Chapter 424: New Enemy, New Approach_1

The three civilian ships were numbered 226, 567, and 588. When the passengers saw the Command Ship riddled with multiple hits, losing a large part of its hull, and "lying" there motionless, they all felt somewhat disappointed.

Originally, they had heard that there was a military ship nearby, with a Wallfacer and one of the four Fleet Admirals, Cao Yang, aboard. It seemed like they had suddenly found a support to rely on, and they came here braving the risk of being discovered by the enemy, seeking refuge.

But now, with the Command Ship in such a condition, it couldn't offer them any sense of security.

Hao Ying brought the three captains, Hatton, Lu Mingyang, and Jiang Bai, to the meeting room. Seeing Jiang Yu, Lu Mingyang and Jiang Bai instantly felt a bit more confident.

Only Hatton was drenched in sweat, his facial muscles trembling as he said, "The enemy is simply too terrifying. We must return to Earth immediately!"

Cao Yang spread his hands out and said, "We don't have a Star Accelerator. With the current speed of the spaceships, it would take hundreds of years to return to the Solar System.

"Of course, the most likely outcome is that we will never get back, because although our ships are capable of interstellar travel, our supplies and fuel reserves are clearly inadequate."

Hatton questioned Cao Yang aggressively, "What role can we play here? Do you want us to fight the enemy with hammers and wrenches?"

Cao Yang's tone remained calm, "We don't need to go looking for a fight with the enemy.

"Even if we're trying to escape, now is definitely not a good time. As soon as we take off, we might be discovered by the enemy immediately.

"And as you've seen, the Command Ship is severely damaged; there's no way it can fly again in a short time."

Hatton stood up, "We don't care about your warship being hit. I am responsible for my thousand passengers. We won't stay a minute longer on this godforsaken planet. We need to return to Earth immediately!"

Jiang Yu slammed his hand on the table, "Enough! What are you talking about?"

Hatton also realized his outburst and slowly sank back into his seat, starting to sob, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

"I am just an engineer from the Space Ranch. I've never been a soldier, nor have I ever been on a battlefield.

"I, I..."

Cao Yang, who originally wanted to scold Hatton, felt compassion when he saw him like this.

The civilian ships were filled with ordinary people. It was understandable for them to fear war when suddenly thrown onto a battlefield.

Jiang Yu stood up and patted Hatton on the shoulder, "Alright, we all know it was an unintentional mistake.

"I called you here to announce that the Pioneering Fleet has entered a state of emergency and wartime status.

"I will become the commanding officer during this special period. From now on, you must execute my commands without question."

Suddenly, the meeting room screen lit up, and the staff officer at the command headquarters reported urgently, "Wallfacer, Commander! The enemy has broadcast a large-scale signal which we are pretty certain is intended for us. Should we receive it?"

Jiang Yu and Cao Yang fell into deep thought, and after seven or eight seconds, Jiang Yu finally said, "They're actually sending us a signal?"

Don't they know that doing so will expose a lot of their own information?

Cao Yang said, "Obviously, they harbor ill intentions."

Jiang Yu nodded, "Is there a way to receive the signal without allowing the enemy to pinpoint our location?"

From the command center, Xing Yuanbin said, "Yes, we can have a near-Earth orbital probe receive it, then broadcast it globally through the probe.

"That way, the enemy can only locate the probe's position. It's very hard to determine who has received the signal from the probe!"

Jiang Yu said, "Then let's do that."

Right now, he was very eager to gain some intelligence on the enemy.

Lu Mingyang and the other two captains, who were about to leave, took their seats again, as Jiang Yu did not hurry them out, obviously not planning to have them avoid the situation.

A few minutes later, the chief of staff reported, "The file has been fully received!"

Cao Yang asked Galaxy III, "Can it be decrypted?"

Galaxy III replied, "The enemy has set up a decryption code similar to the Rosetta system, which we can crack."

Cao Yang took a deep breath and ordered, "Decrypt it immediately!"

Galaxy III projected the translated content of the document onto the holographic screen, sentence by sentence.

Perhaps because of the significant differences in the use of vocabulary between human civilization and the enemy's, the central computer's translation was very clunky, allowing only a rough understanding of the document's meaning.

It was a surrender proposition from the enemy, which essentially said: Your fleet no longer poses a threat; if the remnants of your force surrender now, we will not continue to strike against you.

If you continue to resist, we will kill every resisting combat entity.

Jiang Yu once again voiced his doubts, "They are actually trying to persuade us to surrender?"

Cao Yang also found it incredible, "Why?"

Wei Wei was somewhat puzzled, "Is there something wrong with what they're doing?"

The reactions of Jiang Yu and Cao Yang seemed too strong.

After pondering a moment, Jiang Yu said, "Can the surrender proposition from the Trisolarans be trusted?"

Wei Wei was taken aback, then quickly realized, of course, it couldn't be trusted.

If the surrender proposition from the Trisolarans couldn't be trusted, why should the new enemy's be any different?

And if the enemy knew their surrender proposition would be untrustworthy, why would they still resort to such a ploy?

Jiang Yu concluded, "The Trisolarans have been our major adversaries for centuries, a special enemy to humanity.

"Their uniqueness, to the extent we even think of interstellar conflict as a technological war involving Sophons, The Waterdrop, and the like.

"The Trisolarans never resorted to tactics like surrender propositions, but the new enemy has sent us one, and now I find myself a bit lost."

However, Hatton said, "Maybe they are kinder and more inclusive than we are and are willing to take prisoners."

Jiang Yu scoffed coldly, "We can't pin all our hopes on 'possibilities'!"

Looking at Hatton, who appeared somewhat unconvinced, a sudden tension gripped Jiang Yu's heart, and he quickly ordered the chief of staff, "Begin a wide broadcast of the following content immediately: Please remember the Dark Forest Law at all times!

"Do not fall for the enemy's tricks; from this moment on, do not respond to the enemy and conceal your whereabouts. Repeat: do not respond to the enemy, conceal your whereabouts."

He paused, then added, "Still use probes for the broadcast transmission, then go silent immediately after sending the message! Leave only the signal transmission to the probes to observe the enemy's movements!"

Cao Yang immediately understood Jiang Yu's concerns. Hatton's mind seemed to have been foggy ever since he left the battlefield. If there were others showing similar signs, that would be a big problem.

Cao Yang then added, "Find a way to seal up the holes we made on the surface of the snow layer."

Jiang Yu gave Hao Ying a meaningful look with his eyes. Understanding, she asked the three captains to go back to rest, and arranged for officers and employees from the Wallfacer Office to take over the defense teams of the three warships and the command of the ships.

Once there were no outsiders, Jiang Yu said, "The new enemy is completely different from the Trisolarans; we can't use the same tactics we employed against the Trisolarans with the new enemy."