Chapter 14: Mechanical Civilization, Section 6

“The first question: Where are you from?”
“Earth,” replied Hei Fa without hesitation, cheerfully. Though he had anticipated that this mysterious voice might ask about his origins, he had no intention of hiding them.
In fact, in this new era marked by the beginning of the Cosmic Age, when various rare races were gradually discovered by humans, his existence was no longer anything unusual. There were countless races of greater research value everywhere. With the exploration of each new star region in the universe, more and more new developments emerged. Humans had long been accustomed to waking up every morning to news reports about how many new mineral planets had been discovered, how many challenges in magic technology had been overcome, and which star fleets were set to launch expeditions to certain regions.
In an era with teleportation technology, the vast universe seemed smaller. People no longer cared about the number of new discoveries but rather how much they could claim for themselves.
So Hei Fa wasn’t worried about his origins being revealed. Even if he gave the name, he believed no one would understand its meaning. It was even less likely that anyone could pinpoint Earth’s location. If someone did find Earth’s exact coordinates, Hei Fa might even have to express gratitude—because that would mean he could go home…
“Earth? What a strange name. Oh, it’s truly bizarre! My database doesn’t even have any information on it. This really surprises me,” said an aged voice, speaking to itself. The loud volume made Hei Fa’s eardrums buzz.
“You’re surprised your database doesn’t have it? Do you think you’re God?” Hei Fa sneered, dismissing the mysterious voice’s sudden astonishment.
But the other party clearly wasn’t someone who would dwell on details and quickly moved on from the first question.
“Very well, guest from Earth. I admit that years have aged my database. Then tell me—is this planet called Earth your homeworld?”
“That’s your second question?” Hei Fa raised an eyebrow, his tone turning cold.

He could tell the other party about his background, but he would never allow any creature to set their sights on Earth. Not even the slightest interest was permitted—because it was simply too dangerous. In the face of these strange races, even the slightest flaw could lead to catastrophic disaster. Even after countless years away from Earth, Hei Fa still refused to let that blue planet become an ocean of alien creatures due to his carelessness.

Moreover… such terrifying mechanical life.

Sensing the change in Hei Fa’s tone, the mysterious voice chuckled. “Don’t mind me, esteemed guest. I’m just curious. This isn’t a second question—you don’t have to answer it.”

“Understood. Then I refuse to answer this question,” Hei Fa nodded and sat down calmly. Shards of meteors occasionally streaked across the vast space around them, giving off a sense of otherworldliness.

“Your personality is quite strange, visitor. Then I’ll ask my second question. If one day, a group of alien forces you’ve never seen before suddenly arrives on your homeworld, seemingly intending to engage in friendly exchanges, how would you respond?”

“I’d send reconnaissance satellites, attack fleets, defense fleets, and activate all self-defense systems. I’d investigate their origins and make all necessary defensive preparations. The fleets would be ready to launch, and if possible, they’d first secretly encircle them before making contact,” Hei Fa replied briefly.

“How can you do that!? Aren’t you preparing for war? They’ve already shown friendly intentions!” The mysterious voice grew louder, clearly shocked by Hei Fa’s reaction.

“Why not? The so-called friendship they offer is just superficial. I have no reason to abandon my defenses based on unconfirmed information. In any situation, my own safety must come first. What if their true intention is invasion? What if their friendship hides something else? Sorry, in this world, I only trust myself!!” Hei Fa retorted.

“There was once a nation that was deceived by so-called friendship, ending up in ruin. I’m not a saint; I don’t have much kindness or compassion. Even if they’re truly friendly, they must go through my bayonets first.”

“That’s hostility. You harbor hostility toward any other race. In the universe, beings like you deserve eternal exile.” The mysterious voice sounded weaker now, seemingly intimidated by the coldness in Hei Fa’s tone.

Indeed, the thoughts of the black-haired one were normal among humans in the past, but in this vast and boundless universe, they represent outright rebellion and evil. No other race would desire a complex social structure and internal strife as much as humans do. Thus, although most of them are highly intelligent and technologically advanced, they remain emotionally pure as blank sheets of paper.

