At the End of the Road
Upon hearing this, the Great Commander was visibly taken aback; he simply couldn't believe that there were other civilizations here.
"Could it be that they came to make a deal after hearing our broadcast?" The Great Commander asked himself. He felt that it was unlikely that this Star System was the home star system of Unknown Civilization, but more likely that they came to make a deal after receiving the broadcast.
After thinking for a moment, the Great Commander instructed, "Send them Clear Code message using the same broadcast frequency as before. Tell them we just arrived from the star coordinates broadcast by the Interstellar Transaction Market. That place isn't a trading market at all, but rather a fishing ground for a civilization called Earth. They broadcast the interstellar trading information to hunt down other civilizations and acquire their technology."
We believed their lies and went to the so-called Interstellar Transaction Market. We're currently being pursued by their supposed Interstellar Transaction Market fleet. Tell them we're only here to resupply and then leave.
"Yes, Great Commander!" the individual life form in charge of this matter replied.
"Wait a minute!" At this moment, the Great Commander pondered for a moment, indicating that he had something to add.
He then ordered that external information channels be connected to his own communications. After the responsible life form informed him that he had intervened, the Great Commander spoke into a certain information transmission device, "Greetings, unknown civilization. The Earth civilization that impersonates the Interstellar Transaction Market is an evil civilization. They are even more hateful than the infamous Harvesters. If you were lured here by their broadcast message, we advise you to leave as soon as possible. Their fleet will catch up in a little over a year. It is no longer safe here."
This is the advice we, as victims, can give you. We know this may seem unbelievable to some civilizations, but it is true: the universe is not as wonderful as we imagine.
If you came here by chance, please leave as soon as possible. If the Earth civilization that is pursuing you knows that there is another civilization here, they will definitely not let you go. You should know that they came from a distant star system to this remote star system with the purpose of plundering technology.
Many civilizations unaware of the perilous situation will fall for this deception. We were naively convinced at the time, but fortunately, our combat strength was not bad, which allowed us to successfully escape their attacks. We are a benevolent civilization and do not wish for other civilizations to be deceived like we have.
Oh, by the way, we need to resupply here and hope to obtain a planet as a base. We hope the unknown, benevolent civilization will grant our request.
After the Great Commander finished speaking, he instructed the individual life form responsible for transmitting the information to relay his words as a signal, which, along with the previous instructions, was sent to the location of the so-called Unknown Civilization's fleet.
The Great Commander's words carried a hint of pleading. The enemy was now stronger than him, and the detectors had confirmed that the Unknown Civilization's fleet did not have the long exhaust plumes of a Level 2 Civilization, so it must be using Magnetic Propulsion.
With all the Crimson Flame Civilization here, and pursuers closing in, he dared not be too forceful.
After the message was sent, many high-ranking officials on the Crimson Flame Civilization flagship waited. A considerable amount of time passed, clearly exceeding the time limit for message transmission and return, but there was still no response from the other side.
"What's going on? This shouldn't be happening. Could it be that the other party isn't a civilization that came here after receiving our previous broadcast signal? Could it really be some Unknown Civilization? How could there be two Level 3 Civilization in such a remote star field, a place marked as Safe Star Region on the star chart of the Interstellar Transaction Market?"
Seeing that they were not getting a response to their messages, the higher-ups of the Crimson Flame Civilization became somewhat anxious.
Hearing people muttering about it openly, some experts also put their sharp minds to work. "Could it really be so? If so, then it's very likely that this Unknown Civilization is currently deciphering the message we sent. But that doesn't make sense either; it's Clear Code, how could it take so long? Could it be that their life form is so different from ours that communication is impossible?"
The Great Commander of the Crimson Flame Civilization was also getting impatient. He ordered, "Never mind, have the fleet send out a batch of probes to observe closely. I want to see what this Unknown Civilization is doing."
"Great Commander, shall we continue to slow down?" a voice asked.
"Avoid the Unknown Civilization's fleet, let's go here." The Great Commander pointed to a region on the star map with his tentacles.
There is a Rocky Planet in this area, and it is not from the direction the Unknown Civilization's fleet came from. It is also not too far from where the Crimson Flame Civilization's fleet is located, making it the best choice under these circumstances.
This planet lies within a Meteorite Belt, which contains many Dwarf Galaxy Meteorite Belt. Generally, such areas are prone to ambushing fleets. The planet the Great Commander was referring to is located in a region that is relatively close to this area, but the Crimson Flame Civilization has no other choice now.
Within this Star System, only two Rocky Planet exist outside the orbits of meteorites and Dwarf Galaxy. Another one has already seen the emergence of Great Fleet of Unknown Civilization, and the Crimson Flame Civilization dares not cross the Meteorite Belt to enter the inner circle of the planetary system.
The Great Commander's order was successfully delivered, and not long after, the Crimson Flame Civilization fleet began to slowly turn in accordance with this instruction. However, at this moment, the Intelligence Officer brought another shocking piece of information to all the high-ranking officials of the Crimson Flame Civilization.
"Great Commander, the fleet of Unknown Civilization seems to be heading our way!"
Upon hearing this news, the high-ranking officials of the Crimson Flame Civilization became tense. "Could it be that they don't agree to let us use that star as a stopover point?"
While the high-ranking officials of the Crimson Flame Civilization were still wondering, the Intelligence Officer's voice became somewhat hesitant again. "This... Great Commander, the design of the warships in this fleet seems to be somewhat similar to that of Earth civilization."
After some time, the Crimson Flame Civilization's probes finally approached and transmitted the so-called external characteristics of the unknown fleet.
However, this one glance sent shivers down their spines.
It's so similar, it's uncanny!
"Gentlemen, it's not just a resemblance; perhaps they are the Earth civilization's fleet." A relatively calm executive's words instantly froze the atmosphere in the area where the Crimson Flame Civilization's high-ranking officials were located.
Inside this Command Center, which was neither too big nor too small, everyone seemed to have fallen silent for a long time.
"That can't be right," a senior executive said, his voice trembling slightly.
It was clear that his reaction betrayed his true feelings; he believed it, and even in his Thinking Organ, he was already involuntarily imagining the tragic end of the Crimson Flame Civilization.
At this moment, a relatively composed high-ranking official pointed to two warship images on the screen that had already been corrected by the system and said bitterly, "Look, everyone, these warships are not like those of Earth civilization, but exactly the same. The so-called Unknown Civilization is Earth civilization."
Upon hearing this, everyone felt as if they had nowhere to turn, with no way out.