Chapter 209: Post-war Meeting
In the meeting room, Fan Ren felt the atmosphere was extremely heavy as soon as he walked in.
Dozens of Great Xia think tank members and space civilization scientists were all frowning at the moment, pondering the content he had obtained from his earlier questions.
In the previous conversation, Fan Ren raised more than a dozen questions. Summarizing them, they involved three major categories in total.
They were: why the Fox came to the Solar System, space technology warship classifications, and the situation near the Solar System.
Yet, the impact from just this short conversation of a few hours had plunged the smartest minds of Great Xia into a prolonged mental storm.
Ye Rongshan smiled and glanced at Fan Ren, waving for him to sit in the main seat specially reserved for him nearby.
“Elder Ye.”
Fan Ren quickly nodded in greeting, then sat down directly beside him without delay.
“How is it? Feeling the pressure?”
Today’s Ye Rongshan, although he received Xinghai’s second anti-aging treatment at this critical juncture, his physical fitness was already far inferior to before.
However, it was evident that this elderly man, who seemed on the verge of death, showed no trace of dejection on his face.
On the contrary, in this meeting room, he constantly emanated an aura that seemed to bring peace to others.
Fan Ren smiled and replied: “Elder Ye, I suddenly thought of a similar scenario on my way back just now.”
“Tell us?”
On the other side, Liu Shengzhan, whose brows were still furrowed, also looked over upon hearing this.
Fan Ren smiled and nodded at Liu Shengzhan, then looked at the think tank members and scientists in the room who were still bitterly analyzing, and said softly:
“A hundred years ago, at the founding of our nation, the situation back then didn’t seem much better than now, did it?
Elder Ye, you lived through that era. Tell us, if our predecessors encountered our current situation, how would they view it?”
“Hahaha, good question.”
Upon hearing this, Ye Rongshan immediately let out a hearty laugh.
His laughter was aged but very rich and enjoy, drawing the gazes of the contemplative crowd. Fan Ren even felt an indescribable boldness in the old man’s laughter.
“Far from just being poor and blank—we were like sheep among wolves back then, with wolves in front and tigers behind. The forces around us, egged on by others, were constantly itching to take a bite out of us.”
Fan Ren’s face grew heavy as he listened. He wasn’t from that era, but this history was deeply etched in his heart. Listening to the old man’s emotion now, it was as if he were in that era; what he felt was a suffocating sense of pressure from all sides.
Seeing his expression, Ye Rongshan didn’t mind and instead patted Fan Ren’s shoulder, continuing: “At this moment, compared to that time back then. No matter what, the initiative is now in our own hands. I think, no matter how bad it gets, we won’t even go hungry, right?”
Fan Ren shook his head repeatedly: “Not to that extent. The biological engineering laboratory has successfully researched technology to produce carbohydrate food from carbon dioxide. In emergencies, we can ensure humanity doesn’t starve just relying on carbon dioxide and water resources.”
“So, don’t overthink it. Not to discourage you, kid, but compared to our predecessors, you’re still too conservative.”
Ye Rongshan pointed at Fan Ren, and with these words, even Liu Shengzhan nearby couldn’t help but laugh.
Compared to those predecessors, Fan Ren did seem somewhat conservative.
Fan Ren was silent for a moment, indeed
Responsibility is indeed as heavy as Mount Tai, but if we hesitate and shrink back because of it, fearing wolves ahead and tigers behind, and complacently huddling in the Solar System, can we be sure that alien civilizations won’t target us?
This time, the Conqueror’s warp drive attracted the attention of the Fox Pirate Group. What about next time?
Who can be sure that they won’t be targeted by other advanced civilizations due to some unknown accidental reason?
Elder Ye is wise; he could hear the implication in Fan Ren’s words.
In the conversation with the Fox, too much information was revealed. From the worldview constructed from the face-to-face conversation, the environment in the universe is much more harsh than on Blue Star.
In the competition with the Sirius Civilization, the Fox Civilization was exterminated until only Fox remained. Now, its only legacy, that Dreadnought, was also destroyed by humanity in an accident.
Although it was a simple description between texts, it was a grand war showdown between two civilizations.
Defeated and exterminated, winner takes all!
The current Sirius Civilization has a sphere of influence spanning dozens of light years, possessing hundreds of sovereign star systems, with dozens of low-level civilizations under its command barely surviving on the edge of the survival line, dependent only on the other’s whims.
The story that happened among them, how could it be clearly described with just a few simple words.
And this might just be the tip of the iceberg in this cold universe.
This path, perhaps ever since the birth of humanity, has had no other choice.
Fan Ren raised his head and looked toward the think tank and scientists in front of him, who had varied expressions but not a single one showed any hesitation. In his heart, it was as if a seed was gradually sprouting.
Not only that, at this moment, his gaze seemed to pierce through the meeting room, seeing the workers, scientists, and people of Great Xia on Blue Star.
Today is the day the crisis countdown reaches zero.
However, Great Xia did not experience a single riot.
Billions of citizens are looking up at the starry sky, waiting for their invincible Space Force to send back news of victory.
