Chapter 205 The Waterdrop Appears_1

Lin Sen's vision was suddenly filled with a line of subtitles, and behind them was No. 7:

[We can talk!]

Lin Sen said, "It seems you're truly afraid of us escaping!"

No. 7: [You are also aware of the consequences of escape, in this dark universe forest, such behavior is too dangerous.

It is equally dangerous for you!]

Lin Sen's expression appeared somewhat desolate:

"No, I'm not afraid, and I don't need to be anymore, I'm prepared.

"After pressing this button, I will commit a crime against humanity.

"I don't want to be judged, death will be my destiny.

"I see it very clearly, humanity cannot defeat you, this ending is fine.

"At least it's highly likely that the spark of human civilization will be preserved, and I have no regrets."

Inside, No. 7 really wanted to curse: Who are you fooling? Do you really think I haven't seen your ambush, the layout you've made without knowing the details of the Whirlwind Stomp could destroy it.

Still playing the defeatist, still claiming that humans cannot possibly defeat us. In the end, your acting is too exaggerated.

No. 7 was helpless, if you want to play, I'll play along with you!

No. 7: [You can state your negotiation demands, you must have some requests.]

Lin Sen seemed to regain some calm, "You seem to know me well, you've probably been studying my behavior model for nearly 200 years, right!

"But... do you really understand?

"This isn't a negotiation with you, if it were a real negotiation, the stakes wouldn't be the threat of escape, but a method of negotiation neither you nor I are willing to use.

"Facing you, humanity doesn't have even a half chance of winning. But I'm also unwilling to use the Dark Forest, even its deterrence is not likely to be very high.

"The only thing that can threaten you now is escape, since the consequences of escape are probabilistic; it could be seen as a sort of intermediate threat.

"Given the technology level of the Deep Space Fleet, if it all were to flee, it might take hundreds or even thousands of years to be discovered by other civilizations, we all have a chance of escaping.

"You should understand my attitude toward ordinary humans, I am a person who will stop at nothing, like you, keep the useful ones, discard the useless.

"So, you should understand what I mean! I want to add some assurances to this war."

No. 7 felt like going crazy: What do we understand!

But Lin Sen's prediction wasn't wrong—in our calculations, humans' chance of victory wouldn't exceed five percent. That's actually very high, according to the initial estimates, the human success rate wouldn't reach one in ten thousand.

So what is the extra security that Lin Sen needs? Is it the double deterrence?

No. 7: [I think you are overestimating us.

We are not much stronger than you, our biggest advantage is the Sophon surveillance, as you often say, to discover is to destroy, that's why we dare to decide on a battle with you.

Our choice to continue the invasion of the Solar System is not because we believe we are certain to win, but because we must attempt it.

If we win, it will be our honor; if we fail, it will be our fate, and we will give up the invasion of the Solar System.

The greatest quality of the Trisolarans is that no matter how dire the conditions we encounter, we need to make a last stand and attempt, even if there is only a one in ten thousand chance of victory, it's worth fighting for.

Trisolarans are not good at strategizing; we each have our strengths and weaknesses, it's not possible to determine who has a greater chance of victory between us.]

Lin Sen smiled and then said, "You make a lot of sense, but clearly you're misleading me. What you're saying is typical human thinking, not yours.

"You have been studying us all along, and we have been studying you too, your thought pattern is not like this.

"In your way of thinking, the first thing you consider is to hide, the second is to sacrifice.

"Sacrifice and being sacrificed have already been ingrained in your bones, you don't even feel it, it's your subconscious behavior. You usually don't talk about it, it has become your habit."

"Your recent explanation of 'a last stand and attempt', is still hiding.

"About the half chance of victory I proposed, you've explained too much, as if deliberately hiding something. There's a saying amongst humans, to explain is to conceal.

"Upon careful consideration, there are also presumptions in your words.

"This indirectly indicates that you believe your chance of victory is high, I guessed right, you think your chance of victory is 95%, don't you?"

No. 7: [You're deliberately probing! By our reply, you gauge the human chance of victory in this war?

Today's negotiation is a sham, merely a ploy to gather information by probing.

Communicating with you is too dangerous, you're despicable!]

Lin Sen: "Thanks for the compliment.

"Not only that, I also want to increase humanity's chance of victory.

"You and I both understand that the timing of the start of the war is a key factor in deciding the outcome of the war.

"Now, the battle of the apocalypse, let's formally begin...

"I know that your Trisolaran Soothsayer Imprint has reached the Solar System, but certainly not all have arrived, starting the war now is the most advantageous for us.

"If we wait for all the Soothsayer Imprints to arrive, we really won't stand a chance.

"Now, the choice is yours, if you choose to continue hiding the Soothsayer Imprint, I will press this button, allowing the human Deep Space Fleet to flee, and humans and Trisolarans will likely have a thousand years."

"If we choose to start the war now, let fate decide the outcome on the battlefield!"

No. 7: "Despicable, your goal is to force the Whirlwind Stomp to reveal itself now, isn't it?"

Lin Sen: "That's right, your initiation of war gives you no choice, and our counterattack also leaves us with no choice—it's not about right or wrong.

"Now... you just need to tell us... your... choice."

After some discussion, the Trisolaran world believed that although it was not the best timing, it was still acceptable to launch an attack.

