Chapter 357: Secrets of the Lost Civilization

Having witnessed the high-end weaponry of a Level 6 civilization, Du Qiu was dissatisfied with the battlecruiser that Dream Technology had managed to produce—a design barely mid-Level 4 in quality.

Not only were the offensive weapons and shields unimpressive, but even the newly installed fusion engine failed to win him over.

After all, he had personally commanded a fleet of 356 main ships from a Level 6 civilization in a head-on clash with another such fleet.

Even if they had fought and then retreated, it served as a practical test of his tactical theories.

It was like enjoying a sumptuous feast only to find that plain vegetables and tofu suddenly tasted lackluster.

For the main ships of the Dominant Civilization, the power source was antimatter. Although Earth’s physicists had long deduced the existence of this immensely potent energy, making the leap from theory to practice remained a distant dream.

The Fleet Commander’s database barely elaborated on the technological level of a civilization; these 356 main ships had a maximum service life of only 1200 years.

From their very inception, they were built to the pinnacle of Level 6 technology—with weapon systems, shields, and power cores barely altered aside from subtle efficiency improvements.

Clearly, the Dominant Civilization had reached its Level 6 pinnacle at least 1200 years ago.

Du Qiu was well aware of the hallmark technologies of Level 4 civilizations. With their mastery of the Grand Unified Theory, they could effortlessly harness the four fundamental forces.

Thus, energy utilization truly came into its own at this stage.

Collaborating with his team at the Physics Research Institute, Du Qiu speculated that the real difference between Level 4 and Level 5 lay in advanced energy applications and complete mastery over faster-than-light travel.

Naturally, another telltale sign was the energy source; it was expected that Level 4 pinnacle technology would already employ antimatter power.

Currently, Dream Technology’s warships operated on aggregated nuclear fusion—a system several orders of magnitude more energy-efficient than conventional fusion.

Without any direct comparisons, Du Qiu was unsure whether this fusion technology could support the demands of faster-than-light travel.

As long as it could bend local space to form a stable curvature bubble, it should suffice for Level 4 warships.

Alas, unable to return to Base 11’s star system, Du Qiu was forced to hide within a modest star system—continually resupplying his depleted antimatter while leveraging the Fleet Commander’s AI to help design a faster-than-light curvature engine and control system.

Meanwhile, he deployed a large number of Soldier Unit intelligent robots aboard the warship to mine resources and kick-start production.

Although Du Qiu now had nothing beyond the main ship—lacking dedicated production facilities and manufacturing bots—he still had a few assets he could borrow.

After all, the warship was equipped with various maintenance and repair devices. These intelligent units, as part of the Soldier Unit, could also be commandeered to help him learn advanced technologies and gradually replicate them.

This approach would not only address the fleet’s basic logistical needs,

but also tap into the production capabilities of these Soldier Units to build a systematic manufacturing chain—from overhauling warships to, ultimately, constructing vessels that met Level 6 standards.

Even if achieving a full Level 6 build wasn’t possible, reaching Level 5—or even fabricating certain special weapons—would suffice.

As long as production succeeded in Dreamland, he could replicate it here in the Solar System.

This would dramatically boost the combat strength of Dream Technology’s space warships.

To be honest, after boasting the power to crush all of Earth, the sudden emergence of a formidable Tur Fleet blocking his doorstep left Du Qiu feeling utterly frustrated.

Thus, he eagerly anticipated unlocking the secrets of the Civilization Bastion left behind by the Pleiadians—hoping that its technology might reveal an additional, formidable capability.

Du Qiu speculated that it must be an immensely powerful force field energy technology, likely governed by artificial intelligence to fend off even the most advanced fleets without hindering natural meteor traffic.

Now, as he stood over 1,000 kilometers beneath the Moon’s surface and gazed at a grand door shimmering with a dark cyan metallic luster, an idea suddenly struck him.

