The system handed me over to the state.

Bronya asked, and the princess was silent for a moment before nodding and sitting down on the bed next to her. Bronya pulled over a chair and sat down, while Su Mengyao sat directly on Bronya's lap, looking like a mother with a child.

Why did you just sit down?

Bronya muttered under her breath, to which Su Mengyao replied matter-of-factly, "Is there a problem with the younger sister sitting on the older sister's lap?"

"...You won..."

Bronya gave up trying to persuade Su Mengyao and turned to look at the princess in front of her. With a gentle wave of her hand, a light blue holographic projection screen appeared in front of Bronya.

Bronya's move surprised the princess, who exclaimed, "This is..."

"It's just a little trick, Princess, please don't worry about it. Now, let's begin the questions. Can you tell me your name?"

"Melansha Irwin".

"Hmm...age? Princess Melansa, you look like you're an adult, right?"

"Yes, in my civilization, I am already 22 years old, and have been an adult for two years."

Is it true that catgirls only reach adulthood at 20? That's later than humans. Is it due to their physical condition, or... something else?

Bronya nodded and continued asking questions, while Su Mengyao sat obediently on Bronya's lap, carefully observing the cat-eared girl in front of her.

The cat-eared girl was in a very low mood, which could be seen from her drooping white cat ears, and her expression revealed a hint of dissatisfaction and resentment.

With her hands on her thighs, constantly fidgeting with her fingers, and her legs shifting restlessly, it was clear that this catgirl was very agitated. So, what had happened?

Just a few days ago, when I was talking with the person in charge of the base, I was chatting and laughing and full of confidence. How did I end up like this now?

After a brief inquiry into her identity, Bronya finally began her main event: asking questions.

Why are you in such a bad mood? Is there a reason?

"because...."

Melansa couldn't speak, so Bronya gently comforted her, "It's okay. Whatever the reason, we won't blame you. Just tell us what's wrong."

"Because...because my mother came with the intention of aggression...I...I originally thought...we came for peaceful exchange, but she...she wanted to destroy you, or enslave you..."

As Melansha spoke, her eyes began to redden slightly. Bronya reassured her again, "It's okay, you don't need to feel guilty about it. It has nothing to do with you."

"How could it be unrelated to me! I am the princess of the Keponian civilization! She is the princess above billions of Keponians! Every action and word I make represents the royal family!"

"In your current state, do you think you can represent your royal family?"

Bronya's words brought Melansha back to her senses. She rubbed her eyes, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and stared at Bronya, saying, "Aren't you...aren't you afraid? Our fleet is already on the outskirts of your star system. You...you will be annihilated!"

Bronya calmly swiped across the holographic screen in front of her, bringing up an image and saying, "This is your fleet, isn't it?"

Melansha glanced at it and nodded in agreement, "Yes, our fleet doesn't have the ability to jump through space. It will take some time to reach your star system. You still have time to escape!"

Bronya shook her head. "Princess Melansa, you may have misunderstood something. We don't care about your civilization's invasion. Do you think a civilization that has mastered hyperspace jump would care about the invasion of a civilization that hasn't?"

"We could even send our fleet to warp directly to your star system right now and engage in a base-trading tactic. In that case, will you choose to immediately return to save your home planet, or continue your invasion?"

"Do you think your civilization is being destroyed faster, or that you are destroying our civilization faster?"

Bronya's question completely stunned Melansa. The catgirl's face was filled with disbelief. "You...you actually...you actually have hyperspace jump technology! This is impossible!"

"Why is it impossible? Do you think that because we haven't left our own galaxy, we shouldn't have this kind of technology?"

"Our civilization has just fought a great war, a war that has taken us years to recover. We don't have the energy to explore worlds beyond our galaxy, understand?"

Melansa stared blankly at Bronya for a long time before whispering, "I...I...can you...spare Mother and our fleet?"

Bronya blinked and lowered her head, saying, "That depends on your mother's attitude. According to the diplomatic practices of our civilization, when facing alien friends, we first try to communicate with them. If they refuse to communicate and insist on destroying us, then we will naturally not be polite."

