Blue Star Temporary Joint Command Center.
The spacious conference room was packed to the brim. Leaders who usually only appeared in news reports were now gathered here, either seated or standing. Yet, eerily, the room was utterly silent, with not a single sound to be heard—even breathing was so faint it seemed almost nonexistent. Everyone inside wore expressions of ashen defeat, their eyes filled with lifelessness and despair.
On the large screen at the center of the room, over a dozen different conference rooms were displayed—the command centers of various nations. They, too, were filled with high-ranking officials, equally crowded, and equally silent. The entire space seemed to be permeated with an aura of despair.
Only the rows of computers beside them displayed the same set of data, line after line of shocking figures appearing on their screens.
One hour and fifty-eight minutes ago: Lost monitoring target Neptune.
One hour and thirty minutes ago: Lost monitoring target Uranus.
One hour and ten minutes ago: Lost monitoring target Saturn.
One hour ago…
Five minutes ago: Lost monitoring—the Moon.
In the background of the data display, a familiar silvery-white satellite was shown shattering and disintegrating, then gradually disappearing from view as if it had never existed, leaving behind only the sky filled with black warships.
Within the conference room, there was nothing but silence.
As elite leaders of their respective nations, they naturally learned of this Blue Star crisis earlier than ordinary people. They had attempted to prevent it, only to realize that Blue Star’s methods were laughably naive in the face of alien technology.
Two hours—just two hours—and the unknown alien fleet had already swept through the entire solar system. Those immense planets seemed like nothing more than balloons that could be casually popped in the eyes of the invaders.
First Neptune, then Uranus, followed by Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, and finally, they were heading toward Blue Star…
Those alien warships offered no communication, no dialogue. Upon reaching each planet, they simply destroyed it. Blue Star’s painstakingly crafted communication attempts received no response, as if, in the eyes of the invaders, this life-sustaining planet with billions of inhabitants was no different from the other “balloons.”
The leaders of various nations had gone from shock, anger, and panic to nothing but despair.
It was the helpless despair of a lower civilization facing the dimensional strike of a higher civilization. In the end, the only thing they could do was detonate the planet’s nuclear arsenal, clinging to a desperate hope of perhaps blowing a handful of dust onto the enemy.
Unfortunately, even that might not be achievable.
“Sir! Something terrible has happened!” Sure enough, a messenger rushed into the command room in a panic, shattering the silence.
“The nuclear facilities failed to detonate, didn’t they?” The supreme commander at the head of the table sighed despondently. In just two hours, he seemed to have aged decades. “Sigh, as expected, the gap between civilizations is insurmountable. If they can destroy so many planets with a mere gesture, how could they possibly fail to stop our self-destruction?”
His posture grew even more hunched, and the expressions of the other leaders present were much the same.
“No, that’s not it! Well, yes, actually…” The messenger nodded and shook his head, looking too agitated to articulate properly. He hurriedly stepped forward and said, “The detonation indeed did not succeed, and Blue Star did not self-destruct, but… all those alien warships have disappeared.”
“What?!”
Almost simultaneously, everyone seated abruptly stood up, their eyes wide with shock. “Explain clearly! What do you mean by ‘disappeared’?”
“It… it just vanished! Gone!” the messenger stammered urgently. “Just a moment ago, those suddenly appearing warships disappeared from above Blue Star. The blockade around Blue Star is gone too. All communication facilities and smart devices have been restored.”
“How… how is this possible?” The crowd could hardly believe their ears. Not only them, but the command centers of various countries connected via communication lines were experiencing the same situation. In an instant, the previously quiet room erupted like boiling water.
They understood clearly that this was an invasion by a higher civilization. Those alien warships had never taken Blue Star seriously—their goal was destruction, just like the other planets.
In other words, the aliens intended to exterminate all life on Blue Star, including humanity, and they didn’t even consider Blue Star’s inhabitants worthy of dialogue, let alone prior communication.
This was precisely why the United Government had chosen to detonate Blue Star—because the enemy had no intention of letting anyone survive.
But what was happening now? Those warships had simply vanished, just as suddenly as they had appeared. Could it be that the enemy had voluntarily given up, deciding not to invade? Impossible. They had been so aggressive—there was no reason for them to suddenly retreat. Could some other unforeseen event have occurred? Something that even forced the alien civilization to make concessions?
The commander felt his heart pounding violently, even more intensely than when he had learned of Blue Star’s impending doom.
“Quick! Notify all frontline outposts and observatories to search for traces of those alien warships throughout the entire solar system,” he ordered urgently.
“Yes, sir!” The messenger immediately turned and rushed out to relay the order.
Soon, reports began pouring in from all sides.
Nothing!
No traces of the alien warships remained around Blue Star.
Even the warships that had been stationed near the Moon’s orbit had vanished. They had no choice but to extend their search farther out, until…
“F-found! Beyond Pluto, the observatories have detected anomalies. They… they’ve retreated beyond the solar system.”
“What?!” Instantly, the entire conference room tensed up again. What did this mean? They had suddenly withdrawn from the solar system, and in an instant at that. Could they have some other objective?
The leaders carefully examined the data, comparing it with the ships that had blockaded Blue Star earlier. Finally, they confirmed it was the same group of invaders.
“Have there been any unusual movements from them, or any communication signals?” the commander asked nervously.
“No. They’re just lingering beyond the solar system, and no communication signals have been detected.”
The people in the command center grew restless again, unable to decipher the enemy’s intentions. Their hearts were left hanging in suspense, yet they dared not make any rash moves.
A day passed, and the leaders still couldn’t guess the enemy’s motives, nor had they devised a feasible plan. Meanwhile, the alien warships remained stationed beyond the solar system, showing no signs of advancing again.
Until the early morning of the second day, command centers across the Blue Planet suddenly received a message simultaneously—a request for passage. A small spacecraft from the opposing fleet requested entry into the solar system, stating that it had disarmed all weapons and adopting an exceedingly polite tone.
The leaders in the command room were once again thrown into an uproar. The other side clearly possessed overwhelming power, having already demonstrated it once, yet they suddenly began to show courtesy. Could it be that they wanted to negotiate? But they had previously refused to communicate at all. Everyone was baffled, leading to another round of heated discussions. In the end, they decided to grant passage.
They also feared that the other side might have ulterior motives, but first, they couldn’t defeat them; second, they couldn’t defeat them; and finally, they still couldn’t defeat them…
So what difference did it make whether they agreed to grant passage or not?
Thus, everyone watched helplessly as the small spacecraft entered the solar system, traveling at a speed they couldn’t comprehend. It eventually reached the vicinity of the Blue Planet and came to a halt near the Moon’s orbit, showing no intention of entering the planet at all.
The leaders of governments around the world grew even more confused. Wasn’t this supposed to be a negotiation? What did it mean to stop outside? Were they waiting for representatives from the Blue Planet to take the initiative and go out?
Just as people across the globe were filled with doubt, an unfamiliar and humble voice suddenly echoed above the Blue Planet…
[Great Ancient God of the Blue Planet, the sinners of the Star Raft Fleet have come to seek forgiveness.]