Humanity is missing, luckily I have billions of clones.

Chapter 391 Trap
"Since our civilization regained its strength and got back on track for development, our civilization's highest goal has been set, and it has remained unchanged even now, ten thousand years later."

The leader raised his head and stared directly at the robot in front of him who was questioning him, his tentacles trembling slightly: "Destroy the Grey Worm Civilization."

In our view, allowing a group of demonic beings to live in this universe with the same appearance as us and the same culture is the greatest insult to our civilization.

That's why we changed the name of our civilization to 'Morales'. In our civilization's language system, this means revenge.

Only after we have destroyed the Grey Worm civilization will we be qualified to change back to our original name.

Li Qingsong nodded slightly.

The leader continued, "What we didn't expect was that while we were plotting to destroy the Grey Worm civilization, the Grey Worm civilization was also plotting to destroy us."

"Oh?"

This was once again beyond Li Qingsong's expectations. After all, from the perspective of the Demon Eye Civilization, the situation of the original civilization seemed to have nothing to do with them, nor should they care.

"The Grey Worm civilization is trying to infect all of us in the Morais civilization, turning us into the Demon Eye as well."

In this way, all the technological achievements, scientific research capabilities, and cultural accomplishments of our civilization will be seamlessly integrated into the Grey Worm civilization system, causing the overall power of the Grey Worm civilization to surge instantly.

Li Qingsong nodded slowly.

He got it.

After being infected by the Demon Eye, intelligent beings only have one additional principle in their minds: "to be loyal to the Demon Eye to the death." Apart from that, nothing else changes.

Physiological structure, original culture, and even most of the original way of thinking will remain unchanged.

Thus, the Morais civilization, which shares the same origin as the Grey Worm civilization, becomes an ideal target for absorption and assimilation. Once the Morais civilization is infected, there will be no obstacles to subsequent integration, as the two were originally one entity.

If you were to try to absorb other civilizations, this wouldn't be effective. Because their cultures, physiological structures, languages, ways of thinking, and concepts of doing things are fundamentally different, they cannot be integrated.

Even though both share the unwavering loyalty to the Eye of the Demon, the objectively existing obstacles will greatly weaken the alliance's power, rendering the fusion meaningless.

"The second thing that didn't expect us was that... the Grey Worm civilization had also advanced to the gravity stage, and its overall combat power was stronger than ours."

"The Demon Eye Civilization has extremely low internal friction and its organizational capacity is almost at its limit. Given the same level of technology, it is indeed unlikely that you can defeat the Demon Eye."

The leader sighed: "We found out too late. We paid an extremely heavy price to barely escape that war."

The Gray Worm civilization then began its pursuit. Just when we were about to be caught and wiped out, for some unknown reason, the Gray Worm civilization suddenly stopped and left, allowing our civilization to escape by sheer luck.

Li Qingsong realized that it was probably because the Space-level Demon Eye had issued a summons to the entire Milky Way, calling on all Demon Eyes to come and fight against the Crimson Star Alliance.

"After our lucky escape, we worked hard and continued to develop our technology. But just over two thousand years ago, the long-lost Gray Worm civilization reappeared and caught up with us again."

In this war, we were defeated again, and it took us thousands of light-years to finally shake them off..."

Li Qingsong was suddenly invigorated.

"The long-lost Gray Worm civilization has reappeared? As expected! The Recorder civilization was right back then. The Space-level Magic Eye was destroyed by the Destroyer civilization, and it was the only one that escaped!"

"This is the first star system our civilization has settled in after finally confirming that we have shaken off the Gray Worm civilization. We planned to rest and recuperate here before embarking on another voyage to find a safe place to develop our technology, but unexpectedly..."

The leader's face was full of bitterness: "First we encountered the Star Beasts, and then we encountered you. When you asked us about the Gray Worm Civilization, we only thought you were also Demon Eyes, here to capture us, so..."

Li Qingsong let out a soft breath.

This explanation is reasonable.

After all, for a civilization that has just escaped capture and is like a frightened bird, asking them about their mortal enemy right off the bat would make anyone think twice.

