Representative Lee's question drew everyone's attention.
Every researcher present looked at Lü Yongchang with apprehension.
Lu Yongchang pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head.
"The changes in the sun are most likely not the work of this civilization."
Before Councilor Li could even catch his breath, Lü Yongchang continued in a deep voice, "I suspect that the sun has been tampered with by another advanced civilization."
The councilor's pupils constricted sharply, and he instinctively exclaimed in shock, "What?! There's another one?!"
After a moment of surprise, Representative Lee regained his composure, though a hint of unease and anxiety could still be seen deep in his eyes.
"Yongchang, can you tell me what you based your judgment on?"
Upon hearing Councilor Li's question, Lü Yongchang slowly raised his head and explained solemnly, "It's very simple."
"The Hall thruster, as a power source, is actually not very advanced."
"Or rather, in the context of cosmic civilizations, Hall thrusters should be considered the most basic form of propulsion."
"The basis for my judgment..."
"At least we have a basic understanding of Hall thrusters."
The expressions of everyone present changed slightly.
It may sound harsh, but it makes a lot of sense.
If even humans, confined to their home planet, can master Hall thruster technology, then what kind of advanced technology must extraterrestrial civilizations with the ability to travel between star systems possess?!
Seeing the councilor's uncertain expression, Lü Yongchang chuckled and said, "There's no need for you all to be so pessimistic."
"But there is some good news."
"At least, the technology of this extraterrestrial civilization discovered on the moon is not much different from ours."
Representative Li paused for a moment, a bitter smile appearing in his eyes: "That's the only way to think about it."
"But... if the sun is being targeted by another advanced civilization, then wouldn't we be..."
Lu Yongchang's expression became increasingly relaxed.
“Speaker, there is no need to worry so much.”
"Although it may sound harsh, in the eyes of advanced civilizations, we are nothing more than insects."
Do you pay attention to the movements of a nest of ants near your home?
The councilor stared at Lü Yongchang in astonishment, unable to accept his statement for a moment: "Are you saying that we humans... are nothing more than a nest of ants?"
"...maybe they're not even as good as ants."
Representative Li shook his head with a wry smile: "Since that's the case, then I won't worry about it anymore."
...
After seeing off Councilor Lee, Lu Yongchang returned to his office alone.
He let out a long sigh as he closed the door.
Would advanced civilizations really not notice the movements of humanity?
The answer is naturally no.
Humanity must have been noticed by some advanced civilization.
Otherwise, Lü Yongchang would not know how to explain the change in the timing of the solar anomaly.
Just as a colony of ants living quietly in front of their home goes unnoticed, once that colony begins to expand its territory and assert its power, it will inevitably attract a lot of attention.
It could even lead to utter destruction.
But what exactly caused humanity to be targeted by more than one civilization?
Lü Yongchang fell into deep thought.
Suddenly, a thought struck him, and a piece of history came to mind.
Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were launched from the United States on August 20 and September 5, 1977, respectively.
The two probes are tasked with exploring the outer planets.
As early as 2012, research indicated that Voyager had entered interstellar space, that is, outside the solar system.
The plutonium batteries inside Voyager continued to operate until five years ago, in 2025.
After the battery ran out, humanity never received any more messages from Voyager. In other words, since five years ago, whether Voyager still exists in interstellar space has become an unknown.
Inside the Voyager spacecraft were two gold-plated records and a diamond phonograph needle.
The record contains a wealth of human information, including greetings in 55 human languages and some world classic music.
In addition to this information, the record also contains photos of planets in the solar system, as well as the specific coordinates of humans and Earth!
Once the two Voyager spacecraft are intercepted, virtually all information about human civilization will be exposed to other civilizations!
Thinking of this, Lü Yongchang's face instantly turned ugly.
Based on the timeline, it's practically a certainty that the Voyager probe has encountered an accident!
The catastrophic disaster facing the Earth and humanity is a consequence of the actions taken by the United States in 1977.
...
months ago.
The moment the brilliance of nuclear fusion shone brightly across the land of Xia.
Inside an artificial planetary fortress, countless light-years away from the solar system.
One of the tasks of Cleaner 9527 was to review data transmitted from various probes within the Milky Way.
Countless probes are constantly sending various data to the main civilization, most of which is useless information.
For example, supernova explosions, black hole annihilation, or celestial collisions are all irrelevant information.
He needs to find useful information from countless pieces of complex data.
As for what constitutes useful information...
"Sir, we have discovered a planet with exposed coordinates at the edge of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way."
Upon hearing the information reported by its subordinates, Cleaner 9527's visual organs twitched slightly.
"Oh? The Hunter's Arm? How could a civilization have arisen in such a barren location?"
The tone of Cleaner9527 was full of surprise.
The Orion Arm is not one of the four main spiral arms of the Milky Way.
This means that the substances inside are extremely scarce.
The edge of the Hunter's Arm... could even be described as a remote and impoverished area!
Cleaner 9527 could not imagine such a barren environment.
At least, he had never been to such a place.
"Yes, this civilization has published all its specific location and information."
Upon hearing this, Cleaner 9527's visual organs twitched again.
Ah... another young civilization just starting out.
How naive!
"Hehe... In that case, let's execute the procedure."
Soon, an application was handed to him.
"Request a Star Eater for cleaning purposes."
Cleaner 9527 casually swiped the application and tossed a round ball emitting a dark glow toward the Orion Arm.
The moment he threw out the star-devouring device, his visual organs casually glanced at the observation instruments in front of him.
"Wait! They've mastered controlled nuclear fusion! Turn up the power of the star devourer!"
Upon seeing the power of the Star Eater increased, Cleaner 9527's visual organs trembled once more.
That was close.
There was a close call with a mistake.
If this cleaning mission fails, his bonus this year might be halved?
As he thought about it, he made a mark on the observation panel in front of him.
"Cleaning successful."
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