195: Chapter 195 Who's Coming? The Hunter from the Depths of Space

Moon Base, temporary command center.

The piercing sound of the red alarm was like rusty saws, frantically cutting into everyone's nerves.

On the massive holographic projection screen, the waveform of the cosmic background radiation, which had been stable, was now completely distorted, turning into a dense expanse of blood-red jagged lines.

Academician Chen Shuyin stood before the main console, her ten fingers tapping against the virtual keyboard so fast they created afterimages.

Her cold, beautiful face, which usually remained unmoved even if Mount Tai collapsed before her, was now pale as paper. Cold sweat from her forehead dripped down her chin onto the console, and she didn't even have time to wipe her fogged-up glasses.

"This is impossible... This frequency band and wavelength completely violate the physical laws of Nature!"

Academician Chen Shuyin's voice was trembling, carrying the deep sense of powerlessness a scientist feels when facing unknown terror.

Jiang Chen strode behind her and pressed his hand firmly onto her slightly trembling shoulder.

"Old Chen, calm down."

Jiang Chen's eyes were sharp as knives, staring fixedly at that stream of red data. "Don't give me that jargon I don't understand. Speak plainly—what the hell is this thing?"

Academician Chen Shuyin took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

She quickly pulled up a segment of the audio signal that had just been intercepted and converted it into a visualized 3D model.

"This is not a meteorite, nor is it ordinary cosmic radiation."

Academician Chen Shuyin swallowed, pointing at the ripples constantly expanding on the screen, her tone desperate:

"This is an extremely advanced directional scanning wave."

"It carries no information for communication, nor does it contain any friendly greeting codes. Its structure is simple, brutal, and highly penetrating."

"Simply put..."

Academician Chen Shuyin turned her head, looking into Jiang Chen's eyes:

"This is a net. It is a 'Hunting Wave' used by hunters to search for prey!"

"It is conducting a carpet search throughout the entire Solar System, and the target is very clear—it is the signal source of a high-energy civilization!"

"Beep—"

The communication screen in the command room suddenly lit up.

Far away on Earth, Dean Zhong Guodong connected to the channel via holographic projection. The old man's expression was even worse than Academician Chen Shuyin's; clearly, the deep space detection array on Earth of the Dragon Kingdom had also captured this signal.

"Jiang Chen! Something major has happened!"

As soon as Dean Zhong appeared, he hurriedly slapped the table, his voice hoarse:

"The data from the observatory shows that the speed of this signal source is extremely fast! It has already broken through the Oort Cloud and is approaching the inner Solar System!"

"Are they coming for us?"

Jiang Chen did not answer immediately, but instead turned his head to look at Xier, who was huddled in the corner, still holding her head and shivering.

The reaction of the little alien girl had already explained everything.

"Old Zhong, there's no need to doubt it."

Jiang Chen pulled over a chair and sat down, lighting a cigarette. Amidst the swirling smoke, his gaze became infinitely deep:

"They are coming straight for Earth."

"To be precise, they are coming for the commotion we've been making recently."

Dean Zhong was stunned: "Commotion? What commotion?"

"What else could it be?"

Jiang Chen sneered, exhaling a blue-grey smoke ring:

"The Space Elevator, the interstellar warships, and that fusion 'Artificial Sun' currently under construction."

"Old Zhong, haven't you ever read science fiction?"

"The universe is a dark forest, and every civilization is a hunter with a gun. Everyone is hiding themselves carefully, terrified of being discovered by others."

"And what about us?"

Jiang Chen shook his head self-deprecatingly and pointed to the Space Elevator outside the window that went straight to Earth, as well as the luan niao starship in the distance that was emitting massive energy fluctuations:

"Our Earth was originally just an inconspicuous little village in this dark forest that didn't even know how to light a match."

"Those top-tier hunters wandering in deep space couldn't even be bothered to glance at us."

"But what have we done in the last six months?"

"Not only did we light a torch, but we also, damn it, set off an earth-shattering fireworks show right in the middle of this pitch-black forest!"

"Anti-gravity, photon communication, large-scale Helium-3 mining..."

Jiang Chen sighed: "In the eyes of those top predators, this is like switching on a kilowatt searchlight in the dead of night."

"We are too bright—so bright that the wolves hiding in the dark caught our scent and came looking."

After hearing this, Dean Zhong slumped into his chair.

Indeed.

Earth's technology had exploded too quickly, so fast that it hadn't established a corresponding interstellar defense system.

It was like a three-year-old child who had just learned to walk suddenly walking into a busy street holding a massive gold brick.

It would be strange if it didn't attract thieves!

"Then... what level of civilization are we facing now?" Dean Zhong's voice carried a hint of despair.

Academician Chen Shuyin was quickly comparing the residual data extracted from Xier's stasis pod on the console, her expression growing increasingly grim.

"I found it."

She pulled up a fragmented interstellar file, her voice dry:

"According to the warning records left by the prehistoric civilization that Xier belonged to, the characteristics of this hunting wave belong to a nomadic civilization known as 'The Sweepers'."

"They have no fixed home planet and wander the universe like locusts."

"They specifically seek out newborn civilizations that have just mastered interstellar travel capabilities or have just begun to show high-energy reactions."

"And then..."

Academician Chen Shuyin closed her eyes, unable to bear saying any more:

"Then they conduct physical erasure, plundering all resources and genetic samples, and completely turning the planet into a dead star."

"Xier's creators, that civilization that once built a base on the Moon, were the ones 'swept' away by them."

Dead silence.

In the command center, there was only the faint hum of machinery running.

Dean Zhong clutched his chest, feeling as if his heart condition was about to flare up.

They had just shaken off the hegemony of the Eagle Country, and the Dragon Kingdom had only just started living a good life, with ordinary people even preparing to buy houses on Mars.

And now, a cosmic-level demolition crew had arrived?

"It's over..."

Zhao Gang's hand holding the gun dropped powerlessly. "Boss, how do we fight this? They were able to wipe out a prehistoric civilization; our few pathetic guns probably can't even scratch their ship's armor, right?"

A feeling of despair spread in everyone's hearts.

Faced with this cold and cruel law of the universe, humanity's pride seemed so laughable.

However.

Just when everyone thought the apocalypse had arrived.

"Heh."

An extremely abrupt, even slightly mocking chuckle broke the dead silence.

Everyone turned their heads in astonishment.

They saw Jiang Chen sitting in his chair, leisurely stubbing out his cigarette.

There was no fear on his face, no despair.

Only a sense of… extreme annoyance at having his business mood interrupted.

"The Sweepers?"

Jiang Chen stood up and adjusted the collar of his trench coat, his eyes flashing with a fierce light known as "capitalist":

"They picked a pretty arrogant name, but I wonder if they have a business license."

"Jiang Chen!"

Academician Chen Shuyin was anxious. "What time do you think it is to be joking! That is a monster fleet capable of destroying a planet!"

"So what if they're monsters?"

Jiang Chen walked to the command console and slammed his hands onto the tabletop, leaning forward; that domineering aura from acting as the "Father God" on the Wasteland was instantly released.

He stared at the approaching red dot on the screen, the corners of his mouth curling into a sneer of extreme arrogance:

"I don't care if they're The Sweepers or trash collectors!"

"So what if the universe is a dark forest? I'm the one running a black market shop in this forest!"

He slammed the table hard, the massive sound making everyone shudder.

"Whatever hunter it is, once they come to my territory, even an alien has to pay me a toll fee!"