Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 318 - Chapter 318 Chapter 317

Chapter 318: Chapter 317 Chapter 318: Chapter 317 (Text: Contact… Begins!)

The group discussed for a while. With the precedent set by the Gleize Civilization, people were still very wary of this cosmic merchant, even though they had initially gained a small benefit.

The heart of vigilance is indispensable; many soldiers had already donned their Power Armor and stood at their posts, ready for any unexpected events.

Some thought that the civilization might be an enemy of the Amoeba Civilization, deliberately robbing in this area to tarnish the reputation of the Amoeba Civilization. Anyway, the number of chaotic conspiracy theories was endless–anything could happen, right?

After much discussion, many still believed that they shouldn’t miss this opportunity. As long as people were careful enough and communicated via electromagnetic waves, theoretically, there should be no safety issues.

What if the other party gave some fake technology, or false information? Even if the information was fake, if it contained a bit of truth, that was better than having nothing at all.

Zhang Yuan listened to everyone’s discussion and slowly spoke, “What kind of information do you want to trade? We definitely can’t reveal that we are a rookie civilization, as that’s a minor issue, but the insecurity it might cause is a major concern…”

Because the distance between the two parties was still considerable, the exchange of information could take up to seven hours. Therefore, to ensure smooth communication, the amount of information had to be as copious as possible.

Everyone hesitated for a while, and soon decided to turn the tables and probe the other party instead.

“Amoeba Civilization, hello, we have a vast amount of common knowledge about cosmic civilizations, including detailed histories of low-level civilizations and some movements of advanced civilizations, as well as knowledge in biology, sociology, mathematics, physics, and other fields. Which type of information would you like to trade and what price would you be willing to pay?”

“…We are seeking knowledge about curvature engine technology, and if your civilization is willing to trade in this area, we would be willing to pay a high price…”

The reason people wanted curvature engine technology was that this technology, in theory, was something low-level interstellar civilizations dream of. Kunlun Mountain’s level of technology was only at the peak of a Second-level Civilization, much more advanced than that of Earth Civilization but still quite far from the technology of a Fourth-level Civilization.

As for the Sixth-level Civilization technology, “Consciousness Upload”, that couldn’t be used for warfare.

So faced with this suspicious “advanced civilization,” humanity still held a skeptical attitude.

After sending this piece of information, people began another anxious wait.

Seven hours is very brief, yet seven hours can be agonizingly long…

Many people were discussing points of interest regarding this trade.

Based on the information at hand, the vast majority of civilizations seemed to get stuck at the level of a Second-level Civilization.

Just like humans, they’ve fished out all the fish they could, and the remaining ones are those immense fish that no one can catch.

A Third-level Civilization would likely be about the exploration of subatomic particles, life sciences, nano-robots, and space sciences–areas where humanity is still very immature, even completely at a loss. The most troublesome thing in the universe isn’t the difficulty of technological development, but rather the absence of development and discovery.

Oddly, amid the various discussions, this spaceship started to look a little suspicious.

For starters, its interstellar ramjet engine construction only seemed to be Third-level Civilization technology… If they had Curvature Technology, what need would there be for a ramjet engine? Even if advanced, it’s still just a matter of propellant propulsion.

“This black spaceship, it says it’s an Amoeba Civilization information relay station, but is it really? Who knows if it’s just bluffing? Maybe it’s a stuck lowly civilization looking to scam us!” a young man named Lan Bo voiced his opinion.

One professor shook his head, “Mr. Lan Bo, I think, even if a spaceship has the technology for Curvature Navigation, it would still need this type of propellant engine as auxiliary. Curvature Navigation might have certain limitations and isn’t as versatile as a propellant engine. Therefore, even if there’s Third-level Civilization technology on board, you can’t deny that it may be from a more advanced civilization.”

That statement made sense.

“This spaceship only sent out this message after we used the Flash Bomb… It’s very suspicious. If we hadn’t used the Flash Bomb, would it not have sent the message at all? Could it have been planning something like highway robbery?”

“…Discovered as a merchant, undiscovered as a bandit?”

Zhang Yuan frowned, the conspiracy theories proposed by the others were unnerving, yet there was some logic to their words…

But if the other party wasn’t really from the Amoeba Civilization–did just one spaceship have the power to rob?

“Even if they launched an attack, unless they destroyed all of humanity’s spaceships at once, they would inevitably face a ferocious counterattack from humans. By then, nobody would survive in this starry sky… It doesn’t make sense for them to do such a thing.”

“And what would they gain from an attack… apart from a pile of interstellar garbage, they’d get nothing.”

All sorts of chaotic speculations caused endless headaches.

