151: Chapter 151 A "Greeting" from Deep Space
Three days.
Exactly seventy-two hours had passed since the signal from the "beacon" surged.
The main analysis center on the seventh underground level of the "Bright Dawn" base was brightly lit. On the massive circular screen, data streams flowed like waterfalls, where analysis results from seventeen top research institutions worldwide converged, collided, and were filtered. The air was thick with the scent of caffeine and strained nerves, which even high concentrations of negative oxygen ions could not suppress.
Lin Mo stood before the central command console. His dark cyan Zhongshan suit remained crisp, but the fine bloodshot veins in his eyes betrayed the toll of working around the clock. Seven holographic windows were open before him: the signal spectrum energy distribution map, real-time telemetry data from the "soaring heavens" reconnaissance, the Solar System interplanetary background radiation disturbance model, and the three-dimensional dynamic simulation generated by the "system" after integrating computing power from all sides.
Su Xiaowan stood half a step behind him, holding an encrypted tablet. Her voice was slightly hoarse from staying up all night, but her logic remained sharp as a blade: "...Based on the analysis from the polar bear 'Blizzard' team and the Europa 'Oracle' array, we can basically confirm that the main energy of the signal enhancement is concentrated in the Epsilon and Theta unconventional frequency bands. Its modulation method does not match any known natural astrophysical phenomena, and the probability of artificial origin exceeds 99.7%. The hypothesis of an 'Information Structure Lock' has been further confirmed—it is more like it is 'weaving' information using a physical dimension we do not yet understand, rather than simple mathematical encryption."
Lin Mo's gaze locked onto the feed transmitted by the "soaring heavens". The silver-gray aerospace carrier was currently hovering in orbit approximately 0.2 astronomical units from Earth. On the side of the hull, a newly installed, petal-shaped broad-spectrum signal receiving array was fully deployed, facing the direction of the Kuiper Belt.
"Does Captain Long have any new findings?" Lin Mo asked.
"Yes, and it's very strange." Su Xiaowan pulled up a set of charts. "The passive listening array of the 'soaring heavens' captured extremely subtle but regular 'spatial ripples' around the core frequency band of the signal enhancement. It's not a gravitational wave; it's more like a... localized perturbation of the spacetime structure. The 'Nüwa' AI's preliminary judgment is that this might be related to the carrier or method of signal transmission, perhaps some kind of information encoding technology based on spacetime itself that we have not yet mastered."
Spacetime encoding? Lin Mo's brows furrowed. This meant the opponent's mastery of fundamental physics might already be deep enough to manipulate the structure of spacetime, far more terrifying than simple energy weapons or high-speed navigation.
"Report!" A young analyst suddenly stood up from a side console, his voice filled with excitement. "The 'system' core algorithm group has a new breakthrough! We tried using the lattice vibration frequency of some materials extracted from the 'reaper' probe wreckage as a decoding key template to perform matched filtering on the signal. Beneath the noise layer of the Theta band, we stripped out a very short, but structurally clear, repeating code!"
Everyone perked up.
"Content!" Lin Mo ordered immediately.
"Parsing the semantic logic now... The code is very primitive, like some kind of basic identifier or beacon function." The analyst's fingers tapped rapidly, projecting the deciphered information onto a corner of the main screen.
It was not text, but a set of constantly looping composite patterns: a standard equilateral triangle with a concentric circle inside that continuously contracted and expanded. Beneath the pattern was a specific spectral waveform with fluctuating intensity.
"Does the triangle represent the target star system? Is the concentric circle the detection range or energy level?" Su Xiaowan speculated.
"No, it's not that simple." Lin Mo stared at the pattern. Certain non-specific knowledge stored in the "civilization leap system" was triggered in his mind, creating a vague sense of connection. He pulled up the Solar System star map and overlaid the pattern.
When one corner of the triangle was precisely aligned with the Sun, and the other two corners were aligned with the directions of Proxima Centauri and Barnard's Star, the contracting and expanding concentric circle perfectly overlapped with the area where weak harmonic resonance was detected in the Solar System after the "beacon" signal was enhanced!
"This is not a static identifier," Lin Mo's voice sank. "This is a dynamic scan report. It is marking the location of our Solar System, and at the same time, using this pulsing concentric circle to indicate that the 'scan intensity' or 'threat assessment level' is changing. It is sending a 'physical examination report' about us to its source, and the report shows that our 'activity' or 'threat value' is increasing."
The analysis center fell silent. If this interpretation was correct, it meant that the "beacon" was not just an alarm, but a real-time monitoring station, and human activities in recent times had caused themselves to shift from "harmless observation targets" to "active targets requiring focused attention" on the opponent's assessment list!
