139: Chapter 139 Civilized Registration: Please Don't Treat the Examiners Like Food

Starry Sky Ancient Road, Fourth Quadrant Core Area—"Origin Outpost."

After passing through that magnificent yet eerie "Wall of Sighs," the view ahead suddenly opened up. However, it was not an empty void, but a grand tableau sufficient to cause the brain of any low-dimensional being to crash. A massive star ring, like a silver ribbon, slowly rotated around an artificial star emitting a soft white light. Upon this star ring, tens of thousands of interstellar warships of various designs were docked. Some resembled floating crystal castles, some looked like giant biological hives, and others were merely halos of light constantly shifting in geometric shapes.

This was the [Star Alliance · Origin Outpost]. It served as the starting point for the "Great Myriad Realms Civilization Racing Tournament" and the location for qualification certification for all civilizations that had passed the "Great Filter" screening.

Rumble— When the massive blue planet pangu-003, trailing a hundred pink tails, charged out of the passage like a reckless brute who didn't know how to brake, the entire outpost's gravity balance System emitted a piercing alarm.

"Warning! Detection of an ultra-giant mass approaching!" "Berth allocation failed! No berth can accommodate a planet!" "Civilization requested to decelerate immediately! And moor in the 'Oversized Cargo Temporary Anchorage Area'!"

From the outpost's public broadcast channel came the exasperated electronic voice of a Star Alliance pilot.

pangu-003, Tianhe Command Room.

"Anchorage area?" Li Mo held his teacup, looking at the distant, magnificent Star Ring Hall through the holographic screen, and pushed up his glasses. "That's a place for malfunctioning ships; it sounds unlucky." He turned to look at the Star Spirit Navigator, Lumina, beside him. "Lumina, according to Star Alliance rules, where should a 'motorhome' like ours park?"

Lumina was currently in a state of extreme excitement mixed with exhaustion (the experience of crossing the Wall of Sighs just now had been too intense). She took a deep breath and adjusted her slightly crooked priestess robes. "Captain... normally, participating civilizations are only allowed to pilot 'flagships' into the port. Someone like you bringing... bringing your hometown along to compete, there really is no precedent in Star Alliance history." "However..." A glint of cunning flashed in Lumina's eyes, "According to Article 7342 of the 'Star Alliance Traffic Law,' if a vehicle possesses an 'independent ecological cycle' and is 'indivisible,' one can apply for the special docking treatment of an 'Ecological Ark.' But this requires passing an extremely strict [Civilization Quarantine]."

"Quarantine?" Li Mo smiled, a deep and meaningful smile. "On this ship of mine, we have people, ghosts, and machines. The ecological diversity is quite rich." "Let them come and inspect."

...

Half an hour later. Origin Outpost, Quarantine Interface No. 9.

A [Star Alliance Law Enforcement ship] in the shape of a regular tetrahedron, composed entirely of pure white photons, cautiously approached the outer atmosphere of pangu-003. Three figures flew out from the spacecraft. Leading them was an examiner of the [Geometric Race], whose body consisted of three constantly rotating golden rings with a red electronic eye at the core. To the left was an observer of the [Titan Race] (correct, the very race that had previously had their core snatched, currently wearing a dark expression). To the right was a biologist of the [Multi-Eyed Race] covered in eyes.

"This... this is that barbaric civilization that forced its way through the Wall of Sighs?" The Geometric Race examiner's voice was filled with mechanical coldness. "It looks like a giant garbage dump. The atmosphere is filled with industrial waste gas, undead corpse energy, and a... baffling smell of cumin?"

"Hmph, just a bunch of ignorant natives in my view," the Titan Race observer said through gritted teeth. "Look at those hundred pink ships! Those are biological warships of the Abyss! They actually painted such evil things pink? This is a desecration of the art of war!"

"Stop the chatter and begin the quarantine," the Geometric Race examiner said, rotating its body. "If any high-risk viruses or uncontrollable factors are discovered, disqualify them immediately and initiate the 'Planetary Purification Protocol'."

The three passed through the atmosphere and landed on the Central State · Tianhe Academy Plaza.

By this time, Li Mo had already been waiting for a long while with the "Tianhe Welcoming Dream Team." The composition of this welcoming party was extremely complex: On the left was a row of Kunlun Corpse Soldiers, three meters tall, wearing exoskeleton armor and holding a "Welcome" banner. On the right was a row of Scrap Iron Clan robots polishing their own heads with mechanical arms, emitting beeping sounds. In the middle was a group of Abyss Tentacle Monsters wearing aprons and holding trays.

"Welcome to pangu-003," Li Mo greeted them with a smile. "Examiners, you've worked hard. Would you like a cup of milk tea first to moisten your throats?"

