Chapter 513: Shadow Plan_1

Jiang Yu's question left the three people startled. Could it be that the Trisolarans' goal wasn't just to provoke and show off?

Jiang Yu continued, "I've had too many dealings with the Trisolarans, and sometimes they do appear somewhat rigid, but it's undeniable that they are very good at plotting in plain sight.

"Generally speaking, as long as one understands the goals of the Trisolarans, their schemes are quite easy to unravel.

"This should also become a strategy for you in the future when facing other civilizations. When encountering such situations, the first thing to consider is not 'What should we do?' but rather 'What are their objectives?'

Belinsky and the other two nodded, taking the lesson to heart.

Jiang Yu continued, "So, let's guess - what could the Trisolarans' goal be?

"The primary function of Sophon is intelligence gathering.

"But it is known to the Trisolarans that I have always been sufficiently vigilant, and even if Sophon came to Earth, it wouldn't be able to gather much intelligence.

"The Trisolarans must have guessed that Humanity has developed the means to detect Sophons, though they might not necessarily know that the 'Catcher' system's attack range has become so vast.

"Regardless, Sophon came to Earth despite knowing it would be exposed, which means it must have a clear purpose."

"Keep in mind, in interstellar confrontations, there is generally no superfluous action, every move has a certain significance.

"One can imagine, a few Sophons have been trailing far behind Earth for two centuries. Why has one of them suddenly appeared within Humanity's view now?

"From Earth's perspective, this is perceived as the Trisolarans showing off their Super Particle Accelerator to Humanity, but I disagree.

"Just as Yun Tony mentioned, the Trisolarans are likely unaware of the New Continent Star System and the experiments we are conducting there. Otherwise, we would have already received cosmic broadcasts regarding our own location.

"So, what exactly are the Trisolarans aiming for?"

Belinsky and the other two frowned, evidently unable to fathom the enemy's motives.

Jiang Yu simply answered his own question, "The Trisolarans must be employing their usual tactics: applying pressure and diverting attention!"

This reminder immediately enlightened the three candidates as to what Jiang Yu meant!

Jiang Yu continued, "Ever since before the Second Battle, when the 'Blind Zone' system covered most buildings in the Solar System State, the Trisolarans could only make guesses about Humanity's core intelligence through cobwebs of clues.

"In the Second Battle, the Trisolarans' severe misjudgment of the Human fleet shows they have long lost their absolute advantage in terms of intelligence.

"Therefore, looking at the issue from the Trisolarans' perspective, they must also be aware of the Solar System's two-dimensionalization.

"After Humanity escaped the Two-Dimensional Strike, a technological explosion would be a likely outcome.

"Sophon didn't act at the start of this technological explosion because applying pressure at that time could easily be turned into a driving force for progress.

"However, the 18th Year of the Galaxy is a very good time frame. The technological explosion has begun, and at this time, the pressure they apply will become psychological pressure.

"At the same time, because Humanity has already achieved certain technological advancements, under such psychological pressure, it is very likely they will seek out the Trisolarans for a fight.

"Thus, the strategic objectives of the Trisolarans are achieved: diverting part of the energy from the technological explosion, impacting the progress of this technological boom."

Belinsky and the others pondered deeply, considering angles they had never thought of before.

Jiang Yu sighed. Though he didn't speak it outright, the three candidates all realized their answers had disappointed him somewhat.

Jiang Yu admonished them, "As a qualified Wallfacer, sometimes foresight is more important than intelligence."

He continued, "Good, you've analyzed the purpose of the Trisolarans for me. Now I'll ask you, what should we do?"

Shi Mingwei was the first to reply, "Do nothing."

He smiled and said, "I bet the Trisolarans are feeling quite uncomfortable now. They intended to pressure humanity, yet we effortlessly destroyed one of their Sophons.

"There may be many Sophons, but certainly not so many that they are in abundance.

"So now not only have they failed to exert pressure on us, but they've also added a lot of pressure to themselves.

"If we now react excessively, it would only show our vulnerability.

"However, if we do nothing in such an open and straightforward manner, it would put even more pressure on them."

Yun Tony added, "We need to have face, but also substance.

"I think we could prioritize the installation of the Dark Matter Emitter on the Earth Corps and quickly get battle-ready!

"That way, if the Trisolarans really do take any action, at least Earth will have a basic ability to defend itself, ensuring utmost safety."

Belinsky then said, "I suddenly thought of a strategy akin to trapping and beating a dog.

"I remember the Wallfacer once mentioned that the Trisolarans' Third Fleet had left a way to contact them here with humanity, but we have always kept that intelligent computer sealed up.

"We could take that intelligent computer to our predetermined battlefield and turn it on, drawing the attention of the Trisolarans. Then set up an ambush to wipe out the enemy's living forces, and thus, the war would be within our control."

Jiang Yu nodded in satisfaction, "Now that's a good idea! Alright, let's focus on the experiment."

Though he had some conclusions in mind, he was in no rush to announce the results of this assessment.

At that moment, the Super Particle Accelerator had completed its final synchronization, and soon after, the officer in charge of the experiment reported to Jiang Yu, "Wallfacer, 'Photon Particle No.1' is all normal, ready to go. Please give the order!"

Jiang Yu said, "Fire!"

"Yes! Entering launch countdown! Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, fire!"

On the accelerator's launcher, a dazzling white light immediately appeared, followed by a tiny beam of light shooting out from the launcher and heading straight for the accelerator ring.

The beam of light was so thin, it was only a few particles in diameter.

The light it emitted was not coming from the accelerating particles themselves, but from the vast amount of energy that was being used to accelerate the particles.

The accelerator ring had already been fully charged, and when the particle reached it, the ring began secondary acceleration, tertiary acceleration, continuing up to one thousand six hundred thirty-one accelerations.

By the eighteenth acceleration, the particle had already reached fifty percent of the speed of light.

After that, accelerating the particle became more difficult; every one percent increase in light speed nearly required a squared amount of all the previous energy consumed.

The last hundred or so accelerator rings were all for the final 0.1 percent.

The particle's journey through the accelerator rings looked nearly identical, and there was simply no time to watch each one individually.

The viewing perspective suddenly shifted to a point far away, where Jiang Yu and the others saw, in the pitch-black universe, a streak of light headed towards a star.

It aspired to the speed of light, but its aim was to plunge this planetary system into everlasting darkness!