Chapter 480: Barrier_1

This was not the first time Jiang Yu had expressed his concerns, knowing that such thoughts stemmed from an apprehension of the unknown.

According to the discussion report from the Strategic Department, there was more than a 60% chance that the gravitational source was the product of an advanced civilization.

The Science Academy, based on the size of the gravitational force and the orbital offset of the planets in the New Continent Star System, estimated that the gravitational source had existed for over a million years.

Such a long period of time would be a fatal blow for any civilization's artifacts.

At least in the recent decades, humanity had not discovered any aggressive intentions from it.

Therefore, the Strategic Department basically determined that it should be similar to a "Black Square" relic of an advanced civilization.

If it was confirmed that the other party no longer had any aggressive intentions, then with a century or two of reverse engineering, human science and technology could surely make a qualitative leap.

Due to the prior "Chameleon" incident, people believed that humanity received the "Black Square" when faced with despair against the Trisolarans.

After suffering a Dark Forest Strike, we encountered the relics of an advanced civilization.

Could this be the help from future humans to those of the present?

Only Jiang Yu knew through Wallfacer's Shop that this help was extremely limited, and it was impossible for future humans to send relics of an advanced civilization.

So this relic might really just have existed for a very long time, now paralyzed and only its immense mass remaining.

On the dock, Number Three comforted Jiang Yu, "We have settled in the New Continent Star System, and it has shown no reaction whatsoever."

"Besides, didn't the intelligence obtained from the Trisolarans say that the universe is full of such relics? There shouldn't be too much danger."

Jiang Yu let out a long sigh, "I hope that's the case."

He glanced once more at the fleet composed of five warships and three scientific research vessels. At this moment, the fleet had completed departure and was starting to accelerate at full speed.

Since they were within the New Continent Star System, they needed to be mindful of navigation, so the fleet would first take over a year to travel to the Interstellar Frontier Base situated 6,000 astronomical units away for final adjustments.

Then, the fleet would use the same Star Accelerator to travel at the speed of light for 10,000 astronomical units, assess the situation, and then continue another 10,000 astronomical units at the speed of light.

Progressing step by step in this manner.

It was estimated that concrete investigation results would not be obtained for six or seven years at the earliest.

...

In Galaxy Year 8 February, within an unnamed planetary system 11.3 light-years from the New Continent Star System.

A small fleet of Silicon Star People was just about to enter the firing range of their spaceship before suddenly disappearing from radar, causing some panic for Chief of Staff Essinger aboard the Command Ship.

He immediately ordered the central computer "Galaxy III" to conduct radio wave, gravitational wave detections, and primitive optical space telescope surveillance, only to find no trace of the enemy craft.

Cao Yang, who sat in the captain's seat, watched the newly promoted chief of staff bustling and flustered, and suddenly recalled his own early days as an aide to Commander Ai Qi.

First, he smiled knowingly, but then he remembered how, in the second campaign, Commander Ai Qi had sacrificed himself without leaving behind any final words.

Cao Yang let out a deep sigh, "Don't panic and lose your composure!"

Essinger wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, "Yes, yes, yes."

Though he had been told at the military academy that space still held many unknowns and unpredictable events could happen, with every officer expected to maintain a calm demeanor under extreme conditions,

it was quite another thing when strange occurrences actually materialized before one's own eyes.

Cao Yang waved his hand decisively, "Notify all ships; this is likely a deceptive tactic by the enemy. The entire fleet will continue the pursuit at the original speed! We cannot let a year's efforts go to waste!"

After the fleet of the Silicon Star People was dispersed, the pace of their pursuit slowed down. A pursuit fleet might only be able to destroy a small Silicon Star fleet every year or two.

Nevertheless, the New Continent Star System continuously built new warships, and with additional warships supported from Earth, there were now tens of thousands of human warships cruising within a dozen astronomical units of the New Continent Star System.

The net had been cast wide; all that remained was the gradual tightening of the snare.

This was a critical time for the tightening, and it was especially important to be vigilant to prevent any fish from slipping through.

Communication Staff Ai La immediately broadcasted Cao Yang's orders across the fleet command platform.

The fleet commanded by Cao Yang comprised only a hundred or so warships, but this small fleet had enough firepower to take on several hundred Silicon Star warships.

Essinger was a little uneasy, "Commander, the technology of the Silicon Star People is far inferior to ours. Are they really capable of creating advanced stealth facilities?"

In space, once you enter the monitoring range of radar, unless you can move significantly faster and easily leave the radar range, it's wishful thinking to hide your movements.

Despite the expanse of space, "visibility" is also good without much cover or conditions conducive to ambush; usually, the contest comes down to technology and tactics.

Cao Yang pursed his lips and counter-asked Essinger, "If you had been relentlessly pursued for decades, wouldn't you try every possible method to turn the tables?"

Now that the enemy's forces were overly scattered, we hardly had to worry about the Silicon Star People experiencing a technology surge amidst their survival crisis, but we still needed to guard against the enemy's potential cunning.

After hearing Cao Yang's retort, Essinger swallowed hard and said, "Putting myself in their shoes, even if there's one in ten thousand chance, I'd still take the shot."

In that case, the current situation might be the Silicon Star People's desperate attempt!

No matter what kind of attempt it was, it had achieved a good effect; at least the pursuing side suddenly became tense.

This tension lasted for more than ten hours, until Essinger reported, "We have arrived at the enemy ship's disappearance zone!"

Cao Yang immediately ordered, "All warships, enter battle state!"

Dozens of warships proceeded as if facing a formidable enemy for several tens of seconds, then Essinger said with confusion, "Strange, the enemy ships disappeared right in this region!"

Galaxy III suddenly reported, "Commander, enemy ships rediscovered. Six astronomical units from here, another previously undetected planet has been found!

"It appears the enemy ships are hiding behind that planet."

Cao Yang frowned, "An undetected planet?

"The Silicon Star People didn't take this excellent opportunity to escape?"

That such a massive object as a planet had only been detected at such close proximity was astounding!

Essinger also expressed doubt, "The disappearance of the enemy fleet just now—could it be a system malfunction?"

Galaxy III, however, reported, "All systems on the warship are functioning normally, and no faults have been detected."

Cao Yang stroked his chin for two or three seconds, then suddenly asked Galaxy III, "Are there any signs of intelligent life activities on that planet?"

Galaxy III replied, "I need 30 seconds to perform the detection!"

Cao Yang ordered, "Conduct the detection immediately!"

Essinger's mind whirled, slowly catching up to Cao Yang's line of thought.

He couldn't help but feel embarrassed; while he was considering how to check Galaxy III for malfunctions, the commander had already concluded that it was very unlikely for Galaxy III to be mistaken.

Moreover, he had swiftly deduced that the recent sudden disappearance of enemy ships could be due to a barrier-like concealment set up by a civilization!

Although the probability of this was also small, it was currently the most plausible explanation.