Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 291 - 210: "Civilization

Chapter 291: Chapter 210: "Civilization

This was a primitive planet.

Duan Mingyuan quickly concluded from his exploration that the woods were lush, and there was no sign of human presence as far as the eye could see.

There were no tools, no structures, and no civilization, just flora and rivers, along with some of the basic elements that make up the planet’s ecosystem. He guessed that there wouldn’t be any breakthrough discoveries to be made if they continued on this path.

Instead of calling it a "Dead Star," it could be better described as a planet yet untainted by Homo sapiens.

It was said that hundreds of years ago, the universe teemed with uninhabited planets like this one, but with the advent of the Great Cosmic Era, most of these uninhabited planets had been claimed by humanity’s flag—a hospitable planet for colonization, a harsh one turning into industrialization territory for companies and chambers of commerce.

Duan Mingyuan had read in a technology magazine on Blue Star that the most advanced factories were now able to achieve complete mechanized production. Companies only needed to dispatch robots to the industrial planets, greatly reducing human resource loss.

For stars like Deep Sea Star that showed no human traces nor were suitable as industrial bases, companies had sent out drone swarms for explorations and investigations in recent years.

The entire universe was developing rapidly; even on Dead Stars, there lingered a scent of humankind.

The two stopped in a clearing in the woods, and a little further down there was a stream where the sound of flowing water could still be faintly heard.

Earth Wolf Twelve sat in front of a stone, sighing, "It seems Ava Qiao was doomed from the start not to make it out of this forest."

That was just an impractical fantasy.

Duan Mingyuan thought the forest was as vast as the entire planet; how could humans possibly traverse the whole world on foot?

This also meant that their subsequent hiking trip lost its purpose. Even if they did walk across the planet, they wouldn’t be able to leave.

"So this is their plan, to trap us on a Dead Star until the summit is over?"

Earth Wolf Twelve asked.

Clearly, they didn’t have decades to explore an unknown planet.

Of course, there were still many questions.

For instance, why could Morgan VII’s old butler use the "Cocoon’s" power, which had surpassed the Long Branch Guard and even human understanding?

In research on the "Cocoon," it seemed the Chamber of Commerce had far outpaced the Universe Company.

"It’s probably more than that."

Duan Mingyuan shook his head, saying, "More likely forever, until the intruders become lost, and then they’ll be displayed as trophies in the collection room on Laurel."

"Damn, I don’t want to end up a head on display for everyone’s amusement."

"Don’t you already have just a head?"

"That’s not funny."

Duan Mingyuan sized up Earth Wolf Twelve—the Interstellar Cowboy was mechanical from the neck down, and, in his own words, even the parts in his head had been replaced many times.

But that was normal, the standard for those who had spent years in interstellar warfare, and it could be considered a badge of honor.

However, Jiuyue scoffed at Earth Wolf Twelve’s claim that "scars are a man’s medals." That night, she meticulously inspected Duan Mingyuan’s body, only relaxing after confirming there were no such "medals."

Jiuyue had always been worried that Duan Mingyuan might pick up bad habits from the Interstellar Cowboys.

Smoking and heavy drinking were one thing, but if he became covered in scars, she couldn’t stand it.

She liked Duan Mingyuan’s body as it was and didn’t want to be hugging a cold, mechanical body every night before sleep.

So, the little fox suggested, if Duan Mingyuan really wanted to leave a "medal" on his body, he should ask her help. She had learned a folk remedy from a book which simply required pressing one’s lips hard against the area to be marked to leave a bright red medal.

At this thought, Duan Mingyuan glanced at the numbers on his phone.

Although he greatly enjoyed his time exploring unknown planets, it was getting late.

The book said a married man should make a point of returning home at night, and besides, he had promised Jiuyue before boarding the Laurel that he’d be back by dawn.

Earth Wolf Twelve was in a similar situation; their eyes were nearly stringing together when they walked into the fold jump chamber, a telling sign from Mocking Pigeon.

This visit was his idea, and bringing the crew back was the duty of every deputy captain.

They didn’t have decades to waste on a primitive society.

"Old Duan, do you think—"

Out of the blue, Earth Wolf Twelve halted mid-sentence as a nut fell at his feet, making him jump. He drew his gun and aimed upward, where a lithe figure was swiftly escaping through the trees, moving with the agility of a primitive human he had seen in old movies.

"There’s someone, I’ll be damned, there’s someone!"

In his life, he had never imagined getting so excited at the sight of another person.

But, this indicated they weren’t the only ones on this planet!

"Old Duan, did you see that, this..."

