108: touch

"Tracking the trajectory..." the technician's fingers moved rapidly. "They entered the gravity well of the third planet in the S-92 Galaxy... They are performing a forced landing!"

On the screen, the ten-thousand-meter-long giant warship was trailing billowing smoke, and without even performing a conventional deceleration flyby, it slammed into the atmosphere of that desolate planet in a posture that looked like a crash.

Intense friction ignited raging fires on the hull, but the feather-like armor plating surprisingly withstood the high temperature and impact.

Eventually, accompanied by a massive impact that triggered local earthquakes, the warship crash-landed in a cloud of dust on a mineral-rich wasteland.

"It seems they don't intend to call for help." Price's voice sounded. He looked at the warship, which maintained its sacred beauty even after the crash, and said thoughtfully, "They intend to be self-reliant."

The screen zoomed in, and the high-dimensional resonance imaging technology of the sentry array penetrated the dust.

As soon as the warship stabilized, dozens of hatches opened simultaneously.

Hundreds of humanoid creatures wearing golden armor with pure white wings (some with four wings) flew out.

They did not use any exoskeletons or jetpacks, simply flying freely in the thin atmosphere relying on the wings behind their backs and some kind of invisible energy field.

They were not panicked, but instead displayed extremely high discipline. A portion of them began to establish a defensive line around the warship, while others flew straight toward nearby mineral veins.

Those creatures did not set up drilling rigs or excavation equipment.

They simply hovered above the mineral veins, hands clasped, emitting a faint golden light. Immediately after, the rocks on the ground seemed to be crushed and separated by some invisible giant hand. Pure metal ores were automatically stripped from the rock layers, then flew into mid-air defying gravity, melted and purified under the burning of some high-temperature energy, and finally turned into standard metal ingots, which were carried back inside the warship.

"Psionics..." Zeral said in surprise while watching this scene, "That is pure mental interference with matter! No tools needed, no machinery needed, directly rewriting reality with will... Other civilizations in this universe can also use psionics! This means this place is still influenced by the Void god!"

"Regardless of what methods they use, they are illegally mining resources in an unowned galaxy. Although this galaxy does not belong to us yet, it is our potential territory within our surveillance range." Talon's focus was clearly more practical. "Open the communication channel to Earth, I want to report to the guide."

Before long, Lei Wen's holographic projection connected. He happened to be in the command room of the underground factory in Tianqiong City when he received the communication, and after Talon's explanation, he already understood the general situation.

The other party did not call for help, indicating they still maintained high vigilance and self-esteem, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

A specimen of a high-level psionic civilization in the real universe was right in front of them.

"Let's make contact." Lei Wen finally made the decision. "But don't let your guard down. Dispatch a small frigate fleet to warp to the S-92 Galaxy."

"First, try to establish communication, express goodwill, and ask if they need help."

"But if they show aggressive behavior..." Lei Wen narrowed his eyes, "Then show them our power. In this universe, only equal strength qualifies one for dialogue."

...

S-92 Galaxy, third planet, wasteland.

The captain of the grace vessel battleship was named Amira Radiance, and she was a high-ranking Seraphim with three pairs of wings.

At this moment, she was hovering in mid-air, coldly watching her busy kin.

Her golden hair fluttered in the dust-filled wind, and her gorgeous white-gold armor was covered in scorch marks left from fighting the Iof People, but the arrogant and sacred aura about her had not diminished in the slightest.

"Captain, the psionic crystal of the engine core is severely damaged, and we need a large amount of high-purity crystal ore to repair it." A four-winged Angel flew over to report.

"This planet is very barren; it is a wasteland abandoned by God." Amira Radiance frowned, a trace of disgust flashing in her pupils burning with golden flames, "But this is God's test. Tell all psionic engineers to speed up. We cannot stay here long; those filthy demons might catch up at any time."

Just then, a violent spatial fluctuation suddenly erupted in the high orbit of the planet.

Amira Radiance looked up sharply, her gaze penetrating the atmosphere, staring directly at the starry sky.

"Spatial folding reaction? Are they the Iof People's pursuers?"

"No... this energy level..."

The next moment, ten warships radiating a cold, silvery-white metallic luster broke through the clouds, hovering above the grace vessel with immense pressure.

That was the Falamt Detachment Fleet.

Unlike the style of the Angel warships, the falam warships displayed an aesthetic of extreme order and regularity; there were no superfluous decorations, and every line was born for efficiency.

"Unknown alien civilization." Amira Radiance's eyes turned cold.

