Age of Cosmic Exploration Chapter 325: The Start of Mutation

Chapter 325: The Start of Mutation

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Cursed planet? What was a cursed planet?

This question was on the minds of many s.p.a.ce civilizations, be it s.p.a.ce civilizations under level 3 or level 4 to level 6 s.p.a.ce civilizations, or civilizations with even higher level.

From a time which no one could pinpoint, rumors about the existence of the demon race started to circulate throughout the cosmos…

What was the demon race? Surprisingly enough, there was no verifiable news about it among the low-tier and middle-tier s.p.a.ce civilizations. In fact, many s.p.a.ce civilizations labelled the rumors about this demon race and its accompanying idea, the cursed planet, as the biggest lie in all of the cosmos.

The public enemy of s.p.a.ce civilizations, the destroyer of many civilizations, but a necessity among almost every low-tier and middle-tier s.p.a.ce civilization, AIs that had achieved Singularity. A mechanical fleet that did not possess any creative power and could only hungrily consume technology from other civilizations. The AIs were only the third greediest race in s.p.a.ce.

Known as the s.p.a.ce epidemic, the zerg that swallowed any civilization and material was only the second greediest race in s.p.a.ce?

Then, just what kind of creatures were the demon race to be called the greediest race in s.p.a.ce? What else could they hunger for that was more than civilization, technology, and materials?

According to the legends… the answer was soul. This element that maintained the balance in s.p.a.ce, the key that supported the law of conservation of soul!

However, what did it mean by hungering after soul? Almost every s.p.a.ce civilization that knew about soul hungered after it, so what was so unique about the demon race?

The answer lied in the core of the cursed planet, the location where the demon race was rumored to be born. What kind of terror was hiding there? And what exactly was the demon race? Why would a small planet be a threat to one or several suns, multiple planets, a system, or galaxies? This was simply too unscientific.

These were thoughts shared by many s.p.a.ce civilizations. Of course, this was not all s.p.a.ce civilizations, because for the few high-tier s.p.a.ce civilizations that knew about the truth behind the rumors, they felt a spine-chilling fear whenever they talked about any cursed planet. They treated them with utmost seriousness, and not a thing of rumors.

At this moment, among all of the s.p.a.ce civilizations around the cursed planet, an intelligence lifeform was going through this sensation…

He was the cosmic adapter for a peak level 2 s.p.a.ce civilization and he was a rare S grade Time Watcher. Even though he was old, it did not affect the utilization of his Time Watcher power. If anything, due to his thousands of years of experience, even though he was only a level 1 Time Watcher, he could predict the danger that was far ahead. This allowed him to save his race many times, and he had led his race to the peak of level 2 s.p.a.ce civilization and the fringe of level 3 s.p.a.ce civilization. He was instrumental to his civilization.

Like other s.p.a.ce civilizations, his civilization had happened upon this set of s.p.a.ce-warped messages accidentally and had arrived at this solar system by tracing its origin. To his consternation, it landed them around a cursed planet. Thinking about the numerous rumors, everyone in his civilization feared for their safety, but they were ultimately compelled to stay due to the allure of s.p.a.ce warp technology from a level 5 s.p.a.ce civilization. Furthermore, there were many s.p.a.ce civilizations around who chose to stay as well.

Actually, the common reason to why all the s.p.a.ce civilizations stayed despite the obvious danger was only one: profit.

What was a level 5 s.p.a.ce civilization?

To put it simply, perhaps there were one hundred level 1 s.p.a.ce civilizations, or civilizations that had managed to evolve into technology mature enough to ensure colonization within its home planet’s solar system.

A level 2 s.p.a.ce civilization, at its most basic, could travel a limited distance into the cosmos and had a large amount of s.p.a.ce fleets and a main mothers.h.i.+p that could support a population of several billion people. The evolution from level 1 s.p.a.ce civilization to level 2 s.p.a.ce civilization had its difficulties around the destruction of the environment and exhaustion of resources. Not to be forgotten was the possible betrayal of AI systems.

Evolution from level 2 s.p.a.ce civilization to level 3 s.p.a.ce civilization required plasmatic system technology and the means to surpa.s.s the limitation of light speed. In other words, the warp drive technology. This would allow the civilization to survive and explore the vast cosmos.

