Chapter 14: Mechanical Civilization, Section 7

“Why!?” The aged voice was filled with astonishment; it clearly couldn’t understand why Black Hair would refuse. In its way of thinking, it was only natural for any race to offer selfless help when faced with another race’s plea for assistance. It had never seen such a cold attitude as Black Hair’s.
Even that terrifying race that had invaded its homeland wasn’t this heartless. Black Hair seemed less like a sentient being and more like one of those purely mechanical entities without even the slightest hint of intelligence—rigid and cold.
“There’s no reason. I have no motive nor need to fight for you. You are you, and I am me. Even if your race disappears from this universe, it would be a natural process, and I won’t interfere,” Black Hair replied casually, though inwardly amused.
What a perfect opportunity. Everything came as it hoped. It had originally planned to use force to seize control of this planet, but now it seemed unnecessary. Since this simple being needed its help, it could easily demand a high price. Why take risks?
After all, its control skills had only been used on lifeless mechanical entities. As for sentient beings, even if they belonged to the mechanical category, Black Hair wasn’t sure how to handle them.
To feign indifference to provoke action—if the owner of this mysterious planet knew this Chinese proverb, they probably wouldn’t be in such a hurry.
Upon hearing Black Hair’s explanation, blue light flashed rapidly inside the sphere in the center of the room, with arcs of electricity jumping around it. Clearly, it was thinking at high speed. After a long while, the aged voice spoke humbly, “If that’s the case, I’m truly sorry. I really shouldn’t have dragged your race, which has nothing to do with me, into this dispute. It’s unfair. I almost made a grave mistake. Every life in the universe deserves respect, and my demands were too much. So please allow me to withdraw my request and hope for your forgiveness!”
What!? Could that really work?
Black Hair couldn’t believe his ears, his eyes widening in shock.
What a joke! Could there really be such simple beings in the universe? Compared to this massive mechanical being, humans on Earth could be described as filthy. Even after witnessing the innocence of the Gold-Eating Insect race earlier, Black Hair was still terrified by this creature.

In the face of such a race, it seems that any strategy is utterly inadequate. If you want something, just ask directly—they will surely fulfill your requests as much as possible without expecting any return. It was then that Black Hair finally realized his mistake. Fortunately, it was a mistake he was willing to accept, as it felt far better than being manipulated by others. “You needn’t feel apologetic. Honorable master, I’m not actually unable to help you. But before that, shouldn’t you introduce yourself first? Also, I need to know more about that terrifying race you mentioned. Don’t you think these are necessary?” Adjusting his attitude, Black Hair once again showed his signature gentle smile. Just from that smile, anyone would classify him as harmless. Clearly, the sphere was also influenced by this smile, with its blue glow slowing down. An aged voice slowly spoke, telling Black Hair a story set in unknown times and across some unknown star region. The story described a beautiful planet with a black sky and metallic land. Magma flowing continuously through its veins emitted immense energy, causing powerful energy fluctuations throughout the entire planet. It was a planet entirely different from human understanding, as its main structure wasn’t rock or soil but highly pure ore. Judged by energy levels, it would rank as SSSS-grade—or infinite. It was such a unique geographical environment that gave rise to a special civilization. Though no one could explain its origins, its existence was unique in the universe: the Stio civilization. Initially, the Stio civilization consisted of simple metallic creatures with limited abilities. But just like human society, over time they evolved and grew stronger, eventually becoming a magnificent force that covered over 180 star regions. At its peak, they even began multi-dimensional space research, trying to uncover the secrets of different dimensions.

But like all extremely glorious forces, the more advanced a civilization becomes, the more its military power tends to extremes—either extremely powerful or extremely weak. Unfortunately, the Stio were the latter. Due to their excessive focus on multi-dimensional cosmic research and their highly developed civilization, their military capabilities rapidly declined. The long period without any threats also made them complacent. By the later stages of their civilization’s development, the proportion of their armed fleets had shrunk to a pitiful 0.31%.

It was under such circumstances that the Moors arrived…
These terrifying creatures, like locusts of the universe, covered half of space as soon as they appeared. Though individual Moors were not strong, they possessed highly advanced technological power. Their warships were heavily armed to the teeth and had extraordinary capabilities for disassembly and reassembly. The Stio civilization was utterly helpless against their warships, like sheep in front of wolves. Especially after being deceived into letting them approach, those terrifying black warships became a nightmare for all Stios. Planets fell, civilizations were destroyed. Even the Stios’ metallic bodies became prey for the Moors. In just about a month, more than half of the 180 star systems under Stio control were lost. The rest lived in constant fear. The Stios, accustomed to a comfortable life, had no idea how to fight or what to use to fight. Although their civilization was also highly advanced, they lagged far behind in weapon development. They couldn’t even carry out basic defensive tasks, let alone launch attacks.

The outcome was obvious: a race without weapons or courage could only perish in the face of strength. The once-glorious Stio civilization disappeared from the universe. And the only survivor was now before the black-haired man.

It was the armed planet hastily developed by the Stio civilization toward the end of the war—“Mason”.

“So, you yourself are a weapon. Then why don’t you fight instead of fleeing?” the black-haired man asked, frowning.

