CHAPTER 554: CHAPTER 553: LONGING FOR LIFE OR DEATH?

Vast Universe.

At this moment, it is no longer vast.

Under the continuous contraction of the return wave, the Cosmic Zone Universe has been half affected, and the pressure of shrinking living space is pressing inward.

Similarly, at the center of the Cosmic Zone Universe, the Black Hole Civilization is also being pressured by the other four Tier-5 civilizations; they wish to remain neutral, but the Wandering Alliance, Degenerate Civilization, Antimatter Civilization, and the Pure Element Celestial Bodies do not allow them to stay neutral—if they do, they will be eliminated first.

Faced with this situation, the Black Hole Civilization naturally does not want to follow in the footsteps of the Entropy Civilization.

They also admit that they do not have the strength to confront the four Tier-5 civilizations, so the Black Hole Civilization immediately held an emergency meeting internally to discuss the ultimate choice in this matter.

At its core, this matter is about the choice of systems, but in reality, it is about choosing sides and, ultimately, a plan for the distribution of interests. If the choice is incorrect, the losing side could potentially lose everything, and of course, the Black Hole Civilization does not want to lose everything, hence the cautious Black Hole Civilization conducted a meticulous, scientific analysis of the forces of the camps.

Among them, the strongest and most deeply established among the present Tier-5 civilizations is undoubtedly the Pure Element Celestial Bodies—an existence in a class of its own. Next, the Degenerate Civilization is slightly superior to the Antimatter Civilization, the Wandering Alliance, and their own Black Hole Civilization; the latter three have comparable strengths, all closely matched. According to the index derived from the analysis by the Black Hole Civilization to quantify the strengths of civilizations, the combined forces of the Degenerate Civilization and the Wandering Alliance just barely exceed the Pure Element Celestial Bodies, yet the Pure Element System also has the support of the Antimatter Civilization; hence, the Antimatter Civilization and Pure Element Celestial Bodies together are definitely stronger than the Degenerate Civilization and the Wandering Alliance.

Based on this analysis, the Black Hole Civilization made a bidirectional hypothesis.

If the Black Hole Civilization chose the Degenerate Civilization’s system, their combined strength with the Degenerate Civilization and the Wandering Alliance would be slightly stronger than the Pure Element Celestial Bodies and the Antimatter Civilization, but this slight advantage was not significant enough to form an overwhelming force. The probability of them subduing or eliminating the Pure Element Celestial Bodies and the Antimatter Civilization in a short time was very low; but if they chose the Pure Element System, adding their strength to the Antimatter Civilization and the Pure Element Celestial Bodies would instantly widen the gap with the Degenerate Civilization’s system, forming an absolute dominance, thus making it much quicker to eliminate the two civilizations of the Degenerate Civilization system.

These were indeed the only two paths for the Black Hole Civilization; there was no third option.

After the hypothetical analysis, the final result was clearly before the Black Hole Civilization, so they chose the second hypothesis with a higher chance of success, that is, to embrace the Pure Element System.

After all, from the perspective of goal and outcome, what they wanted was unified cooperation, to quickly resolve the opposition and focus efforts to survive this Cosmic Crisis. Therefore, the Degenerate Civilization’s system was naturally not their first choice, because if they really chose the Degenerate Civilization’s system, it would only lead to a balance of forces between two camps, exacerbating the opposition and prolonging the time of conflict, which would not help in quickly ending the opposition to form the ultimate goal of cooperation. This wouldn’t matter under normal circumstances, but with the Cosmic Crisis intensifying, there was no extra time to waste. Hence, the Black Hole Civilization decided to join the camp of the Pure Element System, choosing to end this unnecessary opposition quickly.

It could be said that the essence of this opposition lies in the ideology of systems, but what really influenced the choice was strength.

In the eyes of the Black Hole Civilization, their choice was very wise and significant, playing a key role in promoting cooperation.

When the Pure Element Celestial Bodies learned of the choice of the Black Hole Civilization, they couldn’t help but express their delight: "Ha ha, Degenerate Civilization, Wandering Alliance, the Black Hole Civilization has finally chosen us, now we are three against two, holding an absolute advantage, shouldn’t you compromise with us?"

The Black Hole Civilization said: "Degenerate Civilization, Wandering Alliance, cooperation is the general trend, I hope you can let go of individual ideologies!"

The Degenerate Civilization argued strongly: "It’s not just a matter of individual ideologies, have you not heard our recent research? If we can’t properly resolve the distribution issues and the integration of multiple civilizations, even if we force ourselves to cooperate, such cooperative relaciones wouldn’t last long, and would eventually disintegrate, do you understand this? You actually chose the Pure Element System, which is something we totally did not expect."

The Black Hole Civilization said: "What is most urgent for us now is to get through the crisis, not to cling to ideologies. As long as this cooperative relationship can last until the crisis is over, that would be sufficient for us; our demands are not high."

Indeed, these words reflect the philosophy of the Black Hole Civilization well and explain why they chose the Pure Element System.

Because the Black Hole Civilization didn’t really want to form a grand alliance of Tier-5 civilizations, they didn’t want to lose their sovereignty, so they refused the most suitable Degenerate Civilization’s system and instead chose the Pure Element System, so that when the crisis ended, they would have a reason and opportunity to break away from the grand alliance of Tier-5 civilizations.

The Wandering Alliance said: "But the problem lies in that when fundamental system issues arise, no one can guarantee that this cooperative relationship can last until the crisis ends, and there might be divisions before the crisis even resolves. It wouldn’t be conducive for us to genuinely get through the crisis, so I hope you, the Black Hole Civilization, will reconsider. I believe you also understand that the communist system is indeed the most suitable system."

The Black Hole Civilization said: "We do not deny that the communist system is indeed a better system, but a better system is not as good as stronger power right now, which is a very practical issue. Moreover, the Pure Element Celestial Bodies also said that as long as we cooperate, we can definitely WebClient through the crisis. Since our ultimate goals are aligned, I believe during the process of cooperation, even if there are major contradictions and conflicts, everyone should act rationally and endure temporarily."

"We really don’t understand, since there is a better system, why must everyone bear with it? If there wasn’t a better system, enduring it would have been acceptable, but clearly there’s a meal available, yet you want us to eat shit instead. Sorry, we can’t swallow that!" the Wandering Alliance flatly refused.

"I’m sorry, we cannot endure unconditionally, nor can we be manipulated by other civilizations at will!"

The Degenerate Civilization also firmly refused, and scolded: "This approach of yours is simply a historical regression. The inherent thoughts represented by the Pure Element System are hierarchical and differentiated, which is unimaginable and intolerable for a mature and advanced Tier-5 civilization."

The Pure Element Celestial Bodies spoke displeasedly: "Degenerate Civilization, warn you to think before you speak. Our Pure Element System has withstood the longest test of time, and it’s not something you can denigrate in a few words. Assuming that there is still a possibility of cooperation, let’s overlook your previous statements, but now I’m giving you one final chance, no more nonsense, make a choice! Do you want to live or die?"