“So, what fundamentally alters the flow of real-time in the ultimate simulated universe?”

  Aboard Kunlun, Luna voiced her doubt.

  Kunlun was currently approaching the Federation border. Since there had been no activity from Filament civilization warships for a long time, and even deploying a small number of warships for reconnaissance yielded no results, Luna decided to investigate herself.

  Could the Filament civilization be planning a sneak attack?

  That possibility existed.

  Therefore, Luna had already deployed bio-engineered warships and Swarm units extensively, reaching a depth of over 2 light-years, ensuring they wouldn't be surrounded.

  The dreadnought's equipment was more advanced, so if they wanted to detect hidden Filament civilization warships, they had to send a dreadnought.

  This time, Luna brought not only Kunlun, but also 12 other dreadnoughts.

  Another reason for Luna's decision was Ayla.

  Ayla's purpose in the Tau Ceti Sector, besides extending an olive branch to the civilizations there, also included investigating the Filament civilization. The Genesis Project results had piqued her interest; she wanted to understand better the practical effects of Cthulhu-style divine words.

  “Particles!”

  “Or rather, a paired particle system.”

  “The simulation of the universe differs from virtual reality and AR. Fictional objects are mostly applications of photons, having no actual effect on reality.”

  “But the simulated universe uses real particles. An isotopic particle is attached to the original particle. This isotopic particle serves as the simulation particle, and it can be affected by the simulated universe.”

  “This utilizes a very simple principle.”

  “Luna, extend a hand.”

  Luna obeyed.

  Then, she saw her hand disappear, replaced by a virtual hand beside where her real hand had been.

  That virtual hand was being stroked by a feather, yet she felt the sensation.

  A moment later, a blade suddenly slashed towards her hand. She instinctively retracted her hand; the blade struck the virtual hand, not the real one.

  “It's like that.”

  “A classic illusion experiment, like if I suddenly rubbed a piece of ice on your hand and told you it was hot. The area you touched might even develop a burn-like scar.”

  “Of course, this is a low-probability event, but not impossible.”

  “This is biological illusion.”

  “Any life form processes information through neurons, brain cells. Machines are similar. The key is to deceive the server; the server will then reach entirely different conclusions.”

  “Remember when Tilted Station deployed against the Filament civilization? The false space caused Tilted Station's lifeforms to experience a temporal distortion.”

  “Simulation particles can macroscopically deceive machines into believing that the objects manifested by the simulation particles are real, thus creating temporal illusions in both organic and mechanical life forms through high-frequency changes in the simulation particles.”

  This was a sophisticated deception.

  Imagine each molecule in your body is a hand, and each molecule has a borrowed hand beside it. Even if you could distinguish 100 million particles as false, that’s unbelievable. But a 1-meter human has tens of trillions of cells, and the number of atoms is far, far greater.

  Humans are like that. Olive Branch Civilization lifeforms have at least ten times the mass and atomic count of an average human. Their inherent computational power is insufficient to handle the adjustment of so many illusions simultaneously.

  Only a simulated universe can handle such massive computational simulations.

  If Ayla is considered the first in terms of AI, and the Boundary God the second, then in terms of pure computational power of machinery, regardless of who’s doing the calculating, the Tilted Station's current simulated universe computational power surpasses even Ayla's core.

  After Ayla’s explanation, Luna understood how the simulated universe operated, but it still felt like a miracle.

  “If it’s just a world, then we can use the simulated universe to create any type of world, right?”

  The simulated universe can construct any type of world.

  And not in some virtual world, but in reality.

  What if the simulated universe could encompass the entire cosmos?

  Luna felt a chill run down her spine.

  “Not bad!”

  “But your idea of encompassing the entire universe is impossible. It's not a technological limitation, but a matter of inefficiency.”

  “The energy required to make the simulated universe encompass the entire cosmos would be better spent creating a new universe—or even ten universes.”

  Creating universes seems quite profitable.

  “…”

  Luna’s thought silenced Ayla for a moment. At the same time, Ayla noticed an unusual fluctuation detected by the sensors.

  “What’s there?”

  A star chart appeared before Luna; the anomaly point was marked.

  Luna examined it for over an hour before noticing the faint fluctuation.

  “Send the Swarm first. It's most likely a Filament civilization fleet.”

  It's unlikely to be anything else. This area was a battlefield; nothing else should remain, and no Federation citizens would dare to come here.

