System: My Doomsday Train Chapter 997 376: The First Decisive Battle!

"Once the required strength is attained, everything else will naturally follow suit."

Ai stated this with utmost seriousness.

Chen Mang refrained from further comments. Truthfully, his remark hadn't sought a response, yet Ai, despite her human-level intellect and superior judgment in specific scenarios over humans, struggled somewhat to grasp the intricacies of human interactions.

...

Inside the train cabin, Chen Mang gazed at the panel emerging on the control console.

Human Civilization has now officially reached eighth-level status.

Only a single step remained before achieving ninth-level civilization.

A fresh civilization panel materialized on the display.

-

"Civilization Name": Human Civilization.

"Civilization Level": Level 8.

"Civilization Leader": Chen Mang.

"Civilized Planet": Water Blue Star, Black Tortoise Star, No.1 Mining Star, No.2 Mining Star, No.3 Mining Star, No.4 Mining Star...etc.

"Civilized Population": 61 trillion people.

"Promotion Conditions": The strongest attack energy range exceeds 700,000.

"ps: From the promotion to a second-level civilization and for every promotion thereafter, a 'Promotion Ripple' detectable by all surrounding civilizations will be released; the higher the level, the wider the range of the 'Promotion Ripple'.

"Civilized Means": The speed and capacity of resource mining such as Murphy Stone Ore, iron ore, copper ore, etc., are doubled.

-

The civilization panel showed hardly any significant alterations.

Particularly noteworthy.

Advancing to ninth-level civilization demands just one condition: the strongest attack energy range surpassing 700,000, matching a 7,000-level Akanon Light Energy Main Cannon, without needing 10,000 levels.

This threshold proved far lower than his expectations for promotion criteria.

The civilized means remained resource-oriented as well, doubling the generation speed of resources like Murphy Stone Ore, iron ore, copper ore, and more across the civilization's domain.

The affected range can be chosen freely.

For example, he might select a specific star system to include in his territory, thereby doubling resource production speed in that area.

If not...

This civilized means essentially applies universe-wide.

With the universe partitioned among divine-level civilizations, wouldn't every region benefit equally, eliminating any resource-scarce zones?

In the very next instant——

A shrill alarm blared abruptly throughout the train.

"Warning, warning, an attack of unknown intensity is rapidly approaching!"

"Warning, warning..."

The Doppler Radar displayed a comet-like light beam hurtling toward the Fixed Star train at breakneck speed, spanning tens of millions of lightyears in mere moments!

This is...

An assault originating from 780 million light-years distant, traversing dozens of wormholes to strike nearly instantly above the Fixed Star train right as the alarm triggered.

The strike had already landed.

"Boom!!!"

A ferocious fireball promptly swallowed the Fixed Star train whole.

...

Once the smoke dissipated.

The Fixed Star train hovered unscathed amid the stars, silent now from any blaring alarms. During the collision, he had instantly gauged the assault's potency.

Power equivalent to a 7,000-level Akanon Light Energy Main Cannon.

This strike came from a ninth-level civilization.

"It's an automatic attack from 'Human Civilization'."

"Upon detecting the civilization's advancement to an eighth-level civilization, an attack was launched instantly, akin to a cosmic landmine."

Ai's voice echoed within the train.

"..."

Seated in the train, Chen Mang peered through the window. He recognized this weapon well—the Akanon Light Energy Main Cannon—yet the opponent's supermodel effect differed from his own; their 7,000-level version failed to spawn a black hole upon explosion.

Instead, millions of light-years around were flattened into two dimensions.

Right then——

For the first time, he found himself immersed in a two-dimensional universe; peering outside, it resembled an oil painting where myriad Fixed Stars and planets lay flat on a single plane, devoid of twinkle, eternally captured in stillness.

The Fixed Star train protruded like a sculpted relief upon the canvas of this two-dimensional realm.

"Excellent."

Gazing at the data on the control console screen, he murmured softly.

This cosmic landmine originated from the divine-level civilization 'Human Civilization,' which auto-detects promotion signals and retaliates. Positioned inside 'Human Civilization's divine-level territory, his promotion inevitably drew their initial assault.

Any divine-level civilization would swiftly eradicate a civilization that reached the eighth level in its territory.

This was expected.

He understood completely.

He felt no rage toward his fellow humans for launching the attack; their actions were perfectly comprehensible to him.

Naturally.

He believed the opponents would fully grasp his impending counterattack too.

The assault inflicted no damage whatsoever. His armor had reached maximum level, equipped with the "Holy Hall Supermodel Effect" granting Absolute Defense, making it appear invincible—even the core of a black hole or distortions in time flow left his civilization untouched.

He checked the train's leftover resources and the Doppler Radar indications of the divine-level 'Human Civilization' assembling forces, then muttered in a daze: "Seems like... I don't need to develop anymore?"

The first strike had failed.

The enemies clearly had no intention of halting, as they mobilized troops for another assault.

In his previous state, he would have escaped immediately, focusing on development first since revenge could wait.

But...

He had just scanned the train's resource interface and realized in bewilderment that after years of growth, he had nearly maxed out, eliminating any need for further development...