Opposition

"That Zerg appeared out of nowhere, completely beyond our control. We didn't even have time to prepare a beginner's pack for them," Humins, looking somewhat embarrassed and annoyed.

"Is this an alien race?" Cecil asked doubtfully. A race cannot appear out of thin air and develop to the point of waging interstellar war in just over a hundred years, even the most basic kind of interstellar war.

"I don't know. To be honest, given the level of technology they've demonstrated, it wouldn't be easy for them to sneak past our informants and get to where they are now."

The Star Sea Alliance comprises over two hundred races and controls tens of thousands of star systems. These star systems are developed and controlled territories, but the Alliance's true influence extends far beyond that.

For example, in the Riken Star System, before the Riken Race joined the Star Sea Alliance, they were not considered part of the Star Sea Alliance's territory. However, thousands of years ago, the Alliance had already deployed surveillance devices there and would send people to check on them regularly.

There are far too many places like this. The actual coverage area of the Star Sea Alliance should at least double to more than 20,000 star systems.

If we also include deep-space early warning systems and exploration teams, the radiation range is even farther. The Zerg only revealed their warp drive when they went to war with the Star Sea Alliance.

The timing of Humins and Cecil's conversation clearly indicates that the Zerg and the Star Sea Alliance were still in their honeymoon period. Sarah thought for a moment and pinpointed the timeframe of the conversation.

"Humins, what are your speculations about this?"

"Based on the available information, we suspect that the other party is either an outside force pretending to be weak while actually being strong, or a test subject secretly created by some force within the Alliance." Humins thought for a moment and finally spoke.

However, Cecil wasn't as ignorant of the Zerg as Humins imagined. Her beautiful face showed a slight furrow in her brow. "Humins, neither of your two conjectures seems very likely to me."

"Oh? I'd like to hear more about it."

"First of all, if the other party is an outside force, the fact that they could bypass our early warning network means their strength is simply unimaginable. To be honest, even our Epoch Clan probably couldn't get through undetected."

Cecil's words made sense. Most of the external early warning and surveillance devices were made by the Epoch Clan. At the same technological level, these early warning devices would definitely be able to detect Epoch Clan warships. It was impossible for the Epoch Clan to pass through the defensive line they had set up without alerting anyone.

"That makes sense. With such advanced technology, they shouldn't be playing house with primitive people." Humins nodded. With technology surpassing that of the Epoch Clan, the level of technology of the Riken Race was probably no different from that of primitive people.

"Moreover, doing so would not benefit them at all. If they wanted to develop in secret, they shouldn't have disturbed us. After all, we have cultivated this place for millions of years and have a solid foundation. Unless their technology is two generations behind ours, they simply cannot make up for their numerical advantage in a short time. I believe that an advanced civilization would not be so hasty."

"Indeed, if they truly possessed technology surpassing ours, they would surely know who the master of this star system is, and they would certainly not have acted so naively. It seems the first hypothesis can be rejected. So, Cecil, what is the reason for rejecting the second one?" Humins nodded in agreement with Cecil's statement, and then raised a new question.

"Hehe, Humins, you should already have the answer in your heart, right?" Cecil didn't answer the question, but instead chuckled and pushed the question back to him.

Humins shook his head; he understood what Cecil was trying to say. It was the same old story: as the dominant force in this star system, it wouldn't be easy for the Epoch Clan to cause trouble right under their noses.

"While it's not entirely certain yet, I don't think the Zerg were created by our own people."

"Why? It's said that the frequency and density of surveillance there weren't very high before. If some forces wanted to do something there, it wouldn't be impossible."

"Cecil, you haven't truly interacted with the Zerg, nor do you understand them. They are a race with enormous potential, and they're on a completely different technological path from us. They are a treasure in themselves. If they were created by our own people, now that it's been exposed, there's nothing to hide. There's absolutely no need to leave them unclaimed. Unless the experiment failed or there's some huge flaw, but I've been here for quite some time and haven't found that."

"That's strange. How did they get here?" Cecil also looked puzzled.

Humins pondered for a moment, then said, "Actually, I've discovered something else interesting that might explain their origins."

"Can you share it with me?" Cecil asked expectantly.

"Of course, this information is all publicly available, it's just that it's from a very long time ago. I discovered it by chance while looking through the records for that area."

Seeing Cecil's attentive listening expression, Humins smiled and continued, "That's quite a long time ago, even dating back to when the Original Epoch Clan still existed."

"Back then, before the Original Epoch Clan perished, the long-term constraints of technology led them to seek different paths. Among them, a group of researchers from both the Original Epoch Clan and other races explored the path of biotechnology. As their research progressed, they inevitably encountered some ethical issues, and there will always be people who disapprove of this."

"Although they were already declining at that time, their numbers were still considerable. Being absolutely rational, they didn't care about these things at all. Some races or forces that were jumping around were ruthlessly suppressed. The voices of opposition on the surface disappeared, but the public opinion behind the scenes became more and more turbulent."

"According to records, no new members were born in the Original Epoch Clan at that time. As time passed, the Original Epoch Clan died out one by one. With the decrease in the number of the Original Epoch Clan, the voices of opposition resurfaced, and after so long of brewing, they erupted even more fiercely."

"This rebellion was suppressed again. Even if only one Original Epoch Clan remains, they are not someone anyone can offend. However, because the scale of this rebellion was large, some outsiders colluded to infiltrate the laboratory and destroy some experimental materials and data. Although such actions did not bother the emotionless Original Epoch Clan, through rational calculation, they concluded that if such actions were to continue, it would delay their research progress."