Pretending to be a genius starts with the civilization advancement assessment.

Chapter 226 Separated by Distance, a Visit from the Otherworld (5K)

Earth's near-Earth orbit.

The once desolate cosmic backdrop is now adorned with a fleet that is beginning to take shape, and an atmosphere of both grim determination and hope permeates the vacuum.

The five unmanned intelligent transport ships that arrived not long ago have completed their missions. The enormous objects they carried have been activated, like sleeping beasts awakening, revealing a ferocious and majestic posture.

In the center was the five-kilometer-long, dark gray ship with a bow inlaid with a pulsating deep blue energy crystal, a Borei-class assault ship.

Like the backbone and brain of the fleet, its massive hull gleamed with a cold, hard metallic luster under the starlight, while the complex energy conduction patterns on both sides glowed faintly, radiating a powerful aura that reassured people.

Surrounding it were five sharp-looking, sword-like assault ships of the Sharp-class, and fifteen Guardian-class escort ships of the Sharp-class, which were slightly heavier and focused on defense and fire support.

Like loyal guards, they protect the flagship and form the backbone of the fleet's offensive and defensive capabilities.

Behind the fleet are two replenishment ships, two personnel transport ships, and one engineering and maintenance ship. They are like the lifeblood and logistical support of the fleet, ensuring the sustainability of the expedition.

The sides of all ships are painted with the emblem of the Blue Star Community—a blue planet surrounded by olive branches and stars, and below it two powerful interstellar characters: "Dongfeng"!
Below the fleet, the azure blue planet slowly rotated, surrounded by white clouds, and the outline of the continent was clearly visible.

In the synchronous orbit of Blue Star, the six orbital fortresses of the "Guardian-V" planetary defense system float silently like eternal sentinels, with pale golden energy flowing faintly among the petals, protecting the home below.

This spectacular scene is being broadcast live to the world in holographic form via reconnaissance satellites and media spacecraft in near-Earth orbit.

On the surface of Earth, in countless city squares, family living rooms, and street corners, people held their breath, gazing up at the fleet in the sky that represented the hope and future of civilization. Excitement, pride, worry, and blessings—a mix of emotions mingled in the hearts of billions.

The atmosphere on the bridge of the flagship Northwind was solemn and dignified.

The first batch of members of the Dongfeng Mercenary Group have all boarded the ship and are in their positions.

The Star Core level powerhouses wore dark-colored Raging Waves series combat suits, with source energy patterns faintly glowing, making them appear even more heroic.

The Stardust-class trainees wore the Microwave General Spacesuit, their eyes showing tension, but even more so excitement and determination.

Chen Yu stood in the bridge command area, stroking the brand-new control panel, grinning foolishly, and occasionally whispering smugly into the communicator: "Old Zhou, Old Zhou, did you see that? Isn't our flagship imposing?" Zhou Yuxuan's helpless reminder came through the communicator: "Focus, it's a global live broadcast."

Elizabeth stood quietly by the porthole, her icy blue eyes reflecting the distant planet, her expression serene. Liu Yuan, on the other hand, sat at his tactical position, carefully examining the system data in front of him, as composed as ever.

Inside the transport ship's cabin where the reserve crew were gathered, Nightingale leaned against the wall, wearing a wristband given to her by Big Bear and a bracelet woven by Skinny Monkey. She gently stroked the shimmering crystal, her cool gaze piercing through the small viewing window as she looked out at the vast fleet and her distant homeland.

The vow of "meeting again in the stars" from my teammates still seems to echo in my ears.

At the very front of the fleet, a streak of emerald green light floated silently—that was Irelia's personal vehicle, the Emerald Whisper Starship.

At this moment, Lin Yi was standing on the open-air platform on the top floor of the Blue Star Community headquarters building.

He was still wearing that simple combat uniform, his posture upright, his gaze piercing through the atmosphere, precisely landing on the direction of the fleet on the orbit.

Behind him were Li Zhenguo, Zhou Donglai, and other high-ranking officials from Blue Star.

The cameras of the global live broadcast were also focused on this place.

Lin Yi took a deep breath and connected to the entire fleet through the communication channel.

"To all members of the Dongfeng Mercenary Group!"

All the crew members, regardless of their positions, unconsciously straightened their backs.

