152: Chapter 152 The System's Mission: Planetary Defense Plan
Emergency orders, like invisible radio waves, instantly penetrated the mountain rocks, transmitting to near-Earth orbit, the far side of the moon, and secret command centers around the globe.
The atmosphere within the Analysis Center shifted instantly. Fear and confusion were suppressed deep within, replaced by the cold focus brought by military efficiency. The sound of tapping keyboards, repeated commands, and the soft hum of data streams refreshing merged together, drowning out the fading echoes of the alarms.
Su Xiaowan's figure darted between several key posts, her speech rapid as she confirmed the transmission and reception of every instruction. Occasionally, she looked up toward the central command dais, where Lin Mo still stood as firm as a pine, his gaze locked onto the constantly updating trajectory prediction line for "the piercer" on the main screen.
“Captain Long has confirmed receipt of the data. The soaring heavens has begun tactical maneuvers and is preheating its main weapon systems.”
“The Supreme Command Headquarters of all GDC member nations have entered emergency contact status, and information receipt is confirmed.”
“Old Chen replied that the GDC emergency summit is being coordinated; a exact time and security plan will be provided within three hours.”
“The ‘fuxi’ war simulation program has been fully activated, and computing resource priorities have been adjusted.”
Feedback poured in piece by piece. Lin Mo nodded slightly, knowing that the preliminary emergency machinery had been set in motion. He took one last look at the red dot representing death and trial, then turned and strode out of the Analysis Center.
He did not return to his office but instead walked straight toward the private area deeper within the base. After layers of identity verification and biological scans, he entered a completely soundproof meditation room without any surveillance equipment. The furnishings were simple—only a desk and a chair—and the walls were covered in sound-absorbing, dark gray soft padding. This was a room he had specifically requested for handling absolute secrets or matters requiring extreme focus.
The door closed silently behind him, completely isolating him from the outside world's turmoil.
Lin Mo did not sit down. Instead, he walked to the center of the room, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. His brain, which had been running at high speed for three days, needed a brief cooldown. What he was about to face might be more fundamental and challenging than the threat of "the piercer."
“system,” he thought silently.
No holographic projection appeared before him, but a clear interface sensation that reached directly into his consciousness surfaced. The interface of the civilization leap system unfolded in his mind, more direct than any external display.
Unlike usual, the system interface was now shrouded in a layer of dark red shimmer, with fine streaks of light flashing along the edges like a circuit overload. The indicators representing the overall state of the civilization—[Technology Index], [Organization Level], [Survival Resilience]—were all fluctuating wildly. Among them, the [External Threat Pressure] item had changed from the previous "Moderate Concern" to a piercing "Critical - Invasion in Progress."
The cold and familiar mechanical voice rang out in his mind, but this time, there seemed to be an imperceptible gravity belonging to a higher level of logic in its tone:
[Confirmed intervention of a hostile extraterrestrial civilization entity into the star system where the host civilization is located detected.]
[Entity Codename (host Defined): the piercer.]
[Threat Level Assessment: Grade B+ (Single Vanguard Verification Unit). Its behavioral patterns match the 'Nomadic reaper Civilization - Basic Cleanup Protocol' in the database.]
[According to Core Protocol Chapter 1, Article 3: When the host civilization faces a definite external threat that could lead to civilization extinction, the system priority automatically adjusts to 'Survival Assurance'.]
[Epic Main Quest (Final Stage Pre-requisite) Released: 【Guard the Blue Planet — Planetary Defense Plan】. ]
[Mission Objective: Successfully intercept and destroy the unit before ‘the piercer’ reaches the inner Solar System and causes irreversible damage; use this battle as an opportunity to formally launch and preliminarily construct a planetary-level active defense system covering the Earth-Moon space and key nodes of the inner Solar System.]
[Mission Phase 1 (Intercept ‘the piercer’): Time Limit — Dynamically adjusted based on the time ‘the piercer’ reaches Mars orbit (Current estimate: 137 hours 26 minutes). Success Reward: Points +50,000, unlock [Large-scale Energy Weapon Tech Tree - Intermediate Node], obtain ‘reaper’ basic tactical database fragments. Failure Penalty: host civilization morale suffers a heavy blow, the foundation of GDC cooperation is shaken, the ‘reaper’ main force obtains detailed combat data, and the difficulty of subsequent invasions increases drastically.]
[Mission Phase 2 (Construct Defense system): Long-term mission. Rewards will be issued in stages based on the host's progress and results. Core rewards include: [Planetary Shield Generation Principle (Elementary)], [Hyperspace Gravity Well Deployment Technology (Theoretical)], [Civilization Tinder Preservation Protocol].]
Lin Mo "listened" quietly, but his heart couldn't help but beat faster. It wasn't because of fear, but because a massive, heavy sense of destiny had finally landed on solid ground.
