Chapter 217: Final Battle, A Desperate Gamble with Ye Chen's Acting Skills_1

No. 7: "It may be too late, Lin Sen can launch a global broadcast. As long as Lin Sen deploys a large number of antimatter devices inside the Universal Broadcasting Station Military Port,

"Then, moving forward along with the Sophon-Blocked Zone, the Waterdrop we left behind will be unable to make a direct attack.

"This is also one of the reasons for Lin Sen's playacting, which made us subconsciously overlook the fact that Sophon blockers can move. We excel in computation but are somewhat lacking in the ability to make connections between events.

"We don't know the location of the antimatter devices, and if we collide with them, it's highly likely that we'll repeat the fate of the first Waterdrop.

"The strong electromagnetic waves from my Waterdrop are also ineffective; they can't destroy the antimatter devices inside the military port, we've lost our detection capability, and we can't rashly attack now."

Military Governor: "Then should we risk sacrificing this Waterdrop to directly destroy the Universal Broadcasting Station Military Port?

"As for Rey Diaz's warships, even if we temporarily ignore them, our other Waterdrops are also capable of completely destroying them."

No. 7: "That is indeed feasible.

"It's just... I'm not clear whether Lin Sen has other schemes up his sleeve.

"If this Waterdrop is also destroyed, then in the following 28 hours it takes for the other two Waterdrops to arrive, we will have no means to counter Lin Sen."

Supreme Commander: "Even if, as you say, Lin Sen does have other schemes, what if he simply moves the Universal Broadcasting Station Military Port along with the military port forward, and when it reaches the edge of the fog, launches a global broadcast? What then?

"We likewise have no countermeasures and must take the risk. We have no other choice."

No. 7: "Perhaps we can try to negotiate with Lin Sen again to buy time.

"If we wait, the situation might change.

"Moreover, I believe Lin Sen may not dare to launch the broadcast. We are all caught in a prisoner's dilemma, Lin Sen must also be wary of the consequences of flight and we can't let him lead us by the nose."

Supreme Commander: "Lin Sen is too dangerous, too good at deception, any form of communication with him could be a carefully designed trap by him.

"Indecisiveness could lead to greater chaos, we can't pin our hopes on the uncertain prospect of a change in the course of the war. We must act swiftly and decisively now to take the initiative."

Lin Sen might really have fooled the old Supreme Commander good; the once exceedingly wise Supreme Commander now seems somewhat unstable. Ah, that damned Lin Sen!

No. 7: "Supreme Commander, I understand your point.

"Just that, the risk is too great. If we fail, the consequences will be unimaginable."

The Supreme Commander's gaze was firm: "Risk always exists, but we cannot be hesitant because we fear risk.

"Now, what we need is resolve and courage, not to be timorous.

"If necessary, we have to put all our eggs in one basket."

Human nature is such that when one falls from a high place, facing the panic and helplessness of losing everything, one can often fall into an almost frenzied state, desperately clinging to any seemingly possible chance for a turnaround.

It's like gambling, where you might have just won a lot but you lose a lot in a single breath, and that unwillingness pushes the gambler to continue betting in an attempt to win everything back in one stroke.

The resolve and courage spoken of by the Supreme Commander are actually greed and unwillingness.

Lin Sen's previous acting, as if humanity had already failed, was simply amplifying these two emotions. Trisolarans are not without feelings, and even if they were, the stimulation of these 200 years would have given them sensations.

But when self-awareness awakes, it inevitably brings greed and unwillingness with it.

Of course, the Supreme Commander's decision is not solely a result of these two emotions, but is also based on the strictest logical analysis; it's just that these emotions have led the Supreme Commander into a madness unnoticed by anyone else.

This will be the Supreme Commander's second mistake; if not for the imbalance in his mental state, his choice should have been more conservative instead of the somewhat paranoid all-in that it is now.

This is yet another purpose of Lin Sen's acting.

…

Meanwhile, in the First War Zone.

The massive federal fleet, totaling 3,000 warships, met majestically divided into three Array Groups, racing towards the Waterdrop, which was about to start its game of catching coins.

The federal fleet had also learned about the characteristics of The Waterdrop from the recent probing attacks and quickly inferred its potential tactics.

