aircannonsinc Chapter 13 Zero-Returner, Predator
Chapter 13 Zero-Returner, Predator
Cheng Yuan paused for a moment: "I'm sure everyone is eager to explore the dimension on the other side of the gate. I'm actually just as eager as you are, or even more eager than you are."
"In your world, there is a group of intelligent individuals known as the 'Zeroers,' which could be a civilization or several civilizations, though the novel doesn't specify."
"But the 'Zero-Returners' are portrayed as having an extremely high level of civilization in the novel; they are the most advanced civilization in the story!"
"They can easily create 'death lines,' using the entire universe as a backdrop to broadcast supermembranes to all civilizations in the universe. Their technology can even monitor the mass of the entire universe!"
Although they had long known that advanced civilizations should exist in the universe, hearing Cheng Yuan confirm this still shook the minds of the Trisolaran leaders.
Using the universe as a backdrop, supermembrane broadcasting can monitor the mass of the entire universe. What a powerful technology this is!
The eavesdropping governor asked, "Your Excellency, given such a powerful civilization, why haven't they launched the Dark Forest attack against us?"
Cheng Yuan said, "This is something I was going to talk about later, but since you asked about it now, I'll tell you about it."
"The 'Dark Forest Theory' that you and human civilization currently believe in is actually incorrect, or rather, only partially correct and has limitations."
"The Dark Forest Theory only applies to low- to mid-level civilizations. For advanced civilizations like the Zero-Returners, the Dark Forest Theory is no longer effective."
"If a civilization like the Zero-Returners operates according to the 'Dark Forest Theory,' then neither your civilization nor Earth's civilization should exist."
"The fact that you and Earth civilization were able to be born successfully shows that the Zero-Returners did not act in accordance with the 'Dark Forest Theory'."
"Assuming that the 'Dark Forest Theory' has been in effect since the beginning of the universe and applies to all civilizations, the universe is a dark forest, and every civilization is a hunter lurking in the forest, trying to eliminate those civilizations that have been exposed while remaining undetected."
Cheng Yuan asked, "What will be the ultimate result if this situation continues indefinitely?"
The Science Administrator declared, "Only one or a few civilizations will remain as the ultimate victors!"
Cheng Yuan continued, "What would happen if these winners continued to act according to the 'Dark Forest Theory,' a fundamental axiom of cosmic sociology?"
The science administrator reiterated: "No new civilization will be born in the universe other than theirs!"
Cheng Yuan nodded and said, "That's right. These advanced civilizations will take advantage of their first-mover advantage to cut off the possibility of the birth of new civilizations. Once they discover any signs of the birth of a new civilization, they will immediately launch the Dark Forest Strike."
"The fact that you haven't been attacked yet shows that those advanced civilizations are not acting according to the 'Dark Forest Theory'."
"Of course, the 'Dark Forest Theory' does not apply to advanced civilizations, but it does apply to mid- to low-level civilizations."
"In the past, even if advanced civilizations discovered you, they didn't pay much attention. But now that I'm here, it's different. If the Zeroers discover my identity..."
Cheng Yuan didn't finish his sentence, but the high-ranking members of the Trisolaran leadership understood his meaning:
If the Zeroers discover that Cheng Yuan comes from a higher dimension, they might take action against them.
Of course, the Zero-Returners might only capture Cheng Yuan and not harm them, but how can the survival of a civilization be entrusted to the good and evil of an advanced civilization!
If a person is happy, they might reward a nest of ants with a piece of candy or a ham, but if they are unhappy, they might "bestow" a pot of boiling water or a piss upon it.
The high-ranking members of the Trisolarans now understood why Cheng Yuan had mentioned the Zero-Returners: this person did not want to be captured by the Zero-Returners!
No wonder this person said they wanted to develop other dimensions even more than they did.
The Trisolaran Prime Minister said, "Your Excellency, Supreme Ruler, you are the hope of our civilization, and we will do everything in our power to protect your safety!"
The Sheriff also asked, "Your Excellency Supreme Ruler, is the other dimension safe? If it is, please proceed there immediately."
Other officials also spoke out.
Cheng Yuan said, "Thank you all for your kindness, but there's no need to be too nervous."
"So far, no advanced civilization like the Zero-Returners has come to capture me, which means they haven't discovered me yet!"
Civilizations at the level of the Zero-Returners have reached the point of monitoring the mass of the universe. Cheng Yuan's arrival in this universe increased the universe's mass, opened a multidimensional portal connecting to the Alien dimension, and caused fluctuations in the universe's mass.
However, none of this was discovered by the Zero-Returners. Cheng Yuan guessed that the Trisolaran universe had not yet reached its end and did not need to restart the universe, so civilizations at the Zero-Returners' level did not pay much attention to the quality of the universe for the time being.
"However, as the saying goes, 'He who does not plan for the future will have trouble in the present,' so we must explore and develop the dimension opposite the door as soon as possible."
Cheng Yuan changed the subject: "Although I have preliminarily confirmed that the other side is the Alien dimension, this does not mean that there are no changes, and further confirmation is needed."
The high-ranking members of the Trisolaran leadership present were highly focused, awaiting Cheng Yuan's orders.
"The first thing is to secure the benefits that are within our grasp."
"For us, the most valuable thing on LV-223 right now is that spaceship belonging to the 'Engineers'. I hope that once the multidimensional portal reopens, you can transport the spaceship back as quickly as possible."
"The second thing is to conduct a more in-depth exploration of LV-223 and its galaxy, and even the universe opposite, to ensure that there is nothing on the other side that can threaten us."
"Based on what I know about the Alien universe, there are three main civilizations that we should be wary of. I've already told you about the human civilization and the Engineers. Now I'm going to talk about the Predator race."
The Predator race, what are they?
They sound like a civilization that is very good at fighting.
"The Predator race, also known as the Yautja, is an interstellar civilization with the ability to travel between stars."
"The Predator race mainly appears in the Predator movie series, but they have fought against the Xenomorphs, so the possibility of them existing in the Alien universe cannot be ruled out."
"Although the Predator race is an interstellar civilization, their civilization structure is a primitive hunting civilization, and they take pride in hunting 'powerful prey'."
"How so?"
"Predators like to use high-tech weapons to hunt what they consider 'powerful prey.' They are equipped with optical cloaks, infrared thermal imagers, shoulder-fired particle cannons, and small nuclear bombs, while their opponents may be armed with assault rifles or even bows and arrows."
The Trisolaran Prime Minister said, "Your Excellency Supreme Ruler, this kind of hunt doesn't seem to be anything to be proud of."
Isn't this just using high technology to bully newbies? What's so glorious about that?
An invisible hunter, able to discern the body contours of his prey from hundreds of meters away, and then lock onto it with a particle cannon—does that even deserve to be called a hunting prodigy?
Cheng Yuan laughed and said, "But the Predator race likes to do this and even takes pride in it."
"The Predator race hunts all over the universe, and if they encounter us, we are likely to be seen as prey."
"Although the Predator movies show that the Predator race isn't technologically superior to us in areas other than space technology, we can't be complacent. We must be prepared!"
In the Predator film series, the technological development of the Predator race seems to have stagnated, without any progress for hundreds or thousands of years. The Predators that appear are still equipped with the same old equipment: shoulder cannons, invisibility capes, thermal imagers, and wrist blades.