Wandering Meteor

"It was a peculiar coincidence, the space wormhole belonged to none other than the Metal Civilization.

Initially, when Metal Civilization observed that the expansion wave backflow was approaching the boundaries of the Star Zone, they decided to head towards the Cosmic Center for survival.

At that time, with their technological level, Metal Civilization couldn't withstand the expansion wave backflow; their only option was to escape deeper into space to find a way to survive. In order to stay as far away as possible from the expansion wave backflow, the Wandering, as the leader of Metal Civilization, after consulting with the rest of the civilization, decided it was faster and safer to use a space wormhole for escape. After all, traveling outside the wormhole would be slower, and there would be a possibility of war if they encountered other civilizations.

This is also the reason why Metal Civilization, originally behind the Wandering Alliance, appeared near the Heavenly Nebula earlier than the Wandering Alliance.

Besides the fact that traveling through a space wormhole significantly shortens the journey, Metal Civilization managed to get ahead of the Wandering Alliance because the latter took detours to plunder and absorb the material of nearby nebulas along the way, which not only diverted their route but also delayed them considerably. In this analogy, it's like the tortoise and the hare - the hare, though fast, got distracted with flowers and naps, allowing the steady and swift tortoise to surpass it, especially since Metal Civilization was inherently faster than the Wandering Alliance.

Of course, this isn't to say Metal Civilization's technology is superior to that of the Wandering Alliance; it's just that the Alliance wasn't putting forth its full effort.

The factors involved aren't as simplistic as the moral of the "The Tortoise and the Hare"; the story doesn't have a clear right or wrong, it's just that each civilization made decisions based on their own circumstances. There's really no right or wrong in survival strategies among civilizations.

The Wandering Alliance felt that heading straight towards the Cosmic Center would cause them to miss out on the resources and sights along the way. Furthermore, if they entered the Cosmic Zone too early and approached the Cosmic Center, they might encounter powerful civilizations; lacking enough time for development and with an insufficient technological level to compete with civilizations within the Cosmic Zone, even if they were fast, it would merely be handing themselves over.

From the perspective of securing development time, advancing technological level, and gathering more resources, the Wandering Alliance's strategy is undoubtedly correct. However, the fact that the Bose Alliance and the Fermi Alliance intercepted the swiftly traveling Metal Civilization through space wormholes also somewhat validates the Wandering Alliance's concerns. Within the Star Zone, it is already risky, and entering the Cosmic Zone could introduce unknown dangers.

But if you consider the journey and speed, Metal Civilization's strategy is definitely better.

Moreover, the reason Wandering was in such a hurry was not just to avoid the expansion wave backflow, but largely to reunite with Constant Star Lu Chen. However, the Wandering was aware that the Wandering Alliance was far ahead, so it decided to use the fastest wormholes to pursue them. According to its speed plan, Metal Civilization should have encountered the Wandering Alliance at the border of the Cosmic Zone, but they didn't anticipate overestimating the Alliance's pace, not realizing that Wandering Alliance's frequent deviations from their course had inadvertently allowed Metal Civilization to get ahead.

Now, the Metal Civilization which ended up ahead, was intercepted near the Heavenly Nebula.

Faced with the imminent collapse of the space wormhole, the Wandering had no choice but to order all Battle Stars to escape the wormhole and regroup outside.

Out there, when the Bose Alliance and the Fermi Alliance realized that the space wormhole harbored another alien civilization, they instinctively scaled down the warfare and focused their attention on the emerging Alien Civilization.

Upon discovering that all emerging entities from the space wormhole were metallic Battle Stars, both the Bose Alliance and the Fermi Alliance were utterly shocked!

However, unlike the surprise of the Bose and Fermi Alliances, the Wandering and Metal Civilization were extremely furious, exclaiming, "Are these two civilizations insane? Why would you destroy our space wormhole? You've almost caused us casualties, and you must provide us with an explanation!" In his rage, the Wandering sent out an angry message of consciousness.

Simultaneously, Metal Civilization noticed the distant Heavenly Nebula, the divine and radiant paradise-like specter displayed by the enormous nebula upfront, which left all the Metal Beings frozen in awe. They had survived for so long, yet it was their first time encountering a magnificent nebula as if from a paradise, and their first time observing such a massive and widespread nebula at close range; their own Metal Star system, although large, seemed trivial in comparison to the Heavenly Nebula."

"Wandering, the super nebula ahead is extremely vast, spanning tens of thousands of light-years..."

The Wandering had just sent out a message when it received intelligence from the Metal Civilization, providing an initial understanding of the Heavenly Nebula.

If the Metal Civilization could gather resources from the massive Heavenly Nebula, they would have ample confidence in both technological advancement and handling a Cosmic Crisis.

Considering this, the Wandering couldn't help but entertain the idea of plundering the Heavenly Nebula.

At that moment, the Wandering received messages from the Bose Alliance and the Fermi Alliance, both alliances posing essentially the same question: "What civilization do you belong to?"

"We are the Metal Civilization, now it's your turn to answer our earlier question."

As the Wandering replied, it also instructed the Metal Civilization to start gathering intelligence on the two opposing civilizations; after all, possessing intelligence was crucial for making the most strategic decisions. Therefore, the Wandering's tone was somewhat softer than before, in order to buy time for the Metal Civilization to gather intelligence.

"We are the Bose Alliance; the destruction of your wormhole was an accident!"

"We are the Fermi Alliance; the destruction of your wormhole was entirely accidental."

The Wandering was silent for a while, then spoke: "Bose Alliance and Fermi Alliance, the war between you was about competing for that nebula, wasn't it? What is the name of that nebula?"

"We call it the Heavenly Nebula, but regardless of its name, it has nothing to do with you. You can now open the space wormhole and leave, we will not stop you."

The Bose Alliance and the Fermi Alliance spoke in unison. They made this decision because they were currently doing their utmost to compete for the Heavenly Nebula, and did not want other civilizations getting involved, potentially complicating matters. Otherwise, under normal circumstances, they would certainly not hesitate to invade and assimilate any encountered Alien Civilization.

Of course, their choice not to invade or assimilate was after much consideration.

Apart from the factor of war, they also recognized that the Metal Civilization was of significant Civilization Level, also being a Level 4 Civilization, and dealing with them would be troublesome.

Had it been civilizations of Levels 1, 2, or 3, they would likely still have proceeded, even amidst the war. These lower-level civilizations would be easy to handle and would not cost much effort. Therefore, the Bose Alliance and the Fermi Alliance decided only after taking all circumstances into account.

This, once again, underlines the harshness and peril present within the Universe.

Without sufficient strength, one can only be at the mercy of others; whether the strong devour the weak has nothing to do with the weak themselves.

As for fairness and justice, they cannot be placed steady on a slope—they only slide down. Only on a relatively flat base can one stand firm.