I became a god by treasure hunting after arriving 500 years early

After a selection process, Jin Dongliang, a Level Six Innate Grandmaster, was appointed as the "Diplomat" for this mission.

In addition, more than twenty elite soldiers were dispatched, each a Level Three Master, along with an ability user with the Divine Skill "Identification," and another with the "Language Translation" ability.

Lastly, they dispatched... the Undying Giant Turtle!

"Wagaga!" The turtle stretched out its head and roared loudly, "An undiscovered civilization?"

"Relax, Mr. Turtle has encountered many civilizations and seen all sorts of shapes; I will definitely qualify as a competent diplomat!"

"Leave it to me, it'll be alright!"

Years passed, and the turtle enjoyed good moods and sleep, ate ordinarily, but still experienced some growth.

Its shell had grown to a diameter of 3 meters.

Its "Shape Attribute" also greatly increased to 28 points, which could be considered the strength level of a Level 5 Grandmaster.

In fact, many scholars didn't want to send this turtle into action.

After all, as an anomaly, its value was neither exceptionally high nor particularly low. (Humans of the current era were unable to study the engravings on its body, only able to let it raise children at school.)

But others felt that dispatching the Undying Giant Turtle was an excellent choice.

Since the other party had shown a foundation of anomaly level, humans should also send an anomaly to test whether the other side harbored ill intentions or good will.

Even if the Undying Giant Turtle was indeed taken by this civilization, it wouldn't die anyway.

Humans would just need to find a way to take it back, and that would be that.

"I'll come along too, I'm not easy to kill," Old Cat said.

"That would work..."

With Old Cat joining the mission, Lu Yuan felt much more at ease. Indeed, Old Cat was a reliable fellow who could also suppress the nonsense of the Undying Giant Turtle.

Having made up his mind, Old Cat switched to a new body, as he was very fond of his Immortal Level fur.

He switched to a slightly smaller mechanical body.

He gave a couple of strong hops and then stuffed in an "Explosive rune."

Jin Dongliang donned the best armor developed by the current Great Engineering Institute, the Poppy Vine Armor, made of poppy tree bark, strands from the Gold-addicted Insect, and a small amount of Extraordinary Metal, achieving "Superior Level" quality.

(It was created by an ability user with "Craftsmanship" during a burst of inspiration, with Lu Yuan assisting on the side, writing engravings, ultimately reaching superior quality.)

The other soldiers wore Black Iron Armor and Black Iron Helmets, with twenty pieces being of "Ordinary Level."

There were also five pieces of "Rare" level.

These armors had been improved, with an added layer of Tree of Life, effectively enhancing mental resistance.

Given their levels, these pieces were quite excellent.

Many high-ranking government officials seemed a bit nervous.

Like Lu Tiantian, who was usually quite bold, was now truly a bit anxious, feeling that this decision might have been a bit rushed: "By revealing our wealth like this, could we be inviting danger?"

"Superior level equipment is actually quite good, and we don't have many..."

"Plus an Undying Giant Turtle... along with Rare and Ordinary level armors..."

That was quite a fortune.

Lu Yuan laughed, "Think about it, Sky City is the greatest treasure right before our eyes, a city that can fly, who wouldn't want it?"

"We need to show that we have the strength worthy of Sky City to have the capital for exchange. If our soldiers dressed like beggars, it would rather invite crisis."

"You're right," said Jin Dongliang, the ambassador of this mission, with a smile. "The Mandala Empire used to deal with barbarians by making them witness the strongest military force."

"This way, you intimidate them, reducing many governance costs."

"If you hide your capabilities, it could lead to strategic misjudgments by the other side, resulting in trouble. If barbarians swarm you, even if the empire can suppress them, it would cost a lot of manpower and resources."

Lu Yuan nodded and smiled, "This time, we still have plenty of strength hidden, so don't worry."

...

Just then, the communication radio received another message; it was from the scouting Worm King · Lu Xiao and an "Identification" ability user.

"Reporting to the commander, we have discreetly scouted a ratman lurking on the edges... He's furiously mining coal and seems not to possess high intelligence."

A Worm King, carrying a scout soldier, flew quite quickly, covering four hundred kilometers per hour.

"After identification, I discovered that it is a Stranger!"

Lu Yuan's brow furrowed.

"Yes... We didn't dare to get too close, but we obtained some brief information... It truly is a Stranger from the Shu Mi Dam Civilization."

"And indeed, its intelligence isn't high, its strength rather ordinary, with three-dimensional attributes being 8.1, 7.2, 2.5. The energy is just a single Extraordinary Spark."@@novelbin@@

"Only 2.5 in Divine Attribute?"

"Yes, I shouldn't have mistaken the identification."

A Divine Attribute below 3 was basically deemed worthless, so much so that anomalies wouldn't even bother attacking.

