The Secrets of Civilization

Ocean Planet - Medusa

The entire planet is made of liquid, and as far as the eye can see, there is an endless expanse of ocean.

The gravity here is 76 times that of the planet Mechanoid, which is close to the red line for migrating planets.

The standard for this red line is whether an ordinary carbon-based life form falling onto this planet would be crushed and killed instantly.

If it is crushed, it will be marked as a planet (uninhabitable) by the interstellar immigration bureau. Only after undergoing terraforming under the planet's gravity can this mark be removed.

At this moment, under 76 times the gravity, the surface of the body of the high-tech worker appears blood red, which means that the blood flows very fast, so as to maintain the normal operation of the human body system.

The colony's body transformed into a "bodysuit," half covering the surface of the body and half covering the various internal organs, making the senior engineer almost a purely mechanical life form.

At this moment, the senior engineer hovered on the sea surface, holding a large gun. The carbon atom reactor on his chest was running wildly, and the large gun in his hand was buzzing.

Under such immense gravity, each wave brings pressure comparable to that of a high-speed train crashing into you.

Faced with this situation, the engineer's back opened up with thirty-six "devil's jet nozzles," which were evenly distributed on his arms, thighs, and waist. The focus was on his waist. Ancient spear techniques emphasized the unity of man and horse, and the "horse" was the waist. At this moment, the engineer's waist had at least ten engines installed.

A huge, dark wave crashed in.

With a loud shout, the senior engineer took a sudden step forward with his right foot, creating a sonic boom. A long white streak shot from his feet directly to the sea surface. Using the reaction force, the five-meter-long spear jerked upwards, its tip scorching hot as it rubbed against the air with powerful momentum.

The dragon raises its head!

The wave, with a force 76 times that of gravity, exploded into a spray of water.

Countless water droplets transformed into mosaics in the air.

One huge wave after another crashed in.

Each time a wave crashed in, the senior engineer would change position, sometimes flicking, sometimes slashing, using his sonic boom gun to blast the wave apart.

Suddenly, the senior engineer's gaze sharpened, and the next moment, countless fleshy buds shot out from his palm, coiling around the gun like snakes, while energy nozzles appeared at the gun's joints.

Bathed in the glow of energy, the gun's body turned pure gold, resembling a melee energy weapon.

Melee energy weapons are rarer and more technologically advanced than energy guns.

In the temporary state of "human and gun combined", this steel flag seemed to have broken through its limit and reached the level of an energy weapon.

This wave was even bigger than the previous ones, resembling a giant wall, with an overwhelming force, and the top was not visible to the naked eye.

The senior engineer gripped the large gun with both hands, veins bulging on his arms as large amounts of flesh were drawn from other parts of his body and injected into it, making his arms, which were gripping the gun, thicker than his thighs.

His left leg began to retreat, changing from a horse stance to a bow stance, and the base of his spear was planted in the sea, forming a chevaux-de-frise position.

Under the immense force of gravity, the seawater was compressed to a state close to solid.

It came straight at you, just like a wall.

When the spear tip pierced the water wall, it actually produced a series of sparks, making the entire spear look like a fire dragon swimming in the water.

Towering waves, raging storms, rolling dark clouds, and swirling eddies.

The senior engineer was pushed backward, his entire figure seemingly submerged in the giant waves.

In the shimmering water, the light from the carbon atom reactor grew brighter and brighter. When the light reached its peak, the boundless waves, like ice, began to crack with countless fissures. Then, with a roar that surpassed human voice, the ice exploded!

At the same time, the whole world exploded.

[Your body has been tempered by the planet's environment; Strength +3, Endurance +2]

[Your marksmanship has improved.]

"Depend on!

The senior engineer looked at the smoking environment simulator and let out a long sigh of relief.

Wasn't the Empire's equipment supposed to be durable? How come it couldn't hold up at a crucial moment?

Just a little bit more, just a little bit more, and I would have been able to break through to the 'Excellent' level of spearmanship without needing to specialize.

During those five days, he spent most of his time here, using planetary environment simulation technology to train his physical body, resulting in an increase of 10 points in strength and 13 points in endurance.

