129. Ambushed Azure Star
The more Li Aozi listened, the stranger it felt.
Galexy Civilization?
Fenice Federation?
The more he listened, the more it gave him an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.
Then, he heard Wendy say leisurely:
"Speaking of which, it's our luck. The Fairy Planetary Belt hasn't been officially recognized by the Interstellar Union yet, but our Empire has already discovered a planet with a native civilization. Given time and gradual contact, within two hundred years, they might just leave their home planet and formally become a 'civilization.'"
"If I may ask," Li Aozi interjected, "Isn't it forbidden under the Interstellar Accord to cultivate and nurture uncivilized planets? As far as I recall, civilizations are supposed to make their own way off their home planets to be recognized as such."
"You just don't get it, do you? The Accord is for those who follow the rules. If you really want to break it, just pull a non-signatory civilization into it—problem solved."
Wendy glanced meaningfully at Li Aozi:
"The war between Crystal Tower and the Night Butterfly Federation may seem pointless to the big shots of the Abyss, but for your unrecognized civilization to still exist... now that's significant."
"Since you look so charming, let me tell you about the unspoken rules of Abyssal Civilizations."
"Narrative-level civilizations rule—that's obvious. But there's not just one narrative-level civilization in the Stellar Abyss. The Abyss has six layers, and the thirteenth narrative spans three of them. In such a situation, if narrative-level civilizations go all-out at each other, it's too easy for others to take advantage of the chaos. Competing against each other could end up benefitting lesser civilizations."
To help Li Aozi understand, she even made an analogy:
"Imagine the top three students in a year going at each other, fighting tooth and nail with dirty tricks—they all end up hospitalized, and students ranked fourth, fifth, and sixth take over. By the time the top three recover, a new order and benefit distribution are already established, and there's no place left for them."
"So, the three narrative-level civilizations of the Abyss have tacitly reached a consensus: jointly annex the Abyss, only compete, and avoid all-out wars. They just watch the lesser civilizations tear each other apart without intervening."
"This is different from your proxy wars. Direct wars between civilizations don't benefit narrative-level entities; in fact, they might attract [Society]. But if a true conflict arises, civilizations feeling threatened would naturally seek a stronger patron—and that draws the attention of narrative-level civilizations."
"I think I get what you're saying: for narrative-level civilizations, war itself has lost its meaning. Instead, it's more beneficial to have the Interstellar Union provide rules that everyone follows, under the influence of the big three narratives. If an extinction-level crisis occurs, they'll be forced to seek protection under a narrative-level civilization."
Li Aozi somewhat understood her point.
Although the concept seemed naive, based on Li Aozi's years of experience, it actually aligned quite well with her reasoning.
However... narrative-level civilizations aren't incapable of warfare.
"Exactly. The real work of territorial expansion and conquering is left to the subordinate civilizations of narrative-level entities. Core citizens stay behind to develop and build. Our Destis family has been entrusted with this glorious mission upon joining the Empire."
"Aren't you afraid I might leak this information?"
Wendy raised her chin proudly and said:
"Leak it? How many people in the Crystal Tower civilization even know the truth about narrative-level entities? Even if you say something, no one will believe you. Besides, our family's influence is more than enough to erase any consequences of what you might reveal."
"Alright, you're impressive."
Li Aozi was speechless, but still curious about one thing:
"If you're from the Empire, why are you studying here on White Candle Star?"
"Convenience." Wendy didn't bother to hide her disdain, "You people are too close to the Fairy Planetary Belt. The Fenice Federation's fleet is always patrolling within thirty light-years. Going home is just a two-day journey, so why not come here and enjoy the cultural charms of a magical civilization?"
Li Aozi's gaze shifted slightly.
When she mentioned the Fenice Federation fleet, he had already guessed something.
The so-called Fairy Planetary Belt was none other than the unnamed supernova cluster where Azure Star was located.
[The storyline from my past life's game, as I thought, wasn't fully revealed.]
Back on Azure Star, Alexia had found a book containing cutting-edge knowledge—"Genetic Editing Engineering." For Azure Star, that knowledge could overturn the entire civilization.
Li Aozi studied it and was certain it wasn't an indigenous product of Azure Star.
Judging by Alexia's reactions, the Yamire Federation had also received aid from the Fenice Federation and possessed advanced knowledge. Wendy's words confirmed this.
GTB's predecessor was the organization for extraterrestrial contact with Azure Star's civilization.
Entropy Lord, [Counterfeit Society], [Secret Society]...
Even back then, Li Aozi had suspected that the situation on Azure Star wasn't that simple.
[Calamity was Entropy Lord's thought. As soon as Yamireco obtained cutting-edge knowledge, Entropy Lord erupted into a mental storm, using Calamity to seal off all external contact.]
The logic wasn't hard to follow.
If Entropy Lord felt its life was threatened, triggering a mental storm to seal all external links instead of directly destroying surface civilization—this actually proved that Entropy Lord's actions were out of self-defense.
So, when you circle back to it, the key point becomes evident.
[The Empire of Heroes surely knows about Entropy Lord's existence.]
Precisely because they knew about Entropy Lord, they intentionally avoided provoking it, trying to handle the situation delicately.
In fact, Li Aozi had a hypothesis: Entropy Lord might actually be what gave Azure Star its value.
First, Azure Star has geopolitical value and can serve as a strategic springboard to attack Fenice Federation's enemy—the Maxwell Guild.
Second, Entropy Lord's presence is like a time bomb planted here. If anyone dares to attack, the Empire would dare to provoke Entropy Lord, leading to mutual destruction.
Third, the infant Entropy Lord might attract [Society], perhaps serving as an appropriate 'fishing net' to lure out and eliminate any [Society] that threatens the Empire.
The more he thought, the more Li Aozi's scalp tingled.
The things he could think of must have been thoroughly thought through by the Empire under the leadership of the Philosopher-King.
The Empire not only knew about Entropy Lord but had planned to use it—which, from a player's perspective, was akin to riding a tiger. Yet the Empire went ahead, even raising families like Wendy's to spearhead expansion.
What does this imply? It implies that the Empire was not only unscathed but profited greatly. Even after the situation with Entropy Lord exploded, participating pioneering families still reaped significant benefits.
This essentially confirmed that the destruction of Azure Star was part of the Empire's original plan.
Destroying a planet—moving refugees—having the Galexy Civilization pick up the players to train them.
This did nothing to allay Maxwell Guild's suspicions; it only fueled their ambitions.
After Version 5.0, the Fenice Federation still clashed with Maxwell Guild.
In the end... after the players formally joined the war, Maxwell Guild announced a ceasefire after two versions, signing a peace treaty that allowed the Fenice Federation to cut their losses.
The Empire never intervened but orchestrated everything, and no matter how bad the situation got, it was all within the Empire's expectations.
[So here's the question.]
Who deliberately spread cutting-edge knowledge on Azure Star?
The answer was already quite obvious.
The Empire wouldn't sabotage its own projects or detonate the bomb. Fenice Federation didn't want to lose Azure Star, and the Galexy Civilization merely acted as the executor of the Empire's will.
[Society] would never share knowledge with humans.
Then, only one suspect remained.
Li Aozi slightly tilted his head, his gaze solemn.
—Maxwell Guild.