Chapter 34: Two Messages

[T/N: Based on further chapters ahead, all mentions of Proxima Centauri will be changed to Tianyuan IV. They are now two different star systems.]

The radio waves bore clear signs of an intelligent civilization. Specifically, they displayed three triple-repeated bands and five double-repeated bands, with a discernible logical relationship between the repeated sequences. While Xiao Yu couldn’t pinpoint the origin of the signal, he was certain that it wasn’t far away.

Xiao Yu’s heart raced. This might be humanity’s first contact with an alien intelligent civilization. Receiving radio waves in such a void proved that the alien civilization possessed at least interstellar travel capabilities.

“Could I really be this unlucky?” Xiao Yu murmured to himself.

He doubted that other civilizations would take the same reckless path he had—embarking on interstellar travel with only interplanetary-level technology. This implied the other civilization likely traveled at 5% of the speed of light, a stark technological gap. Against such an advanced civilization, Xiao Yu would be utterly powerless—a lamb awaiting slaughter.

Xiao Yu ordered the remaining 800+ ships into radio silence, shutting down all visible light emissions. Simultaneously, he activated every observational device at maximum power.

In the boundless darkness of space, Xiao Yu silently maneuvered his fleet.

He began decoding the radio waves, attempting to translate the signal into a language he could understand. At the same time, Xiao Yu secretly prepared all his laser cannons, high-velocity machine guns, and hydrogen bombs, ready for battle at a moment’s notice.

Under the circumstances, Xiao Yu couldn’t flee. The alien civilization likely hadn’t detected him yet. Escaping would require activating his nuclear fusion engines, which would emit intense radiation and almost certainly reveal his location. If that happened, he would become a sitting duck.

Instead, Xiao Yu maintained his current velocity, gliding forward inertially.

Ten tense days passed. During this time, everything remained eerily quiet as Xiao Yu waited in silence, bracing for what might come.

Then, a second message arrived. Like the first, it displayed clear signs of logical structure. With two messages now in hand, Xiao Yu could roughly estimate the source’s location.

It was approximately 800,000 kilometers ahead, moving toward Xiao Yu at 4 kilometers per second.

Xiao Yu was traveling toward Tianyuan IV at 550 kilometers per second, which meant the signal’s source was also heading there, albeit at a slightly slower speed of 546 kilometers per second. At this rate, Xiao Yu would encounter the source in two and a half days.

“Should I flee, or…?” Xiao Yu hesitated.

“Let’s decode the message first,” he decided. “With two messages to compare, I should be able to crack their meaning in about three hours. Once I understand the content, I can decide whether to run.”

Using his massive computational power, Xiao Yu analyzed the two messages extensively. After three hours of intense calculations, he finally deciphered their meaning.

The two messages read.

“Survey Satellite No. 7 is running out of fuel. Speed: 13.5 kilometers per second. Survey module has been disabled. Awaiting further instructions.”

“Survey Satellite No. 7 has successfully left its orbit. Communication module will soon be disabled. Please confirm.”

Staring at the decoded messages, Xiao Yu fell into deep thought.

At face value, the messages appeared to be a communication between a device called “Survey Satellite No. 7” and a control station. Of course, the original text didn’t literally say “Survey Satellite No. 7.”

Based on the context, the term referred to an orbit-capable instrument with the identifier “7,” which Xiao Yu translated as “Survey Satellite No. 7” for clarity.

The two messages were ten days apart. Logically, it seemed the control station had spent ten days maneuvering the satellite out of its original orbit and disabling its communication module after receiving the first message.

These two messages contained a wealth of information.

Xiao Yu’s task now was to extract actionable insights from this limited data—information about the other civilization’s technological level, societal structure, and most importantly, whether it was a benevolent or malevolent civilization.

The task was daunting. The amount of data was sparse, while the questions Xiao Yu needed to answer were many. Still, he had no choice. With a sigh, Xiao Yu began building models.

One social model after another was constructed, only to be discarded if they didn’t fit the known information. Those that aligned with the evidence were refined further. Finally, Xiao Yu gleaned a few critical insights.