The system had finally laid its ultimate purpose clearly on the table—not just simple technological advancement, but guarding the tinder of this civilization in a cruel universe until it could build its own solid sanctuary.
Planetary Defense Plan! It was no longer just an aerospace fleet like the "North Heaven Gate," nor was it just an orbital defense platform like the "North Heaven Gate." It was truly about turning the entire planet, or at least the core area of the civilization, into a fortress that would break the teeth of any encroaching enemy!
The rewards were also unprecedentedly generous, especially the [Civilization Tinder Preservation Protocol]; the name alone sparked infinite associations. But the failure penalty was equally suffocatingly severe—not just material loss, but the collapse of civilizational confidence and unity.
“Grade B+ threat, vanguard verification unit...” Lin Mo chewed over the system's evaluation. “Does that mean ‘the piercer’ is just here to test our mettle, and there’s something even more powerful behind it?”
[Correct. The technological level of ‘the piercer’ is slightly higher than the current public performance average of the host civilization. Its design purpose focuses on orbital cleanup and counter-testing. Defeating it is a key step in obtaining ‘reaper’ basic tactical data and verifying the current defense effectiveness of the host civilization, as well as a key node for boosting morale and internal integration.]
“Understood. This is a battle for prestige that must be won, and won beautifully.” Lin Mo's gaze was sharp. “system, regarding ‘the piercer,’ besides its known orbit and speed, can you provide more specific technological feature predictions? For example, its attack methods or defensive weaknesses?”
[Based on the universal logic of the 'Cleanup Protocol' and reverse derivation of the ‘beacon’ signal characteristics, the following probability analysis is generated (73.2% confidence):]
[Attack Pattern Prediction: High probability of being equipped with kinetic impactors (source of the name ‘piercer’) and directed-energy secondary batteries. May possess electromagnetic pulse or information interference capabilities.]
[Defense Feature Prediction: Outer shell material possesses high energy absorption/deflection properties. May have a preliminary adaptive mechanism against the host civilization's known energy weapons (such as the Thunder Department's particle cannons). Weakness Conjecture: Extreme energy overload, space-time structure interference, or frequency chaos attacks targeting its adaptive rhythm.]
[Suggestion: Comprehensively utilize existing platforms (aerospace carriers) and develop or apply asymmetric strike methods.]
Asymmetric strikes... space-time structure interference? Lin Mo's heart stirred. He recalled the "space ripples" surrounding the "beacon" signal that the soaring heavens had detected earlier. Perhaps a breakthrough could be found there?
“system, how many points does it take to unlock the [Large-scale Energy Weapon Tech Tree - Intermediate Node]? How many do I have now?” Lin Mo checked his point balance. After a series of previous missions and contributions, he had accumulated a quite considerable amount.
[Unlocking this node requires 120,000 points. host's current available points: 89,450.]
[Note: Successfully completing the ‘the piercer’ interception mission will grant 50,000 points. The host may also choose to complete other high-reward branch missions for accumulation.]
Still short by over thirty thousand. It seemed he couldn't count on immediately unlocking intermediate energy weapons to deal with "the piercer." He had to rely on a combination of existing technologies and innovative tactics.
Lin Mo's mind raced, taking into account the system's analysis, existing technological reserves, the performance parameters of the soaring heavens, and the war simulations being conducted by "fuxi." A bold and risky tactical outline began to take shape in his mind.
He opened his eyes. The meditation room was still quiet, but his heart was already surging with wind and clouds.
“system, I accept the quest 【Guard the Blue Planet — Planetary Defense Plan】.” He said solemnly in his heart.
[Mission acceptance confirmed. Final stage countdown synchronized and started. Good luck, host. Fight for civilization.]
The dark red shimmer on the system interface gradually faded, but the [External Threat Pressure: Critical] marker and the countdown for "the piercer" hung high in the depths of his consciousness like the Sword of Damocles.
Lin Mo turned and pushed open the door of the meditation room. The corridor lights outside were cold and white, reflecting his resolute profile.
He did not return to the Analysis Center but instead walked straight to his core laboratory. There, he had some technological prototypes and concepts based on his early system exchanges and personal derivations that had not been fully disclosed or even verified. Among them were some experimental device designs based on quantum anomalies and spatial field theory.
He had less than six days.
The enemy was an interstellar Scavenger carrying a "greeting" of destruction.
The stakes were all of humanity's current technology, courage, and a leap system from a higher civilization.
The goal was not just to destroy an invader, but to use this battle as a monument to lay the foundation for the Great Wall of planetary defense!
Lin Mo's pace quickened, a calm fire burning in his eyes.
“Planetary Defense Plan... it begins with knocking out this ‘nail’.”
He pushed open the heavy laboratory door. Inside, the soft automatic lights lit up in sequence, illuminating various precision instruments on the workbenches and complex holographic blueprints suspended in mid-air. His gaze quickly locked onto a folder labeled [Field Effect Resonator - Prototype Theory].