This time I chose Paladin.

Chapter 309 Meeting
Calm returned to the sea of ​​clouds, and the atmospheric creatures in the distance were immersed in their graceful, eternal dance, indifferent to this brief conflict.

His figure swept across the mountains and rivers, light and shadow intertwining. The lights of Pingdu in the distance grew clearer, and Nie Weiyang adjusted his posture and began to descend.

A five-hour flight covered a long distance.

Most of the journey took place over the mountains and rivers of China. When the magnificent outline of Pingdu finally appeared on the horizon, even Nie Weiyang had to admit the amazing efficiency that Pingdu had demonstrated.

Although there was no boisterous gongs and drums or the sound of firecrackers, the entire city of Pingdu had clearly entered a skilled... reception mode.

Ground troops quietly deployed at key points, ensuring security while avoiding provocative confrontations. All non-essential personnel activity was restricted to designated areas, and the main road leading to the central plaza was completely cleared. Patrol routes had already been adjusted to leave wide passageways... An invisible atmosphere of solemnity enveloped this largest fortress built by humanity in the wasteland.

Nie Weiyang: “…”

...This is somewhat similar to how news reports show people receiving other people's leaders.

Okay, in a sense, his current identity is also... uh, an alien friend?
Of course, even setting aside the relationship between the second administrator and the previous civilization, which even he himself could hardly explain, the very existence of a veritable humanoid self-propelled strategic unit already deserves this kind of treatment.

A sense of tension permeated the air in Heido, but it was strictly controlled by operational procedures and professional competence, and was never revealed outwardly.

Just as Administrator Number Two entered the outer airspace of Pingdu and began to slow down—

At the Heito Astronomical Observatory and the air situation monitoring department, the observers were almost all hyperopic, and at this moment they were intently scanning their surroundings.

Suddenly, the observer's well-trained eyes felt a stinging sensation.

It was not hostile, nor was it an attack.

However, the target energy was too high. Even after reducing most of its power, the light that naturally dissipated during the deceleration still shone like a white sun.

The observer silently reached out to the side while reporting to the rear: "The target has reached the designated airspace and is approaching the central square."

He then skillfully switched places with the others, took out a bottle of special eye drops from his backpack, and quietly left.

……

The circular central square had already been cleared out, so empty that you could hear the faint sound of the wind whistling across the ground.

A group of people walked out of the buildings at the edge of the square and steadily came to their designated positions in the center of the square. Their formation was neither too grand nor lacking in solemnity.

They are not the entire Pingdu management team. This was a suggestion made earlier by Nie Weiyang when he contacted Pingdu, claiming it was "based on an analysis of the behavior patterns of the second administrator"—'The lineup should not be too large; I cannot explain the specific reasons, I can only say that he does not like it.'

Pingdu readily accepted the good advice.

Nie Weiyang's real reason was simple: besides still not wanting to read the minds of high-level people, he also didn't want to read too many of the complex, profound, and secretive thoughts of top-notch intelligent people at once.

Headache.

This kind of thing was pure distraction and trouble when he needed to concentrate fully on pretending to be the number two administrator.

A strong wind arose.

The black and gold figure descended swiftly, elegantly, and cleanly. The colorless crystal, which floated quietly, carried a peaceful glow as it silently streaked across the sky and landed in the center of the square, maintaining a perfect distance from the crowd.

If some religious people were to see this, they would think it was a deity descended to earth... but to most people here, it only reminds them of things like drones.

Nie Weiyang breathed a sigh of relief. This place was still the most comfortable for him; at least no one was making up doctrines for him in their minds.

The red cloak slowly draped down after the rapids subsided, and the cold red goggles swept across the crowd ahead. The figure made no move, simply standing there quietly, as if waiting for the visitor from Earth to speak first.

When people looked at him, the mental pressure took effect naturally, causing most people to look away and speculate about the connection between this feeling and Nie Weiyang's eyes.

The glow emanating from the crystals was so warm, yet the air in the square felt cold and heavy. At the head of the welcoming procession, an elderly man with a polite smile stepped forward.

On behalf of Heito, and on behalf of the continuation of human civilization in this world, he made the first formal contact with this mysterious, powerful, and enigmatic 'BOSS':
"Welcome to Heito, Second Administrator."

The second administrator's cold red goggles seemed to be locked on the old man who was speaking, his gaze frozen for two seconds. Those two seconds felt infinitely long; you could hear a pin drop in the square, only the sound of the wind whistling by.

Then, a grand, steady, deep voice, like the resonance of metal, resonated in the minds of all those who came to greet them, clear as a whisper, yet carrying an undeniable authority:
"I have arrived here."

The voice used the common language of the previous civilization.

The wording is elegant and the pronunciation is beautiful, but the sound is not transmitted through air vibration. Instead, it is created by illusion directly affecting the listener's consciousness, creating the effect of 'spiritual transmission'.

At that moment, the entire welcoming team, from the officials at the front to the accompanying experts and security personnel at the back, were experiencing a surge of emotions. However, their professionalism allowed them to control their physical reactions, with only their pounding hearts betraying their inner turmoil.

Direct spiritual communication! A pre-civilizational common language! And... self-awareness! Higher intelligence!

This was humanity's first encounter with a highly intelligent entity connected to a pre-civilization, a significance no less than "Hello World." A historian standing at the back of the group trembled almost imperceptibly with his fingers, but he quickly regained his composure, lowered his eyes, opened his notebook, and wrote down the short sentence in both the pre-civilization's common language and several official languages ​​of Earth's civilization: "I have arrived here."

He not only recorded the language, but also noted the time, the characteristics of the individual's voice, and the fact that the voice directly affected consciousness in very small print.

At the same time, the experts in charge of language and cultural communication in the team also began to work at lightning speed, analyzing the information that might be contained behind this short sentence.

The other party's initiative in greeting is well-intentioned, but is the use of such polite phrasing a declaration of identity, or an implicit display of status? The concise wording aligns with their previously observed efficient and direct approach, cutting straight to the point without unnecessary pleasantries…

The security team was on edge.

Telepathic communication means that the other party has the ability to bypass all physical barriers and establish direct contact with internal personnel. This is both a communication channel and a source of immeasurable risks.

All the pre-set contingency plans flashed through my mind as I assessed the safety impact of this new type of contact.

The elderly man at the head of the group seemed completely oblivious to all of this.

He smiled politely, nodded slightly, and responded in the same clear and steady tone, but in Chinese, and deliberately slowed down his speech:
"We have received your message. Heito welcomes you. Hello, we are Earthlings."

Instead of attempting to imitate or use classical language, he chose to express his identity with respect and relinquish the initiative in the dialogue.

The second administrator remained silent for a moment before replying in the same common language of the previous civilization, his voice echoing in everyone's minds.

“Some visitors,” he said. “Some individuals helped me repair the shelter.”

He paused for a moment, then said, "Thank you."

The old man's smile became even more genuine.

"No need for thanks. Would you mind sitting down and talking?"

After receiving permission from the second administrator, he stepped aside and gestured with his hands, saying, "Please."

(End of this chapter)