This decision was not made rashly but was the result of a comprehensive analysis of the current situation.

No. 7: "As you wish, we have already had two Trisolaran Soothsayer Imprints arrive.

They are hidden in the Kuiper Belt, at a right ascension of 13 hours, 31 minutes, 14 seconds, and a declination of 6 degrees.

Using sophons, we can monitor all of your surveillance devices and avoid them entirely, even if we are very close to you, making it difficult for you to detect us.

Now, they will appear within the scanning range of your detectors, and you will receive news in 4 hours."

The two Waterdrops, clearly a deception, but both sides fully understood the bluff.

Knowing that Lin Sen was already aware of the Trisolaris's use of meteors to hide the Whirlwind Stomp, No. 7 still pretended to be unaware, letting you know I am deceiving you, which is also a method of concealment, and at the same time it could make the opponent feel a sense of accomplishment. It would be the greatest hit to Lin Sen when the entire plan was uncovered.

But when you think you are leading others by the nose, they might already be tethering you with that very rope.

Only, no one knows who has tethered whom!

Lin Sen: "Although I don't want to say thank you, I still want to say... Thank you!

"We're all seeking that slim chance of survival, if humanity has a 10% chance of winning this war, then I'm satisfied."

No. 7 really wanted to curse: Enough already, that 'thank you' was quite rare, and we Trisolarans were quite pleased with it. But that remark about a 10% chance of victory, who are you trying to disgust?

Do you really believe that only 2 Whirlwind Stomps have arrived in the Solar System?

You've arranged so many means to ambush the Whirlwind Stomp.

In your heart, do you really only see a 10% chance of victory? As if we were just Trisolaran monkeys.

The negotiation ended temporarily.

...

Lin Sen immediately informed Command Headquarters:

"Urgent report!

There are two Trisolaran Whirlwind Stomps about to appear in the Kuiper Belt, at a right ascension of 13 hours, 31 minutes, 14 seconds, and a declination of 6 degrees. In 4 hours, the reconnaissance satellite will bring the latest intelligence.

All combat personnel, please immediately switch to first-level wartime status!

All members of the human Space Battleship fleet, enter deep sea mode, with the federal fleet advancing to state 4 to intercept.

Attention, this is not a drill! The prologue to the doomsday battle has begun, and humanity's survival hangs in the balance."

This military report was transmitted to Command Headquarters half an hour later, which was also located in Jupiter Orbit, but not in the same location as the Wallfacer Headquarters.

Nobody doubted the veracity of the Wallfacer's intelligence, but it was unbelievable. How did the Wallfacer come to know of it, happening 25 astronomical units away?

The atmosphere at Command Headquarters also became extremely tense, as a forbidding and solemn air filled the space. High-ranking officers urgently gathered in the war room, analyzing the current situation with grave expressions and preparing for the imminent appearance of the Trisolaran Whirlwind Stomp.

The appearance of the Whirlwind Stomp heralded the beginning of the doomsday battle, and war always seemed to happen when one was not yet ready.

"Notify the federal Space Fleet, all personnel immediately enter deep sea mode, all battleships to be fully fueled and proceed to intercept in state 4!" Ye Chen's voice was firm and decisive.

He then continued issuing orders: "All military forces in the Solar System, enter first-level wartime status!

"Inform the Permanent Defense Council (PDC), all of humanity to enter formal wartime status, all military personnel, no matter where they are, must return to their posts immediately, ready for battle!

"The Stellar Defense System to be activated immediately, all monitoring systems to be switched on, closely monitoring every corner of the Solar System, letting nothing escape notice.

"This is not a drill, the Trisolarans have come, the war has started!"

Thanks to previous drills, humanity quickly went into a wartime state.

Ye Chen would also serve as the overall commander of the federal Space Fleet, leading the charge on the front lines of the battlefield.

Four hours after the war orders were issued, more than 3,000 of humanity's most advanced Star-level Warships ignited their powerful engines, their exhaust flames shining like 3,000 suns, illuminating the entire starry sky.

Although the crew of the Space Battleships were in deep sea mode, they were still capable of processing external information and commanding the battle.

At that moment, the Kuiper Belt detectors also transmitted the traces of the two Whirlwind Stomps.

Humans saw its form for the first time; it was a perfect droplet shape, with a rounded head and a pointed tail, and its surface was an ultra-smooth, fully reflective mirror that cast flowing patterns of the Milky Way Galaxy upon it, making the mercury-like droplet appear pure and aesthetically sublime.

Its droplet shape was so lifelike that observers sometimes really thought it was liquid, completely lacking any internal mechanical structure.

In radar detection, it was completely invisible, only visible in the visible light spectrum, its size close to what was predicted, only three and a half meters in length.

Humans had imagined its appearance countless times, but its actual reveal exceeded everyone's expectations.

It looked more like an artifact, something that, if too far from our concept of it, is not a good sign.

With Governing bodies and the PDC in agreement within the Solar System, it was decided to officially rename the "Whirlwind Stomp" to "The Waterdrop".

The main reason for fear was that The Waterdrop might be some sort of super radiation source, its form resembling that of a liquid droplet, such an association seemed the most reasonable.

Now, the name "The Waterdrop" might have a more deterring effect.