Researching the Super Gene was by no means an easy task. Take Angel Civilization, for example: ever since the Old Angel King assigned this experiment to the Scientific Research Council, they had spent tens of thousands of years and only reached the level of Second-generation Angels. This showed that, with the technology of a Spacefaring Civilization, achieving results in a short time was absolutely impossible.
In Hua Zhen's view, the only reason Felinton could have accomplished this was the intervention of a hostile advanced civilization, one seeking to stir internal unrest within the Angels' jurisdiction. Yet Ya Erman was now saying it had something to do with Ancient Civilization Ruins. His shock was imaginable.
Countless powers stood across the present-day universe, and quite a few civilizations had entered the Gene Era. Aside from Angel Civilization, there was the Horton Civilization, which had been hostile to it for many years, as well as the newly risen Lieyang Civilization.
The histories of these civilizations, even at most, had not exceeded a hundred thousand years. And precisely because of that, the problem arose.
Since the Big Bang, the universe had existed for 13.7 billion years. Compared against such vast data, higher-level civilizations could not possibly have never appeared. The proposal of the profound theory of dark conversion constants, as well as the God River Language spoken of by civilizations today, were all the best proof.
"What's going on? Tell me everything you know in detail!" Hua Zhen said gravely. The appearance of Ancient Civilization Ruins meant this trial was no longer as simple as dealing with Felinton and placating the Old Angel King. Its nature had completely changed, and he could not afford to treat it lightly.
"Your Highness, I've already brought A Lie back..."
Gus's voice suddenly sounded from outside. After pushing open the door, he had intended to say more, but quickly swallowed his words. Seeing Ya Erman kneeling before Hua Zhen, he narrowed his eyes.
"Why did you stop?" Andre asked, holding a food box in his arms as he poked his head into the room.
"Stand guard outside. No one is allowed to come near this place!" Hua Zhen stared unblinkingly at Ya Erman without looking at them.
Gus could not help feeling puzzled. It was certainly surprising that the mole within Felinton Civilization was a northern Region Chief, but there was no need for His Highness to be this serious, was there? Still, he did not dare ask more. After acknowledging the order, he pulled Andre back out carefully.
"All right. It's only you and me here now, and no one will come disturb us. Start talking!"
"Yes, Your Highness..."
After placing a hand over his chest in salute, Ya Erman began recounting the entire matter...
The discovery of the Ancient Civilization Ruins actually dated back to the Old Angel King's Millennial Birthday Celebration eight years ago. Back then, the Second Prince, Hua Tuo, had discovered a Dark Sacred Silver Mine and forged Dark Sacred Silver Weapons far stronger than the Heavenly Palace's Standard Longswords.
He presented them to the Old Angel King as a birthday gift and obtained the authority to mobilize the Heavenly Palace Construction Department. Afterward, he personally led people to search for the mine while releasing the news and issuing a conscription order to the Subordinate Civilizations. Felinton was one of them.
As everyone knew, Dark Sacred Silver was an extremely scarce substance in the universe. Hua Tuo and his men had searched for four years without gaining the slightest result. It was then that an unexpected incident occurred in the Western Territory, where a small outside force suddenly invaded Kunt Civilization.
Fearing that Horton Civilization was behind it, the Second Prince led his troops back to defend the territory. Before leaving, he sternly ordered the Construction Department to find the Dark Sacred Silver Mine regardless of the cost. The scope of conscription expanded, forcing even Region Chiefs like Ya Erman of Felinton to set out personally.
Hard work paid off. In the sixth year, two years ago, the exploration fleet led by Ya Erman finally found the Dark Sacred Silver Mine in a starfield several hundred light-years beyond the Angel Nebula. For a time, everyone was exhilarated and overjoyed.
But there was a saying: extreme joy begets sorrow. On their return journey, they encountered a violent Solar Storm. Apart from Ya Erman's flagship and a handful of escort ships that survived by chance, none of the exploration fleet escaped disaster. The casualties were devastating.
The Solar Storm lasted a long time. Ya Erman ordered the fleet to flee at full speed, and only after accidentally entering the Primitive Planet containing the Ancient Civilization Ruins did they finally escape the crisis...
Hua Zhen interrupted him and asked with a frown, "You're saying... that planet suddenly appeared on your flagship's detection radar? You hadn't detected it at all before then?"
"Uh... that's right, Your Highness. You know that the Construction Department Consul specifically installed a device capable of detecting Dark Energy on our flagships so that we Subordinate Civilizations could search for the Dark Sacred Silver Mine. Yet even so, we still failed to detect that planet!"
Ya Erman recalled, "To escape the Solar Storm's range, our fleet was traveling extremely fast. By the time we saw the planet with our naked eyes, it was already too late to slow down. But just when all of us thought the flagship would crash into the planet and be destroyed, something unexpected happened..."
"What happened?" Hua Zhen asked, raising a brow.
"We found a worm bridge—a gigantic worm bridge that enveloped the entire planet!" Ya Erman swallowed. Even recalling it now, he still found it unbelievable.
"After the fleet rushed into it, aside from the adverse reactions caused by teleportation, nothing happened at all. The Solar Storm in outer space was unimaginably violent, yet the planet was completely unaffected. Our flagship slowed down and landed safely on that planet!"
"A... a gigantic worm bridge that enveloped an entire planet?" Hua Zhen was dumbfounded. Wasn't this technology far too heaven-defying? Such advanced technology would inevitably require immensely powerful wormhole algorithms and computational capacity. To his knowledge, no civilization of the current era could accomplish such a thing.
After collecting himself, he pinched his chin and mulled over Ya Erman's earlier words... A planet enveloped by a gigantic worm bridge, undetectable even by a Dark Energy Detection Device, capable of resisting a powerful Solar Wind... This...
Wait... wait!!
As if he had thought of something, his eyes suddenly widened. He said in disbelief, "Is... is it Wormhole Concealment Technology?!"
"What did you say?" Ya Erman asked, utterly confused.
Hua Zhen waved a hand at him. The matter was too shocking, leaving even his breathing somewhat hurried.
So-called Wormhole Concealment was an advanced application of wormholes. It could be regarded as a Spacetime Distortion Shield. Within the area it protected, no form of attack could achieve its purpose of causing harm. Not only that, it also possessed an optical concealment effect, making it impossible for ordinary Dark Energy Detection Devices to detect.
That was how Hua Zhen's mind explained the technology. How similar it was to the characteristics of the gigantic worm bridge Ya Erman had described. No, it should not be called similar. This was exactly it.
What level was the ancient civilization on that planet...? How could it possibly possess this kind of technology...?
Before you continue