Chapter 109: Type I Civilization and Weapons

The fourth year of the Human United Era.

The earlier Doomsday Crisis had split the history of Human Civilization into two distinct parts,

but Humanity, surviving as the Human Coalition, still carried forward the responsibilities of its past self.

Not much time had passed since Humanity declared its final charge toward becoming a ‘Type I Civilization’,

yet undoubtedly, Human Civilization had already stepped onto the threshold of a Type I Civilization.

In fact, after solving the energy issue and popularizing Controlled Nuclear Fusion reactors in the Intelligent Era,

Human Civilization could already be considered a full-fledged Type I Civilization.

That year, the Human Coalition—or to be precise, the Negentropy Research Institute—formally announced this fact.

For Human Civilization, this was a historic moment.

Whether confirmed by the Human Coalition or not hardly changed daily life for those already living in a Type I Civilization.

But starting from this moment, Humanity’s historical records would officially change their status,

elevating Humanity’s current standing from ‘sub-Type I’ to ‘Type I Civilization’.

“When Smart Industrial Clusters continuously manufactured the products we needed, provided the services we desired, and extracted the necessary raw materials,”

“When Controlled Nuclear Fusion Reactors operated ceaselessly in Surface Cities, Underground Refuge Cities, and Lunar Surface Cities, supplying us with boundless energy.”

“When our Electric Propulsion Spaceships, the ‘New Era’ and the ‘Ferry Spaceship’, started shuttling frequently between Earth and Moon.”

“We had indeed entered the realm of Type I Civilization…”

This was an excerpt from a report by the Huaxin News Agency.

According to judgments, or perhaps speculations, made by some Researchers at the Negentropy Research Institute,

Human Civilization, already developing the Moon at full speed,

might actually have progressed quite far even among Type I Civilizations.

The leap for Humanity from Type I to Type II Civilization might simply require expanding its reach from Earth to the entire Solar System.

Other Type I Civilizations might possess Smart Industrial capabilities, but perhaps not the Strong Artificial Intelligence integrated into their production through Humanity’s Brain Intelligence Project.

They might have Controlled Nuclear Fusion Reactors, but perhaps had not yet achieved Helium-3 Fusion.

Of course,

these tiers of civilization were based on Humanity’s own standards or guesses.

After all, as of now, Humanity had not yet encountered any confirmed Extraterrestrial Civilizations,

nor did they know if a universal standard for ranking civilizations existed in the cosmos.

As the Huaxin News Agency report circulated,

many members of Human Civilization felt excitement over their official entry into Type I Civilization status,

while also eagerly debating the topic of civilization tiers and related subjects:

“…Could it be, that what we call Type I Civilization is already highly advanced in the eyes of other civilizations?”

“Isn’t that just overconfidence because Human Civilization developed so smoothly over the last few decades? Maybe our civilization hasn’t even properly ‘appeared’ yet in the eyes of other Extraterrestrial Civilizations.”

“My thoughts? Whether Human Civilization is strong depends on comparison. Compared to apes, early Homo sapiens tribes were advanced. Compared to those tribes, feudal-era civilizations were advanced. Compared to the early days of our industrial revolution, now we can be considered advanced too… But for the universe? Our civilization still inhabits a space too narrow and tiny. In the vast cosmos, the chance we are already a strong civilization seems very slim.”

“…I wonder, as we keep developing like this, when will we encounter that first Extraterrestrial Civilization? And what will it be like?”

With the shadow of the Doomsday Crisis not long gone, the reborn Human Civilization flourished in every aspect.

Attitudes towards civilization’s progress and the emergence of new cosmic discoveries remained largely positive and optimistic.

That same year, Humanity’s Lunar Surface development and construction plans continued advancing.

Within the three already completed Lunar Surface Cities and those still expanding,

Intelligent Industrial Clusters, assembled using Intelligent Machinery and devices transported from Earth to the Lunar Surface, had taken initial shape.

All minerals and resources mined on the Moon could now undergo preliminary material processing right on the Lunar Surface.

The resulting finished materials were then shipped back to Earth for use by Smart Industrial Clusters in Earth’s cities.

