Chapter 442:

Rise Of The Protoss

“You didn’t hear wrong. I did say those words.”

Chen Jin simply repeated, “I intend to recruit you and establish a close collaborative relationship. We’ll better our common interests.”

Gulp…

It was the sound of someone swallowing their saliva.

Mu Yunhua’s body was still somewhat stiff. She did not know whether she was feeling surprised, happy, or both. Forcing herself to calm down, she asked, “Why? Why did consider me?”

Even after more than 50 years of recovery on the planet of Walf, the human forces remained weak. Their total population stood at only one billion-plus, and their resources were limited. Moreover, their survival was heavily threatened by the Selain civilization.

How did such a weak force as they suddenly catch Gold’s attention?

Or was it just like it had been in the past, and Gold was just joking with her?

But, somehow, based on the calmness of his tone, she felt that Gold was really serious about what he said. However, she was once again filled with doubts. Why her?

“There is no ‘why.’ Suddenly, I wanted to speed up the pace of things,” Chen Jin said impassively. “I have been supporting you over the years and have strengthened your abilities. However, even if I were to give you a lot of core technologies with no strings attached, the rate at which you digest the information would still be very slow. The number of trained scientists in a population of one billion-plus is still insufficient to support a strong civilization.

“The Selains are actively thinking of all sorts of ways to deal with your people. They have resources found throughout their thousands of star systems, and a population in the hundreds of billions. They are a powerful force—you won’t be their match even after three hundred years. On the contrary, you may be overwhelmed by the other party’s resources.

“It’s also impossible for me to spend so much time helping you, step-by-step. No matter how I think about it, the best option is for me to directly provide you with a shortcut. Effects will be quickly evident and results will soon be apparent.

“And I also said this too – I’m not some intergalactic philanthropist. I have my own purpose in establishing contact with you. There is also a purpose on my end. I plan to develop my interests with your support. I believe that you are very clear about this point, too.”

Mu Yunhua nodded.

There was no love without reason in this world. She would rather believe that the other party had a purpose, whether it was a benevolent or a malicious one.

However, she still had some doubts. “Even if you do intend to recruit us—and, indeed, we are very willing to cooperate—nevertheless… Why us, and not other civilizations?”

Why did they set their sights on such a small and weak force?

Considering the extent of the strength belonging to the advanced civilization backing Gold, they could get any partners they liked to collaborate with them.

“Erm…”

Chen Jin was silent for a while. It was really difficult to answer this question.

After some thought, he said it anyway, “If I say… that it’s because of you—because you are very special and I like you very much, and that’s why I gave you this opportunity—would you believe it?”

Ah!

Mu Yunhua opened her mouth. Her heart thumped as her heartbeat accelerated, and two spots of color appeared on her cheeks.

‘Like.’

Was Gold teasing her, or was he confessing to her? In the past, he had said similar words no less than a hundred times. She had gradually grown immune to it. Occasionally, there were even times when she was quite angry because he said, “Yes, you are exactly my type—a grandmother more than one hundred years old.” There was even an incident when she had ignored him for several days.

However, this time around, a phantom voice arose in her mind: Gold must be serious. He’s probably not teasing me.

A trace of honey-sweetness bubbled in her heart.

“OK, I won’t ask anything more about this topic. But are you really willing to lend us an A-class warship like the ‘Silver Gun Lord’,? Surely it’s not possible for you to casually loan out such a powerful weapon?”

Science and technology were the foundation of a civilization. Generally speaking, the interstellar warships that combined the most advanced tech were kept strictly confidential to prevent leaks. Even more important was preventing the warships from falling into the hands of other civilizations and becoming a reference to be used for their own upgrades.

However, Gold’s suggestion was unexpected. He was even willing to loan them the technological results of their precious and secret treasure trove.

If their places were switched, she would never do such a thing.

Part of her wanted to pry open his head and witness for herself his thought processes.

“Rest assured, this is just a loan, just lending. It’s not a gift,” Chen Jin said in a confident and unflappable tone. “My ideas and investment philosophy greatly differ from others. I like to do things with a visionary aim.

“Moreover, since it is borrowed, I will request that you pay the corresponding remuneration; otherwise, I will take back the Silver Gun Lords.

“One hundred years. The initial rental period is one hundred years. I will lend you one hundred Silver Gun Lord warships. In addition, I will give you a large number of powerful and destructive weapons such as gravity bombs.

“Then, you will take these A-class warships and use them to destroy your opponents and earn points.

“These ‘points’ are easy to understand. The advanced technological materials of the hostile civilization can be converted into points; the special mineral resources of hostile civilization can also be converted into points.