To borrow a simple a.n.a.logy, without warp drive technology, going from one solar system to another would require at least a thousand years, and during that time, the civilization’s survival depended fully on the mothers.h.i.+p. If there was an accident, then the civilization would be gone. From this, one could see the importance of warp drive. For any s.p.a.ce civilization, it was an unimaginable leap in technology. One could say that with the advent of warp drive, the s.p.a.ce civilization had the basic ability to survive in the cosmos.

It was because of this that while maybe one out of 100 level 1 s.p.a.ce civilizations managed to enter level 2, from perhaps one million level 2 s.p.a.ce civilizations, there would only be one that would manage to become a level 3 s.p.a.ce civilization. This was the difference between level 2 s.p.a.ce civilizations and level 3 s.p.a.ce civilizations!

Since level 3 s.p.a.ce civilizations were already so rare, then what about level 4 s.p.a.ce civilizations? The gap was no longer describable; it could be seen as a change in essence itself! This was because level 4 s.p.a.ce civilizations were the beginning of middle-tier s.p.a.ce civilizations, and they had distanced itself from low-tier s.p.a.ce civilizations in every single aspect.

Simply put, level 1 s.p.a.ce civilizations, level 2 s.p.a.ce civilizations, and level 3 s.p.a.ce civilizations, their technology trees are linear and connected. Given enough time, population, resources, and safety, almost all s.p.a.ce civilizations eventually reach the limit of a level 3 s.p.a.ce civilization, the difference being the time taken.

However, the barrier to become a level 4 s.p.a.ce civilization was not something that could be broken with enough time. This was because it depended on one key element… the catalyst!

Just like how a level 2 s.p.a.ce civilization’s catalyst is electromagnetic technology and a level 3 s.p.a.ce civilization’s is plasma, then what is the key technology to break through to become a level 4 s.p.a.ce civilization?

This was the key question that no one had an answer to. Many level 3 s.p.a.ce civilizations perished due to getting stuck at this juncture for thousands or millions of years.

A level 4 s.p.a.ce civilization was only the beginning of middle-tier s.p.a.ce civilizations, and the message these civilazations received was sent with s.p.a.ce-warp technology from a level 5 s.p.a.ce civilization, and that was even stronger… For these level 2 and level 3 s.p.a.ce civilizations, it was a technology that was powerful enough to ensure the glory of their civilizations for millions of years!

Therefore, which s.p.a.ce civilization was willing to give up on this once in a lifetime opportunity?

This was the att.i.tude held by this Time Watcher as well. Even though he was the ruler of his civilization and held authority in his hands, at the same time, he had to be responsible for his civilization. It was because of this that he ordered his civilization’s s.p.a.ce fleet to stop, but as the time pa.s.sed, the sense of danger within him increased. The sense of danger that permeated was ubiquitous, it covered him like a layer of slime. With the pa.s.sing of time, it got thicker and stickier; it made him want to crawl away from that area and run.

"Why? Why is there such a sense of danger? Where does this danger come from? Is it because there are too many s.p.a.ce civilizations gathered here? Or is it because of the presence of the irrational Parlei Race? Threat of a s.p.a.ce war? What is it? This danger…"

This Time Watcher was sitting on the throne of his fleet and was ma.s.saging his head as he thought about this. At this time, his ministers came to inform him that several cosmic adapters from other s.p.a.ce civilizations were requesting for communication.

This Time Watcher did not hesitate. Very soon, the line of communication was formed between all the cosmic adapters. However, unfortunately, other than him, all the other cosmic adapters were only grade B or C, so they were completely no match for him. However, during the communication, he did spot something weird.

This group of low level cosmic adapters all felt the presence of danger. How was that possible? None of them were Time Watchers, they were not even S grade cosmic adapter, but since even they also sensed danger… then was this danger very real? And would it come any time soon?

"These s.p.a.ce civilizations have formed their own alliances, and they are each very powerful. Small squabbles are unavoidable, but it is unlikely a real s.p.a.ce war will break out unless the source of the s.p.a.ce warp technology is suddenly exposed. Then what kind of danger could be this scary?"

Just as this Time Watcher ordered his fleet to retreat far away from the rest, until they were at the fringe of the solar system, suddenly, before their naked eyes, one of the planets that revolved around the cursed planet, it had a dark red surface, broke out in flesh-like pustules. The pustule number increased dramatically until eventually, the planet was covered in a layer of fles.h.!.+

What was happening?!