Bai Xinghe had once introduced the Dark Forest Theory of 'Liu the Prier', a cosmologist from the Star Ocean Imperium, to Li Yao.
According to the theory, if the total resources in the universe were limited, or if the resources could be regenerated at a very slow speed, they would be limited during the rise and fall of a civilization. If multiple civilizations were caught in a 'chain of suspicion' due to the lack of means of communication in the beginning and the inability to figure out whether or not each other was hostile to each other, they would hide as best as they could.
Then, it would be the most rational, optimal, and helpless choice to hide themselves as much as possible and strike all the targets who dared expose themselves.
In the vast sea of stars, the relationships among the infinite civilizations would be exactly like the Nuwa warship before his eyes. Everybody would be cautious, everybody would lurk in the darkness, everybody would be silent and motionless, trying to preserve themselves as much as possible. Then, when other people attacked each other, they would reap the benefits when the snipe and the clam were fighting each other.
Those who were bold, reckless, and confident enough to expose themselves to summon their companions would often become the targets of the Dark Hunters and be annihilated in the first round of attack.
It seemed to be a very reasonable theory.
Li Yao, however, did not like the Dark Forest Theory. Not at all.
He had founded 'Skyfire' because he hoped to turn himself into a spark and ignite the weeds, bushes, and trees in the Dark Forest, burning up the entire Dark Forest in the end.
However, slogans were just slogans, and reality was reality. No matter how he thought about it, he felt that the Dark Forest Theory was at least plausible, if not flawless.
Was the theory irrefutable, and how should he crack it?
At this moment, when he saw the tiny Dark Forest in person as an 'observer', Li Yao suddenly thought of two very interesting questions.
Firstly, since he and Long Yangjun, two "observers" who boasted higher permissions, were here in the tiny dark forest, were there "observer civilizations" of a higher level in the boundless universe, too?
If that was the case, then every dangerous hunter in the Dark Forest was actually a clown performing a pantomime under an invisible spotlight.
The seemingly mysterious and unpredictable actions that they had gone through all the trouble to hide, ambush, deceive, induce, and attack might have been discovered by the "surveillance crystal cameras" of a certain civilization of the Observer. They would only raise vague laughter at a certain point in the depths of the universe.
Then, under the guidance of the Dark Forest Theory, it would be meaningless to continue to be complacent and kill each other.
The right path is to unite and find the Observer civilization.
It was because the level of the Observer's civilization was not necessarily higher than that of the observed civilization. It was very likely that the Observer's civilization had grasped some sort of 'Observation Authority' by chance.
Right now, it was impossible for the combat ability of Li Yao and Long Yangjun to be higher than the total combat ability of the thousands of Cultivators outside.
They were not stronger, smarter, or more agile than the people outside, except that they had more 'information' that was of paramount importance.
If the thousands of Cultivators outside could be united, even if Li Yao and Long Yangjun could see their every move clearly, they would still be able to break through the gate of the bridge and completely annihilate them.
It was a pity that the existence of the Dark Forest Theory made it impossible for the thousands of Cultivators to join hands.
At the very least, until they realized the existence of the 'Observer', it was impossible for them to join hands.
Then, the 'Observer' would be able to make arrangements unhurriedly with the advantage of the asymmetry of information on their side and destroy them one by one.
Was such a thing going on in the real universe, too?
Was the Dark Forest Theory the truth, or was it a 'thought virus' intentionally disseminated by a certain 'Observer civilization' in order to make countless civilizations in the sea of stars mired in self-isolation and internal strife so that they could benefit from it?
Was the universe really a dark forest, or was it a normal forest that could have been full of vitality and variety only enshrouded in clouds and mist?
Secondly, even if the Dark Forest Theory did work in certain local areas, such as the narrow pathways and the dark cabins of the Nuwa warship, could the Nuwa warship represent the entire world?
No. Other than the Nuwa warship, there was a world that was thousands of times vaster. The ocean was boundless, and the sky was boundless.
Was it possible that the three thousand Sectors that human beings were familiar with were nothing more than a 'Nuwa warship'? No, they were nothing more than a tiny cabin inside the Nuwa warship.
Human beings, civilizations, and the universe were truly …
"Hey."
Long Yangjun glared at Li Yao, her voice full of dissatisfaction and suspicion. "You are not in a daze, are you?"
"Ah."
Li Yao swallowed hard and hurried to shake his head like a rattle. "No, no. I'm considering a very important strategic problem that concerns our future."