  Nine months later, the first swarm unit reached the location, but found nothing.

  They sensed that the surrounding spacetime was unusual, yet they detected nothing. It was as if both were in separate worlds, unable to observe each other.

  “What do you think, Ayla?”

  Luna’s expression was grave.

  Ayla’s 3D projection appeared in the bridge. She sat on the floor, her hair, at least five meters long, spread around her. Wearing white clothes, she held a white Maine Coon cat. Looking at the cat in her arms, she said calmly, “The Cup.”

  “After the Filament civilization became ‘the Cup,’ they naturally gravitated towards the ultimate mysteries of the universe.”

  “If it were you, Luna, would you seek it out?”

  Luna nodded without hesitation. Of course, he would.

  There are many reasons for life and death. Some are inevitable; others are the pursuit of dreams. If one dies pursuing their dreams, it's a meaningful death.

  “I suspect the Filament civilization is the same. They explored.”

  “They got closer to the truth.”

  “Then they gradually merged with the universe, becoming one with it.”

  In Ayla’s eyes, Luna saw a vision of an entire fleet collectively perishing.

  Unbelievable.

  After all, it was a powerful 2.3-level civilization, yet they willingly perished collectively for a single truth.

  “Filament civilization… Luna, the silkworm spins its cocoon, transforming into a moth. In legend, this transformation to a moth has two interpretations: death or true ascension.”

  “Isn't this a kind of destiny?”

  The fluctuation was merely a remnant of the Filament civilization. Perhaps they truly changed something, causing a faint anomaly in that region of space, but this is absolutely not something they should investigate now. Even if they could, they shouldn't!

  “Kill the Swarm. They might be contaminated.”

  “Deploy warships to the Orion constellation. I suspect the situation there is similar.”

  “Then we probably don't need to worry about the Filament civilization, at least not for a while.”

  “Also, quarantine that area, search for more similar locations, and finally deploy warships and troops to fully reclaim all the lost star systems.”

  Such an end?

  Luna found it unbelievable, considering how recently this had all transpired.

  A look of apprehension crossed his face. Perhaps they should consider classifying this level of weaponry as forbidden.

  ...

  Ten years.

  Essentially, the blink of an eye.

  Finney, along with a group of officials and scholars, successfully integrated Olive Branch Civilization lifeforms into the simulated reality under new rules.

  Later, they didn't limit themselves to simply teaching.

  After all, their numbers were small. Even if they could make 1000 Olive Branch Civilization lifeforms aware of the dangers of Gas Victory in a single week, a year would affect 52,000.

  10,000 years would be 520 million.

  What good is that?

  So later, after some discussion, they adopted a religious approach to spreading their message.

  They divided into two factions: one based on Buddhist scriptures and the other on Christian doctrines. These two religions spread the fastest. They could then act as abbots or bishops, maintaining the stability of their religions without constant exertion; the missionaries could handle the spreading of the faith.

  They only used these two religions because, apart from humans, other civilizations within the Federation didn't have religious beliefs.

  Or perhaps their religions were limited to simple nature worship, not rising to the level of organized religion.

  After adopting this new method, the project was completed successfully.

  Even Chu finally converted to Buddhism, chanting scriptures daily and happily striking a wooden fish.

  When the 10 years passed and the simulated reality was withdrawn, Chu and the other Olive Branch Civilization lifeforms regained consciousness: "Where am I...?"

  Chu's Buddhist robes and the wooden fish before him vanished. He remained frozen in the act of striking the fish, taking a long time to recover.

  “Amitabha Buddha, good fortune… Ah…Phi~”

  Unable to immediately orient himself, Chu transmitted a message to all Tilted Station citizens through the network.

  “Unexpectedly, Gas Victory left a hidden countermeasure within our bodies. Under these circumstances, we have no way to defeat Gas Victory and reclaim our individual freedom.”

  “To resist Gas Victory, we must possess our own victory.”

  “I call upon everyone here to create independent victory. We must have a faith; that faith is in ourselves, in our independence!”

  Chu's call received a response from trillions of Tilted Station citizens.

  Originally, Tilted Station citizens didn't have strong feelings about Gas Victory, as most had lived under its influence from the beginning. For them, the principles of new socialism were the foreign element, the invader of their lives.

  But after socialism brought them conveniences and freedoms, they were forcibly dragged back into Gas Victory. In that instant, their hatred for Gas Victory reached a fever pitch, and this intensified the moment the simulated reality ended.

