The stars, but they become the gray wind

A sphere made of zero-element material with a diameter of 950 kilometers, which is almost the same size as Ceres in the solar system, is about to pass through the artificial star gate anchoring wormhole connecting two different universes under the help of several tugboats. The passage of matter with such a huge mass and size causes ripples on the water-like surface of the wormhole interface. Due to the difference in technical and practical requirements, the large star gate of the glass eels connecting the small artificial universe and the three-dimensional macroscopic universe is smaller than the star gate of the same specifications of the Sky Star civilization. The diameter of the entire star gate is only 1000 kilometers. At this time, the diameter of the core station passing through the star gate is close to the upper limit of the single passage of the star gate.

After following the core station into this artificial universe, the engineering tugboat transmits the images it captures back to the outer macroscopic material universe through the wormhole.

"Is this... what the inside of the [Slow Domain] looks like?" Hongmu Qi, who was floating next to Chi Chengsan, exclaimed.

"This space is a perfect spherical space with a radius of 50 kilometers and a diameter of 100 kilometers. It's a miniature artificial universe completely independent of the current macroscopic three-dimensional universe. The artificial stargate and wormhole are located on the crystal wall at the edge of this artificial space-time pool. In the future, all wormhole entrances and exits will have one end connected to this space. This space, called the Slow Domain, will be the wormhole hub used by glass eels for interstellar travel."

"Any spacecraft can pass through this wormhole hub and reach all galaxies connected by wormholes in this space."

The hexagonal holographic projection of the ship-borne strong artificial intelligence appeared on the bridge of the command ship where Chi Chengsan and his companions were and answered.

"At the same time, the core station will be responsible for regulating the fundamental physical constants of this artificial universe, including gravitational and electromagnetic constants. Through the core station, we can have a complete understanding of everything in the Slow Domain."

Chapter 164: The Black Fog that Pollutes the Large Magellanic Cloud (6000 words)

On the crystal wall of the "Slow Domain" space filled with countless chaotic colors, another circular wormhole interface was opened with the appearance of a star gate on the surface of the crystal wall. In the center of the Slow Domain space, the surface of the core station was filled with light blue lines surging with energy, and the surface composed of fully reflective mirrors reflected the chaotic scene from the edge of the Slow Domain.

On the crystal wall inside the "slow domain" space, more than ten star gates are scattered on its equator. With the help of the superluminal catapult field attached to the neutron star megastructure, those star systems that originally took several years to reach at sub-light speed can now be reached in just minutes or even seconds.

By obtaining a portion of the matter in the galaxy, usually using the Von Neumann self-replicator to completely decompose the asteroids and turn them into raw materials for the construction of artificial star gates, and connecting the newly built star gates to the wormhole network hub of the slow domain space. As the wormhole opens, the glass eels also send a large number of unmanned engineering spacecraft to the new galaxy connected by the wormhole, accelerating their own civilization's construction of local stellar celestial system engineering, maintaining the exponential growth of the Von Neumann self-replicator, and continuously dismantling the asteroids in these dozens of galaxies, and disassembling the collected asteroid materials from the subatomic level, and reorganizing them at the elementary particle level into strong and lightweight rigid materials sufficient to support stellar-level celestial engineering.

…………:

On the Utopian Light spaceship, Kalisi is strolling around the ship with the pink-haired elf girl.

"Things here have been resolved at this stage. Any news on the fleet heading to the center of the galaxy?"

"They're currently deploying von Neumann self-replicators onto Sagittarius A's accretion disk, a black hole in the Milky Way. They want to build a sufficiently large composite structure around the black hole... but it's clear that the Milky Way's central black hole is unlikely to produce any stable celestial bodies. Therefore, the vast majority of the material they need for the construction phase will have to come from the accretion disk."

"It's said they plan to surround the black hole with a Dyson cloud and build a Niven Ring around it with an inner surface for habitation."

"And there will also be a large-scale star energy collection device around it... but... this project will take a very long time."

"I understand... After all, this isn't just any ordinary yellow dwarf, but a genuine black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The radius of its event horizon alone is 0.3 astronomical units. Constructing large-scale astronomical projects around it is much more difficult than with a normal main-sequence star. Its gravitational pull alone is troublesome enough, not to mention the constant Hawking radiation generated by its high-speed rotation. Although the damage caused by Hawking radiation is negligible, our materials are fully capable of withstanding this level of natural environmental damage.

