93: Formal contact

During one of her web-surfing sessions, Grey Wind heard the song "Child of the Stars." Over the past few days, she had played it on loop at least a thousand times and even told Lei Wen that her human avatar would soon return to Earth to attend a Stardust Girls concert.

To this, Lei Wen replied that as long as she didn't cause any supernatural events beyond human comprehension on Earth, she could do whatever she wanted.

Meanwhile, an official announcement from the Earth Defense Force High Command ignited global public opinion once again.

"...Latest battle report: In the Kuiper Belt region on the outskirts of the Solar System, our ally, the Faleim Civilization regular fleet, successfully annihilated the main force of the rebel fleet attempting to flee the Solar System after an intense battle early this morning. With this, the Battle for the Solar System is declared a complete victory!"

"The Faleim Civilization has sent an official congratulatory message to the Earth Council and proposed initiating formal diplomatic contact between the two civilizations as soon as possible to discuss post-war reconstruction and future cooperation."

This news was like a reassurance, completely dispelling the last trace of gloom hanging over everyone's hearts.

"Great! It's finally over!"

"Thank you, alien friends!"

"Long live peace!"

However, for the high-ranking officials of the Earth Council, this news meant that a "new war" testing their wisdom was about to begin.

It was a silent war concerning diplomacy, interests, and how to secure the greatest benefits for humanity while engaging with a superior civilization far more powerful than their own.

...

Three days later, at the Earth Defense Force High Command located on the Babel Space Station, Wang Quanjin, Reinhardt, and a group of other high-ranking officials held their first formal contact with the fleet that called itself the "Faleim Civilization regular fleet."

Appearing on the screen was a blond, long-eared male wearing a silver-white uniform, with a cold expression and an imposing demeanor.

He was Talon, the commander of the Far Star Fleet.

Following the script Lei Wen had prepared for him in advance, he was playing the role of a high-ranking commander who had just finished a great battle and had come to "offer condolences" to their partners.

"I, on behalf of the High Command Center of the Faleim Scientific Conglomerate, extend my highest respects to the heroic Earth Defense Force." Talon's voice was standard Mandarin, devoid of any emotional color, and filled with the majesty belonging to a superior civilization.

"Your courage and sacrifice won us valuable time to finally annihilate that shameful rebel fleet; the Faleim Civilization will forever remember your contributions."

"Please allow me to introduce our civilization to you," he said slowly, his tone carrying a hint of undisguised pride. "The Falaim Scientific Integration Nation is a nation that loves peace, respects knowledge, and is committed to maintaining cosmic order."

"Our external tenet is love and peace."

"We hold the friendliest attitude toward any lower civilization willing to engage in friendly exchanges with us."

"Now, since our common enemy has been eliminated, I believe it is time to formally begin peaceful and friendly exchanges between our two civilizations."

His words caused all the Earth high-ranking officials present to breathe a sigh of relief.

It sounded as if the other party had no malicious intent and had even proactively lowered their posture.

After some friendly (filled with diplomatic rhetoric and mutual probing) consultations, both sides agreed to hold the first formal official meeting three days later at the Earth Council Headquarters building in New York.

The Faleim Civilization would send a high-level delegation led by Talon himself to visit Earth.

Three days later, New York.

This location, the former headquarters of the United Nations, had entered the highest level of alert to welcome these visitors from beyond the sky.

From the Council Headquarters building to Times Square, all streets were cleared, with a fully armed Earth Defense Force soldier standing guard every ten meters.

The eyes of the whole world were focused on this city.

Thousands of reporters flocked from all over the world, packing the area around the Council building so tightly that not a drop of water could pass through.

Countless citizens also spontaneously gathered outside the cordon, hoping to witness this historic moment with their own eyes.

Ten o'clock in the morning sharp.

Under the gaze of billions of people around the world, ten massive shadows comparable to mountains slowly emerged from the deep blue sky above New York.

They hovered silently above Manhattan in a posture that completely defied the principles of gravity.

This was the real Far Star Fleet from the Faleim Civilization, the alien fleet that had made Lei Wen anxious for years.

It was just that now, they were appearing before humanity openly and honestly in the capacity of "allies."

"My God..."

In Times Square, an internet streamer conducting a live broadcast was so shocked by the sight in the sky that they were speechless.

The visual impact brought by those ten behemoths was far more shocking than any science fiction movie.

Their hulls were so massive that they cast a huge shadow on the ground, enough to cover half of New York.

Their surfaces were as smooth as mirrors, reflecting the sunlight, with complex and mysterious light blue patterns flowing across them.

They just hovered there quietly, without making a single sound; for them, gravity simply did not exist.

"Is this an alien warship?"

On the ground, countless New York citizens looked up at the shocking scene above their heads, their faces full of awe and curiosity.