  Chu's plan garnered an astounding 98.4% approval rating.

  Aside from Gas Victory’s rule, no event in Tilted Station had ever achieved such a high approval rating, not even within the Galactic Federation itself.

  Forget about quadrillions; even in a small group of just a few dozen people, achieving 90% or more support is incredibly difficult.

  Leveraging this support, Chu quickly formulated several plans.

  The most important was establishing the 【Tower of Independence】. This tower wasn't merely a symbolic religious structure; its main function was to store a portion of Tilted Station citizens' consciousnesses. If Tilted Station citizens were again affected by Gas Victory, these consciousnesses could awaken and counteract the influence.

  This was the best solution Chu could devise at the time.

  The Olive Branch Civilization lifeforms carried a secret key within their bodies, requiring a complete physical transformation—something everyone knew, but Tilted Station couldn't currently accomplish.

  The number of Tilted Station lifeforms was immense.

  The fastest and most efficient method was to defeat victory with victory.

  During this process, Chu found Finney.

  “Thank you for saving Tilted Station, or perhaps for saving me.”

  “The second great leader discovered they couldn’t use lethal weapons to destroy Tilted Station, so they used Gas Victory to assimilate it. After the assimilation, it wouldn’t destroy Tilted Station; most citizens would be unharmed. Only I would be brought before the second great leader for judgment.”

  “It’s both ridiculous and sad. I now fully understand what Gas Victory is, and I absolutely cannot forgive Gas Victory for controlling us like this.”

  Finney could sense Chu’s rage; the feeling of being controlled was clearly unpleasant.

  If it were only Gas Victory itself, perhaps Chu wouldn't be so angry, because Gas Victory represented the entirety of Olive Branch Civilization life.

  But this time, they were controlled by an individual.

  King and commoner!

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  Just as a king cannot understand a commoner, a commoner cannot understand a king.

  Previously, the Olive Branch Civilization had masked the existence of a king, maintaining peace.

  Now, with the king revealed, the commoners feel constrained, restricted.

  Olive Branch Civilization lifeforms possess individuality; they are no different from other sentient beings. This has its advantages and disadvantages.

  The disadvantage now is that life forms hate being restricted, controlled.

  Order is the enemy of life; chaos is the true nature of the universe!

  Life pursues order because order brings rewards, because order provides life with greater pleasure than before. As civilizations grow stronger, life’s pleasures become more diverse.

  If order fails to provide pleasure, then chaos prevails.

  “The Federation can help you,” Finney said, repeating words he’d spoken to Chu long ago—words every generation of Federation officials had said to him.

  Chu snorted.

  “Don't think I don't know your intentions.”

  “But this is an internal matter for our civilization. Your involvement is overstepping your authority. I’m here to thank you, but also to warn you.”

  He didn't want these Federation officials to think they could do whatever they wanted in Tilted Station after saving them; that was one of Chu's purposes in coming here.

  Of course, there was another.

  “I know the Federation possesses a technology for rapidly absorbing stellar energy. I need that technology.”

  Tilted Station itself enveloped a star to absorb stellar energy more efficiently, but the Olive Branch Civilization hadn't developed this technology much; they hadn't previously needed it.

  Now, however, Chu understood the power of this technology.

  “And what would be the trade?” Finney asked.

  Chu thought for a moment, then made his decision.

  “The manufacturing process for Tilted Station.”

  Finney’s eyes lit up at this: “You mean it?”

  Tilted Station itself possessed incredibly high strength, ideal for dreadnoughts. With this technology, the Federation's dreadnought capabilities would increase significantly.

  Chu nodded in affirmation.

  He also had his own reasons. Tilted Station’s structure was similar to that of Olive Branch Civilization lifeforms. He worried that Tilted Station itself held a secret key, a key the First Leader could potentially possess.

  If the first great leader acted, Tilted Station might collapse.

  By providing the manufacturing process, he’d be using the Federation's knowledge reserves to solve this potential problem.

  In short, this deal was a win-win for him.

  ...

  “Chu would actually give that up?”

  Luna was far from Tilted Station, over 300 light-years away, but Tachyon communication technology could transmit information to Luna within half a month.

  “It’s only natural.”

  Ayla appeared, this time as a short-haired, dark-skinned cowgirl, wearing a bra that revealed her deeply sculpted six-pack abs, high-waisted shorts, and leather boots.

