Those who face the wall, but are in the Nascent Soul stage.

Chapter 476 "Earth" Civilization (4k)

The lightships were frightened away.

The three lightships simultaneously used space jumps to leave Epsilon Eridani in one go, naturally moving away from the direction of the solar system and the Trisolaran system.

"It's good that they're gone." Gagarin murmured, looking at the spatial vortex left behind by the three lightships.

He put his space helmet back on and returned to Eridanus.

"Let's just stay here and keep watch. It's still 10.5 light-years away from the solar system. We'll have to wait until those guys from the bubble world get here before we do anything else."

Gagarin gazed at the vast equatorial ridge of Eridanus and muttered to himself.

...

"ε Eridani is about 10.5 light-years from Earth, making it the 11th closest star system to Earth and the third closest star visible to the naked eye."

Epsilon Eridani is a K2V main-sequence star with a mass approximately 83% that of the Sun and a surface temperature of about 4900 K. It is slightly smaller and cooler than the Sun and has only one planet. According to the dinosaur 'planet menu' data, Epsilon was previously thought to be a planet slightly larger than Earth, with an ocean and a thick atmosphere. It orbits Epsilon Eridani with an orbital period of about 360 days, meaning that the Earth year and the Epsilon year are very close in value, which may be good news for us.

"Solar System Fleet," Qian Mengjian explained to everyone present.

Commander Karl of the Great Ring was also here, and considering the hatred between the Devouring Empire and Eridanus... the dinosaurs could not avoid this topic.

There are twelve humans and four dinosaurs here, all of whom are high-ranking military officers of the human and dinosaur groups.

Before these humans and dinosaurs lies a flat, magma-covered hellish planet—a model of Eridanus from 60,000 years ago.

Carl stared silently at the planet that had been 'swallowed'.

Qian Mengjian seemed oblivious to the dinosaurs' awkwardness and continued:
"But now, the situation is a little different. A week ago, we received information emitted by Eridanus through the electromagnetic wave amplification function of stars. Everyone should know what this means."

Qianmeng took a step back, and a long string of Pojang languages, completely deciphered by humans, appeared on the screen.

These are two broadcasts about the Eridanus civilization calling on nearby star systems to 'unite' against the Devouring Empire, and even announcing the coordinates of Epsilon Eridani.
This broadcast confirmed the good news that the Po River civilization still survived, which is consistent with the dinosaurs' account—that they did indeed routinely leave some seeds for the planets they consumed when they devoured them.

According to the deciphered information, after 60000 years of development, the Po River civilization rose from the ashes and even mastered interstellar communication capabilities, and even nuclear fission nuclear weapons...

This means that the Po River civilization ten years ago had already developed to the stage of human society during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.

But at this moment, humanity showed no joy at the news of the survival of the Po River civilization; instead, the atmosphere was so heavy it was almost palpable.

Qian Mengjian spoke calmly, "I think you all know what this means."

The fleet chairman's aged voice rang out: "Dr. Luo Ji's Dark Forest Theory has been proven. This act of exposing one's own position will inevitably attract a Dark Forest attack, and there is no possibility of escaping it."

People discussed it in hushed tones.

"Nobody ever told the Pojiang civilization that they couldn't just post coordinates randomly..."

"Judging from the content sent by the Po River civilization, they probably judge others by their own standards and imagine most civilizations as highly moral civilizations... Given their insufficient understanding of the universe, it is almost impossible for such a civilization to arrive at the Dark Forest conclusion."

"Send a water droplet to lock down the signal amplification function of Epsilon Eridani?"

Not long ago, a breakthrough was achieved in the technology of strong interaction force detectors. The Space Military Academy successfully replicated the water droplet manufacturing technology and has now manufactured dozens of water droplet detectors, and the process is still being continuously improved.

"It's too late. The electromagnetic waves have already been sent out. According to the inverse square law of attenuation of stellar electromagnetic waves, the electromagnetic waves from Epsilon Eridani can travel at least 1000 light-years before the signal attenuates and becomes completely distorted."

Upon hearing this, Qian Mengjian spoke up to offer a reminder.

"No, comrades, the attenuation frequency of the stellar-mass electromagnetic waves emitted by Epsilon Eridani is much greater than the conventional inverse square law attenuation formula. By the time they reach the solar system, they are already sufficiently blurred, and the analysts have put in a great deal of effort to translate them. According to the technicians' estimates, they will become completely distorted after traveling a maximum of 30 light-years."

As for why this round of stellar electromagnetic waves is so blurry, the technical experts responsible for analyzing electromagnetic waves are still studying it.

The current speculation is that the Po River civilization's high-power electromagnetic radar system had a problem, but there are still many questions that need to be answered.

"Thirty light-years is already quite a distance. This is a spherical space with a diameter of 60 light-years. Based on the average stellar density distribution, this area contains at least 1700 star systems. Who knows if there are any third-party attack ships?"

