The Eternal Snowfall slowly departed from Earth's orbit, cruising at high speed until it reached above the Sun.
As the charging progressed, the starship's main axis, with a launcher larger in diater than ordinary spacecraft, emitted an increasingly dazzling radiance.
In the sky, it looked like a small sun.
UN officials and Earth's people watched the Juggernaut in confusion, not knowing what it intended to do.
"Co to think of it, we haven't actually seen the Trisolarans yet?"
"At least let's have a look. See what the Trisolaran system looks like—it'll also help evaluate the Fallen Star Lance's power."
Setsuna activated the Eternal Snowfall's sensors, performing a directional scan of the surrounding star systems.
[Scanning target]
[Confird, holographic image constructed]
The starship's sensors fully scanned the star system over four light-years away.
A colossal holographic projection appeared on the main console and was transmitted across the entire Solar System.
4.2 light-years away.
The Alpha Centauri system.
Three stars burned fiercely, two of them close in size to the Sun, the third smaller.
Within the system were several planets; the second orbital planet was the Trisolaran howorld.
Near the planet, peculiar space cities and ships could be seen.
Trisolaran architecture and design philosophy were completely unlike that of humans, bearing a strange industrial beauty.
"So that's the Trisolaran system? You can observe the howorld from here in the Solar System?!"
UN officials stared in astonishnt at the holographic display, marveling at the Eternal Snowfall's advancents.
Although Earth's civilization had tangled with the Trisolaran world for centuries, this was their first ti truly seeing the Trisolaran star system.
Setsuna enlarged the projection.
Under high-precision scanning, the forms of the Trisolarans could be seen on the planet.
They resembled soft-bodied creatures, their skin mirror-like, with no distinct torso or limbs.
Even distinguishing torso from head was difficult.
"They look like slis… ugh—"
A few small shipgirls made faces and groaned.
"The Trisolarans can dehydrate and enter hibernation at will. It's normal they don't have skeletons."
"You don't think all aliens will look like us, humanoid in form, do you? In the future, we might even encounter fungal civilizations or silicon-based ones."
Setsuna chuckled.
Seeing them in person, the Trisolarans weren't much different from what he had imagined.
"Wait… that scan result—is it real-ti?!"
Ding Yi and Earth's people suddenly realized sothing terrifying.
When observing the Trisolaran world from the Solar System, what they saw was the state from four years ago.
But the Eternal Snowfall's projection was imdiate—they could monitor dozens or even hundreds of light-years around them in real-ti.
And down to individuals on a planet!
By current physical theory, such a thing was impossible.
But the Eternal Snowfall had achieved it.
Sophons could transmit information through quantum entanglent, but they had no ability to monitor vast ranges across star systems.
"Faster-than-light… without a doubt, this is an FTL civilization…"
"In their eyes, the universe has no secrets. They can see every star's present and past form, even track the entire Milky Way's movents…"
Ding Yi's body trembled as he looked toward the Eternal Snowfall.
His gaze was pious, reverent—as if beholding a deity.
To surpass light speed ant humanity's entire foundation of physics was overturned. The two sides' fundantal sciences weren't even on the sa plane.
In the face of such an existence, whether it was Trisolarans reaching 13% of light speed, or the space navy's 15%, both were nothing more than insignificant insects.
"You all know the Trisolaran ga, right? The one Wang Miao played?"
Setsuna spoke casually.
"In the Trisolaran world, due to the irregular orbits of the three suns, many terrifying astronomical disasters occur."
"Three Suns Hanging, Triple Conjunction, Fixed Soaring Star… right?"
The UN Secretary-General didn't know why Setsuna suddenly brought this up.
But facing this conqueror who held humanity's life and death in his hands, she thought carefully before responding.
"You an the VR ga from the Common Era? Yes, it simulated the astronomical patterns of the Trisolaran world."
"Three Suns Hanging ans the thermal energy of all three stars simultaneously scorches a planet, turning it into a lava world in a short ti…"
"Triple Conjunction is when all three stars align, their combined gravity tearing a planet apart and consuming it. The most terrifying is the Fixed Soaring Star—Trisolaris' greatest 'curse'…"
She recalled the details from mory.
The three-body problem is a chaotic model proven unsolvable mathematically. Over long spans of ti, three stars inevitably consu every planet within their system.
This was the reason Trisolarans were so desperate to find an alien colony.
"Then… have you ever imagined what it would look like if all three stars exploded at once?"
"Guess—would they form multiple black holes, or collide into sothing else entirely?"
Setsuna gazed into the distant starlight as he asked.
"!!!"
His words, transmitted from the Eternal Snowfall's bridge, reached Earth, the surviving fleet mbers in space, and even the fleeing Natural Selection.
Everyone felt their breath stop for a mont.
"Destroying stars?!"
"Excuse , I don't understand, do you an…"
Terrified officials stamred.
