Interstellar Communication 61

—I heard strange sounds from beyond the universe.

Li Aoz slowly turned around to receive Gravity Wave information emitted from various super-large celestial bodies.

Listening to the voices of celestial bodies is the hidden ability of the [Echoer].

The most powerful aspect of the Echo is that, as an information point, it can compensate for the inability to achieve ultra-long-distance communication in the early stages and promptly detect abnormal signals emitted by celestial bodies.

This is an advantage that other advanced professions do not have, but the debuff that prevents the learning of extraordinary knowledge is really too awful, resulting in a terrible player experience.

In addition, the passive effect of Sequence 77, [Calamity], allows Li Aoz to clearly perceive the signs that disaster is about to occur.

With the combination of these two factors, Li Aoz's perception of the universe became incredibly powerful. At that moment, he clearly heard an inexplicable and eerie sound coming from a certain nebula.

To call it slaughter would be far too efficient; billions of people simultaneously emitting agonizing screams echoing throughout the universe—a truly Terror. But if it was a natural disaster, the Gravity Wave containing signals from thousands upon thousands of well-organized troops clearly indicate a man-made catastrophe.

A planet has fallen.

It wasn't a fall in the usual sense. In Li Aoz's perception, the planet was completely swallowed up, digested, and merged into something else.

This method was so familiar that Li Aoz immediately recognized the perpetrator.

"... [society]."

Li Aoz said in a deep voice:

"There was a planetary-level civilization that was swallowed up by [society]."

He quietly sensed the Gravity Wave, which continuously brought him messages.

"No, this momentum... there's probably more than one."

Li Aoz's expression was grave.

"At the same time, it seems that other civilizations were also being eroded by [society]."

Li Aoz looked at Flana:

"I opened the star chart, and something feels off!"

Flana quickly unfolded the star map, Li Aoz stepped forward to locate the signal source region based on the Gravity Wave location.

"The Sogtor Civilization of the ' Heroes Empire ' - Gerlingge Nebula - Morpheus Planet - Hmm, the signal is fairly clear. The ' Heroes Empire ' retaliated immediately and will expel them soon."

"Huating Constellation - Unrecognized Planetary Civilization - PT102 Planet - What a tragedy, it was swallowed up in an instant, without any Power of Resistance."

"Besides these two, this place has also been eroded by [society]. D-61-77 Planet in the Boleilia Supercluster, which the ' United Company ' recently acquired, is probably a religious planet developed by Red King's followers. It's not in any major danger and is still in the process of invasion, but the pace is very slow. It will be driven out sooner or later."

Li Aoz was slightly relieved; this wasn't a big deal.

[Society] does not hunt regularly, but only occasionally, on a whim, infiltrates civilizations that it takes a liking to.

The problem isn't too big, except for extremely weak planetary civilizations that haven't established diplomatic relations with the universe. The other civilizations are all affiliated, affiliated, or cooperative with Narrative-level Civilization, so there's basically nothing to worry about.

Although the Interstellar Alliance is mostly a place for Narrative-level Civilization to engage in verbal sparring and bickering, it is also the most reliable and only source of support for weaker civilizations.

Having entered the Interstellar Alliance, there's no need to fear too much about [Society] infiltration. Besides, [Society] doesn't succeed in infiltration every time. For example, sometimes after a century of infiltration, the civilization itself will enter a nuclear war and disintegrate, and [Society] will naturally disappear.

"And this one, the harm isn't serious yet. It's estimated that the [society] itself just flashed by, releasing a few councilors and citizens. It's probably a widespread scheme..."

As soon as Li Aoz finished speaking, he noticed the name of the planet: "Galaxy Eye Edge - Crystal Civilization - White Candle Star".

"Isn't that my university?" If he weren't brainless, Li Aoz have felt his eyelids twitching.

Half of his business is currently idle on White Candle Star, but who knew that the "Society" would have its eyes on this place.

Fortunately, he changed jobs quickly and noticed the problem in time.

The situation isn't serious right now... he can take care of it all when he gets back.

"Uh, what happened? Even though you don't have a brain, I have a feeling you're not in a good mood..."

"Flana asked, puzzled."

"It's probably because the [societies] have started invading civilization, and the Narrative-level Civilization has initiated its counterattack program. It's not a big problem."

After some estimation, Li Aoz concluded that the most likely entity to invade White Candle Star was the [Machine World Society] Mash Gergang, as it was active in the star field surrounding the Galaxy Eye year-round.

[Society] In addition to classifying the body into large, medium and small sizes based on its physical size, there is also a clearer functional classification method.

Broadly speaking, there are three types of societies:

Raiders – These types of societies are often characterized by their powerful core and exceptionally strong leader, but they are not adept at concealing their presence. When invading civilizations, they employ tactics similar to 'island hopping,' ordering their 'citizens' to wait for the opportune moment so that their core can descend and use its overwhelming advantage to forcefully devour the civilization.

The predators are the absolute overlords of society, standing at the very top of the food chain in the entire Star Abyss. They often prey on weaker members of society for fun, devouring them alive.

However, generally speaking, because the predator [society] has a distinct physical form and terrifying destructive power, the more vigilant a civilization is, the more likely it is to discover the predator's 'citizens' in the early stages of infiltration, thus making the threat less terrifying.

