From the Abyss Invasion to the Blasting Star.

Chapter 466 Return, The Hidden Secrets of the Demigod Civilization
Lu Heng attempted to test the rules of weightless space.

Finally, it was discovered that this weightless space was very peculiar. It did not seem to be a weightless state like that of outer space, but rather there was no gravity, or the gravity was very weak.

The gravity felt by humans on Earth consists of two parts: the first part is the gravitational force generated by Earth's mass, and the second part is the centrifugal force generated by Earth's rotation.

The reason we feel weightless in outer space is that the centrifugal force and gravity of the planet orbiting the Earth cancel each other out, ultimately creating a feeling of suspension.

In the weightless space of the Zero Civilization, the situation is very special. The reason for the feeling of weightlessness seems to be that the gravitational force is so small as to be negligible.

In addition, spatial abilities such as [Void Blink] can be used normally in zero-gravity space, but there is no way to escape zero-gravity space.

After testing, it can be basically determined that it is almost impossible for a summoner below the level of a demigod to escape from zero gravity unless assisted by a power at the level of the world's will.

……

Lu Heng has no intention of clashing with the Zero Civilization and has already come up with other investigation methods.

So for those thirty days, they unleashed their power freely in the weightless space to train.

Before his return, Lu Heng had trained Wind Dragon's Breath Slash to LV5, Soaring Dragon's Sky Hunt to LV3, and Spatial Combo Slash to LV2.

During training, Lu Heng would occasionally try to communicate with the Zero Civilization to ask if they had encountered any special events.

In Lu Heng's memory, the Zero Civilization did not always have a smooth journey. Around May of the third year after the human world entered the Abyss Era, a major event occurred in the Zero Civilization.

This momentous event enabled the Zero Civilization to shift from a closed state to contact with other civilizations and the world.

Information suggests that the subsequent struggle for the source of reincarnation in the human world was also related to the Zero Civilization.

What event brought a closed civilization into contact with the outside world?

Lu Heng couldn't think of an answer.

Judging from the timing, this should have happened during this draft.

Therefore, every now and then, Lu Heng would ask the Zero Civilization if anything major had happened, trying to find out information about the event.

However, no useful answers were received.

Whenever a question is asked about the secrets of the Zero Civilization, the response is always "no answer".

……

The time is drawing near to the final moment of the return.

Seeing the countdown to his return, Lu Heng asked again, "There are only ten minutes left before my return. Shouldn't you give me some compensation?"

The synthesized voice of the Zero Civilization answered in a completely emotionless tone:
"Yes, thank you for your cooperation. In the last thirty seconds of the countdown, you will receive the Order of Time and Space Orb as compensation."

"The reward and compensation agreement has been finalized and cannot be changed or refunded from now on."

Lu Heng couldn't help but ask in the end, "Your civilization would rather give high-value treasures as compensation than make contact with the recruiters. Your behavior is very strange."

The Zero Civilization did not respond to this statement.

Lu Heng then asked, "Do civilizations at your level possess behavioral logic?"

Zero Civilization: "We have not discovered any civilizations of the same level, so we cannot answer."

Lu Heng then asked, "Do you think demigod civilizations possess any kind of behavioral logic?"

Zero Civilization: "Behavioral logic is a fictitious term. According to your question, a demigod civilization may or may not have behavioral logic."

Since he couldn't ask for any information about the Zero Civilization, Lu Heng could only use other civilizations as examples, but the question lacked a precise reference point, resulting in no accurate answer.

Lu Heng then said, "I believe that all life forms, individuals, or civilizations that possess logical thinking also have logical behavior. What do you think?"

Zero Civilization: "Yes, all logic arises from thought."

While this answer doesn't directly prove that the Zero Civilization also has behavioral logic, it at least shows that the Zero Civilization acknowledges the existence of behavioral logic.

If the Zero Civilization has a behavioral logic, then there must be a reason why they prevent the recruiters from contacting their civilization.

During the exchange, there were only thirty seconds left.

A fist-sized, sky-blue, round orb appeared before him. Lu Heng took the orb in his hand and glanced at its attributes.

[Order of Spacetime Orb]

Item Grade: S

Specifications: Diameter 12 cm, Weight 1.2 kg

[Special Effect: Spacetime stability increased by 300% within a 10-meter radius]

[Divine Skill: Order Spacetime Domain]

[Ordered Spacetime Domain: Releases a domain with a radius of 10 meters centered on the orb. Within the domain, spacetime is restored to its original order, immune to spacetime turbulence below S-level.]

