Perhaps Babata desired to step into the cosmos more fervently than Wei Wen and the others.
Because once they set foot in the universe, he could access the Virtual Universe. For an intelligent lifeform like him, the allure of the Virtual Universe was boundless!
"Alright, enough reminiscing. It's time for us to depart," Babata's voice echoed in their consciousness. "Ancient Civilization Ruin No. 12 is likely located in the Hawaiian Islands of the Pacific Ocean—not too far from our current position."
"Taking Hong's Primordial-class intelligent fighter as an example, we should reach our destination in about an hour."
Without a moment's hesitation, Wei Wen and the others transformed into streaks of light, boarding the Primordial-class intelligent fighter and swiftly speeding toward the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific.
…
The blue seawater rippled gently. Four streaks of light shot directly into the water's surface and continued their rapid descent!
As Planetary-level powerhouses, they no longer needed to breathe.
As for the immense water pressure, it was negligible for experts who could easily withstand gravitational forces over a thousand times that of Earth's.
Being a highly advanced intelligent lifeform, Babata excelled at detection.
"Ancient Civilization Ruin No. 12 is approximately 3,000 meters directly below you. Now swim to the left and descend further," Babata guided.
While diving deeper, Wei Wen and the others also sensed the presence of numerous sea monsters.
"Hmph!"
Wei Wen's domain erupted, manifesting as streams of cascading light. Every sea monster within a hundred-meter radius was instantly annihilated, their blood immediately staining the surrounding waters red.
It was a casual slaughter. After all, Wei Wen could vividly recall the first-level beast tide that had assaulted the coastline in the novel...
Once countless sea monsters surged inland along rivers, they would attack various base cities in a terrifying onslaught, leading to an incalculable loss of human life.
Although Wei Wen was no saint, he would not stand idly by when he could easily prevent such a tragedy.
With Babata's navigation, even though the deep sea enveloped them in pitch darkness, they accurately located Ruin No. 12.
"A wrecked warship?" Wei Wen's mental force rapidly spread out, quickly forming a rough model in his mind...
"No need to observe closely. This is indeed a massive battleship, but it's utterly shattered," Babata remarked, shaking his head slightly. "Ruin No. 12 is inside this battleship wreckage."
About two minutes later, Wei Wen and the others stood within Ruin No. 12. Before them lay a flying saucer-shaped space ship, roughly 100 meters in diameter.
On the hull of the black spaceship was imprinted a twin-winged dragon emblem, allowing Babata to instantly identify the space ship's model.
"Tsk, tsk. A Black Dragon Mountain Empire X81-model spaceship! It's C-class, fully capable of interstellar travel. What incredible luck!" Babata gazed at the space ship before him with palpable excitement.
The X81 model was a well-known space ship for cosmic exploration within the Black Dragon Mountain Empire. Babata hadn't expected that a fleet casually destroyed by Hu Yanbo would possess such a vessel.
Whoever owned this could be considered a major figure within the Black Dragon Mountain Empire!
What excited Babata most was that this space ship's performance was likely impeccable.
"It would be best if the spaceship is fully functional... But such a precious vessel wouldn't have some kind of self-destruct program, would it?" Wei Wen prompted.
"After all, even some valuable items on Earth, like high-end safes, come with self-destruct mechanisms."
Wei Wen recalled that in the original story, the entire Black Dragon Mountain space ship was nearly scrapped due to such a program.
In the end, Babata had been forced to brutally dismantle the self-destruct protocol, resulting in severe damage to the space ship's control system and the burnout of multiple energy systems.
Repairs for that level of damage had taken several years.
If they could neutralize the self-destruct program in advance, they could save years of time.
"That's highly possible. It seems I need to prepare ahead of time," Babata's expression gradually turned serious.
"If there is a self-destruct program and the space ship is destroyed, who knows how long it would take to find another suitable one."
"But with my capabilities, given proper preparation, any so-called self-destruct program is laughably fragile."
"Furthermore, I am intimately familiar with the internal structure of this Black Dragon Mountain model space ship. Gaining entry will be trivial for me."
"Once I dismantle the self-destruct program, with my skills, taking control of this C-class Black Dragon Mountain X81 will be straightforward."
"Let me first explain how to enter the space ship and the actions to take once inside..." An hour later.
"Now, all you need to do is reach the command room and insert this special signaler into the space ship's intelligent system interface. I'll handle the rest!"
With Babata's meticulous preparation, Wei Wen and the others easily reached the space ship's core control room.
