GBP Chapter 1409 Invitation to Cooperation
Chapter 1409 Invitation to Cooperation
Xiao Ce could understand Xiao Dingshan's initial words.
However, as he listened, Xiao Ce began to get confused again.
"Later, while we were looking for a way to leave this place, we found a lot of energy, equipment, and devices that didn't belong here, and intelligence that shouldn't exist here..."
"For example, the Star Network Hub, and the various treasure vaults, like a hidden dragon's armory, but we can't open them. So what we've been doing is searching for those who can unlock everything here..."
"But during our search, we confirmed one thing: someone came here before us. He possessed immense power, even backed by advanced technology, but for some unknown reason, he perished, leaving behind these ruins... and that star network hub was a signal to send out help. We stumbled in by accident..."
"However, based on our observations, over the years, some extraterrestrial forces have inexplicably entered this area... and after entering, they disappear without a trace."
Upon hearing Xiao Dingshan's words, Xiao Ce asked curiously, "So, the reason you wanted us to close this place is..."
Xiao Dingshan said to Xiao Ce, "I am indeed doing this for your own good! This place is a huge treasure! Once extraterrestrial civilizations discover its extraordinary nature, you humans who cannot protect it will become their slaves... You don't deny that, do you..."
Xiao Ce nodded: "So, by turning off the signal... you're preventing anyone from knowing this place exists..."
Xiao Dingshan nodded.
Just about to speak.
Xiao Ce chimed in, "Of course, you don't need to be so pretentious... You're doing this for yourselves. If an extraterrestrial civilization comes, you'll all die too... After all, you know your own identities..."
Xiao Dingshan nodded after hearing Xiao Ce's words.
Xiao Ce then continued, asking Xiao Dingshan, "Then why do you think we can't cooperate...?"
Xiao Dingshan smiled at Xiao Ce, then said, "You are someone they have chosen... You may not know it yet... but you are definitely not with us... They must have something to rely on to have chosen you..."
After hearing Xiao Dingshan's words, Xiao Ce nodded, agreeing that he made a good point...
"But I don't even know who the other person is. How did you know? Actually, you and I do have some things in common..."
Upon hearing Xiao Ce's words, Xiao Dingshan looked at Xiao Ce...
"You mean, you're doing this to protect these people?"
Xiao Ce nodded.
Xiao Dingshan looked at Xiao Ce and said, "So, you've already done it...you've already won...all you need to do is do nothing...maintain the status quo, and you'll be invincible..."
Xiao Ce nodded subconsciously upon hearing what Xiao Dingshan said.
Theoretically speaking, that's actually true...
Xiao Dingshan spoke fluently and seemed very sincere.
However, Xiao Ce felt that something was not right.
But Xiao Ce didn't know exactly what was wrong.
He's currently processing all this news...
While Xiao Ce remained silent, Xiao Dingshan continued speaking...
"Xiao Ce..."
His voice was no longer roaring or trembling, but instead carried a strange quality, more like a desperate gamble after giving up than calm!
You're right...
He paused for a moment as he spoke...
Xiao Ce's sharp gaze remained unwavering, only his eyebrows slightly raised in a barely perceptible arc, awaiting what was to come.
He didn't believe Xiao Dingshan would genuinely submit; this abrupt turn of events seemed more like a new strategy...
Xiao Dingshan ignored Xiao Ce's scrutiny, or rather, he no longer cared whether the other party trusted him!
He simply had to seize this one possible chance: "I think...maybe...we can cooperate."
"cooperate?"
Even though Xiao Ce heard these words from Xiao Dingshan, Xiao Ce still didn't believe them.
After all, Xiao Dingshan was hysterical before...
Are you willing to cooperate now?
Xiao Ce found it amusing, though he didn't hide it from his expression...
Xiao Ce said calmly, "You were just being stubborn. If I hadn't threatened you with the Star Network Hub, and you hadn't been so terrified of the consequences of unsealing the Star Network Hub that your soul left your body, you wouldn't have mentioned it at all."
