Chapter 38: The Attack

Since the moment Xiao Yu discovered the hydrogen bomb trap and narrowly avoided annihilation, the conflict between the two civilizations had escalated into an irreconcilable war. One of them would inevitably face total destruction and extinction.

Time ticked by as Xiao Yu waited. Finally, the predicted time for the hydrogen bomb detonations arrived. Xiao Yu aimed all his optical equipment toward the direction of the alien planet.

Fifty seconds later, he observed the first hydrogen bomb’s brilliant explosion. Under its intense light, Xiao Yu discerned at least three small black dots, likely bases or satellites in orbit around the planet, being consumed by the overwhelming brightness and heat.

“Excellent!” Xiao Yu was ecstatic.

After the explosion of the first hydrogen bomb, the alien planet showed no immediate reaction. It seemed as though the sudden arrival of this ghostly visitor had left them utterly stunned.

Three minutes later, the second hydrogen bomb reached its target, detonating with a thunderous explosion. It resembled a magnificent firework blooming in the void of space, bringing death to Xiao Yu’s enemies.

Xiao Yu could almost picture the scene. In the pitch-black expanse of space, a powerful light source suddenly appeared, illuminating the darkness. Yet, what it brought was not warmth or hope, but cold devastation and dread.

Since the planet had an atmosphere, it was certain that it also had an atmospheric circulation system. This meant the radioactive waste produced by the hydrogen bombs would slowly spread across the entire globe through this system.

A single hydrogen bomb might not have much of an impact, as its radiation would dissipate and dilute. However, what about ten high-yield hydrogen bombs? A hundred?

Then came the third hydrogen bomb.

After its explosion, the alien planet finally reacted. Xiao Yu observed a significant surge in radar beam intensity from the planet’s direction, increasing to levels that allowed him to pinpoint its origin with precision.

Fortunately, the materials used in Xiao Yu’s ships were highly effective at absorbing radar waves. Otherwise, it was possible the enemy’s detection systems might have located his fleet.

However, the hydrogen bombs were far too close to the planet. Even with their advanced materials, they could not evade detection under such powerful radar scans. Xiao Yu watched as countless laser beams erupted chaotically from the planet’s surface, sweeping wildly through space.

Xiao Yu could sense their panic. The intensity of the radar beams indicated that they no longer cared about revealing their location. The erratic laser sweeps revealed their desperation—they wanted to destroy every last hydrogen bomb as quickly as possible to prevent further detonations above their planet. They no longer considered whether their efforts were even effective.

Xiao Yu chose not to take advantage of the situation to launch an attack. Instead, he remained hidden in the darkness, coldly observing the panicked aliens.

Attacking now would mean exposing his position. By continuing to stay hidden, Xiao Yu could create more opportunities for himself.

Time was running out for the aliens. Every few minutes, another hydrogen bomb would arrive at its predetermined trajectory and detonate. At this rate, all the bombs would finish exploding within a few hours. If the aliens wanted to stop them, they had to locate and eliminate these tiny, stealthy weapons within that narrow timeframe.

Xiao Yu merely watched in silence.

A few hours later, the void of space fell silent once more. Xiao Yu reviewed the results: out of the 85 hydrogen bombs he had launched, 69 had detonated, while the remaining 16 had been intercepted by the enemy.

It was an astonishing achievement. For the first time, Xiao Yu had inflicted substantial damage on his adversaries.

“They already know their position has been compromised. I wonder how they’ll respond next?” Xiao Yu was genuinely intrigued, even faintly anticipating their reaction.

Encountering an alien civilization with a technological level comparable to his own for the first time was remarkable. Xiao Yu couldn’t help but feel that his luck was extraordinary. This collision of civilizations offered him an invaluable opportunity to gain experience in interstellar warfare.

“If it were me, how would I respond?” Xiao Yu began pondering this question, slowly calculating potential strategies.

Xiao Yu pondered further. “If it were me, I would first try to hide. Otherwise, there’s no guarantee I wouldn’t suffer the same kind of attack again. But… how could a planet possibly hide itself?”

“Standard methods, like radio silence or visible light shielding, would certainly be deployed. But now that I have their orbit mapped, these measures would be useless. I can easily calculate their position. Changing their orbit? That’s even less feasible. Shifting the trajectory of an entire planet would require an astronomical amount of energy, which would undoubtedly emit massive, unshieldable radiation—only exposing them further.”

