Azure Planet Under Sniper Fire

The more Li Aoz listened, the stranger it seemed.

The Galaxy Civilization?

The Fenes Federation? The more I hear this, the more I get a strange sense of déjà vu.

Then he heard Wendy say leisurely:

"In a way, this is our good fortune. The Fairy Spirit Planetary Belt has not yet been recognized by the Interstellar Alliance, but our Empire has discovered a planet with an indigenous civilization. As long as we cultivate and make contact with them slowly, we can see them fly out of their home planet and officially become a 'civilization' in just two hundred years."

"If I may ask a question," Li Aoz said, "Doesn't the Interstellar Convention prohibit the support and cultivation of uncivilized civilizations? I remember very clearly that only those who have made their own efforts to leave their home planet are recognized as 'civilizations'."

"You don't understand, do you? Conventions are meant to bind civilized communities that abide by the rules. If you really want to break them, just drag a civilization that hasn't signed the convention down with you, wouldn't that solve the problem?"

Wendy gave Li Aoz a meaningful look:

"The war between the Crystal Tower and the Night Butterfly Federation is meaningless in the eyes of the bigwigs in the Abyss, but it is very meaningful that a civilization like yours, which is not recognized, has survived to this day."

"Since you're so pretty and well-mannered, I'll tell you about the unspoken rules of the Abyss Civilization."

"We all know that Narrative-level Civilization have the final say, but there is more than one Narrative-level Civilization in the Star Abyss. In this universe, there are six layers of Star Abyss, and the narrative civilization ranks thirteenth, with three layers of Abyss alone. Under such circumstances, if Narrative-level Civilization directly engage in large-scale warfare, it is very easy for others to take advantage of the situation and fight each other, while other slightly inferior civilizations will reap the benefits."

To help Li Aoz understand, she made a special analogy. "The first, second and third in the grade got into a fight, a life-or-death struggle, using all sorts of dirty tricks—in the end, the three of them ended up in the hospital, and the fourth, fifth and sixth students took over. By the time they recovered, a new order and distribution of benefits had been formed, and naturally there was no place for them anymore."

"Therefore, the three major narratives of the Layered Abyss actually implicitly reach a consensus: to jointly annex and expand the Layered Abyss, to only compete and not wage war. To sit back and watch the civilizations below fight amongst themselves, while the Narrative-level Civilization do not participate at all."

"This is different from your proxy wars. Wars between civilizations are not beneficial to Narrative-level. On the contrary, they may attract the arrival of [societies]. But if a war really breaks out, civilizations will feel threatened and will have to find new backers. This will inevitably attract Narrative-level Civilization."

"I think I understand what you mean: for Narrative-level Civilization, war itself is meaningless. It would be better to provide the Interstellar Alliance to various civilizations, so that they can abide by the Game Rules set by the three major narrative powers in normal times. Once a real crisis of national extinction occurs, they will surely turn to Narrative-level Civilization."

Li Aoz somewhat understood what she meant.

Although this idea is somewhat naive and innocent, based on Li Aoz's many years of experience, it does indeed fit her statement.

However... Narrative-level Civilization are not incapable of fighting.

"That's exactly the point. The real work of expanding territory and conquering cities is done by the subordinate civilizations of Narrative-level Civilization, while the core citizens of the civilization are always building and developing in the rear. Our De Sitis Family is undertaking this glorious mission after entering the Empire."

Aren't you afraid I'll leak your secrets?

Wendy raised her chin and said proudly:

"Leaking secrets? How many people in the Crystal Tower Civilization know the truth about Narrative-level Civilization? Even if you told them, no one would believe you. Besides, our family's power is enough to erase all the impact you've brought."

"Alright, you guys are good."

Li Aoz was speechless, but he was still curious. "Since you are from the Imperial family, why did you come to study on our White Candle Star?"

