Chapter Eighteen: The Terrifying Super-Ancient Civilization

The sun had climbed toward noon, and at that moment Zhang Desen remained tightly focused on his screen. Meanwhile, the seismic monitoring device showed clearly that no unusual tremors had entered the base during this period; naturally, there were no terrifying threats approaching either.

Soon, Zhang Desen finished reviewing the surveillance footage from within the base, confirming that he had not experienced any memory erasure, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He decided to keep the drone in the air for continued reconnaissance, since its internal power reserves could keep it aloft for sixty consecutive hours—and it could supplement its energy with solar power as well.

Given the hidden dangers from humanoid creatures left behind by the Terrors, having an external eye and ear for uninterrupted surveillance was even more crucial to maximize the base's security.

Just then, the uncollected sound-gathering device transmitted the conversation of Qian Yanei and his group. Zhang Desen found it incredible—Qian Yanei had actually remained prostrate for so long after the Terrors departed before finally struggling to his feet. He didn't know how to describe it. The first voice to come through was Qian Yanei's, calling out:

"Hey… you guys, hurry and help me up—my legs are numb…"

The idlers promptly replied, "Coming, coming…"

After they helped Qian Yanei up, he continued, "Alright, now tell me, what should we do about this matter? If we botch it, you all know—the heads will roll. But if we succeed, who knows, the Great Immortal might reward us with something good. This must not fail. So, what do you all think we should do?"

One flatterer chimed in, "With Lord Yanei taking the lead, one man is worth a hundred—there's nothing we can't accomplish."

Qian Yanei's anger flared at once, and he snapped, "Damn it, is this really the time for flattery? Don't forget, your head's on the line too!"

The others echoed, "Exactly, exactly…"

The flatterer then addressed Qian Yanei and the rest, "Let's not talk like that, Yanei. This isn’t difficult—the Great Immortal said that thing, that flying whatever, is hiding nearby, right?"

Everyone responded in unison, "Yes!"

The flatterer continued, "Aren't the ones up top supposed to be different from us in many ways?"

Again, they chorused, "Right!"

He pressed on, "So today that… that… that what exactly?"

Qian Yanei lost patience, "What exactly are you talking about?"

Suddenly, the idler exclaimed, "Wait! Why do I feel like I can't remember anything from before we lost consciousness? Do any of you remember?"

Qian Yanei and the others were silent.

The idler continued, "This is terrible, Yanei. It seems we've lost our previous memories—we need to remember quickly!"

Qian Yanei bellowed, "Damn it! If you want to live, get out there and search! Useless bunch! I've lost my memory and so have all of you, a pack of good-for-nothings! Move!"

"Yes, sir!"

Hearing this, Zhang Desen couldn't help but find it amusing. Clearly, when the Terrors performed their procedures on Qian Yanei's group, they must have also erased some of their short-term memories—perhaps as a precaution, and unintentionally, this had worked in Zhang Desen's favor.

As for those memories, even if their heads were to roll, Qian Yanei's group would likely never recover them. It seemed the girl was safe for now. At this point, Zhang Desen began to analyze the information he had gathered.

Based on what he had heard, those Terrors were indeed a different group—meaning there were at least two distinct Terror tribes. The level of civilization between them differed so greatly it defied explanation. Normally, with constant interaction, such a gap shouldn't exist—one group possessed an advanced technological civilization, while the other was mired in primitive cold-weapon culture. It was almost unbelievable.

Just as Zhang Desen puzzled over this, a sudden flash of insight struck him. The idea grew rapidly in his mind, and soon he arrived at a likely explanation: a hyper-ancient civilization. Of course, he meant a hyper-ancient civilization of the Terrors.

This term refers to a highly advanced society that might have existed on Earth in the distant past. Yet due to a dearth of records and artifacts, the existence of such advanced ancient civilizations remains an unsolved mystery. The discovery of various enigmatic ancient objects around the world fuels speculation, as if these relics were silent proof that ancient civilizations far surpassed our imagination. We can't help but be drawn to such mysteries, since even modern science cannot explain the origins of most of these ancient finds.

