152: Possibility of contact

"That is the situation, The Guide."

Major General Trier's silver-gray Faleim Civilization military uniform looked exceptionally crisp in the meticulous projection. Although his tone maintained the rigidity and calmness of a soldier, Lei Wen could read a hint of hard-to-conceal sense of achievement from his slightly raised eyebrows.

"Through the comprehensive takeover of the [Sanctuary Guardian] administrative AI system and the political assistance (or rather, manipulation) of Prime Minister Amira, we have largely controlled the currently chaotic administrative system of the Angel Empire. Those logistics networks, tax systems, and local mobilization mechanisms that were on the verge of collapse are being reorganized. Although resistance from the grassroots still exists, order is being restored under the dual effects of material rationing and military deterrence."

"All detailed intelligence regarding this ancient civilization, including their Star Map, resource distribution, population structure, and that complex network of vassal relationships, has been packaged and transmitted to your database on Earth."

Lei Wen looked at this capable subordinate on the screen, nodded slightly, and a look of approval appeared in his eyes.

"Well done, Trier." Lei Wen's voice was steady and powerful. "Bringing a hegemon-level civilization into our strategic orbit without shedding blood is more valuable than winning a simple fleet decisive battle. After this mission is over, I will suggest to Price that you be awarded a Medal of Distinguished Contribution to Civilization, and your name will be engraved on the meritorious pillar of Faleim history."

Upon hearing this, Trier immediately stood at attention, struck his left chest heavily with his right fist, and gave a standard military salute: "Your guidance is my supreme glory. For the Collective, and for you, I am willing to offer everything."

As the communication signal cut off, the holographic projection slowly dissipated, and the underground command room returned to quietness.

Lei Wen exhaled gently, turned around, and said to the empty wall.

"white flower, open the file transmitted by Trier. I want to see how much of a foundation this former hegemon still has left."

"Yes, Father. Outputting simplified information model."

With the operation of white flower, the Star Map in the center of the command room changed instantly. The view, originally centered on the Solar System, was quickly pulled away, traversing thousands of light-years of dark void, and finally locked onto that brilliant Perseus Arm.

A patch of golden light points spread out densely like gravel in a river.

"What an awe-inspiring scale." Lei Wen looked at the Star Map before him and couldn't help but sigh.

The Angel Empire truly deserved to be the interstellar hegemon that had stood in this universe for tens of thousands of years. Even after suffering a disastrous defeat in Orion and losing all its frontier colonies, it was still like a golden giant dragon coiled in the Perseus Arm—wounded, but its massive body was still enough to obscure the starry sky.

According to the precise data transmitted back by Trier, the Angel Empire currently actually controlled and deeply developed 810 star systems. This was a number that made the Human Civilization, which had not yet fully stepped out of the Solar System, feel dizzy.

This meant they possessed dozens or even hundreds of habitable or transformed colonial planets, and countless mining sites and orbital facilities.

In addition, there were 232 star systems that had established simple outposts or automated collection stations. Although there was no large-scale immigration, they still belonged to the empire's territory.

And on the edges and in the cracks of the empire, there were 31 vassal civilizations surviving. Most of these civilizations were in the low-level stage of having just stepped into the interstellar era or having only mastered single- or double-star system navigation capabilities. They relied on the Angel Empire, providing tribute, labor, and cannon fodder to the suzerain in exchange for the right to survive in this cruel universe.

"If we don't consider the technological generation gap, looking purely at the total resources and population base, Human Civilization is like an infant who has just learned to walk facing a fully armed giant in front of the Angel Empire." Lei Wen compared them in his heart.

However, the data not only revealed strength but also exposed weakness.

As Lei Wen's fingers slid, the Star Map was divided into color-coded blocks.

"186 star sectors..." Lei Wen frowned. "That's a bit too many."

Of the 810 star systems mastered, for the sake of management, the Angel Empire had divided them into 186 star sectors, with a governor appointed for each sector.

In the system of Faleim or the Human Federation, governors were merely officials dispatched by the central government. But under the ancient and heavily feudal system of the Angel Empire, and under the dual effects of psionic communication delays and Warp Drive speed limitations, these sector governors were effectively "local emperors" possessing independent finances, independent guards, and even independent judicial power.

"The emperor is far away." This ancient proverb surfaced in Lei Wen's mind.

Due to technical limitations, even the fleet of the Angel Empire in its prime would need years or even longer to project from the capital system to the edge of the empire. This physical distance greatly weakened the ability of the central government.

Data showed that in order to maintain control over these frontier officials, one of the most important tasks for every emperor of the Angel Empire during their reign was to personally lead the main fleet of the Star Navy on a long "military tour."

They had to be like a lion king inspecting its territory, driving the most powerful warships, bringing the most elite guards, and touring between star sectors, using military force to deter those governors with ulterior motives, and using the majesty of the royal family to maintain the unity of this vast empire.