Although they encountered intercepting robots along the way, dealing with such automatons was hardly challenging for beings like Wei Wen and Hong.
After all, even Luo Feng, at the fourth level of Planetary stage, had handled similar robots with ease.
After disabling the robots, Luo Feng swiftly inserted Babata's signal transmitter into the space ship's operational port as instructed.
Accompanied by the thought projection of Babata's three-dimensional form, a unique stream of data invaded the space ship's control system.
"Abnormal data detected. Please enter the password within thirty seconds, or self-destruction will be initiated..." The prompt from the intelligent self-destruct program sounded.
"You lose, old program!"
Before the intelligent system's beep could finish, under Babata's manipulation, the self-destruct program instantly fell silent.
Babata could be considered the highest level of intelligence—an intelligent lifeform. Handling an ordinary intelligent self-destruct program was child's play for him.
Thanks to Wei Wen's early warning, their infiltration of the space ship was flawless this time. The space ship suffered no damage whatsoever from the self-destruct protocol.
After neutralizing the self-destruct program, Babata conducted a brief performance check and confirmed the space ship was fully capable of immediate space navigation.
At that moment, Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God turned to look at Wei Wen, still somewhat dazed.
They felt that today's experience was like a fantastical daydream, material straight for a novel.
And the starting point of it all was the man before them: Wei Wen.
"Fortunately, Wei Wen reminded us. Otherwise, the Black Dragon Mountain space ship would have been damaged by the self-destruct program," Babata said, looking at Wei Wen with appreciation for his foresight.
Wei Wen also let out a sigh of relief. As long as they could set foot in the universe even once, he could easily justify any future inheritance he might claim.
He could simply say he had inexplicably received a legacy—something others would have no way of verifying.
[Your bound friend, Luo Feng, has obtained a C5-level spaceship. Congratulations on receiving feedback for a C9-level spaceship.]
"Master formulated the solution so quickly," Wei Wen AI's voice chimed in aptly.
"It wasn't that difficult..." Wei Wen's mouth twitched slightly.
'I obtained a C9-class spaceship—better than nothing. If I'm ever short on funds, I can always sell it. After all, a Black Dragon Mountain Empire spaceship is worth around 100 billion, and this one is certainly worth even more.'
"Are we truly ready to step into the universe now?" Despite having successfully secured the space ship, Hong still lacked confidence. No matter how strong they were, they remained merely Planetary Level warriors. In the vastness of the cosmos, Planetary Level beings barely scrape by. Was it not too risky to venture out now?
"Don't worry. With my understanding of the universe, there will be no accidents while I guide your exploration," reassured Babata. "As for strength… do you recall the Liquid Silver Guards on the space ship?"
"Due to their liquid-silver composition, even a strike from a Universe-level powerhouse can be absorbed and dissipated by their bodies. While their offensive power isn't overwhelming, if they entangle an opponent, even a Universe-level expert would need considerable time to break free."
"A man is judged by his attire, a horse by its saddle. The value of these Silver Guards is significant—they are definite luxury items for Planetary Level individuals and can serve as symbols of status. Once you establish your identities as I've instructed, there should be no issues. At least within a minor power like the Silver-blue Empire, your safety won't be a concern."
"Then let's proceed!" After exchanging glances, Wei Wen and the other three nodded in agreement.
"Of course, there are other preparations. The Universal Language is also a mark of status; otherwise, the background I've crafted for you will be pointless," Babata continued. "During our journey, given the speed of our thought processes, mastering the Universal Language will be straightforward."
…
With the technological level of the C5-class Black Dragon Mountain space ship, it could completely evade detection by Earth's satellites and other equipment. Even a face-to-face encounter would go unnoticed.
"The space ship is about to accelerate to light-speed and enter the Dark Universe. You may experience some discomfort," Babata's voice announced.
Boom!
The space ship began to vibrate slightly. After a brief period of shaking, it entered the Dark Universe. The so-called Dark Universe differs from the Original Universe in certain aspects.
For instance, traveling one light-year within the Dark Universe translates to a distance of 1.0081 billion light-years upon returning to the Original Universe—effectively achieving a speed exceeding one million times lightspeed. Navigating across space at such velocities is no simple feat.
"This time, our destination is the Horned Dragon Planet. The voyage will take approximately ten days," Babata informed them. "Upon arriving at Horned Dragon Planet, our first task is to register for citizenship within the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, securing legal status."
