Chapter 105: I’ll See the Aliens Personally!_i
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“25 days, just enough to acc.u.mulate the tech points needed to upgrade to level 2…”
Zhao Yu contemplated for a moment, then spoke, “Agree to their terms. Tell them we will meet them there.”
Uncle Da nodded, then asked, “Commander, who do you think should represent us in this meeting?”
This meeting was undoubtedly a crucial test from the other side. It wouldn’t be appropriate to send an android.
“I will go myself!”
“No way!”
Uncle Da interjected urgently, “Commander, let me go instead. I can project you throughout the process; it’s the same thing…”
“It won’t work!”
“The meeting place is about 120 million kilometers from here. Communication delay will be at least 400 seconds…”Zhao Yu shook his head.
Seven minutes one way, fourteen minutes round trip. Such a long delay in response could easily cause complications.
If the other side is aggressive and feels disrespected, they might lash out and there would be no room for delay.
“But it’s not acceptable, commander. What about sending Li Zongheng or me?”
Although androids ultimately have a robotic core, they are very human-like. But they are not human, and there might be misunderstandings in communication with intelligent life, potentially leading to a conflict.
“No more persuasion, I’ve made up my mind. This is something only I can do…”
“Commander, this is too risky. You are the core of the base. If you die…”
“No more talk. If I don’t go this time, my death is just delayed a few days. If I do go, I might be able to buy us some more time…”
Given the gravity of the situation, Zhao Yu didn’t trust anyone else to handle this. He felt at ease only if he went personally.
As he said, if he wasn’t willing to take this small risk, he would meet his end sooner or later.
“Commander, let me go with you…”
“No, you need to stay at the base. The projection can accompany me…”
Despite Uncle Da’s repeated attempts to persuade him, his efforts were futile. He could only start preparing the materials needed for the meeting.
Instead of seeking out professional resources, Zhao Yu copied all the science fiction novels from Earth, planning to read them on the journey.
He had some ideas about how to negotiate at this meeting and was confident he could keep the enemy stable. Otherwise, he wouldn’t risk his life.
Zhao Yu was accustomed to making quick decisions and moving swiftly. It took him only one hour to make up his mind and prepare. He then boarded the escort ship along with Uncle Da’s projection.
•
In the Moon’s repair factory, a man and a woman were moving back and forth among a group of robots, inspecting their damages.
“Zhang Yi Xia, do you really not remember anything from Earth?”
“I don’t remember. According to you, I was not young six years ago. Maybe I even have a child on Earth…”
While they were talking, Zhang Tao suddenly recognized a familiar robot. It was the one that had transmitted the signal a long time ago.
He quickly turned around, grabbed Zhang Yi Xia’s shoulder, and said earnestly, “Zhang Yi Xia, when you are ready to get married, let me know. I will definitely marry you…”
Caught off guard, Zhang Yi Xia’s face reddened instantly. She wriggled free from his grasp, said “Annoying!” and ran off.
Once she was gone, Zhang Tao quickly glanced around, then hurried over to the robot. Pretending to examine it, he swiftly removed the chip he’d previously implanted and replaced it with a new one from his belt.
After doing all of this, he continued his work, joking with Zhang Yi Xia while keeping an eye out for any returning robots that might bear chips.
At the end of the workday, Zhang Tao rushed home, took out the chip, and started to read the information inside.
“Huh?”
Zhang Tao was stunned. He realized that the data on this chip was encrypted differently from before; the previously used key was useless.
“0101.. Binaries?”
Could it be that Earth had switched to this method of communication to avoid detection?
With this thought, Zhang Tao started decoding the message. He found a clear code at the end, with a corresponding image and code.
“What the… Is this not worried about being discovered?!”
Zhang Tao was puzzled. What was happening on Earth that they’d sent him a message with a clear code? Were they worried that he wouldn’t understand, or did they want to ensure that the Moon side could find it?
Although he was confused, he kept working to translate the message.
“We are the Universe Federation…”
“Universe Federation?!”
When the first line was translated, Zhang Tao froze, disbelief flashing in his eyes.
“Could it be… this message didn’t come from Earth?!”
Shocked, Zhang Tao continued to translate. Every translated sentence changed his expression further.
When he finished, he was ecstatic and wanted to jump up and celebrate.
“Universe Federation… 77 civilizations… equality… Federal laws protect emerging civilizations…”
At the end, Zhang Tao jolted. He felt a thrill run through him.
“So, the universe is indeed a harmonious family…”
Zhang Tao glanced at the direction of the lunar base through the wall, whispering, “If they find out, they might hide the existence of Earth’s civilization…”
“I must get the message back. This concerns whether Earth’s civilization can join the Universe Federation!!!”
Aboard the guard ship, Zhao Yu was reading science fiction novels, looking for ideas about the future of the universe.
“Commander…”
Uncle Da called out, then froze.
He remained still for a full ten seconds before moving again to report, “There’s movement in the Mo Luo fleet!”
He froze again after speaking.
Zhao Yu was used to it. The guard ship he was on had moved over 3 million kilometers away from the moon, causing a delay in the transmission of information. The further they went, the greater the delay.
Now, it was only a 10-second delay, but as they went further, the only way for them to communicate normally would be to pre-record video content and transmit it.
After the next ten seconds, Uncle Da directly sent over a video.
“Commander, the Moro fleet has sent out another scout ship, heading for Jupiter…”
“I’ve calculated their flight path, it seems like they’re heading to our ships near Jupiter…”
Jupiter…
Zhao Yu’s brow furrowed slightly, and then he had a sudden realization.
The few dozen ships near Jupiter were a ruse he had set up to trick the Mo Luo fleet.
Taking advantage of the fact that they didn’t know he had been warned of their arrival by the system, he had deliberately set this up.
The existence of the Jupiter ships was a critical factor in making the Moro fleet suspect they were a decoy civilization.
“So, from the perspective of the Moro fleet, my ships near Jupiter are absolutely real and couldn’t have been pre-arranged, so they represent the true level of my civilization!”
“If their ship goes to Jupiter and sees my ships still using nuclear propulsion and equipped with Hall thrusters…”
Zhao Yu understood that when the details of the Jupiter ships were revealed, it would be time for them to go to war.
“How long would it take for my Jupiter ships to return to base?”
Ten seconds later, Uncle Da shook his head and said, “At their current speed of 135 Mach, it would take about 175 days to return to the moon. Even at maximum speed of 500 Mach, it would still take 57 days…”
The opponent’s scout ship was extremely fast, needing only about 20 days to get from Pluto to Jupiter. They could catch up with their ships in 26 days.
“In the first 20 days or so, the Jupiter ships were returning home at a speed of 10 Mach, they didn’t travel far. If they now return to Jupiter at 135 Mach, they should be able to get back in a couple of days…”
After considering for a moment, Zhao Yu asked, “If these ships go back to Jupiter, can they hide there?”
“We’re slower than them, once our ships enter Jupiter, there’s no escaping.
They’ll be found sooner or later…”
“What about self-destructing within Jupiter?”
“According to calculations, that’s not as good as hiding inside Jupiter…”
After some thought, Zhao Yu ordered, “Have those ships return to Jupiter. Their first task is to hide themselves and avoid being found…”
Jupiter is a gas giant, with severe electromagnetic disturbances, so hiding inside could potentially evade most detection methods.
“I can only hope… they won’t be found too soon….”