Could it be that this Moon was crafted by the Pleiadians themselves?

Otherwise, how could one overlook the unmistakable construction traces in the building hidden deep within the Moon’s core?

For example, the bases he built underground in South Sudan for the Tanga Federation clearly bore the marks of human craftsmanship embedded in the rock layers.

Without hesitation, Du Qiu ordered someone to bring out a crystal cube and place it into a depression on the door—sure enough, the key to the Pleiadians’ architectural marvel was indeed the crystal cube.

After a gentle flash of white light, the door silently swung open.

“Pioneers, welcome back!”

At that announcement, Du Qiu immediately realized that, much like Heavenly Garden, this was another Pleiadian outpost.

Ding Shaoqiu exclaimed with delight, “Boss, the AI here should be tameable too, right?”

Du Qiu smiled and replied, “Hold on—I’ll send in a robot to figure out how to connect to its network.”

With the deployment of Quantum Communication relay satellites, real-time networking was now possible all the way to a safe haven 500 astronomical units away.

Star Ocean had already reappeared by his side, handling everything for him.

Much like at Heavenly Garden, Star Ocean connected to the building’s internal network via a robot and, thanks to its technological edge, quickly seized control of the local AI.

Only after Du Qiu, Ding Shaoqiu, and the others stepped inside did they notice that the space was modest—about 1,000 square meters in total, split between living and working areas, with the work zone taking up two-thirds of the space.

Walking into the work area, they found it was undivided—a single, expansive room.

At the center of the room, the sight left everyone dumbfounded.

It was as if a full-scale holographic projection had come to life—an egg-shaped elliptical object suspended in midair.

The exterior of this egg was made of a transparent material through which its inner scene was clearly visible.

It was unmistakably a miniature solar system!

Star Ocean’s voice promptly resonated in Du Qiu’s ear: “Sir, this is the central control room of the Civilization Bastion. The Pleiadians can command its activation and deactivation via its AI.”

At that moment, Du Qiu noticed that outside the egg-shaped structure, far from being empty, several objects floated steadily—resembling meteors or comets.

Then, from a certain vantage point, he spotted a fleet of warships!

Through the transparent layer, Du Qiu also observed Heavenly Spacecraft and warships stationed in the safe haven, as well as a shipyard nestled between Mars and the asteroid belt.

Good heavens! Was this device capturing real-time images from throughout the Solar System and beyond?

“Star Ocean, could you check if this display reflects the Solar System’s current state?”

Regardless, he needed Star Ocean’s confirmation.

“Yes, it shows a live feed of the Solar System both inside and out, with an error margin of about one hour!”

Though others couldn’t hear Star Ocean’s response, Du Qiu’s query left both Ding Shaoqiu and Fortress Commander Zheng Song visibly astonished.

They were witnessing real-time monitoring of the Solar System and its vicinity—spanning 3 to 4 light-years—with every corner under surveillance.

Standing there, it was clear that the Solar System held no secrets.

The Pleiadians’ surveillance over an entire stellar system was disturbingly precise—truly terrifying.

And, of course, their technological prowess was undeniably astounding.

Du Qiu even began to wonder if the Pleiadians had already reached Level 6 when they arrived on Earth.

With the capabilities of a Level 6 civilization, roaming the entire galaxy was a trivial pursuit—and it wasn’t surprising they could easily come to Earth, using ancient apes in evolutionary experiments to spawn humanity.

Yet Du Qiu still harbored doubts: where exactly were the Ge Ya Civilization and the Dominant Civilization located?

That region likely wasn’t part of the Milky Way. Using his main ship’s observational tools, Du Qiu scanned nearby star systems but found no familiar hallmark stars of our galaxy.

He was no longer the astronomical novice he once was—his understanding of the Milky Way’s prominent stars had grown considerably.

“Star Ocean, have you finished downloading the AI database? How does this central control room operate? Is it truly the command center of the Civilization Bastion?”

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