Super Seminary: I am Pluto

Page 134

Is it technological suppression from the void?

Or rather... is it more terrifying than technological suppression?

To be honest, it's rare to hear such words of defeat before the battle even come from Hades, not even during the most difficult years of the war in the fifth parallel universe.

The meeting ended very briefly, with solutions being discussed and overturned repeatedly, as they sought a breakthrough under the already suppressed technological barriers. Each step could be described as a small exploration.

Fortunately, they still have some time...

After everyone left, Bai Xiao slowly closed his eyes. Over the past tens of thousands of years, he had been exploring the void planes where those void creatures resided.

It was a boundless, dark world, a universe that was gradually expanding. Void particles were the fundamental particles of that universe. Over tens of thousands of years, he had seen countless ruins of civilizations, some of which had advanced to such an extent that traces of their technology remained even billions of years after their destruction...

It is evident how many glorious civilizations were destroyed on that chaotic battlefield in the void dimension... Despite being a civilization that was integrated across multiple universes, it was merely a small fry on that battlefield.

It's like the top students in a regular class suddenly finding themselves overshadowed by a group of high achievers...

Of course.

If that's all there is to it, Bai Xiao can accept it. After all, 300,000 years later, while the Underworld may not be able to rule the Void Plane, it will certainly be able to establish a foothold there...

This kind of situation, where powerful individuals abound, is something the Underworld has encountered before...

As his exploration deepened, his understanding of the void dimension also grew. In this void universe, he discovered countless ruins of smaller worlds, like numerous copies of existing universes. These smaller universes might be among the masterpieces of past void civilizations...

He can also create such a microcosm. The general principles are similar: build a basic framework and then use the matter of the universe to fill the material needs of the microcosm... while the universe will not lose anything by losing even a little bit of matter.

This kind of independent cosmic framework has many applications; the most basic one is as a storage ring, for storing things...

Perhaps it was precisely because these microcosms were so widely used, and their creation was relatively inexpensive and simple, that so many civilizations that once inhabited the void dimension built such microcosms. This caused the universe's mass to begin to leak, a certain balance to be broken, and the originally stable framework to begin to crumble. The void universe also began to gradually expand from a stable, closed structure...

Furthermore, the fact that those void creatures occasionally tinker with their own little universes is causing the expansion rate to gradually increase...

This is the power that Bai Xiao truly felt was irresistible.

As the universe expands and loses mass, the sparks of civilization will be extinguished. All celestial bodies with physical forms will be moved infinitely away from each other, eventually torn apart and becoming nebulae... At that time, the entire void of the universe will be devoid of any place capable of supporting the survival of life...

As the main universe of smaller worlds such as the Super God Universe and the Super Beast Universe, the Void Universe will also dim and fall silent once it expands to a certain extent, becoming a lonely grave in the vast mountains...

The Void Creatures' technological blockade of the Underworld was at least targeted at one aspect, while the expansion of the universe targeted the Void Dimension, the main universe...

The solution to the problem of the universe's expansion would inevitably be to send all the microcosms back to the void from the inside out, but unfortunately... he was powerless to do so.

The reasons are simple: firstly, there are just too many microcosms; secondly, the void universe has been expanding for some time now. Searching for 80-90% of these microcosms in this boundless plane is like finding a needle in a haystack...

Perhaps those void creatures are capable of doing this?

However, those void creatures don't care whether the void plane is expanding infinitely. For them, the expansion of the void plane cannot destroy them; at their level, they have become a matter of will, needing no material means to survive...

It truly became a saying: the flame of civilization will eventually be extinguished, but the will will endure forever.

"The will... endures forever."

Bai Xiao murmured in a low voice, then opened his eyes.

He couldn't predict to what extent the expansion of the void universe would affect the underworld, but conservatively speaking, it would take at least several hundred thousand years...

The Underworld cannot solve the void crisis it will face 200,000 years from now using its current solutions, just as it cannot solve the Underworld's destruction in the expansion of the void universe using its current ideas...

Perhaps we should give civilization time...

You also need to give me time...

Bai Xiao can only try to think of things in a positive light right now.

...

Just as Bai Xiao returned to the Underworld once again, the void creatures in the distant void dimension were having another conversation.

He was indeed bound by this inferior civilization.

Isn't this great? We've kept this unruly little mouse confined to that inferior civilization at a very low cost.

Speaking of which... what if he led that inferior civilization to break through this technological blockade?

You think...that inferior civilization really has the ability to break through our blockade? You overestimate them and underestimate us.

No, no, no, his concerns are valid. You've forgotten how that rat came to be comparable to us.

【…】

[That lower civilization cannot break through in the short term. As for 200,000 years from now... I think we can use that lower civilization as leverage to further contain that rat. Once that rat is no longer a threat, whether that lower civilization can break through our blockade will be meaningless.]

【rational】

...

P.S.: Happy New Year in advance everyone!

Side Story [Hades Chapter] Karl: I will be the one to break the wall for Hades, the concealer.

Inside the Underworld Research Department, He Xi, Heimda, and Karl, who had just finished a meeting, returned to the research site.

Karl frowned slightly, as if he was thinking about something.

Technological blockade... even Hades is powerless against it?

He asked himself this question in his heart.

For some reason, he felt that Hades' appearance this time lacked a lot of confident sharpness...

Is it because of technological blockade?

Karl felt that this might not be the reason for Hades's despondency, after all, Hades and those void creatures were essentially mutually indestructible.

Even if those void creatures block the technology of the Underworld, Hades can negotiate with them to make concessions.

