Chapter 188: The Civilizational Angler! I'm Investing in This Project!
"Still, Eywa's method of civilizational evolution—sneaky as it is—actually works like a charm!"
Li Ang couldn't help but marvel at the ingenuity of Pandora's planetary consciousness. Even a unique, unconventional path to civilization development like this could be devised.
As distasteful as it might seem, judging by the number and quality of alien civilizations Eywa had already lured in, its parasitic "civilization enhancement" model was remarkably effective.
The civilizations it captured weren't mediocre, either. Some even possessed low-tier space-warping technology—a technological leap so significant that it was like comparing a rocket to a toy car in terms of transportation efficiency.
Under normal development, a civilization would need both exceptional scientific prowess and immense luck to evolve from zero to one, from nothing to advanced technology. Otherwise, it would likely fall prey to other star-faring civilizations or face outright destruction before reaching maturity.
Eywa's counterintuitive approach, feigning weakness as a primitive civilization to bait other alien civilizations, was akin to fishermen strategically chumming waters to draw in their catch.
And the aliens were biting—a lot.
Now, with the "fishing rod" of Pandora in Li Ang's hands, he fully intended to continue using this devious strategy to fish for alien civilizations.
"Eywa, I'm investing in your Pandora planetary civilization development plan!"
At that moment, Li Ang resembled a company boss who had just picked a promising startup project, with Eywa as the struggling entrepreneur thwarted mid-venture by a corporate juggernaut.
Since this resource-rich, wondrously scenic alien world was so good at luring other alien civilizations for colonization, why not use the same approach? Li Ang decided to take personal control of this grand fishing expedition.
From Eywa's consciousness database, he learned that roughly every thousand years or so, a brash alien civilization would stumble upon Pandora and attempt colonization.
If the Infinity Fleet ambushed these colonizers midway through their colonization effort, launching an interstellar sting operation, they could follow up by raiding the aliens' homeworlds. This would be far more efficient than using probes to search for alien signals.
Even the Trisolarians needed Ye Wenjie to actively send a satellite signal to guide them to Earth. Li Ang's baiting strategy was bound to net some fat fish.
The thought made Li Ang smile—a rare expression for him—resembling the triumphant look of every grand villain in hot-blooded anime after a plan comes together.
It was far more lucrative than laboriously mining Pandora's resources like a diligent workhorse! After all, as a player of paradox strategy games, Li Ang embodied the corporate mindset of efficiency and dominance.
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"Sorry, I don't understand what you mean," Eywa replied.
Whether she truly didn't understand or was merely feigning ignorance, it didn't matter to Li Ang, who had already solidified his plan. Pandora would remain an LA Company resource hub, with a small contingent stationed to extract floating stones.
Maintaining the ideal city wouldn't require much of Pandora's resources, so Li Ang planned to leave behind a minimal human presence for periodic transport tasks.
Meanwhile, Eywa would act as his proxy, continuing to rule over Pandora's lifeforms and absorbing their consciousness to strengthen herself. Most of the consciousness energy would be funneled into the matrix servers, effectively relegating Eywa from an entrepreneur to a laborer.
The majority of the Infinity Fleet would return to the Solar System, leaving only ten Infinity-class dreadnoughts stationed at its edge. Pandora would retain a basic mining and communication team.
If an alien civilization targeted Pandora, the Infinity Fleet could immediately perform a space-warp jump to "lock the door and beat the dog."
If the alien civilization was weak, they could wipe it out entirely, seizing everything. Alternatively, they could adopt a lighter, more amicable approach—diplomatic free trade. And when it came to trade, Li Ang knew humans excelled at playing that game.
If the alien civilization turned out to be formidable, Li Ang could summon reinforcements and overwhelm them with sheer numbers. Unless they wielded galaxy-ending weapons like dimensional collapsers, the Infinity Fleet's limitless firepower would crush them.
Even in a worst-case scenario where the fleet was outmatched, Li Ang could rely on space-warping technology to escape. He had the perfect blend of offense and defense—an impeccable plan.
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"Eywa, your honesty has moved me deeply. I've decided to withdraw the human fleet from Pandora, leaving only a small mining team for resource extraction," Li Ang declared.
"You will continue to oversee Pandora's lifeforms without interference in your civilization's development. On the contrary, I will even send people to 'protect' your safety."