No matter how much Xiao Yu thought about it, he couldn’t figure out a way for the planet to hide itself again. This only made him more curious about what the aliens would do next.

If they didn’t find a way to hide, they would continue to face Xiao Yu’s relentless attacks. But if they did, Xiao Yu couldn’t fathom how they would manage it.

“Or… perhaps they’ll give up on hiding altogether and focus on finding me instead, regardless of the consequences. If both sides are exposed or both are hidden, that would create balance,” Xiao Yu reasoned. “Maybe they’ll choose that path. I need to prepare in advance to ensure they don’t find me.”

Xiao Yu immediately began calculating potential methods the aliens might use to locate him.

“Could it be… a full-space scan with high-intensity radar beams? Or deploying a high-powered light source to search via the visible spectrum?”

As he deliberated, Xiao Yu began modifying his fleet to avoid detection by any potential alien methods, all without exposing himself.

During this time, Xiao Yu continued to use his catapult mechanism to launch an additional fifty interstellar missiles. This strategy would not wipe out the aliens in the short term but could slowly choke their planet’s ecosystem over hundreds or even thousands of years due to radiation.

Time was not an issue for Xiao Yu. With thousands of years remaining in his long journey, eliminating an enemy civilization along the way seemed like a worthwhile endeavor.

Over this period, the alien planet stopped worrying about exposure entirely and kept all its detection systems running at maximum power. This caused Xiao Yu’s hydrogen bomb success rate to plummet—of the fifty missiles launched, only twelve reached their targets and detonated. The rest were intercepted.

“Fine. I’m committed,” Xiao Yu thought indifferently. “Hydrogen bombs? I’ve got plenty. Enough to let you eat them like candy. Even if only one out of a hundred detonates, I can wear you down.”

This pattern of attacks and defenses continued for an entire month. During this time, the alien planet remained firmly in a defensive posture. Xiao Yu’s anticipated large-scale detection operations never came.

But after a month, the alien planet made a move that took Xiao Yu by surprise.

A massive beam of light suddenly erupted from a specific region of the planet. Xiao Yu quickly analyzed it—it was the light from a high-powered nuclear fusion engine.

“What are they doing? Changing their orbit? They can’t be that foolish. Such a bright beam—anyone could see it!” Xiao Yu muttered in confusion. But in the next moment, realization dawned on him. He couldn’t help but marvel: “What a shameless move. As expected of a civilization ten years more advanced than mine. To think they would come up with something like this.”

Previously, Xiao Yu had hypothesized that the aliens couldn’t hide and would instead focus on exposing him to level the playing field.

But the aliens had found a way to hide despite the odds.

The solution was… high-powered signal interference. Across all spectrums—ultraviolet, infrared, visible light, X-rays, gamma rays, neutrinos—they flooded space with 360-degree, full-coverage interference.

Under this overwhelming interference, Xiao Yu was rendered effectively blind. He could no longer see or detect anything.

“You shameless bastards! You’re really using this kind of tactic?” Xiao Yu fumed as he realized his predicament.

Faced with such an assault, Xiao Yu had no countermeasures. He could only remain in place, waiting for the interference to dissipate. Based on his calculations, once the interference cleared, the aliens would have disappeared. Finding them again would not be so simple.

Back on Earth, Xiao Yu had once heard a saying: “In wars between species, there is no morality—only the goal of exterminating the other side. Any effective method, no matter how despicable, is encouraged.”

Now, in the conflict between interstellar civilizations, this principle held even truer. There was no morality. The aliens’ so-called “shameless” strategy was a testament to their ingenuity.

Xiao Yu couldn’t deny it—he had just praised their tactics. Their method of hiding was truly brilliant. While it wasn’t particularly advanced technologically, it fell into a mental blind spot that most wouldn’t think of.

Even Xiao Yu had been trapped in this blind spot, failing to anticipate such a move.

“Fine. I’ll let you off for now. But when I figure out a way to find you again, I’ll deliver another batch of hydrogen bomb packages.”

Xiao Yu continued refining his thoughts, hiding his fleet even more thoroughly in the vast, dark expanse of the universe.