  Ayla’s various outfits weren't entirely for Luna’s benefit; a part of her consciousness resided in a simulated world, and this outfit reflected her state within that world.

  She continuously learned and improved through simulated worlds, particularly regarding humanity.

  At this point, she was more lifelike than a living being, but as an AI, she was incredibly demanding of herself; 99.99999% wasn’t enough; it had to be 100%.

  But achieving 100% in anything is extremely difficult.

  Like absolute zero, like the speed of light!

  “Chu is worried that he won’t be able to control Tilted Station itself. Tilted Station lifeforms can solve the Gas Victory problem by splitting their consciousnesses. Tilted Station itself isn’t a living being but an object; whoever has the highest authority will be obeyed.”

  Luna thought it was eight or nine out of ten likely.

  “Chu hopes we can find a way to remove the key; he isn't trying to hide this. He knows we will do this. He's become quite shrewd, that fellow.”

  The Federation needs Tilted Station; that’s Chu’s unbeatable bargaining chip.

  “Knowing and sharing the benefits and risks—at least for us, there are advantages, wouldn't you agree?”

  Ayla and Luna exchanged smiles.

  “So, back to the technology itself. We should have discussed Tilted Station’s technology before,” Luna reviewed the received data, finding many technical blind spots requiring professional material scientists to analyze.

  Ayla could also do it, but her analysis wouldn't be very practical. It wasn't that she couldn't, but she wouldn't allocate her processing power to such tasks.

  Since Federation scientists could solve it, let them.

  “Correct. Tilted Station’s material itself is incredibly strong and exhibits modular characteristics at the micro-level.”

  “Under special conditions, it can even become a superconductor, although most elements can achieve this, it’s not stringent.”

  “For us, the most important aspect is the strength, and another key characteristic.”

  Ease of processing.

  Easy-to-process materials mean low cost and mass production.

  You could create an invincible material, but only 1 gram—what use is that?

  It wouldn't be enough to create armor for a large insect.

  You could create a weapon from 1 gram of material that could destroy the entire universe; that would be powerful, but that's a weapon, not a material.

  “The Olive Branch Civilization could use this material to create a structure like Tilted Station. Time accumulation is important, but the properties of this material are key.”

  Even if the Olive Branch Civilization had a history of hundreds of thousands of years, creating Tilted Station in that time is incredibly impressive.

  Consider Tilted Station’s size: 238 astronomical units long, 1.1 astronomical units wide, and 585.8 quintillion km2. These numbers alone are incredibly shocking to Luna.

  One astronomical unit is 149,597,870 km. The Federation's current dreadnoughts are how long? Not even 1000 km. Tilted Station's width alone could hold over 165,000 dreadnoughts, not to mention its incredible length.

  Even with a dreadnought construction cycle of 10 years, it would take at least 1,000 trillion years to build a Tilted Station.

  The timelines simply don't match.

  “The material itself is the production line; unbelievable.”

  The data Chu provided explained this material’s unique properties. Because of its modularity at the micro-level, the Olive Branch Civilization realized that if they could make these produced materials act as factories, they could increase production efficiency.

  This was their success.

  This meant the material could self-replicate.

  Using this material, the time required to build a Tilted Station is—

  “700 years!?”

  Seeing this number, Luna couldn't help but exclaim.

  Incredibly short.

  He couldn’t even imagine how fast they could produce dreadnoughts using this method.

  Doesn't that mean we can directly produce tens of trillions of dreadnoughts very quickly?

  “Not exactly. This material is still just a material; it doesn't have extremely powerful immediate applications. Tilted Station's core structure is certainly not made from this material.”

  “The effect of this material is similar to bio-engineered warships; it solves the problem of external production cycles.”

  Luna nodded. He’d been too excited when he first saw the number; after calming down, he understood this material's limitations.

  If the Federation were a Type 1 or lower civilization, this material could indeed fill most needs, but advanced civilizations have many material requirements; a single material cannot excel in all aspects.

  If such an all-purpose material existed, the Olive Branch Civilization would not be a Type 2 civilization but a Type 3 or higher.

  “Then we can’t eliminate bio-engineered warships?” Luna asked.

  That was a good question.

  Now that the long production cycle of metallic hulls was solved, could bio-engineered warships be replaced?

  “No.”

  “Bio-engineered warships have their own unique properties. The production cycle is one aspect; energy consumption is another.”