“With your points, you can buy gravity bombs in the ‘mall,’ renew the rental of the A-class warships, and rent or buy newer A-class warships.

“With sufficient points, you could even exchange them for the more advanced S-class warships, interstellar fortresses, and advanced technological materials.

“The basic gameplay is similar to the previous instruction and training I gave you. You should quickly be able to get a handle on it.”

“So… points are everything. As long as you have enough, you can get everything from me. You could even empty my home. If you can make an infinite amount of contributions, it’s possible.”

Mu Yunhua nodded and automatically made note of some of the vocabulary in his speech. She had a general understanding of Gold’s purpose.

Technology and resources.

These two things were what all civilizations needed. There were no exceptions.

As for the gameplay of points redemption, so many years had passed. Throughout them, Mu Yunhua had repeatedly laid down her sense of shame and integrity; indeed, she had exchanged the points she earned for a large number of brilliant tech from the list of equipment that he had given her, and converted them into a lot of sophisticated technology… She knew that gameplay like the back of her hand.

The level of difficulty had been enhanced, and the scope of the scene expanded. She was about to carry out some meaningful and practical actions. She looked forward to it even more.

“OK, I am willing to work with you, Gold!”

Mu Yunhua stopped hesitating. “I will work even harder in the future. Not only will I make the Selains pay, but I’ll also seize plenty of ‘war booty’ from the enemy!”

Revenge! Revenge!

The blood debt of tens of billions of human beings, the destruction of their mother planet, the hardships and suffering that they had endured ever since their escape… Even today, she had never forgotten these things.

She was afraid that the passage of time would weaken their memories and fighting spirit until they slowly became timid and mediocre, and, ultimately, they would stop caring.

So… action had to be taken quickly and early on!

While those many difficult memories still lingered in people’s minds, she would quickly transform their pain into motivation and drive. With the support of the great power given by Gold, she would make the Selains pay what they deserved!

…

Haierfa.

A large dock about ten million kilometers from the planet.

The 100th Silver Gun Lord interstellar warship had just been completed. After taking on fuel and supplies, it slowly navigated out of the dock, and gradually merged into a phalanx of warships not too far away.

The formation incorporated this warship that had just been completed, which slowly merged into a corner of the phalanx.

There were a total of 99 A-class warships, arranged in a rectangular matrix of 11 by 9, and looking neat and tidy. The formation gave off an imposing yet composed air.

“Set off!”

Chen Jin waved his hand in a big motion.

The warships accelerated, turned on their space curvature engines, and headed straight for the Walf galaxy, 14 light-years away.

“Master, doing things this way, we’ll be giving away the A-class warships that we’ve worked on for 7 or 8 years.”

Alice pouted, looking displeased. “Master, you are a little too generous. That’s our entire force, and we’re just giving it away like this?”

“Not ‘giving.’ We’re just lending them out.”

Chen Jin had no choice but to explain again.”We still have control of the highest authority. There is no possibility of betrayal. Besides, such a powerful battleship is wasted here. Why not let them go into battle and show off their true value?

“And we have mastered the production process for A-Class warships. In another five years at most, we will have another hundred such ships in our hands. Moreover, the even more powerful S-class prototype warship is in experimental production.”

“But I still think that Master is too fond of that woman. You’ve given her too many handouts,” Alice said with a jealous expression.

Next to Alice was Nuwa, who glared at her and said with a stern face. “This is a ‘win-win’ collaboration. How is it a ‘handout’? Also, how can you accuse the Master like that?”

“Actually, I’m truly not that generous.” Chen Jin gave a helpless smile. “If it were not for the earth-shaking changes that have taken place on Earth, I would have, at most, loaned to Mu Yunhua the B-class battleship that’s one generation out of date.

“This time, we have no choice but to speed up our efficiency.”

In just a few more years, the Chens would be poised to fall from a top-rate family to a second or third-rate clan.

Say, what had happened on Earth in recent times?

What had happened that had Chen Jin suddenly feeling such a sense of urgency, that he planned to integrate the all powers in the universe in which Haierfa existed? He had even shared knowledge of his current ace-in-the-hole without hesitation.

The reason was simple.

The Protoss on Earth had risen to power.

A skyrocketing rise.

They had suppressed the light of humanity in an instant.

These were a few of the iconic events.

Firstly, 18 of the top Protoss masters had killed all the human elite divisions in the 4th War of the Humans and Protoss, without sustaining any damage. This was despite the fact that the Protoss were faced with the humans’ “ultimate weapons,” which outnumbered them hundreds of times.