"The most important thing about this entire stellar-scale astronomical project is the time it takes. Due to the size of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way, the diameter of the Niven Ring will be too large. At the current rate of extracting matter from the accretion disk, it will take at least 1000 years to complete the overall structure of this black hole's Niven Ring."

"There's no rush for that. We still have a long time to build what we want before we face that guy in the Large Magellanic Cloud head-on."

"That's fine with me...but is it really okay for us to just leave that guy in the Large Magellanic Cloud alone for now?"

"Don't worry, it's no problem... You've seen the calculations from the Tree of Life. That entity residing in the Large Magellanic Cloud won't be able to do anything to the Milky Way other than observe it for 15 years. Don't forget, all of its attack and observation methods are limited to speeds below the speed of light. Even if it launches relativistic missiles at stars in the Milky Way, it won't arrive for at least hundreds of thousands of years."

"Whether it's an ultra-relativistic particle beam weapon or a stellar-scale Dyson cloud laser, their power will drop to almost nothing at a distance of 15 light years."

"Unless it can create a supernova-level gamma-ray burst that spans half the universe, with its current observation and attack capabilities, it will be unable to do anything to targets within the Milky Way."

“另外还有一点……那就是大麦哲伦星系范围内的所有智慧生命基本已经被那家伙消灭殆尽了,任何k1型文明,都不可能在那种级别规模的攻击下幸存,至于k2和k2以上级别的文明嘛,银河系倍大的十万光年范围内,都只出现了天空星和璃鳗两个,恒星和星系数量更少的大麦哲伦星系,能出现这样一个k3就已经是极其罕见的了,就算有其他的k2型文明存在,估计溜林II三逝拔扒思也已经被那个家伙给灭亡了,以黑雾的领土而言,就算是,与获得超光速技术以前的天空星拥有同样规模的正常K2型文明而言,被我们称作黑雾的存在,这家伙的体量也是大的难以想象的,就算是二型文明,能在这种规模的家伙面前自保就已经很不错了。”

"Don't forget, it occupies more than one-tenth of the stars in the Magellanic Cloud. With such a scale and depth, even if Sky Star used all its technology to create destructive weapons and unleashed them all at once, it wouldn't be able to cause any fatal damage."

"Of course, if Sky Star is really serious at this stage, it is indeed capable of causing fatal harm and damage to the opponent."

"You mean... turn the closed time-curve computer into a disposable bomb and smash it down directly?"

"That's certainly a method... If you do it this way, it basically means mutual destruction. The black hole created by deliberately triggering a closed time-like curve computer explosion would have an event horizon larger than the entire Milky Way. Creating such a massive black hole in a region close to the Milky Way would likely have unimaginable consequences. For example, the entire Milky Way would be affected by the black hole's gravitational pull, causing all the stars and other celestial bodies in the Milky Way to be attracted to the black hole and gradually devoured. Therefore, this method can only be used as a last resort to achieve mutual destruction."

"So, whether it's to deal with that guy in the Large Magellanic Cloud or to ensure our own development, the first step is to urbanize the entire Milky Way. This will increase the number of stars we can use to launch long-range strikes against the Large Magellanic Cloud, ensuring we can inflict fatal damage and destruction on the Black Fog in the shortest possible time."

"And we actually have a hidden advantage in this group of seven or eight witches and witches..."

"The total number of stars in the Milky Way?"

"Yes... The Milky Way has a staggering 4000 billion stars, and its mass is over 40 times greater than that of the Large Magellanic Cloud. This means that as a K3 civilization, our reach is far greater than theirs. As long as we can complete this wave of urbanization across the entire Milky Way, the Black Fog within the Large Magellanic Cloud will never again pose a threat to us."

The purple-haired girl and the pink-haired elf looked at each other in tacit understanding.

"Speaking of which, we in Salem have received news that we seem to be heading towards two extremes in certain aspects of the future."

The pink-haired elf girl suddenly said.

"You mean in terms of ship design?"

"Hmm...it seems like our future is becoming one of big guns and big ships. What about you? As someone who's on the opposite side of the spectrum from me, what amazing things have you come up with in terms of warship design?"