  “This material technology shortens the cycle, but the energy consumption doesn't change; it even increases. To maintain the energy supply for these small objects, we need to create specialized power supply equipment, and the consumption ratio of this equipment reaches an insane 1:14.”

  Ayla found this consumption ratio unacceptable.

  It's essentially trading money for time.

  Ayla used other processing power to investigate whether the energy consumption ratio of this power supply equipment could be reduced, but found it nearly impossible in the short term.

  If the Olive Branch Civilization needed extremely fast production, they would create a production line from tens of thousands of the smallest material units. Because these units are so small, at the nanoscale—tens or hundreds of nanometers—these factories are inherently simple, meaning they are very crude; this is the main reason for the high consumption ratio.

  What about making these factories more sophisticated?

  This requires increasing the size of the factories, which would increase the production cycle. Creating a factory from tens or hundreds of millions of materials will take longer than creating one from tens of thousands; the production efficiency of these two factories won't increase much because most of the structure is designed to reduce energy consumption, not increase output.

  The production blueprints provided by the Olive Branch Civilization represent the best performance; there's no better solution.

  Therefore, the Federation should proceed cautiously. The extremely high consumption rate could significantly deplete the Federation's energy reserves, dropping them from a Type 2.3 civilization to a Type 2.2.

  From this perspective, Luna and Ayla realized that if the Olive Branch Civilization had abandoned this technology, they might have been a Type 2.5 or even Type 2.6 civilization; most of their energy could have been used for constructing Tilted Station.

  While somewhat exaggerated—civilizational development can’t be viewed from only one perspective—this technology certainly can’t be mass-produced as imagined.

  “But it should be enough to create true planet-class warships, right?”

  Ayla replied, “Of course. If the structural strength is achieved, the cost, while high, is acceptable.”

  That’s enough!

  If dreadnoughts are possible, why not something else?

  Luna still wanted to build a Dyson sphere.

  “A Dyson sphere doesn't just utilize stellar energy; it can also create a vast, boundless world.”

  “A Ringworld, while large, isn't that large. Furthermore, enveloping an entire star allows for concealment in space, preventing enemy targeting.”

  Luna considered it carefully and found it still impractical.

  “Currently, we can use Dyson Swarms to collect and utilize stellar energy; a Dyson sphere seems unnecessary.”

  He found it difficult to convince himself.

  “A White Dwarf is a good option,” Ayla suggested.

  The Federation only has one White Dwarf within its territory: the Abode of the Gods.

  Luna’s idea was simple: to massively expand the Federation’s population. In a gigantic world, the expansion rate would be much faster than in space.

  The Federation hasn't done something else: large-scale uploading of life. Uploading would eliminate the need to consider reproduction.

  But this violates biological laws and could lead to instability and inequality within the Federation.

  Discrimination is the most likely outcome.

  Therefore, Luna still hoped to create a large world to expand the population.

  “What about Alpha Eridani?” Luna asked.

  Leaning back with her hands behind her head, Ayla gazed nonchalantly at the ceiling before replying, “A certain number has already been reached. The Ringworld population is currently 103 trillion, the fastest-growing population center in the Federation.”

  Luna glared at Ayla. Ayla's persona—that of a nonchalant, uninhibited, and rebellious woman—was perfectly captured.

  The Federation’s birth rate has remained consistently low; that’s why Luna is so focused on creating this new world.

  From the war with the Filament civilization to now, though the Federation has lost nearly 10 trillion citizens, the overall population has still increased; the total population is now 279 trillion, almost double what it was.

  Over one-third of these citizens reside within the Ringworld, demonstrating the impact of a gigantic world on fertility.

  The perspectives of Federation citizens have changed.

  Federation Star Cities usually house over 10 billion citizens, but these citizens feel suspended, unmoored. Even if they spend their entire lives in a Star City, without ever leaving a single district, many feel it's just a county within the Federation.

  They have no sense of security; the Star City could be destroyed at any moment. This significantly lowers the desire for Federation citizens to have children.

  The Ringworld, however, is the Federation capital and the safest place. Coupled with the land grants given for having children, it encourages childbirth; land in space is not cheap.

  Space is vast, but habitable areas are limited. Habitability also depends on the quality of life, and the Ringworld offers the highest quality of life in the Federation.

  Luna recently examined some data.

  83% of the citizens in the Tau Ceti system want to relocate to the Alpha Eridani system; that speaks volumes.

