Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

The command center fell silent once again.

Clearly, the current battle has reached a stalemate.

Everyone present knew that the longer this war dragged on, the more detrimental it would be to humanity.

This can be seen from the remaining quantities of various resources displayed in the holographic projection in front of us.

The disadvantages of a nomadic lifestyle are also fully exposed at this moment.

At least, when a civilization's technological level is low, an ordinary nomadic civilization would be unable to sustain an evenly matched interstellar war.

"Professor, radio communication detected from the direction of Proxima Centauri b."

Zero's voice broke the deathly silence in the command center.

Lu Yongchang's eyes flickered slightly, and he immediately asked, "Another meaningless communication request?"

Thanks to the Proxima Centauri dictionary deciphered long ago, they can interpret the communications of the Proxima Centauri civilization without any obstacles.

The Proxima Centauri civilization was well aware of this.

Since the war reached a stalemate, they have been sending communication requests to human civilization, attempting to have a face-to-face exchange with them.

Unsurprisingly, Lü Yongchang rejected all of these meaningless communication requests.

"No, that's not it."

To Lü Yongchang's surprise, Zero denied his guess: "Unlike the previous times, this time, the radio they sent contained substantial information."

As soon as he finished speaking, the holographic projection screen in front of the command center quietly changed, and a series of Chinese characters appeared in front of everyone.

Hello, unfamiliar civilization. We are the Proxima Centauri civilization.

【…】

War is not what we want; I hope we can sit down and talk things out.

Lu Yongchang read the "letter of persuasion to surrender" with a solemn expression.

Indeed, in his view, the message from the Proxima Centauri civilization was an unusual letter urging surrender!

Although not explicitly stated in the letter, Lü Yongchang could still discern from the lines the level of confidence the Proxima Centauri civilization had in this protracted war.

"They killed so many of us, and now they want us to 'cede territory and pay reparations'?"

"Are you kidding me!"

As he spoke, Zhao Zijie slammed his hand on the control panel in front of him, causing the holographic screen next to him to tremble.

Lu Yongchang chuckled, waved his hand in the air, and tossed the letter urging surrender aside.

"That's not how you put it."

"Strictly speaking, we are the invaders, and they have suffered far greater losses than we have in this war."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zijie's expression suddenly became somewhat strange.

It seems... that's how it is?

"Uh! Well, even if we are the intruders, their demands are excessive!" Zhao Zijie scratched his head awkwardly.

"Putting everything else aside, for the sake of those soldiers who died on the battlefield, we cannot surrender!"

Lü Yongchang didn't speak, but simply nodded slightly.

Surrender is out of the question.

I will never surrender in this lifetime.

only……

How should this war be fought next?

Lu Yongchang reached out and gently rubbed his temples. "Hiss... Let me think about it."

He closed his eyes slightly, carefully considering the current battle situation.

"Land-based laser weapons..."

"Uranium-235 surplus... hydrogen bomb... gas giant planet..."

He muttered some obscure words to himself.

Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he clapped his hands!

"Got it!"

In the quiet command center, Lü Yongchang's clapping sounded particularly crisp and loud, drawing questioning glances from everyone.

"Yongchang?" Fang Xu asked anxiously, "Do you know how to destroy those 12 land-based laser weapons?"

Lu Yongchang shook his head: "It's too difficult to bypass the planetary defense network and directly strike land-based laser weapons."

Fang Xu's expression gradually changed from excitement to confusion and bewilderment.

Lu Yongchang's lips curled up slightly, revealing a mysterious smile.

Instead of directly stating his plan, he turned to the side and asked, "Zero, how many asteroids are there around us?"

"Or, how many asteroids are there in this star system?"

The star map unfolded instantly.

One by one, countless tiny red dots appeared before everyone's eyes.

Each red dot represents an asteroid, large or small.

"Zero. Make a rough estimate of the total amount." Lu Yongchang frowned and gave the order again.

The star map began to change, and a gray 3D sphere model gradually took shape before everyone's eyes.

The diameter of the sphere increases rapidly.

Ultimately, it reached an astonishing number.

3000 kilometers.

Lu Yongchang nodded thoughtfully: "Approximately the size of the moon... then that's sufficient for its use."

Fang Xu, standing to the side, looked increasingly puzzled.

He pondered for a moment, then, as if he had figured something out, he showed a look of sudden realization.

But soon, he frowned and slowly shook his head.

Perhaps realizing there was something wrong with his thinking, he asked softly, "Yongchang, do you want to push these asteroids to collide with Proxima Centauri b?"

"This won't work."

"Their planetary defense network is enough to blast these asteroids to dust."

Upon hearing this, Lü Yongchang was taken aback: "Who said I was going to push an asteroid to collide with Proxima Centauri b?"

"Let alone a planetary defense network, it would take a lot of time just to move these asteroids around."

"We don't have that much free time to play these kinds of tricks."

Fang Xu froze on the spot: "Then what do you mean?"

Lü Yongchang chuckled and uttered a single word: "smog."

"Smog?" Fang Xu subconsciously repeated Lü Yongchang's words.

"According to our long-range observations, Proxima Centauri b has a much better atmospheric environment than Earth, which is why they can use land-based laser weapons." Lu Yongchang's smile became more and more obvious.

"While we cannot destroy the land-based laser weapon itself, we can significantly reduce its power."

"Using hummingbird mining ships and nanobots, these asteroids will be reduced to extremely fine dust, which will then be launched towards Proxima Centauri b via nuclear bombs."

At this point, Lü Yongchang shrugged: "Simply put, it's an interstellar version of a smoke bomb."

"But our uranium-235 reserves are running low," Cao Liangcai's voice came from the side.

Lü Yongchang turned his head to look at the porthole next to him.

In the far distance beyond the porthole, there is a gas giant similar to Jupiter.

"This time, we'll use a hydrogen bomb."

……

0.01 light-years away.

In the depths of the universe, 750 starships remain silently in place.

Suddenly, the lights of Hall thrusters lit up at the sterns of 250 of the starships!

The light gradually brightened.

250 [Taotie] supply ships headed straight towards Proxima Centauri b!