In one single moment, they had reversed their decline in fortunes, which had seen them defeated consecutively in the past three wars. They had erased the shame of the past three defeats in one stroke.

Moreover, based on the performance of those powerful practitioners, it seemed that they had not exhausted their full strength in that war. Humans could not be assured of their victory in the next War of the Humans and Protoss.

Secondly, the Revival of Magical Powers was speeding up. The portal near Jupiter’s orbit had suddenly expanded by a factor of 10,000. A high density of celestial particles could now escape into the solar system much more quickly. This rapidly increased the concentration of the natural spiritual energy.

The Protoss had achieved a complete victory in the 4th War of the Humans and Protoss. A significant reason for their success might have been the concentration of the natural spiritual energy, which had doubled the power of a majority of practitioners among the Protoss.

Thirdly, once again due to the acceleration of the Revival of Magical Powers, a large number of practitioners from the Shenguang Order had came to Earth, deployed themselves in a fighting formation, and set up “alternative spaces,” thus creating magical “space dimensions” that were each bigger than a typical city. However, these dimensions did not actually occupy any space in reality. This had greatly increased the living space of the Protoss immigrants.

There was even a mighty Protoss practitioner who had set up an alternative space called “Guanghan Palace” on the moon, which could accommodate millions of immigrants.

Naturally, with the help of an exceptionally powerful figure to greatly increase their living space, the Protoss sped up their migration rate.

So, within one short year, they carried out the feat of migrating 5 billion Protoss.

This caused the Protoss population currently living in the solar system to break through the 10 billion-mark. The number was likely to increase to more than 20 billion in the future.

On the other hand, the current total human population of the Earth Federation was only 25 billion. Moreover, it contained many ethnic groups, skin colors, races, and cultures…

Fourthly, the scientific and technological strength of the Protoss was rapidly approaching human standards.

The technology mentioned here refers to the “celestial technologies” that were developed based on the celestial particles. It was a different developmental pathway as compared to traditional, material technology.

However, due to their various magical characteristics, the potential and prospects of the celestial technologies far exceed that of material technologies, and replacements could be easily created.

What was even more frightening was that, after their three defeats in the War of the Humans and Protoss, the Protoss had become modest.

Not only had they accepted a variety of human inventions and technological products, but they were also very keen to learn. With their clever minds, it took only 20 years for them to absorb and digest the accumulated knowledge that had been created by mankind throughout the past 5,000 years.

After they had studied and thoroughly mastered the scientific disciplines, they also integrated them with other related fields after comprehensive study. As such, many human scientists needed to participate in research trends that now included the new celestial technologies.

The status of traditional science and technology plummeted.

Originally, a scientific view based on the doctrine that physical matter was the whole of reality had been regarded as truth. But it died a terrible death when it came face-to-face with celestial technologies.

The era in which the Protoss were the leader of trends was about to arrive.

With the Revival of Magical Powers happening in the background, the humans watched the Protoss getting more and more powerful. As a result, countless associations that sympathized with the Protoss, groups that advocated being subservient to the Protoss, and factions calling for compromise had appeared within human society.

The humans and the Protoss had been on an equal footing; but now, their position as equals seemed to be in jeopardy.

In terms of interests, the Protoss, who were gradually becoming stronger, were likely to pursue various means to impose or further expand their presence in areas that would be beneficial to them.

On the highly crowded Earth, the living areas for human beings were likely to decrease continuously…unless humans could seize back their interests and dignity in a War of the Humans and Protoss, which happened once every four years.

So… Chen Jin definitely had to take action.

If those foreign Protoss become the master of the house, he would be put out of the game. There would be no future for him. If that happened, how could he keep his secret?

Especially the homeland of Earth; it must be guarded! The worst must not be allowed to happen.

Get stronger.

That meant that his only choice was to get stronger.

It would be divided into two directions.

Naturally, he would speed up the expansion of his power on Haierfa. The more territories and resources he occupied, the better. If he could conquer the whole universe…. Chen Jin’s confidence would be sky-high.

Chen Jin also had a plan to maintain the interests of the Chen family on Earth. Their power would face minimal erosion.

“Ring ring ring~”

A phone call.

He tapped the button to connect the call. A crisp voice said, “Dad, the family meeting is ready. The main family members are in attendance, you are the only one missing… Everyone is waiting for you to give us instructions.”

“Oh, I understand.”

Chen Jin said calmly. He was the founder of Chen family’s industry; in the context of the rise of the Protoss, when the population was greatly alarmed, when they were faced with a change that had never been seen in thousands of years, only an old freak like him could bring together the hearts of all the family members and propose an appropriate response.