"It's convenient." Wendy didn't bother to hide anything. "Your place is too close to the Andromeda Planet Belt. The Fenes Federation's fleet is always patrolling the star system within 30 light-years. I think it would only take me two days to get home. Why not come and enjoy the unique cultural landscape of the Magic Civilization?"

Li Aoz's eyes flickered.

When the other party mentioned the Fenes Federation's fleet patrolling, he had already guessed some things.

The so-called Andromeda Planet Belt is actually the unnamed supernova cluster where the Azure Planet is located.

[The entire plot of the game from my past life was indeed not shown.]

While on Azure Planet, Alexia had found a book of cutting-edge knowledge called "Genetic Engineering," which, for Azure Planet, was a product capable of overturning the entire civilization.

Li Aoz learned this knowledge and was certain that it was not a product native to Azure Planet at all.

Judging from Alexia's performance, the Amirelio Federation, which also receives aid from the Fenes Federation, possesses professional-level or higher knowledge—her conversation with Wendy corroborates this.

The predecessor of GTB was an organization that facilitated contact between the Azure Planet and extraterrestrial civilizations.

Entropy, [The Imitation Society], [The Hidden Society]...

Even back then, Li Aoz had already begun to suspect that the situation on Azure Planet was not so simple.

[The Malefic Calamity is the mind of Entropy. As soon as Yamiliao Ke acquired the advanced knowledge, Entropy unleashed a mental storm, using the Malefic Calamity to blockade the entire globe.]

This logic is not difficult to understand.

If Entropy felt its life was threatened and thus unleashed a mental storm, causing the Malefic Calamity to seal off extraterrestrial communication instead of directly destroying surface civilization—this precisely proves that Entropy acted in self-defense.

After going around in circles, you can immediately discover the key points.

[The Heroes Empire must know of Entropy's existence.]

Because they know that Entropy exists, they intentionally try not to stimulate Entropy to erupt and try to minimize the problem as much as possible.

Li Aoz even had a conjecture: Entropy might actually become a valuable asset for Azure Planet.

First, Azure Planet has geographical value and can be used as a strategic springboard to attack the Maxwell Syndicate, an enemy of the Fenes Federation.

Secondly, the existence of Entropy Lord is like planting a time bomb here. Anyone who dares to attack this place will anger Entropy Lord, and everyone will be doomed.

Third, the larvae of Entropy are attractive to society, and may serve as a suitable 'net' to trap and eliminate any threatening society within the empire.

The more Li Aoz thought about it, the more his scalp tingled.

The things he could think of, the empire led by the Philosopher King must have already thought through.

Not only did the Empire know about Entropy, but it also planned to use Entropy—something that players would consider like trying to get something from a tiger, but the Empire not only did it, but even supported pioneers like the Wendy family.

What does this mean? It means that not only is the Empire unharmed, but it has also made a huge profit. Even though the Entropy King incident has already been exposed, the families involved in the expansion still made a fortune.

That would basically prove that blowing up Azure Planet was a pre-planned scheme by the Empire.

Bomb the planet—relocate refugees—have the Galaxy Civilization specifically take the player away and cultivate them.

This did not remove the Maxwell Syndicate 'Maxwell Syndicate wariness; on the contrary, it fueled their ambition.

After version 5.0, the Fiennes Federation still Maxwell Syndicate.

In the end... after the players officially joined the war, the Maxwell Syndicate announced a ceasefire two versions later and signed a peace agreement, allowing the Fenes Federation to stop its losses in time.

The Empire never intervened, yet it maintained control throughout the entire process, ensuring that no matter how dire the situation became, it remained within the Empire's expectations.

So here's the question.

Who deliberately spreads advanced knowledge here on Azure Planet?

The answer is already quite obvious.

The Empire will not self-destruct its projects or deliberately cause a disaster. The Fenes Federation does not want to lose the Azure Planet. The Galaxy Civilization has always acted only as an executor conveying the Empire's will.

Society cannot share knowledge with humanity.

Therefore, there is only one suspect left.

Li Aoz tilted his head slightly, his gaze serious.

—The Maxwell Syndicate.