Chapter 102: The Lost Beehive Empire
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Hatchery?” The name of that special galaxy made Li Wenyuan curious.
“Humans really like to create new things. They even want to raise things outside the Milky Way….”
“But…from the results, they should have succeeded, right?”
Many giant space lifeforms were wandering in the galaxy before him, but they seemed to be controlled.
Perhaps because of Li Wenyuan’s uniqueness, those space behemoths did not attack him. Instead, they seemed docile.
However, judging from how those giant beasts were baring their fangs and brandishing their claws when he first entered the galaxy, it was very likely that only he received such a docile treatment.
Other than that, the ‘Hatchery Planets’ that were full of lifeform eroding bodies were not in a disorderly state.
The giant living buildings made of biomass also had special functions. Although they were very strange compared to normal organic civilizations, that might be those lifeforms’ unique form of ‘civilization.’
“…In that case, can we communicate with them?” Li Wenyuan was a little curious. After all, according to what the humans said, the ‘Hatchery Galaxy’ was built to allow those ‘galaxy visitors’ to form a civilization.
Judging from the current situation, they should be able to communicate.
As expected, he soon received a relatively special signal fluctuation.
Different from the communication methods of ordinary civilizations, the group of ‘outsiders’ used psionic signals. It was impossible to decipher what they were talking about without some level of technical knowledge.
However, Li Wenyuan was obviously not in the ‘not understanding’ category. The psionic signal receiver quickly analyzed the content of the other party’s signal.
“Are you…are you…’humans’? I…I sensed a familiar aura…I…We haven’t been out for a long time. Can we go home now?”
Li Wenyuan was surprised by the first sentence of this group of ‘galaxy visitors’. He didn’t expect them to ask if they could go home as soon as they came out.
Before he could ask, the group of ‘galaxy visitors’ continued to transmit psionic signals.
“You…do you have anything to eat? We haven’t eaten for a long time…We’re hungry…I…I can trade…We have…”
The signal was interrupted for a while as if they were counting what they had to trade. Not long after, the signal continued.
“We…we only have warriors, but they are very powerful…So…so…can we exchange them for some food?”
Perhaps it was his illusion, but Li Wenyuan heard a pleading and nervous feeling from it.
The ferocious beasts floating in space turned their bellies up in a very human-like manner, looking as if they had starved to death.
“…It seems that the humans’ ‘education’ back then was very good….” He recalled the description of those ‘galaxy visitors’ in the information left behind.
It was hard to imagine what kind of treatment they had gone through to turn from a state of ‘constant devouring and expansion’ into such a humble state. They even understood how to ‘make a deal’ and use what they had to exchange for something in return instead of arrogantly asking for something in return. However, out of careful consideration, Li Wenyuan still asked them a few questions first and used the fleet to seal off all the hyperspace channels around the ’Hatchery’ Galaxy.
[Who are you?]
“I…we…we are ’Presolin,’ the ‘survivors’…We were chased here by the ‘hunters.’ We wanted to find food, and so we escaped to the universe’s dark rift to survive….”
“But…but…humans have educated me…Promised to bring us home in the future…You…you’re not ‘humans’, but you have the aura of ‘humans’…’Humans’ seemed to be no longer here…Are they looking for our home?”
This group of outsiders who called themselves ‘Presolin’ seemed to have a special perception ability. They could detect that humans were no longer in this galaxy.
However, they did not return to their original ‘devouring’ nature. Instead, they had a faint hope and became more docile, as if they were looking forward to the day humans would return and take them away.
Their words also gave Li Wenyuan a new inspiration.
“…Could it be that humans have had enough of playing in the Milky Way and have gone to harm other galaxies?” He felt that it was possible. Based on his current understanding of the human attitude toward entertainment, they might really do that.
“…If that’s the case, you should clean up the ‘threat’ before you leave, right?” He could not help but complain in his heart.
After all, judging from the current situation, the humans might have only dealt with half of the unknown ‘threat,’ or even not dealt with it at all, and then went missing.
However, he still tried his best to imagine a glorious ending for mankind, such as dying together with the ‘threat,’ and constantly told himself that that was the true history of mankind.