Zhang Yuan shook his head, “We’re not having any substantial contact with the other party. As long as we aren’t foolish enough to mention possessing High-dimensional Fragments or Consciousness Upload technology, there shouldn’t be too many problems.”

As for Curvature Navigation, it was indeed a technology people yearned for, signifying the ability to break the speed of light barrier, but they weren’t holding out too much hope.

Relying on cosmic strings for gravitational acceleration was indeed convenient, but it had its limitations. Propulsion based on kinetic energy could not possibly break the speed of light, and flight paths were constrained to a small area around the cosmic strings.

In reality, according to experts’ estimates, constrained by material technology, escort technology, and communication, if it were a fleet of spaceships, accelerating to 10-15% of the speed of light was almost the limit; for a planet, it was possible to reach 30-40% of the speed of light.

But using curvature navigation meant tenfold, even twentyfold superluminal travel, no longer restricted by cosmic strings–that was true freedom!

Actually, this was a moot point; among the civilizations navigating using cosmic strings, which one didn’t yearn for genuine curvature technology?

Zhang Yuan had no extravagant hopes of acquiring warp speed technology; it was just a casual remark.

Time ticked by, every second; everyone anxiously awaited, waited…

Their response came!

“Unknown civilization, greetings. Regarding the information your civilization has sent, we will analyze its authenticity. If it truly is valuable information, we will convert it into a certain amount of AmiBa Points, which you may use within the Amoeba Trading Market, or you may use them to purchase our information and technology.”

“In regards to fairness and justice, please do not doubt the integrity the Amoeba Civilization has accumulated over tens of millions of years within the Milky Way.”

“As for the technology related to the curvature engine, it is part of Fourth-level Civilization Science and is not included in this transaction. Please go to the Amoeba Trading Market to seek relevant trades.”

Below was a table about the pricing of information.

With various levels, such as Level 1 information, Level 2 information, Level 3 information, Level 4 information and so on. Since the value of information lies in not knowing it–as once it’s known, it’s worthless–the criteria for judgment were vague, with no clear, definite standard.

Many people immediately cursed in outrage, finding it all too bullying!

Zhang Yuan frowned. So, did this mean pricing power was entirely in the other party’s hands?

Depend on their integrity?

However, there was no choice. Even if humanity, through bargaining, obtained the right to set prices, what then?

Not to mention if the other party would agree, people currently knew too little to conduct a fair and reasonable trade… Humanity did not even know what exactly they wanted.

Colonel Guo, responsible for the military aspect, suddenly said, “I think we could exchange some information to test them. Taking a small loss isn’t really a big deal.”

“For instance, what exactly are these so-called AmiBa Points, a universal currency? How should the anti-counterfeiting be designed, how to achieve higher identification… Anyway, it’s better than giving up on this transaction.”

Zhang Yuan nodded; that was what he was thinking too…

What exactly was the universal currency of interstellar civilizations? Surely it could not be paper currency. Perhaps a password-protected digital currency… but even that seemed far-fetched. Not to mention whether such passwords could be hacked and forged, how would they validate that these passwords equated to AmiBa Points? And how could one determine the value of the currency?

Or perhaps a Bitcoin model with network connectivity, which would ensure authenticity and prevent counterfeiting, but humans had no network among interstellar civilizations.

“If only there were a network among interstellar civilizations, that would be nice. We could take this opportunity to connect.”

“Don’t be overly optimistic! That would require a superluminal network.”

After a while, everyone calmed down.

But what information should be sent? What did humanity have?

Humans had many things, but for safety reasons, many could not be revealed, such as one’s place of origin, the full technological and military capabilities of an entire fleet, and so on.

“Perhaps send a blueprint of the Helium-Hydrogen Ion Cannon?”

As a variant of the ion cannon, only massive spaceships could install such a weapon. The theory was not difficult; the main challenge was materials.

Zhang Yuan shook his head, “There’s no need. Through such a blueprint, they might infer our technological capability and material standards. What if they had the ability to miniaturize this weapon? It would undoubtedly be teaching one’s grandmother to suck eggs.”

Li Zhendong asked from the side: “Or perhaps send some standard technology information as a probe… after all, it’s just conventional technology.”

Right!

A light bulb flashed in Zhang Yuan’s mind.

“We could send some information to test whether they really are the Amoeba Civilization…”

He typed a message on the screen: “Respected Amoeba Civilization, we have learned that an explosion occurred in the high-dimensional prison located at Eta Carinae, and a multitude of superior life forms have seized the opportunity to scatter and flee. The artificial intelligence Yita, responsible for managing the Eta high-dimensional prison, has issued a warrant for these creatures. Capturing the escapees will result in rewards from Gaia Civilization.”

“Please evaluate the value of this information.”