While wandering through a stretch of space in the universe he had named Codename No. 2, Luo Qi unexpectedly discovered a Water Blue Star, home to a civilization and culture almost identical to humanity's.
His pitch-black metallic figure appeared in orbit around Water Blue Star. The star gradually rose past the horizon outlined by the planet's blue-and-white atmosphere, like a giant opening a golden eye.
Golden light shone upon Luo Qi's immense Metal Race body, a thousand meters tall. His black exterior absorbed every ray of light like a black hole.
"What a familiar, unforgettable planet!"
"Am I really going to collect every little ball of rock in every universe?" Luo Qi asked himself.
His assimilation of the universe had already spread through this region of space. The civilizations across more than half the universe were already part of him. This was only a matter of time.
As long as he wished it, anyone or any substance could become his avatar. Nothing about them was theirs to decide. People generally called this phenomenon "divine descent."
But Luo Qi was not heartless. He preserved every being's individuality and thoughts. They remained themselves.
The other Luo Qis had all chosen what they wanted to do. This Luo Qi's task was to conduct a painstakingly detailed survey of every race and civilization born within the universe.
He would observe which civilizations possessed potential for development, precisely how that potential arose, and how to classify civilizations' potential into more detailed tiers.
This would be a time-consuming study, not something that could yield results solely from existing simulation data.
As Water Blue Star rotated before him, Luo Qi learned that something seemed to be wrong with this system's star. It was transforming into a supergiant.
Much like people on the brink of destruction, it swelled