"If Pandora ever faces any crisis, I will rush to your aid immediately, sparing no effort to help."
Even Li Ang couldn't help but chuckle at his own words. Despite being the mastermind of interstellar colonization, he had somehow turned into Pandora's benevolent guardian.
However, regardless of Eywa's reaction, Li Ang's overture of friendship created a win-win scenario. The planetary consciousness had already been subjugated by the LA Company, and as Pandora's supreme puppeteer, Li Ang had no reason to worry about unforeseen troubles.
Besides, Pandora wasn't suited for long-term human colonization due to its toxic atmosphere and inherent hostility. With the ideal city capable of housing tens of billions, humanity had no need to force emigration to an alien world.
Thus, in Li Ang's comprehensive plan, Pandora was best utilized as bait for interstellar fishing.
As a civilizational angler, he would etch the glory of his interstellar corporate empire across the multiverse!
Before Eywa could recover from her stunned state and thank him for his "magnanimity," Li Ang exited the matrix and returned to reality.
Immediately, under the eager eyes of Morgan and Lucy, Li Ang strode to the central console in the command room, issuing a series of orders.
"All ground forces are to withdraw to the Infinity-class starships in an orderly manner. The Astartes Legion's vanguard will lead a sweep and inspection operation."
"Once the threat of the superconducting ore in Sector 1247 has been completely neutralized, it will serve as a long-term floating stone mining resource zone."
"Other ground units will escort the Na'vi captives to the starships, harvest all resources from Pandora for research purposes, and tally all casualties for submission to headquarters upon verification."
"…"
After hearing Li Ang 's instructions, everyone erupted in a wave of jubilant cheers once more. The war was finally over, and they would soon begin their return journey—heading back to their homeland, Ideal City.
However, amidst the celebrations marking the war's triumphant conclusion and the success of the colonization effort, Lucy noticed something amiss.
Li Ang had not mentioned leaving behind any troops to construct human infrastructure or fully colonize Pandora.
It felt as though the war had ended, but the final outcome seemed like little more than going through the motions, with even the most basic construction work ignored.
This left Lucy feeling puzzled and uncertain.
Could Li Ang have forgotten about this?
Lucy wasn't the only one harboring doubts—so was Morgan Blackhand, a professionally trained commander who had participated in numerous military operations.
Morgan knew better than anyone that after occupying enemy territory, the priority should be to establish military bases and defensive fortifications. These would enable the gradual annexation of enemy areas or a swift offensive to achieve total domination.
In fact, Li Ang himself had previously issued orders to build ground military base facilities and communication equipment. So why had everything suddenly stopped?
It was strange—far too strange!
"Boss, if we withdraw all ground troops, it'll be much harder to complete the construction of base facilities later," Morgan cautiously reminded Li Ang . "Shouldn't we issue further instructions?"
"Oh! Right, I almost forgot about that."
Morgan's reminder snapped Li Ang back to reality. He realized he needed to issue orders for the ground troops to dismantle unnecessary base constructions and extra communication facilities.
Since Pandora was meant to serve as bait for attracting other civilizations, traces of advanced human activity had to be erased as thoroughly as possible. Otherwise, few alien civilizations would carelessly fall into the trap.
"You're absolutely right, Morgan."
Li Ang smiled and patted Morgan's sturdy shoulder. His loyal companion always managed to catch subtle details at critical moments.
"Relay this to the troops: dismantle all military structures, communication equipment, and any other recoverable devices. Pack everything up—leave nothing behind!"
Initially, Li Ang had considered having the soldiers recover every spent shell and bullet casing as well. However, upon reflection, he realized such an excessive order might not be feasible.
So, cleaning up the most conspicuous structures would suffice. As for the rest, it would be left to the native Na'vi to deal with.
Upon hearing Li Ang 's unexpected command, both Lucy and Morgan froze in shock, wondering if they had misheard him.
Winning an interstellar war only to retreat entirely—without fully exploiting the planet's resources—was no different from losing.
From an outsider's perspective, it might even look like humanity's forces had suffered a defeat.
Most colonizers, after seizing new territory, would immediately exterminate the native population to make room for their own people.
But Li Ang ? After traveling such a long way and finally securing a victory, he not only spared the troublesome Na'vi but seemed intent on handing the land back to them.