"Today, you will represent the Blue Star civilization and be the first to step into the vast sea of ​​stars. You are the eyes of civilization, the pioneers of exploration, and the cornerstone of the future."

"The road ahead will inevitably be full of unknowns and challenges. But I believe that you, who have survived the apocalypse, have enough courage, wisdom and resilience to face everything."

"Remember, behind you are the expectations of billions of your compatriots. On your shoulders lies the glory of 'Silver Moon Blue'!"

"Today, we part ways here. One day, we shall meet again atop the sea of ​​stars!"

"I, Lin Yi, on behalf of the Blue Star civilization, hereby bid you all farewell!"

"May you all have smooth sailing and great success in your military endeavors."

"Please go ahead, everyone." Lin Yi's voice, like a resounding bell, struck everyone's hearts. "We—meet in the starry sea!"

"Meeting amidst the stars and the sea!"

In an instant, countless Earthlings on the fleet's public channel and those who heard the blessing through the live broadcast couldn't help but shout along. Although the sound waves couldn't travel through the vacuum, they transformed into an invisible force, filling everyone's hearts.

Inside the bridge, Irelia was no longer wearing her long dress, but instead was dressed in the combat uniform of the Origin Warrior Army, and her beautiful hair was now tied up.

Her cool voice rang out through the fleet command chain: "All ships, final system self-check! Engine warm-up!"

"North Wind, all systems are normal!"

"All systems from Sharp Edge 1 to 5 are functioning normally!"

"Guardians 1 through 15, all systems are functioning normally!"

A series of clear reports rang out.

"Eastern Vanguard Fleet, heed my command!" Irelia's voice was no longer gentle, but carried the unique majesty of a star-level powerhouse.

"set sail!"

hum! !

Led by the North Wind, all the ships simultaneously unleashed dazzling, eerie blue contrails from their main engines, instantly illuminating the surrounding airspace. The massive fleet began to move slowly, like a colossal cosmic beast awakening, breaking free from the gravitational pull of the planets and heading into the depths of space.

As their speed increased, the fleet gradually transformed into streaks of blue light, streaking across the dark curtain of space and resolutely heading towards the vast ocean of stars, a place brimming with infinite possibilities and dangers.

On the blue planet, countless people looked up at the receding point of light in the sky, waving, shouting, tears and smiles intertwined.

This is a farewell to civilization, and the beginning of a new era.

Lin Yi stood on the platform, gazing at the direction where the fleet had disappeared for a long time, until the last glimmer of light also disappeared into the depths of the starry sky, before he slowly withdrew his gaze.

The decision to split up and act separately was made before the fleet set sail.

As a representative of the Blue Star civilization and a disciple of the eternal god Xu Chen, Lin Yi, a core figure of a Level 5 civilization and a Level 7 genius, must remain on Blue Star to await the arrival of the official guidance fleet of the Purple Gold Star Alliance, as well as the delegations of various forces that have heard the news and are determined to come to recruit or befriend him.

Based on Liyue's assessment, the leaders of these visitors are at least Starfield-level beings.

If Lin Yi himself is not present, it would be tantamount to the Blue Star civilization offending these local bullies before even officially stepping into the Star Sea, making subsequent development extremely difficult.

Therefore, after discussions among the higher-ups, it was decided that Irelia, the guardian of the Blue Star civilization, the vice leader of the Dongfeng Mercenary Group, and a newly promoted star-domain level powerhouse, would lead the team to set off first.

She possesses both interstellar knowledge and the necessary skills to be competent in the initial leadership role.

After handling the reception matters on Blue Star, Lin Yi will head to Purple Star to meet up with everyone.

Irelia also explained in detail the situation of the mercenary group in its early days.

When it was first established, the mercenary group was only a 1-star level and could only take on simple tasks with very low risk and low reward, such as escorting short-distance caravans, patrolling the edge of star systems, and transporting simple supplies.

The main purpose of this stage is to accumulate experience, integrate the team, upgrade the mercenary group's level, and expand connections. The process is often tedious and lengthy, taking at least thirty or forty years.

Moreover, Lin Yi can participate in the fleet's training and decision-making meetings at any time through the Pan-Spirit Alliance virtual network, so he is not completely disconnected.

Lin Yi strongly agrees with this.