Information found in various databases and communication networks of the Morais civilization also confirms the authenticity of this explanation.

This cannot be faked.

If that's the case... then what happened between me and the Morais civilization before was indeed a misunderstanding.

"Our Lantuk civilization is a benevolent civilization. Now that we have confirmed that you are not the Demon Eye and that you have a mortal feud with the Gray Worm civilization, please rest assured that our Lantuk civilization will not take any malicious actions against you."

However, we need to carefully consider how to handle the aftermath and make a decision only after understanding more of the situation.

Go back and wait for news.

The head of state looked up abruptly, his eyes flashing with unbelievable surprise.

I thought that even if civilization could continue, it would be severely damaged. I never expected that there would be a turning point.
"Yes, yes, thank you for saving us. If it weren't for you, our civilization would have been destroyed by the star beasts long ago. We are willing to repay you with all our strength..."

Amidst a series of thanks and promises, the head of the Morais civilization left the interrogation room.

Li Qingsong then fell into deep thought.

"Although we didn't actually find the Grey Worm civilization this time, we still gained a lot."

Was the last time the Morais civilization encountered the Grey Worm civilization in the Draco T11 system? Very good, we should be able to find some clues about the Grey Worm civilization in that system, providing a basis for my subsequent search.

But... what should we do with the Morais civilization? If we just let them leave, what if they reveal, for some reason, that I was the one who destroyed those star beasts, thus putting me at risk?

Although the possibility is extremely low, Li Qingsong is unwilling to accept it, no matter how low it may be.

The most rational approach would be to exterminate the entire Morais civilization. However, this conflicted with the principles that Li Qingsong had always upheld.

This has indeed become a difficult problem.

After much deliberation, Li Qingsong gritted his teeth and finally made a decision.

"If we can't silence them, but we also need to prevent the secrets from being leaked, then let's just pack up the Morais civilization and take it with us!"

Since they are already a gravity civilization, they can embark on warp drive with me without me having to make any extra effort. Besides, bringing the Morais civilization along can also serve as bait; perhaps it can lure the Grey Worm civilization out.

"A sting operation! Use the Morais civilization to lure out the Grey Worm civilization! That's it!"

When Li Qingsong announced this decision to the leader of the Morais civilization and a group of high-ranking officials, their expressions were all somewhat complicated. Li Qingsong could understand their feelings.

This could probably be considered a kidnapping.

Li Qingsong calmly said, "With your strength, I'm afraid you will never be able to defeat the Gray Worm Civilization, never be able to reclaim this name, and wash away the shame of your civilization."

Join me, and although you will temporarily lose your freedom and autonomy, if we can successfully lure out the Grey Worm civilization, I can use my power to avenge you.

Overall, you still made a profit.

I've already said, we are a benevolent and civilized society, and we won't let you suffer any losses.

President Morais sighed, bowed solemnly to Li Qingsong, and all his tentacles drooped down like the roots of a pine tree: "On behalf of the Morais civilization, I accept all your arrangements."

"Very well. This place is not safe to stay in for long. Let's leave first."

In just six months, the two civilizations had completed all the preparations for their long voyage.

Or, to put it another way, only Li Qingsong's side had completed the preparations. The Morais civilization was still far from truly being ready.

In the previous battle against the Star Beast Catastrophe, the Morais civilization consumed too many resources and spaceships. Given their industrial capacity, it would be impossible for them to set sail again in less than several decades.

No problem, Li Qingsong is prepared. If the Morais civilization lacks supplies, Li Qingsong can simply allocate a few dozen space carriers to them.

In any case, Li Qingsong has plenty of these space carriers, each weighing over 10 billion tons and fully loaded with supplies; he simply can't use them all.

The fleet, comprising millions of ships of various types from the Morais civilization, was brought together at the center and the two merged into one, embarking together on a journey to leave this star system.

Time passed quietly, and in the blink of an eye, the fleet arrived outside the star's gravitational field and successfully entered warp drive mode.

At this time, Li Qingsong had also communicated with the leader of the Morales civilization about the next action plan.

“Choose a star system, create the illusion that you are under attack and besieged, and then send out a distress signal by broadcasting gravitational waves.”