This is the best era.
“Let’s have the meeting.”
Elder Ye’s voice started it off. Fan Ren reined in his surging thoughts, took a deep breath, adjusted his state, and then said: “A’dai, pull up the content of the previous conversation.”
“Alright.”
A’dai responded, and immediately a holographic display screen appeared before everyone.
The text on it remained undeformed no matter from which angle it was viewed.
The top line was about the Space Gate issue between the Solar System and the Alpha Centauri system.
Fan Ren directly skipped this and looked further down.
A summary of the Fox home star system Ross 154 and the Sirius Civilization content.
He stopped, pondered slightly, and then spoke: “From the Fox’s description, the Sirius Civilization’s current Capital Star System is 30 light years away from us, which might seem like a very distant number.
But keep in mind, the Fox said that Advanced Civilizations travel by using Space Gates to jump between Star Systems.
This distance might not be far at all, and it could very well be only 4.2 light years.
In other words, the distance from our Solar System to the Alpha Centauri system.
Everyone, the first thing we need to do is analyze this Civilization’s Technological Strength, as well as their attitude after learning of our Human Civilization.”
Fan Ren’s words were quite general, but everyone in the Think Tank present was sharp-minded and instantly understood his meaning.
Immediately, a member stood up and said: “I’ll throw out a brick to attract jade first. I believe that from the information revealed by the Fox, our Solar System is currently very safe to a certain extent.
He also said that the purpose of coming here was mainly due to the warp fluctuations from the Conqueror.
Moreover, this detection range is only 10 light years. From the result that the so-called Sirius Civilization has yet to react, they still haven’t noticed this place. The fundamental reason might be that in their view, the value here doesn’t match the Cost of building a Space Gate.
In view of this, my personal suggestion is that we can continue to follow our previous Development Plan, steadily developing our Self-Strength within the Solar System. Once we have sufficient Strength in the future, or when the resources in the Solar System can no longer satisfy us, then we turn our gaze to the surrounding Star Systems and take our first steps.
That’s all from me; it only represents my personal opinion.”
Fan Ren did not object, and the Meeting Room fell silent as they pondered the Proposal.
This Think Tank member’s meaning was very clear.
Stockpile grain extensively and build walls high.
There was no problem with this at all.
During the previous encounter with the Fox Civilization’s Dreadnought, the Punisher had exposed a fatal weakness.
Their attack methods were too outdated.
Under the influence of that mysterious force field, the Electromagnetic Cannon couldn’t breach the defense at all.
Perhaps the conventional Electromagnetic Cannon on the Conqueror could breach it, but the Conqueror was, in a certain sense, a strategic weapon to be used as the ultimate trump card and couldn’t be casually deployed.
For example, this time, under the premise that the opponent could warp at any moment, the Conqueror’s Main Cannon required a charging process of dozens of seconds.
This time was more than enough for the Spaceship to warp away.
But by using the fishing method to force the opponent into the force field state, they couldn’t leave the spot for 1 hour, creating the opportunity to eliminate them.
Until Humanity researches a means to prevent space warp, the usage conditions for the Conqueror are extremely limited.
Fan Ren figured this out and swept his gaze toward the others.
A Space Science research Scientist from Xinghai stood up.
Clearly, his line of research made him somewhat reserved in personality. After standing up, his gaze toward the surrounding big shots showed some timidity.
Fan Ren gave him an encouraging look. Upon seeing his immediate superior’s expression, this Scientist took a deep breath and then said: “Hello everyone. What the Think Tank gentleman just said has no flaws, but I’d like to add one point.”
Seeing the puzzled gazes directed at him, the Scientist continued without hesitation: “All our attention is focused on the Sirius Civilization. They may indeed be the strongest Civilization Force in this Star Domain, but what about besides them? Even the Fox Pirate Group, which has been nearly exterminated and can only hide here and there, discovered our existence. Who can guarantee that no other Civilizations are spying on us?
Are they observing the war Result between the Fox Pirate Group and us, or plotting some scheme we can’t imagine?
Of course, it’s also possible that no Civilization has noticed what happened here.
However, I think we need to take this issue seriously.
That’s all I have to say, thank you.”
After this person finished, Fan Ren suddenly had a jolt in his mind.
During the conversation with the Fox, he had absorbed too much information, causing all his attention to focus on understanding top-tier Civilizations like Sirius, completely overlooking that within 10 light years around the Solar System, there were over a dozen Star Systems—could there be no other Civilizations in those?
Even the Fox Pirate Group had detected the powerful warp fluctuations from the Solar System. Who could guarantee no other Civilizations had detected it?
“A’dai, connect to the Fox’s detention Room. I have questions for it.”
“Got it, Boss.”
A’dai acknowledged, and the simulation on the platform before everyone immediately switched to the scene inside the detention Room.
At this moment, that Fox had its ears drooping, head lowered, lost in thought.
“Fox!”
“Ah?”
Fan Ren’s sudden shout made the Fox’s two long ears instantly perk up. It raised its head and looked toward the door, seeing it empty, then guessed this was Communication across the Room.