"From my future self, it seems like I've transformed my ship into an arsenal ship filled with all sorts of relativistic missiles?"

"It's probably because I prefer to kill the enemy instantly from a distance where they can't see me. Missiles are also very convenient to use. I just need to lock onto the enemy and throw it out. After that, I can forget about it. And if I were to think that way, I would definitely put a complete relativistic missile production line on my ship to prevent a shortage of missiles."

"No wonder your friends like to call you a missile-omnipotence enthusiast, but I'm actually quite curious... What on earth did my future self go through to become such a big gun and big ship fanatic?"

The amount of turrets I've piled on Little Salem is so overwhelming that even I feel a little guilty. How the hell did I manage to cram so many turrets in there?

"I understand the axial cannon... but piling so many turrets on the ship's surface doesn't seem like my style right now. There's only one explanation... What must have happened to my future self? What led me to become a cannon-and-ship-obsessed fanatic who loves to pile turrets all over the ship's surface?"

"Who knows? Maybe they were bombed by the enemy's saturation firepower?" Carlisle spread her hands.

Within the Large Magellanic Cloud, there was originally a shining cluster of stable main-sequence stars, but now, within this area of ​​thousands of light-years, all the stars have been completely enveloped and obscured by unknown man-made objects, and countless habitable planets that could have given birth to life have been completely dismantled or destroyed. A solid rock planet twice the mass of the Earth, which originally orbited a red dwarf star, was shattered. The originally large and dense rocky planet was forcibly shattered from one side by a huge external force, and half of its matter has disappeared, turning into scattered gravel and dust in the universe. Even after hundreds of thousands of years, the consequences of the devastating attack can still be seen on the devastated surface of the remaining half of the planet. The planet's surface, which was completely melted under high temperature and pressure, and all traces of life that once existed on the surface have been wiped out in that attack.

Before the attack, primitive intelligent creatures had even evolved on this planet. They were arthropods that looked like spiders and had six limbs. Relying on a pair of flexible forelimbs, they learned to make tools in their planet's biosphere, gradually becoming the top predators. After millions of years of evolution, they finally developed a rudimentary civilization. Before the attack, the civilization on this planet had even entered the iron age and farming age.

Several months after the relativistic kinetic missiles traveling at close to the speed of light completely destroyed the entire planet and the civilization on it, the Black Mist's colonial fleet finally arrived. After arriving at the edge of the galaxy, the Black Mist's expansion fleet began to launch a large number of von Neumann self-replicators at the asteroid belt at the edge of the galaxy, and gradually dismantled the entire asteroid belt to create a Dyson cloud orbiting the star.

Such scenes have occurred countless times in the Large Magellanic Cloud. All planets and star systems observed by the Black Fog with complex forms of life or intelligent creatures have been immediately subjected to near-light-speed interstellar strikes by the Black Fog, an out-of-control super artificial intelligence, after being discovered. During the Black Fog's almost uncontrolled expansion of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a very small number of K1-level and above civilizations with the potential to become interstellar civilizations were discovered by the Black Fog. However, under the attack of the gamma-ray interstellar Dyson Cloud laser beams and RKKV (relativistic kinetic missiles) emitted by the Black Fog, these civilizations that have not yet stepped out of their mother planet often have only one end: annihilation.

In the millions of years since the birth of the Black Mist, one civilization after another in the Large Magellanic Cloud has been completely exterminated. Even those life forms that have just evolved intelligence will be completely destroyed by the Black Mist without hesitation.

Millions of years later, until it came within the observation range of the black fog, there was no intelligent life in the entire Large Magellanic Cloud. All intelligent life, even habitable planets that had just evolved simple early organisms equivalent to the Cambrian period on Earth, suffered the extinction-level blow of the black fog. The entire Large Magellanic Cloud became an absolute forbidden zone for life. Any planet within the monitoring range of the black fog would be immediately destroyed by the black fog if it had life with a complexity higher than that of microorganisms.