Only a few seconds later—
A sophon instantly projected a massive line of text:
[Do not do this, we surrender]
"I don't accept. The Empire has no need for so many Trisolarans. Leaving a few for a zoo is enough."
Setsuna yawned casually.
[This is unreasonable. Our civilization has no conflict with yours. The Trisolarans only seek survival space]
The sophon projected words again at great speed.
"Speaking of morality in the universe is aningless. If you stood where I stand, you'd do the sa to humanity."
Setsuna answered calmly.
"Destroying you—what does it matter to ?"
"…."
After a long silence, the sophon projected one last line:
[Please grant the Trisolaran civilization a chance to preserve a seed of life]
It was nearly begging—Trisolaris pleading with its judge for rcy.
"…."
"I said before—extermination is the highest form of respect for a civilization."
"Farewell."
Clack—
The starship slowly turned toward the distant system.
An hour later.
The AI's prompt tone rang out:
[Fallen Star Lance]
[Charging status: 100%]
[Target locked: Alpha Centauri (4.2 light-years)]
[Firing sequence ready]
"An attack on an enemy howorld at astronomical scale?!"
Ding Yi realized the Eternal Snowfall was preparing to do sothing utterly absurd.
From the Solar System to Alpha Centauri was 4.2 light-years!
His limited imagination could not fathom a weapon with a firing range asured in light-years.
The United Fleet's weapons couldn't even reach across half the Solar System.
Clack—
Setsuna pressed the firing key.
Blazing energy compressed and warped within the main cannon.
Boom!!!
A crimson torrent nearly a hundred kiloters wide erupted.
From Earth, it looked like a red pillar of light firing from the Sun, shooting straight into the distant stars.
The cosmic void itself seed split in two by the beam—spectacular and terrifying all at once.
The main cannon's excess energy annihilated several satellites and asteroids along its path.
The Fallen Star Lance, like the sophon light spear, was an attack at near-infinite speed—faster than light.
Thus—
Almost the instant it fired, the crimson beam leapt across the vast cosmic void and struck Alpha Centauri, 4.2 light-years away.
The Trisolaran ho system.
The Trisolaran planet was in a stable Chaotic Era, orbiting one of the three suns at a radius of about 0.6 AU.
As soon as the supre leader had learned that an unknown alien warship had appeared within the Solar System and captured the Droplet, they had imdiately begun organizing an exodus.
As a more advanced civilization, the Trisolarans understood all too well the consequences of technological suppression. Only those arrogant, foolish humans would dare challenge a higher civilization.
Vmmm—
Shwoom—
Large and small, civilian and military ships launched from the planet, heading into the distant universe.
By the most optimistic estimate, the strike would take at least years to arrive.
Once, they had thought the distance between Trisolaris and Earth was too vast—the First Fleet required 400 years to reach the Solar System.
Now they cursed that the distance was too short.
The outsider had discovered them with ease.
The Trisolaran world had no "language."
They communicated via brainwaves, with incredible speed. Between individuals, there was no privacy or secrets. Their society was a utopian form of collectivist despotism.
Thus, across the entire planet, apart from the hum of machines, no other noise could be heard.
After negotiations collapsed, every Trisolaran earnestly prepared to flee their howorld.
"The Solar System is no longer habitable. Our only escape route is farther away."
"Once the ships launch, shut down all comms, remain in silence, avoid detection!"
"All warti laws are void. For the sake of survival, free exodus is permitted."
The supre leader and officials did their utmost to command the evacuation.
Heading for Earth would be suicide. At their current technological level, long-distance interstellar migration was exceedingly risky.
They would need to remain in dehydrated stasis, journeying hundreds or even thousands of years to possibly find a habitable system.
In the end, fewer than one in ten thousand of the refugee ships might survive.
But for the continuation of their civilization, it was a price they had to pay.
"If the strike arrives in four years, we can build six interstellar migrant ships… Aside from the Solar System, the nearest star system is…"
"Considering unforeseen events, we should evacuate two years earlier. The fleet would be reduced to two or three ships… projected survival numbers are…"
Technical officials worked nervously on calculations.
They had no idea what kind of strike the enemy would launch. According to physics, the fastest speed they could imagine was light.
Which gave them about four years of buffer ti.
Vmmm—Vmmm—
Suddenly—
A sophon delivered new information.
[The enemy has already launched an attack on the Trisolaran howorld]
"So fast?!"
There was no ti for shock.
The instant the ssage arrived—
On the planet, Trisolarans raised their gaze to see the crimson pillar tearing through the cosmos, descending from beyond their star system.
From the Eternal Snowfall's firing to impact, the interval was less than a single second.
The enemy had given them no chance to prepare or flee, determined to consign their entire civilization to death.
The Trisolarans stared upward. Through long evolution, they had shed cowardly emotions, suppressing feelings to remain calm and rational.
Now, once again, they felt the ancient fear buried deep in their genes.
4.2 light-years—nearly forty trillion kiloters—erased in a single thought, the strike arriving instantly.
"Is this… God?"
—
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