“You speak.”
The Fox was also very straightforward, with a good cooperative attitude.
Fan Ren directly asked: “Within ten light years around the Solar System, are there any other Civilizations that could have detected the warp fluctuations from our Warship earlier?”
The Fox heard this question and was clearly stunned for a moment, but without much hesitation, it frankly said: “Of course there is. I know what you mean. Why didn’t the other side come to investigate like we did, right?
According to my guess, it’s still that problem. The main reason is the lack of a space gate. To not make you laugh, we are wanderers. Our home planet has no resources left, and we don’t have the strength to attack other civilizations of the same level. We targeted this place just to follow behind an advanced civilization and get a sip of soup. Otherwise, the fee for a single dreadnought’s long-distance warp drive alone would make this trip a total loss.”
“But that also shows that our existence here has at least been recorded by these civilizations, right?”
The Fox nodded and did not deny it, saying: “Even without talking about the spatial fluctuation caused by your spaceship’s warp drive, just the spread of various electronic signals from your activities in space over these years is enough to be completely detected.”
Fan Ren followed up and asked: “To be honest with you, we have deployed detection satellites targeting stars within 10 light years in all directions at the edge of the Solar System. But over these years, except for you when you entered the Alpha Centauri star system and we noticed you, we have never detected electronic signal information from any other star systems. What is the reason?”
“Electronic signal shielding technology. Is that hard to understand?”
The Fox’s voice was a bit annoying, but very real.
Fan Ren was stunned upon hearing this. Technology to shield an entire star system’s electromagnetic wave signals?
How to put it?
It’s not that humanity doesn’t have this technology. The main issue is.
The project is too massive.
This would require deploying billions of electromagnetic shielding satellites across the entire edge of the Solar System to ensure no electromagnetic waves leak out of the Solar System.
Is it really necessary?
Noticing that the human on the other side didn’t follow up and seemed lost in thought, the Fox tentatively said: “To be honest, I didn’t care about your electromagnetic wave signals at first because the intensity and scale were limited, which was enough to show that your space activities here are not active. Still that sentence, our main purpose for coming here is because we detected the space jump fluctuation of a large warship.”
“So, the civilizations in most star systems will shield their own electromagnetic wave signals?”
The Fox nodded and said: “That’s right. After all, no one wants to be constantly watched by other civilizations on their own development status.”
Fan Ren suddenly understood. Since it’s said this way, no matter what result comes from the next discussion, deploying signal shielding satellites must be set in stone.
“Thank you.”
He politely thanked it, then A’dai unilaterally cut off the Fox’s communication.
Fan Ren turned his head and looked at the think tank and scientists. The previous conversation had not hidden anything from them.
And as this conversation ended, the first think tank member stood up and said: “It was my oversight. Since that’s the case, it means we are already exposed in the eyes of other civilizations within 10 light years around.”
He paused, his face a bit conflicted, then dejectedly said: “I’m very sorry, I cannot judge the purpose of these possibly existing civilizations, nor whether our existence has been targeted by them, and whether they are already arranging a plunder plan against us.”
Fan Ren waved it off nonchalantly upon hearing this: “No need to be like that. It’s precisely because of you all that we have more different perspectives. Everyone’s purpose is the same. Please sit.”
Then, his gaze turned back to the young scientist from Xinghai.
“Is there anything else to add? No problem, speak freely.”
The other party heard this but did not respond to Fan Ren in time, continuing to immerse in their own thoughts.
Fan Ren and the others were not in a hurry, quietly waiting.
Not long after, this scientist’s eyes lit up slightly. Seeing everyone around waiting for him to speak, his face couldn’t help but show some embarrassment.
He stood up and said: “It’s like this. I have a thought. Since we are already completely and thoroughly exposed under the attention of other civilizations, why not play along, continue maintaining our current signal scale level, and create a false impression.”
His words weren’t finished, but the meaning was already understood by everyone present.
Sneak through secretly.
Continue maintaining the signal scale of the current development scale, creating a false impression of backward development.
Secretly, continue vigorously developing space industry.
Fan Ren listened and did not object. Everyone then shared some views on this topic.
At this time, a scientist from Xinghai stood up and asked him: “General Manager Fan, can we obtain any technology from this Fox and its spaceship that’s only half left?”
Everyone in the room fell silent upon hearing this, their gazes turning to Fan Ren with a hint of expectation.
What is currently known is that the Fox can provide them with space gate construction technology, but the material problem is not yet solved.
What about other technologies?
For example, warp engine technology, material processing technology, the space jump technology used by that spaceship, the opponent’s firepower system, armor maintenance technology, afterburner technology, and so on.
These are all technologies where humanity currently has a huge gap compared to the opponent.
Fan Ren didn’t rush to answer. These questions were originally planned to be brought up slowly in the subsequent communication with the Fox.
But now it seems the Fox’s cooperative attitude is very good.
And no other loopholes have been found in its words so far.
Since this scientist brought it up now, might as well resolve it right away.
Thinking of this, he ordered A’dai to reconnect the Fox’s communication.
