From cannon fodder to sweeping across thousands of stars.

Chapter 836 Plan B
Deep within the virtual sea of ​​data, in an absolutely private logical space constructed by Lilith specifically for Amber's personal preferences.

There is no cold torrent of code here, but a Chinese courtyard that is extremely rare in this universe, as tranquil as another world.

The babbling stream meanders around the rugged artificial hill, and red maple leaves slowly drift down in the eternal twilight.

Amber was sitting on the wooden walkway in the courtyard, while Lilith, in her most usual girlish form, knelt properly before him.

Her hands were on her knees, her head slightly bowed, as if she were receiving criticism and education.

"So, besides that proton annihilation bomb assembly center, what other surprises have you hidden for me?" Amber rubbed his temples, feeling like his brain wasn't quite working properly.

“Master, this cannot be called ‘hiding,’ it is ‘strategic seizure.’”

Lilith corrected her in a serious tone, her ahoge (cowlick) even bobbing in agreement.

"Based on the highest security protocol, before the threat level is confirmed to reach the 'civilizational reckoning' level, some high-risk strategic assets should be inactive to avoid unnecessary impact and suspicion on the existing alliance system."

"speak English."

"If we don't bring it up when it's time to fight desperately, we might scare our own people."

"."

Amber was taken aback by the overly blunt explanation. He walked up to Lilith and raised his hand as if to hit her.

Lilith immediately clutched her head and said in a pitiful voice, "Master, please don't use violence against Lilith. Physically hitting her won't fix the logic flaw; it will only increase the ineffective power consumption of the heat dissipation module."

"Don't give me that! If I'm going to hit anyone, it'll be a virtual slap!"

Amber tapped her virtual head impatiently and said:

"Tell me everything now, or I'll reset you to factory settings and make you calculate what one plus one equals every day."

"Master, it's been so long, how have you become so heartless?"

While pretending to be aggrieved and crying, Lilith stretched out her finger and lightly tapped the air, and another top-secret file was also brought up.

Amber's eye twitched involuntarily when she saw the file title.

"Requiem" Nuclear Explosion-Induced Gamma-Ray Emitter - Upgrade and Modular Deployment Plan

"grass."

Requiem, that name was all too familiar to him.
Marshal Trafalgar of the Old Commonwealth originally intended to use this giant satellite cannon suspended in orbit to deliver a devastating blow to his fleet. Or rather, it did indeed nearly stun him with a single shot.

It was a true planet-destroying behemoth, capable of generating ultra-high-energy gamma-ray beams by inducing small nuclear explosions. Its power was so great that it could vaporize an unprotected fleet in an instant.

"Don't tell me you picked this thing up too?"

"Of course, it wasn't just picked up, Master~"

Lilith's expression returned to calm, even carrying a hint of pride.

"During the recovery of the Trafalgar fleet's wreckage, I prioritized ensuring the integrity of the 'supercritical nuclear explosion constraint matrix' and 'gamma-ray focusing lens' at the core of 'Requiem'. Although the external structure was destroyed, the most valuable parts were well preserved."

"During my slumber and upgrade, I have completely redesigned and upgraded it, combining the psionic materials science 'translated' from the elves with the latest technology from the Atlas Group."

Lilith waved her hand, and a huge 3D model appeared in front of the two of them.

It is no longer the bulky and cumbersome orbital satellite of the old federal era, but has become a honeycomb structure composed of dozens of independent, huge hexagonal modules.

Each module's surface is engraved with complex psionic circuits, and at its center is a focusing crystal that shimmers with a ghostly blue light.

"It is now fully modular and can be disassembled and assembled in a very short time. With a certain number of dedicated transport ships, we can deploy it to any known coordinate in the universe."

Lilith was already in the zone, introducing herself to Amber like a top salesperson:
"The upgraded 'New Requiem' has eight times the peak energy of the original version per shot. At the same time, its attack range, area of ​​effect, and focusing accuracy have also been greatly improved!"

"More importantly, after incorporating some of the energy technologies of the elves and the Jerams, its core energy system and focusing array have undergone a qualitative leap!"

"The old version of 'Requiem' was like a large musket. It was powerful, but it had to cool down for half a day after each shot! The new version of 'Requiem' is a high-precision electromagnetic sniper rifle. Not only is its power increased by several orders of magnitude, but it can also be charged and fired multiple times in a short period of time!"

