From Abyssal Invasion to Bursting Stars with a Single Sword-Chapter 850 - 498: The True Cycle of the Zero Civilization
"Do you know where the Reincarnation Source Material is?"
"I don’t know right now."
Faced with a question, Lu Heng provided a very meticulous answer, and then said, "It’s my turn to ask. What is the reason for the Zero Civilization falling into developmental stagnation? If it’s due to some sort of cycle, explain what type of cycle it is."
The Star Realm Merchant, who emitted fluorescent light from his body, flashed a few times upon hearing the question, as if laughing:
"Your answers and questions are very meticulous, always trying to maximize the efficiency of each question you ask."
Lu Heng nodded in acknowledgment, saying, "Yes, your questions are very casual, which makes me feel strange. Actually, you could have directly asked where the Reincarnation Source Material is in your first question, though my answer wouldn’t have changed."
The Star Realm Merchant remained silent for a moment before answering, "Zero Civilization, true to its name, when their civilization develops to a certain extent, everything resets to zero and starts over again.
"The reason for the developmental stagnation is that they have reached the end of the cycle, and the civilization is about to reboot, resetting everything to zero.
"And their method of rebooting the civilization is the lost item... Reincarnation Source Material."
Upon hearing this answer, a buzzing sound filled Lu Heng’s head.
Because the information contained in this answer was immense.
The so-called cycle entered by the Zero Civilization turned out to be resetting everything, rewinding the civilization back to the starting point to begin anew.
In other words, the so-called reset of the Zero Civilization is actually the entire civilization being reborn together.
For others, this answer might seem unbelievable.
However, Lu Heng had personally experienced rebirth; after contacting the Reincarnation Source Material, time rewound to before the Abyss Descent.
The only issue is that the rebirth Lu Heng experienced was just himself, and rebooting together with an entire civilization is not the same concept.
To achieve the goal of a civilization reboot, the total amount of Reincarnation Source Material needed must be immense.
With this information, many things that were previously unclear suddenly became connected.
For example, why is the Zero Civilization extremely isolationist, why so closed off?
The reason is also because they are about to reboot their civilization.
This involves a key theory: mass cannot be created or disappear out of nothing.
If this theory is applicable in the Zero World, it means that in order for the Zero Civilization to reboot, they need to restore the world’s mass to the civilization’s starting point value.
In another world, there aren’t many ways to change mass, mostly due to spatial teleportation.
This explains why the Zero Civilization prohibits Summoners from entering their world and also doesn’t kill the Abyss Demons that intrude.
For the Zero Civilization, these creatures summoned into the Zero World represent external mass, and before the civilization reboots, they must all be discarded.
Likewise, the Zero Civilization must ensure that no mass is lost from their world.
That is to say, as long as a Summoner takes something from the Zero World, they must recover it—all things with mass, not just Reincarnation Source Material, even if it’s just a broken stone.
Lu Heng’s head was exploding with information, and he immediately pursued, "Is the reason the Zero Civilization wants to reboot due to the Abyss invasion?"
This time, the Star Realm Merchant did not provide an answer but said, "It’s my turn to ask. You just said you don’t know the whereabouts of the Reincarnation Source Material now, implying you once knew. Where did you see the Reincarnation Source Material before?"
Lu Heng fell into contemplation, weighing the pros and cons of answering this question, and finally replied, "Abyss Demon Nest."
Hearing this answer, the Star Realm Merchant fell silent.
He had special abilities to confirm that Lu Heng was not lying, but the Abyss Demon Nest was not a place low-level civilized beings could approach.
He had more questions he wanted to ask, but he greatly respected the rules, urging, "It’s your turn to ask. Do you want to ask the question you just pursued?"
"No."
Lu Heng thought for a moment and did not ask the previous question, instead asking, "Why does the Zero Civilization want to reboot its civilization?"
These questions were all about the Zero Civilization, and the Star Realm Merchant did not need to keep secrets for the Zero Civilization, so he answered very straightforwardly:
"There are two reasons. First, the Zero World also faced an Abyss invasion for which they had no solution. So, when the Abyssal Contamination reached its peak, they used the cycle to restore the entire world to before the Abyss Descent.
"The second reason is that the Zero Civilization hopes to find a way to break through the civilization’s limits through repeated cycles."
Buzz!
Information exploded once more.
From the information provided by the Star Realm Merchant’s answer, one thing was confirmed.
The Zero Civilization indeed suffered from the Abyss invasion.
Actually, this was already suspected when being summoned to the Zero World.
Now, this confirms that suspicion.
The Zero Civilization is now anxious to recover the lost Reincarnation Source Material, showing they are eager to reboot their civilization and enter the next cycle.
In other words, the current Zero World is already heavily contaminated by the Abyss, if delayed any longer, the Zero Civilization may not even have the opportunity to enter the next cycle.
The terror of the Abyss exceeds all expectations, even the Demigod Civilization can only temporarily evade the Abyss’s erosion by choosing to reboot.
After answering, the Star Realm Merchant then began to question, "How did you get to the Abyss Demon Nest? At a human level, summons to the Abyss Demon Nest should not occur."
Lu Heng gave a polite smile and said, "I’ve asked my questions, the transaction is over."
