Be Firm in Your Sexual Orientation (@Indomitable Bai Luo-Gift King (3/5))
How did you get out?
Sarah's Consciousness Entity stood under a huge ancient tree, startled to see Zero One Zero inexplicably appear in her territory.
That ancient tree was the sacred tree of the Jianjia Civilization, much smaller than the Life Tree, and it was Sarah's favorite resting place when her Consciousness Descent. Its canopy covered half the sky, its roots were embedded deep into the planet, and its leaves rustled in the wind.
Zero One Zero stood at the highest point of the tree canopy, barefoot, stepping on a swaying leaf, watching her with a smile.
"Miss Sarah, why are you, a young woman, meddling in so many things? I'm only here to make a deal with you. It'll benefit both of us."
Zero One Zero smiles.
"... What kind of deal?"
Sarah ignored Zero One Zero's offense; she knew Zero One Zero had mental issues.
Zero One Zero jumped down from the leaf and landed in front of her. His body turned into a puddle of soft mud upon landing, then quickly returned to its original state.
"Help me solve my lower body problem."
Sarah's lips twitched slightly as she used her Talent to Sealing her emotions, lest she be angered by Zero One Zero's foolish remarks.
"Be firm in your sexual orientation. Aren't you gay?"
"Yes, I think [Jian] is pretty good, pretty boy. I need your help, and you'll definitely get the reward you want."
"Target [Jin]? I don't think that's a good idea. He won't be blind to it." Sarah waved her hand dismissively, indicating she didn't want to cause any more trouble.
Everything is going well so far; our civilization is thriving, and the overall situation is relatively stable.
"Seeing something doesn't necessarily mean remembering it," Zero One Zero uttered the key point, a meaningful smile playing on her lips. "Miss Sarah, you are [silence's] natural nemesis."
Sarah instantly understood his meaning. By Sealing [Silence] through the Future timeline, he wasn't Sealing his actions, but Sealing his memories.
He is forbidden from bringing back information about the Future. If [Jian] sees the Future but doesn't remember it upon waking, then his Future Sight is not absolute.
"Whenever I see [Jin]'s Consciousness Entity in the Future, I will Sealing his ability to remember your actions?"
"Oh, right. Miss Sarah is incredibly clever."
"I refuse, and I will tell [them]."
Sarah's rational judgment prevailed. She didn't want to get involved in this conflict, didn't want to offend either side, and only wanted her civilization to weather the Continued Battle peacefully. Not governing a civilization didn't mean she wanted to court death.
"Tell [Jian]? He's already lost, and now he's pinning his hopes on a comeback and just surviving. If you follow him, you'll get crushed by Tracing Light in no time."
He raised his hand, and a huge dynamic chessboard appeared out of thin air. The chessboard was dotted with stars, with the white stones represented by the scholar and the black stones represented by [] occupying half of the board.
The pieces are not static, but constantly moving. As time passes, the black and white pieces are evenly matched. If a white piece advances an inch, a black piece will advance an inch in return; if a white piece captures a piece, a black piece will replace it.
But in a sudden instant, the white pieces surged forward, surrounding and engulfing the black pieces. It was an almost one-sided massacre; in just a few breaths, nearly all the black pieces were devoured, leaving only a few remnants clinging to life at the edge of the board.
"This information is verifiable; you're welcome to check it out." Zero One Zero's smile continued.
A stream of information flowed instantly across the chess pieces on the board: relevant times, places, people, and events. Sarah even saw that several white pieces were other civilizations themselves.
Tracing Light even controlled the high-ranking officials of several civilizations, which seems a bit too sinister. Didn't their Survivors notice?
Sarah stared silently at the chessboard Zero One Zero had pulled out, pondering for a long time.
"Where did you get this information? You probably don't even have this much information as someone who can foresee the Future." Sarah snapped out of her daze. Where did Zero One Zero get this information from?
Furthermore, Zero One Zero's affirmation of the effectiveness of her Talent, along with suggestions on its application, are things that cannot be guessed.
"There's more than one player with information-gathering Talent on this field. I was just tricked before."
Zero One Zero's smile faltered slightly, and she shook her head before continuing.
"Your biggest need is to improve your basic Attributes. I'm telling you, the Scholar can solve that, whether it's through collaborative civilizational improvements or methods among Survivors. He has the expertise, but you'll need to negotiate it yourself..."
After the eighteenth observation ended, the first decision [Jian] made was to abandon the Abyssal Depth Civilization.
I'll endure the Yuanshen and the infamy!
Since the intended effect cannot be achieved, and the outcome is merely a matter of barely surviving, then there is no need to abide by the Contract signed with that armored guy anymore.
He has his own ways to avoid the consequences; he wouldn't sign this Contract if he couldn't escape punishment. Only that dimwit in armor would be completely confident in his own abilities.
Completely wipe out the Abyssal Depth Civilization, use those resources and energy to strengthen the Heavenly Sun Zerg, deploy the Silent Civilization's fleet and the [Gate of Aberrants] into the Zerg battlefield, make advance arrangements, steal that strange device that can annihilate the Zerg, and gamble on a turnaround in the Zerg battlefield.
He had learned about that device; it was lethal to most Zerg. If he could master it, he would have an absolute advantage on the Zerg battlefield.
At the same time, he tried to maintain the division of the Mechanical Civilization, attempted to manipulate the Mechanical Civilization's war, and diverted as much of Tracing Light's energy and judgment as possible.
After the collapse of the Virtual World of the Mechanical Civilization, those homeless Consciousness Entity became the best pawns. They needed a backer, and the Silent Civilization could provide that. If handled properly, they could build their own power on the ruins of the Mechanical Civilization.
History has repeatedly shown that if conventional hot wars are unwinnable, it is best to approach the issue from other angles, such as ideological warfare, economic warfare, and influence warfare.
However, none of these wars could defeat the Tracing Light, whose strength is so great that no form of asymmetric warfare can shake its foundations. The Silent Civilization can only try to divert its attention by constantly opening other battlefields and avoid direct conflict.
"What else, what else..." [Jian] held his head, trying to figure out what else he could do to salvage the situation.
Previously, [the author] observed the situation on the field and concluded that it was a corner-shaped, curved formation.
To survive, he must fight for outside resources and preserve his strength!
Preserve your pieces outside the main battlefield to ensure survival. Use unconventional tactics to disrupt the enemy's plans and deter Tracing Light moves. Then, find a balance of power to secure a favorable outcome.
But...
There was a glimmer of hope, but it always felt like I couldn't grasp it.
He now had a strong feeling, like riding a long water slide in a water park, and in the instant he turned a corner, he found that the people in front of him had shrunk off, turning the road ahead into a golden kingdom.
It struggled with all its might to stop the descent, but could only watch helplessly as it was covered in yellow breadcrumbs.
That feeling of powerlessness is even more suffocating than outright failure.