Chapter 424: The Crystal Brainers’ Abilities
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Culture, art, and entertainment… These things could bring a lot of beauty and goodness to the world, relieving the people’s stress and pain.
However, they still could not change the cruel nature of reality.
Therefore, after completing the adjustment of the education system, Mu Yunhua put her main focus back on one thing: the a.n.a.lysis of the wreckage of the Selain interstellar wars.h.i.+p, and the interrogation of the captive Selains.
She would get their advanced technology from the wreckage of the wars.h.i.+p.
She would also inquire about all kinds of information on the Selain civilization from the captives.
However, she encountered certain difficulties in both matters.
…
In the video call.
The old scientist’s face was apologetic.
“Captain, after the retrieval and cleanup of the wars.h.i.+p’s wreckage from the battlefield, we have studied it for more than a year. However, we did not make significant progress.
“The technologies of the Selains are too advanced. The material structures and technical principles of much of the advanced equipment is incomprehensible, despite its amazing effects.
“For example, their anti-gravity device. It uses common electric power as its source of energy, but it can generate huge gravitational fields, and produce artificial force…The size of the equipment is not big, and the gravity simulated is equivalent to the gravitational pull of the real globe.”
“Moreover, the surface of the Selain interstellar wars.h.i.+p is covered with a force field alloy which is only about 10 centimeters thick, yet it can withstand the high temperatures and high-pressure impact following the explosion of high-yield nuclear weapons. Its defensive ability is shocking.
“And the energy efficiency of their high-energy nuclear fusion reactor technology is quite amazing. We can insert the most common hydrogen directly, and it will produce large amounts of energy. It continues to burn until it becomes iron, at which point fusion will no longer occur.
“There are also high-power particle engines, missile technology, s.p.a.ce warfare technology, information technology, and so forth….. It is simply a treasure trove of tech.
“But even though we have such bounties, given our limited understanding of the truth, we will need years or even decades if we want to take away any of the treasures within and gain a thorough understanding of the technology. We can’t copy their work directly, which is even harder.
“I can only say that our foundation is still too backward. We can’t understand higher levels of civilization. We’re just like primary school students trying to answer college-level questions. At the moment… it is still beyond our capabilities,” The old scientist said helplessly.
“That is all to say, Lao Song, that you have basically made no progress in your research for more than a year?” Mu Yunhua asked.
“Uh… I’m very ashamed. But that is true.”
“Have you thought of any solutions to the problem?”
“Yes and I’ve hit on a good one. Namely, we should start with the captive Selains and properly interrogate them. We can strive to make them give in and be obedient before allowing them to partic.i.p.ate in our technological decoding work. They could actively tell us the principles behind those technologies.”
“That is indeed a good idea.” Mu Yunhua nodded. “Only the Selains know their technology. If the captives are willing to cooperate, we should be able to crack the mystery of their tech soon enough.”
“But Captain, the Selain captives have been in custody and have been interrogated for more than a year. We have employed many methods in the hope that they will yield and cooperate. However, no matter whether we use torture or all sorts of temptations, nothing can get through to those aliens. They reveal nothing! There are even 18 of them who have chosen to commit suicide… A collaborator, someone who can see their circ.u.mstances clearly and adapt to them, has not yet appeared.”
“What? Those aliens are all stubborn mules that just refuse to yield?”
Mu Yunhua was very surprised. They had captured more than a hundred aliens, and all of them were so stubborn. Not only did they seem to lack the self-awareness of invaders, but they had unyielding characters and were unafraid of death.
Were all Selains like this?
Wasn’t there a cowardly and weak one?
This was absolutely impossible!
“Increase the intensity of the interrogations. It is best to imprison them in separate quarters. Overwhelm them one by one. I don’t believe that those aliens are not afraid of death!”
“Yes!”
…
The video communication ended.
Ahh…
Mu Yunhua patted her aching head. Her expression was a little fretful and impatient.
“From what I hear… It seems that the project where you have placed most of your hopes in haven’t made any progress. The alien captives appear to be deliberately wasting your precious time.”
A voice came from her earpiece.
“Yeah…”
Unexpectedly, Mu Yunhua did not deny it. She smiled bitterly. “Nothing is simple. I should have never been so optimistic in the first place”
“So… Do you need my help? Or—we can do a trade.”
“What kind of trade?”
“I will help you a.n.a.lyze the technologies contained in the wreckage of the Selain interstellar wars.h.i.+p. We will partner up for research and share the final results.” Chen Jin stated his purpose.