"None of that!" The Geometric Race examiner flashed a red light. "We are here to enforce the law! Please declare your civilization Rank, primary racial composition, and core technology tree!"

Li Mo nodded and pulled out a small notebook from his robes. "Civilization Rank? We haven't been rated yet, but you can fill in 'Hybrid-Powered Cultivation Civilization.'" "Racial composition... it's quite mixed. We have humans, Yao Race, undead, mechanical lifeforms, Abyss demons, and a few alien laborers." "As for the technology tree..." Li Mo pointed to the distant Tianhe Peak main cannon, which pierced the clouds and was wreathed in lightning. "We major in 'Brute Force Flight Studies' and minor in 'Karma'."

"Absurd!" the Multi-Eyed Race biologist shrieked, dozens of eyes on its body rotating simultaneously as it stared fixedly at the group of Corpse Soldiers. "These are undead! They are existences that violate life ethics! And they have metal welded onto them? This is corpse abuse!" It then looked at the group of Tentacle Monsters. "Those are Abyss creatures! They are enemies of the Universe! You actually keep them in a downtown area?" "This planet is a giant biochemical petri dish! It must be quarantined immediately!"

The Multi-Eyed Race biologist took out a red stamp, preparing to mark the evaluation form as "Unqualified."

"Roar? (Is this thing edible?)" Just then, General Gu (the Corpse Soldier commander) suddenly leaned in. Its ghostly green eyes stared at the rotating eyeballs on the Multi-Eyed Race biologist, and it began to drool something like antifreeze. "Looks... quite chewy." As it spoke, it reached out a hand tipped with Titan alloy claws, attempting to poke the examiner's eyeball.

"Stop it, General Gu!" Li Mo shouted. "That's an examiner, not a buffet!" He turned to the Multi-Eyed Race biologist, who was trembling so hard its tentacles were shaking, and gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry, this old gentleman has been lying in a grave for too long and has a bit of senile dementia. He wants to fiddle with anything round he sees."

"You... you..." The Geometric Race examiner also scanned an anomaly. It thrust a probe into the ground, attempting to analyze the planet's "Heavenly Dao Rules." [Connecting to planetary will...] [Connection successful.] [Warning! Warning! Data overflow!]

In the next second, the red light at the Geometric Race examiner's core began to flash frantically. Because at the moment of "connection," what it saw was not a normal planetary will, but a vast and boundless library. Countless books flipped open within its logic core: "Five Years of College Entrance Exams, Three Years of Mock Tests (Cultivation Edition)", "On How to Knock Out a True God with a Brick", "Abyss Cooking Guide", "The Administrator's Self-Cultivation"...

A massive stream of information, filled with paradoxes and anti-logic, instantly overwhelmed the Geometric Race examiner's proud logic circuits. "Logic infinite loop... Cultivation is unscientific... Zombies cannot drink engine oil... Tentacle Monsters cannot make milk tea..." Zzzzt—! A puff of black smoke rose from the Geometric Race examiner, its three rings jammed on the spot, and it fell from the air.

The entire field fell silent. The Titan Race observer and the Multi-Eyed Race biologist looked at their twitching captain on the ground, then at the innocent-looking Li Mo, completely dumbfounded. What kind of civilization was this? Even the examiner was driven mad by "reading" it?

"Oh dear, it seems this examiner's CPU has overheated." Li Mo sighed and beckoned to the Scrap Iron Clan T-9 behind him. "T-9, take this lord to the 'Repair Workshop.' Replace his hard drive with a high-capacity one, and while you're at it... reflash the OS." "As for these two..." Li Mo looked at the remaining two examiners, his gaze becoming 'cordial'.

"I am a very reasonable person." Li Mo took out the [titan core] (the one pried out of the Zeus mecha) and waved it in front of the Titan Race observer. "Look, I picked this up by the roadside. I heard your Titan Race lost a core recently? Should I help you find it?" This was a blatant threat. If the Titan Race dared to judge them unqualified, this core would immediately become fuel for this ship and vanish forever.

The Titan Race observer's face turned ashen, his whole body trembling, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and signed the evaluation form. "Qual... Qualified." "Civilization Type: ...Special Disaster Grade." "Note: Recommendation to keep distance."

"That's more like it." Li Mo satisfiedly tucked away the core and handed them two [Tianhe BBQ City · Lifetime Free Vouchers]. "Come visit often in the future. Although our style is a bit weird, the food is truly delicious."

After seeing off the three examiners, who looked like they were fleeing for their lives, Li Mo turned to Lumina. "The paperwork is done." "Next, it's time to see what this so-called 'racing' is all about."