Luo Ji stood at the podium of the United Nations Planetary Defense Council, telling Earth's leaders the truth about the universe he had come to understand:
"A civilization's technology might stagnate for tens of millions of years, or it might advance by leaps and bounds in a technological explosion, jumping from the atomic age to the atomic age in a few hundred years. It might even destroy an entire galaxy.
"So every civilization was a potential threat. We had to nip danger in the bud and destroy hostile civilizations before they could take root!"
The conference hall fell silent. It was filled with the world's brightest and best. Before today, they might not have known the truth about the universe, but now that Luo Ji had laid it bare before them, these human elites felt a bone-deep chill.
"So this is the answer to the Fermi Paradox? Because the universe is full of aliens, and they're hostile to one another as they fight over limited living space?" The UK representative anxiously rubbed the back of his chair.
"Exactly. We live in the worst of times. The limited space in the universe has already been claimed, and every surviving civilization breathes cautiously, afraid of attracting the attention of hunters in the dark." Luo Ji replied:
"And newborn humanity lit a fire in the dark forest~"
The senior officials present could hardly breathe. Their eyes betrayed a stark, piercing fear.
"That damned bitch, Ye Wenjie~" someone cursed under his breath.
"Are we in danger?" the United Nations Secretary-General asked anxiously.
"Not at the moment. They only know that two star systems, about 4.2 light-years apart, lie in this region of space, but they can't pinpoint each other's locations." Luo Ji's answer made everyone in the room breathe a sigh of relief.
"So