580: To be continued tomorrow

After more than half a month of starship warp, the fleet led by He Dong finally arrived at the Star Domain where the mission coordinates were located.

Inside the command cabin, the coordinate data flickering on the main screen matched the mission instructions perfectly, but the scene outside the porthole made everyone frown.

Looking out, there was only sparse stardust floating in the dark Universe, with the occasional drifting meteorite fragment; apart from that, there wasn't even the shadow of a planet, let alone the "civilization to be contacted" mentioned in the mission.

He Dong stood in the center of the bridge, his fingers sliding repeatedly across the virtual star map, his brows knitted tightly together.

The coordinates were correct, and the warp trajectory had been calibrated three times, so how could it be so desolate?

He turned to look at the officer in front of the console.

"Scan the surrounding three light-year range again. Are there any energy reactions?"

"Yes! Conducting full-spectrum scanning now..."

The officer's fingers tapped rapidly on the console, but the ripple lines on the screen remained steady.

"Report, Commander, no life signals or energy signatures of artificial structures detected."

Just then, an officer responsible for probe operations hurried into the command cabin, their military boots making rapid sounds on the metal floor.

"Report, Commander! The forward spatial probe has transmitted abnormal data. An unknown spatial wall has been detected approximately 500,000 kilometers directly ahead!"

"A spatial wall?"

He Dong's eyes lit up, and he walked quickly to the light screen.

The screen displayed a pale blue, semi-transparent barrier, like a stretched thin film, tightly covering an area, with weak spatial fluctuations continuously escaping from the edges of the barrier.

This image could only be displayed after processing by the spatial probe; it was completely invisible to ordinary probes or the naked eye.

"No wonder..."

Seeing this, He Dong realized suddenly.

"It's not that there are no planets, it's that they are all blocked by this spatial wall."

A spatial wall is different from Subspace; Subspace is an independent closed space that requires finding specific nodes to enter, such as its spatial rift, but a spatial wall is just a 'wall'. Essentially, it wraps an area with spatial energy. As long as you can break it or find a weak point to pass through, you can see what's inside.

"This civilization is certainly cautious, hiding itself so deeply with a spatial wall. I just don't know if it's their civilization's handiwork or the Universe's handiwork..."

If it's the former, the civilization to be contacted is likely a technological civilization; if it's the latter, it is likely a xuanhuan civilization.

"Can it be broken?"

He Dong's gaze was locked onto the faint outline of the spatial wall on the light screen, his tone steady yet carrying unquestionable decisiveness.

"Attempting now, Commander!"

The engineer responsible for spatial technology had beads of sweat on their forehead, their fingers tapping rapidly on the operation panel.

"Our technical team is analyzing the structure and spatial oscillation frequency of the spatial wall, striving to achieve penetration with minimal loss!"

Compared to mobilizing the main battery array and using brute force to blast open this "thin film" spanning the Universe, He Dong preferred a technical solution. A brute-force bombardment would not only expose the fleet's movements but could also very likely trigger unknown spatial turbulence, causing unpredictable impacts on subsequent operations.

Time ticked away, and the air inside the bridge seemed to have frozen.

Data streams from various consoles scrolled across the light screens like waterfalls.

After an unknown amount of time, a crisp prompt sound broke the silence.

"spatial wall structure analysis complete! Spatial frequency calibration successful!"

The engineer's voice carried unconcealable excitement.

He Dong nodded in acknowledgment.

"Initiate penetration procedure."

The moment the order was given, the energy emitter on the flagship's bow slowly lit up, and a condensed pale blue beam shot out, accurately hitting the seemingly empty Star Domain ahead.

The moment the light touched the spatial wall, it seemed to be swallowed by an invisible vortex, disappearing without a sound.

Immediately after, an anomaly occurred.

The area hit by the light began to distort violently; the originally flat starry sky looked like a crumpled canvas, the light and shadows of the stars stretched and folded, forming a shimmering, constantly writhing spatial channel.

"Report, Commander!"

The communications officer's voice was sonorous and powerful.

"The spatial wall has been completely breached, a stable channel has been constructed, and we can enter at any time!"

He Dong gazed at the distorted airspace, a sharp glint flashing in his deep eyes. He raised his hand and brought it down, his voice resounding throughout the bridge.

"Attention all fleets, form up in sequence and sail into the spatial wall!"

He Dong's order was transmitted to every starship.

The massive fleet slowly turned its course, tail to head, like a dormant Dragon, sailing slowly toward the distorted space.

The hulls brushed against the edges of the spatial channel, stirring up faint energy ripples. Only after the silhouette of the last starship completely disappeared into the distorted light and shadow did this airspace slowly return to its original calm, as if nothing had ever happened.

...

Not long after He Dong's fleet completely disappeared into the distorted space, this Star Domain, which had just returned to calm, suddenly rippled with fine spatial waves.

The next second, countless silver-gray spatial rifts tore open the starry sky without warning, with cold energy arcs dancing along the edges of the rifts.

A dense swarm of starships filed out from the rifts, their hulls featuring sharp, stern lines, engraved with the emblem of the Imperial Homeland Security Force, and they completed combat formation in the Star Domain in an instant.

Inside the flagship's bridge, an officer with general's Rank insignia on their shoulders stood with hands behind their back, their sharp gaze sweeping over the spatial wrinkles ahead that had not yet fully smoothed out, a knowing curve appearing at the corner of their mouth.

"So this is a spatial wall... It seems the comrades of the Nineteenth Division have already taken the first step."

The adjutant beside them hurriedly stepped forward, standing tall and saluting, and asked for instructions in a deep voice.

"Commander, should our fleet follow up immediately and enter to support the Nineteenth Division?"

The general slowly shook their head, their fingertips tapping lightly on the tactical light screen in front of them, their tone steady and decisive.

"No need. Our mission is to provide backup and support for the Nineteenth Division, not to directly intervene in the operation."

They looked up at the fleet lined up neatly outside the porthole, their voice suddenly raised, carrying unquestionable majesty.

"Pass on my order: All fleets, switch to the highest level of stealth mode, disperse to all quadrants of this airspace, establish a circular alert network, and patrol on high alert around the clock! Once any abnormal spatial fluctuations or traces of unknown fleets are discovered, report immediately!"

"Yes!"

The adjutant's loud response echoed in the command cabin.

As the order was issued, the engine lights of the countless starships suddenly converged, and the surface of the hulls was covered with a pale blue stealth force field, as if merging into the pitch-black background of the Universe.

Only the flickering light points on their own starship's light screen silently attested to the existence of this Homeland Security Force fleet.