The Lurker – A stealthy type of [society] entity with a small base but extremely strong concealment abilities, making it impossible for anyone to discover its location. The Speaker's strength is not outstanding, relying heavily on the number of 'citizens' while focusing on infiltrating and usurping control of the civilization. Ultimately, the Speaker manifests in their true form, continuously absorbing the civilization's resources in a steady and sustainable manner.

These types of societies are numerous and represent a common way for small societies to survive.

Most civilizations would find it difficult to resist such infiltrators, but on the other hand, if the infiltration of the infiltrators' 'citizens' is detected early on, it is still relatively easy to repel them.

As for the infiltrators themselves, they often become food for the predators whose infiltration attempts have failed.

Parasites – This type of [social] has mediocre abilities in concealing their form and Combat Power, but they are often extremely large and loosely packed. They often exist as 'cultural memes', parasitizing civilizations and growing together with them.

Although it sounds pretty good at first glance, as if civilization has actually made a profit.

However, the cultural memes of parasites usually hold an absolutely dominant position. The longer it drags on, the more unable the civilization becomes to sever its dependence on the parasitic [society]. In the end, the entire civilization will exist in name only, becoming nothing more than a blood bag for the parasitic [society].

Of these three types of societies, the parasite is the most despicable. For weak civilizations, they cannot resist the invasion of a dominant culture, and for powerful Interstellar Civilization, they cannot use force to expel or stop the continued parasitism of the society.

Narrative-level Civilization do have ways to deal with parasites, but it's a kind of drastic measure, like a warrior cutting off his own arm.

[Machine World Society] Mash Gergang is active in the Galaxy Eye area and is a small to medium-sized [society] with a distinguished record and strong strength.

The main reason is that there are few Marauder-type [societies] in this abyss, and its terrifying appearance makes it easy to be discovered, so it is quite famous.

Based on Li Aoz's memories, Mash Gergang has a history of devouring planetary civilizations in the Galaxy Eye, so it is highly likely.

However, it cannot be ruled out that they are like the "Imitation Society," who focus too much on infiltration but are actually weak in Combat Power.

It's unlikely to be a parasite, because parasites are not easy to find or remove, and removing them can cause internal chaos, leaving you with no way to deal with them.

Most importantly... parasitic societies are really not well-received in a single-ethnic civilization like the Crystal Tower. The Crystal Tower is a pure Magic Civilization, and it is also a materialistic society. The single-ethnicity society, coupled with war, has made nationalism extremely high, and it does not recognize any foreign cultures.

Flana's understanding of [Society] was limited to stereotypical images of predators, and she was somewhat afraid. "Holy Ancestor Ymir... [Society] is invading, so should we go back?"

"Don't go back yet." Li Aoz shook his head. "Let's change course and go to the Vanlenkov Autonomous State."

"The mercenary city-states aren't that far away."

Flana nodded, immediately returned to the pilot's seat, changed the coordinates, and steered the spaceship to a different destination.

Society dares to target me? They're dreaming.

For Li Aoz, White Candle Star was his for the taking. From the very beginning, he intended to use it as a central hub to help his players continuously advance into the universe.

The Teleportation Node on White Candle Star are so convenient; they're practically designed for players to seamlessly enter the universe.

Moreover, it is an important educational center where Li Aoz can recruit many high-quality talents. After players receive education and training here, they become excellent sources of soldiers, and it is even his smuggling port.

It wasn't White Candle Star at all; it was practically robbing Li Aoz's personal treasury! With plenty of time to spare, Li Aoz gritted his teeth and went straight to complete the Side Quest, obtaining the [Stratum Advancement Ticket] and returning home as Delta-rank individual.

As for his sudden change in attitude and strength, after weighing the pros and cons, Li Aoz made a decisive choice.

"I'm sorry, Qiu Ran, I can't go to university again."

If his identity is exposed, he can simply run the Heroes Empire directly, but he can't possibly give away the resources and geographical location of White Candle Star.

Currently, the White Candle Star should still have the Kappa-rank in charge, but Li Aoz remembers that in a few years, the Kappa-rank will be transferred to participate in the brutal Galaxy Eye Meat Grinder. After this war, the Crystal Tower Civilization and the Night Butterfly Federation will all decline and have to join the Interstellar Alliance, handing over the bureaucrats and officers who violated the convention, and then be ripped off by the Narrative-level Civilization.

Two civilizations that originally had the hope of advancing to the star cluster level ended up being reduced to third-rate regimes and interstellar rats because of a single planet. The entire universe knows about their crimes and despises them immensely.

The Crystal Tower Civilization was relatively better off; they knew how to reflect on their crimes and erected monuments. In addition, they were a materialistic civilization, which allowed them to thrive in the universe.

The Night Butterfly Federation has completely given up on itself. It seems that in version 13.7, there were already rumors that the Night Butterfly Federation had been corrupted by society. If Li Aoz hadn't traveled through time, he would probably have seen this sinful war criminal civilization completely turn into a monster's puppet soon.

Taking this opportunity, Li Aoz is also preparing to do something.

Send Gravity Wave signals to the civilization of the Azure Planet.

Entropy can easily block all electromagnetic wave communication through the disordered entropy-increasing Malefic Calamity Cloud, but the energy of Gravity Wave will not be lost and can directly penetrate through and be received by the Azure Planet.

However, there are not many Gravity Wave Antenna on the Azure Planet. The few that remain are hidden in a relatively concealed place and are basically sealed off.

Unfortunately, Li Aoz did know that one antenna was still operational. Its location and ownership were somewhat unusual.

" —Nethermark Heavy Industries".