Strangers, as they were commonly explained, were intelligent beings left behind through some coincidences from previous Epochs.

They had struggled through the Epoch disasters.

For instance, Old Cat and Conch are both part of the Strangers...

They do not belong to the Ninth Epoch's civilization, nor can they receive Milestone rewards.

But the sheer number of these Strangers, amounting to millions, is somewhat beyond human comprehension.

After hearing this intelligence, a flash of light sparked in Old Cat's eyes, "To survive the Epoch cataclysm, apart from siliconization, fleeing, and becoming a god, there's only one last method left."

"Abandoning reason... Does that mean that most Ratmen are actually mindless beasts?"

Although they already knew of this method, the group was still somewhat shocked when actually confronted with it.

This method was simple yet cruel, even more painful than death itself.

If Lu Yuan had to choose, he would rather fight to the bitter end than have his descendants turn into mindless beasts.

Of course, there were also a minority of "Ratmen" who retained their intelligence; otherwise, the entire species would have dispersed long ago.

Hesitating for a moment, Jin Dongliang volunteered, "In any case, since they've invited us, we have no reason to shrink back. It's an honorable diplomatic mission!"

"Let's proceed with the original plan. Just give us a few more life-saving measures."

After pondering, Lu Yuan handed over a "Spiritual Language Talisman Paper" to him.

This item, developed over the past two months, was only the size of a palm and one centimeter thick, densely filled with engravings. Stay tuned with My Virtual Library Empire

Once activated, the Spirit Rune could trigger a large-scale Spirit Storm, paralyzing all life within 10 kilometers.

Its cost was also quite high, requiring the "Superior Level" core of the Opium poppy as raw material. Although it was a renewable resource, the "Superior Level" core would only grow a small piece every ten years without energy infusion.

Lu Yuan felt a bit pained but maintained a serious tone, "After activation, the Spirit Storm will be unleashed in a fan shape directly in front of the rune."

"If you run backwards, you won't be affected."

"If anything feels wrong, hurry back here."

"Commander Lu, rest assured, you can't possibly handle everything yourself."

Lu Yuan repeated his instructions again and again, then took out several Poppy Buds, and had them carried along.

These buds served a monitoring function.

Once prepared, this group of more than thirty people mounted two "Flying Dragon" insects and set off grandly!

...

...

"Governor, those Ratmen outside are transmitting electromagnetic waves. If we don't open the Safe Zone now, they'll leave this place and move to other locations."

"I know."

The Rize Civilization's Seventh Branch was currently in a state of indecision.

Even the most experienced politicians could not discern if they were missing out on a great opportunity...

The dark mass of Ratmen had been near this place for over two years already.

They had been digging coal from tens to hundreds of kilometers away... It seems that eating a bit of coal could keep them alive; truly bizarre.

Their behavior was very strange.

On one hand, these Ratmen had gathered a great deal of garbage... Yes, relics from the previous Epoch, loaded onto carts pulled by giant beasts.

This included Extraordinary Animals and Extraordinary Plants!

They were indeed quite wealthy.

On the other hand, there was a wide variance in the intelligence of the Ratmen.

Those Ratmen in black clothes didn't seem to possess much intelligence and were barely different from animals.

They eat when hungry, mate when in heat, even give birth in the open - this species reproduces so quickly, they could have several litters in a year.

The Ratmen in purple, gold, and blue clothes, on the other hand, exhibited high intelligence and maintained social relations and civilized etiquette.

[Trade! Legendary! Spirit!]

These were the slogans called out by the Shu Mi Dam Civilization, and they appeared to have discovered the existence of the Safe Zone.

Deciphering their message wasn't difficult; they trade Legendary Level goods!

Combined with their identity as Strangers...

A conjecture inevitably surfaced: Did they resemble NPCs in a game?

Of course, reality is not a game. Once the Safe Zone is lifted and trade with the Ratmen begins, the consequences are unknown.

Therefore, the Rize Civilization remained hesitant until now.

"May the Earth Mother Goddess protect us!" In a room of the tallest building, a Priest took out a few small ancient bronze coins and gently tossed them - "Ting, ting, ting" - the coins landed on the table. It was a special Divination Skill used to forecast good or bad luck.

After viewing the results, the Priest's expression shifted slightly, for the divination suggested a "moderately negative" outcome.

"Governor, these Ratmen may harbor some malice. If we open the Safe Zone, it won't end well for us, better to stay on the safe side."

Governor Leon, as a "Foreknowledge ability user," felt a heavy mood.

Through his ability, he faintly saw the future: if they open the Safe Zone to trade with the Ratmen, one path led to a bright future, the other to a dark abyss...

The vast difference between the outcomes made him increasingly hesitant.