Wandering Meteor-Chapter 184 - 183 Mutual Calculations

"Civilization ahead, please be aware, the Ring Nebula is the domain of our civilization. You are about to enter our territorial space. Please stop immediately."

The defensive line at the border of the Ring Nebula sent a message to the Wandering Star System ahead.

Despite the Ant Queen’s order to capture the Wandering Star System, the Ant-man soldiers aboard the Cosmic Battleships did not rush to execute the command. They wanted to first determine the intentions and the level of threat posed by the Wandering Star System so that they could formulate a detailed plan for the next step.

In Ant-man Civilization, all Ant-men are indeed genetically suppressed by the Ant Queen, but that does not mean they lack intelligence.

They simply have little individual thought, and the prevailing social custom from a young age is to revere the Ant Queen and to see no issue with this. Under the constraints of genetic thought, they devote their intellect to the collective rather than the individual.

Especially when it comes to contemplation of philosophical issues like freedom and equality.

Or, to put it precisely, freedom and equality have never appeared in Ant-man Civilization, and many Ant-men even believe that such concepts do not exist.

Should there indeed be an Ant-man that develops such a line of thought within the civilization, they would soon be reported and executed. For this reason, the Ant Queen has even set up a law against anti-collectivism.

After receiving the message from Ant-man Civilization, the Wandering Star System gradually slowed down, eventually stopping eight light-years outside of the Ring Nebula.

Constant Star Lu Chen, looking ahead at the Ring Nebula, sent out a Consciousness Wave message: "We are the Wandering Alliance. What civilization are you? Is the entire expanse of the Ring Nebula your domain?"

"We are Ant-man Civilization, the indigenous inhabitants of the Ring Nebula. Naturally, this nebula is our domain. What business brings you so close to our domain?"

Being a level three Civilization, Ant-man Civilization was also aware of Celestial Civilizations and, of course, had early on developed technology to create a consciousness field for direct communication with Celestial Civilizations.

Lu Chen said, "Your method of demarcating territory seems a bit far-fetched. Even if you divide it in such a forced manner, it’s questionable whether you can defend it with your level of civilization. What’s the point? You haven’t even formed a life community. The power of a biological civilization alone is too weak!"

If one were to follow the logic of Ant-man Civilization in defining a territory,

then not to mention Earth, even the Galaxy Nebula, and indeed the entire Universe would be Lu Chen’s domain, given that Lu Chen is an indigenous inhabitant of the Universe as well.

"What is your purpose in approaching the Ring Nebula?"

The Ant-man Civilization, unwilling to elaborate, repeated the question.

At this time, Lu Chen had just received a risk assessment from the scientific team.

According to the scientific team’s evaluation, the Ant-man Civilization was a level three civilization, comparable in technological level to the Pirate Civilization and slightly behind their own, with flight speeds likely between one to one and a half times the speed of light, and judging by the size of the Ant-man’s Cosmic Battleships, their weapon energy levels would not exceed three thousand kilometers.

Overall risk assessment: Low!

Reassured by the risk assessment, Lu Chen straightforwardly said, "We plan to head towards the Cosmic Center, intending to pass through the Ring Nebula. We hope you can provide a safe passage."

"What business do you have at the Cosmic Center?" inquired the Ant-man Civilization.

Lu Chen replied, "There’s no need for you to inquire about our business; we simply wish to pass through."

The Ant-man Civilization said, "If you wish to pass through, then show some sincerity. We need to understand your intentions to assess whether to allow passage. Moreover, according to our observations, you have been continuously devouring other wandering stars. How do we know that once we let you in, you won’t plunder the stars within the Ring Nebula? If you make any moves, it will affect the entropy system of the Ant-man Civilization and the Ring Nebula."

Lu Chen replied, "Then state your conditions altogether, and we’ll see if the trade is worthwhile."

"If you want to use our passage, it’s not impossible, but to ensure the minimum impact on us, you need to provide resources of certain value. Additionally, one planet from among three in your possession must be temporarily handed over to us for safekeeping. After you leave the Ring Nebula, we will release the planet."

It has to be said that the Ant-man Civilization is very clever and cunning.

Using the excuse of granting passage, they first exact some benefits and then detain a planet from the Wandering Star System to increase their bargaining chips. This way, they can capture the entire Wandering Star System with minimal loss and present it to the Ant Queen.

However, at that very moment, devices within Earth Civilization suddenly received a covert, targeted message.

The message read: "Greetings, respected Alien Civilization. We are peace advocates within Ant-man Civilization. Pursuant to our pursuit of peace, we must warn you not to agree to the Ant-man Civilization’s conditions. They merely wish to gain more bargaining chips. Their actual intention is to capture you; they will definitely not allow you safe passage through the Ring Nebula."

Unexpectedly receiving this targeted message, the Wandering Alliance became more vigilant and puzzled.

Constant Star Lu Chen first claimed to the Ant-man Civilization that they needed some time to think, and then commenced discussions with Wandering, Green Star, Earth Civilization, and Light Synthesis Civilization regarding the content of this targeted message.

The Ant-man Civilization understood that any civilization would certainly discuss internally when faced with such a significant issue, and so they were not surprised.

However, what the Ant-man Civilization could never have anticipated was that the central point of the Wandering Alliance’s discussion was nothing like what they thought, nor could they have imagined that a traitor had appeared within Ant-man society.

In the end, what the Wandering Alliance discussed remained unknown to the Ant-man Civilization.

All the Ant-man Civilization knew was that the Wandering Star System had agreed to their terms, with just one objection.

The Wandering Alliance indicated that they could provide a planet as collateral but would deliver the resources for passage only after safely leaving the Ring Nebula.

Since the original intention of the Ant-man Civilization was not to collect a fee for passage—because that was merely part of their play-acting—now that the Wandering Alliance was willing to hand over a planet, that was sufficient.

Thus, the Ant-man Civilization agreed to the Wandering Alliance’s terms.

Ultimately, both parties agreed to exchange conditions at the boundary of the Ring Nebula.

After receiving the planet as collateral, the Ant-man Civilization would provide a safe passage for the Wandering Alliance to cross.

However, as fate would have it, both parties’ thoughts unintentionally converged at that moment.

As neither the Wandering Alliance nor the Ant-man Civilization took the real trade seriously,

the Wandering Alliance only sought to approach their opponent and then unexpectedly launch an attack, seizing the preemptive and dominant position in the impending war.

The Wandering Alliance was not foolish—in fact, they never intended to agree to such excessive conditions, especially after receiving the whistleblower’s message.

After discussion and led by Lu Chen, the Wandering Alliance decided to take direct action, using their superior force to annihilate the Ant-man Civilization. After all, they were much more powerful than the Ant-man Civilization, and there was no need to waste time on verbal disputes.

Besides, according to the Entropy Reduction Law, any civilization in the Universe is a threat to each other.

If an alliance cannot be formed, then they are doomed to be enemies. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

A confrontation between both parties was inevitable; the Wandering Alliance’s decision to take action now was merely advancing the inevitable.

In the vast darkness of space, as the Wandering Star System gradually drew closer to the Ring Nebula, the soldiers on both sides prepared vigilantly, their hidden sharpness already primed for a pre-battle clash yet to erupt.