Unfortunately, this thing is an old piece of equipment, and it fails at crucial moments.

He ripped the television-sized environmental simulator off his shoulder and held it in his palm. Only then did the senior engineer realize that it had grown much larger, nearly four meters tall, with its head touching the ceiling, its arms and legs as thick as pillars, and a reactor the size of a 'small mole'.

A quick glance at the panel confirmed that it had indeed entered the 'complete form' state again.

Generally speaking, to reach the "complete form", one needs to be in a high-radiation environment like a beast tide.

But now with carbon atom reactors, we no longer need to rely on external sources for energy.

With repeated training, his bloodline has gradually approached that of a 'multi-planetary creature,' and the 'complete form' has gradually transformed from a high-level skill into a regular skill.

A quick glance at the panel revealed that, sure enough, the description for "Complete Form" had changed.

Complete Form (Bloodline Preferred): Your body contains the bloodline of a high-level radiant beast. Fully unleash your bloodline and you will gain immense power; in this transformed state, your Strength, Agility, Stamina, Intelligence, and Perception will all be doubled, your Bio-Energy will be increased by 10, your Mechanical Energy by 10, and all your body parts will be enhanced.

The description no longer mentions a time limit, but after glancing at the reactor with its energy reduced to 50%, the senior engineer figured that if it were a normal transformation, the duration should be between 30 and 60 minutes, depending on the enemy.

The senior engineer sighed as he glanced at the enormous size of the "Hulk".

"Too bad I don't have any underwear."

Ten minutes later, the senior engineer returned to human form, wearing a new set of clothes, and walked out of the spaceship's core carrying the 'Environment Simulator'.

In the garden, Valkyrie was playing with her Valkyries with a beaming smile, while a dozen girls followed behind her with indifferent expressions, seemingly not playing, but rather intending to devour her.

Upon seeing the senior engineer, Valkyrie's eyes lit up, and she flew over and plopped down on his shoulder.

The engineer looked at the girls. In just a few days, these girls had grown from one year old to about three years old. Although their defects had not healed, their complexion had improved a lot.

I can probably move around for about 10 minutes a day.

This is the effect of the bright red blood vessels.

Unfortunately, genetic defects are still genetic defects, and they only become more severe with age.

There's no way the senior engineer would give up on a martial god legion whose members are all gifted in spatial manipulation.

However, we can only see if there is a solution once he reaches level 20 in "Biologist".

"Let's go find your Aunt Du."

The senior engineer led Valkyrie ahead, while the girls followed silently behind, looking like adorable puppets.

In the laboratory at Huoyanguan, the senior engineer found Director Du.

Director Du looked at the 'environmental simulator' in the other person's hand and said with dissatisfaction, "It's broken again. Didn't I tell you to be careful when using it? These old materials are hard to find. Old Bing has some left."

"This will not happen again, this will not happen again."

After complaining, Director Du habitually took the "Environment Simulator," then saw Valkyrie and managed a weak smile.

Although she no longer has the "Aunt Xue's face," Director Du still doesn't have a good impression of Senior Engineer, this "illegitimate daughter."

Valkyrie played by herself, oblivious to everything else. In her mind, apart from the senior engineer being her kind and the "Valkyrie" being her playmate, everyone else was just food. What else could she say to food?

The senior engineer sighed. It seemed that the relationship between the two was doomed to fail. He was even planning to entrust Valkyrie to them after he left.

Let's leave it to the young women.

At this moment, Professor Han pushed open the curtain and came out. He saw the senior engineer and handed him a thick stack of documents.

"The information about 'God' has been compiled."

[Gene hybrid *2]

The senior engineer only glanced at it briefly before receiving a system notification.

"However, I'm afraid I can't do anything about the other party's gene fragments."

"Why?" The senior engineer looked up. "Because it can't be created."

Professor Han shook his head.

"Ordinary people have 12 gene chains, but this 'god' only has one. However, it is a gene network that connects all cells. If a part is cut off, the special abilities of the other parts will disappear."

"Unless you replicate a complete 'god,' it's virtually impossible to replicate his abilities."

