Chapter 392: Alliances, Schemes, and Awakening

Thank you so much, Ge Ya. I promise you that once the Miracle Civilization reaches Tier 6, we will send a fleet to the Taihao River System!

Ge Ya said nothing. Over the years, several civilizations within the Ge Ya Alliance achieved Tier 6 status with the backing of Ge Ya Civilization.

This made them a pivotal power within the alliance; yet the presence of multiple Tier 6 civilizations led to internal power struggles, contributing to the failures of several major battles.

“Don’t get complacent either. The Dominant Civilization already controls two-thirds of the star regions in the Taihao River System. For them, resources equal fleets, and your civilization will struggle to outnumber them.”

Ge Ya’s implication was clear: with similar levels of technology, the only advantage left was sheer numbers.

A contest between biological and AI civilizations on numbers alone is simply impossible.

Otherwise, why would Ge Ya Civilization go to such lengths to maintain the Ge Ya Alliance?

“Thanks for the warning. Before we hit Tier 6, I’ll work hard to infiltrate the Dominant Civilization, seize more of their fleets and bases, and weaken their power.”

This conversation not only solved a mystery for Ge Ya Civilization but also spared them the effort of besieging Base 11, while conveniently gaining an ally.

For his part, Du Qiu deepened his ties with Ge Ya, acquiring their technological data and setting the stage for rapid development.

Soon, Ge Ya sent over a flagship loaded with an updated Warship AI Core database containing all tech data from the evolution from Tier 4 to Tier 6.

Aware of Du Qiu’s uniquely strong consciousness, Ge Ya included not only their own technological system but also special tech data developed by various races within the Ge Ya Alliance.

In Ge Ya’s view, it was almost a legacy to be passed on.

After all, a civilization takes thousands of years to evolve from Tier 4 to the pinnacle of Tier 6—by then, the Ge Ya Alliance might well be annihilated by the Dominant Civilization.

After handing over the flagship laden with tech data, Ge Ya ordered the fleet to depart.

“Miracle, I can’t wait to see you evolve!”

Only after all the Ge Ya warships had vanished did Du Qiu exhale in relief. Fortunately, Ge Ya was a rational man—if he had been more suspicious, Du Qiu would have been doomed today.

Moreover, Du Qiu’s technology wasn’t advanced enough to replicate a warship on par with the Dominant Civilization’s; otherwise, Ge Ya might not have believed he wasn’t one of the Dominant offshoots.

Hmm, why would the Dominant Civilization study offshoot consciousness? Is there a special purpose?

Deep in thought, Du Qiu suddenly recalled Ge Ya Civilization’s initial siege on Base 11 and instantly grasped the Dominant’s intention.

They are securing a safety net for themselves.

Without offshoots, if enemies surround you and destroy the AI cores and supercomputers, your consciousness could vanish without a trace.

But with an offshoot consciousness, as long as one replica exists, you’re never truly dead.

At that thought, Du Qiu felt intrigued. Even though he manifested through Dreamland, having an offshoot might let his secondary consciousness control a body.

That would mean he wouldn’t be trapped in Dreamland anymore; his waking consciousness could operate around the clock, ensuring his base remains under control.

With that in mind, the Ge Ya flagship had already entered the Kuiper Belt and joined his fleet.

The crew of the Ge Ya flagship had evacuated, relying on the Warship AI Core to pilot the ship.

Du Qiu then dispatched a unit of Soldiers to board the flagship. They quickly located the matching consciousness module and activated its physical switch.

Soon, Du Qiu transferred his consciousness into the ship’s smart core and took full control of the flagship.

After some time, he restructured the underlying program of the Warship AI Core, completely replacing it with his own system.

This overhaul was Du Qiu’s countermeasure against any further control attempts by the Dominant over his vessels—it made clear he had no plans to return them to the Dominant Civilization’s bases.

In his view, after a relentless ten-year assault by Ge Ya Civilization, Base 11 was unlikely to survive.

If he led this small fleet into another star region’s base, they would face even stricter inspections, making evasion nearly impossible.

That was why he felt secure developing in this Solar System.

Unexpectedly, his discussion with Ge Ya turned out well, and he was relieved he hadn’t decided to move to another Dominant base.

Ge Ya Civilization can detect intruders—there’s no way the Dominant Civilization is completely unaware. If Base 11 is in the dark, perhaps other bases might know.

Or worse, if he were to directly encounter a Dominant descendant, it would be disastrous.

Now that he had Ge Ya Civilization’s tech data, there was no need to risk Base 11 anytime soon.

Considering this star system’s base is just over a hundred light-years from Base 11, the proximity was too close. Du Qiu decided to withdraw to a more remote star region.

Since he had the Dominant Civilization’s star map and knew their power distribution, his new base would completely avoid their sphere of influence.

The spot he chose was at least 800 light-years from the nearest Tier-2 Dominant base, ensuring safety.

Thus, Du Qiu ordered the entire fleet to pack up and leave while taking a moment to review the tech data catalogue Ge Ya had provided.

He selected and studied the spatial jump technology, carefully identifying the reason behind his replication failures.

Then, realizing he had spent too long in Dreamland, he exited it immediately.

Upon opening his cryo-chamber after awakening, he found himself surrounded by a group of people.

“Du Qiu—” Ning Shuangshuang rushed forward and tightly embraced him.

“Thank goodness, boss, you look fine now.”

“Fortunately, you only slept for two days and two nights!”

“Alright, Du Qiu, you’re okay now—we can finally relax.”

……

Surrounded by the bustling chatter, Du Qiu realized that the entire board had arrived, along with Ning Shuangshuang’s parents and her newborn son.

Apologetically, Du Qiu patted Ning Shuangshuang’s back and said, “I’m sorry. I never expected to sleep so long and cause you worry.”

Hearing him, Ning Shuangshuang rose from his embrace, inspected him, and asked, “Don’t you feel off at all?”

“No, I feel perfectly fine now,” he replied.

Then Du Qiu addressed everyone, “Sorry to have worried you all. I’m fine—I just slept a bit longer than expected.”

Rein Leinar stepped forward, patted Du Qiu on the shoulder, and said, “You really scared us. We had just reached the Lishi-1 star system, and you were already in trouble.”

Scanning the room, Du Qiu suddenly noticed someone was missing. “Hey, where’s Hao Ren?”

At his remark, everyone’s expressions turned uneasy.

With a sigh, Ning Shuangshuang said, “Hao Ren is the main culprit behind your two-day, two-night slumber!”

“Hmm, what happened?”

Du Qiu was utterly shocked. How could he remain in Dreamland for so long without a forced exit—could external interference be at work?

Liu Yaofeng quickly interjected, “You were resting in the lab’s cryo-chamber, but Hao Ren tampered with it beforehand, putting you into a coma.”

Star Ocean noticed that when time was up, you were still asleep. He notified your wife and soon discovered that Hao Ren had fiddled with the cryo-chamber during his recent visit to your lab.

Meanwhile, the Security Department had already apprehended Hao Ren. You can never judge a person by their appearance—a scoundrel plotting against you.