Chapter 557: Chapter 409: Gambling, Intimidation and… Communication!
Lu Yuan repeatedly instructed through the headset: “Don’t think we are very strong, the purpose of the Gambling is not to win this small amount of money, but to observe the opponent and assess the risks.”
“Arrogance is the greatest enemy, if we lose, we must pay graciously without denial.”
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“Understood!” people roared in low voices.
As for the human side…how should I put it, in terms of ideology, they actually haven’t become ruthless enough to exterminate civilizations and plunder Spirit Essence.
If it’s a just war, facing a life-or-death enemy, human warriors eliminate the opponents without any psychological burden…
But if it’s an unknowing Noob Civilization, where one second ago everyone was interacting friendly and greeting each other, and the next second they turn their faces and kill them all… It’s actually very difficult to convince the people to launch such plundering wars internally.
...
This is not about being overly compassionate, “justice” and “injustice” are very important for internal development.
Troops of justice are always high-spirited, even if their equipment is a bit inferior, or the conditions a bit harsh, they still have spiritual support.
Whereas “troops of injustice” just turn into a bunch of bandits.
Moreover, most of the children were taught morals personally by Lu Yuan and Conch from a young age. Lu Yuan considers himself to have upright principles; although he is somewhat greedy, it was through his own capabilities, and it actually has nothing to do with human development.
As for other moral qualities, old Lu works diligently, loves learning, doesn’t keep a harem—what a good person!
And Conch is that type of gentle sister with a hint of playfulness; children brought up by such a mother certainly won’t be deprived of love.
Thus, the children also use this kind of moral to define themselves, which has shaped Green City into a vibrant place.
Suddenly having them stained with blood, for human civilization, would be blatantly picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelons.
So, as long as the opponent doesn’t actively provoke the humans, or isn’t an extremely evil civilization, humans do not plan to initiate active wars.
This human translator took a deep breath: “The specific rules for the Gambling are as follows: one-on-one cold weapon combat, wearing the best armor and weapons, to assess the comprehensive strength of civilization.”
“Besides, other items can also be subjects of Gambling, like bizarre Forging or Engraving study…”
“The Gambling amount is: 100 Spirit Essence!”
“The basket of ‘Silva Tan Fungus’ in my hand totals 10.2 kilograms, worth 1.12 Spirit Essence… I believe 100 Spirit Essence, is a number both parties can afford.”
This voice transmitted far away, not only reaching the diplomats of the Underground Alliance but also through monitoring devices into the interior of Shitong Fortress, and even into Grotto Heaven.
…
The team of the Underground Alliance, already somewhat confused, suddenly felt a “thump” in their hearts upon hearing this transmission!
“What do they mean, Gambling?”
Dadao Gang instantly analyzed that the opponent is a civilization that has experienced a lot and probably explored many dangerous places, with far richer experience than the Underground Alliance.
“100 Spirit Essence?”
“What is Spirit Essence?”
They had never heard of any rules of the Pangu Continent’s Epoch.
Is this unwritten rule true or false? Does the opponent bear good intentions or ill? How much stronger are they than us? Could there possibly be any benefit to them in eliminating us, otherwise why would there be this rule?
Could it be that the opponent thinks they can entirely handle us?
Countless questions swirled in their minds, unanswered.
He looked again at the human side’s team, rows of Mechanical Puppets, the dark barrels of the cannons seemed to be brewing fluctuating fire.
“Identification!”
Identification failed, which was normal.
Their Underground Alliance had long devised a scheme to make “Identification” abilities ineffective.
But the opponent also knew this…
“Most likely, they are not pretending!” Instantly, cold sweat burst from his back.
“What do we do, General? They suddenly want a war… a Gambling?”
“What’s the response from the back?”
“Probably still in a daze.”
Tension and unease spread even more in the team, lingering for a long time.
Fortunately, Dadao Gang is a capable General from Dark Steel Civilization, who had been through many wars against the Insect Race, emerging from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
He has also dealt with many hair-raising affairs regarding civil relations; though he does not know how harsh the external environment really is, he knows that now is the time to stay calm and show the strong side of the Underground Alliance—we are not without anything, we too have extraordinary heritage!!
Otherwise, the Alliance would be in peril!
He took a deep breath and had a Lizard Clan translator convey: “We are the Underground Alliance, a strong alliance composed of 12 civilizations, welcome friends from afar!”
“We… accept the Gambling!”
“This is not the place for a conversation, please guests, follow us to the fortress!”
…
The opponent accepted, displaying an emotion more anxious than usual.