As Earth Wolf Twelve bent to pick up the pinecone, it suddenly transformed just as he was about to touch it. The coiled body slowly unfurled, and the small animal on the ground looked up at Earth Wolf Twelve in bewilderment. Upon seeing the revolver in his hands, every fiber of its fur stood on end, and it dashed into the bushes in a blink.

Damn!

The pine cone turned into a squirrel right before his eyes.

Earth Wolf Twelve realized that Duan Mingyuan wasn’t paying attention to him, and he ignored the figure in the trees and the fruit on the ground that had turned into a squirrel; instead, he was bowing his head, seemingly lost in thought.

The strangeness didn’t stop there.

Falling leaves turned into birds, and there were rustling sounds from deep within the bushes. Soon after, a wild boar burst out.

Chasing the wild boar was a group of humans clutching spears and other weapons, yelling wildly and making quite a racket.

The night still enveloped the forest, but the lonely terror had vanished.

By the time the next batch of hunters appeared, their weapons had changed.

They had learned to use bows and other long-range weapons, and their hunting methods had become more skilled. No longer engaging in close combat with the beasts, they now set traps in advance and used bait to lure the large animals into them for the kill.

Earth Wolf Twelve was certain that this was the same forest they were in, but it all felt so absurdly bizarre.

On this uninhabited Dead Star, human civilization was born—an evolutionary theory verified by countless other planets. Yet, the pace of civilization was advancing at an incredible speed; with each second passing, civilization surged forward by decades.

Until, a missionary dressed in a monk’s habit walked past him.

On the other side, the contemplative Duan Mingyuan also returned to normal.

"Old Duan, what have you done?"

At this moment, Earth Wolf Twelve was utterly convinced of his earlier view.

Creating life, establishing civilization—these are domains of "gods." To this day, many in the universe still firmly believe they were created by deities, doing their utmost to preserve their worship and praises of these divine beings.

Earth Wolf Twelve, originally only believing in guns and bullets and scoffing at theology, seemed to have just witnessed the process of humans establishing civilization.

"You... created them?"

"More accurately, it is a reenactment."

Duan Mingyuan explained, "The humans on this planet perished because of the ’Cocoon’ phenomenon. I merely attempted to restore some traces of their existence to a certain extent."

Earth Wolf Twelve stared intently at Duan Mingyuan, whose explanation was casual, as if he were talking about something as simple as fetching a pot of water outside.

"This planet is called ’Forest Sea,’ and it was destroyed 378 years ago."

Through the reenactment, Duan Mingyuan had captured some information about this planet.

"’Forest Sea’? I’ve never heard of this planet, and the company has no records of it either."

Back when he worked for the company, Earth Wolf Twelve had taken note of all the ’Cocooned’ planets, but there was no information about "Forest Sea." If the planet had been destroyed 378 years ago, the company should have had some record of it.

"’Forest Sea’ was obliterated by a ’Forest Calamity’ before the company discovered the planet. First the livestock, then humans and buildings, they were assimilated by vegetation and became part of the planet’s plants. After hundreds of years, all traces of them had completely vanished."

This conclusion came from Duan Mingyuan’s investigation of the memories of some trees.

The human existence on "Forest Sea" was very brief; they disappeared before the universe could even take notice of them.

To his surprise, the people of this planet did not attempt to fight against the "Forest Calamity." Under the brainwashing of a church known as the Divine Wood Cult, they believed being assimilated by vegetation was the deities’ way of accepting them, and they were happy to dedicate everything to the Divine Wood.

"The current time point is on the eve of the ’Forest Calamity,’ when the Divine Wood Cult was at its most prosperous."

Duan Mingyuan began teaching Earth Wolf Twelve about the background of this planet.

According to the history of "Forest Sea," the "Forest Calamity" would envelop the entire planet within a year, and the planet’s last ruler was the most devout follower of the Divine Wood.

Everything was destroyed as though it were meant to be.

"This way, we’ve found the source of the ’Power of Domination.’

The "Forest Calamity" that swept over the entire planet, the deity worshipped by the inhabitants of "Forest Sea," was also the most powerful enemy faced by the humans of this planet.

The planet’s consciousness didn’t seem inclined to converse directly with him, so Duan Mingyuan had to use such methods to confirm the other party’s location.

"The place where the Divine Wood resides is the source of this planet’s energy."

"But if we go by what you’re saying..."

Earth Wolf Twelve clenched the revolver in his hand. Ever since arriving at Mechanical Star, he felt that the universe was becoming more and more fantastical.

"If the Divine Wood is the culprit, then isn’t our way out to commit deicide?"

"We can try negotiation first."

Duan Mingyuan said, "But be mentally prepared."

"Mentally prepared?"

"It is very angry with what I’ve done and probably can’t wait to kill us."