Chapter 46

It is said that where there is life, there must be death. In this world, all living things will eventually die, and all tangible things will eventually decay. This is an unshakable truth.

From the moment a world is born, it is destined to eventually face its demise. On this point, the science of the old world also provides a basically identical answer.

If we do not consider the possibility of the universe contracting and the theoretical point of expansion and contraction equilibrium, according to the second law of thermodynamics (simply put, it is impossible to transfer heat from a low-temperature object to a high-temperature object without causing other effects; it is impossible to extract heat from a single heat source and convert it entirely into useful work without causing other effects; in irreversible thermodynamic processes, the infinitesimal increase in entropy is always greater than zero), if we view the entire universe as an "isolated" self-cycling energy system, its entropy will inevitably accumulate and increase over time, and it will continuously shift from order to disorder.

From this, we can understand that as the entropy in a universe reaches its maximum value, it means that all other effective energy in this universe has been converted into heat energy. At this point, the temperature of all matter will reach what is called thermal equilibrium. Therefore, nothing will change in the future, and the universe will fall into a state of silence, which is described in thermodynamics as "heat death."

If the audience finds the scientific language used in the previous description difficult to understand, we can also use a term often used by the powerful in the primordial flow novels to show off their extensive knowledge. The concept of "heat death" is basically equivalent to "the great calamity of the end of all things," which is the ultimate disaster for all things in the world. To put it more simply, from the moment of their birth, all things are moving from order to disorder, and ultimately, everything will inevitably return to chaos, which is equivalent to the destruction of the entire world.

To resist this inevitable end-of-the-world catastrophe that will occur at some point in the future, making the new world permanently silent, the bored magicians and the primordial gods each played their trump cards, trying to use all their abilities to resolve this fatal problem.

The digital solution of the magicians is certainly not perfect, and the idea of the primordial gods to break the crystal wall barrier and reopen chaos is not much better. However, the disagreement between the two sides led to an irreconcilable and sharp conflict. As a result, even before the end of the world arrived, the two groups of powerful beings who held different views clashed. This terrible situation made Luo Zhengdao, upon first hearing this story, recall a fairy tale he read as a child about whether the truth is to break the egg from the round end or the pointed end, which was incredibly frustrating.

"... Sigh! I admit that the primordial gods and magicians are very powerful, but these guys are so boring, too middle-school! To deal with a disaster that will happen in billions of years, they decided to torment themselves to death in advance. Now everyone is dead, and the disaster hasn't even shown up yet! Is this called being far-sighted? You guys are just messing with us!"

Well! In a mix of shock and panic, Luo Zhengdao, with only the wisdom of a mortal, declared his surrender. Although he was filled with black history by the "Mouth of True Knowledge" in front of this high wall, he couldn't help but complain a bit, which almost caused more trouble. From the perspective of a穿越者 (穿越者 means "穿越者" in Chinese, which can be translated as "穿越者" in English, but it is often used to describe someone who has traveled through time or space, so I will translate it as "time traveler"), whether it's the magicians or the primordial gods, both sides are considered to be idle and bored, only looking far ahead without looking down, and they ended up killing themselves with a single fall. At this moment, Luo Zhengdao's face twitched into a "囧" shape, and these insider stories were truly mind-blowing. It turns out that the primordial gods and magicians started throwing bricks at each other over a question similar to whether tofu pudding should be sweet or salty, and they only stopped when they had bashed each other's brains out.

Hearing someone complain, the Mouth of True Knowledge said bluntly,

"Hey, what does 'messing with us' mean? Are you trying to insult me? Be careful, I will punish you on behalf of the great magicians."

After a lot of talking, Luo Zhengdao managed to convince this big mouth that he was just using some rare interjections, and he managed to get away with it. The slightly annoyed Mouth of True Knowledge couldn't say much to this apprentice magician and warned Luo Zhengdao,

"Successor, remember, the glory of the magicians will never fade."

Hearing this, Luo Zhengdao, who was both amused and exasperated, didn't have time to comment. He was then kicked out of the eternal library, which seemed like a dream, and was immediately hit by excruciating pain.

"Ouch! It hurts so much."

When Luo Zhengdao again felt the pain like high-voltage electricity coursing through his body, with no clear endpoint, he was almost woken up from a deep coma. If he had the chance to look in a mirror, he would have seen two streams of murky blood tears running down his cheeks, a sign of the mysterious power of the primordial god's curse gradually leading him to death.

The aftereffects of the primordial god's curse are incurable, and he could only tough it out. Luo Zhengdao dismissed the attempts of Foul Chopin and Vena Dubov to persuade him to take medicine and continued to lie in bed alone, tossing and turning all night. No matter how bad things got, life had to go on.

