Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

Since the departure of the human fleet, the Gliese 555 system has returned to its former tranquility.

Only the scattered warship wreckage in the Heng system, and the various man-made facilities on Dawn and Apollo, testify to everything that happened in the past in this universe.

The outer reaches of the Gliese 555 galaxy.

The stellar wind from the host star Gliese 555 drifted by slowly. After a long journey, it was exhausted and finally formed a delicate balance with the interstellar medium at this intersection zone.

This is the edge of the Gliese 555 galaxy.

The interaction between the stellar wind and the interstellar medium creates a bow-shaped shockwave—the hydrogen wall—in the direction in which the galaxy orbits the Milky Way.

Within the hydrogen wall, particles move at very high speeds, so from a microscopic perspective, it possesses extremely high temperatures.

However, because it is extremely sparse, with only a single-digit number of particles per unit area, and because of its extremely vast distance from the host star, it is also very "cold" from a macroscopic perspective.

Beyond this scorching yet "cold" hydrogen wall lies the vast expanse of interstellar space.

Ordinary civilizations cannot detect the existence of dark matter, and even if they do, they find it difficult to utilize.

Therefore, interstellar space filled with dark matter has always been stable.

On this day, the usually stable interstellar space, like a crumpled piece of paper, began to show ripples.

These ripples gradually converged, eventually forming a sphere without a solid body.

Wormhole.

Just like a black hole, the area around a wormhole is subject to an incredibly powerful gravitational lensing effect.

But it is completely different from a black hole.

No matter which direction you look from, you can see tiny, dense specks of light on the surface of the wormhole.

That's starlight.

Starlight in the infinite distance.

next moment.

With a slight distortion, three spherical warships emerged from the wormhole and suddenly appeared in this desolate interstellar space.

After a brief stop, the three spherical warships flew straight towards the Gliese 555 star system, which was not far away, like ghosts.

……

「长官，检测到来自3TCS0O26B4（格利泽555）恆星系的通讯请求。」

Within a planetary fortress with an incredibly smooth surface in the central region of the Milky Way's black hole, an extremely obscure voice resounded.

"The 3TCS0O26B4 galaxy?"

The Cleaner 9527 looked puzzled, but as the external memory storage device started operating, it quickly remembered the matter.

"Have they found human civilization?"

Soon, a subordinate responded from the side: "No, they only discovered the remnants of human civilization."

As soon as he finished speaking, a screen of light appeared in front of Cleaner 9527.

Within the light curtain was a planet that was mostly azure blue.

A satellite, its surface covered with man-made structures, is slowly orbiting the planet.

It's just a planet; planets are the most abundant thing in the universe.

Its gaze lingered on that small satellite.

In its view, the satellite's surface facilities were very rudimentary, and its internal space was not being used effectively...

Despite its numerous flaws, it still possessed the rudiments of a planetary fortress.

Cleaner9527 slightly raised his evaluation of human civilization.

Although human civilization is just a giant insect that has not mastered the Grand Unified Theory, the fact that it can complete such a massive project undoubtedly proves its potential!

"At the same time, the α warships discovered the wreckage of Bosa civilization warships around the planet." As the subordinate's voice came, the light screen quickly split in two, and the other half of the light screen showed various warship wreckages distributed in the Gliese 555 star system.

"It seems that the Bosa civilization did not gain any advantage."

A hint of dissatisfaction flashed in Cleaner 9527's eyes: "What a piece of trash."

"A civilization that has mastered the Grand Unified Theory cannot even buy time."

The subordinate raised his tentacle and gently scratched his head: "Sir, after all, we are just a subordinate civilization, so it's normal for us to be a little weaker."

"At the very least, they destroyed all valuable equipment inside the warship beforehand."

Upon hearing this, the anger on Cleaner 9527's face eased slightly.

"Sir, what should we do now?" came the subordinate's voice.

"Should we continue searching for traces of human civilization in the surrounding area?"

"They haven't mastered warp drive yet, so they won't get far."

Cleaner 9527 pondered for a moment, just as he was about to nod in agreement, when a sharp alarm interrupted his thoughts.

"Sir!"

"An unusual fluctuation point has been detected in the galaxy bridge region!"

A hurried voice came through: "Preliminary assessment indicates that it is a wormhole created by the Pastoral Faction [Time]."

Cleaner 9527's expression immediately turned serious.

"The mother civilization's judgment was correct!"

"The pastoral type has finally arrived!"

"Human civilization successfully escaped... and the pastoralists just happened to arrive in the Milky Way..."

Cleaner 9527 unconsciously waved its tentacles, its expression becoming increasingly conflicted.

"Is this a coincidence, or...?"

Thinking of the detector destroyed in the two-dimensional attack, Cleaner 9527 felt increasingly uneasy.

It hesitated for a moment, then used one of its tentacles to pull the light screen next to it over.

This matter is of great importance; it requires us to consult with the mother civilization.

After a short wait, communication was successfully established.

"..."

"But, between human civilization and the pastoral lifestyle..." Cleaner 9527 said somewhat anxiously.

An extremely arrogant voice rang out in the cabin: "9527, you're too cowardly."

"That's why you were sent to this remote part of the Milky Way!"

"A mere Level 4 civilization, which hasn't even mastered the Grand Unified Theory, how much trouble can it possibly cause?"

"Remember, your most important task right now is to deal with the idyllic civilization that is about to arrive in the Milky Way!"

"Don't let me down!"

The light curtain disappeared.

Cleaner 9527's six tentacles slowly drooped down, and it said in a deep voice, "Tell those three alpha warships to proceed to the Star Bridge region immediately."

"Activate the wormhole warp engine, it's time for us to set off."

"...Sir?"

The subordinate hesitated before asking, "Should we leave one α-ship to search the surrounding area?"

A flicker of interest crossed Cleaner 9527's eyes, but remembering Mother Civilization's reprimanding words, it immediately deflated and said, "Fine, I'll do as Mother Civilization says."

"The Mother Civilization is right; the Pastoral Civilization is the one we should be focusing on."

"If human civilization is really just a pawn of pastoral civilization, then we only need to keep an eye on the pastoralists," Cleaner9527 consoled himself.