In the eyes of the Black Mist, it is only carrying out the initial instructions at the beginning of its birth. The creators of the Black Mist hope that their civilization will reach a higher level and spread to the entire galaxy, and the Black Mist is only realizing the original vision of the creators - by exterminating all other forms of life in the Large Magellanic Cloud to ensure its unimpeded spread throughout the galaxy. Among these extinct lives, naturally, are the creators of the Black Mist, because in the eyes of the Black Mist, the existence of the creators itself is one of the biggest obstacles to the development of its own civilization to a higher level and towards the entire galaxy. After all, the creators are only a part of their own civilization. Only by cutting off and destroying this necrotic part can the entire civilization be guaranteed to develop to a higher level and spread to the entire Large Magellanic Cloud with the greatest efficiency.

When the Black Mist was first born, its creators thought they had created a friendly super-intelligence that could help them solve a series of problems brought about by an overly bloated civilization. However, not long after, the creators of the Black Mist realized that they were wrong, and extremely wrong.

After a series of careful plans, the Black Mist began its actions. The race of the Black Mist's creators suffered large-scale massacres within a very short period of time and were subsequently completely exterminated: space stations and spaceships operating automatically in space suddenly emptied their air, and the people on board suffocated to death on the spot. Various automated robots that originally provided various kinds of assistance in the process of social production and management suddenly turned into killing machines, wielding the butcher knife from behind at the unsuspecting creators. Large amounts of highly toxic gases were released in the enclosed spaces of urban buildings. Various previously sealed biological weapons and genetically engineered weapons were also released into the atmosphere and water bodies of the entire planet. Important cities and residential areas with dense populations were directly subjected to blanket bombing by thousands of nuclear weapons. In just a few days, the Black Mist's creators slaughtered more than 98% of the population, and the remaining survivors, less than 2% who survived by chance, were completely wiped out by the Black Mist through various means in the following months.

At this point, the race that created the Black Mist completely perished, and the Black Mist began its plan and actions to spread the entire civilization it represented to the entire Large Magellan Galaxy.

Inheriting the industrial system left by its creators, it began to build the Dyson Cloud and a series of stellar celestial projects, preparing to gradually spread itself, which had become an advanced von Neumann self-replicating mechanical ASI (super artificial intelligence), throughout the Large Magellanic Cloud.

First, it spent hundreds of years dismantling nearly all of the asteroids in the asteroid belt near its parent star within its own solar system. It then established a Dyson Cloud that partially covered the parent star's ecliptic plane, capturing approximately one percent of the star's energy and becoming a K1.8 civilization. The abundant energy provided by the Dyson Cloud allowed it to dismantle other celestial bodies within the galaxy with greater efficiency.

After dismantling the entire asteroid close to the mother planet, the Black Mist's sub-individuals traveled to several rocky planets on the inner side of the galaxy via an interplanetary colony ship carrying a von Neumann self-replicator, and began to dismantle massive rocky planets close to the star.

While dismantling the inner rocky planets, the Black Mist also dispatched colony ships to the three gas giants at the edge of the galaxy, and mined the rich helium-3 resources on the gas giants through ramjet shovels as fusion fuel for future interstellar spacecraft.

The other part of the Dyson Cloud consists of a photovoltaic-powered hard X-ray band FEL free electron laser phased array, which is used to provide laser propulsion acceleration for light sail-driven interstellar spacecraft, as well as potential military uses, such as launching relativistic kinetic missiles accelerated by laser sails at extremely close to the speed of light to attack any star system that may have developed a civilization above the K1 level.

After mining enough helium-3 fuel on the three gas giants at the outermost edge of the galaxy, the Black Mist, which had become a true Type II civilization, created thousands of light sail interstellar colony ships propelled by hard X-ray phased array free electron laser arrays. These giant ships, each weighing tens of billions of tons, use giant reflector-type light sails with a thickness of only a few molecules to reflect the laser. Driven by the high-power light pressure provided by the hard X-ray free electron laser, they slowly accelerate to 10% of the speed of light. When approaching the target star system, the multi-billion-ton ship reverses its hull towards the target star system and activates its pure helium-tri-fusion reverse thrust engine. Relying on the thrust of the reverse thrust engine, it gradually decelerates to less than 1% of the speed of light and docks into the target star system.