[Evaluation: This ancient gem contains profound and mysterious spacetime power, its surface shimmering with interwoven silver-blue and dark purple light. When still, it resembles a deep starry sky; when activated, it bursts forth with pulse-like energy ripples, capable of stabilizing the boundary between reality and the void.]

The countdown to the return of the last 30 seconds has ended.

A white light emanating from a time-space teleportation flashed before Lu Heng's eyes. After closing his eyes for a moment, the white light faded, and he was plunged into endless darkness.

[The Abyss Battle has ended; return to the main world...]

[Main Quest 1: Establish diplomatic relations with the Zero Civilization. Quest incomplete, 350 Divine Energy points deducted.]

[Main Quest 2: Attempt to investigate the reason for the stagnation of the Zero Civilization's development. Quest incomplete, 350 Divine Energy points deducted.]

Main Quest 3: Survive for 30 days in the Zero World. Quest complete, receive 350 Divine Energy.

Of the three main quests, only one has been completed.

Not a single challenge task was completed.

There will be no consequences if the challenge is not completed.

The main quest is different; failing to complete it will deduct divine energy.

In the process, Lu Heng lost 350 points of divine energy.

To make matters worse, Lu Heng had used up his last bit of divine energy when he upgraded [Subconscious Intrusion], leaving him with only 220 points.

This deduction creates a special situation.

Divine Energy: -130

[A negative value of divine energy has been detected, initiating a 30-day countdown. The negative divine energy must be replenished within 30 days. If the countdown ends without replenishment, a life recovery process will be initiated.]

Lu Heng sighed slightly when he saw the negative divine energy. As expected, the remaining divine energy was not enough to cover the deficit.

The punishment for being conscripted wasn't too severe; at least they gave him 30 days.

However, there are too few ways to obtain divine energy, and it is not so easy to replenish negative divine energy within 30 days.

If the divine energy fails to return to a positive value within 30 days, a life recovery process will be initiated. This prompt provides very little information; based solely on the prompt, it's difficult to understand what the life recovery process entails.

Lu Heng, however, knew about it.

Once divine energy becomes negative and cannot be restored to a positive value within 30 days, the summoning will will proportionally reclaim the superhuman's life, rank, and other extraordinary powers to replenish the negative divine energy to a positive value.

If you only look at the principle of this recycling program, it may not seem very serious, but the actual situation is very serious.

The will to summon from the Abyss Battlefield is much like a program.

This program has complete data information for each superhuman, and the various extraordinary powers they possess have standardized measurement values.

In other words, there is an exchange ratio between the data of a superhuman's life, skills, class, attributes, etc., and divine energy.

This ratio is only a value ratio and cannot be exchanged.

The higher the level of energy, the higher its ratio.

Divine energy belongs to the highest level of energy among conventional energies.

In other words, the divine energy that seems to need to be replenished is -130 points, which is not a large number, but these -130 points of divine energy, after proportional conversion, could directly take the life of a superhuman.

The life recovery process starts by recovering energy of higher levels, usually class, then skills, and finally life.

Based on the order of recovery, it seems most likely that the highest-ranking officer will be lost.

However, it is not.

Because the energy level of divine energy is too high—it is the power of a god—even a tiny bit of divine energy can drain a person's life.

Lu Heng possesses multiple S-rank skills, all of which were upgraded using divine energy. However, when these S-rank skills are recycled, they cannot be calculated based on the amount of divine energy consumed.

In terms of energy level, divine energy is far higher than skill energy.

Therefore, Lu Heng felt that these -130 points of divine energy would probably be enough to push his class to its lowest level.

From this perspective, it makes sense that the Zero Civilization is willing to pay high compensation.

Actually, if you're worried about your divine energy being reduced to a negative value, you can request compensation from the Zero Civilization to offset the divine energy deducted from the main quest.

However, if you choose to compensate with divine energy, you will usually only receive the portion that is just enough to offset the amount deducted from the main quest.

The two main quests cost a total of 700 points of divine energy.

Compared to 700 divine energy, Lu Heng naturally chose the [Order Spacetime Orb].

The result is that one must bear the consequence of divine energy turning into a negative number.