Lu Yuan remained silent for a while: “Let’s go, follow him.”
“Everyone, observe carefully and remain alert. Even if we’re not planning to start a war, we should still aim for a negotiating advantage.”
Thus, 30 humans followed the Underground Alliance into the massive “Shitong Fortress.”
This large bluestone tunnel was cramped and narrow, and filled with a foul smell, a stench that was also on the bodies of the people from the Underground Alliance.
Could it be used to drive away the Insect Race?
Even though all the humans wore gas masks, the smell was nearly overwhelming. Fortunately, these gases weren’t toxic, and by blocking the smell with the Extraordinary Spark, they could barely endure.
Further down the narrow tunnel inside the fortress, one could sense its grandeur and vastness.
The “Underground Alliance” had actually hollowed out a hill and transformed it into an internal fortress.
Countless gears turned, conveyor belts moved, and workers were digging and reinforcing the interior of the fortress.
The sinister muzzle of a cannon inadvertently aimed at the people in the corridor was a form of deterrence.
Soldiers from twelve different races, armed and ready, stood near the cannon, their solemn faces casting a somewhat serious look.
Lu Yuan realized this was the Underground Alliance showcasing their combat power, which was quite normal. Even without a gambling fight, could the other party still use military intimidation?
It has to be admitted that this alliance seemed somewhat competent, all wearing outfits that resist “Identification Ability”.
And the scale of this combat fortress was comparable to Green Mountain.
“It would take all of humanity several decades to complete such a massive project…”
What felt familiar to him were these rotating gears, their interlocking movements almost forming an organic whole…
This scene seemed reminiscent of something he had seen before; it took Lu Yuan a while to remember—it was similar to what he had seen in the “World Furnace” volcano, under the magma in the White Jade Hall.
But the gears here seemed merely imitative, and compared to those that could operate in magma, in the White Jade Hall, it was like comparing an “apprentice’s work” to a “Van Gogh painting.”
As they walked along the corridor, several human negotiation experts were having a casual conversation with Dadao Gang, probing each other.
Humans didn’t mind revealing some simple information as they were also testing the other party…after all, without some disclosure, there could be no communication.
“Commander Lu, this alliance seems really like a Noob Civilization. They don’t know any information, just pretending like they do… Well, they don’t even understand what Spirit Essence is… really noob.”
“It reminds me of when we first encountered Shu Miba; they were exposed right away.”
No matter how clever or cautious, there was nothing that could be done in the face of information disparity.
“Don’t let your guard down,” Lu Yuan said, “Just proceed with normal communication…”
…
…
Further ahead was the fortress’s main hall, as big as a playground, its floor made of a special alloy, very hard.
The ceiling lights were bright, and a few green plants were planted around… Humans had previously investigated the food sources of this large Crack, a significant portion came from geothermal and chemical energy, plus photosynthesis which allowed plants to flourish even with faint light.
“My friends, if it’s not too troublesome, please take a bath and change your clothes in the room to the right,” Dadao Gang performed a unique gesture of their civilization: placing both hands behind the head, forming a cross, and then bowing slightly.
The tunnel was just too smelly.
Whether it’s a diplomatic visit or a gambling fight, it’s not something that can be completed in a short time; if they had to communicate while bearing the stink, everyone would probably vomit their last meal…
They of the Underground Alliance couldn’t afford to lose face like that!
Of course, this was also necessary for humans.
Face value is equivalent to true value.
Losing face means losing everything.
However, they dared not use the alliance’s facilities recklessly.
Fortunately, several functional Source Fire Mechas had washrooms and drying rooms installed; Lu Yuan’s Storage Space also carried a large amount of food and several tons of water.
Everyone took turns washing up, which was also fine.
…
A few human negotiation experts were the first to finish washing up.
They carefully sat with the representatives of the Underground Alliance negotiations at a round table, negotiating, mediating…
Information naturally needed to be exchanged with information.
“My alliance… 12 races, live in a ‘Grotto Heaven’. The fortress we are currently in is just an outpost,” Dadao Gang revealed some information.
“My alliance has rich experience in resisting conflicts. After recuperating for dozens of years, we fully hvae the capability to preserve ourselves amidst disturbances from the Insect Race.”
The subtext of these words meant that even if you annihilated this fortress, it wouldn’t matter…
Also, the existence of “Grotto Heaven” was considered a confidential piece of information.
Of course, what exactly “Grotto Heaven” was, they just wouldn’t say.
But to the humans, this information painted another picture—Grotto Heaven?
Is it a large space, or something else? Or perhaps an Anomaly [Monster]? Did they catch an Anomaly?