"Why are you talking to me about cooperation now after just a few words? Xiao Dingshan, your sincerity comes faster than a stardust storm."
He deliberately emphasized the word "sincerity," which was full of irony.
"The fear is real! The consequences of unsealing that thing would be enough to wipe out this planet and us! I'm not exaggerating!"
Xiao Dingshan seemed only concerned with survival, showing no reaction whatsoever to Xiao Ce's teasing and mocking attitude...
He immediately emphasized this, but then changed his tone, continuing to speak to Xiao Ce with an almost cruel honesty:
"But fear won't solve the problem! Fear can't change the fact that we're all trapped here!"
"You hold the key but are unaware of the abyss behind it; we possess the technology but cannot even open the prison door! Clashing and guarding against each other, the final result will be that we both turn into cosmic dust in some unknown catastrophe!"
His human eye was fixed on Xiao Ce!
It attempts to convey a sense of shared fate: "Rather than this...why not...find a way to coexist? A way...that might allow both of us to survive, and even...become stronger?"
Xiao Ce did not immediately refute!
Deep within his cold gaze, his rapidly working mind was analyzing the true intentions behind every word Xiao Dingshan uttered.
He sensed in Xiao Dingshan's words a strong will to survive, and a deeper fear of the unknown disaster, which seemed to make him more uneasy than mere confinement.
Xiao Ce asked casually, "How do we cooperate?" His tone was flat and emotionless, as if he were asking about a trivial matter.
Seeing that Xiao Ce had given an affirmative answer, Xiao Dingshan said directly, "It's very simple! We have the same goal: to survive and break the shackles on this planet! The method: to unite!"
Xiao Ce feigned curiosity: "Oh?"
Seeing that Xiao Ce was interested, Xiao Dingshan began to speak.
"Step 1: Resource Sharing!"
"I have been exploring this planet for thousands of years. Although I cannot see its entirety, I have accumulated a vast amount of data on geology, energy distribution, and anomalous regions!"
"You humans...excuse my bluntness, but your understanding of this planet beneath your feet is like that of blind men touching an elephant!"
Your technology is not even capable of detecting the true energy channels three thousand meters below the Earth's crust!
Even the weapons you've acquired now are only offensive; you don't possess the true core technology...
But we have the technology! We have detection equipment far beyond your imagination, capable of penetrating the earth's strata and analyzing energy flows!
We can join forces to conduct unprecedented deep exploration of this planet!
Thoroughly investigate the source, nature, and distribution of those 'hidden, enormous energies'!
His eyes gleamed with an almost greedy light, but this time the object was no longer the planet itself, but knowledge and possibility:
"The second step is joint development!"
"Find it! Understand it! Then, mine it! Utilize it!"
Xiao Ce, do you know what this means?
The purity and total amount of this energy are enough to propel a first-level civilization to unimaginable heights!
It's more than just spiritual energy!
It is... a completely new, active, and potentially limitless fundamental energy source! If we can safely utilize it...
Xiao Dingshan's voice had a seductive quality!
"Just think about it! Your human civilization can instantly bridge the technological gap of hundreds or even thousands of years!"
We will share technology!
Not just those on the spaceship wreckage, but also the engineering, materials science, and energy application science that we, the interstellar hunters, have accumulated across countless galaxies!
We can work together to develop the technology here!
To create an unprecedented, powerful civilization that blends interstellar technology with the planet's essence! This planet will no longer be a prison, but our shared home...
Cradle and springboard!
"and then?"
Xiao Ce's voice remained icy, like a bucket of cold water poured on the grand blueprint drawn by Xiao Dingshan!
Although the news that Xiao Dingshan said did sound quite intimidating.
But Xiao Dingshan's way of speaking really does resemble his tendency to make empty promises...
Xiao Ce said directly to Xiao Dingshan, "Exploit energy, develop technology, and then send you out to relay the news back to your 'Hunter Network,' attracting more hyenas and turning this 'cradle' into a new hunting ground?"
