From Terra to Terra, the Star Emperor's Holiday

"They said they were here to see you, Doctor."

"…information leak?"

The doctor quickly thought of various possibilities. For a ghost from a previous civilization like him, the only people who knew of his existence were those inside the Tower of Babel. The sudden appearance of a stranger made the doctor's first reaction be that someone inside the Tower of Babel had leaked the news.

After all, there have been assassination attempts against him before. Given the Terran people's magical thinking, it is not impossible for them to come to his house and assassinate him openly.

“Well, that person also said,”

ACE quickly told all the information.

"He is your compatriot, Doctor, and he has come to see you."

"... "

There was a sudden silence on the other end of the communicator. If it weren't for the Doctor's suddenly amplified breathing, ACE would have thought the communicator was broken.

"Bring them back..."

The communication was disconnected.

The doctor sat at his desk, trying to control his breathing.

After being awakened by Kal'tsit, the Doctor saw a lot: the plan of the previous civilization failed, his former compatriots disappeared, and all the burdens and pain fell on him alone. He was almost going crazy.

Just like a drowning person will grab any life-saving straw, even if it may be just a ridiculous lie or an assassination, the doctor at this time will still not miss any possibility.

Even if it was a lie, he would confirm it with his own eyes before exposing it.

Chapter 8: Former Doctor of Civilization

Landship [Rhode Island]

Although the main battle zone between the Tower of Babel and the Military Committee is still in a standoff stage, the mutual infiltration attacks in the surrounding area have never stopped.

There were constantly wounded soldiers or teams that had completed their missions returning, and new teams were setting off at the same time. The entire landship was extremely busy.

At this time, the landing port at the rear of the land-based ship was being cleared and prepared, and an elite tactical team was arranged to hide near the landing port.

The Doctor is in direct command on the scene, waiting for the return of the ACE team. If his so-called compatriots are real, then everyone will be happy. If they are just clowns seeking attention or another assassination, then even the Doctor will not be able to control himself and vent all his resentment on them.

"Doctor, the special operations team's signal is approaching. They are followed by a heavy vehicle with no identification signal."

The observation team arranged outside sent back the information, and the doctor looked at the hatch of the login port in silence.

"Open the door, raise the security level to level 3, and let them in."

A moment later, the off-road jeep driven by ACE entered the landing area first, and the dump truck driven by Si Ye followed closely behind.

The scanning equipment inside Rhodes Island and the sighting systems in the hands of the elite operators immediately locked onto this heavy vehicle.

"Beep, threat detected, should we transfer energy to the defense module?"

Following ACE's guidance, Si Ye drove into an area of ​​the landship landing zone that had obviously been specially cleared, and the shuttle's core AI sounded a slight threat alarm.

Obviously, the threat that the AI ​​was talking about was not the crossbows, firearms, or Originium skills in the hands of the external Babel operators. Si Ye looked through the glass of the control panel, staring straight at the hooded man standing not far away who was blocked by the heavy-armored operators.

This [Rhodes Island] landship has existed for a long time. Although it was not completed when Kal'tsit dug it out, the previous civilization obviously stuffed some things inside it, and the shuttle's AI alarm also came from this.

"Is that what you're looking for? A compatriot?"

Following Si Ye's gaze, Nian couldn't see anything special about the doctor who was wrapped in a hooded coat and couldn't show his face.

"Yes, he's the only one of the few remaining humans from the previous civilization with all his arms and legs intact. Once I've negotiated with him about the ownership of the Terra continent, the rest will be easy."

“Huh? Wait, you said the most important thing you wanted to talk about in Kazdel was this? But…”

Before Nian could finish his words, Si Ye had already walked out of the cab.

"Oh, this is the welcome ceremony at the Tower of Babel. It's quite special."

Completely ignoring the vigilant expressions of the surrounding operators, Si Ye walked towards the doctor carelessly.

"Please stop."

There is no doubt about the importance of the Doctor. Before eliminating the threat, the heavy-armored operator diligently stopped Si Ye, and the sniper operators hidden around all set their sights on Si Ye and Nian.

Si Ye spread his hands, indicating that he was harmless, and looked at the silent Doctor behind the heavy-armored operators. The operators were also waiting for the Doctor's orders. Enemy? Or friend?

"A behemoth..."

The doctor's face was hidden under the hood, but he could still feel the clear sight.

He first glanced at Nian who was following behind Si Ye, and recognized her identity in an instant.

But when the doctor looked at Si Ye, he fell silent for a long time.

The sniper operators, who had been unable to look away for so long, were wondering if their headsets were broken, when they heard a voice that was clearly filled with doubt.

“…I don’t know you…”

This kind of voice didn't seem to come from the doctor. It was the first time that the cold and ruthless doctor who could put everything on the chessboard had such a violent emotional fluctuation in his words.

This left the operators present somewhat unsure. Was it an enemy? The Doctor's questioning tone was followed by no additional orders. The solemn atmosphere made even the battle-hardened operators' palms sweat.

