SWNOVELXO Chapter 469: Official Meeting!
Another noble combed the feathers on his body, pouring a glass of fresh grass juice into his cup: "Speaking of which, it is fortunate that Your Highness stemmed the tide and executed those rebels, which enables us to have a decent mobilization ability."
"If it was like the past, clamoring for democracy and equality all day long, discussing something like Monarchy, that would truly be a disaster!"
"We might still be endlessly arguing over trivial issues within the Safe Zone."
"I am quite curious, what is the political system of this Alien Civilization like? Perhaps they have just left the Safe Zone?"
"Our so-called friendly civilizations, if they came to the Pangu Continent, they might probably plunge into vast turmoil? I cannot imagine, in an environment without a main pillar, what would happen?"
When he spoke of friendly civilizations, he naturally referred to those neighbors from his homeland.
The political system of the Lanpeng Civilization is very peculiar. Even in an age of advanced technology, the monarch still holds immense power; this is determined by genetics. The individual differences within the Lanpeng Civilization are staggering, whether it's Intelligence, Physical Ability, or Perception Ability, the higher the nobility, the more excellent the bloodline becomes.
The gap between Birdmen is even greater than that between humans and dogs.
Therefore, within the Lanpeng Civilization, they even allow polygamy, and the people voluntarily acknowledge it; they even retrieve reproductive cells of the Royal family from the gene bank, self-fertilize, and breed the next generation.
They do not consider it to be cuckoldry; on the contrary, they take pride in it—this unique cultural phenomenon is the foundation of the monarch's power in the interstellar era.
Of course, most civilizations cannot achieve this.
The over-concentration of power is not conducive to the development of capital and productivity. Imposing restrictions on power is the historical inevitable choice for most civilizations...
But in a dangerous place like the Pangu Continent, the concentration of power is more advantageous than its dispersion. The Monsters outside don't have the leisure to wait for you to vote slowly or engage in elections—they would swoop in and kill everyone.
Jin Bote, although knowing that they were boasting, still felt very satisfied in his heart.
He coughed loudly, stopping the continuous flattery of everyone: "Gentlemen, our current success is not solely due to a superior system, but also the result of efforts in culture, science, military, and other comprehensive fields by countless people. Glory belongs to everyone!"
"But be aware that there are definitely risks on the Pangu Continent. We know nothing about the so-called Epoch Disaster. Nor have we ever encountered any natural disasters or Anomalies."
"We must obtain more information before we can talk about the future!"
"Now is a rather good opportunity; this technological civilization before us may have some common knowledge that we are unaware of. Please be ready to receive the guests from afar."
His "Agitator" Ability was activated, and whether Generals or Nobles, their morale instantly surged as they shouted in unison: "Yes!"
They returned to their rooms, donning protective suits made of carbon nanofibers.
In current times, the production capacity of carbon nanofibers is extremely low, almost impossible to produce, so they're considered a luxury.
The quality of these protective suits is extremely high, and they're also very comfortable; a thin layer can withstand gunfire.
A large number of soldiers entered the fully enclosed structure of the Power Exoskeleton, clicking their way into a stone fortress.
In the exchange of civilizations, the deterrence of equivalent military strength is indispensable.
Thier Lanpeng Civilization could unify the globe; war and slaughter were inevitable.
However, upon witnessing the soldiers donning their Power Armor, Jin Bote started to feel inexplicably anxious, his heart beating chaotically, that terrible feeling surfacing once again...
"What's going on?!"
Ambition, desire, and various other miscellaneous thoughts interwove in his mind.
Once a subordinate civilization is conquered—or even without conquest, just by achieving a superior-subordinate cooperation—that would bring in a vast workforce. The title of "Fourth Prince" would no longer apply to him; he would possess higher prestige, status, and real dictatorial power!
Not as restrictive as his current situation.
But for some reason, lately there had been this feeling that the sky is about to fall, that the end is imminent...
If he were about to die, what significance would so-called power have?
As a lucky individual with two Divine Skills, apart from the "Agitator" ability, Jin Bote also had another Divine Skill called "Premonition".
This ability, he had never revealed to others, keeping it as his own trump card.
This odd feeling had occurred several times in recent days, and it was getting closer and closer to him, closer and closer...
But he thought about it for a long time and still did not understand the reason behind this impending sense of "the sky falling".
"Could it be that war will break out between us..."
"That shouldn't be the case, what's the point of fighting a war without reason?"
Suddenlly, Jin Bote thought of a problem: what if the other party turned out to be stronger than us, what should we do?
No matter how strong the Lanpeng Civilization might be, it surely couldn't be the strongest in the world; there must be even stronger ones out there.
Once the dominant position is lost, his own prestige could plummet drastically.