Ye Chen took over the command of all warships, adopting a centralized command mode.

This was also the conventional command mode for array-mode warfare, where every order could be quickly and accurately conveyed to the entire fleet.

Inside the warships, even though everyone's bodies were submerged in Deep-Sea Acceleration Fluid, they could command as if they were in a command hall, thanks to Virtual Technology.

At this moment, everyone was as tense as those in the other three major war zones. The Waterdrop might not be invincible, but the federal fleet indeed had no means prepared to counter it.

In the virtual command hall, Ye Chen, while manually manipulating the formation of the fleet with his hands, mustered the strength to say:

"The Trisolarans' technology and combat tactics far exceed our predictions, and all our previous military preparedness strategies have completely missed the mark.

"Now, if we confront the Trisolarans head-on, it will be tantamount to a praying mantis blocking a chariot, and it's highly likely that we will see our entire force destroyed. Must we preserve the majority of human warships?

"We've been too arrogant before, forming a united array to confront the enemy was our biggest mistake.

"Now, the last plan is to use the warships of the First Array Group to buy time for the last two array groups, helping them escape the battlefield, preserving as many warships for humanity as possible.

"As long as we can escape the battlefield, we will surely think of a way to deal with it."

Ye Chen's current state was like a deflated ball, with a deep wariness of The Waterdrop apparent in his eyes. Yet he had to make a firm decision to courageously take on the responsibility of preserving humanity's warships, accepting the necessary sacrifices.

All these complex emotions were displayed on Ye Chen's face, with fear and resoluteness intertwined, as if he was engaged in a fierce internal battle.

Fleet Joint Officer Group (all group array commanders): "It can only be this way, it is our collective decision."

Array Group Commanders: "This is our honor, we are the ones who truly fought against aliens, and this honor belongs to every member of the First Array Group."

The formation of the federal fleet began to change. The overall formation of the First Array Group did not change, but the sterns of the rear warships all pointed forward, and the ships began to slow down, intentionally stretching the distance of the fleet to buy time for the other fleets to escape.

The warships of the other two array groups turned almost perpendicular to the direction of travel, with their stern engines running at maximum power, scattering in different directions.

The Trisolaran Military Commander sneered contemptuously, "Is it still in time now?

"Can you really escape? We will start by using two Waterdrops to quickly penetrate your First Array Group. After that, we'll pursue your Second Array Group and the Third Array Group separately."

The Waterdrops also began to accelerate, propelling forward at 50 times the Third Cosmic Velocity, a speed always calculated as the Trisolarans' optimal solution.

The main and secondary guns of the federal fleet's First Array warships never ceased firing towards The Waterdrop, with their intense gunfire like furious sword-dragon flames rushing towards The Waterdrop, attempting to halt its advance.

However, The Waterdrop seemed unaffected by the fierce artillery, and other than its forward speed being somewhat impacted, it wove nimbly through the dense gunfire, as if with the utmost ease.

Time seemed to slow and grow heavy, each second filled with tension and anticipation, and every shot carried with it humanity's hopes and determination. But this hope was becoming increasingly dim.

Ten minutes later.

The collision between The Waterdrop and the first Human Warship commenced, still a silent and merciless penetration.

The Waterdrop did not choose to strike from the fuel storage but passed through the main cannon like a ghost, and in the span of microseconds, emerged lightly from the stern of the warship.

It wasn't that The Waterdrop was too fast, but rather the warship itself was too fast.

Three seconds after The Waterdrop left the warship, the collision with the next began.

Only then could people see the explosion at the stern of the first warship, a splendid and tragic firework display, the warship's final elegy.

PS: Ye Chen: Lin Sen's acting is simply not on par with mine. I can deliver an interweaving of multiple emotions to perfection, I should still be the king of actors this time, right? No objections?

Lin Sen: Seriously, is it necessary? Can the Trisolarans even understand? They analyze your acting based on the movements of every muscle on your face, your eye movements, heart rate, hormone secretion... Are you performing for them?

No. 7: Are you offending me, or are you explaining for me?

Ye Chen: I must mention my acting again. Do you think my emotions are fake? When I don't even believe myself, how can I make the Trisolarans believe?

Lin Sen: Is that even possible?