He had spent decades in this stage in his previous life, and he still vividly remembered those incredibly boring tasks. He had originally thought that he would have to go through it all again with his brothers in this life, and he couldn't help but complain a little. But now that he was suddenly "forced" to skip class and hand over this responsibility to Irelia, he felt a little guilty.

"It's really a bit of a waste to send a Star Domain-level expert like you to be a babysitter for a bunch of greenhorns who've never even seen a Star Sea, handling those trivial 1-star missions," Lin Yi said to Irelia with a wry smile in private.

Irelia, however, seemed quite calm, even smiling slightly: "Captain, you're overthinking it. I've been a babysitter for the Blue Star civilization for thousands of years, and I'm used to it. Now it's just a change of scenery, continuing to take care of a group of children who need more experience. A few decades is nothing."

Lin Yi felt ashamed.
-
Time flies, and more than half a year has passed since the Dongfeng Fleet set sail.

Everything on Earth seems to be on a new track.

The planetary defense system is operating stably, internal construction is in full swing, and the people are gradually adapting to the new pattern after the advancement of civilization, with their yearning for the stars growing day by day.

Lin Yi spent most of his time cultivating and handling affairs through the virtual network, and everything was stable and orderly.

On this day, in the vast interstellar space, several light-years away from the edge of the star system where Blue Star resides, a spaceship was silently traveling under the influence of a curvature bubble.

The spaceship has a streamlined shape, as if it were cast from starlight and some unknown liquid glass metal. The hull is naturally shrouded in ever-changing nine-colored halos. There are no visible engine nozzles or weapon hardpoints. It is quiet and elegant.

Inside the control room, a half-human woman with an ethereal aura and features clearly resembling those of the Spirit Race was languidly leaning back in a chair made of pure energy.

Her name is "Xingyi," and she is the head of the Purple Gold Star Alliance branch of the Pan-Spirit Alliance Virtual Network Company, a being of the Derivation Realm level.

Her slender fingers gently traced the light screen in front of her, which was composed of data streams and displayed a brief report about the Blue Star civilization and Lin Yi.

"Level 5 civilization assessment in the energy-poor zone, Level 7 personal assessment, purple access permission," she muttered to herself, a glint of interest flashing in her eyes. "Purple access permission. In the few star systems around here, the only one who has recently been able to open purple access permission is His Majesty Xuchen, who is in charge of assessing the civilization of this planet. It's amazing that a god of His Majesty Xuchen's level would even consider taking him as a disciple."

Just then, the spaceship's AI voice sounded.

"Warning: Approaching the outer edge of the target star system. Detected the boundary of the energy field of a standard 'Guardian-V' planetary defense system ahead. According to database analysis, this system has the capability to detect and warn of early-stage threats at the star system level. Recommendation: Activate the stealth module to evade detection, or activate the jamming module to block its scan."

Upon hearing this, Xingyi was slightly taken aback, then suddenly realized what was happening, and a playful smile appeared on her lips.

"Guardian - V-type? Heh. It seems this kid's family background is much more substantial than the report states. Yes, it must be resources provided privately by His Majesty Xu Chen. Otherwise, where would a newly established civilization that just passed the assessment get the financial resources and channels to purchase a defense system of this level?"

She made the judgment almost instantly.

Xingyi gently shook her head and issued instructions to the spaceship's AI: "Cancel warp drive, proceed normally to the outermost edge of the defense system's detection range, and remain stationary. Shut down all active scanning and weapon systems, maintaining only the basic protective force field."

"Command confirmation."

The spaceship instantly broke free from its faster-than-light travel, its nine-colored halo slightly receding as it glided precisely to the edge of the invisible defensive boundary at a relatively slow speed, like a polite visitor stopping outside the fence of a host's yard, quietly awaiting notification.

Xingyi knew very well that with the performance of this spaceship, it would be easy to forcibly break through or block detection.

But doing so would be tantamount to slapping that young genius in the face, and would be an extreme disrespect to the civilization he belongs to.

Her purpose in coming here was to make friends, not enemies.

Staying outside the defensive perimeter is a common way to show goodwill and respect throughout the universe.

"Alright, now let's see how this little kid will handle it."

Xingyi calmly adjusted to a more comfortable sitting position, her gaze seemingly piercing through the invisible cabin walls, as if she could already see that distant blue planet.

