Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

"A self-interpreting system?"

This thing shouldn't be in a place like a renovation center!

Logically speaking, areas designated as "reconstruction centers" are the core of a civilization and are not opened to the public casually.

Equipping it with a self-decoding system... is unreasonable and illogical.

Furthermore, judging from its zero intrusion speed, it has no internal defense mechanisms whatsoever.

This is not what a renovation center should look like.

This is clearly a diplomatic device!

Filled with doubt, Lü Yongchang waited silently.

……

The hypercube contains a lot of information, and even with zero data, it took a considerable amount of time to read and parse all of it.

More than ten minutes later.

After completing the initial data screening and organization, the important information will be presented in the holographic projection.

[Year One of the Trojan Civilization. After 3127 years of war, the Trojan civilization successfully achieved unification.]

[Year 132 of the Trojan Civilization. We have successfully mastered controlled nuclear fusion technology, which gives us the means to travel through the stars.]

【…】

Lü Yongchang's eyes flickered slightly.

This appears to be a document resembling a diary or chronicle, and the compiler's intention was likely to record the history of the Trojan civilization.

He quickly scanned the rest of the history of civilization and couldn't help but feel a little wistful.

From this perspective, the end of the Trojan civilization was not a happy one.

[In the year 3450278 of the Trojan Civilization, the discovery of zero-point energy in the vacuum opened the door to a new world for us.]

[In the year 8796213 of the Trojan civilization calendar, researchers discovered that excessive extraction of zero-point energy from the vacuum was causing instability in the cosmic bubble, but... there was nothing they could do; everyone was using it.]

[The year of the Trojan civilization is 9577421. We have mastered the fifth dimension, a vast and magnificent world in which the immense universe is but a drop in the ocean.]

[Trojan Civilization Year 10235478. Success! The Academy of Sciences has found a solution! Binary universe annihilation! It can revitalize the cosmic bubble!]

[Trojan Civilization Year 10235519. It's too late, everything is too late! The cosmic bubble has begun to collapse, and all civilizations within this universe will be wiped out!]

[Trojan Civilization Year 10239703. There's still a chance! The Academy of Civilization has discovered another intact cosmic bubble next to our own! Observations show that the fundamental physical constants of that universe are completely identical to ours; they're like twins!]

【…】

At this moment, Lü Yongchang had straightened up from his seat, and his expression had become serious.

Just as he had previously suspected, vacuum zero-point energy does indeed pose a hidden danger!

After the cosmic bubble "bursts," it splits into countless cosmic bubbles of varying sizes. These smaller cosmic bubbles wander in five-dimensional space and, by chance, fall into the universe where human civilization resides... This is the origin of the four-dimensional bubble!

He roused himself and carefully examined the log entries, which were nearing completion.

[The year is 10301597 in the Trojan calendar. The latest findings from the Academy of Sciences indicate that that universe is three-dimensional, meaning we probably cannot live there. This is truly disheartening news.]

[The year is 10392169 in the Trojan calendar. Our universe is 200000 years away from collapse. All surviving advanced civilizations have gathered to make a final attempt—dimensional reduction or dimensional ascension. Only by completely transforming individual civilizations into three-dimensional beings can we adapt to life in that universe.]

[Trojan Civilization Year 10452139. Dimensional reduction utterly failed; three-dimensional space is too narrow! Damn it! No civilization can tolerate three dimensions! I really don't know how life in that universe survives!]

[In the year 10516913 of the Trojan Civilization calendar, the Academy of Civilization proposed a new plan: we could resist the effects of three-dimensional space by consuming vast amounts of energy. However, this plan also had a problem: the individuals of the Trojan civilization could not possibly bear such an enormous energy expenditure.]

[Year 10517917 of the Trojan Civilization. Madness! The Academy of Sciences has gone utterly mad! They actually want to aggregate the consciousness of all individuals to construct a civilizational consciousness cluster, thereby transforming the entire civilization into a powerful cosmic behemoth! Only in this way can the individual members of the Trojan civilization withstand the terrifying drain of the 'Core Project'! But… if the transformation succeeds, will we still be the Trojan civilization?]

[Trojan Civilization Year 10557192. The consciousness fusion experiment was declared a success, and the core project was officially launched, but I refuse to participate in this project!]

[Year 10579631 of the Trojan Civilization. After the plan was announced, some advanced civilizations chose to abandon it, but a considerable number still chose to participate in the core plan.]

[Year 10593147 of the Trojan Civilization. The core plan has been declared a success, and this cosmic bubble has entered its final countdown to collapse! The Trojan civilization, along with other advanced civilizations, will travel in the ruptured cosmic bubble to the nearest cosmic bubble, hoping that bubble is safe; otherwise… we will have no choice but to execute the initial annihilation plan in that universe.]

This diary is dedicated to recording the glorious past of the Trojan civilization. The transformed Trojan civilization is no longer the same.

The journal entry came to an abrupt end.

A terrifying thought slowly surfaced in Lü Yongchang's mind.

He swallowed hard, a cold sweat breaking out on his back.

"Professor..." He Bilin's hoarse voice came from the side, revealing what Lü Yongchang was thinking, "Could this Trojan civilization and other advanced civilizations... be the precursors of the Pastoral School?"

Inside the Dimension Research Center, all was silent.

Lu Yongchang did not reply, but instead ran his slightly trembling hand across the holographic projection.

Attached to the log were a large number of observation records and experimental data.

Looking at those observation data, Lü Yongchang felt a jolt in his heart!

The cosmic bubble found by the Trojan civilization is the very universe in which human civilization resides!

"Yes……"

Lu Yongchang's voice was extremely hoarse: "You're right, the pastoral faction... they're outsiders!"

The logs reveal that the universe inhabited by the Pastoral Faction is a four-dimensional space. Due to its weak assimilation effect, different-dimensional civilizations exist there, which corresponds precisely to the different-dimensional life forms within the Pastoral Faction.

Furthermore, the ultimate product of the core plan... is probably the crucial core within the idyllic creature's body!

Its working principle is similar to the "dark matter stabilizing field" of human civilization, except that those cores have higher power and stronger effects, and correspondingly, they also require greater energy consumption!

"That's not what the painting said back then. It claimed to have originated from the Triangulum Galaxy..." Fang Xu's voice gradually weakened. "So, all of this... is fake?"

Lu Yongchang pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head: "No, not necessarily."

"The Trojan civilization and other advanced civilizations after the core project can be regarded as a complete living entity."

"Perhaps, they also exhibit similar reproductive behaviors."

P.S.: Digging a hole is fun for a moment, but filling it in is a nightmare.

There might only be one update today...

My perfect attendance record!!!