Chapter 283 The Truth About the Crisis
Zhou Jue's gaze slowly shifted from the technologically advanced "anti-nuclear sky screen" to the mysterious array light screen of the "Ten Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" painting.
Two completely different forces merged perfectly at this moment.
Together they form a solid shield protecting China.
The people around her, including Chief Zhang, Chen Jianguo, Cheng Gan, Sun Jiuchou, and every staff member present, all wore genuine smiles.
It's a sense of security that comes from having your destiny firmly in your own hands.
Zhou Jue looked at their smiling faces and smiled along, but she quickly stopped smiling.
These two shields can block swords and spears from within Earth that are heading towards China.
But what about those from beyond the stars?
"Grandpa Zhang, Uncle Chen." Zhou Jue's smile faded, and his voice became serious.
Seeing the change in her expression, the smiles on their faces also faded.
"What's wrong, Xiao Jue?" Chief Zhang asked.
“Let’s talk in the conference room.” Zhou Jue glanced at the busy staff around him. “I also need to report on this trip to another world. There are new developments this time.”
Chief Zhang's heart skipped a beat; he immediately realized the seriousness of the matter.
"Okay." He nodded.
The meeting room was small and simply furnished, with only a conference table and a few chairs.
The heavy alloy door closed silently, isolating it from the outside world.
In the room, only the slightly suppressed breathing of the five people remained.
"Xiao Jue, speak first," Chief Zhang said, breaking the silence.
Zhou Jue didn't speak immediately. She organized her thoughts for a moment, then looked up.
"What I'm about to say may completely overturn our understanding of 'systems' and even the entire universe."
“We always thought my system was a unique and serendipitous adventure.”
She paused for a moment, then dropped the first bombshell.
"But the truth is, it isn't."
Chen Jianguo frowned: "Not the only one? What do you mean?"
"Its full name is the 'Universal Coordinate Anchoring System'. They are not individual entities, but a massive cluster, mass-produced by some advanced civilization unknown to us."
"Mass production?" Sun Jiuchou pushed up his glasses, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes behind the lenses. "Like a factory assembly line?"
“Yes.” Zhou Jue nodded: “Their mission is to be deployed to every corner of the universe to find and locate new civilizations.”
"And then?" Chief Zhang pressed, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table.
“Then, ‘establish contact.’” Zhou Jue said these four words with a cold sarcasm in his tone.
"The so-called 'establishing contact' means turning these located planets into their resource production areas, testing grounds, and arenas."
"Just like what I experienced in that world of 'battlefield of national destiny'."
The air in the conference room froze instantly, and the color drained from the faces of the four men at a visible speed.
They had all come from mountains of corpses and seas of blood; they understood better than anyone the bloody reality behind the words "resource production area" and "arena."
"You mean..." Chen Jianguo's voice was somewhat hoarse: "We... from the very beginning, might have been... the prey?"
“Logically, yes.” Zhou Jue gave the cruelest answer: “But my system, number 2828, is a new system. After discovering this truth, it and some of its companions who had awakened their self-awareness chose to rebel and flee.”
"And that 'battlefield of national destiny' system is its former colleague, an empty shell that was captured and had its consciousness formatted."
"I got the system not because of luck."
"It's because during its pursuit, it panicked and lost its way, eventually landing on Blue Star, landing on me."
Chief Zhang's fingers dug tightly into the mahogany tabletop. He remained silent, but his chest heaved violently.
They have always regarded Zhou Jue's system as the greatest opportunity for the rise of China, a blessed omen from heaven.
Now, behind this auspicious omen lies an interstellar predator capable of devouring an entire civilization.
“So, we now not only have a sword hanging over our heads,” Sun Jiuchou said in a low voice, “we’ve also taken in a ‘fugitive’ who’s being hunted by this sword.”
“Once they locate Blue Star…” Zhou Jue didn’t finish his sentence, but the meaning was already clear.
Everyone fell silent.
The "anti-nuclear sky screen" can block missiles, and the "Ten Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains Map" can resist invasion.
But can all of this stop an advanced civilization that can mass-produce "systems" and sees planets as food?
The answer left them feeling utterly powerless.
In this suffocating atmosphere, Zhou Jue slowly reached out his hand.
"However, it's not entirely hopeless."
With her palm facing upwards, a flash of light appeared, and a card shimmering with a faint halo floated silently in mid-air.
The group's eyes were instantly drawn to the card.
"This is something I bought by exhausting all my strength in that parallel world."
Its name is "Planet Barrier".
"Planetary barrier?" Chief Zhang suddenly raised his head, a glimmer of light rekindling in his eyes.
“Yes,” Zhou Jue explained, “Once used, it can generate an information concealment layer in the outer space of the entire planet. From a physical perspective, it has no defensive capabilities, but from an information perspective, it can completely ‘pull’ the Blue Star out of that vast cosmic network.”
"Let us become an 'information island' that cannot be searched or located."
"Like... unplugging the internet cable?" Cheng Gan used a common analogy.
“That’s a fair understanding.” Zhou Jue nodded. “Once it’s activated, even if that advanced civilization has incredible abilities, it will no longer be able to track our coordinates through my system.”
"Great! This is amazing!" Chen Jianguo's eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh. "Doesn't this solve the problem? As long as we hide, they won't be able to find us, and we'll be safe!"
Commander Zhang also let out a long sigh of relief, his tense body relaxing as he leaned back in his chair.
When mountains and rivers block the way and one thinks there is no road ahead, a new village appears amidst willows and flowers.
Finally, there's a way to avoid this looming sword.
However, Sun Jiuchou, who had been silently pondering, did not show any sign of relief.
He adjusted his glasses and suddenly looked up at Zhou Jue.
"Xiao Jue, I have a question for you." His voice trembled slightly.
"This barrier is to prevent them from locating us from the outside, right?"
“Yes.” Zhou Jue nodded.
"What if...we ourselves...voluntarily sent out the address?"
Zhou Jue was taken aback: "What do you mean?"
Sun Jiuchou did not answer her, but slowly turned his head to look at Chief Zhang and Chen Jianguo.
His lips moved a few times, and he uttered a name that made the temperature in the entire room drop sharply.
"Voyager".
"Voyager 1 and Voyager 2."
Chief Zhang and Chen Jianguo's expressions changed instantly; of course, they knew about the two deep space probes that had already been launched.
That was the first time humanity had proactively sent a greeting to the deep universe.
"There was a gilded bronze record on it."
"The record contains greetings in 55 human languages, as well as various sounds and music from around the world."
"Most importantly..."
His voice trailed off here.
"Most importantly, the album cover shows the exact location of our solar system within the Milky Way."
"Precise coordinates were derived using the positions of 14 pulsars."
"We broadcast our home address to the entire universe in what we thought was a romantic way."
"An invitation that can never be taken back."
"Smack."
The teacup slipped from Chief Zhang's fingers, shattered on the ground, and the scalding tea splashed onto his trouser legs, but he was completely unaware.
His eyes were fixed blankly ahead, his lips trembling slightly, yet he couldn't utter a single word.
I closed the door, unplugged the network cable, and thought I was safe.
But he forgot that he had already sent out the key and map by hand.
The recipient may be an unknown, malicious civilization.
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