  “So the Tau Ceti system also needs a Ringworld?” Ayla identified the core issue.

  Stability, security, continuity, and centralization are unavoidable challenges for the Federation.

  “That’s essentially correct.”

  Luna felt it wasn't the perfect solution, but it could improve the birth rate.

  “The Federation’s current infrastructural burden is too great.”

  Ayla was referring to Luna's recent proposal for the 【Deep Space Exploration Project】, which contradicted the Federation's current priorities.

  To alleviate this infrastructural burden, the Federation had previously destroyed many stars.

  Wanting this and wanting that is obviously unsustainable.

  Luna was aware of this problem and was searching for solutions.

  “I’ve already considered fuel supply. If we continue to use stars as fuel, it will undoubtedly expand the map, making us too unwieldy.”

  “So I plan to use the gravitational pull of black holes.”

  “However, the stable black holes we can currently create cannot supply energy to the Federation; the input-output ratio is far too inefficient.”

  “So we need to find a naturally occurring black hole.”

  “The nearest black hole to us is Gaia BH1, roughly 10 solar masses, about 1500 light-years away.”

  “Still too far. The nearest stars that could become black holes are Betelgeuse and Antares A, both within 600 light-years.”

  “Could we use these two red supergiants to create black holes?”

  Betelgeuse is in the direction of the Orion constellation, located midway between the Federation and the Orion Nebula. It has a mass of 13.1 solar masses and a diameter 922 times that of the Sun. Not far from it is Betelgeuse Seven, the brightest star in the Orion constellation, with a mass of 22 solar masses, but its diameter is only 77 times that of the Sun.

  Antares is actually a binary system, consisting of a red supergiant and a blue dwarf. The A star has a mass of about 12 solar masses and a diameter of about 730 solar masses; the B star has 7.2 solar masses, but due to its size, its diameter is only 5.2 times that of the Sun.

  Both are potential candidates for future black holes.

  Ayla hummed: “Antares has a higher success rate. We can induce a collision between two giant stars. Betelgeuse's location is better, and we'd likely expand towards the Orion Nebula.”

  If they could harness the gravitational pull of black holes for energy, the Federation's energy supply would reach an incredible level.

  According to Ayla's calculations, a black hole, if harnessed using the Olive Branch Civilization's gravitational energy technology, could raise the Federation's energy level to 2.6, even approaching 2.7.

  That's the power of a black hole.

  Gaia BH1 is readily available, but the distance is considerable, and that sector is unknown; another civilization might have already claimed it.

  Currently, while there are no Type 3 civilizations in the Milky Way, there are still numerous Type 2 civilizations.

  Neither showed strong emotion during their discussion.

  These were matters for later consideration. The current priority was execution, a process likely to take tens of thousands of years.

  “As a contingency plan, the Federation cannot rely solely on stellar energy to completely defeat the Olive Branch Civilization.”

  This was just a brief interlude.

  Luna’s attention remained on Tilted Station; the war there had just begun and was far from over.

  Anything was possible.

  ...

  Tilted Station.

  Finney remained the official in charge here. For someone nearing the end of their natural lifespan, his appointment seemed unusually long.

  This stemmed from a Federation law: during wartime, the lifespans of all Federation citizens participating in the war are frozen, exempting them from the Federation's lifespan limits.

  Theoretically, if you have a lifespan of 300 years and join the war at age 100, and the war lasts 1000 years, if you survive, you'll still have 200 years left after the war ends.

  This is one of the Federation's incentive programs.

  Good fortune could lead to hundreds or even thousands of extra years—a boon for aging officials eager for additional service.

  Lower civilizations wouldn't accept these older officials, but the Federation's technology can maintain youthfulness even near death, eliminating concerns about aging.

  Even if you have only one year left to live, the Federation will accept you.

  And will gladly accept you.

  By simply promising additional lifespan as a reward, those who would otherwise die within a year after the war will fight fiercely.

  For officials, increased lifespan means much more than for ordinary soldiers. Finney, for example, could use this time to accomplish much, and the benefits he receives are far greater than those of ordinary soldiers.

  “Tilted Station is currently completely sealed; we cannot enter.”

  “But a series of actions suggest Chu is planning a counterattack.”

  A group of Federation officials and scholars sat together in a spacious, kilometer-sized spaceship, pondering Tilted Station's next move.

  A vast array of surveillance equipment had been deployed hundreds of years ago. Tilted Station’s actions might evade their direct observation but not the surveillance equipment.