Meanwhile, a wide-area communication signal covered the area. The Faleim People, who had dealt with many psionic civilizations, used their ship-borne Star God-level artificial intelligence to invade the system of this psionic spaceship and decipher the language of the Angel people in less than 0.01 seconds.

【This is the Falamt Detachment Fleet of the Faleim Scientific Conglomerate.】

【Strange travelers, we monitored your forced landing. This is a star sector under our surveillance.】

【We have no malice. If you need medical, material, or technical assistance, we can provide help.】

This message was broadcast in standard Angel language, with a polite and restrained tone.

However, upon hearing these words, Amira Radiance showed undisguised contempt and disgust on her face.

She could not feel any soul fluctuations in the other party's ships; those ships were filled with the cold sound of mechanical operation and electronic signals devoid of faith.

In her perception, these ships were like lifeless steel corpses, and the people driving them...

"A bunch of soulless materialistic heretics." Amira Radiance snorted coldly.

In the doctrine of the Angel Theocracy Empire, only life forms that practice psionics and believe in the True God are noble. Those civilizations that rely on machinery, prosthetics, and artificial intelligence are degenerate and filthy, or even walking corpses unworthy of being called life.

Amira believed these warships, which were slightly smaller than the grace vessel battleship, must have come from a young civilization that had entered the super-light-speed era for less than a thousand years; otherwise, they could not possibly be unaware of the two great super-civilizations currently at war.

Although she did not know how the other party knew the language of the Angel Empire, since it was a backward young civilization, there was no need for dialogue.

She did not respond to the Faleim People's communication but directly issued instructions to all Angel warriors on the ground through the psionic link.

"Expel them."

"Do not let these filthy machines stain the holiness of the grace vessel."

...

In the sky, the commander of the Faraim Fleet was waiting for the other party's reply.

"Commander, the other party rejected the communication request." The communications officer reported, "And... detected high-intensity energy reaction! Not conventional thermal or electromagnetic energy, it is psionics!"

Before the words fell, a dazzling golden light suddenly erupted from the ground.

Hundreds of Angel warriors simultaneously raised the psionic swords or staves in their hands.

They chanted ancient war songs, gathering their own will together to form a visible golden storm.

Boom—!

Dozens of golden lightning-like energy beams surged upward from the ground, piercing straight at the falam warships in the sky.

This was not ordinary lightning, but a mental shock called a psionic storm.

"Shield hit! Energy reading dropped by 0.1%!"

The face of the Falamt Detachment Fleet commander changed instantly.

"If they want it the hard way, so be it."

He had originally kept in mind the guide's teaching of "courtesy before force," but since the other party attacked without a word, there was nothing to be polite about.

The Faleim People were never the type to take a beating without fighting back.

"The entire fleet is authorized to counterattack, but control the energy output. Don't actually kill them all!"

"Activate the psionic protection field! Charge the main cannons, target—the perimeter of the enemy's ground position, perform a warning shot!"

The belly turrets of the Faleim frigates rotated rapidly, locking onto the ground targets.

Although the guide requested contact, since the other party fired first, they must be hurt first so they can learn how to speak properly.

Zzz—

Dozens of Phase Disintegration Beams descended from the sky, accurately bombarding the perimeter of the Angel people's position.

The violent explosion kicked up dust that filled the sky, and everything touched by the beams was directly decomposed into atoms.

This should have been a display of firepower sufficient to scare any primitive civilization out of their wits.

However, a scene that surprised the Faleim People happened.

Facing this world-destroying artillery fire, those Angel people not only did not retreat but showed a fanatical expression.

Seeing Amira Radiance spread her six wings, she turned into a golden meteor and shot into the sky. She was not wearing any spacesuit, using only her physical body to rush out of the atmosphere, facing that huge Faleim frigate.

Her golden sword swung, and a huge blade of light hundreds of meters long actually slashed apart the 10-meter-diameter beam shot at her!

"What kind of monster is this?" The Faleim commander widened his eyes.

But soon he smiled awkwardly under the strange gazes of the surrounding crew members.

The Faleim People had not confronted a psionic civilization for too long, so he almost forgot that this level of psionic user actually didn't count for much in the old universe. Any officer of a psionic army was stronger than her. Every high-level psionic user of those psionic empires had the power to tear apart continents with mental power, and saints and psionic avatars were even more terrifying, especially psionic avatars; those projections of the Void god in the material world could even fight an entire full-strength Fallen Empire fleet.

