We met the captain of the 'Grass Ark' as well as the tree elf observer that the Empire had stationed here at the customs office of the civilian spaceport. It was this observer who had reported the matter regarding the Specter Ship's parts.
This civilian spaceport had a large number of modular customs offices. Every spaceship that docked here for more than a week could apply for such a free office, which was used to handle official business and exchange information with the Imperial administration. Of course, it could also be used as a place for business negotiations. Many 'special' commercial spaceships that traversed the Macro World completed their trade directly at the spaceport. They traveled from one port to another, and their warehouses were always filled with goods that were in constant motion. They were middlemen and transporters. They never left their spaceships or set foot on any planet except during outages. These otherworld merchants called themselves' Starship Master Dao '. Their slogan was' We don't produce resources, we're just nature's porters'. But these starship merchants had nothing to do with the sylphs. I was curious as to why the sylphs would apply for such an office. Although they met the requirements, as merchants, they had no goods, no information to exchange, and no business to receive any business partners. Such an office seemed to be meaningless to a group of destitute merchants like them.
In response to my question, the merchant ship captain who looked no different from any other mimosa shamelessly replied, "Well, it would be a waste if I didn't use it. My ship and goods are all gone. Aren't you going to let me take advantage of you?"
At that time, I felt that the first batch of unscrupulous merchants in the Macro World were all made from the same mold. I saw the shadow of the Fairy Empire's Peddler Queen in this mimosa.
While Shadora was explaining the situation of the Specter Ship to the Tree Elf who was acting as an observer, I curiously observed the captain of the Forest Elves in front of me. Ever since I saw that naggy mimosa in the City of Shadows, I had been interested in this race. After that, I also tried to understand the ins and outs of this group of Forest Elves through various online communities in the City of Shadows. The more I learned, the more curious I became. How was this strange race born?
The sylphs were a new race that came from the periphery of the Macro World. It was less than a year ago that they started official communication with the Empire. Before this month, they were doing short-term trade in remote areas and had never appeared in the interior of the Empire. These perennial herbaceous plants had developed intelligence and advanced technology. They had studied their own universe, but they did not know how to jump out of their own world. Therefore, the sylphs' caravans, like the Grass Ark, relied on buying spaceships from other civilizations or applying for public portals to complete self-service tours. This strange race, which looked like plants but was actually a combination of plants and machinery, was baffling to those who met them for the first time. Even in the City of Shadows, where strange races were not unusual, the first appearance of the sylphs still piqued the curiosity of many people. Logically speaking, a race that had not evolved natural limbs (or other functions that allowed them to move) and communication organs would not be able to take the first step on the road to becoming an advanced civilization. They could not make the first tool, nor could they form the first class and sentient colony. Without the assistance of those mechanical components, the sylphs could only rely on their roots to move extremely slowly. They would also lose the ability to speak. Even if they communicated with their own kind, they could only rely on the inefficient and vague plant pheromones. In other words, without their mechanical limbs and auxiliary plug-ins, the sylphs would become just a little more advanced than plants. They would still retain the ability to think, but they could not move, could not speak, and no one knew what clever little ideas they had under their swollen leaf stalks.
This had not changed throughout the history of the sylphs' evolution: they could never leave their mechanical bodies.
So how did they take the first step on the road to becoming an advanced civilization? Or more directly: how did they obtain the first mechanical limb and pass it on to the next generation?
This was a strange and rare reason: the first sylphs were actually just pets created by another race.
"We call them 'father'," the captain of the sylphs jumped up and down on his desk. His voice, posture, appearance, and habits were no different from the mimosa I saw two days ago. "This title is exclusive to the creator because the sylphs are hermaphrodites. Our race does not have the concept of parents. The title 'father' comes from the creator's civilization. They were very smart, and they were the first to build bonfires on our planet. Oh, a great civilization. They discovered the sylphs and planted us in the corner of their walls. At first, it was just to improve the air in their houses. Then, one of the greatest scientists among these great people suddenly had the idea to connect electrodes and decoding equipment to the body of the sylphs in his house. That was a historic day: the great sylphs — we call them the First Born, this title also came from the creator — said to the scientist: Thank you, to express his gratitude for watering the plants every day. This word was displayed on the screen of the 'father', and finally, someone discovered the sylphs' ability to think. After a long time, the 'father' mastered all the techniques to communicate with the sylphs normally, and they knew that we have been thinking in silence for the past hundreds of years. Although the thinking was very primitive, close to sleep talking and slow thinking, the 'father' was still very happy. "
When I heard this, I could not help but interrupt him. "By the way, did your creator not have any conspiracy theories? For example, he was worried that another intelligent race would appear on his own planet and compete with him for territory. There are many similar stories on Earth. "
"Oh, yes, but this idea was soon proven to be a joke." The captain of the sylphs spread his branches and imitated the action of a human spreading out his hands. "The sylphs need to be planted in the soil. What we love the most is the right amount of water and sun. We don't need any of the 'father's' wealth. On the contrary, the sylphs are essential plants on the 'father's' planet. 85% of the air that the 'father' breathes comes from the sylphs. The two races will not rob each other of any treasures, and the waste that we do not use will become the other's survival resources. Smart people know that there is no need for us to compete. I know what kind of place you are talking about. Would the people on Earth be worried that too much food and air will occupy their living space?"
