135: First encounter

The Hai Star mothership, the *Destroyer*, located on the fleet's right flank, attempted an emergency turn, but the violent lightning at the edge of the black light still grazed its stern.

When the black light vanished.

A massive vacuum zone appeared in the Hai Star fleet's right flank formation; a total of ten main battleships had permanently disappeared into deep space.

All warships were forced to halt, scattering more widely, like birds startled by the mere twang of a bowstring, afraid to advance another step.

The mothership *Destroyer* entered a semi-halt state, and a large number of repair vessels poured out from its stern to begin emergency repairs.

The mothership *adjudicator* opened its side hatches, and thousands of small reconnaissance craft filed out, surging toward the direction the black light had originated from.

Directly above the Moon Base.

The main bridge of the space fortress *Pioneer*.

He Ming sat upright in the main seat, his eyes tightly closed.

The omniscient notebook lay on the console in front of him, and lines of text appeared on its blank pages.

These words seemed alive, detailing the Hai Star fleet's exact coordinates, damage level... and all the decisions made by the supreme Commander at that very moment.

On one side of the console, an intelligent robot quickly scanned the information, compiled it into intelligence reports, and sent them completely to the Moon Base.

Moon Base, General Command Room.

Xi stood in front of the main screen, watching the constant stream of data and intelligence being sent, his expression calm.

[Black Light Strike Total Destruction: 3 Battleships, 4 Frigates, 3 Transport Ships]

[Hai Star Mothership Destroyer Damage Level: 18%, Estimated Downtime: 72 hours 08 minutes 47 seconds]

[4725 Reconnaissance Ships are expected to reach the frontline base within 1 hour, simulated route...]

[Hai Star Fleet Specific Coordinates: H787 - H936]

At the end of the data, a virtual simulation appeared in the center of the main screen—a 3D star map showing the overall distribution of the Hai Star fleet cluster.

Silence reigned in the command room for about three seconds.

Perhaps the atmosphere was too oppressive, but upon seeing the positive feedback, one operator couldn't help but shout.

"Good!"

That single word "Good" seemed to flip a switch, and cheers and applause immediately erupted in unison.

The doubts and worries of the past were alleviated at this moment.

Nearly five years of preparation had finally paid off.

Xi picked up the microphone on the command console, and the entire room immediately fell silent.

"The *Jiaolong* begin the encirclement."

"The *Yinglong* combat team executes the A1 flanking annihilation plan."

As Xi's orders were relayed to the frontline.

Millions of *Jiaolong* medium drones gradually reduced their separation distance, covering the sky like a cast fishing net, sweeping toward the 4,725 Hai Star small reconnaissance craft...

When the main radar screen of the first Hai Star unmanned reconnaissance craft showed dense red dots numbering over ten thousand, it immediately turned its bow to retreat.

But the red dots on the main radar screen continued to increase, with tens of thousands of high-speed moving targets appearing every second on average.

Hai Star mothership *adjudicator*, General Command Room on the bridge.

"Reconnaissance craft 0134 detected a large number of high-speed moving units in star sector B7-2, quantity: 134,521."

"Reconnaissance craft 1478 detected a large number of high-speed moving units in star sector B7-5, quantity: 231,123."

"Reconnaissance craft 3789 detected a large number of high-speed moving units in star sector B7-13, quantity: 403,221."

... The Hai Star Fleet General Commander and Chief Strategist, Taixing, leaned slightly forward, bracing himself on his chair with both hands.

Before his eyes, a live observation screen showed thousands of *Jiaolong* medium drones swarming a Hai Star small reconnaissance craft like dumplings being wrapped.

"Tell me, what is going on?"

The deputy standing beside Taixing held a flat terminal in his hand. He lowered his head and spoke expressionlessly: "Commander, this reconnaissance mission detected a total of 2,780,212 medium drones and 1,382 large aerospace fighters."

Taixing: "Didn't Noah's documents state that Blue Star was still in the cold weapon era? What is the meaning of these interstellar units?"

"Commander, there are no life planets within 3 light-years of Blue Star. These interstellar units must have originated from Blue Star."

"That is impossible!"

"The birth of any interstellar civilization takes at least hundreds of millions of years as a basic unit. To leap from the cold weapon era to the interstellar age in two millennia—that is absolutely impossible!"

"Commander, is it possible that the Blue Star people are a branch released by Tianqin Star?"

"Impossible. If Blue Star were a subsidiary star of Tianqin Star, how would those wild monkeys from Noah dare to set foot on Blue Star?"

"We are already close to the Solar System, and Tianqin Star has shown no reaction. This is enough to prove that Blue Star has no relation to Tianqin Star."

Taixing cupped his chin, his right foot repeatedly tapping the floor, creating a crisp sound.

His expression gradually grew serious.

After a moment of thought, he made a decision.

"Send word: the colonization plan is canceled. Have the staff redefine the operational plan and change it to an annihilation war."

"Yes, sir!"

Taixing let out a cold laugh.

"It's a good thing we discovered this early. Give the Blue Star people another thousand years, and they might plant their flags across the entire galaxy."

"Commander, over two thousand reconnaissance craft have already lost contact."

Taixing: "No need to wait. Activate the Positron Splitting Cannon and sweep star sector B7 clean."

Moon Base, General Command Room.

[Warning: Wide-Area Positron Splitting Cannon countdown: 20, 19...]

Xi picked up the command console microphone and calmly directed: "Immediately execute Evasion Plan A3."

The moment the order was issued, the A3 self-guided navigation route appeared on the main screens of the twenty squad leaders operating on the frontline.

The 2,000 *Yinglong* guerrilla-type mechas did not slow down at all, twisting 90 degrees like opening flower petals and rapidly scattering in eight directions.

Over the past few years, this plan had been executed in no fewer than ten thousand simulated drills; all frontline combat personnel had long since mastered it.

But this time, there was no chance for a reset.

[Warning: Wide-Area Positron Splitting Cannon countdown: 10, 9...]

Under Baize's control, the *Jiaolong* medium drones instantly pulled apart their distance, scattering like celestial maidens strewing flowers.

When the countdown reached zero.

A red and white beam of light crossed hundreds of thousands of kilometers. The moment it reached star sector B7, it split into hundreds of smaller beams, each over a hundred meters in diameter. These small beams split again, and tens of thousands of fine red and white rays, seemingly alive, tracked their respective targets and completed instant kills.

For a time, explosions filled the sky in this star sector, spanning thousands of kilometers and illuminating the entire region as if it were daytime.

Moon Base, General Command Room.

One moment, the drone count displayed: 5,000,000.

The next second, the drone count displayed: 27,622,200.

In an isolated observation room on the side of the General Command Room, Yang Min, the Deputy Business Director who knew the total cost of the *Jiaolong* medium drones, felt his facial muscles twitch uncontrollably.

Over two million *Jiaolong* medium drones equipped with the first-generation *flint* module—an entire medium-sized country's annual GDP had just been wiped out...

This wasn't war; this was clearly just burning money...

Xi didn't even lift an eyelid, as if he had already known the outcome. He looked at the cosmic star map simulated on the main screen and spoke calmly: "Activate the Hive."