Bai Xinghe narrowed his eyes and sensed that the vast sea of stars was flowing past him slowly.
Li Yao also saw that a light spot that represented an 'apocalypse' flashed past his cheek.
Bai Xinghe slowly opened his eyes. His voice was old and ancient. "Imagine that the two of us are Liu the Prier, a scholar of apocalypses ten thousand years ago. We have finally built an underground observatory and deduced the real sea of stars through the repetitive deduction of three hundred super crystal processors. We have seen so many apocalypses flying around above our heads clearly for the first time …
"Then, what will we think?
"What is the truth of the apocalypses? Where do they come from, and where are they going? "
"The universe is too vast," Li Yao said. "Of course, mankind is not the only strong civilization. Since human beings have tried to weaponize the apocalypses, it is very possible that the apocalypses are weapons launched by a strong civilization for the purpose of destroying or corrupting another civilization."
It was the hypothesis that Li Yao and Xiong Wuji had deduced together on Iron Plateau.
Bai Xinghe was surprised again. He stared at Li Yao thoughtfully and remarked, "My young friend Li Yao, you surprise me more and more. I didn't know that there was such an excellent young man like you in the world of Cultivators today.
"Yes. After witnessing the horror of the apocalypses, it is only natural that we regard the apocalypses as weapons launched by another civilization.
"However, many Sectors that suffer apocalypses have a low civilization level. They are not much of a threat to other Sectors, like the Flying Star Sector five thousand years ago.
"Why are those Sectors that pose no threat attacked by the apocalypses?
"Why are there so many apocalypses cruising in the sea of stars? Is it a universal war involving almost a hundred civilizations?
"What was the mentality of the civilization that launched the apocalypses?"
Li Yao pondered for a moment and shook his head dutifully. "I don't know.
Bai Xinghe sighed and said, "Liu the Prier truly deserves to be one of the most distinguished people in the Star Ocean Imperium ten thousand years ago if the civilization of mankind still exists billions of years later. If billions of billions of years pass, they might forget the 'Supreme Emperor', but they will definitely remember Liu the Prier!
"Ten thousand years ago, Liu the Prier sat in the Star Prier's House under the vast sea of stars. After pondering for several years, I have finally deduced two and a half Laws that are of utmost importance! "
Li Yao raised his eyebrows. "Two and a half?"
Bai Xinghe ignored him and extended his finger. "Firstly, the resources in the universe are limited.
Li Yao was stunned. He almost laughed out loud. What kind of law was this? This was clearly a fact that everyone knew!
Forty thousand years ago, the world of ancient Cultivators collapsed because the resources in the three thousand Sectors were almost exhausted. The major sects fought each other for resources and even created monsters such as demons.
Although it was said that the sea of stars was boundless, no one could say for sure whether the universe had a boundary, not to mention that even if the universe was boundless, there were still resources that could be controlled and used by humans. There is always a limit.
Therefore, this was a correct line of nonsense!
Bai Xinghe seemed to have foreseen his reaction. He extended a second finger and said, "Secondly, the chain of suspicion exists in all civilizations in the entire universe.
Li Yao frowned. "What's the chain of suspicion?"
"Think back to our multiple confrontations just now," Bai Xinghe said. "They are exactly the chain of suspicion.
"Li Yao, since you killed Fengyu Zhong's only son and are now faced with the threat of the Immortal Cultivators, theoretically speaking, you should have cooperated with me. You should join hands with me, but why have you been so scheming all along the way? Why are you always ready to fight me? "
"Of course!"
Li Yao said. "Even if I wanted to cooperate with you, who knows whether or not you would stab me in the back at any moment?"
Bai Xinghe smiled and nodded. "Exactly. It's the same for me, too.
"Of course, I know that working together is the best choice right now. But who knows your real purpose? Who knows whether or not you will suddenly turn hostile and stab me in the back for some reason that I don't know?
"Look. You don't want to kill me, but you are scared that I want to kill you. Therefore, you have to make plans to kill me at any moment.
"I don't necessarily want to kill you, either, but I'm scared that you want to kill me, and I'm even more scared that you think that I want to kill you. Therefore, you have to kill me before you do. Therefore, I have to kill you before you do!
"This is the chain of suspicion. It's a bit of a mouthful to explain, isn't it?
"Now, let's break the chain of suspicion and trust each other. We will work together to resist the Immortal Cultivators. I can make a Blood Oath that I will not kill you. Do you believe me?"
Li Yao shook his head and replied resolutely, "No!"
Hardly had he concluded his sentence when he realized the horror of the 'chain of suspicion'.
Bai Xinghe nodded in satisfaction. "That's right. You don't believe me, and I don't believe you. I won't believe you even if you make ten Blood Oaths! The relationship between us is maintained by the 'balance of terror'.
"Remember!
"We belong to the same species. We can communicate with each other without any hindrance. We have the same thinking pattern and feelings. Also, we are faced with the threat of the same great enemy. In this place, we have abundant resources. Crystals, magical equipment, and drugs.
"Even under such circumstances, there is still an unbreakable chain of suspicion between us!"
"What if we remove all the advantages?
