243: The truth is, there is only one way for Blue Star to go!

"Ahem, System, what is that 'intelligent brain' you mentioned?"

Listening to the System's seemingly angry voice, Lin Yang changed the subject.

"Answering the Host, an intelligent brain is merely a more advanced intelligent System than a smart System, possessing some autonomous computational and decision-making capabilities."

"Oh? This thing sounds like the ultimate direction for artificial intelligence," Lin Yang said.

"Yes, Host."

"Then what about you, are you the most powerful intelligent brain System?" Lin Yang asked curiously.

"Apologies, Host, this System is currently unable to answer that question."

"Alright, then what's the specific reason there are no zoos here?"

Lin Yang didn't say much, getting straight to the point. He already knew the System would likely not answer this question when he asked it.

"Answering the Host, the reason there are no zoos here is actually not complicated."

The System began to explain.

"The Red Thunder Empire has been striving to break through to a Fourth-Level Civilization, and for many years, it has been drastically compressing consumption costs within the Empire. Anything without practical value has been discarded, including low-level beasts and animals. This compression has continued for several generations."

"Although Ster just said that ordinary people here no longer need to work, what he didn't mention is that even if ordinary people have Robots replace their work, a large portion of their earned wages must be used for regular Robot maintenance, and the remaining portion is only enough to cover basic living expenses, completely unable to afford any additional offline entertainment activities."

"Furthermore, for the sake of a larger population, the Red Thunder Empire introduced a reward measure: for every new birth in a family, they would receive a crimson thunder currency subsidy from the Red Thunder Empire."

"But while providing subsidies, the Red Thunder Empire silently imposed restrictions in other areas to ensure that every family must continuously conceive new births to receive the subsidy in order to continue living."

"And if they stop having children, without the subsidy, relying solely on work income, even the most basic survival would be very difficult."

"Under such immense survival pressure, only those royal family members and nobles with high wealth have the extra energy to appreciate real scenery and animals."

"Within the Red Thunder Empire, travel for ordinary people has been a forgotten concept for hundreds of years. The education they receive is also online virtual image education."

"Therefore, when they heard that you wanted to purchase real beasts and animals, Ster and Mo Sang were so shocked. For them, only nobles and royalty could specifically purchase beasts for viewing."

"...So, System, you mean the reason the Red Thunder Empire has no zoos is because the survival pressure on ordinary people is so great that they only have time for work and procreation?" Lin Yang was stunned.

He had considered countless possibilities, but he never imagined such an absurd reason.

"Yes, Host, that is the primary reason. Besides that, it is also due to the Red Thunder Empire's official intentional restrictions; they likely do not want ordinary people to waste even a tiny bit of time outside of work and procreating."

"..." Lin Yang was speechless.

He found this reason to be utterly preposterous.

But this was a conclusion drawn by the System after hacking into Guiyun Star's internal Systems, so it couldn't be wrong.

This was very...

Speechless.

Truly speechless.

"Host, sometimes the truth is not as complicated as one imagines. It's just human inertia; when facing the unknown, people subconsciously tend to overcomplicate things."

The System suddenly said something quite profound.

"Alright, but there's still one thing I don't quite understand." Lin Yang frowned, "The development of technology is for people to have better lives. The Red Thunder Empire is already a peak Third-Level Civilization, so why has the living pressure on ordinary people increased instead?"

He was indeed very puzzled.

This was completely different from what he had imagined.

Before this, Lin Yang had always believed that the more powerful and advanced a civilization, the better and freer people's lives should be.

But the facts the System uncovered were diametrically opposite.

This was incredibly unbelievable.

For such a powerful civilization to have people living worse lives than those in ordinary civilizations, that was terrifying.

"Answering the Host, in fact, the more powerful a civilization, the smaller the role of ordinary people. Furthermore, the more powerful and advanced a civilization wants to advance further, the more resources it needs. However, resources are not infinite; even in the vast universe, powerful civilizations must fight for resources."

"For a civilization to develop, it must constantly plunder and contend for more resources; otherwise, it will be plundered by others. Although the Red Thunder Empire is no longer weak, if it does not continue to ascend, it risks being swallowed by other civilizations."

"Unless a civilization becomes a supreme cosmic civilization, all other civilizations face immense survival pressure. It is not necessarily true that the more advanced a civilization, the easier life becomes. In fact, in some high-level civilizations that are neither here nor there, it is common for the lives of ordinary people to become even more difficult to ensure the civilization's advancement."

The System's words plunged Lin Yang into silence.

This was something he had never considered before.

The development of technology and the advancement of civilization, paradoxically, created greater pressure on the lives of ordinary people.

This was something he had not foreseen.

His mood became somewhat heavy.

The System suddenly said, "Host, you don't need to overthink it. The development of technology and the advancement of civilization are inevitable processes. No civilization can go against this; while upward advancement may not necessarily lead to a better outcome, if a civilization does not advance, it will definitely become a slave to other civilizations!"

Lin Yang was startled.

The System continued, "Just like Blue Star, it has now entered the sight of other cosmic civilizations. There is only one path to take, and that is continuous advancement. Otherwise, it won't be a matter of how much survival pressure there is, but a matter of whether they can even survive."

A glimmer of light appeared in Lin Yang's eyes, and he nodded slightly: "What you said makes a lot of sense. Although advancement might bring some problems in the short term, as long as we become powerful enough that others dare not provoke us, then all problems cease to be problems!"

"Yes, Host, your thinking is correct. The current situation of the Red Thunder Empire is still because they are not strong enough. In truly powerful civilizations, people's lives are very comfortable and free."

"Mm." Lin Yang nodded, then stopped overthinking.

As the System said, Blue Star now has no other choice. If it stops developing now, everyone will have no way to survive!

Since that's the case, then let's become the strongest civilization, become the supreme cosmic civilization that the System just mentioned, and crush all troubles!

Thinking of this, Lin Yang opened his mouth and asked, "By the way, System, what level of civilization is the supreme cosmic civilization you just mentioned? And how can one become a supreme civilization?"

Thank you, Brother Jun Yexin, for the reward. Brother, you've been too generous. I wish you all the best and great wealth! Bowing to you!

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May everyone get rich and prosperous! Bowing to everyone!