Chapter 1028: Chapter 1027: First Contact Between Two Different Civilizations
When a civilization encounters another civilization in space, what should be done?
This question is also a problem for Fang Zheng.
According to the Zerg’s report, an unknown warship is flying towards the Zerg’s gathering place along the asteroid belt, with unclear intentions.
So, what should be done next?
Fang Zheng first observed the spaceship through the Zerg’s psychic network, and the results surprised him.
This warship is quite unfamiliar to Fang Zheng. It is neither a Human Race nor a Star Spirit warship from Interstellar Confrontation, nor does it have any relation to Sargeras’ Burning Legion, and it’s certainly not a product of Star Wars. The warship is rectangular in shape, with wings at the back slanted downward. It’s clear that this is a mechanical civilization, but that’s all that can be confirmed.
As for what to do next.......
"Vampire, go and make contact with them, the swarm stays on standby, and without my orders, do not act rashly."
Fang Zheng issued the order, and Vampire responded, quickly heading towards the warship.
However, at this moment, an unexpected scene occurred.
The warship suddenly stopped near the asteroid belt, and then a blue light flashed at its front. Next moment, the area within the asteroid belt where the swarm had hidden exploded suddenly!
The other party made the first move!
Seeing this, Fang Zheng was also taken aback, and he quickly issued another command.
"Swarm, retaliate! Capture this guy back for me!"
With Fang Zheng’s command, the hidden swarm within the asteroid belt instantly erupted like bees from a poked nest, charging towards the warship. At this moment, the warship clearly sensed danger; it accelerated backward and opened fire, trying to eliminate the approaching swarm.
However, the air force of the swarm, consisting of Flying Dragons, Explosive Mosquitoes, and Corruptors, was not so easily dealt with by a single warship. Soon, the swarm approached the warship and surrounded it. The Explosive Mosquitoes rushed towards the warship, causing bursts of flames on its surface.
Before long, the warship’s shield was largely depleted. Yet, just as Fang Zheng was directing the swarm to capture it, an unexpected scene occurred. Through the psychic network of the swarm, Fang Zheng saw a bright light suddenly emerge from the inside of the warship. In the next moment, his vision was engulfed by white light.
When Fang Zheng switched perspective back to the swarm units and looked towards the battlefield again, he was shocked. The place where the swarm had fought was now an empty space, with only some charred debris fragments left behind.
Damn! Self-detonation when they can’t win, so bold?
"This is trouble!"
Seeing this scene, Fang Zheng gritted his teeth and spat.
"Everyone, immediately enter battle readiness! Prepare to face the enemy!"
"Eh? Mr. Fang Zheng, why is this happening?"
At this moment, Asuna and others also saw that scene through the screen. They were perplexed by the unexpected turn of events, and Asuna directly asked.
"Can’t we have a proper conversation with them?"
"If they hadn’t attacked earlier, it might have been possible, but not now."
Fang Zheng shook his head and gave his response.
"You need to remember, Asuna, this is the first contact between two civilizations. If the meeting is peaceful, fine, but if conflict occurs, then the truth is seen through action. Indeed, if they come again, we can choose to negotiate. But by doing so, we’d appear weak! They might see us as bullies who only dare to pick on their small warships and surrender when there are many of them! That’s not a good first impression!"
Saying this, Fang Zheng clenched his fist and swung it forcefully.
"The one with the bigger fist is right, and what we need to do next is to crush them until they come to us for peace. Only when we take the initiative, is there an opportunity for communication."
"But......"
Hearing this, Asuna was also dumbfounded.
"What if they don’t want to negotiate either?"
"Then we’ll fight until they want to negotiate."
With this, Fang Zheng suddenly waved his hand and gave the order.
"Remove all acceleration limits on the swarm, start comprehensive expansion! I want you to occupy every planet in this star system in the shortest time! Iona, Azure Fleet ready for battle, prepare everyone, Elizabeth’s flagship, get ready immediately!"
Right now, Fang Zheng was using the standard "Zerg outward communication mode"; the expanding Zerg was not afraid of anyone, and in terms of numbers, there was no one more terrifying than the swarm in space.
If there was still a chance to resolve the issue peacefully just now, Fang Zheng had now completely abandoned that thought and started preparing for battle.
It’s like two people fighting on the street; if you don’t make a move, you can argue as much as you want with no issue. But once one side makes the first move, naturally the other side can only hit back. On the street, you can wait for the police to mediate, but the police are useful because they have enough power to suppress both sides.
However, in this vast universe, where can you find the police?
Even if there are police, would they help you?
Since the conflict has occurred, what Fang Zheng needs to do next is prove his strength to the other side!
Eiriri, whose father is a diplomat, could understand Fang Zheng’s thinking, but it was somewhat hard for Asuna and Black Cat to accept.
After all, no one expected the exciting first encounter to turn into such a situation.
"Is there really no way to have a proper conversation?"
"Once one side chooses to back down, we should be able to have a proper conversation."
Compared to Asuna’s inability to accept such an approach, Eiriri seemed calm.
"It’s quite normal, Asuna. Do you know what happens to weaker animals in the animal world? They get attacked and eaten. What we’re doing now is no different from other creatures in nature......"
"That’s what you say, but...... I feel...... like it’s a dream."
Looking at the vast Star Sea outside through the porthole, Asuna couldn’t help but mutter, while Black Cat also finally calmed down.
"That’s right, Asuna, just like Mr. Fang Zheng said, we don’t know what kind of civilization the other side is, and we don’t know their culture. What if they capture all prisoners and make them slaves? Do we really want to surrender?"
"It can’t be that scary......"
"In any case, being cautious is better."
At this time, Fang Zheng also walked over and gave them some advice.
"As of now, this star system shows no trace of civilization, nor does it show any signs of life or mechanical devices, indicating that this system itself is an abandoned place, far removed from interstellar civilization. The fact that they dare to attack directly also speaks volumes."
"But...... why would they self-detonate?"
"They probably fear we might extract coordinates and information about their civilization from the wreckage, which is quite a basic procedure."
Having spent time in worlds like Ironblood and Halo, Fang Zheng had learned some "rules" about interstellar civilization exchanges, namely, when attacked by unknown forces, if you find yourself unable to hold on, immediately destroy all information about your own civilization to prevent your civilization’s Motherbody from being captured.
So from this point, Earth humans are really naive and foolish, afraid that Aliens won’t know where they are...... frequently launching satellites......
From a certain angle, casting a lure often can indeed catch fish.
But who knows if the fish you catch will be a great white shark?
With this thought, Fang Zheng looked at Nymph sitting at the control console not far away.
"Nymph, based on Halo’s rank classification, what level of civilization just attacked us?"
"From what we can see, it should be between a Level 2 civilization and a Level 3 civilization, master."
Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s inquiry, Nymph quickly typed on the keyboard and provided an answer.
"That’s manageable."
Receiving Nymph’s answer, Fang Zheng was somewhat relieved. Currently, the level of civilization in the Heavenly Dao Palace, after absorbing Forerunner’s technology, is roughly at the level of 1.5. Although it hasn’t completely reached the Forerunner’s rank, it’s quite good.
Since the other side isn’t at the Forerunner’s level, Fang Zheng isn’t worried.
Next is to wait for them to come back.