Compared to such power, the ability shown by this winged guy in front of him seemed insignificant.

"Heretic!" Amira Radiance's voice rang directly in the minds of the Faleim crew through psionic power, carrying a sense of lofty judgment.

This was another advantage of psionic civilizations; most intelligent high-level creatures could establish mental connections through psionics, allowing for mental communication without needing to learn the other party's language.

"You humble bugs who rely on scrap metal, how dare you show your ridiculous toys in front of God's messenger?"

"Get out of this star sky! Otherwise, God's punishment will arrive!"

Following her roar, more high-ranking Angel warriors flew into the sky from the ground. They wove together a huge psionic shield, which was actually able to withstand the sporadic point-defense shells of the frigate used for hitting drones.

Although they didn't think their lethality could pierce the dark matter deflection shields and neutron composite armor (Zero-element armor) on the Faleim warships that were stronger than neutron degenerate matter, the Faleim People still chose to treat it with caution.

"All ships attention! Disperse formation! Increase distance!"

The Faleim commander immediately issued the order.

The warship engines roared, rapidly climbing in altitude, increasing the distance from the ground.

At the same time, they no longer fired beams with joking power.

Although the individual combat power of the Angel people was astonishing, after the Faleim People began to get serious, the high-intensity Phase Disintegration Beams instantly penetrated the Angel people's psionic shield.

Several two-winged warriors who rushed too far forward were turned into ashes in the air the moment they were hit by the Phase Disintegration Beams.

Seeing this, the anger in Amira Radiance's eyes grew stronger. She was preparing to use forbidden psionic secret arts to give the other party a heavy blow.

But just then, a violent tremor suddenly came from the grace vessel on the ground.

That was the warning of the main reactor becoming unstable.

"Captain! The energy core is about to reach criticality! We must conserve power to repair the warship; we cannot consume too much here!" The adjutant's anxious shout came through the psionic link.

Amira Radiance gritted her teeth.

She looked at the silver warships in the sky that, although temporarily retreated, still maintained a surrounding posture, her heart filled with unwillingness.

If it were in her prime, she believed that even using just this one warship would be enough to grind this small fleet of only ten ships into powder.

But now, the tiger was trapped in the flatlands.

"Retreat!" She issued an angry roar.

Those surviving Angel warriors, although unwilling, could only obey orders, turning around one after another and flying back into the warship on the ground.

Immediately after, a huge hemispherical golden psionic barrier rose around the grace vessel, firmly protecting the entire warship and the surrounding mining area within it.

This was a turtle shell, and also a signal refusing communication.

...

In high orbit, the Falamt Detachment Fleet did not pursue.

"Commander, the other party has retreated and activated a psionic shield with an energy level slightly higher than before."

"However, if our Phase Disintegration Beams are fired at full power, that shield should be no thicker than a piece of paper."

The Faleim commander looked at the golden light shield below and sneered.

"What a bunch of arrogant and unreasonable guys."

"But since they like to hide in their shell, let them hide."

He reported the process of the operation to the home planet, and then Lei Wen's holographic projection appeared on the bridge.

"The Guide!" The commander and everyone on the bridge saluted immediately.

"How is the situation?" Lei Wen's holographic projection asked immediately.

"The first contact was very unpleasant."

"The other party called us soulless materialistic heretics and initiated an attack first."

"Their individual combat power is good, capable of resisting mechs with their physical bodies, and even briefly resisting ship cannons, but their warship is severely damaged and can only hunker down for defense."

Lei Wen's projection paced on the bridge, pondering for a moment.

Arrogant idealists, it is quite similar to the settings in the game.

It seems that in the real universe, psionic civilizations and materialistic civilizations also don't like each other...

"Since we've said hello (physically), let's leave it at that for now." Lei Wen said lightly. "Leave them for now, wait until they are willing to have a friendly conversation with us."

"Dispatch another batch of frigates and cruisers to establish a blockade in the S-92 Galaxy."

"At this location," Lei Wen pointed a spot on the Star Map, "deploy our gravity disruptors and communication shielding net."

"Since they don't want to talk, then let them shut up forever."

"Trap them on that planet."

"I want them to watch us flying around over their heads while being helpless."

"Send another scientific research ship, turn on the stealth field to scan and study this race and their warships."

"Their psionic technology, their body structure, their warship structure... I want them all."

"This is a lab rat delivered to our doorstep; how could we justify not studying it thoroughly after such a 'beautiful encounter'?"

The Faleim commander accepted the order.