Technological blockades might cripple the Underworld, but they are unlikely to be the key reason for Hades's decline...

So what exactly is it?

"Karl...is still thinking?" Heimda, dressed in a white research lab coat, noticed Karl's puzzled expression and asked.

"Hmm, I'm wondering... what exactly did Hades come into contact with?"

"?"

"?"

Upon hearing Karl's question, He Xi, who was about to pour herself some saliva, and Heimda, who was sitting in a chair, both stopped what they were doing.

"What do you mean?"

"The last words Hades said..." Karl paused, then continued, "Go for it, whether it's right or wrong, explore and find your way. Whatever the final outcome, the indomitable will of the Hades will endure..."

"I think this is a signal from Hades. Perhaps behind the technological blockade lies a much bigger problem... one that we can't see right now. And that bigger problem is one that even Hades can't solve. That's why... Hades said something like that: faced with a predetermined ending... our exploration, whether it succeeds or fails..."

"But I can't think of anything that would make Hades feel like he can't solve the problem..."

"You two, help me think of something... what could it be?"

Carl looked at his friend Heimda, who responded with a bewildered expression.

In fact, the technological blockade in the void has already given them a huge headache. If there is an even bigger problem hidden under the technological blockade... the underworld will probably go crazy.

"What could it be?" Karl pondered, pursing his lips.

“Karl, our main problem right now is the technological blockade. There are some things... don’t think about them too much,” Heimda said.

“No…no, absolutely not, you don’t understand Hades.” Karl looked at Heimda and suddenly realized his wording had been somewhat careless. Heimda had certainly been with Hades longer than him, so he changed his words:

“What I mean is… I’ve been strategic partners with Pluto, rivals, and superiors and subordinates. Pluto has always seemed to be in complete control, even managing to break through situations I’ve already set up… He has absolute confidence…”

"There would be absolutely no way he would say such a thing without facing considerable difficulties..."

"What is it...?"

"This is bad, Hades has driven another one crazy..." He Xi took a sip of tea and calmly looked at Karl's almost demonic expression.

"Huh? Why did I say 'again'?"

"Karl, don't overthink it. Really, I think Lord Hades might just be giving us a test..." Heimda comforted his friend.

The other two top researchers in the trio did not believe Karl, but Karl was not disappointed.

When he began studying the void, researchers from many advanced civilizations in the known universe were unaware of its true existence.

His keen sense of smell has always given him a prophetic quality...

This was true before, and it is true now; he firmly believes that behind the technological blockade lies an even bigger problem awaiting him, awaiting the underworld...

And at this moment... besides Hades, he is the pioneer of the entire Underworld in addressing this issue... he will be the one to break down the barriers that Hades has concealed...

He trusted his judgment...

then.

In the years that followed, he continued to study what he called a bigger problem, a problem that was not accepted by the other two members of the research trio, which became the reason why he gradually drifted away from Heimda and Hexi.

For ten thousand years after that meeting, he studied the problem from various angles, and finally... he gleaned some clues from the mass of the universe.

Whether it's the known universe or the other seven parallel universes, the void particles and mass they possess all originate from the void universe...

Based on this premise, he boldly speculated that perhaps something went wrong with the void universe, causing it to collapse and consequently leading to their universe losing its supply, or even collapsing completely along with the void universe...

With this amazing idea and the basic digital model, he went to see He Xi and Heimda to show it to them. After seeing it, Heimda and He Xi remained silent for a long time.

They did not refute it.

Because...this possibility does indeed exist.

If the void universe collapses, then the collapse of their universe is inevitable...

However, since they have not yet entered the void universe, this theory cannot be proven. It can only be confirmed when the underworld's spaceships can truly break through the technological barriers and enter the void universe.

"This is truly a terrifying conjecture..."

This was Heimda's response after hearing Karl's conjecture.

If total destruction truly occurs, then... everything they're doing now, everything the underworld is doing, will be meaningless, just a piece of waste paper...

"So... if it's true, what can we do?" He Xi asked in return after hearing this.

Yes.

What can they do?

Or what can the underworld do?

If this conjecture is true, then the underworld at this moment is like a cripple with their legs and feet bound, knowing that someone is coming to kill them, but unable to break free...

They can't even break through the technological blockade that restricts their legs and feet, so how can they talk about fighting back?

This may be the darkest day in the history of the underworld civilization.

These three leading figures in the underworld's scientific community, through this chilling conjecture, seemed to foresee the day when underworld civilization would end...

After sharing his hypothesis with the other two members of the group, Carl went to find Pluto multiple times, hoping to confirm his hypothesis through Pluto, but Pluto did not respond to him.

Carl later realized that Hades could not possibly respond to him or confirm his conjecture.

That's something even Hades can't handle. Even if it's confirmed, what good will it do? It will only make the people of Hades even more powerless.

...

P.S.: Happy New Year!

Side Story [Underworld Chapter] The Underworld! Supreme Glory!

Karl's conjecture was gradually confirmed when the explorers of the underworld ventured into the void of space.

The void universe is expanding at an accelerating rate, and the mass of matter is decreasing as it expands. Under these circumstances, the void universe will become larger and larger, while its mass will decrease, and celestial bodies will gradually be torn apart under this infinite expansion.

Yes.

This is the real problem the Underworld faces under the suppression of Void Technology—a problem that is almost unsolvable.

"I was right."

When his conjecture was confirmed, Karl gave a wry smile and sat down on the ground.

He felt no joy at that moment.

That's right.