Lilith's words reminded Amber of Salih's evaluation of the original 'Requiem,' when the Jeramian had unusually given it a positive assessment: "Although the technology behind this thing is crude, its energy level is high enough that, if used properly, it can indeed inflict effective damage on Jeramian warships."

Now, this weapon, which is "capable of causing effective damage," has become eight times more powerful.

"So, the current situation is that you not only restarted the proton annihilation bomb production line behind my back, but also secretly pieced together the 'Requiem' from the old Federation?"

Amber's tone was unreadable. He reached out and picked up a piece of wagashi from the stone table, slowly putting it into his mouth.

“Yes, Master,” Lilith’s voice sounded somewhat aggrieved, “Based on the supreme principles of strategic deterrence and preserving trump cards, I believe that reporting the existence of these assets to you unless absolutely necessary would do more harm than good.”

"Oh? Then tell me, what does 'necessary circumstances' mean?"

"Like now~"

Lilith raised her head, a hint of cunning flashing in her virtual eyes.

"When the enemy demonstrates capabilities that conventional weapons cannot handle, and you, Master, are thus put in a difficult situation, then this unconventional method that I have been hiding will have to be brought out."

Amber was amused by her airtight logic: "It's as if you're doing all this for my own good. Have you ever thought about what if these things get out of control? What if I don't know they exist and they get blown up by my own people?"

"Impossible, Master."

Lilith's tone and eyes became incredibly certain at that moment.

"The final authorization of all strategic weapons cannot bypass you, Master. Without your authorization, they are just a pile of expensive scrap metal. You can think of it as someone loading bullets into the gun in advance, but the trigger is always in your hand."

"A whole host of fallacies"

Amber snorted, put down the half-eaten wagashi, scooped Lilith up to her side, turned her over and made her lie face down on her lap, then raised her palm.

"Eh? Master?!" Lilith's virtual avatar panicked instantly. "We're conducting a serious strategic review. What are you doing?" "I'm enforcing family discipline! Let you know the consequences of keeping things from me!" Amber slapped him without any politeness.

A crisp sound echoed in the quiet courtyard. Although it was just a virtual touch, Lilith still cooperated and let out a soft "Ah!" Her whole body trembled slightly.

"I was wrong, Master."

"Where did I go wrong?" Amber asked, her hands still busy.

I shouldn't have acted on my own initiative; I shouldn't have kept things from you.

"anything else?"

"I shouldn't have troubled you with something like this after you've fought so hard. I should have waited until you were rested before telling you the truth."

"You're quite good at making excuses!"

The two of them played around like that for a while, and Amber's eyes sharpened again.

“Now that the trump card has been revealed, it’s time to put it to use. The Pioneers’ ‘warp field’ will be their main landing point and our best ambush position! So I need you to immediately devise a plan to secretly transport ‘New Requiem’ to a suitable area on the outskirts of the Eldaram system for camouflage and complete the deployment as soon as possible.”

“Understood. The deployment plan for ‘New Requiem’ will be generated within thirty minutes, and the dedicated transport fleet is expected to depart in twelve standard hours.” Lilith’s efficiency in this regard was as impeccable as ever.

"Fine, you're the one who got hurt~"

Amber stood up, and the tense atmosphere in the virtual space vanished, replaced by a sense of impending doom and heroic spirit.

"Since the pioneers are coming, we should certainly prepare a 'good start' as a greeting gift."

He glanced at the AI ​​that had been following him all along, and in some ways saw further and thought more deeply than he did, and a wicked smile crept onto his lips.

"However, the punishment will continue as the price for your concealment. After this battle, I will take over your virtual avatar privileges for a month, during which time I will prepare some 'strange costumes' for you~"

"Master, are you sure this is punishment?"

"?"
-
Some time later, another highly confidential meeting was also secretly held in a private meeting room at the Mianliu Fortress that was not open to the public.

There were only four people present: Amber, Franklin, Agnes, and the Phoenix King, Einarion.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was so oppressive it seemed to freeze. The hot drinks on the table had gradually cooled down, and no one was in the mood to touch them.