"This is an extremely inefficient and fragile mode of governance." Lei Wen evaluated. "Once the central military power declines or the emperor's prestige drops, the entire empire will disintegrate instantly like a pile of loose sand. No wonder when Losanda stirred up trouble, the governors everywhere immediately started watching and even became independent. This is fundamentally a systemic inevitability."

Subsequently, Lei Wen turned his gaze to the technology assessment section.

This was the part he cared about most, and it was also the key that would determine the future direction of the relationship between the civilizations.

"Psionics... the miracle of idealism, and also a curse."

The report detailed the technology tree of the Angel Empire. Just as Lei Wen expected, this race had pointed almost all their talent points into psionics.

They used psionics for communication, used psionics to strengthen their bodies, used psionics to drive warships, and even used psionics to grow crops and forge metals.

Their individual strength was indeed no different from gods in the eyes of low-level civilizations. A trained Angel psionic warrior could physically resist artillery shells, tear apart surface warships with their bare hands, fly at supersonic speeds within the atmosphere, and were as powerful as Superman in Earth movies, and could also use various psionic techniques. For civilizations still in the gunpowder era, they were gods descending to the mortal world.

But success also came from psionics, and failure also came from psionics.

Although the Angel people's material technology level was still far more advanced than Earthlings, because they had accumulated tens of thousands of years after all, their alloy formulas, force field technology, and ecological recycling systems were very mature. This was also the reason why, when Faleim's robots and automated factories appeared on Cradle Star, the public was surprised but did not regard them as "magic." They understood technology; they just disdained to study it deeply.

But in their view, since prayer and meditation could grant power, why bother racking their brains to study those complex mechanical structures and physical formulas?

This fixed mindset locked their upper limit.

"However..." Lei Wen's gaze lingered on the last line of the report.

[Comparative Assessment of Energy and Propulsion Systems]

[Conclusion: The Angel Empire and all its vassal civilizations have not mastered the extraction and application technology of antimatter. The main energy source remains a hybrid application of high-energy psionic crystals and deuterium-tritium fusion energy.]

Lei Wen's eyes lit up.

Antimatter was an ace card currently held by Human Civilization. Although human warships were comprehensively lagging behind the Angel Empire in various technologies, and could not even beat their vassal civilizations.

But in the item of destructive energy output, humanity had stepped ahead.

Psionics were indeed convenient, powerful, and a cure-all. But if they lost psionics, or faced unreasonable restraining equipment like "anti-psionic jammers," the strength of the Angel Empire would be greatly reduced.

And antimatter was different; it was the embodiment of pure physical laws and the ultimate in mass-energy conversion.

It didn't need faith, it didn't need talent; as long as it collided, it would annihilate, and as long as it annihilated, it would release earth-shattering energy.

"An ancient empire with a massive scale and deep foundation but trapped in rigidity and internal strife."

"An emerging civilization with a small scale, just starting out, but having mastered key technologies and in a period of rapid ascent."

Lei Wen sat in the comfortable chair in the underground command room, fingers crossed against his chin, lost in deep thought.

He was thinking about a decision.

A decision that might change the future direction of Human Civilization, and might also bring huge risks to Earth.

"Should the Angel people and Earthlings have formal contact?"

This was a huge temptation.

Although the Angel Empire had declined, a sinking ship still had three pounds of nails. Their massive resource maps, interstellar navigation data, ecological transformation experiences accumulated over tens of thousands of years, and those material technologies that were still countless years ahead of Earth even if outdated, were all priceless treasures for humanity.

"white flower." Lei Wen suddenly spoke.

"Here, Father."

"Establish a new simulation model."

Lei Wen stood up and paced the room.

"Assume the Human Federation establishes official diplomatic relations with the Angel Empire."

"First, we only conduct limited material and technical exchanges, strictly prohibiting large-scale personnel movement."

"Secondly, we use Faleim Civilization as a guarantor to establish the special status of the Human Federation in the relationship between the two parties."

"Simulate the impact of this contact on human social structure, the speed of technological development, and the safety index."

The data stream on the screen began to refresh crazily, and countless possibilities were born and destroyed in the virtual world.

A few minutes later, white flower gave the conclusion.

"Father, according to the model simulation, under the premise of introducing Faleim Civilization as a powerful third-party arbitrator, the benefits brought by the contact will be slightly greater than the risks."

"Among the vassal civilizations of the Angel Empire, there are several that possess unique biotechnology and crystal forging technology, which is exactly the current shortcoming of humanity."

"Moreover, through contact with the Angel Empire, we can indirectly radiate our influence to interstellar society and lay out for the future expansion of the Human Federation in advance."

"As for the safety issue," white flower added, "under the technical guarantee of Faleim Civilization, safety risks will be controlled within a controllable range."

Lei Wen looked at the positive benefit index as high as 53% and nodded slowly.

Since they wanted to head towards the stars and the sea, they couldn't hide in the Cradle and build cars behind closed doors forever.

Humanity needed to see the true vastness and diversity of this universe.