Was this all just for nothing?
"Boss, I don't quite understand. Are you saying we're withdrawing completely, leaving behind only a mining team and a small detachment of soldiers?" Morgan tried to confirm, unwilling to believe Li Ang would abandon Pandora after securing it.
"What about Pandora's remaining land and resources? Are we just going to leave them untouched?"
Morgan kept his tone respectful, lowering his stance as he questioned Li Ang 's decision. He dared not outright challenge Li Ang , but such an outlandish, incomprehensible directive naturally raised doubts.
"Exactly. Since our matrix device has already extracted the planetary consciousness, Eywa, there's no need for further caution," Li Ang replied.
Standing beside Morgan, Lucy also couldn't resist urging Li Ang to reconsider.
Before the war began, Li Ang 's caution had been prudent and wise—nobody had opposed his decisions.
But now, with the war won and the situation under control, such excessive caution seemed unnecessary and even cowardly.
Given LA Corporation's fleet of 200 Infinity -class warships, they could handle any emerging alien threat without breaking a sweat.
Watching Lucy and Morgan's earnest attempts to advise him, Li Ang decided to share the details of his conversation with Eywa and his subsequent plans.
However, he withheld one crucial piece of information: his scheme to use Pandora as bait to lure other alien civilizations. This strategy would remain LA Corporation's highest-level secret, known only to Li Ang himself.
The fewer people who knew about this gambit—the survival of humanity—the higher the chances of success.
Soon, Lucy and Morgan learned of Li Ang 's intention to limit mining operations on Pandora to a modest scale, leaving behind only a minimal team for oversight.
Though shocked and baffled, they had no choice but to accept his decision.
If Li Ang had made up his mind after thorough deliberation, there must be sound reasoning behind it.
Their role as subordinates was to advise, but the final decision rested with Li Ang alone.
"Understood. We'll see to it immediately."
Seeing Li Ang 's resolve, Lucy and Morgan ceased questioning him and relayed his orders to the relevant ground units.
What followed was a flurry of post-war cleanup operations.
The resources on Pandora—including the Na'vi, floating stones, soil, minerals, flora, fauna, and microorganisms—would be partially extracted by LA Corporation's forces.
The Na'vi would serve two purposes: genetic experimentation and as trophies to showcase the victory. They would be displayed as alien "exhibits" back on Earth, treated with good food and lodging but deprived of any rights.
As for Pandora's exotic creatures—like the Thanator, Hammerhead Titanothere, and Viperwolf—they would be transported to Ideal City's zoological facilities for exhibition and research.
Lastly, all military equipment and vehicles, such as Dragon Gunships, Scorpions, and AMP suits, would be recovered.
Before departing, Li Ang made sure to dismantle several floating mountains, loading their materials onto the Infinity -class ships. This stockpile of floating stones would sustain Ideal City for 2,000 years. Humanity's fleets would only return to Pandora when supplies ran low.
Until then, Pandora would revert to its natural state. Aside from Eywa being reduced to Li Ang 's prisoner, nothing else would change.
Meanwhile, under Eywa's arrangement, the human mining and communication teams were relocated to an isolated, resource-rich area, safe from Na'vi detection. Eywa would oversee their work and daily needs, while they monitored Pandora's status and extracted its resources.
Days later, as a Valkyrie shuttle soared across Pandora's skies, Li Ang stood inside, gazing at the alien landscape through a window.
He couldn't help but marvel at Pandora's surreal beauty. After years of being surrounded by Ideal City's steel jungles, the planet's rainforests felt enchanting.
"Two hundred Infinity -class warships, using overkill firepower, and all we got was a measly haul. Pretty funny when you think about it," Li Ang mused, watching the steady flow of transport ships ferrying resources between the surface and orbit.
His actions might seem baffling or even foolish to others.
But if his grand scheme succeeded, the returns for LA Corporation would far outweigh the rewards of simply colonizing Pandora.
After all, in many cases, the workers digging for gold make far less than the merchants selling the tools.
In the vast expanse of the universe, only the cunning civilizations survive.
Let the alien civilizations bear the brunt of the struggle, and let Eywa shoulder the infamy.
As long as LA Corporation's glory illuminated the cosmos, everything would be worth it.
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