Politics is not child's play; in tumultuous times, once one falls out of favor, even a fierce tiger can be cleanly picked apart by jackals. In the cities, there are still many Nobles who control connections, economy, and industries.
Although he still presented himself with impeccable manners, as if he had full confidence, but this problem lingered in his heart, unresolved for a long time.
"Could it be that if they really are stronger than us, I will fall from grace and become a prisoner?"
"Not necessarily... As long as I don't lose face on the spot, I won't directly lose my position."
"Or perhaps, some nobles are secretly contacting this alien race civilization?"
He silently admonished himself: "Controlling risk is of utmost importance; internal issues are harder to solve than external ones."
"Send a troublemaker, then dispatch a trusted confidant to handle foreign communications... If it succeeds, the credit is mine; if it fails, just lay the blame on that troublemaker."
He thought of a young man who had recently risen to prominence, diligent and capable: "White Eagle, you take full command of the diplomatic affairs, how about that?"
White Eagle replied loudly, "No problem, Your Highness! I will not let you down!"
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The internal atmosphere of the Lanpeng Civilization is a mystery to humans.
Everyone is discussing the possible future, as well as the worst-case scenarios.
The atmosphere inside the Floating Fortress is actually somewhat grim; it is the first time for people to communicate with a technological civilization capable of mutual destruction, which could only lead to a lose-lose outcome if a real fight breaks out.
"With our current firepower, it's very hard to annihilate them instantly."
Some experts are discussing whether the "Light Screen Spirit Language" technology can withstand nuclear bomb attacks...
"Theoretically, it is possible. The main destructive forces of nuclear weapons are light radiation and shockwaves, both of which can be blocked by the Light Screen Spirit Language."
However, theory and reality often differ greatly.
The cost to run a single experiment is so staggering that everyone is trembling at the thought, hence only a computer simulation can be done.
"Everyone, don't be so tense!" Old Cat spoke up, "Don't think about war all day, think first about how to deal with that weird Snake-man Palace, as well as a possible Anomaly Monster... That is the biggest threat."
"Our mission this time is to gather some intelligence, to establish friendly relations."
"If they are willing, we'll cooperate with them."
"If they do not cooperate, we'll mind our own businesses; this vast prairie is big enough for two foreign cities. You really don't need to worry."
This is also true, with a peripheral length reaching 21,000 kilometers, the diameter is almost 7,000 kilometers.
The distance from Harbin to Haikou is about 3,800 kilometers, and 7,000 kilometers is nearly twice that distance, even if they never interact, it's not a big issue.
Suddenly, the members of the spacecraft's reconnaissance team seemed to receive some good news, and one by one they started smiling!
"Report, the other party has responded, willing to negotiate. They have also sent a spacecraft, inviting us to stop 300 kilometers away from the city."
"But they don't allow us to approach their city."
The conference room immediately buzzed with excitement, and everyone's tension relaxed upon hearing the news.
"Great news!"
Because humans were actually playing hot potato, leaving the decision of "gambling" to the other side.
The other party didn't even mention it, which suggests that this group of Birdmen might be a novice civilization with very limited knowledge of the Pangu Continent!
Of course, there's a second possibility: The other party is actually experienced, but the place is too dangerous, no need to involve in a gamble, and the primary concern is to find a way to leave this ghostly place as soon as possible.
Humans actually tend to believe the first possibility, because the engravings in the other party's city are really scarce, and that spacecraft is just a crude concrete lump... So what if material technology is advanced? Without reaching the true interstellar era, can they only travel slowly?
As for the matter of information, it all depends on chance!
If no remnants of civilization are encountered along the way, the amount of information that can be analyzed is actually very limited.
Even if remnants are found, prehistoric civilizations that are lacking in advancement make up the majority, so the devaluation of information is not as fast as imagined.
"If the other side really is a novice civilization... can we not squeeze them like the Underground Alliance did? Make a big trade deal."
"What's important now is to leave this ghostly place; for the rest, we'll take it one step at a time. There's no need to overthink."
Amidst the bustling discussions, the Floating Fortress finally reached its destination, with a "rumble" softly collapsing a large swath of dense grass.
After an anxious half-hour wait, the Lanpeng Civilization's concrete spacecraft also finally arrived, fashionably late.
The doors of the spacecraft opened, and a bunch of Power Armor clunked down, their dark barrels aimed at the human side's spacecraft.
Various types of small drones buzzed around in the air, like a swarm of bees.
Seeing this, Old Cat narrowed his eyes and gave the command: "Let's go, we're also setting off."
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(I recommend the book "I Run a Resort on an Ocean Apocalypse Island" by the author Seedling for those interested.)
(Link below.)