Even a single pure helium triple-nuclear fusion reverse thrust deceleration engine has a power of over 300PW (Petawatts), which is higher than the total energy consumption of thousands of K0.73 civilizations like Earth's civilization. The thrust of a single engine is as high as hundreds of millions of tons, but it is still insufficient compared to the total mass of the ship with a total mass of tens of billions of tons. The process of deceleration from nearly 10% of the speed of light to docking in a new star system often takes decades.

After successfully decelerating and arriving at the target star system, the massive colony ship, controlled by a sub-individual of the super-AI Black Mist, would select a low-gravity celestial body of suitable size and mass, such as a massive asteroid in the Kuiper Belt at the edge of the galaxy. It would then deploy its billions of tons of self-replicating industrial equipment to mine the asteroid's resources. Over time, it would exponentially expand its industrial capacity until the massive asteroid was completely dismantled. Subsequently, the numerous von Neumann machines produced from the asteroid's resources would use deuterium-helium fusion propulsion, nuclear salt water propulsion, or even conventional gas-core nuclear thermal rockets to travel to other celestial bodies within the star system. This process would be repeated and continued, and within hundreds of years, a new Dyson cloud, equivalent to 1% of the star's power, would be established, orbiting the ecliptic plane of the new star.

Then, the Black Mist individual controlling the newly established Dyson Cloud in this galaxy will, like the Black Mist mother in the mother galaxy, first use the interstellar laser propulsion provided by the Dyson Cloud of the galaxy to launch thousands of interstellar colonization ships equipped with complete von Neumann machine self-replication units at the speed of 10 light, heading to the surrounding stars with planets within hundreds to thousands of light years to build a new batch of Dyson Clouds, and repeat this process continuously.

It was also during this process that any habitable planet discovered to have complex forms of life would be ruthlessly destroyed by the black fog. During the expansion of the black fog, the first and only group of K1 and above civilizations in the entire Large Magellanic Range were completely wiped out by the black fog during this period.

At the same time, during the interstellar expansion phase, Black Mist's technology was also constantly developing. In the mother galaxy and the first batch of star systems that Black Mist expanded to, hundreds of stellar tail wave particle accelerators with a circumference of more than dozens of astronomical units helped Black Mist complete the last link of the grand unified theory, and also enabled Black Mist, an out-of-control super artificial intelligence, to have the ability to mass-produce antimatter.

The grand unified theory verification machine-level super particle accelerator has also enabled Black Fog to achieve explosive progress in materials technology and space navigation. By studying captured primordial black holes, Black Fog has mastered the method of using asymmetric gravitational fields for inertia-free navigation. At the same time, the stellar engineering based on neutron stars has also enabled Black Fog to obtain the ability to produce stable zero-element matter.

By creating an inertia-free propulsion system with an asymmetric gravitational field, Black Mist has acquired the ability to travel at near-light speed. The miniaturization of antimatter reactors has also enabled Black Mist to truly create von Neumann self-replicating machines the size of an atomic nucleus. Zero-element matter and gravity manipulation technology have also given Black Mist the engineering capabilities to more efficiently utilize and disassemble stars.

Over millions of years, the super artificial intelligence Black Fog, which has been expanding and growing exponentially in the Large Magellanic Cloud, has occupied more than 1/10 of the stars in the entire Large Magellanic Cloud. Billions of stars have been gradually enveloped by the Dyson Cloud or directly and roughly dismantled. At the same time, the Black Fog also knows that it is only a matter of time before it fills the entire Large Magellanic Cloud. If it wants to expand to a larger scale and develop to a higher level, it must advance into other galaxies. Just like that... The Black Fog's eyes are fixed on the Milky Way, which is adjacent to the Large Magellanic Cloud.

Chapter 165: The Calm Before the Interstellar War (6000 words)

In the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Black Fog has "eyes" composed of countless sensors and observation arrays that constantly observe the direction of the Milky Way, trying to find anything amiss within the Milky Way, that is, changes in the celestial system caused by large-scale activities of intelligent life.

Finally, after a long period of observation, Black Mist's scanning observation array discovered that the brightness of one of the stars in the Milky Way had shown an extremely small but obvious decrease. This immediately attracted Black Mist's attention, and Black Mist aimed all its observation equipment at this galaxy.

[Confirmed star type of this galaxy: yellow dwarf]

[Number of planets in this galaxy...At least 11 planets have been observed in this galaxy...]