"By obtaining Black Dragon Mountain Empire citizenship, we gain protection under its laws. Subsequently, we can proceed to open accounts with the Virtual Universe Company."
Horned Dragon planetary realms among the top ten intermediate-civilization planets within the Black Dragon Mountain Empire.
It is markedly more civilized here, with far fewer instances of barbarism and bloodshed. This environment is safer for novices like Wei Wen and the others—provided, of course, they possess sufficient wealth and status. Without these, they wouldn't even qualify to set foot on Horned Dragon Planet.
…
Ten days later.
Standing within the space ship, Wei Wen and the others could clearly observe Horned Dragon Planet ahead through the craft's exterior simulation. Encircling the planet's atmosphere were immense artificial star-rings, serving as docking ports for space ship.
"I've received the guidance signal. Proceed directly to the C-level docking area," Babata instructed from the space ship's console screen.
The docking port was divided into several major zones, categorized according to space ship class. For example, C-class space ship were directed to the C-level area.
Whoosh!
Under the guidance of Horned Dragon Planet's docking port, the C5-class Black Dragon Mountain space ship slowly descended onto the planet. Wei Wen and his companions disembarked, followed by three Liquid Silver Guards—an imposing sight at first glance.
Though they were only Planetary Level warriors, a staff member from the Horned Dragon docking port, himself at the Star-level, soon approached them with respect. This demonstrated the influential effect of the Silver Guards as a facade.
"Dear sirs, welcome to Horned Dragon Planet. The parking fee for your C-class space ship is 600 Black Dragon Coins per year," a voice announced. "If the stay is less than a year, the charge remains 600 Black Dragon Coins."
"Keep the change," Luo Feng said, waving his hand and tossing a Ganwu Coin to the staff member.
According to the Black Dragon Mountain Empire's currency exchange, one Ganwu Coin could be directly converted into 1,000 Black Dragon Coins, but 1,000 Black Dragon Coins could not be exchanged for one Ganwu Coin.
On the black market, it might take over one thousand, even close to two thousand, Black Dragon Coins to obtain a single Ganwu Coin. This clearly indicated that Ganwu Coins were themselves symbols of status.
Traveling in a luxurious X81-model space ship and using Ganwu Currency led the staff to conclude that their backgrounds were considerable. Maintaining such a pretense could at least spare them many potential troubles.
Wei Wen, as a transmigrator, was acutely aware of the universe's cruelty. He would never naively assume the cosmos to be a wholly civilized place. After all, respect followed strength, and power dictated truth. This was the stark reality of Swallowed Star!
If you were weak, you would be trampled upon without mercy. If your race was weak, the entire race could be crushed, even enslaved, harvested repeatedly like crops. For the four of them, no one would offer aid; they could rely only on themselves.
When indigenous planets were first discovered, if they lacked powerful defenders, they faced plunder—just as Earth had originally confronted such a crisis. Three Liquid Silver Guards? A Black Dragon Mountain X81 space ship? Descendants of the fallen Star?
None of this would hold up under scrutiny. In the eyes of outsiders, they were simply indigenous beings—weak, Planetary Level natives. They still needed to rely on disguise to retain a shred of dignity on Horned Dragon Planet. Otherwise, who would spare a second glance for four Planetary Level warriors from a backwater world?
Thus, if possible, they also needed to purchase slaves—though this posed its own moral dilemmas.
Registering for universal citizenship was relatively straightforward. Upon reaching Planetary Level, one could accomplish it with a small fee, bypassing stringent reviews.
Leveraging the prestige afforded by their Liquid Silver Guards, Wei Wen and his companions easily became citizens of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire.
Afterward, the four of them opened individual accounts with the Virtual Universe Company and purchased several consciousness immersion helmets.
Strictly speaking, with the Babata Tower, they didn't actually require these devices. They bought them merely to avoid unnecessary suspicion. As for opening accounts for others, there was no immediate need.
Luo Feng had entertained some ideas in this regard—for instance, allowing certain high-ranking individuals on Earth to tentatively explore the universe through anonymous accounts and consciousness immersion helmets, gaining a preliminary understanding of the cosmos. However, Wei Wen dissuaded him.
In Wei Wen's view, exposing them to the universe too early would bring more harm than benefit to Earth's people as a whole. At the very least, Earth needed to produce a Planetary Level to ensure greater safety.
Luo Feng's idea had only been a tentative thought, not firmly held. Seeing Wei Wen's objection, he did not pursue it further. After all, Wei Wen's actions had consistently proven his decisions to be wise.
…
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