Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 655 - 651: 3 Years and 2 Months

Chapter 655: Chapter 651: 3 Years and 2 Months

"Sigh... We somehow managed to resolve this issue satisfactorily, though it was tough."

When the New Human Civilization Diplomats returned to the Mother Ship, they immediately announced the opinions reached by both sides.

"The basic strategy from here on out is like this..." Old Yang explained at the front, his face beaming with a rosy glow.

Upon hearing that the whole situation had evolved into its current state, many members of the council were so surprised they almost dropped their jaws!

To think that we could play the game this way!

Captain Feng swallowed hard, feeling his brain go fuzzy. "Are we really going to cooperate with that Big Squid to create a fake army? Coordinate with them?"

Zhang Yuan nodded and said with a smile, "There’s also the oral agreement for directed laser communications, the coordinates are... once every three months, roughly speaking."

After he finished speaking, he found the meeting room had fallen into a silence so profound that it seemed they could hear each other’s heartbeats.

Suddenly, voices of discussion reached his ears!

Zhao Qingfeng from the Engineering Department nodded, "Well... how should I say this, it’s indeed a good plan. If we don’t create a fake army, the enemy’s feint might turn into a real attack, and curvature missiles could be fired directly at the War Star. Under such circumstances, it’s better to do less than to do more!"

"As for disguising some spaceships, it’s quite simple, hardly anything to fuss about... Just inflate some balloons and paint them, and that’s enough, easy and convenient. If you’re worried the disguise isn’t convincing enough, we can also mount a few machine guns. Didn’t we buy some subpar military goods from a Third-level Civilization? We could relocate some to the hot air balloons as well, it’s not a big deal if they’re destroyed!"

"That’s right!"

One military representative spoke fiercely, "But we had better act seriously, and hit them hard! That Big Squid wants military merits, right? No damage to their own forces doesn’t count as war, does it?"

Another Deputy Captain also agreed, "Yes, although it’s an act, it’s possible we might genuinely fight, so no one should take it lightly!"

"Who knows, while fighting, it might turn into a real full-scale war! Never overestimate the trustworthiness of the enemy!"

"According to the oral agreement, the enemy’s forces will temporarily stay at a position four astronomical units away from our planet. This distance should be safe enough, and they likely won’t enter the Air Defense Identification Zone to disturb us, maintaining a degree of peace and reducing attention from neighboring powers."

"Yet, we still can’t fully trust them. We should continue to maintain our vigilance."

Listening to everyone’s discussion, Zhang Yuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, "In any case, what this operation has bought us is time, at least three years, I guess..."

Time, how precious it is!

...

Three years and two months hurried by.

This section of the starry skies had quieted down momentarily. The two sides were only engaged in a war of words, issuing mutual deterrent declarations without any intense warfare occurring.

The occasional skirmishes were merely drone battles.

Meanwhile, around the Dyson Sphere, several new wars erupted in other areas, drawing some of the attention that the New Human Civilization used to monopolize in the vicinity of the entire Dyson Sphere.

During these three years, four carrier-level spaceships from the New Human Side seized opportunities to activate their curvature engines, entrenched in the depths of distant asteroid fields, and entered radio silence.

In the near pitch-dark environment, it was quite a challenge to locate the spaceships hidden within the asteroids.

Instead, four "carrier-level spaceships" had appeared next to the War Star!

These "carrier-level spaceships" were actually products similar to balloons, specifically modeled from aerogel, nanomaterials, and air, almost popping up overnight.

But these "spaceships" appeared very deliberately – only after a real carrier-level spaceship left would another imposter appear next to the planet, at the Starry Sky Port.

Otherwise, a new, massive spaceship suddenly appearing out of nowhere would be easily discovered by other civilizations!

Such a ship could support tens of millions of lives; how could it possibly be built overnight?

But with the help of inside operatives from the Apollo Civilization, replacing them one by one, the probability of being discovered by any observers significantly decreased.

This agreement wasn’t formalized with any signed accord, merely a hastily devised scheme after some calculations. Still, no one expected the other side to keep to the timeline, and the necessary vigilance was by no means lessened.

"They should still be at their original position, right?"

"Yeah, but the threats they’ve been making are getting harsher... It seems they are really coming."

Because the trash talk had been so frequent, everyone had gotten used to it, and the soldiers could still joke and laugh—strategically despising the enemy while tactically respecting them.

"If you add it up, the agreed time is almost upon us... Our Planet Curvature Engine is only a few months away!"

"Be careful and don’t let your guard down! Stay vigilant!" the front-line squad leader shouted.

"Yes, understood!"

This prolonged tension had greatly progressed the military of the New Human Civilization, the soldiers now palpably more resilient and spirited than a few years ago.

...

In the past few days, as the war threatened to start at any moment, all command centers gradually relocated to the planet surface.

"Only eight more months and this planet will become mobile."

Zhang Yuan used the telescope on his Power Armor to observe the distant bright lights; these human-disguised ships indeed looked quite convincing, even equipped with preliminary engine systems and some Third-level Civilization armaments.

Because of their smaller mass, their maneuverability was surprisingly good!

It only took a month to produce these balloons, and then people mounted heaps of scrapped equipment on them to offer a semblance of legitimacy.

However, in an actual fight, these things didn’t have much combat strength. Without Curvature Engines, Ion Cannons, or laser weapons, if a large hole was blasted in them, their cover would be easily blown—the real warships certainly wouldn’t burst like hot air balloons, would they?

Therefore, anti-matter missiles of immensely high-yield had to be used to destroy them in a single strike. That way, there wouldn’t be significant issues.

Distance is the best shield between interstellar civilizations; who could detail them so thoroughly from such vast separation?

Suddenly, a bright flash flickered, stinging Zhang Yuan’s eyes harshly, and his heart sank heavily.

It was a Curvature Antimatter Missile!

"Are they punctual?!"

These faster-than-light missiles were undetectable by any observational methods. Only the spacecraft’s "random movements" coupled with radio silence’s stealth measures could provide a chance to evade. Alternatively, relying on a War Star’s incredible resistance might withstand the damage.

When this burst of light flared, alarms inside the War Star blared, immediately triggering a grating red danger alert.

It was a disguised carrier-level ship that had been destroyed!

Moreover, the enemy utilized a tremendously powerful Antimatter Missile, which enveloped the entire hot air balloon in a radiant sphere.

The magnitude of the explosion was almost akin to the Planet Busters dropped by humans... no, it was even more significant, a prime example of overkill.

"Enemy attack!"