Our side will be responsible for laying a tight net throughout that star system. Once the Gray Worm civilization appears, we will immediately capture them. After obtaining the intelligence we need, all intelligent life forms of the Gray Worm civilization will be handed over to you for disposal; you will personally execute them to wash away your shame!

The key to this plan is that the siege of the Morais civilization must be realistic. Only in this way can the illusion of a trap be concealed.

Secondly, the Grey Worm civilization must be located near the traps set by our side, preferably no more than 1000 light-years away.

Because the distress signal is transmitted via gravitational waves, which travel at the speed of light, the Grey Worm civilization might not receive the signal for thousands or even tens of thousands of years if the distance is too great, and might then deem the information worthless.

Of course, Li Qingsong will also try his best to get closer to the Gray Worm Civilization and shorten the distance between the two sides as much as possible.

Although he didn't know where the Grey Worm civilization was hiding at the moment, based on the data from the Morais civilization's several battles with the Grey Worm civilization, the original Grey Worm civilization's style of doing things, the Morais civilization's course of travel, and previous escape plans, Li Qingsong was able to delineate a general area.

According to Li Qingsong's estimate, there is a 55% probability that the traps they have chosen are located within 1000 light-years of the Gray Worm civilization at this moment.

Compared to the previous clueless and haphazard search, the probability of success is now quite high, making it worthwhile for Li Qingsong to put in the effort.

The two fleets thus traveled at a speed of 3.4 times the speed of light.

During this process, the two sides also took the opportunity to exchange ideas on science and technology.

From a purely technological standpoint, the Morais civilization was actually no weaker than Li Qingsong. In some aspects, it even surpassed him.

Of course, there are also aspects in which Li Qingsong surpasses him.

The modern technological system is far too vast, with countless subfields. Even with Li Qingsong's abilities, he couldn't surpass an ordinary civilization of the same level in every single area.

Thus, following the principle of equivalent exchange, the two sides successively exchanged more than 60,000 sub-fields and more than 1 million specific technologies across dozens of major fields.

From the material handling of a single screw to the energy utilization of multiple fusion reactors, or the precision adjustment of gravity control equipment, this exchange has been very beneficial to both sides.

"Indeed, just as the recorder civilization said, every civilization is a miracle of this universe. A civilization that can advance to the gravitational level through its own power is a miracle among miracles."

I only managed to achieve overwhelming combat power by relying on my unique form of existence and some special trump cards. As for technology, even the Morais civilization, whose combat strength is far inferior to mine, has so much for me to learn.”

Li Qingsong's sincerity, friendliness, humility, and honesty quickly won the trust of all the high-ranking officials of the civilization, including the leader of the Morais civilization.

When one's fate is completely in the other's hands, yet the other party still adheres to its bottom line and treats one with sincerity and goodwill, isn't such a civilization worthy of trust?
Especially now that both sides have a common enemy and the same goal.

Hundreds of years passed quickly, and Li Qingsong traversed another thousand light-years.

The galaxy that was planned and was suitable as a trap has finally arrived.

The Morais civilization was the first to enter the star system. After some rest and reorganization, Li Qingsong, disguised as an AI cataclysmic being, followed, and the two sides then engaged in a great battle in the star system.

After a long and arduous struggle, the Morais civilization was finally successfully "besieged" on a rocky planet.

Li Qingsong, disguised as an intelligent machine calamity, was temporarily unable to take down the large planet, and the Morais civilization was also powerless to break through the blockade and escape.

The two sides are stuck in a stalemate here.

Under these circumstances, a gravitational wave signal carrying a distress call was sent out from the Morais civilization.

"Respected Lantuk Civilization, my friend, our civilization has suffered a calamity and is in grave danger. If you receive this signal, I, on behalf of all civilizations, beg you for your help. Our coordinates are..."

……

This information was not accompanied by a dictionary. And because the sample size is too small, it is theoretically impossible for unrelated civilizations to decipher it.

However, because they share the same origin and use the same script, the Grey Worm civilization will be able to understand this information without any obstacles.

So……

Li Qingsong and the Morais civilization began their wait together.

(End of this chapter)