The senior engineer nodded thoughtfully. If it were really that easy, the Holy Brain Group wouldn't have let 'God' lay eggs on its own.

"So, 'God' is useless now?"

"Yes."

The senior engineer pointed at Valkyrie, who looked behind her and cried out a few times.

The indifferent girl's eyes suddenly showed excitement as they entered the laboratory.

Soon, the sound of chewing could be heard from inside.

[Quest complete, Experience +100,000, Firelands Reputation +5,000, Title: Godslayer (Fake)]

Godslayer (Pseudo): Any artificial divine being will feel a trace of fear in your presence.

[Mission Rewards: Mechanical Puzzle Fragment (1/5)*1, Civilization Secret*1, Low-Level Genetically Modified Barracks*1]

The "Low-Level Genetically Modified Barracks" is a large blueprint. Generally, such large blueprints cannot be obtained through "Professional Knowledge" alone; they require the merging of "Professional Knowledge Chains."

The senior engineer plans to hand it over to Director Du to see if there are any areas for improvement.

If we could produce Flame Boys without using human blood, that would be pretty good. We can never have too many cannon fodder.

Soon, one by one, girls came out, bloodstains at the corners of their mouths.

After consuming the "god," their physical defects were significantly improved.

"These people are—"

"The immature 'gene fusions' are called 'godslayers' by the Holy Brain Group."

Professor Han looked interested. "Interesting. I'll take a look."

Night

The senior engineer opened his eyes, tucked Director Du's smooth shoulder into the blanket, quietly got out of bed, walked to the balcony, opened the system interface, and clicked on 'Civilization Hidden'.

The next moment, consciousness seemed to be sucked away, pulled from the earth to the atmosphere, then skipped over the clean, white atmosphere and landed in an exploration-type spaceship.

Then, the senior engineer saw a familiar scene, but this time, in the "spaceship core," there were 10 Imperial soldiers.

The only thing these Imperial soldiers had in common was that they all had an "embedded energy engine" installed in their abdomens. These engines were all products of Level 6 mechanical blueprints, and could not only be used as "reactors" but also as auxiliary power systems when piloting mechs.

However, these 'engines' are not as small as carbon atom reactors, which makes the endoskeleton of Imperial soldiers look like the exoskeleton of ordinary people. They all look burly and strong, with the shortest one being 2.5 meters tall.

"Finally, another star line has been completed," an Imperial soldier said, taking a sip of his drink with a very relaxed demeanor.

"This time we've made quite a haul. We have a gaseous planet filled with methane, which can serve as an interstellar relay station. And a desert planet, which, while not suitable for colonization, can still be used to build an alien base."

"We've already passed through the atmosphere, so let's not talk about official business. It's an interstellar exploration trip every ten years. I wonder how my family is doing," a bearded Imperial soldier sighed.

"You're afraid your wife will cheat on you, huh? Oh, sorry, you don't have a wife."

"Who said I don't have a wife?" the bearded man said, puffing out his beard and glaring. "I have a whole closet full of wives. I just don't know if they've gathered dust or are still usable after ten years."

"Have you heard? The Empire has developed androids that can be equipped with personality chips. Your wives are obsolete."

"Wouldn't that be even better? He'd get promoted, make a fortune, and lose his wife; one-third of his life would be complete in an instant."

A group of Imperial soldiers were laughing at each other when suddenly, an alarm sounded.

Without the slightest pause, these soldiers instantly transformed into well-trained war machines, and on the exploration ship, energy turrets lit up one after another.

Suddenly, the voice of artificial intelligence rang out.

"Cancel alert. Command level - Level 4. Target: Imperial Ministry of the Interior."

"Ministry of Internal Affairs?"

"Why would they come to our door?"

"Those machine-crazy lunatics!"

With the sound of an air pump, the mechanical door opened, and three robots dressed in black trench coats walked in. Their bright red electronic eyes scanned the area before landing on the highest-ranking colonel.

"Colonel Richard, according to imperial military orders, I need to temporarily requisition your ship."

"Please allow me to refuse. We are an exploration vessel of the outer space exploration force, and we only obey the orders of the space command center. I need to notify my superiors."

Colonel Richard had just grabbed the communicator when the robot grabbed his arm.