"This...but...but..."

Melansa didn't know what to say. She had a premonition that Bronya's spaceship might be destroyed before it even got close, leaving no room for negotiation between the two countries...

War will break out suddenly afterward, and it will only stop completely when one side is destroyed.

Thinking of this, Melansha's face turned pale instantly. What should she do? What should she do?

Chapter 406: Change! Change it all the way!

Bronya glanced at Melansha's expression again, shook her head, and said, "I'm sorry, Princess Melansha, there's no room for negotiation on this matter. We have our rules."

No! There's another way!

Suddenly, Melansa had an idea, and said firmly, "You can use me as a bargaining chip!"

Bronya's expression showed slight surprise for a moment, then returned to normal. "What do you mean?"

"The royal family of the Keponian civilization values ​​family ties above all else. There is no infighting or blood feuds among our royal family members over the throne. Therefore, if you use me as a bargaining chip, Mother will absolutely not ignore my existence."

"At that time, Mother will have to take my existence into account in any subsequent actions, so that you can use me as a shield to buy time!"

Bronya had already anticipated Princess Melansa's proposal. She had thought of this plan long ago, and now that Melansa was emphasizing family ties within the royal family, Bronya wanted to laugh, but she held it back.

After all, the world is full of wonders. Royal families in human history have paid more attention to the unity of power, and it is not impossible for extraterrestrial civilizations to have such royal families.

This essentially confirms the plan to use the princess as a shield, because her mother cannot ignore her and continue invading the solar system. However, the princess may be thinking of buying them time to escape, but in Bronya's view, this time is enough to wipe out the entire Keponian civilization fleet.

But at this moment, Su Mengyao suddenly asked, "Is this the only fleet your civilization has?"

"Yes...yes..."

"Could you tell me more about your civilization and history? I'm very interested!"

Melanza nodded and began to explain the history of their civilization to the two of them, bit by bit. The Keponian civilization was not a civilization that developed naturally, but a civilization that was enlightened and improved from an intermediate civilization.

After receiving guidance from an intermediate civilization, the Keponian civilization spent thousands of years thoroughly understanding the technology, culture, and books bestowed upon them by the intermediate civilization, and thus formed the galactic civilization that followed.

For thousands of years, internal strife has plagued civilizations, with people constantly claiming that the higher beings who enlighten their civilizations are poison, beings sent to kill them.

However, none of these events caused much of a stir. Under the benevolent and harmonious rule of the royal family, the people lived in peace and happiness, and the few internal disturbances they experienced did not cause any major upheavals.

And so, the Keponian civilization continued on until the day the Cosmic Civilization Association arrived. That year, several assessors from the Cosmic Civilization Association evaluated the Keponian civilization and concluded that it was only one step away from becoming a low-level civilization: the technology of hyperspace jump.

The evaluator stated that regardless of the type of hyperspace jump technology, as long as it enables the technology and capability to traverse extremely long distances in the universe in a short period of time, it can be considered a hyperspace jump technology.

This is why the Keponian civilization calls itself a low-level civilization; they are indeed a low-level civilization, only lacking a hyperspace jump.

However... the royal family and explorers who had already ruled the entire Keponia star system were not satisfied with this. They began to venture into worlds beyond their home star system, but without hyperspace jump technology and a complete star map, exploration was extremely difficult.

Over the next 300 years, Keponia finally found its first star system with life, which was the solar system.

Thus, the Keponian fleet set sail, its destination the solar system.

At this point, Melansha's expression darkened again. She had originally thought that her mother had come with the intention of peaceful exchange. After all, without space jump technology, it would take a long time for a fleet to travel. If they came to this new star system, they might be able to find the rudiments of space jump technology.

Hearing this, Su Mengyao raised an eyebrow. "Why don't we just go and change places?"

