Chapter 553 -406: More advanced or less advanced than us?
The meeting room was in a hubbub.
“First and foremost, we need to consider… if we annihilate them all, can we plunder hundreds of Divine Skills, tens of thousands of Spirit Essences, as well as a large amount of raw materials?”
“That’s a bit dangerous, Mr. Lu Tiantian. We don’t know the location of their main base, plus there are Insect Soldiers obstructing us. If we dispatch a large army, we’ll have to fight these insects first.”
In civilizational exchange, one must weigh the greatest risks against the greatest benefits.
Although many don’t wish to be bandits, sometimes, one must indeed be mentally prepared for such a role.
...
The course of events, often, is not under subjective control.
Lu Yuan did not express any opinion, the Noob Civilization, or the Newbie Civilization Alliance… truly rare.
Professor Lu Tiantian spoke, “Alright, let’s talk about something serious…”
“First, the main bases of these races may be located within this vast Crack.”
“It won’t be easy for them to send a large force to attack us, and it will be difficult for us to attack them as well. This means, it’s unlikely for either side to trigger a conflict.”
“Now that half of the insects in the Crack are dead or injured, those that survived are the stronger ones. Should a war break out causing an Insect Race disturbance, they themselves will suffer casualties.”
“Whereas our city is six thousand kilometers away, even if there were a riot here, it wouldn’t affect us. This is a significant negotiating advantage—we have leverage over them.”
“If these guys really harbor ill intentions, we’ll directly trigger an Insect Race riot.”
Lu Yuan’s face twitched slightly; this guy is really scheming.
Don’t be fooled by Lu Tiantian’s white hair; his heart has grown even darker.
“Second, I’ve observed that after a battle, these mushrooms are no more than leftovers. At least the upper layer ones are like this, though some remain, the quality is generally not high…”
“As for the precious mushrooms in the lower layers, it’s still hard to say.”
“If they have been settled here long term, they should have some reserves. Trading with them would save us a lot of trouble. We’ve already captured a batch of insects; as long as we figure out a way to buy some Fungal Spores, we might be able to cultivate them in the future.”
“As for the risks of this subterranean civilization… we’ll have to gradually assess it as we get in contact.”
“Now that we have so many Field Masters, our scouting abilities should have improved considerably, right? We should not make the same mistake again…”
In a company of three, there is my teacher; the Noob Civilization might also have something good, right?
And on the human side… we are really strapped for cash right now, eager to get some resources. Trading in information is a business with no capital and all profit!
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Standing to one side, Guo Dafeng nodded slightly; his “Field” was for scouting, capable of easily detecting both micro-level chips and unknown supernatural fluctuations.
Like Guo Dafeng, there are 12 others with similar scouting Fields!
Thus, if we proceed with civilizational trade, we shouldn’t unwittingly buy something dangerous like we did last time.
Lu Yuan, standing aside listening to their discussion, had a sudden insight.
He also had his own agenda; amidst the chaos of the insect swarm, he was eager to find an opportunity to head to the lower level in search of high-class mushrooms!
He had already quietly ordered a group of Insect Soldiers to explore the lower layers!
Their first task is to ensure their own safety, to gain experience here and not get eaten by something along the way…
Although this batch of human-controlled insects are relatively strong — a dead insect is one less soldier…
Lu Yuan would prefer they preserve themselves rather than take on overly dangerous missions.
Their second task is to find high-class Mushroom Forests!
If they find any, they shall harvest what they can, and strategically give up what they cannot.
There’s no rush to harvest after the “Greedy Demon God” has gone…
This could be quite a sum of personal wealth…
Lu Yuan massaged his temples, suppressing the greed in his heart: “I understand everyone’s ideas. Since we want to engage in exchange, let’s follow the rules of the Eighth Epoch, initiate civilizational contact, and gamble with them.”
“During the gambling, we’ll observe their military strength and clarify their development status.”
“Whether they’re genuine noobs or fakers… ensuring our own safety is what matters!”
“However, due to delving deep underground, we can’t bring too many people this time, at most 30. Otherwise, attracting the attention of a large number of Insects would be troublesome.”
“Yes!”
The soldiers all began their preparations with great enthusiasm.
Quality over quantity in troops, it’s necessary to showcase the power of humanity and there’s no need to hide our strength.
Eventually, 15 Level 7 Grandmasters proficient in combat and scouting were selected, followed by medical personnel, translators, negotiators, etc.
After the selection of personnel was completed, everyone started to don gas masks, prepare various logistical items, and activate some functional Source Fire Puppets.
…
And Lu Yuan went back to his room, standing before the “Greedy Demon God” and thought: “Virtualization!”