I said, "… That's true."
"In short, the 'father' modified the sylphs." The captain's short legs ran quickly on the table. "They increased the intelligence of the sylphs and created a device for us to export our thoughts more easily. It was a sensor plug-in. Then, they installed us with multi-functional mechanical limbs. They could be used as legs and hands. The sylphs and the 'father' lived happily together. It was a good life. "
I was just casually asking him about the origin of this strange race. I did not expect the story to be so interesting. I could not help but urge him to hurry up. "What happened after that? Where did your creator go? "
The mood of the captain of the sylphs suddenly became gloomy. Even his leaves drooped listlessly on the table. "A group of bandits came, bandits from five light years away. They were a group of people who did all kinds of evil things in the stars. They ate up the resources of the planets like pests. These bandits invaded the planet of the 'father'. After a fierce battle, they won."
"The 'father's' genes were wiped out by the bandits. A generation later, all of them perished. However, the sylphs survived. This was because when the war was about to end, the 'father' changed all the databases. They erased the traces of the sylphs possessing high intelligence. Then, they disguised us as family pets and natural plants with simple thinking abilities. The bandits did not think of this. Moreover, they also needed the sylphs, these intelligent servants, to help them improve the planet's atmosphere. Thus, the sylphs survived. "
Now, not only were the sylphs still alive, but they had also become one of the most active races in the Macro World. This meant that they had finally killed their enemies. But how did these seemingly weak plants take revenge? Especially during the era that the captain mentioned, the sylphs did not have any weapons. This revenge seemed too inconceivable to me.
"It took a long time." The captain of the sylphs jumped on the spot. "Seven hundred years. We used seven hundred years to prepare for revenge. We had no weapons, no base, no place to hide, and we could not even display high intelligence in front of the bandits. This was the only way to make them lower their guard. On the surface, the sylphs seemed to have nothing, but we had a way to take revenge — evolution and plant pheromones. The sylphs could use the plant pheromones for basic communication, even exchanging their genetic fragments or creating new chemicals. We could control the direction of our evolution. Through generations of purposeful and subtle mutations, we produced toxins in ourselves. We used five hundred years to slowly change ourselves, allowing our organelles to secrete a seemingly harmless small molecule compound. The bandits had advanced interstellar navigation technology and weapon technology, but their biochemical and genetic technology was only average. This was the perfect opportunity. "
I was completely captivated by the forest elves' story. I never expected that these seemingly gentle and weak plants would have such a history. However, I still couldn't figure out how they evolved their poison to complete their revenge. The forest elves' goal shouldn't be as simple as poisoning a few enemies to death. This was a racial enmity, and they needed to achieve something on a larger scale.
"It's very simple," the captain said solemnly (if all the leaves were solemn). "We made ourselves nutritious, easy to digest, and catered to the taste of the bandits."
I was instantly dumbfounded.
"For the next two hundred years, the sylphs became a delicacy that the bandits fought over. We also evolved some other gadgets to make ourselves look like health supplements. The bandits were addicted to it, and in the end, the sylphs became their staple food. The toxins accumulated in their bodies, and it took three generations to slowly take effect before it exploded. Those idiots did not expect the vengeance of the plants to be so long, so they did not connect it to the food that they had been eating for two hundred years. They lost the ability to reproduce, and gradually lost the ability to think logically. The bandits tried to use cloning to continue their race, but as long as they were still eating, they could not escape the toxins. In the end, those who could operate the cloning equipment also died, and the only ones who came out of the petri dish were monkeys holding their own toes and drooling. The sylphs used seven hundred years to prepare, and finally used three hundred years to admire everything. This is our story."