"But it's enough for me to know you. Now that the Heaven's Fulcrum, the Deep Blue Tree, and so on have failed, I think you would want to talk to me."

There were many operators present, so Si Ye couldn't explain things too clearly, but it was enough to mention the names of several important plans of the previous civilization.

“…You’re right.”

After hearing the names of several plans, the doctor's emotions became more obvious.

"The power of command has been temporarily delegated to the various team leaders. I need some time to speak with this... friend."

...

Realizing that what Si Ye wanted to discuss might involve some secret matters, Nian consciously found an excuse to stay in the shuttle.

With the sound of the automatic door closing, at the doctor's request, only he and Si Ye were left in the conference room.

"PRTS, silence the entire conference room and initiate isolation procedures."

The doctor sat in the first seat and made a gesture of invitation to Si Ye.

"Please, if you want to talk about something, please do it as soon as possible. The front line of Babel Tower cannot be away from my command for too long."

"My name is Si Ye. I come here on behalf of the Pan-Human Community and myself, hoping to gain control of this world."

Si Ye leaned back in his chair without any image, and a flag with stick figures holding hands and surrounding the Milky Way appeared in the air.

"…What's the meaning."

The doctor looked at the flag drawn by Si Ye's fingertips. The words were so out of place that his mind went blank for a moment.

"In an official capacity, and in compliance with the Pan-Human Community's mutual assistance regulations, I extend an invitation to you, the survivors of a former civilization. A magnificent civilization should not be annihilated due to the limitations of the universe."

The community flag outlined by psychic energy fluttered with Si Ye's movements, and finally stopped in front of the doctor.

"Personally speaking, I'm very interested in the beast-eared girls on the Terra continent, who appeared due to memetic infection rather than biological modification. So I would like to discuss the sale of ownership of the Terra continent with you."

“…How do you prove that what you said is true…”

The doctor struggled to organize Si Ye's words, just like in most bad movies where the director and screenwriter ran out of ideas and resorted to using a deus ex machina.

If there really is such a mutual aid community with humans as the main body, then where were they before the previous civilization was paralyzed by lumberjacks?

"The concept of pan-universe should be familiar to the ancient civilization, as it may have already reached the technological singularity."

After all, Demon King Amiya can use Originium and Black Crown to perform a set of operations to reverse the world and infer the final solution. The previous civilization must have similar technical reserves.

"Are you trying to say that you are from a parallel universe? Or a small world?"

The previous civilization may have reached the technological singularity, but in the end it only reached it and failed to break through that boundary. The speculation about Si Ye's words also stopped at parallel universes similar to the universe internalized by Originium or the possibility of high-dimensional observation.

"No, it's a broader concept of the world, but it's hard to understand with words. But it doesn't matter. I brought a cross-world vehicle with me. Seeing is believing, isn't it?"

Language is pale. If you want the doctor to understand intuitively, the best way is to take him directly back to the empire for a tour and let the facts speak for themselves.

"..."

Many possibilities flashed through the doctor's mind, but he still couldn't come up with any evidence to completely deny the authenticity of Si Ye's words.

Should I take a risk? The other party might just be a boastful liar. But, what if...

The burden of the previous civilization was so heavy that even though Si Ye's words sounded like a fairy tale, the doctor was still eager to act.

There was a long silence, and then the doctor nodded.

"Yes, please show me everything you said."

Chapter 9 Takeoff

"Doctor, the other party's identity is still unknown... Isn't this too risky?"

Since the facts were to be spoken, Si Ye and the Doctor returned to the rear landing port where the shuttle was parked. ACE learned that the Doctor was actually going to take Si Ye's vehicle, whose identity was still unknown. For safety reasons, ACE had to stop him.

"I don't mind. If you feel unsafe, you can bring someone with you."

Si Ye naturally doesn't care how many passengers there are, but the doctor has a lot to consider. The operators of Babel Tower are followers of Theresa, but not from the previous civilization. Under this premise, the only one who can be trusted is Kal'tsit, who is also a creation of the previous civilization.

Unfortunately, because there were too many wounded on the front line, Kal'tsit, as the leader of the medical department, went to escort the wounded together with Theresa.

But wait?

The doctor felt that Si Ye was like a devil. He was afraid that it was a scam, but he also hoped that everything was real. Under such complicated emotions, waiting any longer was torture.

"So, what's this for?"

Nian quietly walked down from the shuttle and pointed at the doctor who was glaring at the operator.

"For the sake of a good negotiation foundation, I need to show him some evidence. He's struggling with the veracity of what I said."

After a pause, Si Ye continued.

"Would you like to come and take a look?"

"Huh? What you guys are talking about...I don't think it's appropriate for me to get involved."

No matter what continental ownership Si Ye was talking about, or the previous civilization represented by the mysterious Doctor Babel, they were all levels that even giant beasts needed to look up to. Nian didn't want to rashly get involved in such matters and cause trouble for himself.