CHAPTER 536: CHAPTER 535: DOUBLE-FACED DIPLOMACY

In the boundless expanse of the Super Quasar.

The Wandering Alliance and Black Hole Civilization are engaged in fierce battle. Besides their Battle Star weapons, the main bodies of their black holes are also using gravity to fight and pull against each other, seemingly trying to transform the battlefield into terrain that favors their own side. This war has thus entered a comprehensive tug-of-war period where both sides are evenly matched and locked in a difficult struggle.

After some time, the war between the Wandering Alliance and the Black Hole Civilization continued unabated, with the situation still too close to call.

It has been said before that a five-level civilization is the pinnacle of civilizations in the Universe, with their technology and weapons largely at their peak. For any civilization to eradicate another five-level civilization is no easy task.

However, this stalemate did not persist because, with the sudden appearance of the Antimatter Civilization at the edge of the battlefield, the warring Wandering Alliance and Black Hole Civilization stopped the war in unison to avoid risks. This was like two armies in battle when suddenly a military force of approximately the same scale appears at the side. Until the intentions and stance of this new force are understood, the fighting sides would certainly cease fire and watch carefully.

As for the sudden appearance of other civilizations, neither the Wandering Alliance nor the Black Hole Civilization found it surprising.

This is because the commotion they caused was too great, with massive movements of Cosmic Material within hundreds of billions of light-years around them. Such a spectacular phenomenon would hardly go unnoticed by other five-level civilizations—and for a five-level civilization, tracing the source along the direction of material flow is not difficult.

Even if other civilizations were to appear next, they would not be surprised.

The only somewhat unexpected part was that the Wandering Alliance did not anticipate the arrival of the Antimatter Civilization.

Since the Wandering Alliance had previously fought with the troops of the Antimatter Civilization, they were familiar with the specifications and appearances of the Antimatter Civilization’s Battle Stars and recognized them at a glance.

Moreover, the rotation direction of the Antimatter Nebula and the movement patterns of material Planets within the nebula starkly contrasted with those of a typical nebula—these all exposed the basic traits of antimatter, indirectly revealing the identity of the Antimatter Civilization!

At that moment.

The Wandering Alliance received a message from the Antimatter Civilization: "Wandering Alliance, we’ve finally found you. At a time of Cosmic Crisis, where do you think you can flee to now? We haven’t forgotten the incident involving the Anti-Neutron Star; you must pay the price for your deeds!"

"Antimatter Civilization, we were victims in the incident too. What is it that you want?"

The Wandering Alliance certainly hadn’t forgotten the event from last year; however, given the complex situation at hand, as they were currently engaged in battle with the Black Hole Civilization, they did not wish to create another enemy and were even more worried that the Antimatter Civilization would join forces with the Black Hole Civilization against them. So, they tried to placate the Antimatter Civilization first.

As an experienced five-level civilization, the Antimatter Civilization saw the situation clearly and thus made their demands: "Our demands are simple. First, unconditionally join our Antimatter Civilization. We too have proposed the Cosmic Cycle Theory and have discovered a method to break away from the Universe; we are in need of a significant amount of Cosmic Material. Second, reveal the mastermind behind the Entropy Tree incident—that is our basic request!"

The Wandering Alliance responded, "What if we refuse?"

The Antimatter Civilization said, "You don’t have the luxury of refusal. You are well aware of the current situation. If you do not agree, the final outcome will be for us and the Black Hole Civilization to consume you together. By joining us, at least you can guarantee the safety of your lives, and you might even be able to leave this Universe with us!"

The Wandering Alliance said, "Why don’t you join us instead? If you join us, there is a possibility that we could avoid this Cosmic Crisis! Moreover, when it comes to the research on the Cosmic Cycle Theory, we have clearly been studying it for a longer time, so naturally, our technological accumulation is more substantial than yours!"

"You want us to join you? Don’t you have any self-awareness?"

The Antimatter Civilization stated, "If we were to join you, it would mean recognizing you as the leader. But with your civilization’s development time, you’ve only become a five-level civilization shortly, clearly lacking experience, definitely less than ours. You simply cannot bear the corresponding responsibility, nor do you have the capacity!"

The Wandering Alliance said, "That’s not necessarily true; although we have indeed been a five-level civilization for a shorter time compared to you, capability and age are not always directly proportional. We believe that along the way, we have proven our abilities more than once!"

In fact, all these reasons were just pretexts.

The core focus of both parties was the interests represented by their leaders. These two different civilizations both desired to be the leading party to ensure their interests—least of all in conflicts of interest, it wouldn’t be their side that has to step back. This is a very realistic issue.

Therefore, after a lengthy verbal battle, neither the Wandering Alliance nor the Antimatter Civilization was willing to give in.

The Antimatter Civilization then said, "The question of who joins whom can be set aside for now, but at the very least, you need to reveal the mastermind behind the Entropy Tree!"

The Wandering Alliance truthfully said, "Honestly, it’s not that we are unwilling; rather, we truly do not know who commanded that Entropy Tree to come. Moreover, we are not afraid to tell you that we have interacted with the Entropy Tree more than twice, but we indeed do not know who the mastermind is."

The Antimatter Civilization replied, "Who are you trying to fool? The Entropy Tree clearly came to assist you, it’s implausible that you don’t know. It seems you simply don’t take our Antimatter Civilization seriously and are unwilling to tell the truth. This is your last chance, speak up or not?!"

These words from the Antimatter Civilization were very domineering, and they served as an ultimatum.

This was because, while communicating with the Wandering Alliance, the Antimatter Civilization was also negotiating with the Black Hole Civilization, playing double-sided diplomacy.

After some back and forth, the two sides finally reached an agreement—if the Wandering Alliance did not agree to the Antimatter Civilization’s terms, they would join forces to divide up the Wandering Alliance.

After partitioning the Wandering Alliance, the Antimatter Civilization and the Black Hole Civilization would merge at the same level, and the two civilizations would govern together, using the method from the Cosmic Cycle Theory to evade this crisis.

In these discussions, the Antimatter Civilization’s attitude towards the Black Hole Civilization was not as domineering as it was against the Wandering Alliance. Truth be told, both the Antimatter Civilization and the Black Hole Civilization harbored a certain arrogance and prejudice; they always believed that having been five-level civilizations for a longer time meant that they had a more profound cultural level and more mature technological development. They felt they must dominate over the youthful Wandering Alliance, an attitude stemming from innate arrogance and bias that they themselves might not even realize. However, this mindset does not persist when dealing with another long-established five-level civilization. This is why the two civilizations were able to reach a smooth agreement.

Of course, there is another critically important factor.

It’s a factor that neither the Wandering Alliance nor the Antimatter Civilization possessed.

That is, they had a common enemy—the Wandering Alliance. To eradicate and consume the Wandering Alliance, both parties were naturally willing to compromise to some extent.