“…I hope it wasn’t some ‘Milky Way graduation exam’….” Li Wenyuan shook his head and continued to ask questions about the ‘survivors.’
[Why are you hiding here?]
“Because…because waiting was a boring thing…We hope to go home the day we wake up…But…but we were woken up…”
[What are you guys going to do in the future?]
“I…we want to farm…We don’t want to be so hungry…But we don’t know what to do…You…can you help me?”
At the end of that sentence, Li Wenyuan saw the source of the signal. It was a giant lifeform hidden in the ‘Hatchery Planet.’
It seemed to be the true ruler of this group of ‘Presolin.’ They were in a collective consciousness similar to the beehive mindset, and the hidden lifeform was the leader of that consciousness.
To put it in a way that was more in line with the beehive mind, it was the queen of ‘Presolin.’
She seemed to have been educated perfectly by humans. She knew that farming was the first priority, not constant expansion.
To safeguard the ‘human heritage,’ Li Wenyuan agreed to their request and began transporting food to them.
After all, they looked like they were about to starve to death.
“…Thank you…thank you…” Queen Presolin continued to express her gratitude with signals, and the entire ‘Hatchery’ Galaxy seemed to be rejoicing.
Only after some time did the Milky Way civilization suddenly realize that a piece of the Pyro Alliance’s territory was missing. The new territory was occupied by a civilization called ‘Presolin.’
And after comparison, they found that it was the ‘Nature Reserve Galaxy’ with five habitable planets that had once made many civilizations envious.
At first, they thought that the unknown ‘Presolin’ civilization had conquered the territory of the Pyro Alliance, but the Pyro Alliance soon sent an explanation. It was a video of how those lifeform eroding bodies emerged from the planet’s interior and transformed the planet itself.
Only then did the civilizations realize that the planets they regarded as rare ‘treasures’ actually had such terrifying secrets buried within them.
At the same time, they were also glad that the Pyro Alliance had not been pressured to hand over that galaxy. If it were them, they would have colonized it immediately.
When the secrets of those planets were exposed, the population they left there would immediately disappear, dealing an extremely heavy blow to them. It was almost certain that they would never recover.
While they were lamenting the good luck of the Pyro Alliance, they were also curious about the situation of the ‘Presolin’ civilization that had suddenly appeared.
However, their communication did not succeed. The lifeforms of ‘Presolin’ communicated with a signal they could not understand.
In the end, it was the idealistic civilization that had conducted in-depth research on psionic energy that discovered that the incomprehensible signal was a psionic signal and successfully established a connection with ’Presolin.’ Therefore, there were some new remarks on the star map regarding ‘Presolin.’ [Presolin, a beehive-like civilization. It seemed to have been born long ago and only recently awakened. It pursued peacefulness and had no interest in expansion. They have a special liking for food, so you can use food to trade with them.]
That was a note from the first edition. Many civilizations did not realize what kind of existence that ‘beehive-like civilization’ was.
It wasn’t until ’the Watcher’ and ‘the Voyager’ who were engaged in a war and each had a guerrilla fleet that disappeared in the parent galaxy of Presolin, the ‘Hatchery,’ that the civilizations realized that this ‘beehive-like civilization’ seemed to be different from the ordinary beehive-like civilization in the Milky Way.
After a long period of observation and confirmation, they finally found out that the ‘Presolin’ space behemoths had the power to destroy the lost empire fleet.
They were clearly lifeforms, but they could withstand the main cannon of a battlecruiser with their bodies. They could not imagine that there were lifeforms that could evolve their bodies to such a terrifying level. That greatly motivated those who firmly believed that genetic technology could also upgrade civilization.
They shifted their research target to ‘Presolin’ and worked hard on it with that target as the final goal.
After countless discussions and debates and changing the remarks of ‘Presolin’ several times, the civilizations finally finalized the ‘final remarks’ on it.
[Presolin (Survivor)]
[Possesses unimaginable ancient history and powerful strength. They pursue peace and have a soft spot for food, which is a good way to gain its favor.]
[Special Remarks: The Lost Beehive Empire]