"That probably won't work; it's a secret order."

"Then I must say I cannot obey orders," Colonel Richard's face also turned cold, and the other Imperial soldiers, seeing this, also drew their weapons.

"You don't trust us?" the robot asked calmly.

"It's not that I don't believe it, but the imperial spies in the Ministry of Internal Affairs have all undergone the most rigorous transformations and it's impossible for them to betray us."

"However, without General Xiao Yuanjun's orders, I refuse to carry out tasks from other departments."

The Imperial Spy remained silent. Amidst the piercing alarm, a sudden burst of red light illuminated the interior of the cabin.

"Boss, they're hacking into the ship's AI system!"

Richard closed his eyes, and the next moment, a socket appeared on the back of his head, from which an electronic tube emerged and connected to the ship's hull.

Similarly, electron tubes protruded from the back of every Imperial soldier's head.

"The first-generation brain-computer interface still has some of the performance of a biological computer, which is interesting."

The senior engineer observed this and muttered to himself.

The two sides seemed to be engaged in a hacker-level confrontation. The lights on the spaceship were flashing red and green. Several times, the senior engineer saw the energy turrets turn around, with their muzzles pointing directly at the command room.

This is typical imperial style; they're so ruthless even to their own people.

After a long while, it seemed that the hacker battle had come to a conclusion, the lights turned green, and the mechanical door slammed shut.

Although he showed no expression, the "Emperor Spy" was clearly flustered.

"It seems we'll have to have a serious talk in a military court," Richard said with a triumphant smile.

"No, we can't go to a military court; you'll regret it!"

"If it really is an official matter for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, you can shut down the entire spaceship at any time, hack into the space management system, and even requisition warships without authorization. How dare you! Who exactly is backing you!?"

"It's me."

An aged voice suddenly rang out from the Emperor Disc.

"General, this is impossible!?"

Unfortunately, as the spaceship's screen lit up, an old yet dignified military face appeared, and the Imperial soldiers looked at each other in bewilderment.

"General, what's wrong with you—" Richard asked in astonishment.

"Let me speak," a pale-faced young man next to the general said with a smile.

This young man exuded an indescribable air of nobility, and his eyes seemed to penetrate people's hearts. In the eyes of the senior engineer, this was the embodiment of top-notch mechanical skill.

"Your Highness!?"

"Colonel, I can't tell you too much, but I can tell you that this is a top-secret experiment that concerns the future of the Empire. You can take the spaceship, but I need the intelligent core on board."

Richard was stunned for a moment, then said, "This, this—"

"Richard, do as the Crown Prince orders!" the old general said in a deep voice.

"Can I know what kind of experiment it is?" Richard asked, forcing himself to speak.

"If the experiment succeeds, you will naturally know what it is," the Black Prince said leisurely. "It is the only way for us to escape this disaster."

The next moment, everything spun around him. When the senior engineer came to his senses, he realized that it was already dawn. Director Du had walked up behind him and gently massaged his shoulder.

"Disaster, that advanced mechanical civilization?"

"The only way to escape disaster?"

The senior engineer muttered to himself.

"Ascension?"

Although the senior engineer wouldn't dare say he knew all the secrets of this game universe, such as how players were caught through the internet, he had absolutely no idea.

But at the very least, his knowledge is far superior to that of this native prince.

There has always been only one way for a lower civilization to escape from a higher civilization: civilizational ascension.

But that's impossible. Civilization ascension is something only a level 3 civilization can achieve. The Empire is just a level 2 civilization that hasn't fully developed yet, so how could it have achieved ascension?

Were we fooled by aliens?

Or is it that the Black Prince at this time of time has been impersonated?

However, since it is called "Civilization Secrets", this "experiment" must be related to the destruction of the empire, or even the Second Mechanical War.

Moreover, he obtained a clue—General Xiao Yuanjun.

This old man must know about this experiment.

And his surname is Xiao.

"What are you thinking about?" Director Du asked gently.

The senior engineer didn't answer; with a deft flick of his finger, the thin veil behind him fell down.

"There's no use in overthinking. It's early in the morning, so why not get some exercise?"

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