240: Chapter 241 The Dark Forest of the Cosmic Depths: Who Dares to Show Their Face?

The darkness on the Far Side of the Moon was a pure, profound depth, free from any light pollution.

This darkness was like a swamp capable of swallowing all matter; one glance was enough to make a soul involuntarily plummet into the abyss.

Jiang Chen sat in the captain's command chair aboard the luan niao starship, surrounded by hundreds of neatly arranged high-frequency detection terminals that were emitting urgent, faint chirps.

On the screen.

The signal ripple coming from the far reaches of space was not a simple electromagnetic communication wave.

It was more like an "oscillation."

A "fishing net" specifically designed to sweep star sectors and identify signals from high-energy civilizations.

"Chen, look."

Jiang Chen raised a hand to point at the ripple, his tone unusually devoid of his typical banter:

"The frequency of this thing perfectly overlaps with the quantum communication network we just established. They aren't communicating; they are... mine-sweeping."

Academician Chen Shuyin sat beside the console, her slender fingers dancing frantically across the screen.

Her expression was grim, as if she had just swallowed a handful of unripe bitter melon:

"The wavelength of this sweep wave is too broad."

"It doesn't even care if it gets intercepted, because it isn't afraid of us discovering it at all."

"This means that in their eyes, even if we do detect it, we are incapable of counterattacking or even escaping."

This was the law of the dark forest.

Weakness itself is not an obstacle to survival; arrogance is.

And in the eyes of those civilizations, the Dragon Kingdom, having just stepped into the interstellar era, was nothing more than a toddler walking through the forest with a flashlight.

Jiang Chen smiled.

He grabbed the half-finished bottle of cola at his side and took a gulp.

The icy liquid slid down his throat, washing away the discomfort of being watched.

"Heh."

"Thinking I'm a soft persimmon to be squeezed?"

"Then I'll show them whether this persimmon will shatter their front teeth."

He stood up and walked to the very center of the main console, where a dark red cover that had never been opened sat.

"luan bird, prepare full-ship engine overload mode."

Jiang Chen's voice was quiet, yet it carried an unquestionable, metallic resonance.

"Remove all camouflage equipment."

"Tear down all those 'civilian research' and 'environmental governance' labels."

"The game is over."

The atmosphere in the command room instantly turned grim and murderous.

Academician Chen Shuyin adjusted her glasses, her gaze shifting from serious to fanatical. She had long been sick of diplomatic rhetoric; this kind of direct confrontation was the ultimate romance of science and force.

"Understood, Boss."

"Camouflage modules deactivated."

"Anti-gravity Engine in standby, main cannon charging to the limit, coordinates locked on deep space."

"Very good."

Jiang Chen walked to the screen, staring in the direction from which the ripple originated.

He quickly typed a string of code into the keyboard—a raw, unadorned, and brutal binary broadcast.

He didn't send it to the scout.

He broadcast it to the entire universe.

"Tell them: Earth's specialty, honest and fair."

"No matter where the hunters are from, if they dare to cross the Kuiper Belt..."

"I'll show them what it really means to 'never return'."

On the other side of the screen.

That "watcher" still waiting for a response would perhaps never imagine:

They were not facing an indigenous civilization waiting to be harvested.

Instead, they were facing a "cheater" backed by an entire Wasteland legion, wielding a Causality Weapon, and possessing an incredibly nasty personality.

"Let's go."

Jiang Chen turned around and snapped his fingers at Zhao Gang.

"Go bring me those alien prisoners."

"Since they dared to come, they shouldn't expect to leave empty-handed."

"After all, I want to know..."

A cruel smile tugged at the corners of Jiang Chen's mouth as he whispered to himself:

"This so-called 'The Sweepers'."

"Are they made of metal or flesh?"