Though he desired such a powerful planet greatly, if the cost was too high, he would have to think carefully. As an armed planet developed at the last moment, Mason undoubtedly embodied all the Stio civilization’s efforts. If even such a planet could be easily defeated, the black-haired man saw no hope left for himself.

Perhaps fleeing early was the best decision.

“Three reasons.” Now, the voice of the central sphere, Mason, finally settled down, without any fluctuations.
“First, I was developed in a hurry—there wasn’t enough time, and the weapon systems equipped weren’t tested or proven, so they can’t be used.”
“Second, I have no energy source. The great Stio civilization either doesn’t develop anything or, if it does, it aims for something grand. My blueprint is based on planets, so the energy demand is enormous. By then, the civilization’s influence had shrunk to three star systems, all barren areas without large mining planets, leaving me without sufficient energy supplies.” As he spoke, Mason’s voice gradually faded.
“Hmm, understandable. So what’s the third reason?” The black-haired man raised an eyebrow and pressed on.
“Third… third… it’s that I… lack combat experience… and can’t be thrown into actual battles… And the Moors didn’t give me enough time to adapt…”
“That’s absolute nonsense!” The black-haired man was stunned and finally spat out an insult.
He simply couldn’t stand the rigidity of this so-called Stio civilization. They developed weapons but refused to use them because they hadn’t been thoroughly tested. Without energy, they refused to cut back. Even worse, they cared about some damned adaptation period during battles. It was absurd!!
The black-haired man truly couldn’t understand the Stio people’s way of thinking. Did everything in their minds have to be strictly defined by rules? Could they not be flexible at all? Even when on the brink of extinction?
Of course, the black-haired man couldn’t know that, since the Stio were mechanical beings, they, despite having consciousness, were still constrained by programming rules. Their behavior was meticulous, with few deviations. In some cases, their rigidity was even worse than that of the old scholars in Guhua Country.
“Alright, then you should tell me how far those Moors are from here. I certainly don’t want them to show up right in front of me while I know nothing about them.” The black-haired man was finally defeated by Mason’s simplicity and spoke weakly.
“I’m not sure.”
“Huh? What did you say? Say that again.” The black-haired man’s left hand trembled, and suddenly he felt the urge to pull out his dagger and stab.

“I really don’t know. When I escaped, I used high-level teleportation technology. It wasn’t distance I crossed, but dimensions. That’s why I didn’t have enough time to calculate the coordinates. So I have no idea when those Moors will find this place. But I know that since they’ve occupied the capital planet, they likely also possess this technology. It’s only a matter of time before they chase here.” Mason’s voice sounded aggrieved, and the blue light of the core sphere flickered more frequently.

“Then do you still have the ability to leave the gravitational range of this neutron star?”

“I can try, but the chances of success aren’t more than 72%. And after trying, I’ll inevitably enter a dormant state due to a lack of energy. I won’t be able to move again until I’m recharged with enough energy.”

“In other words, only one chance?”

“Yes, Blackhair. Just one chance,” Mason replied affirmatively.

“Then let’s get started. I really don’t want to stay in this hellhole any longer.” Blackhair lazily sat down on the ground and closed his eyes.

After such a long time of exploration, both mentally and physically, he was extremely tired.

“But Blackhair, I still haven’t found a race willing to help me. Without energy, I’m just like any other asteroid floating in space—without any sense at all. There’s no possibility of contacting other races anymore,” Mason said anxiously.

“You think hiding here will bring other races to contact you? Inside this neutron star’s gravitational field?” Blackhair sneered disdainfully and waved his hand.

“I have to say, you’re really lucky—some fool actually came here. As for me, I’m unlucky, because that fool is me.”

“You mean!?” Mason wasn’t a fool either; his voice suddenly rose, filled with surprise.

“That’s right. Hurry up and start, before I change my mind!”

“Understood,” Mason replied cheerfully.

As his voice sounded, several arms emerged from the transparent floor, instantly pinning Blackhair in place. Soon after, the entire planet began to shake violently. The bright lights everywhere in the hall vanished instantly, and the vast universe appeared before Blackhair once again.

Now I can enjoy this view in peace, Blackhair thought with satisfaction. He moved slightly to lie more comfortably and then waited quietly for the impending impact.

“Boom!!”

With a deafening roar, the entire planet suddenly began to spin at high speed. From space, it was visible that the surface at its axis had suddenly collapsed, revealing hundreds of huge holes from which countless brilliant plumes erupted, instantly lighting up half of the starry sky. An engine of such scale generated terrifying thrust, causing the massive asteroid to move little by little. It was impossible to imagine the grandeur of the scene—even the slightest movement of the planet could cause earth-shaking effects. In Black Hair’s line of sight, he could see rocks on the planet’s surface cracking and spatial distortions caused by changes in the magnetic field, yet the area where he stood remained completely calm. What magnificent mechanical lifeforms. Black Hair suppressed his excitement and finally wore a triumphant smile. As he smiled, the roaring sound grew louder, and after an explosive boom, the asteroid suddenly accelerated, shooting out rapidly… Leaving behind only streams of exploding energy and distorted space.