Chapter 54: The Dark Forest

Words : 1435 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

If not for the revelations in the Lizardmen civilization’s records, Xiao Yu might never have questioned why he hadn’t considered staying in the solar system. It was as though some unseen force had guided his thoughts, compelling him to immediately construct an interstellar fleet and embark on his voyage after mastering controlled nuclear fusion. Now, Xiao Yu began to confront this question head-on. “Why? Why?” Had he simply forgotten? Xiao Yu quickly dismissed this possibility. It was highly improbable. And if he had forgotten, what about the Lizardmen civilization? Why had none of their 150,000 survivors thought of this question either? Why did it take over two millennia and a young child to raise this issue? Xiao Yu couldn’t make sense of it. “There’s something strange here,” Xiao Yu mused. At this point, he was only 1,600 years away from reaching the Tianyuan IV star system. Returning to the solar system would take nearly 2,000 years, making continued travel toward Tianyuan IV his only viable option. “It’s almost certain now that Earth’s destruction was orchestrated by some entity. Could it be that this same entity influenced me to overlook the idea of staying in the solar system? What’s its purpose? What is it trying to achieve?” A bone-chilling fear swept through Xiao Yu—the fear of being manipulated like an ant, entirely unaware of the strings being pulled. “Calm down, stay calm,” Xiao Yu muttered, forcing himself to steady his thoughts. He set his fleet to automated navigation, allocating only 1% of his computational power to monitoring the ships, while the remaining 99% was devoted to intricate calculations. Xiao Yu began building model after model, attempting to analyze the intentions behind this unknown and terrifying entity’s actions. “Based on the principle of maximizing benefits, this entity must gain something from its actions. Its behavior led to two outcomes: one, the destruction of the Lizardmen’s planet and Earth, severely crippling their civilizations; and two, it pushed the Lizardmen civilization and myself into rapid interstellar exploration.” “But the logic here is highly contradictory. I can’t find a clear rationale for these events. Perhaps... there are two separate entities at play? If there are two types of civilizations in the universe—one benevolent and one malevolent—it could be that a malevolent civilization destroyed Earth, but my existence was hidden by a benevolent one. Perhaps they wanted to protect me from being discovered by the malevolent civilization, which is why they prompted my departure from the solar system?” “With such limited information, I can’t analyze this further. I’ll have to leave it for later exploration.” Xiao Yu sighed, abandoning his attempts to make sense of the situation. “Perhaps I should try to estimate the technological level of this hypothetical malevolent civilization,” Xiao Yu thought. “That way, I can gauge when I might have the ability to... take revenge. Yes, revenge! I must seek revenge!” With this determination, Xiao Yu began his analysis. However, he soon gave up. The method used to destroy Earth was beyond anything Xiao Yu had ever encountered or imagined. None of the theories he knew could explain such an act. At his current level of technology, even speculation was impossible. “One step at a time,” Xiao Yu decided, turning back to the Lizardmen civilization’s core documents. “Our society engaged in centuries-long debates, but no conclusions were reached. The only thing we could confirm was that this phenomenon was not natural. There must be some unknown force influencing us, causing us to subconsciously forget this idea. “We know nothing about this force and have no way to resist it. So, our only choice is to ignore it and focus on advancing our civilization as best we can.” “By the 6,800th year of our interstellar exile, we encountered another spacefaring civilization. This civilization accidentally revealed itself while capturing one of our abandoned satellites. We quickly convened a meeting to discuss our response. “Some believed we should exchange information and coexist peacefully, especially since their technological level was comparable to ours. Others argued that we should strike first and annihilate them to test the hypothesis that destroying other civilizations would improve our luck. After all, we were a civilization with preliminary energy weapons, slightly more advanced than theirs. Moreover, they were just a fleet, while we had an entire planet as our base. “No matter how barren a planet may be, it still offers resources that an isolated fleet in space cannot replenish.” “I was firmly opposed to the idea. I believed we should coexist peacefully and exchange information to benefit both sides. However, my opinion was not adopted. I watched as traps of hydrogen bombs were laid in the alien civilization’s flight path. I watched as they avoided the traps. I watched as they launched a counterattack...” Reading this, Xiao Yu couldn’t help but sigh. Hadn’t he initially harbored the same hope for peaceful coexistence? Yet, it was impossible. The mistrust and suspicion between two civilizations were simply too great. From the moment the opposing side laid hydrogen bomb traps to annihilate him, peaceful coexistence was no longer an option. The rest of the document recounted the war’s progression—information Xiao Yu was already familiar with. What intrigued him was what happened after the Phantom reached the Lizardmen’s planet, so he paid special attention to this segment. “Our flagship was destroyed by the enemy, but we managed to capture one of their flagship-class ships. From the start of the war, the enemy displayed extraordinary combat prowess, inflicting devastating losses upon us. Some of our citizens began to question the pro-war faction, but by then, it was too late. Our fates were sealed—only one of us could survive. “The captured flagship-class ship was brought to our planet, and we began analyzing the enemy’s technology. However, during the analysis, something inexplicable occurred. In an instant, most of our researchers died, and the remaining personnel continued to perish. This was an incomprehensible, undefendable method of killing. How could a civilization that had only just mastered controlled nuclear fusion possess such a devastating weapon? “Defeat became inevitable. Our forces were decimated. By the time we finally understood the nature of this terrifying creature and destroyed it, our population of 800,000 had dwindled to less than 20,000. “I watched as the alien civilization descended upon our planet, deploying a massive army of robotic units to slaughter our people. I could only watch helplessly. I was merely a rudimentary artificial intelligence lifeform, entirely powerless to resist. “So, I chose to end my existence. Before my self-destruction, I left behind this document. I believe you will find it, won’t you, stranger from another civilization? “I trust you will have the ability to decode and translate this document. Even though you annihilated our civilization, I do not hate you. After all, we initiated the attack. I only have one question for you: After destroying our civilization, did your civilization’s luck—or perhaps I should say fate—improve? “I know you had not yet mastered energy cannon technology. Your material science, Photon Computer technology, and controlled nuclear fusion capabilities were also inferior to ours. Before I self-destructed, I expended all my remaining energy to preserve these technologies for you. However, I also set up numerous obstacles to prevent you from easily acquiring them. Now, tell me—did you master these technologies? “If you’ve fully acquired them with little effort, then I’ll know that destroying our civilization indeed improved your civilization’s luck, proving our hypothesis correct. Conversely, if you failed to acquire these technologies, then I apologize—I cannot gift you our civilization’s knowledge without cost. “Now, answer me. Did you master these technologies?” “Moluton Civilization, Civilization-01 Artificial Intelligence Lifeform, final words.” The document ended abruptly. Xiao Yu stared at it, letting every word flow slowly through his mind. The original text had not been written this way, but Xiao Yu had translated it into a format suited to his reading habits. After finishing the document, Xiao Yu felt a profound sense of loss. “Yes, I did master your technologies, and the process was extraordinarily smooth, almost effortless. “I didn’t encounter any of the obstacles you mentioned. It seems that my luck—or rather, my fate—really did improve after destroying your civilization. “Perhaps your hypothesis was correct—destroying a civilization truly enhances one’s own.” “But... but if this is true, then the entire universe must be unimaginably dark.” Xiao Yu sighed deeply. Tianyuan IV was drawing ever closer. Less than 1,600 years remained before Xiao Yu would reach his destination.

Chapter 54: The Dark Forest

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