Communicating via spatial broadcast appeared to consu a significant amount of additional energy, so ever since arriving at the side of the aging Specter, Xiao Yu had been using faster-than-light radio wave communication with it.
Around the Yanjing, due to the ongoing shield strength tests, the ship itself couldn’t receive incoming ssages. However, the other ships were unaffected, and it was they who received the ssage and relayed it to Xiao Yu’s mind using superluminal communication technology.
For so reason, likely due to a thod employed by the aging Specter that Xiao Yu had yet to understand, the communication between him and the Specter wasn’t affected by the star’s radiation.
Xiao Yu hesitated briefly and didn’t imdiately reply.
When he received this ssage, Xiao Yu simultaneously played it aloud within the Yanjing’s cabin, allowing Luka Two and the other scientists to hear it as well.
The scientists all looked up at Xiao Yu with sowhat tense expressions.
Xiao Yu steadied himself slightly and gave his response.
That response was first transmitted via superluminal communication to the outer ships, which then used faster-than-light radio wave technology to send it to the star.
“Elder, I’ve successfully decoded the ssage. It turns out it wasn’t caused by so natural or accidental artificial phenonon, but rather by a certain civilization intentionally trying to send a ssage using that thod.”
“Oh? Is that so? And what did the ssage say? Tell .”
The aging Specter’s tone was utterly casual, with no inflection, just as if it were making small talk with Xiao Yu and had happened to ask the question.
Compared to that, Xiao Yu’s tone was even more calm and indifferent, more natural, even.
Xiao Yu replied, “The actual content is a bit dull. The ssage ca from that Level 5 Civilization fleet that’s been lingering twenty light-years away, unwilling to leave. It seems they’re afraid of your power and don’t dare co closer, yet also can’t communicate with through conventional ans, so they resorted to this. As for what they said, well, they claim I can’t stay under your protection forever, that eventually you’ll die. They want to leave and surrender to them. They promise certain benefits, like sparing my life, and making my race a subordinate species instead of selling us on the market.”
After saying that, Xiao Yu began to wait, waiting for the aging Specter’s reaction.
For the first ti in a long while, Xiao Yu felt a rare emotion creeping in, tension.
The Specter’s reply ca swiftly.
“Then… what do you plan to do?”
“What else could I do?” Xiao Yu replied, pretending to be surprised. “They don’t even know my actual life form. Once they find out, how could they possibly keep their promise? Besides, why would I surrender? Under your protection, my technological advancent has been extrely rapid. I’m confident that in fifty years, I’ll be able to defeat them.”
“Excellent. Very good.” After a brief pause, the aging Specter responded. “I have the power to completely annihilate that fleet. The only reason I haven’t acted is that I intended to leave them there, as tools to temper you.”
“Mm, I understand your intent.” Xiao Yu’s brain was working rapidly as he layered in another lie. “But since they’ve sent this surrender ssage, I plan to take advantage of it. Specifically, I’ll send a probe into their fleet, use it to engage in communication, and string them along. During the exchange, I’ll gather as much information as I can about their social structure and combat strength. That intelligence will be critical for the war fifty years from now.”
“Very good, that’s a fine idea. It seems you’ve begun to learn how to wield lies and deception as weapons in this dark universe. Rember this, no matter what thods you use, victory is all that matters.” The aging Specter said.
Xiao Yu didn’t know whether the aging Specter’s words held so hidden aning. He could only continue to act according to the established plan. “Thank you for your guidance.”
“Alright, I’m going to rest. If there are any unusual circumstances, rember to report to imdiately.”
After saying that, the connection between Xiao Yu and the Specter was severed.
Inside the Yanjing’s cabin, Xiao Yu looked at Luka Two and the other scientists waiting before him and said, “I’m certain it’s already suspicious of us. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that it suddenly rembered to contact us right when we initiated the shield strength test?”
“That implies, from another angle, that your thods truly did interfere with its surveillance. It also ans that, in the past, it was indeed monitoring us. The likelihood of this is as high as seventy percent,” said the young Luka scientist, Jason.
