264: Chapter 266 So the universe is a giant breeding farm?

"It has split open."

Academician Chen Shuyin's voice was trembling.

She stared at the dimensional gap that had been forcibly torn open, her pupils reflecting indescribable, bizarre lights and shadows.

That was not the starry sky; it was an "industrial zone" that had been artificially organized.

On the other side of that bottomless rift floated a metal matrix so magnificent it inspired despair.

Tens of thousands of transparent pipes, like billions of giant tentacles, extended from the matrix.

Every single pipe was precisely pierced into the core of a planet.

Those planets, some as prosperous as the Earth of the past, some as desolate as the Wasteland, and others even in the budding stage of primitive society.

They looked like shriveled fruits that had been drained of all their nutrients.

And inside those dense pipes, what flowed was neither seawater nor oil.

It was a faint, faintly golden-glowing "Life Essence."

"Faith."

"Energy."

"Even that tiny bit of so-called 'miracle' produced during the evolutionary process of a civilization."

Jiang Chen stared fixedly at those pipes, feeling as if his lungs had been filled with ice shards.

He once thought that the wars in the Wasteland were for resources, and the crises in the Solar System were for territory.

Now it seemed he was wrong.

Terribly wrong.

The entire Milky Way Galaxy, and even this observable universe.

To some advanced civilizations, it was not some mysterious abyss at all.

It was just a warehouse.

A farm specifically for breeding, harvesting, and then replanting.

"Look."

Jiang Chen raised his hand, pointing to a planet connected by one of the pipes.

That was a prosperous civilization in Centaurus.

In that holographic projection, the civilization's billions of people were struggling like ants on the planet's surface; they were building, multiplying, praying, and warring...

But at the other end of that pipe was a cold-looking meter.

It displayed in real-time: "Harvest Readiness: 98%."

When the value jumped to 99%, the planet's defense system would suddenly fail, nuclear weapons would detonate for no reason, or it would simply be a natural disaster without any warning.

Then.

The pipes would drain all the essence, leaving behind only a dead, rocky sphere.

"This is the truth."

Academician Chen Shuyin's glasses slid down to the bridge of her nose; she seemed not to notice, only staring mechanically at the data.

"The technology we strive for is merely feed in their eyes."

"The cultivation we painstakingly pursue is just a sieve for them to select superior breeds."

"As long as we haven't touched their bottom line, they let us hop around in this cage."

"Once we show some decent potential..."

Jiang Chen took over, his voice as cold as the wind on a winter night:

"Like me creating the Photonic Chip, or us building the luan bird."

"In our eyes, that's called 'breaking out of prison.'"

"In their eyes, it's called 'raw meat spoiling,' and it needs to be handled immediately."

He suddenly turned his head to look at the alien laborers in the base.

The labor force that had once made him feel they were incredibly "cheap."

If one followed this logic...

Were these races known as "Engineers," seventy thousand years ago, also some brilliant civilization?

Were they also drained alive by those very pipes?

That sense of absurdity made Jiang Chen want to vomit.

He was a transmigrator.

He had always thought he was the protagonist, holding the system, stepping on the Wasteland, and clutching the future of Earth in his hands.

But only now did he realize.

He was just a "rat" in this super-sized farm, one with slightly better luck.

Just because he had a bit more cheese in his hands, he thought he could tear down the farm?

"Jiang Chen."

Academician Chen Shuyin turned her head to look at him, her eyes softening with a gentleness rarely seen.

She reached out and gently grasped Jiang Chen's fist, which was trembling slightly from anger.

"Regardless of whether this is a farm."

"At least you are the one in here..."

"The only one who dares to pick up a shovel and smash the fence."

Jiang Chen was silent for a moment.

He turned to look out the window.

Deep within that spatial rift that was about to close completely, behind that cold purple light, he seemed to truly see a pair of cold, mocking eyes, eyes that even held a hint of "amusement."

That was the gaze of The Keeper.

It was looking down at the swarm it had corralled.

And at this very moment.

All the broadcast systems in the base, the speakers originally used to play pop music and news, suddenly emitted a harsh buzzing sound.

It was a frequency different from this space, and it didn't belong to any known electronic protocol.

That frequency was extremely steady.

It carried a sort of high-and-mighty coldness.

It resonated directly in everyone's mind through physical vibration:

"Severe anomaly detected in Farm B-52..."

"Ecological balance disrupted."

"Uncontrolled 'mutant individual' appeared."

"Command issued."

"Level 2 cleanup protocol initiated, target: all individuals of this stellar civilization."

"Estimated cleanup time: six hours."

This announcement was as calm as if discussing the weather.

As if in the eyes of that "Keeper," the billions of lives on Earth were nothing more than a few stains that could be wiped away with a wave of a hand.

"Thump."

Several laborers in the base who were moving steel bars heard this sound and fell directly to their knees.

That was the fear in their blood.

It was a brand etched into their bone marrow after being ravaged by that higher power tens of thousands of years ago.

Academician Chen Shuyin's face turned deathly pale instantly; the data pad in her hand fell to the ground, its screen full of red alerts representing death.

"Cleanup protocol..."

"Jiang Chen, what is it saying?"

"What does... Level 2 cleanup protocol mean?"

Jiang Chen turned his head, his face devoid of his usual mockery.

He slowly walked back to the command console and picked up the Law of Causality remote control that had just been tossed aside.

His gaze became focused as never before.

It was the first time he was, in a true sense, preparing to face a genuine "god."

"It means."

Jiang Chen patted the console and roared at his subordinates, who were already terrified:

"Our braised pork is selling too well."

"It's making these farmers..."

"Completely unable to sit still."

He pressed the master switch for the loudspeaker, and his voice was clearly transmitted in all directions—in the base, on the luan bird, and even in that satellite broadcast room connecting to Earth:

"Everyone."

"Although I wanted everyone to have a peaceful weekend."

"It seems someone doesn't want us to eat this lunch."

"Since they want to clean up."

"Then today I will teach them..."

"What it means to—seize the initiative!"

He didn't turn back and ordered the rows of missile silos standing by in tension:

"Everyone! Enter combat status!"

"Regardless of whether this thing is a god or a ghost, or that bunch of Keepers who only know how to hide in the back and issue orders."

"Change the coordinates of the Solar System for me!"

"I want to see if this bunch of high-and-mighty animals..."

"Have the guts to come down and spar with us!"

The moment that order was issued, the entire Solar System seemed to have its fuse lit.

Countless beams of light shot into the sky.

War.

From this moment on, it officially transcended dimensions.

Who will have the last laugh?

Who is the true predator?

The answer.

Will be revealed soon.