After being forced to lie still, Luo Zhengdao recovered for another night. The next morning, he had to struggle to get out of the uncomfortable large bed, even though his legs were still trembling. With a pale face, Luo Zhengdao, supported by Vena Dubov, set out to fulfill his noble duties, boarding a small boat to visit the Elven Federation fleet that had come to the aid of the pirates. After all, no one else could replace Luo Zhengdao in this matter; from any perspective, he was the main character in this grand drama!

The small boat, which could only accommodate a dozen people, docked next to the gangway of the Elven warship. Luo Zhengdao, refusing help, gritted his teeth and climbed up step by step, gasping for breath.

Several Elven naval officers, already lined up on the deck to welcome Luo Zhengdao, wore polite and warm smiles. The leading Elven general smiled politely and respectfully, bowing slightly and said,

"It is a great honor to welcome the Earl to our warship today. You are a distinguished guest of the Federation Navy. Please feel at home and make yourself comfortable."

Hearing this, Luo Zhengdao, knowing that the other party was being polite out of diplomatic necessity, with a pale face and slightly blue lips, could only nod and smile bitterly,

"Thank you for your timely assistance. I hereby express my sincere gratitude and greetings to the Federation on behalf of the Light Empire. I hope my visit today will not cause any trouble for you."

The Light Empire, established by humans, was completely destroyed. The vast territory of the mainland was lost, and the million-strong army was annihilated in a single day. The few surviving exiled nobles were chased by the goblin fleet like stray dogs fleeing overseas. These were all ironclad facts. However, this dire situation did not mean that the Light Empire's name was also ruined.

Just as a former president of the Coca-Cola Company, one of the giants in the beverage industry of the old world, proudly claimed that even if Coca-Cola lost all its factories and equipment in a disaster, it could recover completely within a year. There are two reasons supporting this boast: a large and stable consumer base and the intangible brand value. The former ensures that Coca-Cola products can always be sold, and the latter can be mortgaged to banks for real gold and silver.

For the same reason, the Light Empire remains an indelible memory in the hearts of human refugees. Although the Light Empire's poor performance in the war against the Second Goblin Empire was disappointing, the brand itself has not completely lost its reputation.

Influenced by an ancient prophecy whose origin cannot be traced, many enslaved humans firmly believe that sooner or later, another human hero will stand up and lead humans to reclaim everything they have lost. Under the influence of these two factors, even though Luo Zhengdao is currently so destitute that he must become a pirate to survive, no one dares to look down on his identity on the surface.

Luo Zhengdao and his party received unprecedented and exceptional hospitality. The elegantly dressed Elven general courteously invited Luo Zhengdao with a gesture and then ordered,

"Band, start playing!"

During the period when the Light Empire controlled the mainland, its relationship with the Yaling Empire and the Elven Federation was not harmonious, and there were even periods of friction. However, politics is always about practical interests, and the balance of power and interests, regardless of personal feelings.

In the history of the old world, to protect their own interests, the capitalist white-headed eagle was willing to ally with the bear, its ideological archenemy, to overthrow the third-generation mustache of the Hans cat, who had developed countless black technologies. Such cross-camp and ideological collaborations could be smoothly realized, so why not others? With the aggressive and intimidating Second Goblin Empire emerging, it became the best reason for former rivals to put aside their differences and unite. The grand state guest treatment Luo Zhengdao is currently enjoying is, in fact, a reasonable and expected matter, not something to be overly surprised about.

At the welcoming banquet hosted by the Elven Navy, the number of participants was small, but the setting and dishes were extremely luxurious. The strength of the Elven Federation was not just talk; its logistical support was of the highest level.

However, from the perspective of Luo Zhengdao, a standard foodie from a food-loving nation, the luxurious form of the banquet, regardless of the waste of public funds, was indeed lacking in substance. On the large table, apart from the various fruit-flavored wines that were somewhat palatable, the rest, such as fruit platters and vegetable salads, were so bland that they could make one's mouth tasteless. If evaluated according to the Chinese culinary standards of color, aroma, taste, meaning, and form, these Elven Federation specialties barely met the criteria of color and form, and were generally comparable to the expensive and unsatisfying Japanese cuisine of the old world.

Eating first, then talking business, this might be a social rule in the new world. Luo Zhengdao, who had not done enough preparation, naturally did not want to appear foolish, so he simply stalled, figuring that since he was already in a dire situation, he might as well see who would crack first.

PS: After applying ointments, rubbing medicinal alcohol, and taking bone fracture and bruise medicine, my swollen crab legs have finally improved, gradually reducing in size, and I no longer wake up in pain when I turn over in bed.

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