147: Universe collapse

Fei Lan pondered for a moment, then slowly explained, "It is said that the god of wisdom's true form is a wisdom tree, or rather, a divine wisdom tree. The wisdom tree in your hand is a branch taken from that divine wisdom tree, essentially a child of the god of wisdom.

As for its function, every leaf of the wisdom tree is a chip recording a vast amount of knowledge, containing the mysteries of the universe and all past history. Uh... you can think of it as an encrypted encyclopedia.

By deciphering each leaf, a Wisdom Envoy can acquire a wealth of new knowledge and technology, which will help us research many new things. The core used by the Train was designed through research aided by the wisdom tree.

Rumor has it that the manufacturing method for the Train is also recorded in the wisdom tree, and even the secret to solving the universe's collapse is within it. However, these have not yet been confirmed; perhaps only the god of wisdom itself knows for sure."

Luo Chen and Qin Mengyue were stunned, understanding why so many people were searching for it.

Just the ability to design a core would be enough to drive many people mad.

From the perspective of each core's value, if one could design them oneself, wouldn't that be mastering the code to endless wealth?

At the same time, Luo Chen also caught a key phrase—the universe's collapse.

Placed alongside the Train's manufacturing, it indicated its equal importance.

Just then, Luo Wan Ning walked over, holding the wisdom tree.

Fei Lan looked at the wisdom tree in Luo Wan Ning's arms and immediately stood up excitedly.

That's right, it's the wisdom tree; this aura couldn't be mistaken.

At the Golden Stream Secret Society, she had once seen one. That one was heavily protected as a treasure, and even she had only seen it from afar, without even the chance to touch it.

The one before her seemed to have an even stronger aura from the god of wisdom than that one; it should be the one rumored to have been stolen by the God of Memory, the one that received special attention from the god of wisdom.

Luo Wan Ning was startled by Fei Lan's excited movements; she retreated several steps, hugging the wisdom tree tightly in her arms, her eyes vigilantly watching her, afraid that it might be snatched away if she wasn't careful.

Fei Lan felt Luo Wan Ning's gaze and awkwardly sat back down.

She had been too happy and had lost her manners.

"Wan Ning, sit next to me!" Luo Chen waved, signaling Luo Wan Ning to sit beside him, then looked at Fei Lan and asked, "What did you mean just now about the universe's collapse?"

"Oh... you might not know yet!" Fei Lan took a sip of water, not rushing to explain, but instead posed a question: "Do you know why you appeared on the Train?"

"Why? Wasn't it because the gods brought us here to play a survival game?"

"Uh... is that what your generation says?" Fei Lan was taken aback, almost spitting her water onto Luo Chen's face.

Qin Mengyue and Luo Chen nodded.

"That's not wrong! For the gods, it is indeed a game, and who wins the game isn't important to them; whether there's even a winner isn't important, as long as the game is completed." Fei Lan nodded.

Luo Chen and the others were even more confused.

"The gods putting us on the Train was indeed to make us survive. Currently, the entire universe has entered a state of collapse. To preserve the spark of civilization in this current universe, and for all beings in the heavens to enter a new world and continue to exist,

the first generation of gods designed and built the interstellar Trains and distributed them to various civilizations across the universe. Each civilization can use the gods' interstellar Trains to escape the universe's collapse."

"So, the universe is collapsing now, and we're driving the Train to escape the universe's collapse?" Qin Mengyue asked blankly.

Fei Lan nodded.

Luo Chen sat there in a daze, with no doubt about Fei Lan's explanation.

He recalled the system's initial startup screen—countless light rays escaping a circular area. It turned out that was the hint.

The explored world fragments also disappeared in the form of collapse.

Then he remembered the starry sky of Giant Jaw Star he had just seen, where every star was larger and brighter than those of Blue Star. It turned out this was also due to the blueshift phenomenon of the universe's collapse.

"Since the gods have the ability to design the Train to help us escape the universe's collapse, why don't they directly control the Train to take us away, instead of laboriously making us explore and collect supplies station by station? And why did they assign each of us an Apostle?"

Fei Lan pouted and said, "The gods aren't nannies. What's more, the universe is so vast; to escape, it would take at least a thousand years. If you don't explore and cultivate your survival abilities, after several millennia, when technology and abilities have degenerated, how will you continue to live in the new world?

Furthermore, compared to the countless beings in the entire universe, the number of Trains is very limited. Survival of the fittest; for some inferior civilizations, why not let them be eliminated and give the opportunity to other civilizations?

As for Apostles, only you, these lower civilizations, have such an opportunity. Your worlds were not blessed by gods. Due to the Train's rules, to give you a chance to survive in the starry sky, some lucky individuals from your planet will randomly receive blessings from the gods of the Civilization and Destruction factions, mainly the Eight Gods of Civilization and the Four Gods of Destruction. This also forces your Apostles to be strongly bound to the Train.

Our Apostles, however, depend on the gods we ourselves worship. Before the Train's arrival, our priests always retained the power to communicate with the gods. These powers allow us to choose the gods we are close to and accept their blessings. This type of Apostle is not strongly bound to the Train."

Luo Chen understood. The gods had only given them an opportunity; they had to rely on themselves to survive.

"How do you know so much?" Qin Mengyue asked curiously.

"My civilization left records in the last epoch, so naturally, I know more than you do." Fei Lan gently pursed her red lips, her gaze once again falling on the wisdom tree in Luo Wan Ning's arms: "Alright! I've said so much, now it's time to talk about the wisdom tree, isn't it? Anyway, I'm determined to have this tree of yours; just name your price."

Luo Chen shook his head: "I won't sell it. Since you've already said how powerful the wisdom tree is, if I still sold it, wouldn't I be a fool?"

"Kid, are you messing with me?"

"I'm not! I never said I would sell it to you!"

"Kid, an innocent man gets into trouble for possessing a treasure. With your current strength, you'll find it very difficult to keep this wisdom tree."

"Besides you, who else knows I have the wisdom tree?"

"You want to kill me? You wouldn't think your broken Train can trap me, would you?"

"We'll only know if we try!" Luo Chen smiled slightly. Fei Lan's expression froze, and she suddenly felt herself restrained in place.