"Then stop thinking. We have no future."
Long Yangjun pulled dozens of threads of light with her hands and activated a light beam to the maximum, displaying the clear picture of the Half-Step Grand Illusionary Land. "Look at this. The warehouse of the Cloud Qin Gold Statues."
"There are really Colossi here."
All the feelings Li Yao had about the Dark Forest Theory in his head were immediately gone. His eyes were glittering, as if he were a weasel that had just seen a stewed hen.
He discovered that the cabin displayed on the light beam was at the center of the Nuwa warship. It was almost the most spacious and largest cabin. It was truly as splendid as an arena of giants.
The whole space was covered in a deep blue mist similar to the one inside the bridge. It could be vaguely seen that human-shaped pits had been dented on the walls. The smaller pits were more than ten meters tall, and the largest ones were dozens of meters tall. They should be the warehouses where the Colossi were stored.
In the middle of the warehouse, there were several platforms that looked like huge altars. Each platform had hundreds of tracks nested in rings. The tracks were either covered with intricate runes or had a dazzling array of tools that could slide along the tracks.
On some of the platforms, ragged Colossi that were riddled with holes were lying. Their shells were almost entirely broken, revealing the most precise internal components. They must be undergoing maintenance.
Some other platforms had been raised high and were perpendicular to the ground at ninety degrees. Some Colossi that were about to be repaired were standing there quietly.
Despite the changes of hundreds of thousands of years, the metal shells of the Colossi were still lackluster. Some of them were even rusting.
However, the imposing aura of dominating the universe and roaring at the stars was still leaking out of every gap in their silence.
Even on the other side of the light beam, Li Yao could sense the urge that made his heart pound, his blood boil, and his internal organs wriggle at the same time.
Suddenly …
His eyes fell on the end of the warehouse.
In that place, on a different maintenance platform that looked like a black iron throne, a Colossus that had been repaired was entrenched.
The Colossus …
It was about thirty meters tall, but its torso and limbs were extremely thin, as if it were an enormous skeleton made of black mystic iron. Outside of the slender skeleton was a layer of scales that looked like black feathers, as if it were wearing a broad feather coat or a cloak.
There was nothing else on the skinny face that looked like a skull except for a deep cross-shaped groove that divided the facial cover into four parts. A red crystal camera was embedded in the groove. It was not as red as a raging fire, but crimson like magma that had been frozen and blood had dried.
Although it was in the hibernation state, the crimson crystal camera still gave Li Yao a feeling that it was beating like the powerful heart of a ferocious beast.
Other than that, on the limbs and the torso of the black-skeleton-like Colossus, quite a few long whips made of red crystals were tied up.
They looked both like the bones of vines and boas and the exposed veins and nerves of the black-skeleton-like Colossus.
The texture and the way in which the red crystals were condensed were very similar to Long Yangjun's crystal armor. They should be the common materials of the Nuwa Clan's weapons.
However, in terms of transparency, delicacy, and many other aspects, they were much better than Long Yangjun's crystal armor.
Elegant, mysterious, cold, and brutal, the black-skeleton-like Colossus that was tied up by the crimson vipers was like a king that had overseen the sea of stars. It stared at all the other Colossi in disdain from the high throne.
Li Yao's eyes seemed to have been smeared with glue and were stuck to the Colossus. He could not get rid of it at all.
Looking at the Colossus, he suddenly felt that the Colossi that he had used in person before, including "Draconic Phoenix", all lacked something that could tug at his heartstrings.
He even couldn't help but want to extend his hands through the light beam and touch the shell of the black skeleton as well as the "veins" and "nerves" made of the crimson crystals.
"It's mine. I'm going to get it."
A thunderstorm was raging inside Li Yao's head.
It was not until sneers and curses echoed from the warehouse of the Colossi that Li Yao finally broke free from his momentary trance. He gradually enlarged the blurry details to the people who were hiding in the Colossi, the debris of the Pangu Clan, and the corners of the maintenance platforms.
The locals of the Ancient Sages Sector had found the warehouse of the Colossi earlier than they did.
Li Yao was slightly dazed. He immediately realized that it had nothing to do with luck but mainly because the maintenance warehouse of the Colossi occupied too much space. In order to make it easier for the Colossi to enter and exit the warship, enormous pathways leading to every part of the warship had been established. It was barely possible to ignore them.
"Qi Zhongdao, Yan Liren, Ba Xiaoyu, and Master Bitter Cicada. The four experts are all here."
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