Melansha looked surprised, and Su Mengyao continued, "Look at us, Mars and the Moon, there aren't enough resources on them to support our continued development and expansion. So how about we load up our entire population in six months, then take our fleet and go directly to the Keponian civilization to exchange homes?"

"This way, we'll occupy the star system they've already helped us develop, and we can choose from all sorts of habitable and resource-rich planets, plus all kinds of infrastructure. That should be great!"

Melansha's expression began to freeze.

"It is indeed a good plan, but is there enough time? Why don't we destroy their fleet first and then slowly go over? Anyway, without their fleet, their civilization's star system defense will definitely be at its weakest."

Melansha's face turned deathly pale, and her expression grew increasingly furious.

"That's a great idea! Let's wipe out their fleet first, then go to their star system and get all the resources of the entire star system for free. That would be perfect!"

"No! You...you can't do this!"

Melanza suddenly stood up and shouted at the two of them, but then realized her loss of composure and immediately sat down, her expression becoming even more dejected. Yes... in the universe, technological strength and fleet strength are everything. As long as you have power, you are the rule-maker and can do whatever you want.

The mother's fleet was no threat at all compared to the fleet of this civilization...

"It seems that Princess Melansa, you have already realized the situation. We don't need to use you as a shield to buy time, nor do we need to engage in base-trading tactics with you. We can simply attack head-on and annihilate your mother's fleet."

"Then we will enter your star system and plunder your resources and population, and you will have no power to resist."

"But...but the Cosmic Civilization Association won't let you do that! We are a potential civilization that is about to become a listed low-level civilization!"

Bronya and Su Mengyao exchanged a glance. Indeed, they were still unclear about the specific methods of the Cosmic Civilization Association. If the Cosmic Association intervened because of their invasion of the Keponian civilization, they would inevitably be in trouble.

So this time, the princess finally came up with a threat that was somewhat effective.

This time, the two did not immediately refute, which strengthened Melansa's belief: Yes, they could rely on the Cosmic Civilization Association! The other side was wary of the Cosmic Civilization Association, so at least they could protect their home!

"But Princess Melansa, you still couldn't save your mother's fleet, could you?"

“State your conditions. If you want to annihilate my mother’s fleet, you don’t need to talk to me or tell me all this. You can just destroy them first, then threaten me to return to my star system and control me as a puppet!”

A hint of displeasure flashed in Melansha's crimson eyes. "What... exactly do you want to do?"

Chapter 407: Opposition

"This princess is quite perceptive, but in the current situation, she's not of much use on her own. We should continue with what we're doing."

Su Mengyao had initially hoped that this princess might offer them some surprises, but in the end, there were no surprises. She couldn't use her as a blackmailer, nor could she offer them any other options... What should she do?

So, are you ready to act according to your original plan?

Su Mengyao nodded. "That's the only way. The Soviet Union and the British Empire are aware of the existence of the alien fleet. They've handed the decision-making power to us. Whatever we do, they will do. In other words, we are now the boss."

"My plan is simple. First, send a ship to negotiate with them, state our intentions and purpose, and make peace talks. We will also show that the princess is in our hands. If the queen is stubborn, we will destroy their fleet, capture the queen, and end this battle quickly."

"If the other side is willing to negotiate, then give them the opportunity. If the negotiations fail, we can launch a surprise attack quickly. A fleet without warp capabilities is no match for us."

"Furthermore, the cruisers currently in service are only temporary. In the future, our fleet will only have three types of ships."

"Aircraft carriers, battlecruisers from the Civilization Pack, and ramming battleships."

"This is the optimal warship configuration currently planned domestically. As for frigates, we don't need them. All your warships are capital ships, and with automatic target drones available, do you really need frigates unless you're being bombarded by the enemy's main guns?"

Bronya shrugged. She didn't know much about this, so she wouldn't talk about it for now. She was more focused on the tactics of combat.

"Now that you've decided to fight them, or if fighting is a necessary part of your plan, what are your thoughts?"

"idea?"

Su Mengyao raised an eyebrow. "As the guide of Shenzhou, don't you have any suggestions for this war?"

"no!"