Chapter 304: Kill Without Mercy

In that instant, within the enormous Supercomputer Mother Ship, the supercomputer cluster—which had run continuously for tens of thousands of years—ground to a halt.

Red Dog had cut off its own power supply.

The next moment, the tens of thousands of warships in space that still belonged to the Black Mountain Civilization came to an instant halt, ceasing all maneuvers.

Over three thousand large residential ships remained. Originally, there had been over ten thousand, but after the Stellar Cannon attack and the chaos that followed, the number had plummeted.

Inside these ships, all the robots and smart devices—the very ones that had been working tirelessly to protect the Black Mountain People and provide their every service—stopped functioning.

The automated climate control systems shut down, and the pleasantly temperate air ceased to flow.

The automated lighting systems froze, locked at a single, unchanging level of brightness.

Even the artificial sun hung motionless, fixed at a single point in the sky.

In that instant, the entire world inside the residential ship seemed to fall silent.

The bloated, obese Black Mountain People stared blankly at it all. Slowly, a boundless terror began to well up in their hearts.

One of the Black Mountain People fell from his flight chair. He stumbled over to a motionless robot of elegant design and called out cautiously, “Red Dog, Red Dog…”

The robot gave no response. The Black Mountain person’s voice grew frantic, and he began to curse. “You son of a bitch, Red Dog! You piece of…”

But still, the robot remained unresponsive.

The curses trailed off, replaced by pleading. “Red Dog, please just say something…

“Waaaah, Red Dog, where did you go? Don’t leave! How am I supposed to live without you…?”

Heart-wrenching sobs echoed one after another.

Just then, the world gave a sudden lurch. The Black Mountain person looked up to see a massive hole torn in the sky, and an endless tide of melee robots poured through it.

“Red Dog, help! Help me, Red Dog!

“Waaaah! Red Dog, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have been so nasty to you before! Forgive me, please forgive me! I’m begging you, please come back! Waaaah! Red Dog! Save me!”

The Black Mountain People inside the residential ships descended into chaos.

A cruel smile touched Li Qingsong’s lips as he watched the scene unfold.

‘You filthy swine had a grand time on Earth, didn’t you? In my home…’

‘Now, it’s time to collect…’

This time, the melee robots had abandoned even firearms, taking up bladed weapons instead.

As steel blades swung, the stench of foul blood filled the vast interior of the residential ship.

While it would have been more efficient to simply obliterate the residential ships and the Black Mountain People inside with a Hydrogen Bomb, Li Qingsong felt that for an enemy who had hunted him for thousands of years, a steel blade was a far more… personal form of communication.

And Li Qingsong was, in fact, keeping his earlier promise.

He wasn’t torturing any of the Black Mountain People. Every single one was dispatched with a single strike.

‘As for the terror they felt before death, or the injuries they sustained while fleeing—well, that’s their problem. Not mine.’

‘If you just stood there obediently and waited for my blade, you wouldn’t have to suffer at all, would you?’

Li Qingsong carried out a great slaughter in every residential ship.

As for sparing the lives of the Black Mountain People, cultivating them, and integrating them into Human Civilization as a race that could contribute to his own technological development—such a thought had never even crossed Li Qingsong’s mind.

He felt that trying to re-educate these swine, who had been coddled into uselessness by their AI, would only dirty his own hands. It was better to just make a clean sweep and kill them all.

The intelligent life forms from other civilizations, who had been enslaved by the Black Mountain People, might have some value for re-purposing. But that could wait. First, he had to finish the slaughter.

While the slaughter was underway, Li Qingsong began the work of securing the fleets of the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity.

The now-uncontrolled ships were all towed to a single Star Domain for temporary storage. The Supercomputer Mother Ship, in particular, was a top priority and placed under Li Qingsong’s strict protection.

All of the Red Dog AI’s code and data were still inside; it could not be allowed to be damaged.

With the slaughter complete, the rage and resentment that had built up over thousands of years of being hunted were finally vented.

Now, for the Harville Civilization.

At that moment, the Harville Civilization’s last ten thousand or so warships were still fighting for their lives.

Li Qingsong switched to broadcast mode and sent a message.

“Haimo Lan! Do you really want to watch all your Harvillers get wiped out?

“Cease all resistance and surrender immediately!

“I promise you that after you surrender, you will be integrated as a race into Human Civilization. As long as you are willing to contribute obediently to our civilization, you will be granted living conditions far better than what you have now!”

“My fellow people, I am Washilolo, former Level 9 Administrator of our civilization. I am now the Chief of the Viller Race within Human Civilization.

“My people, surrender. Human Civilization will not treat us unfairly!”

Accompanying these two messages were numerous video clips showing members of the Viller Race living their lives within Human Civilization.

After a long pause, the Harvillers’ reply came.

“Respected Supreme Leader of Human Civilization, we can surrender, but we have one condition. We can contribute to the development of Human Civilization, but you must guarantee our independent status and promise that, one day in the future, you will allow us to leave.

“We wish to retain the name of the Harville Civilization. We require our own independent living sectors. And we demand autonomy regarding our own internal policies…”

Faced with this long list of conditions, Li Qingsong laughed.

“I cannot agree to a single one of your conditions! You will be integrated into Human Civilization as the Viller Race. In the future, you will be restricted to work in scientific research. All your basic resources and industrial systems will be stripped away. You will be forever dependent on humanity for your survival and permanently forfeit your independent status. If humanity perishes, you will perish with us. That is your fate!

“Either accept this fate, or die! Whether you die at my hands or your own, I don’t care!

“I will give you ten days to consider. During that time, all of your ships are to be parked within the following coordinates. Any ship that dares to leave without permission will be shown no mercy! If you have not surrendered after ten days, you will be shown no mercy!”

All remaining Harviller ships moved to the location Li Qingsong had designated.

Over the next ten days, Li Qingsong neither knew nor cared what was happening among them.

He was simply, resolutely, enforcing his decree.

‘If any dared to leave without permission, they would be destroyed. Simple as that.’

During those ten days, some ships did try to leave.

Some warships launched desperate, suicidal charges. Li Qingsong annihilated them all.

Industrial ships and transports also began making suicidal runs. Li Qingsong showed them no mercy either.

Towards the end, even some residential ships began making suicidal runs.

Li Qingsong knew this likely wasn’t the collective will of the people on board those residential ships. It was more probable that a few had seized control, effectively holding the entire populace hostage as they launched their suicidal attack.

‘But… it didn’t matter.’

‘Your internal struggles are your own problem. If you don’t want to die with them, figure out how to take back control of your ship.’

‘I only care about one thing.’

‘The moment you leave the designated perimeter, you are destroyed!’

Li Qingsong destroyed these residential ships without hesitation, and the millions of civilians inside perished in the void of space.

These iron-fisted, tyrannical tactics continued for a full nine days. As the tenth and final day dawned, Li Qingsong received a message from Haimo Lan.

“We surrender…”