Just then—
Woo! Woo! Woo!
A more shrill and urgent alarm than the one three days ago suddenly rang through the entire analysis center! This time, it wasn't a single terminal; all devices connected to the deep space monitoring network screamed simultaneously!
On the main screen, in the region representing the outer Solar System's Kuiper Belt, a light point that had originally been dim and marked as "Suspicious Moving Object - KBO-7793" suddenly increased in brightness by over a hundred times! Its trajectory data refreshed crazily, its velocity curve climbed exponentially, and it was tearing through the cold dust of the Kuiper Belt with an acceleration far exceeding the limits of conventional astrophysics, charging aggressively toward the inner Solar System!
"Object KBO-7793 is abnormally activated! Velocity exceeded one thousand kilometers per second... one thousand five hundred... two thousand! Trajectory corrected, target clearly defined—inner Solar System! Estimated first intersection point... Jupiter orbit!" The monitor's voice trembled.
Jupiter orbit! That was where the Jupiter system observatory, which the GDC had only recently rebuilt, was located, along with three unmanned probes carrying out important scientific research missions!
"It's the 'reaper'! It's its vanguard unit! Or... it's a 'cleanup tool' released after another 'beacon' was activated!" Su Xiaowan gasped.
Almost at the same time KBO-7793 was activated, a "system" secondary monitoring node near the asteroid belt captured another very brief but malicious signal broadcast. This signal had no complex encoding, and its core frequency band even rudely covered several deep space communication channels commonly used by humans, as if it carried an arrogance that did not bother to hide.
The signal was captured by the "system" immediately, and an attempt was made to decipher it. Due to its relatively simple structure, combined with some of the previous research results on the "beacon" signal, the decryption progress was rapid.
Ten seconds later, a cold message read by a synthesized voice was played. The language was not any human language, but through spectral analysis and semantic restoration, its meaning was projected directly onto the center of the main screen:
【Detected unauthorized civilization activity level increase.】
【Meets primary cleanup protocol trigger conditions.】
【Execution unit: KBO-7793 (Codename: the piercer).】
【Task: Clear orbital obstacles, verify civilization resistance level.】
【Greeting: Silence, or annihilation.】
Greeting: Silence, or annihilation.
A mere six words, yet carrying a naked, condescending will for destruction. It was not a declaration of war; it was more like a gardener notifying the weeds that pruning was about to begin.
The analysis center was deathly silent, with only the hum of equipment and the shrill echo of the alarm remaining. Everyone was stunned by this "greeting" from deep space, cold and direct to the extreme.
"Is this... the greeting style of the Dark Forest?" an elderly astronomer murmured, his face pale.
Lin Mo's fists clenched slowly at his sides, his knuckles turning white. But when he raised his head, there was no fear in his eyes, only a cold flame that had been completely ignited.
"Finally here." He spoke, his voice not loud, yet clearly cutting through the alarm with a decisive force. "From the shadows into the sunlight, from a vague threat to a concrete blade."
He turned to face all the researchers and analysts standing stunned in the center, his gaze sweeping over every face, whether terrified, bewildered, or angry.
"It calls us an 'unauthorized civilization' and regards us as 'orbital obstacles' that need to be 'cleaned up'." Lin Mo's voice rose sharply, resolute. "Then let it see just how hard this 'obstacle' is!"
"Su Xiaowan!"
"Here!"
"Immediately sync the orbital data, velocity predictions, and this 'greeting' of KBO-7793—'the piercer'—to Captain Long Zhantian of the 'soaring heavens', and send it to the Supreme Command Headquarters of all core GDC member states! The whole world is entering Level 1 combat readiness!"
"Yes!"
"Notify Elder Chen; I demand an emergency GDC summit meeting immediately. Not a video call, but offline! The location will be at the 'Guanghan Palace' base! Want to unite all of humanity? There is no better bonding agent than having a common enemy at the gates!"
"Understood!"
"Order the 'system' to initiate all war simulation subroutines, using 'the piercer' as the hypothetical enemy to simulate its possible attack patterns, technical characteristics, and our 'soaring heavens' response plan. I want to see a preliminary report within six hours!"
"Yes!"
A series of orders were issued like a torrential storm, instantly shattering the pervasive panic and transforming it into an efficiently operating war machine.
Lin Mo finally looked at the red light point on the main screen that was approaching crazily, and the cold "greeting" next to it.
The corners of his mouth slowly curled into a curve that was almost defiant.
"Greeting received." He whispered to himself, as if talking to the cold existence six billion kilometers away. "Our reply is—"
He paused, the light from the screen reflected in his eyes, and said word by word:
"This path is closed."