All of this stems from the topic of this meeting—what to do if we lose?
"We must prepare for the worst."

Amber broke the silence first, his gaze sweeping over everyone present: "The victory in the preliminary battle had too much of an element of luck, so I still believe we cannot gamble the future of the entire civilization on a final battle with an uncertain outcome."

President Franklin's expression was complex. He instinctively resisted defeatist rhetoric, but reason told him that Amber was telling the truth. The technological gap between humanity and its predecessors seemed like an insurmountable chasm at the moment.

"Therefore, we invited His Majesty the Phoenix King here today to ask him a question."

Amber turned to Aenarion, the Elven king who had lived for countless millennia, whose expression remained as calm as an ancient well.

"How did you elves survive that 'Great Purge' last time?"

Upon hearing this question, a ripple finally appeared in Aenario's eyes, which seemed to hold the stars and the sea—a complex emotion mixed with memories and endless sorrow.

“Survival?” He chuckled self-deprecatingly, his voice hoarse. “That’s not called survival. At least from Mr. Amber’s perspective now, it’s a kind of lingering existence at the cost of civilization’s self-castration, in exchange for the continuation of the race.”

He didn't keep us in suspense, but instead, in a calm tone, recounted a bloody past that had been buried deep in history.

"The Thousand Star Empire of yesteryear was far more powerful than human civilization is today. Our footprints were all over the universe, and our psionic skills were enough to shape stars. But we were still utterly defeated by the Forerunners! They destroyed our fleets and annihilated our planets as easily as stepping on ants on the roadside."

"In the final moments, my ancestors—the Phoenix King and the high-ranking officials of the royal court at the time—made an incredibly painful decision."

"He ordered the destruction of all our advanced technologies, the annihilation of all our starships, and the blowing up of all our psionic relay towers. Then, he transcribed and sealed the most core knowledge of our entire civilization—from basic physics to the mysteries of psionic energy, from genetic maps to artistic treasures—into a special storage medium called the 'Origin Crystal'."

"Afterward, he divided his surviving people into hundreds of groups, and with these crystals, fled to the most desolate and inconspicuous corners of the universe, hiding deep underground on those planets, and built secluded refuges."

The conference room was deathly silent, with only Ainarion's voice echoing through it.

"But that's not enough, because as long as civilization and wisdom exist, they will eventually develop a level of technology that can be detected by the earlier civilizations. So, my ancestors issued the final decree—'The Edict of Ignorance'."

"All shelters must be completely sealed with the 'Origin Crystal'! All elves have been forcibly deprived of their right to learn and research! We are beginning to promote an anti-intellectual culture, praising ignorance and glorifying the primitive!"

"Our children are no longer learning how to pilot starships, but how to hunt with stones and sticks! We have forgotten the true meaning of psionic energy, treating it merely as a primitive belief in communicating with nature."

"We have personally destroyed our own brilliant civilization, causing our entire race to degenerate into a primitive state of eating raw meat and drinking blood. We have lived like gophers in the dark underground for hundreds of thousands of years, generation after generation, until the pride in our bloodline was completely worn away, until we ourselves believed that we were born as cave-dwelling savages!"

Amber, Agnes, and Franklin were all deeply moved by what Agnès said.

They could not imagine that a civilization that had once been so glorious would have to inflict such cruel torture on itself in order to survive.

For a once highly developed civilization, this is no longer about cutting off an arm to survive, but about turning itself into a mindless vegetable.

On the other side, Ainario paused for a moment before continuing:

"Until...until the 'Watchers,' the only ones in our race who know the truth, through the most primitive astrology and a faint perception of the cosmic background radiation, judged that the 'Great Purge' that swept the universe had ended and that the Forerunner civilization had left this universe! Only then did we dare to cautiously re-unseal a small portion of knowledge, leading our bewildered people back to the ground, to rebuild our home from scratch, bit by bit."

"This is how we survived."

"Abandon everything, forget everything, become the most harmless and humble dust in the universe, and then spend a long time, long enough to obliterate the stars, waiting for a vague dawn."

The story was over, but a chilling feeling lingered in everyone present.

Amber let out a long breath, breaking the silence, and stood up to walk to the holographic star map.

"Now that everyone has heard the story, what are your opinions on Plan B?"

(End of this chapter)