"There definitely are. Dr. Luo Ji's spell was received by a third-party spaceship only eight years after it was cast, and then attacked by a fourth-party spaceship. Who knows how many such attacking spaceships are around us? It's not wise to take chances."

The group continued their discussion, while the dinosaurs all hung their heads, not daring to speak.

After all, the broadcast messages from the Bojiang people were ultimately aimed at those who devoured the empire.

Although the Devouring Empire has paid the price of more than a billion carnivorous noble dragons dying, some things cannot be resolved simply by killing a few dragons.

Ultimately, the General Staff focused its attention on Qian Mengjian.

"As one comrade rightly pointed out, the electromagnetic waves of the Po River civilization have already spread to a radius of 10.5 light-years, which is already a considerable area. We cannot gamble that there are no cleanup ships from a third-party civilization within this 21-light-year-diameter spherical space."

Vitalis asked, "So, you mean..."

Qian Mengjian: "Send a fleet over there! 10.5 light-years is no longer so far away for modern humans."

The fleet's chief of staff questioned, "This is meaningless. The current solar system fleet cannot stop a light particle attack."

Qian Mengjian nodded: "I know, so the prerequisite for sending a fleet to Pojiang Star is that we are equipped with a sufficient number of light-speed ships."

Someone pointed out the underlying thoughts of Qian Mengjian.

"Commander Qian, are you trying to create a slow fog to help Eridanus establish a security declaration?"

Qian Mengjian nodded: "Yes, considering that the location of Eridanus has been exposed, it is meaningless to blockade Eridanus ε. We might as well use enough light-speed spaceships—for example, a thousand light-speed spaceships—to wrap the Eridanus ε star system with slow fog tracks. The slow fog can effectively block the kinetic energy attack of light particles."

“There’s a problem,” the First Fleet commander questioned.

"This also means that the Eridanus civilization will be trapped in the star system. Everyone has seen the videos of the God War. Let alone us, even those god-level civilizations and the carbon-based federation couldn't do anything to the Slow Mist itself. Is it meaningful to trap the Eridanus civilization in order to protect it?"

Qian Mengjian explained: "It's definitely not feasible to trap them all to death; that's my idea."

With a gentle tap, the holographic projection of Epsilon Eridani appeared.

A thin, veil-like mist covered Epsilon Eridani in the opposite direction from the solar system, covering about 95% of its surface area—except for the space in the direction facing Earth, which remained empty.

It's like cutting a straw into a coconut.

An expert on spatial curvature shook his head in denial: "Commander Qian, the slow fog will spread. As long as the area covered by the dome-shaped slow fog exceeds 50%, it will eventually spread to 100%. This straw-sized opening will not last long and may be sealed off by the continuously spreading slow fog after thousands of years."

“That’s exactly what I wanted to say.” Qian Mengjian nodded.

"Is it possible that even after thousands of years, we still won't be able to save the entire Po River civilization?"

Qian Mengjian addressed the crowd earnestly, "Given the explosive growth of human technology, a huge change will occur in just three to five hundred years, not a few thousand. Rescuing people will be much easier then; we can bring the Pojiang people to live in the solar system. Besides, this method can indeed block most light particles—after all, light particles can't bend, and Dr. Luo Ji's spell experiments have proven this." Vitalis sighed, "To put it bluntly, it's still a delaying tactic."

The commander of the Second Fleet said, "The Dark Forest Theory has no solution; this is the only way."

The Fifth Fleet commander said, "Gentlemen, let's race against time. Let's bet that the third-party ships responsible for the Dark Forest strike aren't as fast as us."

Director of the Science and Technology Committee: "Comrades, there's no use in us being anxious here. The research on the warp drive is still in the experimental stage. Some things can't be accomplished just by shouting. The development of the warp drive could take anywhere from ten to fifty years..."

"The chances are slim. If a third-party spaceship launches an attack now, we won't be able to stop it at all."

Carl said, "I bear an undeniable responsibility for devouring civilizations, and I am sorry."

"The evil dragons have all been wiped out by Luo Qing, and the Devouring Empire has also paid the price... It's a messy situation that's hard to sort out, sigh."

"What's past is past. If the Bojiang civilization wants to devour the Federation again, that's a matter for the future. In any case, based on the Bojiang girl's act of sending a message from afar, we must be saved."

Qian Mengjian placed his hands on the table, leaned forward, and swept his gaze across the crowd: "If we don't address this, what's the difference between humanity and those Black Forest civilizations?"

...

"Why are you being so fierce!"

"Go back and complain to the Federal Parliament!"

"Exactly, besides bullying us weak spirits, what else can it do?"

Three lightships sat in a row, huddled in the core of a star, charging their energy, and angrily denounced Gagarin's actions of driving people away.

Lantern Boat A said, "Forget it, the lantern spirit is magnanimous and won't hold a grudge against the festival tribe."