Although most people had seen the massive body of the voyager through online videos, compared to the voyager, which could no longer take off once it entered Earth, the warships appearing directly overhead were even more shocking—and besides, the voyager's size couldn't compare to these ten giant ships.

Because these ten warships were simply too massive, the entire city of New York could not find a suitable location for them to land safely.

Therefore, they could only hover above the city in such an imposing manner.

Soon, a streamlined shuttle flew out from the belly of the flagship, the rathia, and flew straight toward the landing pad on the top floor of the Earth Council Headquarters building.

When the shuttle's hatch opened, everyone held their breath.

Everyone was curious about what these aliens from the distant starry sky would look like. Were they bizarre monsters like those in sci-fi movies? Or high-dimensional life forms that could not be understood by human senses?

However, when the Faleim delegation led by Talon walked down the gangway one by one, all the Earthlings watching this scene through the lens were stunned into speechlessness.

The bizarre alien creatures they had imagined did not appear.

Appearing before them was a group of humanoid creatures possessing bodies highly similar to humans, even more perfect than the best models selected by humans.

They were slender and elegant, with skin as fair as ivory.

A head of long, golden hair that looked like flowing gold was meticulously tied behind their heads.

And most striking were their bright purple eyes, as pure as amethysts, and the long, pointed ears peeking out from their hair.

This appearance was just like an elf prince who had walked straight out of Tolkien's fantasy novels.

"This... this is an alien? They are too good-looking!"

"Why do they look just like the elves in novels and movies?"

"Elves! Real elves! Myths and legends are actually true!"

What made the Chinese Representative delegation present even more surprised and a little strange was that when Talon walked forward and spoke to the rotating chairman of the Earth Council who had come to welcome them, he spoke in pure, standard Mandarin with perfect pronunciation and no accent.

This couldn't help but make all the representatives from other countries present subconsciously cast glances filled with curiosity and a hint of jealousy toward their Chinese counterparts.

...

After entering the conference hall of the Council building, although Talon already had a basic understanding of most human traditions and etiquette under Lei Wen's prior "training."

But as a Faleim soldier accustomed to rationality and efficiency, he still appeared somewhat out of place when facing the complex social situations full of red tape that humans engaged in.

For example, he would appear somewhat stiff when shaking hands with various national leaders because he could not understand this act of exchanging bacteria, and when facing the trap-filled and leading questions from reporters, he would bluntly retort with "I don't understand" or "No comment."

But no one present did, nor dared to, find any fault with him.

In the face of absolute power, any discourtesy would be interpreted as the "unrestrained and casual behavior of a superior civilization."

After completing all the lengthy welcoming ceremonies, Talon finally had the opportunity to introduce the basic situation of the Falaim Scientific Integration Nation to the Council representatives and media present.

He recounted the glorious history of the Faleim Civilization spanning tens of thousands of years in a flat, narrative tone (omitting all parts about the guide and the game), and spoke of their civilizational traditions of loving peace and respecting knowledge.

Simply put, the cultural tenet of our Faleim Civilization is—love and peace.

Then he changed the subject and entered the core topic of the day.

"We, Faleim, are a civilization that keeps its promises." He looked at everyone present and said in an unquestionable tone, "We will honor all commitments to our partners."

"First, we will provide Earth humanity with a portion of the basic scientific theories necessary for speed of light technology, including but not limited to quantum field layer interference theory, space warp calculation principles, multi-dimensional spacetime geometry, quantum foam stability theory, and interaction models between gravitons and super-gravitons. We believe this knowledge will open a door for you to a whole new field of physics."

"Secondly, we will gift you a more complete periodic table of elements than the one you currently use, which contains hundreds of stable superheavy elements known to us and their physicochemical properties; this will greatly promote your development in the field of materials science."

"We will also give you a complete set of blueprints for a starbase, as well as a batch of strong interaction force material samples sufficient for reverse engineering research. You will be able to master this technology within three hundred years and manufacture strong interaction force materials yourselves."

"Finally," he pointed to the open space outside the window, "we will establish a permanent Faleim Civilization embassy next to the Earth Council Headquarters building and install a high-dimensional quantum entanglement communication device capable of real-time communication with our home planet. Through it, you can communicate directly with the highest levels of our civilization at any time."

Every "reward" announced by Talon left all the Earth representatives present dizzy.

The value of these things could no longer be measured in money.

It was a generous gift from a superior civilization to an inferior one, a grand package that would allow Human Civilization to benefit endlessly for the next few hundred years.

This unimaginable friendliness and generosity displayed by the Faleim People made the vast majority of Earthlings increase their favorability toward them significantly.

During the final Q&A session of the press conference, a reporter from France even stood up excitedly and asked:

"Lord Talon! May I ask if the Faleim Civilization will consider opening up travel or immigration channels for us Earthlings in the future? Many of us want to see your beautiful planet with our own eyes!"

This question immediately resonated with everyone present.

Everyone looked at Talon with eyes filled with anticipation, waiting for his answer.