A streak of light flashed by, and the Starship Base appeared outside the Loul 2 star system. The chaotic small celestial bodies, like a swaying bead curtain, half-hidden the star system.
The Louls were extremely quick. Several warships immediately appeared near the base: "Halt, approaching vessel! Report your identity immediately and power down your shields for inspection! Any action you take will be considered hostile and provocative towards us, and you will be responsible for all consequences arising from it!"
Ou Zhanpeng's lips curled. "Still so arrogant, huh? Bring it on!"
Ling Xiao immediately pushed the prepared flatbed to Ou Zhanpeng's side. A cross was welded onto it, and Xiao Luo, just pulled from his mecha, was fixed onto the cross in a crucified posture by Ling Xiao.
"Human, what do you intend to do!" an enraged roar came from the Loul warship.
"What do we intend to do?" Ou Zhanpeng sneered. "What nerve! You're accusing us first. Why don't you ask him how he ended up on our warship? Why don't you ask him why he was captured? Why don't you ask him what exactly he did?"
"I don't care what happened. Release the hostage immediately and unconditionally, or all consequences will be your responsibility!"
"Nonsense!" Ou Zhanpeng retorted immediately. "We come from a land of etiquette, so we resort to diplomacy before force. Now, report this situation to your superior immediately, or all consequences will be your responsibility!"
"Human!" the voice on the other side was furious. "You dare to threaten the great Loul Star Nation!"
Ou Zhanpeng's tone was arrogant. "So what if I threaten you? You don't know anything, and you dare to bark at me? Have your superior talk to me!"
After speaking, he immediately cut off communication, completely disregarding the other party's raging fury.
The four Loul warships simultaneously lowered their cannons, adopting an attitude of being ready to unleash hell at the slightest disagreement.
Ou Zhanpeng secretly prepared himself, ready to retaliate immediately if they opened fire.
However, after striking a formidable pose, the other side ultimately did not dare to open fire.
Not long after, a small spaceship appeared near the base. Only then did Ou Zhanpeng reactivate the communication system.
"State your purpose, human!" the other party's voice was deep and seemed very authoritative.
"My purpose?" Ou Zhanpeng sneered. "That's the question I should be asking!"
"Our cooperation has always been pleasant. Do you not know the consequences of hijacking a Loul?"
Ou Zhanpeng's expression turned colder. "Hijacking? May I ask, on what moral high ground do you stand to accuse us? Do you know where he's from? Do you know what he did?"
"Of course, we know. He is the commander of the forward base. When the base was destroyed by the XX civilization, he went missing along with the escape pod... The Loul Star Nation values the life of every citizen, but we absolutely do not accept any coercion or intimidation!"
"Then what about this? How do you explain this?" Ou Zhanpeng beckoned, and Ling Xiao pushed another flatbed forward, on which lay the disassembled wreckage of a mecha.
Before the other party could speak, Ou Zhanpeng played the video of Xiao Luo assembling his mecha and attempting to seize the warship: "How do you explain this?"
The other party fell silent. The warship suddenly emitted an alarm, and a projection of the Loul 2 star system appeared in the center of the cabin. Something was spreading out from the Loul planet, quickly engulfing the entire star system.
"What is this?" Ling Xiao asked, confused.
"They've sealed off space," Gong Yiding said.
Ou Zhanpeng let out a long sigh. "Is this your answer? If you can't reason, you intend to resort to force?"
"There's no reasoning with barbaric humans like you. Last warning: release the hostage immediately, or you will bear all consequences!"
A hint of gloom flashed in Ou Zhanpeng's eyes. "I've seen shameless people, but I've never seen anyone this shameless... From now on, any hostile action on your part will be considered a declaration of war by us. The choice is always in your hands. I came with the intention of resolving the conflict, but don't let the olive branch slip from my hand!"
Ling Xiao couldn't help but lean in and whisper to Gong Yiding, "Do the Louls understand what an olive branch means?"
"With that attitude, it's better if they don't!"
Ling Xiao was startled, then he suddenly understood.
The Loul on the other side was likely infuriated by Ou Zhanpeng's forceful attitude, and they simply stopped responding, instead starting a more aggressive countdown.
Ou Zhanpeng sighed. "Prepare for battle."
Several people immediately came over and pushed the flatbed away. They looked at Ou Zhanpeng with some bewilderment in their eyes.
