There are two pieces of information

These radio waves bore unmistakable traces of an intelligent civilization. Specifically, there were three triply-repeated bands and five doubly-repeated bands, with a certain logical connection between them.

Although it was impossible to pinpoint the source of these waves, based on the current intelligence, Xiao Yu was certain that it was not far from him.

Xiao Yu's heart tightened. This could very well be humanity's first contact with an extraterrestrial intelligent civilization. Receiving such a signal in the void of space could only mean that this alien civilization had, at the very least, achieved interstellar travel capabilities.

"Could I be this unlucky?" Xiao Yu muttered to himself.

He didn't believe that other alien civilizations would embark on interstellar voyages with technology only capable of planetary travel, as he had done. In other words, this civilization likely possessed the ability to travel at speeds reaching five percent of light speed. This represented an insurmountable technological gap, rendering Xiao Yu a helpless lamb before a predator.

Xiao Yu immediately ordered the remaining eight hundred-plus ships to enter radio silence mode, shut down all visible light emissions, and set all observation equipment to maximum power.

In the boundless darkness of the universe, Xiao Yu silently slipped through the void.

Xiao Yu began the arduous task of decoding the signal, attempting to translate the information it carried into a language he could understand. At the same time, he secretly prepared all laser cannons, high-speed machine guns, and hydrogen bombs for immediate combat.

In this situation, Xiao Yu could not flee. The alien civilization likely hadn't detected him yet, but fleeing would mean activating the nuclear fusion engines, which would emit a strong radiation signature, almost certainly revealing his position and turning him into a target.

He could only maintain his current speed, coasting forward under inertia.

Ten days passed in silence, with nothing out of the ordinary. Xiao Yu waited in silence, preparing in silence.

Then, Xiao Yu received a second message. Like the first, it exhibited clear signs of logical structure. These two messages finally allowed Xiao Yu to roughly determine the signal's source.

Approximately… the source was eighty thousand kilometers ahead of Xiao Yu, approaching at four kilometers per second.

Xiao Yu was moving toward Tianyuan-4 at five hundred and fifty kilometers per second, which meant this unknown signal source was also approaching Tianyuan-4, but at a speed of only five hundred and forty-six kilometers per second. Based on this calculation, Xiao Yu would make contact in two and a half days.

"Should I flee, or…?" Xiao Yu fell into a dilemma.

"Let's decode the information first," Xiao Yu calculated. "With two messages for comparison, it should take about three hours to decipher their meaning. Once the information is deciphered, I'll decide whether to flee."

Xiao Yu harnessed his immense computational power to process the two messages. Three hours later, he finally cracked their code.

"Fuel for Survey Satellite No. 7 is nearly depleted. Speed is 13.5 kilometers per second. Detection module has been deactivated. Requesting further instructions."

"Survey Satellite No. 7 has successfully left orbit. Communication module will soon be deactivated. Please confirm."

Staring at the messages, Xiao Yu fell into deep thought.

Analyzing the literal meaning, it seemed to be a communication between a device named "Survey Satellite No. 7" and a control station. Of course, the original text didn't explicitly say "Survey Satellite No. 7." The original meaning referred to an instrument labeled number seven, capable of orbital flight. Xiao Yu had translated it as "Survey Satellite No. 7" using Earth terminology.

There were ten days between the two messages. Interpreting them logically, it seemed that after the first message was sent, the control station took ten days to maneuver the satellite out of orbit and shut down its communication module.

This exchange contained a wealth of information.

Xiao Yu's task was to extract the critical information from these brief messages—such as the alien civilization's technological level, its social structure, and most importantly, whether it was a benevolent or hostile civilization.

This task was daunting. There was too little information and too much to analyze. But Xiao Yu had no choice. With a sigh, he began constructing models.

One by one, social models were built, then discarded if they didn't fit the known data. Models that aligned with the data were refined. Finally, Xiao Yu distilled a few key points.

First, it was clear that this satellite-like instrument was abandoned once its fuel was depleted. This indicated that the cost of retrieving it outweighed its value to the civilization—an idea that puzzled Xiao Yu.