You can guess what happened after that: we survived, and we used the mechanical limbs left behind by the 'fathers' to continue our civilization. Every newborn sylphs had to accept this modification, and the mechanical limbs accompanied every single sylphs for life. Praise the 'fathers', praise the first born, and from then on, no one dared to look down on the sylphs. Once the vengeance of the plants began, it would not end. "
I stared blankly at the cheerful tone of the captain of the sylphs, who did not seem to be worried at all. I suddenly understood what was going on with this group of creatures who could still think of 'taking advantage of the situation' even after the ship was destroyed. They would not be worried, would not be trapped in a difficult situation, and would not be beaten down by any short-term difficulties. Yes, for such a patient and patient race, it was enough for them to always be energetic and open their leaves to welcome the sun.
"In this place, it is a tradition for the captains of different worlds to introduce the glorious history of their race and civilization to each other." At this moment, the conversation between Sandora and the Tree Elf observer also came to an end. The tall and skinny Tree Elf turned his head and said. It turned out that he had also heard our conversation. "The story of the sylphs is the most exciting one, but the only problem is that the sylphs love to tell others about it. I have heard their story six times, if you are willing, I can recite it for you …"
I was speechless.
Alright, I could imagine this. After all, the mimosa I met two days ago was a fellow who did not distinguish between simple and complex words. The way of thinking of the sylphs seemed to be different from other races. Once they communicate with others, they would list out everything in their mind regardless of whether it was important or not. For the first time, you would feel that the sylphs were very hospitable and easy to communicate with, but after interacting with them for a long time, you would feel that these perennial herbs were a little noisy. However, no matter what, I had talked to that Star Domain Elf before, so I could accept the nature of the sylphs being a little talkative. After all, they were just a little talkative, but that Star Domain Elf had almost reached the point where his mouth would never stop talking …
"Let's talk business first." I shifted my attention away from the matter of the sylphs. Seeing the relaxed expression on Sandora's face, I knew that the matter of the ghost ship was basically in the bag. "Are you sure that the component fell from the ghost ship?"
"Yes, it's this." Sandora said as she handed me a small cylindrical metal object. This object was less than a foot long, as thick as an egg, and one end was broken. Its size was smaller than I had expected. When I heard that the Ghost Ship had crashed into the 'Grass Ark', I thought it would be something bigger.
"I have just appraised it. This is a common external sensor on the Empire's spaceships. The manufacturing period is in line with expectations. It is a relic from the heyday of the old Empire," Sandora said as she handed the sensor to Xiaoxue. "Through this thing, together with Xiaoxue's prophecy ability, we should be able to determine where the ghost ship will appear next."
"My mother should be more reliable in this matter," Xiaoxue muttered as she took the metal pillar.
"Your mother has just returned from a business trip. Let her rest for two days." I glanced at the picky brat. "Also, you have become a rice worm at home. If you don't move around, I am worried that you will rust in front of the TV."
Xiaoxue bared her teeth at me. Finally, she grabbed the broken probe and closed her eyes to focus. She was going to trace the information of this object and find the other components that had spent more than a hundred thousand years with it. This was a process that was difficult for others to understand. If I had to explain it, it would be equivalent to taking a leaf into the forest to find the tree that it once belonged to. This sounded like an impossible task, but everything that was born in the Void was in a vast ocean of information. There was no exception. The eyes of the prophet could overlook all the derivatives that spread out from the Void Stairway. Although it was a little inconceivable to sort out the Ghost Ship from such a vast amount of information, Xiaoxue had her own special methods.
Sandora and I waited quietly for a few minutes. During this time, the captain of the Ghost Ship ran off to chat with the observer. Finally, Xiaoxue suddenly opened her eyes. "Found it."
"Where?" Sandora and I asked in unison.
"Three days later, in the Surface World of the capital, above a red dwarf star more than three million light years away from Earth." Xiaoxue returned the metal pillar to Sandora. "The Ghost Ship doesn't always appear near the Macro World. Occasionally, it will drift to a desolate place. However, the time it stays in these desolate places is usually very short. It is so short that even the radar stations of the Empire could not detect it. This time, the Ghost Ship will stay in that place for three seconds. "
Three seconds … That was really short.
Sandora did not mind. "That's enough. We will first send people to set up a trap. Three seconds is enough for the gravity trap to be activated. Xiaoxue, is the ship armed? "
"No," Xiaoxue shook her head. "But it's hard to say if the ship has any. There is too much information in one go, and it looks blurry."
Sandora and I waved our hands nonchalantly. It was already good enough that she could pinpoint the location and time of the Ghost Ship's appearance. Xiaoxue was really good when it came to business.
At this time, the captain of the Ghost Ship had once again grabbed the observer and was excitedly talking. "Hey, let me tell you about my adventure in the past …"
I suddenly felt that it was better to leave this place as soon as possible … Don't tell me these forest spirits believe in the Dragon God?!
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