章節 7: Chapter 7: Encountering an Enemy in the Dark Depths of Space
"Beep, beep, beep!"
Yan Xia woke up, startled by the red alerts flashing before his eyes.
"Ella, what's going on?"
Ella's voice, unchanged for centuries, responded.
"Yan Xia, we're under attack by an alien civilization."
"Their weapons are too powerful, and our alloy hull is quickly melting under their laser weapons."
Yan Xia glanced at the time in the lower right corner of the screen, the year 2806.
He had been asleep for so long.
He quickly walked to the cockpit and saw Ella, with her white hair, standing at the controls, almost like a hologram.
It seemed...
His attention was immediately drawn to something on the screen.
It was a fleet of seven ships.
The main ship was oval-shaped, like a giant olive floating in space, with exquisite pink patterns flowing across its surface, resembling a living organism with countless white tendrils hanging from it.
These tendrils, each several thousand meters long, were made of crystal, like optical fibers.
A stream of pale blue lasers shot from these tendrils towards the Hope.
Another laser hit the Hope, causing the entire ship to shake.
"Can we counterattack?"
He asked, but before he could finish, he realized something. They hadn't designed any weapons on the Hope.
So, they could only take the blows.
But he wondered if Ella had developed any weapons during this long period...
The answer was no.
Ella turned to look at Yan Xia, her small, delicate figure resembling a commander or a shipgirl.
"Yan Xia, we're lacking in weapons, and our civilization is not on the same level as theirs."
"The enemy is 0.7 light-years away, and their main ship is approaching us at a speed of 625 km/s."
"We need your mneumium."
The enemy was very aggressive, probably because they hadn't detected any weapons on the Hope's surface.
As they spoke, another laser hit the ship.
The entire Hope shook violently, and there was an explosion somewhere on the hull.
"Ella, change course and use full speed to escape the enemy ships."
Yan Xia didn't hesitate and quickly made a decision.
The enemy's speed was slightly faster than theirs.
If the enemy's maximum speed was only 625 km/s, they could escape.
The Hope changed course.
The pursuing ships couldn't keep up, and the Hope left them behind.
However, the enemy didn't give up, and countless lasers rained down on them, like a shower of pear blossoms.
These lasers carried immense heat, easily melting the Hope's hull.
The ship had been hit dozens of times, its surface riddled with craters and holes.
"Yan Xia, the ship's hull has been breached."
Ella's face turned pale.
"Damn it, seal the cockpit to prevent air from escaping."
There was nothing they could do but endure the attack.
Yan Xia anxiously watched the enemy's position on the signal radar.
Fortunately, as the distance increased, the lasers became easier to dodge.
After 21 light-years of pursuit, the two fleets were 3.5 billion kilometers apart, and the enemy ships stopped chasing and only continued to harass them with their weapons.
"We finally shook them off!"
Yan Xia finally breathed a sigh of relief; he hadn't slept well for 21 light-years.
The Hope was in a sorry state, with one-fifth of its hull missing, looking pitiful.
"We didn't expect to encounter an alien civilization in the vastness of space, so we didn't plan for weapons."
Yan Xia became more vigilant, deciding to install some main cannons on the Hope.
At least they should have some means of self-defense.
"Based on the attack pattern, this civilization specializes in laser weapons."
"By the way..."
Yan Xia suddenly remembered something that had happened long ago.
When he first arrived at the asteroid belt after Earth's destruction, he was hit by a laser beam and almost died.
Perhaps that laser beam came from this civilization.
Since they were on the route between Earth and Proxima Centauri, could this be the legendary Trisolaran civilization?
"Analyze the probability that this alien civilization is from Proxima Centauri."
This question was crucial.
However, Ella shook her head, giving an answer contrary to his speculation.
"2.38%. The enemy's ships are not fast, and their main attack method is lasers. We can analyze that their civilization level is at the beginning of Level 1, less than 1.2."
"A civilization at this level doesn't have the capability for interstellar travel in light-years, so if they were from Proxima Centauri, there would be no need to come here. Even if they did, it would be their elite fleet."
"After comparing the laser position with the one from 769 years ago, it's confirmed that they are from the same civilization."
"Analysis complete. The mother star of this civilization is likely in this region of space, and their development speed is extremely slow, only increasing by 0.1 level in 769 years."
Yan Xia looked out at the space through the screen.
They were in the vacuum between stars, could a civilization really develop here?
The discovery on Europa had already proven that life was widespread in the universe.
If a civilization at this level existed in such a place, how many civilizations were there in the universe?
However, Yan Xia trusted Ella's analysis.
"Beep, beep, beep!"
The alarm sounded again.
"Yan Xia, an enemy fleet has been detected in the right front quadrant..."
Yan Xia looked, and indeed, there was a fleet of more than ten ships with a similar design to the ones they had encountered earlier.
As soon as they saw the enemy, the lasers arrived.
Hundreds of lasers poured down, turning the entire screen white.
"The enemy couldn't have been in front of us; they must be developing this region, and we're in their territory."
"Keep running."
It seemed that this alien civilization was not going to let them go.
"Ella, what's our current civilization level?"
Yan Xia's mind was already filled with other thoughts.
This civilization was extremely hostile and aggressive.
Upon discovering them, they launched an attack. If their lasers had been stronger, Yan Xia might never have woken up from his cryogenic sleep.
Since the enemy showed no mercy, he wouldn't show any either.
"During your 664 years of sleep, I never stopped developing our civilization. We are now at Level 1.3."
"However, as a wandering civilization, we don't have a complete, large-scale civilization system. Even if we're more advanced than a lower-level civilization, we won't have the advantage."
"It's recommended to develop a fleet first, then conquer, colonize, and destroy lower-level civilizations."
Ella seemed to understand Yan Xia's thoughts, and her virtual character was now clad in armor.
After mastering controlled nuclear fusion centuries ago, they had entered the Level 1 civilization sequence. However, after several hundred years of development, they were still at Level 1.3, likely due to limited resources, preventing a qualitative change through quantitative change.
And this 1.3 was still theoretical.
Since their civilization level was higher than the enemy's, Yan Xia had made a decision.
"Ella, produce a probe to investigate the enemy's territory, civilization type, and life forms."
"Make sure we know ourselves and our enemy."
After receiving the order, Ella quickly began producing an unmanned reconnaissance ship.
Yan Xia named this ship the Falcon.
Half a month later, after shaking off the enemy ships again, the Falcon was ready. It was ten meters long, shaped like a shuttle, and painted black with a light-absorbing coating. It had twelve cameras on its head and could go invisible.
This invisibility was not optical but signal jamming, preventing the enemy's electronic equipment from detecting any signals.
As Yan Xia watched the Falcon fly into the depths of space, his expression turned somber.
This would be his first interstellar war, a war of civilizations.
He had no choice; no civilization could be truly merciful, and such mercy was only shown to those who completely submitted to their rule.
The enemy civilization had discovered him, and they might continue to pursue him relentlessly. It was a matter of life and death.
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票