Upon reaching that conclusion, Xiao Yu felt a bone-chilling sense of dread.
“We can confirm that even if it really did monitor us through so ans, it doesn’t have the ability to read the data stored inside our computers. Because the actual contents of that decoded ssage stored in the system were not discovered by it. Fortunately, after I learned the true contents of that ssage, I never spoke of it to anyone without safeguards in place. Otherwise, through monitoring our communications, it would have known about the ssage long ago and already moved to threaten or coerce …”
Luka Two said, “In a comprehensive analysis, yes, it did develop so suspicions. But the degree of suspicion is low, perhaps even minimal. So… to prevent further escalation of that suspicion, this shield strength test should end. How is your new dictionary progressing?”
“The new dictionary is complete. Interpreted with this new dictionary, our everyday language will take on completely different anings. Its total length is around 500KB. How long will it take you to fully morize and master it?”
As he spoke, Xiao Yu projected the data before them.
Luka Two glanced at it and replied, “To morize and master it completely, I’ll need thirty minutes.”
“I need twenty-five minutes,” said Jason.
“I need thirty-two minutes.”
“I need twenty-eight minutes.”
The other scientists also gave their estimates.
‘If it were the younger Luka Two, it probably would have only needed twenty-two minutes to fully master it. It seems that aging has indeed started to affect its ntal agility. If we manage to escape this crisis, our biological research needs to accelerate. Luka Two is one of my most capable assistants. Its decline will be a significant loss to .’ Xiao Yu thought silently.
Based on the differences in required ti, one could roughly gauge the relative aptitude of the scientists.
“Alright then, let’s get to it. Thirty-five minutes from now, I’ll terminate this shield strength test. At that point, you’ll all remain aboard the Yanjing, continue using the new dictionary to communicate with , and stay for a period before returning.”
“Yes, Master.” After responding, the scientists focused all their attention and began absorbing the new information.
Thanks to various advanced biotechnological enhancents, these scientists under Xiao Yu’s command were far more ntally agile than humans of the Earth era. A 500KB dataset, roughly 200,000 words, could be completely absorbed by them in re tens of minutes.
anwhile, outside the Yanjing, weapons testing continued. Torrents of negative matter quarks, gravity bombs, antimatter bombs, even hydrogen bombs and gravity warheads were launched in waves. Amid this overwhelming assault, the Yanjing’s shield system stood firm, revealing its trendous defensive capability.
But Xiao Yu knew, no matter how powerful the Yanjing’s shields were, they were still worthless before the aging Specter.
Thirty-five minutes later, the barrage gradually ceased and finally faded entirely. Xiao Yu knew that from this mont onward, it was highly likely that all his communications were once again under surveillance. Every word he spoke might bring danger upon himself.
After calming himself slightly, Xiao Yu issued a new command.
“All test data from this shield strength evaluation has been transferred to your personal terminals. All relevant scientists are to begin analysis imdiately. You must submit your reports on this test within three days.”
This ssage was sent in plaintext, without any encryption.
“Yes, Master. The Seventh Experintal Subdivision of the Defense Technology Institute guarantees completion of the task.”
“The Sixth Subdivision of the Weapons Technology Institute guarantees completion of the task.”
After receiving the responses, Xiao Yu offered so encouraging remarks, as usual, before cutting the connection.
Luka Two and the other scientists remained quietly inside the Yanjing’s cabin.
“Master, the psychological survey report for all intelligent species under your command has been completed. (Master, has the shield strength test ended?)”
“What were the results of the survey? (Yes, it has ended.)”
“The results show that the emotional state of all your subordinate intelligent species is generally stable. (We do have one point we’re unsure about.)”
“Very good. Submit the full data from this test. (What is it?)”
“Understood. The test data is as follows:… (The probe you proposed sending to the Molian fleet, is that solely to appease the aging Specter, or do you have so special intention behind it?)”
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