“Partner up for research?” A light glimmered in her eyes. She did not know what she was thinking. After all, the wars.h.i.+p wreckage was the only trump card in her hands.
“Don’t misunderstand this.”
Chen Jin explained. “The technology of the Selains is nothing. My society is more advanced. But… this is a different civilization, with a different route of technological development. I simply want to understand and a.n.a.lyze this alternate process. We don’t have to partner up if you have any concerns.”
“Ok, I am willing to cooperate with you.”
Mu Yunhua nodded very quickly. In fact, even if Gold had not proposed a partners.h.i.+p, she would still have actively sought out his help in a few days’ time. Based on the existing capabilities under her control, it would take decades or even centuries to decode the technologies of the Selains. Their efficiency was quite low.
If she sought out a partners.h.i.+p with Gold, who was from a more advanced civilization, the process of decoding the alien technology could, at the very least, be accelerated by a high factor.
With this, a new partners.h.i.+p between the two parties was established.
…
One year later.
Haierfa.
“Master, after more than a year of a.n.a.lysis, This is the conclusion that Alice and I have come up with: We have nothing to fear from the Crystal Brainers.
“The technologies contained in the wreckage of their wars.h.i.+p are not too mysterious or impressive. We have decoded all of them.
“This includes the anti-gravity technology, force field alloy armor technology, high-power ion engine, intelligent control technology, and high-performance nuclear reactor… There are about 30-plus core technologies, and we have figured them all out.
“Amongst all these inventions, only the high-performance nuclear reactor possesses a certain reference value for us. We have all the other technology already. Not only are our versions no worse off, but they even more advanced. We are completely unafraid of the challenge of the Crystal Brainers.
“Of course, that wars.h.i.+p from the Crystal Brainers is only an inferior-quality wars.h.i.+p from a past generation, with outdated technology. The most advanced s.h.i.+ps that comprise their main force would not have been dispatched yet. We should not underestimate the s.h.i.+ps in their main forces. They represent a great threat.
“However, we have already achieved a breakthrough in the curvature engine technology. Thus, we have a powerful and incomparable trump card that is enough to make up for a technological difference of one generation or more. Therefore, we have no need to fear the battles.h.i.+ps in their main forces. We have secured the means to a surefire victory.
“We can totally treat the Crystal Brainers as an opponent of the same level or an even lower cla.s.s.”
Speaking of this, Nuwa couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. “I really didn’t think that we would mature to such a stage in just a hundred years. Originally, the Crystal Brainers were mysterious and terrifying, but they are not so frightening now. We can even start to view them as unremarkable. Suddenly, we have become confident that we will defeat the other party.”
Alice nodded. “It is said that, after the Crystal Brainers entered the modern era, it took them more than 3,000 years to reach their current level of strength, which could not be matched by anyone. But we have only used a hundred years and have basically caught up with them.”
They had a development rate like the speed of light.
However, after this emotional reflection had pa.s.sed, new problems arose.
Alice asked, “Master, now that we have figured out all of their technology, should we adhere to the agreement and share all this technical information unreservedly with Mu Yunhua? Master, this at least 500 years of wisdom from a civilization, condensed. It is equivalent to two or three bursts of progress in technology. I think… it is better to keep a little something for ourselves.”
After all, once Chen Jin complied with his promise and gave the technical information to Mu Yunhua, she would be in possession of the power to rapidly accelerate her society’s technological development ahead five hundred years.
She would thus cultivate a civilization with the same potential as the Crystal Brainers.
It was even possible that… he would be nurturing a potential enemy.
Should he do such a thing?
Chen Jin sank into silence.
After a long time, he said to Nuwa, “Nuwa, tell me your opinion. Would you prefer to hold something back, or to keep our promise?”
“Uhh…”
Nuwa looked very hesitant. “This… If you keep your promise, the technological difference between us and the human beings under Mu Yunhua will be reduced to that of 50 years. If we held some information back, we would maintain a safe lead. But they may not be able to withstand the second wave of attack by the Crystal Brainers. They may be reduced to a powerless state. Their hard work may be completely in vain…”
Nuwa looked at Chen Jin again and said softly, “Of course, the decision is in your hands, Master. It is up to you to decide what to do.”
Chen Jin shot a glance at her and shook his head in a slight gesture.
His decision was already made.
…
After a data transmission process that lasted 5 days, more than 10 terabytes of core data was uploaded to Pangu’s system.
