"Sugar Molass, go treat Shigure Kira's injuries first. If she's left like this any longer, she'll probably die."
Noldrei commanded Sugar Molass as if he were Niggurath's friend, much to Shigure Kira's dismay.
Sugar Molass obediently returned to Shigure Kira's side and began to heal the holes that Durandal had poked in her.
"Elder Konpeito, I've wanted to learn about aliens for a long time. It's a pity I never had the chance. I didn't expect the opportunity to fall into my hands so soon."
Noldrei was very happy. He found that these "Konpeito" existences were similar to some kind of high-dimensional life.
But in essence, they had a society that was similar to a human commune after communization, and they even primitively retained class positions like "elder," "priest," and "shaman."
It had the aesthetic of humans reminiscing about the time of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, like a beautified primitive society.
'I really don't know how they maintain such a society. The people of this civilization are simply geniuses!'
Noldrei couldn't imagine it. Maybe aliens had a more clever way of communicating?
Elder Konpeito still didn't know that the Earth emperor in front of him was trying to find a patch for his civilization's BUG-like society, but Noldrei's friendly attitude was worth a try to communicate.
"Elder Konpeito, before we confirm our communication, we must first establish a mutual understanding of the definition of civilization."
"I believe that civilization is the production relations of a life group, plus the collective memory born from these production relations. Do you agree with my definition of civilization?"
Elder Konpeito calmed down and carefully considered Noldrei's definition of civilization. He hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "I don't have much objection. I agree with your interpretation of civilization."
Noldrei also relaxed a little. At least this way, there wouldn't be any extra misunderstandings due to differences in communication.
He continued, "According to our human situation, we have discovered some subtle changes. If an organization has broken away from the production relations of a life group and formed another set of internal production systems, but it still obtains its own benefits from that life group through exploitation, then it will not be classified as part of that life group's civilization."
What Noldrei was talking about was Schicksal's situation.
Schicksal's technological civilization was clearly a cut above humanity's, but it was not classified as part of human civilization's development by the Cocoon of Finality. Otherwise, the Honkai would probably have treated Schicksal the same way it treated Fu Hua's Project Ember.
The facts proved that the path Overseer Otto chose was correct. His definition of "civilization" was accepted by the Cocoon of Finality.
Elder Konpeito quickly understood what Noldrei meant.
Just like how the Sky People treated his civilization, if their fundamental purpose was only exploitation and destruction, then the Honkai would not consider the Sky People to be the same civilization as his.
To form the same civilization, there must be an internal production relationship, and there must also be a collective memory.
'This guy in front of me is trying to deal with the Honkai with the idea of classifying civilizations. He has already mastered the winning formula for dealing with the Honkai.'
"Forgive my impertinence, but may I ask your name?" Elder Konpeito's words became much more respectful. This was respect for the knowledge of another civilization.
"Just call me Noldrei. Running into Shigure Kira was an accident. We were dealing with the forces of some remnant civilizations in the Sea of Quanta. She had some misunderstandings about us, and you saw what happened next. We had no intention of harming her."
Noldrei was very magnanimous towards his own people. Except for settling old scores from the old era, he wouldn't specifically target anyone.
Noldrei also asked Elder Konpeito his own question.
He asked frankly, "Forgive me for asking one more question, but does your civilization still retain the power of reproduction? That is, the ability of individuals within the group to reproduce."
"I see that your place is similar to a Bubble Universe, without the resources and space a world should have. If the population continues to grow, it will definitely bring more internal conflicts, right?"
Elder Konpeito's scalp tingled. He found that Noldrei's questions were getting more and more tricky. What did he mean? Was he already looking for loopholes in their civilization to start something?
This question was really impertinent, like asking a stranger, "How many people are in your family? If there aren't many, I'm going to bully you!"
But not answering the question was already an answer in itself.
Noldrei immediately understood that they probably didn't have the guts to reproduce. Their civilization's power couldn't even match this universe with its infinite material foundation.
A civilization that had lost the ability to reproduce, or that had actively curtailed it, was a manifestation of conservatism and a loss of ambition.
"I understand. It seems your situation is not very good. Are you interested in settling down in our world?"
Noldrei's words made Elder Konpeito confused, even though he was a fluffy ball with no brain to be confused with.
"What do you mean by that?"
Compared to the cautious Elder Konpeito, Noldrei was much calmer. He explained, "I will allow you to coexist with humans, thereby solving the problem of humanity's current spiritual orphanhood. I want to ask, do you have such plans?"
Elder Konpeito was completely stunned. His mind was buzzing, and he didn't know what to do.
What did he mean?
It was as if a big brother suddenly came to his door and said, "Brother, I'll give you half of my kingdom, do you want it?"
"No, I don't understand what you mean!"
Elder Konpeito stopped pretending. He really didn't understand what Noldrei meant. Was this a trap? Or was he really here to give him benefits?
"My meaning is simple. I want you to integrate into human civilization and give you a part of the governance to see if you can build a new civilization system. We Earthlings have developed to the point where we are in a crisis of spiritual orphanhood."
Noldrei couldn't just watch as humanity walked down that dangerous path of the future.
So he was prepared to find some Pokémon for humanity. No, symbiotic partners!
After seeing Shigure Kira's state, Noldrei had already had a similar idea.
"Your civilization is limited to this small Bubble Universe-like place. Why not just follow a civilization that has the potential to defeat the Cocoon of Finality, that is, the Honkai, and share the fruits of technology? By exchanging governance rights, our two civilizations can merge. As long as we can ensure fairness in our exchange and practice, we can completely form a new form of civilized society."
"You can also reproduce with peace of mind. What do you think?"
"If you're worried about your civilization being pursued by the Honkai, it doesn't matter. According to the principle of not putting all your eggs in one basket, you can spread out the part of your kind that is willing to cooperate with us. At least it can ensure that you won't be in such a panic in the next crisis."
"With your form, if you're attacked, you'll be completely wiped out. This is undoubtedly betting the entire civilization's achievements on a single rope."
After hearing Noldrei's words, Elder Konpeito felt as if the clouds had parted and he had seen the sun. He was suddenly enlightened.
'Is this the wise civilization that has the ability to fight against the Honkai? Why didn't we think of this before?!'
Elder Konpeito was very regretful.
According to Noldrei's action plan, their race could have originally spread throughout the Sea of Quanta and become a truly widespread civilization.
As long as they continued to reproduce and coexist, they would always be able to find a civilization that could defeat the Honkai and ride on its coattails to a bright future!
So there were such great benefits to being a parasitic civilization!