Beyond material processing,

Lunar Surface Intelligent Industrial Clusters could already partially manufacture and assemble the Intelligent Machinery required for resource extraction on the Moon.

They could even produce a small portion of the equipment, devices, and structures needed for building Lunar Surface Cities.

The ultimate goal for these Lunar Surface Intelligent Industrial Clusters

was to achieve self-sustenance, much like the Smart Industrial Clusters in Earth’s Surface Cities and Underground Refuge Cities.

This meant the Lunar Surface clusters could independently supply the production capacity necessary to expand their own operations, resource extraction, and city building on the Moon.

To some extent, they could detach from Earth’s supply chain and expand their own scale autonomously.

Achieving self-sufficiency in the realm of Smart Industry.

Naturally, Humanity’s current Moon development efforts weren’t at that level yet.

The volume of raw materials produced on the Moon also couldn’t yet support self-sufficiency for its Intelligent Industrial Clusters.

Nevertheless, in its present state, the Lunar Surface Smart Industry already significantly reduced the logistical burden for Humanity in its Lunar development efforts.

Also during that year.

Qin Yu began pondering what he should do next.

Or rather,

he started contemplating in which direction he hoped Human Civilization would continue advancing.

One midsummer day,

the weather was clear, the sun bearing that uniquely intense heat from the post-Doomsday Crisis era.

Using his Disguise ability to alter his appearance, Qin Yu returned to the front of his own tombstone.

To be precise, it was the tombstone of ‘Professor Qin Yu’.

This tomb was no longer just a cenotaph only Qin Yu himself knew about, nor was it in its original location.

Ironically, Qin Yu found this situation somewhat amusing.

Before the Doomsday Crisis arrived, people had salvaged items from Professor Qin Yu’s former residence and brought them to the Underground Refuge Cities.

Naturally, they hadn’t forgotten to relocate Professor Qin Yu’s remains to prevent them from vanishing after the crisis.

Yet, upon opening the grave, they logically discovered it was empty.

Professor Qin Yu’s remains, which should have been inside, had already disappeared.

Those handling the matter didn’t suspect Professor Qin Yu might have climbed out of his own grave.

They only believed his remains must have been stolen by someone long ago.

As for who stole them and where they were now? Too much time had passed, turning it into an unsolved historical mystery.

Considering public sentiment and the urgent pressures of the Doomsday Crisis looming at the time,

the news about the theft of Professor Qin Yu’s remains was never made public, known only to a select few insiders.

After the Doomsday Crisis ended, in response to people’s emotional needs, they built this memorial tomb beside the new Lingchuan City.

The weather was scorching hot, right at noon, yet Qin Yu stood alone before the tombstone.

But fresh flowers and other gifts always adorned the tomb of ‘Professor Qin Yu’, with the grave still surrounded by floral offerings.

Compared to the initial grief,

after so many years, those visiting ‘Professor Qin Yu’ mostly came to pay respects to a great figure of past history.

They also came to reflect on the era symbolized by Professor Qin Yu—that turbulent, magnificent history.

Qin Yu glanced at the messages left on some cards before his grave,

then turned his gaze to the tombstone itself.

For Qin Yu, the Absolute Immortal, this early identity within human civilization, this period of time,

should actually count as his ‘childhood’.

So, occasionally, he returned here when pondering certain matters.

He looked up, narrowing his eyes against the sun’s piercing glare.

…

The current state of human civilization,

apart from accidents and unavoidable turns in history,

was also shaped by Qin Yu’s influence over the past two or three centuries, guiding events at key points.

He walked across vast stretches of time, unable to retreat backward but skillfully nudging history’s course each time,

much like manipulating the plasma flow within a controlled nuclear fusion reactor—

making the river of history, like confined plasma, stream toward the direction he desired.

As if wielding a mighty axe, his every intervention in the world

carved all human civilization, step by step, toward the form he envisioned.

And now,

after the Doomsday Crisis, human civilization had achieved full unity under the Human Coalition.

Moreover, after advancing to a Type I Civilization, each individual already enjoyed abundant resources and ample productivity.