Almost the instant the spaceship came to a complete stop.

Blue Star, the headquarters of the community, the planetary defense control center.

A piercing alarm suddenly went off.

A red glow, representing the highest level of threat, flashed wildly throughout the control room.

"Report! Extremely high energy reaction detected in the airspace of LB-7392113-D!"

"Target. Target energy level exceeds the system's preset rating limit! Unable to define! Duplicate, unable to define!"

"The other side stopped at the edge of the defensive perimeter and did not take any further action."

The operator's voice was filled with barely suppressed panic.

The existence that could cause their system, which was capable of triggering early-stage star field warnings, to "go off the charts" was far more powerful than they had imagined.

Meanwhile, Lin Yi, who was pondering the rules of life in his cultivation room, also received a synchronized alert from Xuanji.

Lin Yi suddenly opened his eyes, his brows furrowed.

The "Guardian-V" system can detect and warn of early-stage threats at the star field level, but now it has "exceeded the preset rating limit"?
That means the visitor is at least a mid-level Star Domain, or even higher.

However, Lin Yi wasn't too panicked, after all, he had some trump cards up his sleeve.

He directly commanded, "Xuanji, mobilize all observation equipment, lock onto the target, and analyze its external features. At the same time, use my virtual network access to conduct an emergency comparison and query of the image data in the Pan-Spirit Alliance database."

"Command confirmation."

The next moment, a clear image was projected in front of Lin Yi.

It was a spaceship he had never seen before. It was not particularly large, about one-fifth the size of a Northwind-class warship, but its shape was extremely beautiful and smooth. The whole body seemed to be cast from some kind of glass containing starlight and an unknown silver metal, and the ship's body naturally flowed with a dreamlike nine-colored halo.

Almost the instant Lin Yi saw the image of the spaceship, Xuanji's query results were also returned.

"Principal, database comparison complete. Target spaceship model: 'Phantom Star Chaser'. Manufacturer: A spaceship manufacturing company directly under the Pan-Spirit Alliance Virtual Network Company. Level rating: Derivative Realm Customized Vehicle. Usually only equipped by high-ranking members of the Pan-Spirit Alliance Virtual Network or Derivative Realm beings closely related to them."

Derivative level.

Lin Yi's heart skipped a beat.

It wasn't some powerful star-domain level force that he had guessed was located not far from Blue Star, but rather a realm-level entity. No wonder the threat rating of the defense system was off the charts.

However, why would a powerful being at the Transcendent Realm level suddenly visit the remote Blue Star?
Could they also be here for me? But according to Liyue's previous predictions, the major powers should have sent Starfield-level forces.

Although Lin Yi had some doubts, he didn't have time to think about it too much.

He noticed that when the "Phantom Star Chaser" entered the maximum detection range of the "Guardian-V" defense system, its speed suddenly decreased and then it stopped, hovering quietly at the outermost edge of the defense circle without making any further moves.

“It stopped outside the defense perimeter.” Lin Yi’s mind raced. “This is a universal signal of respect and goodwill. If the visitor had malicious intent, with the capabilities of the Transcendent Realm level and the performance of this spaceship, it could completely ignore the detection of the ‘Guardian God-V’ and appear directly in outer space of Blue Star, or even in geosynchronous orbit.”

Although he had figured this out, Lin Yi did not let his guard down.

After all, when facing an unknown powerhouse far beyond one's own level, one can never be too cautious.

He immediately sent a message through the communication system to the Blue Star leadership and the defense command center: "Unknown high-level visitor detected, initially judged to be at the Transcendent Realm level, currently behaving in good faith. All units maintain the highest alert level, but do not initiate attack procedures for the time being. Leave everything to me."

Just to be on the safe side, Lin Yi took out the talisman given to him by his master Xu Chen and placed it close to his body to ensure it was ready to be activated instantly.

Then, with a flicker, he transformed into a dazzling golden streak of light and flew into the "Shanming" spaceship, which was stationed in outer space orbit.

Then, Shanming quickly started up and sped towards the "Phantom Star Chaser" spaceship.

Whether it's a blessing or a curse, we have to face it eventually.

There's no escaping this being at the Transcendent Realm level.

(End of this chapter)