Thus, it seemed entirely possible that the Terrors had once enjoyed an age of high civilization, only to regress for unknown reasons—while a portion of them preserved their advanced technology. In other words, these Terrors shared a common ancestor, but did not evolve simultaneously. It's akin to how humans, monkeys, and apes share an ancestor, but not all evolved into intelligent beings at the same time. According to credible theories, human history spans only about two million years—far shorter than the dinosaurs' hundred-million-year reign—so it's entirely plausible that highly advanced civilizations could have risen several times. The same could be true for the Terrors of this universe.

What Zhang Desen could not understand, however, was why those with advanced technology did not share it with their primitive kin. This perplexed him deeply. Regardless, it was now almost certain that it was precisely these technologically advanced Terrors who, before Zhang Desen had fully exited the multiversal travel corridor, attacked the space passage where he and his ship were located—trapping him in this universe. Fortunately, their weapons eventually overloaded and failed, allowing him to escape disaster by a stroke of luck.

Now, the greatest problem was that the Terrors had begun to hunt him in earnest, and there was no telling how many human collaborators like Qian Yanei they might have. Worse, they had started to deploy their manufactured humanoid creatures to join the search. These beings, resembling wild men, favored nighttime and deserted places, moving with great agility—a significant threat. Zhang Desen needed to find a populous area where he could hide his base.

He wondered if perhaps his relatives or friends might have counterparts in this universe. But he also needed to consider whether such counterparts could be trusted—after all, they were from different universes.

Luckily, having just arrived in the multiverse, the Terrors hadn't yet unleashed the full force of their search, so relocating the base was still feasible. Although there was no immediate need to move, if anything happened he could execute the plan to shift locations and evade the high-tech Terrors through guerrilla tactics.

But for now, the greatest threat was the humanoid creature—formidable, perfectly adapted to mountains and forests, posing a grave danger to the base. Despite its camouflage, this was a true humanoid beast. Fortunately, the ship had only released one such creature before flying off. Radar showed the ship had flown south of West City to release the creature, then made a sharp "J" turn to the northwest, quickly leaving radar range—suggesting their base was probably not nearby, or perhaps they had other business elsewhere.

At that moment, his watch beeped, marking the afternoon. Zhang Desen resolved to eliminate the beast that night and immediately began preparing his weapons. He also planned to take some valuables to the market outside West City to buy materials for homemade explosives. Though he still had ample ammunition from his original universe, the supply was limited and had to be conserved—local sourcing was preferable.

An hour and a half later, with weapons prepared and ready to visit the market outside West City, the seismic monitor registered a reading—a massive, ponderous step was approaching the base. At the same time, a deep, drawn-out howl, somewhere between a wolf’s and a tiger’s, echoed. Zhang Desen instantly realized that the target might have come to him.

This was wholly unexpected—he’d assumed the creature would only hunt at night. But soon the vibrations shifted southward, away from the base, and Zhang Desen breathed easier.

He decided to stick to his plan and go to the market, since the creature was so elusive that even the drone had lost track of it earlier.

After activating the base’s automated defense system and setting the drone to lead the way, Zhang Desen shouldered his Type 95 assault rifle and set off toward the market.

…

Meanwhile, in the command room of the coastal base of the Ormey Empire, the empire’s leader, Yuri Gotne, sat at his desk reading the latest edition of the Ormey Daily. His expression was inscrutable, leaving the guards at his side unable to tell whether he was pleased or angry.

Suddenly, two Terrors entered, saluted, and exclaimed, "Long live the Leader!"

At last, Yuri Gotne looked up at the newcomers and said, "My dear friends, you’ve become famous, you know that? Especially you, Dal Kind."

The two, puzzled, watched as Yuri Gotne tossed the newspaper to them, his tone deceptively mild. "See for yourselves."

They glanced at the headline on the front page of the Ormey Daily, which read plainly: "Veteran pilot Dal Kind’s aircraft crashes into the sea; he broadcasts astonishing news to the public: a technologically advanced human civilization has appeared."

The two Terror pilots stared at each other in astonishment.