From the information gathered, Xiao Yu noted that the satellite-like device was abandoned after its fuel was depleted. This revealed a key insight: for the civilization in question, the cost of retrieving the satellite outweighed its value. This left Xiao Yu puzzled.

Given the demands of interstellar travel, it was imperative to stockpile vast amounts of fuel. A functioning satellite would typically contain many reusable components. For example, Xiao Yu always expended resources to retrieve damaged “Village-Class” ships, dismantling them for spare parts rather than discarding them outright.

“It seems this civilization’s fleet is facing an energy crisis,” Xiao Yu speculated, his mood growing heavy.

If this alien civilization were indeed in an energy crisis, Xiao Yu could be in danger—they might attempt to rob him of his resources.

Another perplexing detail was the mention of the satellite’s speed: “13.5 kilometers per second.”

“13.5 kilometers per second?” Xiao Yu pondered. “If a speed is specified, there must be a reference point. So, relative to what is this instrument moving? Most likely, it’s relative to the control station. But this raises another question: a satellite with depleted fuel would typically operate for at least a year before exhaustion, during which it could travel hundreds of millions of kilometers. Yet, based on the signal strength, the control station couldn’t be hundreds of millions of kilometers away.”

This discrepancy baffled Xiao Yu until he formulated an explanation.

“The only plausible scenario is that this satellite is orbiting the control station in a circular trajectory,” Xiao Yu calculated quickly. “But even this raises new questions. Under what circumstances would a fleet require a satellite orbiting it at 13.5 kilometers per second?”

Based on his calculations, such a speed would only be achievable if the object were orbiting a celestial body with 1.6 times Earth’s mass.

The implications were staggering.

“Could it be that this fleet’s total mass is equivalent to 1.6 times that of Earth? Would they need such a satellite to continuously monitor their fleet? No, that’s unlikely. Communication systems within the fleet would suffice, eliminating the need for an external satellite. And if their fleet were this massive, why wouldn’t they have the fuel to recover a single satellite?”

Xiao Yu found himself in a web of contradictions, unable to reconcile these conflicting pieces of information.

Another key term in the messages caught Xiao Yu’s attention: “survey module.”

Clearly, the survey module was activated in response to an unknown condition. But why would a fleet need an external instrument to survey its internal structure?

Again, contradictions emerged.

“Forget it, I’ll shelve this for now and focus on deducing their level of technological advancement,” Xiao Yu decided.

“First, it’s clear they haven’t mastered superluminal communication. This suggests their understanding of quantum theory isn’t more advanced than mine. As for energy usage, the first message mentioned low fuel, yet the satellite operated for another ten days before its communication module was disabled. This gives me a basis for estimating their energy efficiency.”

Xiao Yu hypothesized that the satellite maintained its orbit primarily through inertia. Assuming it was discarded because its mass wasn’t significant enough to warrant retrieval, he estimated its weight at 10 tons. If its remaining fuel was only 0.1%, his analysis concluded:

“They’re still using nuclear fusion as their primary energy source.”

While this seemed consistent, it raised yet another contradiction: how could a civilization using nuclear fusion construct such a massive fleet?

Questions piled up in Xiao Yu’s mind.

“If this satellite was abandoned, perhaps I can capture it,” Xiao Yu thought. A daring idea began to form.

After deliberating, Xiao Yu gritted his teeth and made a decision.

“Let’s do it! What’s there to fear? I can’t run anyway, so I might as well learn as much as I can about their civilization. If I’m going to die, I’ll go out with a bang!”

With his mind made up, Xiao Yu set his optical detection systems to their highest precision. Using faint starlight reflections, he located the satellite about 500 kilometers from its estimated position.

It was a peculiar device, roughly the size of a few dozen cubic meters, shaped like a starfish.

Xiao Yu’s excitement surged. This was his first direct contact with alien technology!

Using a “Village-Class” ship, Xiao Yu approached the satellite with the engine operating at minimal power to avoid detection by the alien civilization. Once close enough, he used a mechanical arm to bring the satellite into the ship’s cargo hold.

The satellite was then transferred to the largest and most well-equipped “County-Class” ship for detailed analysis.