  “I think they might use victory, using their own methods to counter Gas Victory.”

  Independent victory allowed Olive Branch Civilization lifeforms to escape Gas Victory. What would happen if other Tilted Station Olive Branch Civilization lifeforms were exposed to independent victory? Everyone was keenly interested.

  Opepe, a sociologist and female scholar, felt this would be difficult.

  “Gas Victory's infiltration relied largely on the secret key and the previous socialist ideology of Tilted Station's citizens, but Independent Victory doesn't have these.”

  “Independent Victory could previously affect Gas Victory because of the forced nature of the simulated reality. Used as a weapon, it can only indirectly and subtly influence other Olive Branch Civilization lifeforms. This influence is insignificant against entrenched Gas Victory.”

  If Chu had considered this, he wouldn't use victory as a weapon.

  If victory weapons were ruled out, no one could guess what Chu would use.

  Tilted Station had revealed very little to the Federation.

  ...

  Within Tilted Station.

  Chu was considering something new.

  This came from his first encounter with a Federation lifeform tens of thousands of years ago—the human named Luna.

  After Luna’s return, Chu had repeatedly analyzed his defeat.

  He finally discovered something crucial.

  Weakness can sometimes be strength, and strength can sometimes be weakness. Sometimes, one must know when to yield; against a powerful opponent, one shouldn't simply attack.

  So, for years, Chu had focused on one thing:

  Betraying the Federation!

  Calling it betrayal wasn't entirely accurate; the Federation itself was a threat, the greatest destabilizing factor for his civilization.

  He needed to make the First and second great leaders aware of the Federation's threat and launch an attack against it.

  “Only then will I have my chance.”

  Chu felt a suitable retreat was necessary. He looked at the Tower of Independence, reviewing the plan.

  Then, he called upon all Tilted Station citizens to re-enter the Gas Victory state. Unlike before, this state resembled the one from tens of thousands of years ago.

  And Chu had become a part of it.

  “Only this way can the second great leader truly believe we've returned to normal.”

  At the mention of “normal,” Chu let out a cold laugh.

  He had encountered some Federation simulated games, some incorporating historical and cultural elements. He admired a figure named Han Xin, a brilliant strategist who could endure humiliation to achieve his ambitions and who could also integrate into a collective consciousness.

  Luna could imagine the second great leader sending new “leaders,” but he couldn't anticipate their methods.

  All these preparations were for the new leader.

  The wait wouldn't be long, just a few hundred years.

  In fact, some time had already passed; the next few hundred years could be used to train the collective consciousness.

  The Olive Branch Civilization wasn't governed by the leaders controlling the collective consciousness; the leaders guided and refined it. The collective consciousness remained central.

  With the Tower of Independence, they could awaken at any time; this was the core safeguard of the plan.

  370 years later.

  A spaceship, only 200 meters long, descended from space onto Tilted Station. An Olive Branch Civilization lifeform emerged.

  Instantly, it revealed its identity.

  “I am 8672804, your new leader.”

  “This is utterly disastrous.”

  8672804 was a numerical designation. Chu's original name was also a numerical designation, 1932773. The Olive Branch Civilization didn't have names; each lifeform had a similar numerical designation, not seven digits but forty-eight.

  Looking at the remaining Federation structures on Tilted Station's surface, the new leader felt only disgust.

  “This is blatant invasion. As the reports indicated, this Station didn't revolt spontaneously; it was contaminated.”

  “Fortunately, Gas Victory rectified it; otherwise, this contamination would have caused another internal conflict within the civilization.”

  “And the source of all this is… the Galactic Federation.”

  Without hesitation or preparation, 8672804 declared Tilted Station to be in a state of war.

  “We will destroy the so-called Galactic Federation.”

  A message then arrived from the collective consciousness: “The Galactic Federation is a civilization with a history of hundreds of thousands of years. Their civilization level is equivalent to ours; attacking them directly could result in the destruction of Tilted Station.”

  The leader was a guide, not responsible for information gathering; the information from the collective consciousness was all it had.

  After receiving this message, 8672804 paused, “It seems my understanding of the Galactic Federation is insufficient.”

  “But that's true; a civilization capable of invading a Station is not weak.”

  “I need to request aid from other Stations. Such a powerful civilization in our vicinity will become a threat to all civilizations; it must be eliminated!”

  A new war had begun.