"What if we don't have the great enemy that is the Immortal Cultivators to divert our attention? What if the resources around us are running dry and there is only one bottle of high-nutrition drugs left? What if we belong to different species and cannot understand each other, just like …"
Without any sign, Li Yao suddenly transformed into a giant lizard that was standing on its hind legs. Pustules were growing all over his thick, bumpy skin. Stinky liquids were dripping from the wrinkles nonstop. He hissed and waved his claws at Li Yao!
Although he knew that it was an illusion created by Bai Xinghe, Li Yao could not help but jump to his feet and unsheathe his Feathered Dragon Saber again!
The moment his saber was unsheathed, his eyes blurred. Bai Xinghe was still sitting cross-legged and looking at him peacefully.
Li Yao's heart was beating fast, and his back was soaked in sweat. He had never known that Bai Xinghe's mental attack was so impressive. He gnashed his teeth and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Just now," Bai Xinghe said casually, "I turned into a very kind-hearted alien species in a very friendly manner. To express my highest respect for you. "
Li Yao could not help but feel like cursing aloud. How could such a hideous appearance be kind-hearted at all?
But a moment later, he realized what Bai Xinghe meant.
Different civilizations. Originating from different planets and evolving into different appearances in different environments. It was impossible to distinguish the kindness and evilness of another civilization with the concept of beauty and ugliness of human beings.
"Bai Xinghe and I are both human beings. We have the same great enemy and almost infinite resources. But we still don't trust each other and are wary of each other. Should anything go wrong, we will attack each other immediately!
"If we are two different civilizations with completely different living forms and ways of communication meet in the sea of stars with limited resources, there will be an unbreakable chain of suspicion between us. There is no telling whether or not they want to kill us … "
Li Yao did not dare to think further.
"Do you understand it now?" Bai Xinghe said coldly. "The resources in the universe are limited, and there is always a chain of suspicion between different civilizations. Under the deduction of the two rules, there can only be one outcome for the universe.
"Liu the Prier described his speculation with a vivid metaphor."
"The universe is like a dark forest. Every civilization is a hunter lurking in the darkness. They have to be very careful. They must not make any noise, because countless hunters are coveting them in the deeper darkness, waiting for them to expose themselves.
"No matter what kind of alien species they find, they must be dealt the fatal blow immediately. Both should be dealt a fatal blow at the first opportunity, since no one would sincerely cooperate with a completely different civilization due to the existence of the chain of suspicion. Even if the two civilizations occasionally cooperated temporarily due to 'Balance of Terror', such a fragile balance would remain. It's always easy to break. "
Li Yao was silent.
The first mutual deterrence between him and Bai Xinghe had been broken in such a short moment.
No. Since the very beginning, the first mutual deterrence had been a trap set up by Bai Xinghe.
Right now, although the two parties had reached a second mutual deterrence, who knew how long it could last?
"There is a loophole in the Dark Forest Theory."
Li Yao thought for a long time and suddenly said, "Civilizations do not necessarily have to fight each other to the death the moment they discover each other!
"Is it possible that a certain advanced civilization discovers a low-level civilization that is too low-level to pose any threat to them?
"Then, is it possible that the advanced civilization regards the low-level civilization as a slave, pet, or cannon fodder?"
"Maybe," Bai Xinghe said. "This is related to the last half rule that Liu the Prier proposed, the 'Child of Destiny'."
Li Yao was greatly surprised. "The Child of Destiny? What's that? Why is it a 'half rule'? "
"The Dark Forest Theory can basically explain the existence of major apocalypses," Bai Xinghe said. "But it is not enough to explain minor apocalypses."
Li Yao thought for a moment and realized that it did make sense.
There were two kinds of apocalypses. The apocalypse that happened in the Flying Star Sector five thousand years ago, which could destroy a planet or even a Sector, was called a major apocalypse.
In the history of mankind, major apocalypses were rarely seen. There were only two or three recorded cases at most. Most of them were myths and legends and might not be true.
What was more common than the major apocalypses were the minor apocalypses that targeted individuals. There were too many of them to count.
Many Cultivators who were trying to break into the Divinity Transformation Stage after they reached the Yuanying Stage had encountered minor apocalypses.
In fact, in the age of ancient Cultivators forty thousand years ago, most of the Cultivators did not realize the existence of 'major apocalypses' at all. They only knew one kind of apocalypse, which was the 'minor apocalypses' that targeted individuals!
If the major apocalypses that destroyed a planet were the attacks launched by another civilization, what were the minor apocalypses?
It was unlikely that a civilization would be so bored as to launch an apocalypse just to kill a certain person after crossing the vast sea of stars, right?
—
Today, the fourth chapter is here!
There is one thing that needs to be clarified.
Although many readers have seen through it, there must be a lot of readers who are unaware that the 'Dark Forest Theory' and the 'Chain of Suspicion' are not Old Bull's original works but concepts proposed by Mr. Liu Cixin, a science fiction writer whom Old Bull admired, in the 'Three-Body Problem' trilogy.
I'm using them here to express Old Bull's admiration for Mr. Liu Cixin. Please note that.
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