……

After the teleportation ended, Lu Heng opened his eyes and returned to the training room at Qionghua Tianlu Lake.

Su Muyu, Lin Zeyu, and Xie Shien all returned safely without any accidents.

Before this recruitment, all four members of the team had already obtained information about the Zero Civilization and had gained an understanding of it, so they were all mentally prepared to deal with it.

Lu Heng spoke first, asking, "How are you all doing?"

Lin Zeyu said leisurely, "I like this kind of recruitment. There's no fighting or killing. You just bring a game console in and play for a month, and you get compensation. It's fantastic. It's just that there aren't enough games available. Playing too many games can get a bit boring."

Then, Su Muyu said, "I tried asking some questions and came to some conclusions. The Zero Civilization should not be a magical civilization. I wanted to ask about natural magic, but I didn't get an answer."

"Also, the Zero Civilization is very closed off. They don't understand us humans, and they don't even understand the Abyss very well, which is very strange."

Lin Zeyu sat up straighter and complained, "Can you guys stop being so professional? It makes it seem like I actually went in there for a month."

"Isn't that right?" the three of them asked in unison.

"Of course...no..."

Lin Zeyu scratched the back of his head and began searching for evidence that he had also put in effort: "I have an important piece of information: the Abyss Conscripts are of the Bloodline race."

“We know that too,” the three replied in unison.

Lin Zeyu was unconvinced and raised his hand again, saying, "I know one more. The Zero Civilization is insane; they compensate the bloodline races they recruit."

“We know that too.” The three of them rolled their eyes together.

Xie Shi'en changed the subject, saying, "Let's talk about what I have. This is the first time I've had my divine energy deducted for failing to complete a main quest. Although I'd heard before that failing to complete a main quest would result in a deduction of divine energy, this is the first time."

Normally, the main quests issued in the Abyss Battlefield are quite simple.

As long as you survive to the end, you can accomplish one or two things.

In other words, completing two of the three main quests is enough to offset the divine energy deducted from the other main quest.

Main quests are generally easy to complete, and many are even group quests for recruits. Once one recruit completes a quest, the others will automatically complete it as well.

Especially for missions that establish diplomatic relations with the main civilization of the target world, which are collective missions, the situation of having divine energy deducted is very rare unless all the recruits in the entire Abyss Battlefield are so incompetent that it is unbearable to look at them.

Lu Heng shook his head and laughed, "Yes, this is the first time I've ever encountered a situation where divine energy has been deducted from my body."

Su Muyu suddenly remembered something, and her body trembled with surprise. She quickly asked, "Lu Heng, I remember you don't have much divine energy left. Is it enough?"

Lin Zeyu was very relaxed, with his hands behind his head, leaning back on the sofa, and said, "Look, he came back safe and sound, of course he's stingy enough."

Lu Heng smiled helplessly: "It's not enough. When we dealt with the bloodline invasion last time, we almost used up all our divine energy. We only have 220 points left."

Su Muyu panicked for a moment, her heart pounding, and asked, "What's going on now?"

Lu Heng replied, "It has become negative. We need to make up for the negative part within 30 days, otherwise the situation will be quite bad."

"What should we do? There are too few ways to obtain divine energy." Su Muyu immediately began to worry.

Lu Heng wasn't that nervous, after all, there were still 30 days left, and he had more important things to do right now:

"This matter can be put aside for now, and I have more important things to do. The Zero Civilization must be hiding a big secret, and I need to find out the truth."

"Among the compensation I received was information about a fifth-tier job advancement, so I need to make a trip to the Dragon Rest World."

"But my divine energy has become negative, so I can't use it to teleport to the Tidal Sea. I have to think of another way."

Lin Zeyu offered, "I'll teleport to the Tidal Sea and ask High Priestess Sona if she can help."

Su Muyu also came up with a solution, saying, "I'll go to Quel'dorei to find Orianna. The elves must have treasures containing divine power. I'll ask Orianna for help; she should be willing to help us."

Lu Heng nodded and said, "Then let's do it this way for now. Lin Zeyu, go to the Tidal Sea and see if High Priestess Sona can teleport me there. If not, go to the Elf World and see if you can replenish your divine energy."

"After that, I tried to investigate the secrets of the Zero Civilization through the Bloodline Demons."

"The Zero Civilization refuses to contact other worlds, so the one that knows the most secrets of the Zero Civilization must be the Abyss."

(End of this chapter)