Don’t panic if you get scammed, give him a Desert Eagle instead.

Sure enough, after two hours of relentless effort, she discovered some crucial information. It turned out that the second level of communication was different from what they had previously understood, and that humanity's current ability to crack this code was relatively limited.

In other words, human society is currently unable to communicate effectively with them; at least the binary method we are using now is incorrect.

With this idea in mind, Xu Jiajia immediately returned to the laboratory and reorganized all the data from this period of time.

She converted the binary format to quaternary and rearranged it using her knowledge of cryptography. Sure enough, she obtained some new data.

"Alright, let's start analyzing the information we've gathered over the past few days."

Their analysis revealed that the inner Earth was indeed sending them greetings. The difference in technology between the two sides led to the previous instances of obtaining the same data.

"In that case, we'll share some information with them now, saying that we humans live a prosperous life and have many resources. We've also noticed that your living environment is very cold; do you need our help?"

And so, they began to make contact again.

As usual, they received this reply that evening:
“We live comfortably here year-round, and we are not interested in the lifestyle of you surface humans. If you want to make direct contact with us, please send a representative over.”

Everyone immediately erupted in uproar. Was it really that direct?
Given this situation, perhaps human society really needs to re-examine the current state of the Earth. Is there really someone manipulating things behind the scenes?

At least for now, they are not sure. But what is certain is that the communication methods they need to master at this stage are indeed very difficult.

"Alright, let's not rush things. I think this is our only hope right now. Let's hurry up and reorganize our tasks."

"Yes!"

Everyone immediately got to work.

However, there has been no new information regarding this matter since then.

"Wait a minute." Just then, Xu Jiajia suddenly came up with an idea.

"Why must we go to that desolate place? To be honest, do they want to kidnap us, or what other means are they planning to use to blackmail us?"

Although the specifics are still unclear, Xu Jiajia's words have certainly drawn attention. Logically, if these subterranean humans truly harbored good intentions, their attitude wouldn't be so blatant.

“I think we’ve disturbed their lives, which is why they’re unwilling to make this decision. They just hope that once we establish contact with them, they won’t go anymore. After all, who wants to go to that harsh, cold place?”

"That's what I was thinking too, but I always feel like this might be a way of testing their sincerity? If possible, could we invite them to come down to the surface and take a look?"

“I think it’s best not to do that. They definitely know something about our surface now, so it’s unlikely that they’re not interested in us.”

At this point, everyone started discussing it amongst themselves, believing that such a thing was simply impossible. But Xu Jiajia brought everyone's thoughts back to the present.

“Think about it carefully, why do they live in that extremely cold place? Don’t they know that the situation on the surface has improved a lot? They actually know everything. I think the reason they don’t come is probably directly related to the war at the first level, or they see the things at the first level very clearly, so they stay away from the surface and just want to live happily. If they are willing to come, the surface must first show enough sincerity.”

So they reported the whole situation to their superiors. After listening, the superiors simply nodded in approval, indicating that no matter what, they should take action first.

This time, Jiang Chuan and Xu Jiajia were directly chosen as representatives of humanity.

After contacting the Inner Earth, the Inner Earth responded, welcoming the couple and assuring them that it would not cause them any trouble.

After making preparations, the couple immediately boarded the specially designed nanorobot aircraft as instructed.

After a long voyage, they finally arrived at this region. However, they were quite surprised when they saw the scene before them; it turned out that this place also had a sun and a moon.

It was morning, and the sun was high in the sky. But as they stepped out of the aircraft, they were immediately struck by a chill.

"My goodness, this is just like our winter."

Jiang Chuan is still speechless. Just then, several dwarfs walked up to them, and they also seemed nervous when they saw such a tall "giant".

"So you are the legendary dwarves, right?"

"That's what you call us. Here, come with me. Although we look rather short, our transportation should be able to meet your needs."

Sure enough, they followed the dwarfs into a very simple vehicle and arrived at a spacious reception room.

At this moment, a dwarf dressed in magnificent robes appeared before them. This person was richly dressed and appeared to be a former high-ranking official or nobleman.

"First of all, welcome to the place. I have a question for you: why are you exploring the terrain this time? We have lived here for generations and have no interest in your surface or in your conflicts."

"I just hope to establish a good relationship with you. Also, if you pose no threat to us, we may need to continue exploring the third level. There's a legend about the end of the world circulating on the surface, and we don't know exactly what will happen."

However, the person in charge just smiled.

"Do you really think we'd believe your nonsense? If surface-dwelling humans are truly facing the end of the world, they can just move underground. There are so many places to live underground, why do you insist on staying on the surface doing such dangerous things and creating civilization there? It's utterly ridiculous."

Jiang Chuan was surprised. Did this person in charge not care about humanity at all? Just then, the person in charge showed them their scientific achievements.

“We don’t have an army here, or anything like that. What truly sustains us is the artificial intelligence you are seeing now.”

This kind of artificial intelligence has existed for a long time and has achieved a symbiotic relationship with humans. In other words, although these humans are currently the dominant force in the region, they have discovered that artificial intelligence is actually at the core of everything.

"We've been enjoying life ever since we created this novel thing, without even worrying about any problems that might arise."

Just then, her woman's intuition kicked in, and Xu Jiajia began to have doubts. Something felt off. If what the person in charge said was true, then there must be some hidden secret behind this artificial intelligence. Xu Jiajia asked, "Excuse me, how many years has it been since you last invested time and effort in scientific and technological development?"