If they had undertaken interstellar travel, they must have substantial fuel reserves. And a functioning instrument had countless reusable components. For example, when Xiao Yu's village-level ships were damaged, he would expend fuel to capture them, dismantling them to salvage usable parts rather than discarding them outright.

"It seems this civilization's fleet is in an energy crisis; that's the only explanation," Xiao Yu mused, his heart growing heavier.

If this civilization was in an energy crisis, Xiao Yu was in danger. They might try to rob him of his resources.

Another piece of information troubled Xiao Yu: "Speed is 13.5 kilometers per second."

"Thirteen-point-five kilometers per second?" Xiao Yu pondered. "If the speed is specified, there must be a reference point. So, relative to what is this instrument moving? It's likely relative to the control station. But normally, an instrument would take at least a year to exhaust its fuel. In that time, it could travel four hundred million kilometers. But based on the signal strength I received, there's no way the control station could be four hundred million kilometers away."

This was a paradox. Xiao Yu thought carefully and arrived at an explanation.

"The only way to resolve this contradiction is to assume the instrument is orbiting the control station," Xiao Yu used his computational power to run countless calculations in an instant. "But if that's the case, another paradox arises. Under what circumstances would a fleet need a satellite orbiting it at 13.5 kilometers per second?"

Xiao Yu had already calculated that only a celestial body with 1.6 times Earth's mass would require such an orbital speed.

This was a staggering conclusion.

"Could it be that this fleet's total mass is 1.6 times that of Earth? Is that why they need a specialized instrument to monitor the fleet's status at all times? No, that's impossible. A fleet of such size would have its own communication systems. Why would they need a separate satellite? And why wouldn't they retrieve the satellite if it's so valuable?"

Xiao Yu was baffled. He couldn't reconcile the conflicting pieces of information.

The messages also mentioned a crucial term: "detection module."

Clearly, the detection module was needed only when there was an unknown factor. So, under what circumstances would a fleet require an external instrument to probe its internal structure?

This was yet another contradiction.

"I can't figure it out. I'll set this aside for now and focus on estimating their technological level," Xiao Yu thought.

"First, it's clear they haven't mastered superluminal communication. In other words, their quantum theory isn't more advanced than mine. Then, regarding energy, the first message stated that fuel was nearly depleted, yet it operated for another ten days before shutting down the communication module. From this, I can infer some things about their fuel efficiency..."

"Let's assume the instrument is orbiting the control station, relying primarily on inertia to maintain its trajectory. Given that it was abandoned, it can't be too massive; otherwise, they wouldn't have discarded it so easily. Let's assume it weighs ten tons and that it had only 0.1% of its fuel remaining. Based on a comprehensive analysis..."

"They are still using fusion power."

Xiao Yu arrived at this conclusion.

But a new contradiction emerged. How could a civilization relying on fusion power construct such an enormous fleet?

One question after another arose in Xiao Yu's mind.

"Since this satellite has been discarded, perhaps I could capture it," Xiao Yu suddenly had a daring thought.

After some consideration, Xiao Yu gritted his teeth and made a decision.

"Screw it! What's there to fear? I can't run away anyway, so I might as well gather as much information about their civilization as possible. If I'm going to die, I'll go out with a bang!"

With his mind made up, Xiao Yu set his optical detection equipment to its highest precision. Finally, aided by faint starlight, he spotted the instrument five hundred kilometers off his estimated course.

It was a strange device, about a dozen cubic meters in size, shaped like a starfish.

Seeing the object before him, Xiao Yu was filled with excitement. This was his first contact with an alien civilization!

Xiao Yu maneuvered a village-level ship to approach the satellite at minimum power. Under minimal power, the nuclear fusion engine emitted only a faint trace of radiation, unlikely to be detected by the presumed alien civilization. Once within range, Xiao Yu used a mechanical arm to capture the satellite and brought it into the ship's cargo hold.

He then transferred it to the county-level ship, the largest and most well-equipped vessel, and began his analysis.