"Old Li, Old Sun, what are you doing!"
The parasite struggled violently, shouting and begging incessantly. But it was all in vain.
Eventually, it was firmly secured to the dissection table.
Only then did it seem to truly realize its fate, ceasing its struggles and roars, and instead beginning to sneer.
"Wait, just wait, all of you, your entire civilization will perish…"
Li Qingsong didn't waste words and began the dissection without anesthesia, carefully examining its physical condition and changes, especially focusing on the brain.
As expected, upon dissection, Li Qingsong immediately discovered changes in its brain.
Numerous neurons had mutated, exhibiting a gray-black hue, completely different from a normal person.
Based on the degree of infection—obviously, those with a greater desire to view the Devil's Eye galaxy star chart were more deeply infected—Li Qingsong began dissecting the remaining infected clones.
Those clones with lighter infections showed no abnormalities in the brain, nor were there any signs of infection.
Only in those with severe infections could a slight trace be vaguely detected.
After meticulously recording every stage of the infection, including in the clones and the blueprint scientists, and after collecting detailed data, Li Qingsong directly manipulated the two quarantine spaceships to begin deceleration.
Finally, at a distance of tens of millions of kilometers from the main fleet, Li Qingsong detonated the pre-installed high-yield hydrogen bombs, destroying everything inside the two quarantine spaceships, all life, whether infected or not.
This was the safest approach. Faced with such an incredibly powerful existence, Li Qingsong dared not be careless in the slightest.
Reflecting on the entire incident, Li Qingsong felt a slight sense of relief.
"Fortunately, I am a special existence, able to detect infection in clones immediately, allowing me to resolve the situation in its initial stages.
If it were any other ordinary civilization, even if they could eventually resolve it, without being completely parasitized by the Devil's Eye civilization, they would suffer heavy losses.
And… based on the Devil's Eye galaxy being approximately 500 million light-years from the Milky Way, roughly the same technological level as me, that is, the advanced stage of a electroweak civilization, possesses the ability to obtain Devil's Eye galaxy images with sufficient clarity to trigger infection.
And… because of the Devil's Eye galaxy's unique characteristics, almost every civilization that becomes aware of it will not forgo observing it.
This seems to imply that the entire Milky Way, and even more galaxies, all civilizations that have progressed past this stage, even that Machine Intelligence Calamity… are civilizations that have survived this tribulation?
Those who survive can continue to develop; those who don't will be parasitized, and their civilization will perish.
What is this, the Great Filter?
Over so many hundreds of millions of years, who knows how many low-level civilizations have been destroyed by this parasitic disaster of the Devil's Eye civilization…"
Li Qingsong increasingly felt the danger and cruelty of the universe.
A distant civilization located hundreds of millions of light-years away, without focusing any attention here, merely modified a galaxy, and annihilated countless civilizations.
The Devil's Eye civilization might not even know about the destruction of those civilizations, nor care about it.
And how many terrifying existences like the Devil's Eye civilization exist in the universe? And how dangerous are their methods?
This time, I relied on my own characteristics to easily overcome it without much effort. Next time, will I still be able to overcome it?
Li Qingsong's heart was filled with solemnity, filled with awe for the vast universe.
All information about the Devil's Eye galaxy was henceforth sealed, not only by Li Qingsong himself, but also by the Blueprint people, who were strictly forbidden from researching or even observing it.
When all space telescopes observed the starry sky, they carefully avoided the Devil's Eye galaxy, never observing it.
Time continued to flow, and after resolving this incident, Li Qingsong's energy was once again invested in his own scientific research.
Numerous large scientific installations and various laboratories within numerous research spaceships continued to operate busily. Billions of clones continued to work with all their might, staying at their posts except during rest periods.
In this situation, more than two hundred years quietly passed.
At this moment, Li Qingsong's massive fleet was approximately 22 light-years away from the Altair system and even further, 33 light-years away from the solar system.
During this 22-light-year voyage, except for the initial acceleration phase, Li Qingsong consistently maintained a speed of 24,000 kilometers per second, never decelerating, and never approaching any star system.
Because Li Qingsong knew that every time he docked at a star system, the risk of being caught by that Machine Intelligence Calamity would increase.
Only by constantly drifting in the vast sea of stars could the risk of being captured be minimized.
Of course, this also required occasional random maneuvers, randomly changing the fleet's course.
If he stubbornly continued along the current course, he might be overtaken by that Machine Intelligence Calamity along the way.
On a certain ordinary day, Li Qingsong suddenly realized that he had reestablished a mind link with a clone left behind in the Altair system.
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"Hmm?"
Li Qingsong's heart sank.
Like the clones in the solar system, the clones in the Altair system were awakened from hibernation, almost certainly due to the arrival of the Machine Intelligence Calamity fleet.
When he left the Altair system, Li Qingsong estimated that the Machine Intelligence Calamity fleet would arrive in about 300 years.
But now… only 289 years have passed since he left the Altair system.
Adding the 22-year communication delay caused by the 22-light-year distance, this means that the Machine Intelligence Calamity fleet arrived only 267 years after he left the Altair system.
They arrived faster than he anticipated.
Li Qingsong felt that the noose around his neck was tightening even further.
Under the gaze of the awakened clone, the "star" outside the Altair system became brighter and larger.
Finally, the Machine Intelligence Calamity fleet, almost indistinguishable from what he saw in the solar system, appeared in the clone's field of vision and began advancing into the Altair system.
A sneer flashed across Li Qingsong's lips.
"You're chasing me so closely? It would be impolite of me not to reciprocate your enthusiasm.
Enjoy the surprise I left you in the Altair system."
The mind links from multiple clones in the Altair system continuously transmitted various perspectives from the Altair system into Li Qingsong's mind.
Thus, Li Qingsong saw numerous flashes erupting among the nearly endless asteroids and small celestial bodies.
