Chapter 51: The Three Fundamental Forces Seal, The Sacrificial Lamb

News of the annihilation of the Legion of Heroic Spirits spread quickly throughout the Proxima Centauri system.

All three civilizations were in shock.

In their eyes, even if the Legion's numerous battleships couldn't win, they should have been able to sustain the war for at least several decades, if not centuries.

How much time has passed?

Setting aside the travel time, how long did the actual battle last?

Are the enemies truly this powerful?

A sense of panic spread across the Civilized Federation.

The only thing holding them together was the Civilized Federation, a fictitious organization created by Yan Xia.

After all these years, neither the Hundred-Eyed Tribe nor the Human Tribe had seen any trace of the other members of the Civilized Federation.

The far-right extremists, who had been hiding in the shadows, began to emerge, promoting the idea that the Civilized Federation didn't exist.

Public opinion was in an uproar, and the entire Kate civilization once again witnessed the scene of the initial encounter with the advanced civilization tower.

Escape!

Some of the Kate people boarded spaceships and fled Proxima Centauri.

But they couldn't escape.

In the outer reaches of the Proxima Centauri system, a massive blockade had formed in the vacuum of space.

Within this blockade, the three fundamental forces, excluding gravity, were completely unable to function. Any spaceship that entered this region would disintegrate into its basic particles. Even light couldn't pass through.

The entire civilization was sealed off.

The once-powerful Sky Shield was now useless against the enemy civilization.

Panic!

The panic spread further.

Some lives began to pray and surrender.

Yan Xia didn't pay much attention to these reactions. The panic would cause internal chaos, but in a war of this scale, the disorder among these people wouldn't affect the outcome.

Yan Xia intentionally spread this news to follow through with his original plan.

Show weakness!

The panic would make the enemy believe that their civilization was at its last gasp.

Unfortunately, the enemy civilization didn't follow Yan Xia's script. Instead, they directly sealed off the entire star system.

"With such immense power, why didn't they directly attack the inner system?" Yan Xia wondered.

Yan Xia remained in Ella's research institute without leaving. He didn't even enter a hibernation state, as he knew that this time, it wasn't he who was invading others, but others invading him. He was prepared for the possibility that this sleep might be his eternal rest.

The original Ella wasn't here; she had left behind a 'File_01_Copy' that functioned like a clone.

This clone of Ella explained, "Using these fundamental forces to influence matter requires a significant amount of energy."

"To seal off the entire Proxima Centauri system with these forces, it would require the capability of a Type 2 civilization."

"Only in the vacuum of space, where matter is scarce, can energy be conserved."

This clone of Ella shared the same database as the original Ella.

Yan Xia didn't know why, but he felt that this clone of Ella was as capable as the original.

Yan Xia nodded slightly.

"That makes sense. Even this is powerful enough."

"You should be able to contact the original Ella now."

The original Ella wasn't in Proxima Centauri but in another location—Alpha Centauri A.

Yan Xia had asked Ella to explore the strings, but it required an enormous amount of energy. Ella had planned to use the energy produced by the Dyson cloud once it was completed.

But there was no time for that now.

Ella would have to borrow energy from Alpha Centauri A.

Yan Xia and Ella had always avoided tapping into that energy source.

No one could be sure if the Third Civilization had installed sensors or other detection devices in the Alpha Centauri A device.

It was likely that the news of a civilization entering Alpha Centauri A had reached the Third Civilization, either through some means or had already fallen into their hands.

This sense of urgency didn't affect Yan Xia.

He had lived long enough, longer than anyone in human history. He had seen, learned, and mastered more.

Yan Xia was now a seasoned old man, and the ability to remain calm in the face of change was ingrained in his blood.

The clone of Ella responded, "That's right. Even magnetic forces cannot penetrate the blockade."

"Our information is isolated."

Yan Xia nodded.

He wasn't worried about Ella.

During the construction of the Dyson cloud, Ella had made adjustments to the center of mass of the Alpha Centauri binary system, and it was now perfect. The chances of the enemy finding the cavity in Alpha Centauri A were slim.

"When do you think they will make their move against us?" Yan Xia asked.

The clone of Ella performed some calculations.

"The highest probability is within 20 years!"

Yan Xia shook his head, slightly disappointed in the clone of Ella. He didn't know if the original Ella had restricted the clone's functions.

"I guess it will be after 100 years."

"Their blockade of the Proxima Centauri system indicates their hesitation and caution."

"The gap between us and them is not as large as we imagined. They won't rush but will slowly starve our civilization, making it weak and vulnerable."

"They didn't block Alpha Centauri, so I guess they will take control of it and use the Dyson cloud to study our biology, social structure, and technological tree."

"I've already left a theoretical attachment there, targeting them. The weak force field is just the first part; there's more information, including what they revealed to us this time."

"The wall is indeed solid and powerful, but if we analyze it carefully, we can see that it still relies on the four fundamental forces and, for practical purposes, they've made compromises to allow stable matter to pass through freely."

"This is a fatal flaw, and it means that I can create a high-energy material that can maintain stability for a short time and break through their shell."

"Of course, this won't be enough to destroy them, but it will make them reconsider their options."

"Should we wait or pay a price and attack?"

"They will suspect that if I have this technology, I might have others."

"This is a game between intelligent beings."

A subtle influence on their thinking.

Of course, Yan Xia wasn't sure if this would work.

That's why he never put all his eggs in one basket.

The Hundred-Eyed Star had already prepared to attack the Ghost Civilization, and Yan Xia decided that even if it meant sacrificing the Chasing Light Civilization, it would delay the Ghost Civilization's progress.

From Yan Xia's perspective, it would be in the best interest of the Ghost Civilization to directly invade and destroy the Proxima Centauri civilization.

But the Ghost Civilization was considering the entire civilization, not just individuals. They wouldn't act impulsively like an observer. The Hundred-Eyed Tribe would become part of the civilization, and the Ghost Civilization would take them into account. Yan Xia was using the Hundred-Eyed Tribe to divert the Ghost Civilization's attention.

Cruel?

Perhaps the Hundred-Eyed Tribe's fate as a sacrificial lamb was sealed from the moment they were enslaved by Yan Xia.

Let's see if the Ghost Civilization shows any mercy.

Of course, Ella would help the Hundred-Eyed Star advance technologically, but it would be like an ant trying to shake a tree when facing the Ghost Civilization.

"There's nothing more I can do."

"It's time to hibernate."

Yan Xia stood up.

The period of tension had passed, and now it was a delicate game of balance.

Yan Xia valued his life, so he had built his hibernation pod deep within the planet's core. Even if the Ghost Civilization went crazy and destroyed the Proxima Centauri system, he would survive, unless they destroyed the planet itself.

To be honest, the entire Civilized Federation wasn't that important to Yan Xia. If it were destroyed, he could start over.

With this hibernation, Yan Xia would sleep for another 100 years.

Not only did he guess that the Ghost Civilization would make its move after 100 years, but Ella had also promised him that she would give them 100 years. With the energy accumulation, they could see the "strings."