The same is true for this great life form with a planet as its body. It probably never imagined that there could be such terrifying beings in this universe, whose ideology is nothing but brute force. Truly… it’s very similar to that race… the mysterious voice thought, soothing its emotions at the same time.

“I understand. Then there’s no need to ask the third question,” the mysterious voice said weakly just as the black-haired one grew impatient.

“Hehe.” Hearing this, the black-haired one suddenly laughed, a hint of sarcasm appearing on his face. “Your third question must be about what you would do if this race, after deceiving your defense systems, revealed its true aggressive nature and destroyed your home, right?”

“Um…” The mysterious voice was at a loss for words and couldn’t answer the black-haired one’s question.

But the black-haired one didn’t let it off so easily. At that moment, his tone became sharp and aggressive. “Let me guess—your plan would be to abandon the occupied territory and lead your remaining people in flight. Well, there might be some sporadic resistance, but overall, it wouldn’t be organized. Then there would be endless pursuit, your people dying one by one, until only you are left. If it weren’t for this neutron star, you probably still couldn’t drive them away. Am I right?”

“N-no… it’s not exactly… I escaped through teleportation, but due to hasty calculations, the coordinates were off. By the time I arrived, I was already within the neutron star’s gravitational range… I… I…” The mysterious voice became speechless, realizing too late that it had already admitted the black-haired one’s guess in its panic. All it could do was weakly protest.

At that moment, the surrounding cosmic landscape vanished instantly. The black-haired one’s vision went dark. When it cleared again, he found himself in a huge, spacious circular space. In the center of this space was a transparent floor, and he stood on it. If one didn’t pay close attention, it seemed as though he were floating in empty space. It was truly miraculous.

Kurokami noticed that in the center of this space, there was a similarly circular transparent sphere rolling rapidly. Inside the sphere, a prismatic metallic substance was flashing with rapid blue light—just like the light from a hard drive when a computer is running at high speed. That must be the true core of this planet, its actual body, Kurokami deduced immediately. At the same time, he couldn’t help but feel sorrow for this magnificent life form. Despite possessing such advanced technology and military strength, its mindset was so naive that it had been deceived into coming face to face with its core just by a few words. No wonder such mechanical lifeforms had been wiped out. Kurokami even wondered how they had managed to grow to such a scale in this universe. Could it be that this world wasn’t his own? Were all races so peace-loving? But none of this mattered anymore, since he had come here precisely for its advanced technology and its planetary body. In a sense, he wasn’t much different from the race it mentioned—only more subtle. As he thought this, the index finger of his left hand suddenly disintegrated silently, turning into a small cluster of fine black threads that slithered along the transparent floor toward the central sphere…

Greed and ambition—why hide them?
I am evil by nature.
I am innocent!

Just then… the old voice rang out in the space again, accompanied by a sudden intense blue light from the center, forcing Kurokami to close his eyes. His left hand also returned to its original state instantly.

“Visitor, I’ve figured it out!! I’ve figured it out!!!”

“What have you figured out?” Kurokami asked, frowning with displeasure. If it weren’t for the sudden blue light, he would have already succeeded in invading. Although the other party was a highly intelligent being, it was still a machine, and without any defenses, Kurokami was quite confident. But now, things had become difficult.

“I’ve realized that since you share the same way of thinking as them, you must be able to compete with them. So I’ve decided to make you my ally. Please help my people eliminate these terrifying enemies!!” The old voice was extremely excited. To Kurokami’s ears, it even sounded… well… jubilant?

Boring… Black Hair curled his lips. Do I have nothing to do? Go challenge a terrifying race that even your massive mechanical species flees at the sight of? This guy’s thinking is truly childish. What are others but tools to be used whenever desired?
So without even a moment’s hesitation, Black Hair simply threw out a blunt reply.
“I refuse!”