The person in charge replied, "Everyone is living a comfortable life, so why would we need to develop any new systems? Isn't it enough for us to just do our own jobs well and be happy under these extreme conditions?"

They seem to be living quite carefree lives, but nobody knows how long this situation can last. If something unexpected happens, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Xu Jiajia pressed on, "You mean we should place all our happiness on the artificial intelligence system you developed, is that right?"

The person in charge answered affirmatively, "Yes!"

At this moment, they realized that perhaps these responses weren't from humans at all, and might even be the work of artificial intelligence acting on its own. Why then did this AI not allow human intervention? From a binary perspective, it seemed to have a "four steps forward, two steps back" mentality. What message was it trying to convey? Jiang Chuan was filled with doubt.

Faced with this suddenly appearing race, they themselves were confused about what they were doing. When they announced their intention to conduct in-depth research into the third level, the person in charge unexpectedly objected.

The person in charge said emotionally, "Absolutely not! The third level—even I dare not develop it. We tried once before, and it almost cost our key personnel their lives. Let me tell you, that's a forbidden zone that you humans absolutely cannot touch!"

As the saying goes, there's always a reason behind anything unusual. The way this is being handled with such secrecy suggests someone is definitely up to something.

"We just finished a war on the surface, and there's an organization that keeps clamoring that 'the Lord' is about to descend. After analyzing the situation, we've ruled out the possibility of aliens and extraterrestrials, so the most likely candidate is your inner Earth world!"

Upon hearing the word "master," the person in charge's expression changed drastically, showing great concern: "You mean those mysterious beings in the third-level world? If they truly exist, then they are undoubtedly the rulers of Earth."

Xu Jiajia pressed further, "What do you mean by that?"

The person in charge remained tight-lipped: "I'm sorry, it's a secret, I can't tell you these things. You should go back and live your own lives, and stop doing things that are not worth the effort."

Clearly, the person in charge was starting to get scared.

Xu Jiajia, like a curious child, wanted to continue asking questions, but Jiang Chuan stopped her.

Jiang Chuan said politely, "Thank you so much for meeting me this time. If possible, could I visit your world more often in the future?"

The person in charge replied, "Yes, but you must promise us that you will abandon the dangerous idea of ​​developing a third-tier world. If we find out that you are still planning this, we will do everything in our power to stop you."

Jiang Chuan said helplessly, "Fine!"

The first encounter with the second-tier world thus came to an end. When they reported to their superiors, everyone was in agreement: continue exploring, but also proceed with caution, given that the second-tier world had already issued a warning.

In front of her superiors, Xu Jiajia couldn't help but complain, "I've realized that we humans are just perverse. Everyone says not to touch the third level, but we just won't listen. Why do we have to provoke that dangerous place? Do we only consider ourselves successful if we release all those bad things?"

This time, Xu Jiajia disregarded the occasion and directly expressed her thoughts.

"All I know is that people are living well now, and the people are living in peace and contentment. Isn't that good? Why bother with those meaningless things? If something really goes wrong, humanity will face annihilation again. What's the point?"

However, the superiors disagreed: "What if the third level intends to launch a direct attack on us?"

As he spoke, the superior took out what they had found during the investigation and placed it in front of Xu Jiajia: "Look at this, this is something from the legendary doomsday stalactite. When we opened it, we found a strange doomsday countdown clock inside. What's even stranger is that this thing has no power source, yet it keeps counting down."

Sure enough, the couple was shocked when they saw it.

“Jiang Chuan, go back and tell the people in the second-level world that if they don’t plan to join forces with us now, we don’t need to worry too much. But I can confirm that the master of the third level is already making plans for us, and it won’t be long before it has a substantial impact on us.”

Soon, the second trip took place. When they met the person in charge directly, Jiang Chuan explained the purpose of their visit and the whole story in detail from beginning to end.

Upon hearing this, the person in charge was speechless. In fact, they did have some unspeakable secrets, but they couldn't just solve all their problems in front of everyone.

"Sigh!" the person in charge sighed.

Although many things are still unpredictable, the words conveyed by his superiors still made him feel a real sense of threat.

"I said no, and that's final! Why can't you understand? Do you have to push things to the point of no return before you're satisfied?" the person in charge said emotionally.

"Sigh!" Another sigh escaped.

Indeed, the current situation is becoming increasingly difficult and is causing great distress.

“We really don’t want to get involved, do you understand?” the person in charge emphasized again.

"If the third-level people were to attack you first and try to wipe you out, would you just obediently accept their enslavement?" someone asked rhetorically.

"Yes!" To everyone's surprise, the person in charge gave this answer.

I never imagined they were such a weak and incompetent group. In that case, trying to stop humanity from gaining a deeper understanding of the Third Level seems utterly pointless.

"All right!"

After they reported the results of their conversation with the person in charge to their superiors, the superiors were both amused and exasperated, exclaiming that they had never seen such cowardly people. At a critical moment, they actually asked everyone to ignore everything, and even agreed to accept enslavement after being completely invaded. They were simply a bunch of unprecedented cowards.

"To be honest, these people can't do anything except tinker with artificial intelligence," the superior said helplessly.

However, the higher-ups also made a decision this time.

"In that case, I have an idea. If everyone is well-prepared, we might as well give it a try. Perhaps we'll find that things are far more complicated than we imagined." (End of Chapter)