Chapter 280: A Match Made in Heaven

In the past, if Haimo Lan claimed the entire civilization would commit mass suicide, no one would have believed him.

Their enemies wouldn’t have believed it, and no one within the civilization would have believed it either. Even if Haimo Lan had tried to force the issue, no matter how high his prestige, he would have faced fierce internal resistance. It would have been impossible to push through.

But now, upon hearing Haimo Lan’s talk of “mass suicide,” the civilization’s upper echelons in the conference room didn’t object in the slightest. Instead, they were completely supportive.

They also knew that it wasn’t just the high-level officials; at this very moment, not a single person among the civilization’s population of over one hundred billion would object.

Because every one of them knew that becoming a slave to the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity was a fate more terrifying than death.

Now that the Supreme Leader had a plan, now that he wanted to negotiate with the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity using their collective suicide as a bargaining chip, then…

They would support Haimo Lan! They would support him without reservation, with everything they had!

The events of Conference Room One were broadcast at top speed, reaching every residential ship and every single person.

At this moment, in the depths of despair, the entire civilization erupted.

“Negotiate! Negotiate! Or we’ll all commit suicide!”

On every ship, regardless of its type, people made their way to the energy modules, ready to set the Nuclear Fusion Reactors to overload at a moment’s notice.

Once overloaded, fusion fuel far exceeding the reactor’s capacity would immediately begin to fuse. The effect would be identical to detonating a Hydrogen Bomb, and the entire ship would be blown to dust and ashes!

Amidst this civilization-wide fervor, the Black Mountain Civilization’s reply finally came.

“Supreme Leader of the Prey Civilization, what do you wish to discuss with me?”

Haimo Lan remained on high alert, speaking the words he had already turned over in his mind a thousand times.

“There is more to be gained by leaving the Harville Civilization intact than by turning our people into your slaves!”

Haimo Lan kept one thing firmly in mind: when speaking with the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity, one must not resort to psychological tactics, verbal traps, hints, threats, or coercion. One had to be simple, direct, and say exactly what one meant.

His opening statement followed these principles, laying his cards on the table immediately.

“Oh? And why is that?”

Haimo Lan answered quickly, “Because Human Civilization is more valuable. They are far more suitable to be your slaves than we are.

“As it stands, you have no guarantee of capturing Human Civilization completely! But with the help of the Harville Civilization, you would have that guarantee. You could capture every last intelligent being of Human Civilization!”

“Why?”

Haimo Lan rejoiced inwardly.

‘So it’s true. The Intelligent Mechanical Calamity’s real target is Human Civilization. We were just unlucky enough to get in the way.’

“Because our civilization has just been at war with Human Civilization. We just fled their Star System. We know how terrifying they are! We know their immense potential for war and scientific research!

“But right now, the number of intelligent beings under your command is insufficient, which has greatly weakened your combat strength. You still have what it takes to defeat Human Civilization, but as for capturing them completely… in my opinion, the odds are not in your favor!

“I’m not just making empty claims; I have the data to back it up. Here are the complete data logs from our war with Human Civilization. You can analyze them for yourself!

“Most importantly, you must be aware that Human Civilization has mastered some kind of weapon of mass destruction of immense power!”

At Haimo Lan’s command, all data pertaining to the war with Human Civilization was compiled at top speed, then sent in its entirety to the Black Mountain Civilization.

After a period of silence, the Black Mountain Civilization’s reply came again: “It is indeed as you say. Human Civilization has demonstrated higher intelligence and greater potential for development.

“With my current combat strength, defeating Human Civilization would be easy. Capturing every one of their intelligent life forms, however, would not be.

“Then what method do you propose to allow me to capture all of humanity? If you can help me achieve this, I don’t mind sparing you.”

Haimo Lan took a deep breath.

At that moment, facing the sea of stars beyond the viewport, facing the fleet of immensely powerful Warships, an iron torrent ready to tear his people to shreds, it was as if the spirits of all the fallen heroes in his civilization’s history had converged within him.

Haimo Lan’s voice was strong and resonant, every word ringing with conviction.

“Because… at this stage, you possess an incredible industrial capacity. You can build Warships at an unbelievable speed, but you are limited by a lack of intelligent life to crew them, preventing you from unleashing their full combat potential.

“Meanwhile, nearly all of our Warships have been destroyed, but all of our warriors remain. They are elites, capable of drawing out the full combat potential of any Warship they pilot!

“You have more than enough Warships and production capacity, but you lack the personnel to operate them.

“We have more than enough personnel, but we lack the Warships and production capacity.

“We complement each other perfectly!

“If we were to merge, our warriors combined with your production capacity would not result in a simple sum of our strengths. Our combat effectiveness would increase several times over!

“With this, we would have an absolute guarantee of capturing Human Civilization!

“Furthermore, we have also conducted research on defending against Human Civilization’s weapon of mass destruction. We have determined that strengthening the Energy Shield is the only viable method.

“We already have concepts and ideas for high-strength Energy Shields, but we have been unable to begin research due to a lack of materials and a diminished industrial capacity caused by heavy population losses.

“If you provide the industrial foundation, we can immediately begin research, leading to a massive technological leap for both of us!

“And as you well know, the intellect of a slave can only be utilized to a minimal degree. They are completely incapable of driving technological progress!

“Compared to these benefits, what is the paltry increase in combat power from a few more slaves worth!”

In Conference Room One, the civilization’s leaders exchanged glances, each seeing a flicker of joy in the others’ eyes.

‘As expected of the Supreme Leader! To see the essence of the matter in such a critical, chaotic situation and pinpoint the most crucial aspect!’

‘It’s true. Just as the Supreme Leader said, our current situation and that of the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity are a perfect match—completely complementary!’

‘If our two sides were to merge, how great would the increase in combat power be?’

‘It’s simply unimaginable!’

‘Compared to that, turning us into slaves would be a monumental waste! It would be like building a toilet out of solid gold!’

After a period of silence, the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity’s reply arrived.

“You make a very good point. I agree.”

“Wait!”

At that, Haimo Lan shouted once more, “Forming an Alliance is fine, but we have conditions of our own!”