Things had come to this point, why were they still wasting time talking to the Louls? Couldn't they just fight?
Their thoughts were quite representative. Out of tens of thousands of people in the entire base, at least seventy percent harbored the same idea.
After all, while military force might not be the best way to solve problems, it was often the most direct and effective.
Direct combat was indeed simpler, but in terms of public opinion, humanity would be in an extremely passive position.
Some might argue that at this stage, why bother with such considerations? Might makes right, and one should act decisively when the time comes!
This thinking had some merit, but whether it was a sneak attack or a frontal assault, engaging in battle without a word would ruin humanity's reputation.
At first glance, it might not seem like a big deal, but when interacting with other civilizations in the future, any civilization that knew about this matter but didn't understand the full picture would surely hesitate about humanity's credibility.
That was not the outcome Ou Zhanpeng wanted.
Besides, with only four Loul warships, the possibility of destroying the Starship was very slim, and that was only if the Louls were worth destroying.
Ou Zhanpeng was prepared. As soon as the Louls dared to fire, he would immediately use a nuclear missile to bombard their administrative planet!
Not long after, the countdown ended, and everyone's heart involuntarily tightened.
However, the Louls, who had been extremely aggressive from the start, did not open fire as they had threatened. Instead, they unleashed hundreds of flying craft that aggressively charged towards the Starship Base.
Well, the Louls were small in stature, and their flying craft were like toys, not even as large as human missiles.
But no one dared to underestimate the Louls' capabilities. All eyes immediately focused on Ou Zhanpeng.
"Warning fire!" Ou Zhanpeng said without hesitation.
Since diplomacy had been exhausted, they absolutely could not back down now. Real men stood tall, not the effeminate kind who were all talk and no action.
In a corner of the base, a multi-barreled close-in weapon system rotated its angle and suddenly fired a burst of shells that streaked past the front of the Loul flying craft.
The enemy craft showed no evasive maneuvers, continuing their charge towards the Starship.
Not only that, but more Loul warships arrived to reinforce, finally exceeding twenty ships!
For most interstellar civilizations, this was already a formidable fleet, strong enough to destroy three to five weaker civilizations without issue.
Ou Zhanpeng sighed silently and issued a final warning: "Louls, your flying craft are about to enter our defensive range. All consequences arising from this will be your responsibility!"
Ultimatums, at times, were just useless formalities, appearing redundant and drawing unwanted attention.
However, from interpersonal relationships to civilization-to-civilization interactions, it was necessary to establish a connection and convey reasoning, even if it was known to be formalism, the necessary formalities had to be observed.
Without a doubt, the other party brazenly entered the Starship Base's defensive range.
Ou Zhanpeng no longer held back. Various close-in weapons opened fire in unison... Close-in weapon systems were simply not worth mentioning; it was direct spatial shockwaves and thermal ray beams.
In just a moment, one-third of the Loul flying craft charging towards the Starship Base melted, and two-thirds were shattered.
However, the Louls showed no intention of stopping. Instead, they released more flying craft, appearing determined not to stop until the Starship Base was captured.
This was a joke! The Louls were eager for both of these types of weapons. As long as they captured the Starship Base, all these unheard-of advanced weapons would belong to the Louls.
To achieve this goal, what were a few losses?
Ou Zhanpeng had known all along that this matter could not be resolved peacefully, but he couldn't help but sigh.
However, his actions were not affected in the slightest. He lightly tapped the holographic projection, and a wormhole suddenly opened in front of the base.
Its diameter was only five meters, so small that not even a slightly larger workboat, let alone a warship, could enter.
Strangely, as soon as the wormhole opened, a lot of杂物 (miscellaneous debris) floated out, including several motionless Louls.
An electromagnetic cannon on the base swiveled its barrel and fired fiercely. A single projectile missile instantly drilled into the wormhole.
The next second, the wormhole closed.
The second after that, a Loul warship confronting the base suddenly exploded without warning, its brilliant flames illuminating the dark universe.
The Louls who witnessed this scene were all stunned, and even many humans in the base were dumbfounded.
Hadn't they sealed off space? How could they open a wormhole? Where did something go wrong?
The Louls had indeed sealed off space, but space sealing was not omnipotent!
