Voyage of the Stars.

Chapter 1423 They are not grateful to the Divine Rule Civilization
So what to do?
Each of the distinctive technological civilizations leading the three major voyage organizations chose to observe in secret. At the same time, in the name of their respective organizations, they issued notices to those civilizations that had begun to strive for cosmic-level civilization status, requiring them to disclose their research progress on vacuum zero-point energy to the organization.

Regardless of whether such a demand is reasonable or not, the civilization being demanded of it would absolutely not be willing to accept it.

In fact, if everyone arrives at the destination together, recovers together, and then launches an attack on the barrier of a cosmic civilization, then this requirement is still reasonable, provided that everyone shares the research progress.

The problem is that these civilizations felt their resources wouldn't last long enough to reach the center of the Great Hollow, so they started the research ahead of schedule to avoid restarting the "Fire Seed Project." They were already resentful, and being pressured like this made them even more uncomfortable.

However, faced with the directives from the highest councils of the three major voyage organizations, they knew they had no right to refuse. So they asked their respective organizations to provide them with resources for future technological research.

Logically, this request is quite reasonable. You're asking me to share my research progress, but I started the research ahead of schedule because of insufficient resources. So you should provide me with the material consumption for my research.

However, the three expeditionary organizations obviously could not agree, because those civilizations themselves chose to start the energy-intensive research now, and most civilizations still need to continue to move forward. It is impossible to ask so many civilizations to use their resources to support these few dozen civilizations!

What if you waste resources without making any progress?
In short: we don't trust your research capabilities, but we're also afraid you might actually succeed by sheer luck.

Faced with such a contradiction, the civilizations that chose to start the research first were also frustrated, because no matter what they said, they were wrong.

They weren't stupid; they naturally knew what the other civilizations of the three major maritime organizations were worried about. Logically, this problem would have been solved if the other civilizations of the three major maritime organizations had agreed to support them, but these guys just weren't willing.

The problem is, I can't even resist.

With no other option, these dozens of civilizations had to steel themselves and immediately decide to stop following the three great voyages and instead slow down and stop in this void to conduct research.

Now, you bunch of bastards can't expect us to share our research progress, can you?
However, to their surprise, those civilizations that chose to continue their research still demanded that they disclose their progress to the organization, which infuriated the dozens of civilizations that had stopped.

This is bullying honest people, but they endured it because they couldn't fight back, dared not fight back, and couldn't fight back.

Therefore, they agreed to share their research progress with the organization and to maintain quantum communication with the organization.

It means: Although we have stopped to conduct preliminary research, we are still members of the organization and are willing to obey the organization's arrangements. You can rest assured and continue to move forward!
But all civilizations know that this is nothing more than a verbal agreement.

These civilizations that stopped to begin research could easily disregard the agreement, since the organization wouldn't dare send any of its researchers to stay and supervise. Even if they did, a civilization could easily keep it a secret from them.

They're not afraid of being discovered, since you've already gone far away and can't turn back. Even if they kill the researchers you left behind, you can only watch helplessly.

The universe is so vast that the moment these civilizations chose to break away from the organization and act independently, their behavior was no longer subject to the organization's constraints.

All civilizations know this principle.

So after these civilizations stopped to conduct research, some other civilizations, unable to bear the wait any longer, also chose not to continue their research.

They feared that previous civilizations would reach the seventh level of civilization first.

As the saying goes, once it starts, it will start again; once this door is opened, it can never be stopped. Every civilization has its own ambitions!
On the long voyage, we once united to face various cosmic disasters and powerful enemies. But why should your unique technological civilization always be high above us, while we can only be ordinary members of the organization?
Now everyone is striving for a higher level of civilization, and we have already entered the interior of the Great Void. In theory, this environment is no longer affected by the strange factors of dark matter, and we can start conducting research.

In that case, why don't we start early and get to work?
Maybe we'll be the first to successfully advance to a Level 7 civilization. So what if we only become an ordinary Level 7 civilization? We still have you! You Level 6 civilizations with your unique technologies are known as an excellent race, right? Perfect, you can become our subordinate race!
The first 15 civilizations that stopped may have been forced to do so, but the civilizations that chose to stop later are another matter entirely, as some of them harbored hidden ambitions.

These civilizations clearly understood that now was the best time to surpass all other civilizations and become the protagonists of the world.

Because they knew that if they continued to follow the Great Voyage Organization to the true center of the Great Hollow before starting their research, there would be absolutely no chance left.

At that time, those technologically advanced civilizations will absolutely demand that other civilizations share their research progress. They will absolutely not allow other civilizations to surpass them, and they will absolutely not allow other civilizations to master the vacuum zero-point energy that is enough to change the balance of power.

Vacuum zero-point energy is the essential key to unlocking the modification of the rules of the universe. That means modifying the rules of physics. All civilizations are well aware of this. Even an ordinary cosmic-level civilization can absolutely crush a powerful level 6 civilization, even if that level 6 civilization possesses a variety of unique technologies!

A civilization is not a single entity; it is composed of numerous independent ships existing in the void. It is quite easy for an entire civilization to conceal its intentions.

However, putting ourselves in others' shoes, every civilization has wise people, and by pooling our wisdom and efforts and thinking about it from their perspective, we can understand the reasons behind this.

As a result, one civilization after another, not wanting to fall behind, broke away from the Great Voyage Organization and its fleets. They either slowed down and stopped on their course to begin research, or changed course and drifted to nearby star systems, conducting research as they went.

Among them are civilizations that are not lacking in resources, at least not for now.

People's hearts are broken and it's hard to lead the team.

From the time the first 15 civilizations stopped to the time when the three major expeditionary organizations have traveled to a location 7 million light-years from the center of the Great Void, it has taken 3 million years. During this time, civilizations have stopped to conduct research. Now, the number of civilizations in the three major expeditionary organizations has decreased from 515 to 210.

Those civilizations that chose to begin research early either left alone or in groups with other civilizations.

In fact, without the Divine Curve civilization, these civilizations would not have been able to reach this place, but faced with the temptation of becoming a cosmic-level civilization, they are not grateful to the Divine Curve civilization.

The remaining civilizations also had their doubts, but they chose to continue. Perhaps they trusted their leader, whom they had followed for countless years, or perhaps they believed that breaking through to the level of a cosmic civilization was too difficult and lacked confidence in their own scientific capabilities.

There is no standard answer as to whether the central region of the Great Hollow in Boötes spans one thousand light-years, ten thousand light-years, one million light-years, or ten million light-years.

Therefore, after those civilizations chose to stop and begin research, the remaining civilizations that continued to advance with their respective leaders began to call for everyone to start research together.

As leaders of the three major expeditionary organizations, these distinctive technological civilizations naturally fear that those other civilizations will become cosmic-level civilizations first, but they also fear that the environment is not yet conducive to finding the correct answer, and that starting research would be a waste of resources and tantamount to suicide.

And so, another two million years passed.

At this time, the three major maritime expeditions had become two. The reason was that a million years ago, the Blue Ocean Civilization, the leader of the Blue Ocean Maritime Expedition, could no longer resist. It took the last remaining civilization under its command, slightly adjusted its light-speed travel route, and diverged from the civilization that was still dormant, before officially starting its research.

(End of this chapter)