A total of 33 items of advanced technological information fell into Mu Yunhua’s lap. No information was withheld.
Mu Yunhua took a cursory look at the table of contents, and read the introductions to the special features of these technologies and their inexplicable principles. She was completely stunned.
She could not stop mumbling.
“What G.o.d-like technology.
“It’s as powerful and fantastical as magic.
“There are 33 items in total, and none of them should be underestimated. Each one has unimaginable power.
“Faced with such powerful technology, our previous ambush battle can only be described as a fluke. If we had given the Selains even one more minute to react, they might have been the final victor of that skirmish.
“What with such a huge gap in the technology, that victory was nothing short of a miracle.
From these core technologies, Mu Yunhua learned the real difference in the strengths of the two sides. At that moment, she only felt extreme grat.i.tude and a lingering fear.
If she had been informed of the differences in strength in advance, she might not have carried out the ambush that year, and might have instead chosen to surrender directly.
It could be said that ignorance had brought her a victory.
After the data transfer was completed.
Pangu told her that all the data was true, complete and effective. He concluded that it had “great value.”
Mu Yunhua was very surprised.
She said to the necklace on her chest, “You actually kept your promise and gave me all this valuable technological information in one shot?”
“What’s the matter? Are there any problems?”
“No…no problem. I just think that you are too generous. You are only partic.i.p.ating in this agreement for the a.n.a.lysis, yet you have really shared all the technology with me. Did you not consider keeping some of the information to yourself?”
“These are only dozens of outdated technologies. There is nothing to hide, and it can’t really be considered generous. I can only say that you have no worldly experience.” At this moment, Chen Jin chose, very calmly, to act stupid.
“So, you didn’t lie to me before. You are an alien from a more advanced civilization—one that is even more advanced than the Selains!”
Mu Yunhua became even more excited. The alien who claimed to be her “Protector” came from such impressive origins that even the Selains were no match for them.
In that moment, her heart was filled with a deep sense of security.
With such a powerful alien backing her up, the future of mankind would really be stabilized!
She was completely confident about the future.
“What do you think? Am I the kind of person who loves to brag and joke around? I told you to believe in me and to spend more time with me every day, but you always looked so reluctant. Do you recognize your mistake now?” Chen Jin complained.
Mu Yunhua felt exasperated, but she still nodded. “Although you can’t change your bad habit of bragging, I believe in you.”
“F*ck, I sent all this information on super-advanced technologies to you and you don’t even say a few words of praise. I’m angry. Really angry. I’m not going to care about you anymore.”
“I was wrong. Don’t be angry. I’ll praise you, will that be ok?” Mu Yunhua was a little panicked. If he really ignored her, then everything would be over.
“Forget it, I don’t need your praise. I want a more substantial reward. Bring my monitoring device with you when you take a shower every day…. We should communicate more honestly in the future.”
“You… lecherous alien!”
Mu Yunhua gritted her teeth, and her face flushed red.
But in the end, Chen Jin still achieved his goal.
…
Two more days later.
Finally, one of the captive Selains taken as a prisoner of war could not endure the many and varied tortures. He loosened his mouth and spilled everything he knew like beans falling from a bamboo tube.
The strength of the Sela civilization was thus revealed to humanity.
With the main planet of Sela as their center, their sphere of influence extended to a radius of 50 light-years.
They were in control of 1,768 star systems and possessed 524 stars.
Their total population exceeded 500 billion.
There were more than 10,000 battles.h.i.+ps in their main forces.
Currently, they were still in a state of rapid expansion. They were a warlike race who revered and advocated for imperialism. The goal was to conquer every star that could be seen.
Their political system was comprised of an aristocratic parliament and an elder system. Officials were on a ten-year rotation; hence, the political system was quite stable and was more like a powerful centralized state power. However, the aristocratic groups still had greater autonomy.
The strength of their science and technology should not be underestimated. Because of the crystal at the back of their brains, the Selains were extremely efficient at learning and mastering knowledge. Almost all of their citizens were academic elites and they did not lack creativity, either. They had pushed the limits of many fields on the road of technological progress, and even claimed to be a “perfect race of G.o.ds.”
Of course, because of this perfect image that they had of themselves, their mentality had, unavoidably, become inflated. The idea of conquering the entire galaxy was rooted in the minds of many Crystal Brainers.
As for morality, they had equally good and bad aspects in the mix and their character could not be determined.
But, on the whole, in terms of both scale and quality, the strength of the Selains or “Crystal Brainers” could be considered formidable.