Humans had begun research in this area years ago. Although they didn't have a template and couldn't figure out how to seal space, they had gained some insights based on the principles of opening wormholes.
Simply put, this was a confrontation between energies. Sealing stabilized space; jumping tore space apart.
Space naturally tended towards stability, so tearing space required a large amount of energy. Conversely, stabilizing space consumed much less energy.
Going with the flow was always easier than going against it.
However, specific situations called for specific analyses. For instance, the Louls' act of sealing off an entire star system from time to time, while appearing to be a grand gesture and truly awe-inspiring, was still something that the Starship itself couldn't break through a reinforced space.
But if the Starship couldn't, the Starship Base could. Being able to open a wormhole with a diameter of over ten kilometers was in itself a very difficult feat. Under the condition of a sealed large space, the Starship Base couldn't leave via a wormhole, but opening a wormhole with a diameter of three to five meters was not a problem at all!
Having struck a blow, Ou Zhanpeng pressed his advantage, continuing to use the wormhole deployment method to send an attack missile into the enemy ships, destroying seven or eight Loul warships in a flash.
Only then did the Louls realize that the Starship had opened the wormhole directly inside their own warships.
They knew the Starship Base was powerful, but they never imagined it would be so powerful – normally, wormholes could only be opened in empty space, and warships had force field protection that could interfere with the formation of wormholes.
The Louls immediately realized that the Starship possessed spatial technology far beyond their imagination, otherwise, they couldn't have achieved this.
Their already eager hearts became even more fervent, wishing they could rush into the Starship Base immediately.
This was like having a pile of gold placed before a bandit; it would be unnatural not to be tempted and act!
More Loul warships appeared around the Starship. They no longer settled for flying craft assaults but organized their warships to charge forward with their shields at full power, regardless of the consequences.
Since the flying craft were useless, they would switch to warship assaults!
Ou Zhanpeng's lips curved upwards into a smile devoid of any mirth. "Interesting!"
The Louls dared to do this either because they believed spatial shockwaves and thermal ray beams were ineffective against warships, or they were deliberately sending a batch of warships to their deaths to test them.
Ou Zhanpeng didn't care what they thought. The weapon systems that had been somewhat reserved were now firing at full capacity.
The continuously approaching Loul warships suddenly turned into red-hot iron, then lost power and drifted slowly past one side of the Starship Base.
The Loul warships on the other side silently turned to dust, leaving no trace behind.
As the enemy ships increased in number, Ou Zhanpeng stopped being polite with the Louls. He suddenly expanded the attack range, destroying over a dozen Loul warships in one go.
This result indeed frightened many Louls, but they were also despondent – their superiors had strictly ordered the fleet to capture the Starship Base in as intact a condition as possible, not to bombard it with a thousand cannons and destroy it.
Even a regular warship, let alone the formidable Starship Base, would pay a heavy price for simply taking hits without retaliating!
Loul warships charged forward one after another, and even Ling Xiao, as their opponent, was shocked: "There are almost two hundred ships already, and they're still coming?"
Ou Zhanpeng's expression was unreadable. "The Loul losses are not as big as you think. There are many warships, but probably very few Loul crew members on them."
Ling Xiao truly hadn't considered this: "No way?"
"Our warships are becoming increasingly intelligent, requiring fewer crew members. There's no reason the Louls would be worse than us."
Ling Xiao nodded thoughtfully, agreeing with Ou Zhanpeng's point: "Are we just going to hold our ground like this? When are we going to bombard their planet?"
Ou Zhanpeng pursed his lips and spoke after a pause, "It's about time."
With that, he waved his hand, and a wormhole opened again.
However, this time, the target was not any enemy ship but was opened directly near the Loul planet.
The hangar doors on the base's surface opened, revealing a standard missile silo. All one hundred and thirty missiles from sixty-four launch units were launched into the air, rushing into the wormhole in one go.
In the outer space of the Loul planet, the suddenly opened wormhole triggered an alarm for the entire planet. However, before the Louls could react, the missiles emerging from the wormhole blossomed in the air. Nearby spacecraft, orbital rings, orbital trains, and the like were all targets for the missiles.
A dazzling burst of light suddenly erupted in the void, followed by the detonation of over one hundred missiles in a very short period.
The brilliant light illuminated half the planet, making even the light of the star appear dim at that moment.