This era’s foundation meant no one needed to worry about survival.

Among the three threats of doom, internal dangers seemed contained for now.

Meanwhile, the fears over another Asteroid 2801 hadn’t yet come to pass.

At present, human civilization was entering a period of relative peace.

Under such circumstances, what path lay ahead for human civilization?

Qin Yu’s long-term goal remained constant:

to prolong the survival of human civilization as much as possible.

As an Absolute Immortal, he refused to lose everything once human civilization perished.

Extending its existence meant

sidestepping the dangers it faced, like natural disasters, external threats, or internal collapses.

Internal threats were currently negligible.

Preparing for the other two, though, demanded a stronger civilization.

Only a robust one could endure risks that loomed in the vast universe.

Thus, Qin Yu expected human civilization to stay cautious, advancing toward a more formidable stage.

At times, Qin Yu felt like an anxious father fretting over a reckless child’s safety—

constantly worrying that a split second’s lapse might lead the child to ruin itself or get swallowed into perils.

As for the specific vision…

Apart from research Qin Yu pursued on ‘enhancing civilization’s average intelligence,’ sparked by the Diephagia Virus,

the Negentropy Research Institute’s teams unveiled another direction before him.

…

Late in the fourth year of the Human United Era (H.U.E.),

a group of core researchers jointly submitted a proposal to Qin Yu.

They sought to establish a new division within the Negentropy Research Institute—a ‘Weapons Lab.’

More accurately, it should be called the ‘Nonconventional Weapons Laboratory.’

They wished to reassign research teams currently affiliated with other labs

to focus on weapons fit for interstellar warfare: potent arms with massive destructive power.

For now,

no new weapons were needed internally within human civilization,

nor had the HCC identified external enemies.

But lack of need internally didn’t refute the needs beyond.

This proposed lab also wouldn’t craft traditional weaponry—

what they intended were specialized arms designed for ‘interstellar war.’

The impotence against Asteroid 2801 had scarred the entire civilization.

This was why Negentropy teams brought forth this agenda.

People hoped that in any future crisis, humankind could strike back—not just flee.

Having endured a cataclysm, human civilization ought to build the capability to respond.

If Qin Yu used to be the lone sufferer of ‘Apocalypse Anxiety,’

the entire species—not just the Negentropy Institute—now showed symptoms of that dread.

However it unfolded in the future, for now, this was the baseline.

Though no signs of a new Doomsday Crisis were in sight yet,

everyone felt compelled to act, preparing in advance.

“…While the Doomsday Crisis has just passed and we’ve ascended as a Type I Civilization, thriving as we do now,”

“with no apparent dangers closing in from space…”

“…the lack of current threats doesn’t mean later ones won’t emerge. We must make plans for potential crises to come, to avoid finding ourselves too late.”

Hearing someone else voice these thoughts stirred complex emotions for Qin Yu.

Undeniably, the Asteroid 2801 Impact Crisis, though now over,

would imprint lasting change upon human civilization’s historical trajectory.

Countless years might be needed for its tremors to cease.

Regarding the Weapons Lab at the Negentropy Institute, Qin Yu saw no problem—

it aligned perfectly with his hopes for the path ahead for civilization.

Hence,

at the year’s close,

the Negentropy Research Institute announced its new branch: the ‘Nonconventional Weapons Laboratory.’

It would specialize in interstellar arms relevant to cosmic warfare.

This shift was key in evolving humanity beyond Earth-bound confines to true cosmic civilizations.

The wider population largely supported this.

Rather than wait to face a threat and gauge its danger then,

people preferred preventative measures.

Having tasted one peril from outer space,

they instinctively feared the possibility of another.

Through subconscious understanding, space felt less secure than ever before—

no longer dismissible as distant and harmless.

As for the Lab’s research vectors…

Once established, the transferred Negentropy teams brainstormed two main themes:

One: kinetic weaponry.

The other: laser weapons.

Laser weapons weren’t new—the existing high-power laser weapon on the Lunar Surface already showed their promise.

Kinetic weapons referred primarily, at this stage, to electromagnetic arms.