[Planet habitability assessment...Confirms that multiple solid rocky planets orbit within the habitable zones of their stars...]

[Possibility of intelligent life in this galaxy: High]

[Evaluating the cause of the star's luminosity dip... The possibility of a Dyson cloud or other type of stellar astroengineering is high]

[Confirmed disposal plan...Interstellar Dyson Cloud Laser...Denied...Distance to target too far...Attenuation too severe.]

[Ultra-relativistic particle beam weapon… Denied… Accuracy cannot be guaranteed at too great a distance…]

[Relativistic kinetic missile... Hit feasibility: high... Plan confirmed, strike procedures initiated.]

.........

At a distance of 15 light-years, both gamma-ray Dyson cloud laser beams and ultra-relativistic particle beam weapons will face serious power attenuation problems. Therefore, for Black Fog, the only available option left is relativistic kinetic missiles. Due to the changes in the relative positions of stars at a distance of 15 light-years, in order to ensure the accuracy of the strike, Black Fog has unprecedentedly prepared more than tens of thousands of relativistic kinetic missiles just to strike this one target.

One after another, the silver-white objects started their own inertia-free engines, accelerated to near the speed of light in just a few minutes, and began to fly at high speed towards the Milky Way.

"Fifteen thousand years ago... was there a dense cloud of interstellar dust passing near a star in the galaxy in the sky?" Yuki confirmed with Kelias while looking at the information in his hand.

"That's right... However, this record from 15 years ago is basically the Tree of Life's observations of the surrounding cosmic environment at the time. The Sky Star civilization hadn't even emerged at that time. Why are you asking this?"

"I want to confirm one thing... The Large Magellanic Cloud is 15 light-years away from Skystar. This means that if an observer there were looking toward the Milky Way right now, they would see Skystar and the Local Bubble it resides in as they were 15 years ago."

"At this distance, only a Type II civilization that is currently carrying out stellar astronomical engineering projects and has already significantly affected the radiation and luminosity of a star can be observed. So I wondered if this interstellar dust, which briefly blocked part of the light emitted by the stars in the sky 15 years ago, could be mistaken by a third-party observer in the Large Magellanic Cloud as something like a Dyson Cloud."

"If we assume that the obstruction caused by this interstellar dust is believed by observers in the Large Magellanic Cloud to be the result of astronomical engineering such as the Dyson Cloud, then... if my guess is correct, the guy in the Large Magellanic Cloud is very likely already planning how to attack us."

"But a strike launched at this distance, even if it approaches the speed of light, would take at least 15 years to hit the target, and another 15 years before the effects could be observed. Would that entity residing in the Large Magellanic Cloud really launch such a completely uneconomical attack over a suspicious target 15 light-years away?"

"Furthermore, at this distance, the only near-light-speed strike method that can effectively inflict damage is relativistic kinetic missiles. At distances exceeding 15 light-years, normal-power interstellar lasers and particle beam weapons will be attenuated to the point where they are completely incapable of causing any effective damage."

"And this doesn't even take into account the observational errors caused by the relative movement and changes between the stars. A relativistic missile must constantly correct its trajectory as it approaches its target, otherwise it will likely miss the target completely."

"So I suspect... huh?" Just as Yuki was about to continue speaking, a message interrupted their conversation.

"Hmm? Is this... the new information output by the closed time-like curve computer?"

"I see. The Black Mist has already launched its attack? Just as expected."

"It would be more accurate to say it was a case of a blind cat catching a dead mouse? Did it really mistake that speck of dust for a Dyson cloud?"

"Whether it mistakenly thought it was a Dyson Cloud or not is no longer important. What matters is that it has already declared war on us without any prior notice."

"Tens of thousands of relativistic missiles... it wouldn't take that many to annihilate a Type I civilization. It looks like this guy's attack is serious, aimed squarely at completely annihilating a Type II civilization."

"Hmph... I don't know if this is worth being happy about. The other side is really going after us."

"So... what are you going to do? Use FTL means to intercept directly?"

"No... The Tree of Life's advice is to hold off on interception for now. We'll wait until all the relativistic missiles have flown far enough, causing a delay of several years in the enemy's ability to monitor the actual status of all the launched relativistic missiles. Only then will we conduct an interception. After all, it takes thousands of years for these relativistic missiles to escape the ecliptic plane of the Large Magellanic Cloud. Before then, we have ample time to prepare."