The “Greedy Demon God” slowly began to blur, turning into an ethereal existence.
“Transform!”
His height had shrunk to 2 meters.
However, trying to squeeze this mythical body into his mind, like embedding the Tree of Life, proved somewhat difficult.
The energy level of this creature was an entire magnitude higher than that of the Tree of Life.
Lu Yuan’s sea of knowledge simply could not contain it.
After much fiddling, Lu Yuan finally managed to awkwardly stuff it into his “Middle Qiankun,” that is, near the heart.
Because the “Greedy Demon God” was also a part of himself, it could provide a very small degree of amplification, yet it was not as significant as the Tree of Life.
After all, the Tree of Life bore the pure Life Attribute and had auxiliary abilities, whereas the Greedy Demon God was designed specifically for combat; the two served different functions.
“Goodness… almost burst!” Lu Yuan, drenched in sweat, patted his chest, “The human body really hasn’t improved for a long time… I need to find a way to strengthen the human form.”
He made up his mind: “If the opportunity arises, I’ll pretend my human flesh is resting and let my soul transfer to the ‘Greedy Demon God’ to sneak out and pick mushrooms!”
After such preparations, Lu Yuan took out a fake “Greedy Demon God” from his Storage Space and placed it in his room.
Well, this fake puppet only had the same appearance and lacked complex functions, but it was sufficient to deceive others, as no one else could control the “Greedy Demon God”.
“Comrades, are you ready?”
“All systems go!”
“We… set off immediately!”
…
On the other side, the Underground Alliance was staring at each other, observing the drones sent by the humans.
A mechanical arm outlined several characters on the table.
“They must be agreeing to the exchange!”
“They have prepared 30 Diplomats, who will arrive at our Shitong Fortress for inspection in a few hours,” a Snake-man translator mused with delight.
The leader of the Dark Steel Civilization nodded, the expected outcome.
In this ghostly place, where the Insect Race was dominant and civilizations weak,
do not think the insects, having killed a massive number of their own in internal strife, would be diminished; as long as the Mother Worms live, in a few months, there will be a teeming swarm once again.
Living underground, banding together for warmth, that is the true way to survive!
Some experts are even covertly comparing the level of human technology.
Only if this civilization possesses certain unique technologies would they be motivated to accept them.
“How about it? Are they more advanced or behind us?” the Dark Steel General asked eagerly, “Ordinary technological civilizations aren’t quite enough to join us; they must possess Ideal Technology.”
A female scientist responded, “General, based on appearance, it’s hard to tell… but it seems not bad…”
Which was quite strange, how could a civilization that had just opened the Safe Zone have such profound development in idealist studies?
Such doubts plagued the experts.
“After coming to the Pangu Continent, the progress of physical technology has been arduous, while the development of idealist technology has been rapid. I’ve noticed that this drone uses some engravings on its wings…”
“Oh? They also have engravings?” The Dark Steel General’s eyes narrowed.
The scientist continued, “Yes, it seems like a variant of the Floating Engraving, and also the most common Solid Rune…”
“However, many of the internal structures can’t be understood by just observing the exterior.”
“Also, their communication devices seem to employ some sort of idealist methodology… Mere radio signals would hardly penetrate these layers of rocky fissures… We’ve never encountered such idealist signals before.”
“We’re not going to dismantle it for research, are we?”
The General said, “That certainly won’t be necessary. My Dark Steel Civilization possesses the Gear Inheritance and is home to many craftsman with formidable technical strength. During the exchange of technology, we can easily gauge their level.”
“As for this method of communication, it wouldn’t be difficult; just twist off the sensory organs of the Insects and find a way to install them in the drones. What we can do, they can also achieve, so we shouldn’t underestimate them, otherwise, it’s just arrogance!”
The surrounding civilizations all agreed noddingly.
“The General is being modest… If it were my race, it might take over a hundred years.”
“Yes, my civilization is not good at this either.”
Different races have different specializations.
Some are adept at forging, while others excel in textiles, breeding, or even expert in engravings, and still, there are those adept at breeding Insects and cultivating mushrooms, among others…
Of course, in this world where craftsmen reign supreme, the Dark Steel Civilization with its natural prowess in forging, naturally fares the best. Equipment is the key in an idealist world – one piece of equipment can be traded for a whole basket of Inferior Grade mushrooms!
Men, with their robust frames, excel at forging!
Women, with their sharp minds, are adept at engraving and research!
The combination of men and women has made them the Alliance Hierarch of the Underground Alliance.
Plus, they have received the “Gear Inheritance,” the powerful knowledge left by the Ancient Civilization. Even a few words or phrases from it would be enough for them to get along quite nicely.