisis."

"Speaking of this topic, I want to confirm, is it truly impossible to stop the Irreversible Expansion Wave?"

"We have acquired the relevant technology for the Irreversible Expansion Wave, and after computer simulations, there is no issue. According to the technical principles, it is indeed impossible to stop. We need another plan to resolve the Cosmic Crisis and to prolong our development time, but it seems there is no longer any possibility for that!"

"If the Irreversible Expansion Wave can’t be stopped, then the Universe is doomed to destruction. The time until the Universe’s destruction can be calculated based on the speed of the Irreversible Expansion Wave, which doesn’t leave much time for our Antimatter Civilization. Although we started two initiatives when we first discovered the Cosmic Crisis—one to stop the Irreversible Expansion Wave, which has failed; the other to find a backup plan to escape the Universe—our research team has worked for so long but still hasn’t made significant progress. It’s unlikely we will find a solution in the limited time we have left."

"Even if there’s little hope, we must continue to research. As long as we’re still breathing, we cannot give up hope!"

"Right, we mustn’t be like the Entropy Civilization, giving in to despair!"

"I actually think the Entropy Civilization doesn’t seem that desperate; they might just be pretending to deceive us. Maybe they have a way to survive the Cosmic Crisis. Otherwise, I can’t imagine anyone foolish enough to actively trigger the contraction and destruction of the Universe."

"Indeed, we cannot take the words of the Entropy Civilization at face value. After all, we don’t know much about them. So, we need to continue to search for a way to escape the Universe, and we can’t give up on finding a way to stop the Irreversible Expansion Wave. We must pursue both plans simultaneously to maximize our chances of survival!"

"I agree with this view; it’s more reasonable to run the two plans concurrently."

"..."

"Since everyone agrees to continue with both plans, let’s settle this matter. However, due to the situation in the Universe being much worse than we previously envisaged, I believe we need to adjust the intensity and details of the plan."

"You might as well state your suggestion straightforwardly!"

"First and foremost, regarding the backup plan, we initially assessed the risk to be low and the timing to be sufficient, so we did not deploy many people for research. Now, I propose mobilizing the full strength of our civilization to overcome this scientific bottleneck. Apart from essential societal functions, all science personnel, resources, and materials should be exclusively dedicated to this plan. We must converge all our power to find a way to survive before the Universe truly perishes!"

"If we do that, our entire society will essentially come to a standstill as nearly everyone will be focused on one thing only. This will severely impact the prosperity of our civilization. However, extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. If the Universe is to perish, our civilization will not escape its fate. The prosperity of civilization will become meaningless; survival is the only path. Therefore, I support this course of action. In the face of such extreme adversity, we must make sacrifices!"

"Secondly, as for the plan to stop the warp flowback, I think it is time to look beyond just focusing on the principles of warp flowback, and dedicate more efforts toward other civilizations. Like Entropy Civilization, they might be hiding truths they have not shared with us, or perhaps, as a colleague previously mentioned, they might hold methods for survival. Hence, I think we should allocate some of our energy to tracking these civilizations. If there’s no progress with our backup or main plan but we can obtain their concealed methods, we could still survive."

"Exactly, we must keep a close watch on Entropy Civilization, this damn civilization that ruined the Universe. Even if they flee to the ends of the earth, we must track them down. Even if they really have no methods left, we must ensure that Entropy Civilization perishes before our eyes!"

"Since there are no objections, let’s proceed to the next topic. Due to the Entropy Tree incident, we had approached Entropy Civilization, which initially agreed to form an investigation team with us. However, given the outcome, it now seems that their agreement was just a stall tactic. Today, Entropy Civilization remains the prime suspect behind the Entropy Tree. Besides Entropy Civilization, we need to discuss who else might be suspicious? And how to effectively track them? This would supplement our previous tracking plan. Please feel free to share any opinions!"

"Let me start. Let’s make an assumption first: if the mastermind isn’t Entropy Civilization, then it has to be another Level 5 Civilization because only they possess such capability, and the only civilizations that have survived until now are Level 5. From our Antimatter Civilization intelligence database, we know there are Krypton Gold Civilization, Degenerate Civilization, Black Hole Civilization, Wandering Alliance, and Entropy Civilization. Disregarding Entropy Civilization, and since Wandering Alliance was only a Level 4 Civilization, we can exclude them. That leaves us with Krypton Gold Civilization, Degenerate Civilization, and Black Hole Civilization as the only suspects."

"Using the process of elimination certainly narrows down the suspects. If we were to consider among these three, I find Krypton Gold Civilization to be the least suspicious, as they had previously joined us in pressing Entropy Civilization. Although we temporarily do not know the true origin of Krypton Gold Civilization or the location of their base, their actions and motivations seem to be the least suspicious."

"Furthermore, Degenerate Civilization and Black Hole Civilization, of which we have very little information in our intelligence database. Because we know so little, both remain possibilities. Together with Entropy Civilization which we had initially ruled out, I suggest our primary targets for tracking should be Entropy Civilization, Black Hole Civilization, and Degenerate Civilization!"

"However, these three civilizations are quite mysterious, and although they now all reside within the Cosmic Zone, the Cosmic Zone Universe is vast. Moreover, Entropy Civilization was previously tracked by us; trying to find them again using the same method will definitely not be easy. We have to think of another way!"

"I do have a more straightforward idea. Since we are tracing the mastermind behind the Entropy Tree, and since the Entropy Tree likely emerged to assist Wandering Alliance, as long as the mastermind cares about Wandering Alliance, we don’t necessarily need to go out of our way to track them. We merely have to locate Wandering Alliance and follow the trail from there, and we will undoubtedly find the real schemer easily!"

"This is a good approach. Wandering Alliance once launched a surprise attack on our Battle Star, it’s time they paid the price!"

...

Within the Cosmic Zone.

A hugely massive Black Hole gently drifted.

Suddenly, this Black Hole began to emit Gravity, frantically absorbing external matter, stirring a storm of particles within the Cosmic Zone!