Lightship B said, "The Festival Clan is notoriously stubborn. I remember that when they wanted to celebrate the birthday of a civilization, they mobilized a large number of their clans and managed to take back an entire star system from the heart of the Silicon Empire, destroying several Silicon Empire warships along the way."

Lightship A exclaimed in surprise: "The warships of the Silicon-based Empire are so terrifying, how could the Festival Clan actually defeat them?"

Lightship B explained: "Oh dear, the difference between S-class civilizations isn't that big. Everyone's technology has reached its peak. The main difference lies in the progress of individual pure energy transformation. Whoever fills the pure energy transformation bar first will become a god-class civilization. Not to mention, the Festival Clan mobilizes all its members to gang up on and snatch people. It's not surprising that they can win against a few silicon-based empire warships."

Lightship C said, "That's right, I've heard that too. The declaration of the Festival Tribe is: no one is allowed to disturb them from celebrating the birthday of their civilization, not even the Silicon-based Empire."

Lightship B said, "I suspect that if a civilization breaks through to level 5B right under the nose of the Silicon God, the Festival Tribe would dare to turn against the Silicon God and steal people..."

Lightship A listened to the gossip of the festival tribe and fell into deep thought.

"Anyway, with Gagarin around, the Pojang civilization has a newbie protection period, so we don't need to worry about them."

Three lightships, bathed in starlight, chatted amongst themselves.

Lightship C asked, "Where to next?"

"Let me ask."

Lightship A initiated a crew-wide communication.

Soon, information from the ten lightships was relayed back.

Lightship D: "I rescued a level 2C civilization. Although it's not level 3C, I still want to save it. These yarn-ball-like creatures are cute."

Lightship E: "Damn it, this planet is armed with spikes all over its body, just like a sea urchin. The problem is, there isn't a single intelligent life on it. If I weren't afraid of accidentally harming the wild animals here, I would have shattered this sea urchin planet into pieces."

Yes, they're short-tempered; they're definitely those grumpy genies from Lightship E.

Lightship F: "Ugh, didn't find anything."

Wow, the spirits of Lightship F are still so cute.

Lightship G: "Same as above, but we encountered a Risk-Taker Sensor on its way. We chatted with it for a bit, and it said there was no civilization within 200 light-years. We asked it where it was going, and it said it was going to a place called the Solar System to relieve another Risk-Taker Sensor..."

Huh? You can find risk mitigation sensors in such a remote place?
What does "shift change" mean? Do sensors also need to be rotated?

The spirits thought the Risk Remover Sensor was a specialty of the Silver Sphere Zone and the Silver Disk Core Zone.

In the vast Milky Way, considering that Class 6A civilizations are bound by a carbon-based federation, the Risk Takers' sensors are mostly responsible for monitoring civilizations below Class 6A. After all, the technical requirements for vacuum decay are not high, and a Class 7B civilization can test it with the full power of its civilization... But the main focus is on guarding against lower Class A civilizations.

After all, apart from a certain B-class civilization that possessed Ding Yi, the vast majority of B-class civilizations would not think of figuring out the formula for a unified cosmic model.

Before the Lamp Spirit civilization developed to 6A, it had also dealt with the Risk Takers Sensors, so it was quite familiar with them.

Lightship H: "We scanned a 10D-class civilization living on a gas giant. They communicate through high-frequency gas waves and seem very intelligent. I plan to save them."

10D-level civilization...

Well, there is indeed some value in saving it.

Lightship I: "We've captured a Black Forest civilization cleanup ship and are currently investigating..."

Very well, it seems this 'melon' is about to follow in the footsteps of the edge world civilization.

Lightship J: "We have discovered a Level 1E civilization."

Lightship J's discovery drew ridicule from the other lightships: "1E? Are you sure you're not mistaking primitive life for civilization?"

Unexpectedly, Lightship J seriously refuted the other members' doubts and sent a screenshot to the other Lightships.

A small, owl-like bird, instead of spreading its wings and soaring through the sky like other owls, looking down at the earth and chasing its prey, lay down on a rocky outcrop, its wings folded together, its black 'eyes' gazing at the starry sky.

—It has been observing the starry sky for longer than the warning period has been.

Thus, a 1E civilization was born.

The communication among the spirit ships continued for some time, and after the spirit ships A, B, and C replenished their energy inside the star, they quickly reached a consensus.

Go find the lightship E.

At this moment, another message came from Lightship E:

“Lamp spirits, this is bizarre! The nanobots on this planet, which are called ‘Law Enforcement Units,’ are actually trying to communicate with me using ‘writing.’ They claim to be from Earth… but I haven’t detected any signals from a silicon-based civilization. This civilization is definitely terribly suspicious!”

Without further hesitation, the three lightships initiated stellar leaps, rapidly heading towards their target star 200 light-years away.

(End of this chapter)