The Proxima Centauri star system.
A planet with a mass approximately 1.3 times that of Earth is streaking past Proxima Centauri at a distance of 0.05 astronomical units.
That's Proxima Centauri b, the home planet of the Proxima Centauri civilization.
Mercury's semi-major axis is only 0.05 AU, about 5% of Earth's. In comparison, even Mercury, the first planet in the solar system, has a semi-major axis of 0.39 AU.
Unlike our solar system, Proxima Centauri, the host star of the Proxima Centauri system, has a mass that is only one-eighth that of the Sun.
It is just a red dwarf star.
This is precisely why planets so close to Proxima Centauri have the potential to harbor life.
The surface of Proxima Centauri b.
After sending the message to the solar system 4.22 light-years away, the recipient, Atoka, returned to his usual routine.
Unfortunately, due to the transmission efficiency of electromagnetic waves, it will be at least 8.44 years before they can receive a reply from an advanced civilization in the solar system.
Therefore, his current task is to continue examining the data sent back by each detector.
The workload wasn't heavy, and in his spare time, he could even use his position to indulge his hobbies.
Stargazing.
Observing Proxima Centauri through an optical telescope was his favorite thing to do during his rest time.
Today, as usual, after checking the data from the other probes, he silently operated the optical telescope equipped with filters and projected it toward Proxima Centauri, which was 0.05 astronomical units away.
Atocha stared blankly at the slowly burning fireball displayed on the instrument in front of him.
This is the star upon which their civilization depends for survival!
The thought that his civilization's technological development had stagnated for hundreds of years filled Atocha with a sense of dread, and a series of fine bumps appeared on the top of his mind.
It's been so long already.
What if Proxima Centauri goes out one day?
The fine bumps at the top of the Atocha's thinking organ became increasingly clear.
After a long while, he shook his thick forelimbs.
Impossible, absolutely impossible.
Although he was just a low-level mail recipient, he was still very clear about these basic common sense principles.
As a red dwarf star, Proxima Centauri has a very slow and unstable thermonuclear reaction rate, so its estimated lifespan is an astonishing three to four trillion years, while at this moment Proxima Centauri is only about 4.8 billion years old.
Compared to its maximum lifespan, Proxima Centauri at this time was still a newborn child.
The skin at the top of the Atocha thought organ gradually became smooth.
Just as he lowered his guard, a dark light appeared on the screen.
The next second, the dark light disappeared into Proxima Centauri.
Atocha paused for a moment, then carefully observed the large fireball on the screen.
There was nothing unusual.
It was as if the dark light just now was merely Atocha's illusion.
...
A few days ago.
A man-made object, shimmering with dark light, appeared out of nowhere on the outskirts of the Proxima Centauri galaxy.
That was the Star Eater launched by Cleaner 9527.
Using warp drive, it traversed tens of thousands of light-years and successfully reached its target galaxy.
The star-devouring device, gleaming with a dark light, remained silently in the empty universe.
Warp drive is not suitable for travel within a star system.
Next, it needs to enter Proxima Centauri by conventional means of flight.
But before that, it needs to report the situation to Cleaner 9527 in the central region of the Milky Way.
A message was sent from it.
After a brief wait, the dark light on the surface of the Star Eater intensified.
In that instant, it accelerated from a standstill to 90% of the speed of light!
The dark light shot straight toward the red dwarf star at the very center of the star system!
Just a second before it was about to touch Proxima Centauri, its speed suddenly decreased.
This is to prevent a violent impact on the star.
After all, the primary purpose of a star-devourer is to absorb stellar energy.
As for the destruction of lower-level civilizations, that's merely a "byproduct" of the process.
...
Atocha blinked.
His three pairs of narrow visual organs revealed a hint of doubt and confusion.
illusion?
Really?
To ensure everything went smoothly, he stretched out his thick forelimbs and pressed several buttons on the instrument in front of him.
The video playback begins.
In slow motion, Atocha clearly saw a dark, glowing object rushing into Proxima Centauri.
His narrow visual organs suddenly widened.
Something's happened!
This was the first thought that flashed through his mind.
Although the video was blurry, he was certain that the object gleaming with a dark light was man-made!
After all, neither meteorites nor comets could maintain their original shape at such a close distance to Proxima Centauri!
It even emitted a powerful dark light!
Atocha's limbs trembled slightly.
He was just a lowly mail recipient; he had never faced such a situation before!
In just a few seconds, he quickly came up with a solution.
Call people... no, I mean report it.
Atocha quickly ran to the communication device and pressed the request communication button.
"..."
After a short wait.
A deep voice rang out.
"Atocha, has another probe sent back information?"
Upon hearing his superior's questioning voice, Atocha's three pairs of narrow visual organs revealed a hint of tension.
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