His gaze was sharp as a knife, piercing straight into the biggest trap that Xiao Dingshan's words might be hiding.
No! Absolutely not!
Xiao Dingshan denied it almost immediately and decisively, even saying with a hint of misunderstanding, "Xiao Ce, I swear on... my remaining core of consciousness that has not yet been completely covered by data!"
We have never seen anything like it! We have never imagined that a planet could possess such unique, vast, and yet so restrained energy!
It's too special! So special that... once it's leaked out, it won't attract the Hunter Network's covetous eyes, but rather... those truly powerful beings who dominate the planetary seas and regard us as ants!
That would be a true catastrophe!
Besides, I'm not stupid. If I don't say anything, and we cooperate, these things are yours and mine, right?
As he spoke, the remaining eyeball was scrutinizing Xiao Ce's expression; clearly, he was observing Xiao Ce's reaction...
"We've really had enough of this nomadic life!"
For millennia... we've been trapped here, witnessing the rise and fall of your human civilization... This planet, though a harsh prison for us, has also nurtured a unique spark of civilization...
A part of our consciousness has lived among androids for so long...so long that...we've even begun to wonder if the definition of 'home' necessarily has to be our home planet?
A new home with limitless potential, one that we must all work together to protect and develop... isn't that something to look forward to?
Xiao Dingshan's voice lowered, carrying an almost sorrowful honesty:
We want to get out!
Yes, no one wants to be imprisoned forever.
But what we want even more is... to go out with strength!
Let's go out with enough power to give us a voice in the starry sky, and even... protect ourselves!
Instead of fleeing like a stray dog and then being hunted by an even more powerful force!
Collaborating to develop this planet and making both of us stronger is... the only way out we see right now!
Although you've shut down the Star Network Hub, who knows if someone might accidentally stumble in... We need to develop our own self-defense capabilities...
Xiao Ce, you should know very well that having a gun and not using it is not the same as not having a gun at all!
Xiao Ce stared silently at Xiao Dingshan.
He could sense a strong contradiction in the other person's words, expression, and even the complex mechanical energy fluctuations: a yearning for freedom, a fear of the unknown, a pursuit of power, and... a hidden longing for stability and belonging honed by years of imprisonment.
This sounds reasonable, even tempting.
But Xiao Ce knew Xiao Dingshan too well, and he also knew the true nature of the Star Hunters—greed and betrayal were ingrained in their very bones.
He may have figured it out... but there's clearly danger lurking within it...
“That sounds wonderful, Siu Ding Shan.”
Xiao Ce finally spoke, his tone tinged with amusement, but his eyes remained icy:
"Anyone can make empty promises and promises. Cooperation? I need to see something tangible, not just vague pledges. Tell me, what can you offer?"
Aside from those data you claim about regarding the distribution of planetary energy!
I can easily find out these things myself, or force you to tell me.
Even if you don't say it, you should understand that going from zero to one is very difficult, but going from one to one hundred is very easy...
"And, the person you mentioned left me an armory, is it possible they left me something else too...?"
Xiao Ce's words left Xiao Dingshan speechless for a moment: "Xiao Ce, the more you unlock...aren't you afraid?"
After hearing Xiao Dingshan's words, Xiao Ce asked, "Afraid? Afraid of what?"
Xiao Dingshan said to Xiao Ce, "Have you ever considered that you are merely a vessel?!"
Xiao Ce saw that Xiao Dingshan had come up with a new concept.
Xiao Dingshan said to Xiao Ce, "Just like how I found Xiao Dingshan, you should know that there are several types of androids. The most common ones are the ones I gave you. They will lose some memories and have functional deficiencies... That's because their genes can't be completely matched..."
"But I'm different. As long as I find a genetic match, extract the genes, and use them to create a humanoid, it will be a 100% match. In this way, the humanoid can be transformed into a truly harmless human!"