Chapter 325: Messenger Big Tooth

Shui Wa: "Respected Swallower Civilization, is there something you wish to discuss with us?"

Swallower Civilization: "Not much really, mainly just to chat about you. You are special, and I'm quite interested in you."

Shui Wa: "Us? Is there something about us that you find valuable?"

Swallower Civilization: "You are very special to us."

We've sent an envoy. The small spacecraft he is on has already departed, and will arrive at your location in two weeks to assist you in decelerating.

We have a lot of time to spend together."

Now all the information was even more chaotic. Shui Wa was simply unable to determine the intent of the Swallowers, his heart filled with confusion and unease.

Swallower, the name itself carried an unmistakable sense of majesty and power. Being named Swallower suggested a high probability that they were not a benevolent civilization.

But so far they had shown no overt malice, though their tone was somewhat assertive.

They knew of Earth, meaning they might have already observed and studied it. In that case, Shui Wa would not have any particular value to them.

So why did they still show interest in humanity? That couldn't simply be explained by an interest in extraterrestrial life.

Nevertheless, Shui Wa could only face it calmly to see what the Swallower Civilization truly needed, what their real purpose was.

...

One month later.

Under the traction of the Swallower spacecraft, Shui Wa's spaceship gradually slowed down and eventually came to a steady stop.

Shui Wa stared blankly out the window at the huge "small" spaceship, its size nearly matching that of humanity's first interstellar warship, the "Divine Bow." Was this what he understood by small?

The Swallower's "small" spacecraft invited Shui Wa onto their vessel, and he proceeded to the unknown civilization's ship with another crew member.

This might be humanity's first face-to-face communication with extraterrestrial life, and Shui Wa's heart was similarly filled with trepidation.

After donning his spacesuit, Shui Wa stepped out of his own ship. Carefully, he walked through the Swallower spaceship's corridor and entered the interior of the vessel.

Once inside the ship, Shui Wa was stunned by the vastness of the interior space. What was more unbelievable to him was that the composition of the air inside the spacecraft was very similar to Earth's.

According to the smart detection of the spacesuit, humans could breathe freely without masks in this place.

At first, Shui Wa thought this environment had been specifically created by the Swallowers for humans, to help them adapt better. But when he saw the Swallower envoy, he realized he had been completely wrong.

The Swallower envoy resembled a lizard, with a robust body covered in large, plate-like scales, standing nearly ten meters tall when upright.

It did not have any protective gear and was breathing directly in this environment, which suggested that the Swallower's natural atmospheric conditions were also similar to Earth's.

Shui Wa also felt relieved that he had not opened his oxygen mask to breathe; contracting an extraterrestrial disease would not be worth it.

Furthermore, Shui Wa was astonished to find an astonishing similarity between the Swallower before him and Earth's species. Whether it was their muscle tissue, body shape, or certain physiological features, there was a myriad of connections to Earth's species.

Species from different galaxies should not be this similar; it was very strange.

One could even say that if they were to be placed in Earth's biological classification system, they could perfectly fit into the category of Chordata, Class Reptilia.

Humans, on the other hand, are categorized under Chordata, Class Mammalia, which just shows their degree of similarity to Earth's species.

Despite the ferocious appearance of the Swallowers, with their bulging muscles and glistening scales, there was a strong sense of familiarity.

Maybe floating in space for too long, even seeing Earth's cockroaches could inspire a sense of fondness.

Since the Swallower envoy introduced himself with a sound pronounced as "Da Ya," based on his physical features and behavior, Shui Wa dubbed him "Big Tooth."

Big Tooth chuckled heartily, but the sound he emitted was like a roar, "Humans from the Third Planet of the Solar System, tender little bugs, I believe we will quite like each other."

The contempt was clear in Big Tooth's speech, which made Shui Wa very uncomfortable. However, in his words, one could also feel that Big Tooth was indeed pleased to see Shui Wa and the others, just as Shui Wa felt a sense of cordiality towards them.

The Swallower's communication was clearly produced through vocal cords in their throat, which shocked Shui Wa; how could two distinct civilizations have so many similarities?

After meeting each other, introductions were made, and since both sides had translation systems, there was no barrier to communication.

Shui Wa had to tilt her head back to see Big Tooth, "Honored envoy, I apologize for intruding into your territory without permission.

"At the same time, we are also very curious, how did you come to know that we are from the Third Planet of the Solar System? And why are you interested in us?"

Big Tooth flaunted his signature big teeth, which, if not mistaken, appeared to be a smile.

"You will find out about this later.

"We didn't expect that after we left, the Third Planet would give birth to you.

"We are interested in you; we simply wanted to see what you look like.

"It's truly marvelous, having brains big enough and hands nimble enough. Your size is moderate, neither too large nor too small. Your energy requirements aren't high, yet in terms of strength, you are among the top tier of your planet's species.

"It's like a piece of art sculpted by God, very nice, I really want to taste it!"

Shui Wa pondered over Big Tooth's earlier remarks, seeming very interested in humanity.

But that last sentence, accompanied by the licking motion and the desirous look in his eyes, clearly indicated a desire to consume her; indeed, a true Swallower.

Nevertheless, could species born in different galaxies be directly edible?

Shui Wa asked with curiosity, "Do you want to eat us? Can you directly consume us?"

Big Tooth shook his head, "Don't be afraid, I won't eat you; the king hasn't granted us permission to eat you."

Shui Wa stated calmly, "We are not afraid; in fact, we even imagined that your scientists would dissect us endlessly for research.

"You call yourselves Swallowers, and we have already begun to surmise a few things about you.

"What doesn't make sense to us is that the difference between civilizations across the stars tends to be vast. The possibility of consuming life forms from such distant worlds seems almost impossible from a biochemistry standpoint.

"Perhaps a gene fragment of mine could be poison to you; how do you perform this consumption?"

Big Tooth said slowly, "Usually your assumption is correct, species from different worlds are generally not consumable, but you are an exception; you are consumable for us.

"We call ourselves Swallowers, and the extent to which we consume is beyond your imagination; we will devour anything that can be swallowed.

"Our era's warships can even consume most of the material of a planet, transforming these materials through various technologies into edible supplies we need.

"We have always walked the path of consumption without cessation, and we can't stop now."

Shui Wa frowned, trying to comprehend Big Tooth's words, "So you mean to say, your civilization has always been on a path of consumption? Why is that necessary?

"Excessive consumption should be unnecessary once the energy needs of your own civilization have been met."