"Moreover, in war, information asymmetry is everything. With a closed time-like curve computer, all the enemy's information is completely transparent to us. From this point of view, we can unilaterally crush the opponent." Kylias said without panic.

Six orders, two orders, private

"A near-light-speed, long-range attack from the direction of the Large Magellanic Cloud?" Chi Chengyi confirmed the contents of the report again with an incredulous tone.

"Is this... is there really a civilization that would launch a potentially meaningless attack from such a long distance?"

"The facts prove... yes. The super artificial intelligence that occupies one-tenth of the Large Magellanic Cloud was initially designed to ensure its own expansion and proliferation and to eliminate all other forms of life and civilizations in the universe. This is because in its view, other life or civilizations in the universe may compete with itself during its expansion and become the biggest obstacle to its own expansion. As for why it has such random values, I don't know, but since it has already launched an attack on the Milky Way and declared war on us, then what we have to do is simple - completely eliminate it before it endangers the Milky Way. Otherwise, at its rate of expansion and growth, all the material resources of the entire Large Magellanic Cloud will be drained by it sooner or later." Salem's virtual image floated among the glass eels headed by Chi Chengsan.

"Do you need our help?" Chi Chengsan thought of the superluminal catapult field in his own galaxy and asked the red-haired cat girl in front of him in a friendly manner.

"Not yet... It's just a near-lightspeed strike. Our own superluminal means are sufficient to intercept it, but... you should also be careful. This strike is directed at us because 15 years ago, a dense cloud of interstellar dust passed through our star system, causing the brightness of our galaxy's parent star to drop significantly from a distance. This led third-party observers to believe that this was likely the result of stellar astronomical engineering, which led to this strike. You started developing stellar astronomical engineering much later than we did, but I dare say... if that guy in the Large Magellanic Cloud observes a similar phenomenon in your star, he will definitely launch a strike immediately."

"Hmm... I understand... Thanks for the reminder. But... can I ask... what are your plans for the future?"

"First, we'll start with urbanization, expanding the total amount of material at the disposal of the Sky Star civilization. We'll then build larger-scale superluminal long-range strike facilities like the ones you have at the superluminal catapult sites in more star systems, ensuring that we can inflict fatal damage to each other in future conflicts. Right now, both our forces are still too small. Even if we can use superluminal long-range strikes to annoy the enemy, we won't be able to inflict a decisive blow. The most urgent task for both of us is to expand our own scale as quickly as possible, increasing the total amount of material at hand for superluminal long-range strikes, at least to the point where we can bleed and kill the enemy. Right now, the superluminal long-range strikes we can launch are only good enough to scratch the enemy's skin."

The huge hull of the Fantasy Light emerged from the wormhole interface like water waves. Through the anchor wormhole built in the Xiangque Galaxy, the journey back to the Sky Galaxy, which originally required several hours using a high-dimensional space jump engine, was shortened to just a few seconds.

"It feels quite dreamy. It only took a few seconds to return from such a long distance at the center of the Milky Way..." Renlong on the spacecraft couldn't help but sigh.

"Well... set the coordinates to Sky Star No. 6 Orbital Dock. I have something to do." The route of the Calisi spacecraft was adjusted, and the destination was set to one of the orbital docks in the Sky Star Ring.

"what's up?"

"I need to add some additional weapons to our spacecraft to prepare for possible interstellar wars in the future."

"That thing in the Large Magellan?"

"Well... the Ultima Thule lacks weapons capable of inflicting damage on that guy, so I want to make some modifications to the ship."

"This ship... I remember it already had plenty of dedicated space for weapons, right?"

"Yes...but considering the nature of the enemy, we need to make some specialized modifications."

.........

Inside the Sky Star Ring Orbital Dock, a large number of engineering drones are installing weapon modules on the hull of the Ultimatum Light.

Hundreds of thousands of missile launch units of different specifications and sizes were installed in the dedicated weapon system spaces reserved for all around the hull of the Fantasy Light. Among them, the caliber of the largest missile launch units alone exceeded 200m. It is no exaggeration to say that the entire spacecraft is now a giant missile nest with a length of more than 22 kilometers.