Lilandra's private yacht "Starfeather" is like an elegant feather of light, sliding out of hyperspace silently and staying at the edge of Oort Cloud, which is farther than the previous Shi'ar reconnaissance ship. This is almost the boundary of Solar System, and the distant sun is just a slightly bright star.
"Maximum distance scanning is activated. All sensors are aimed at the third planet, especially the energy mark point." Lilandra leaned lazily on the command chair, staring curiously at the main screen with a pair of eyes that seemed to contain starlight. She was wearing a streamlined robe favored by Shi'ar nobles, with a leisurely posture, as if she was not conducting a dangerous spy, but enjoying an opera.
The sensors of the "Starfeather" are far more sophisticated and sensitive than those of military ships, and are specially customized to satisfy the exploration habit of this royal member. They started working, collecting the earth's light, gravitational ripples, and neutrino flows from a few hours ago...
After complex processing, the data gradually constructed a clear image on the screen. She saw the blue planet, the coastline called "Malibu", and... the figure lying on the beach chair.
The image is enlarged, and the outline of the man can even be vaguely seen - black hair, seemingly an ordinary human appearance, bathed in sunlight, motionless.
"That's him?" Lilandra leaned forward slightly, becoming more interested, "It looks... very peaceful. Is it really that dangerous?"
She adjusted the sensor mode and tried to analyze its energy field. The screen was instantly flooded with a dazzling, unreadable energy Spectrum, and the alarm sounded softly, indicating that the data was beyond the normal analysis range.
"Wow..." Lilandra, instead of being scared, exclaimed in admiration, "This energy signature... is so beautiful! Like a bound star! No wonder Watchers Council is so nervous."
She tried scanning in various non-invasive ways: gravitational microlensing, background radiation deflection, and even extremely cautious detection of the curvature of space-time around it.
The data she got surprised her more and more.
"The space-time structure is highly solidified around him... The energy absorption efficiency is nearly 100%... Unconsciously dissipated energy fluctuations can trigger the alarm of deep space detectors..." She murmured to herself, her eyes shining with the light of a discovered treasure, "This is simply a living miracle of the universe! If those old antiques from the Shi'ar Academy knew what they missed, they would definitely hit the wall with regrets!"
She was completely immersed in the excitement of discovering new things, and almost forgot the word "danger" in the Watchers warning. She even began to think about how to write a report to persuade the empire to try contact in a friendlier and more artistic way (of course, under the premise of absolute safety).
At this moment, the advanced warning system of the "Starfeather" issued an extremely slight but highest-priority warning.
[Warning: An extremely subtle and targeted disturbance in the energy field of the observed target has been detected. The disturbance pattern is highly similar to the precursors of the 'clearing' behavior recorded previously. Risk level: extremely high. Recommendation: Terminate all observation behavior immediately and enter a state of absolute silence.]
Lilandra was stunned, and his excitement was instantly extinguished by a basin of cold water.
She looked at the screen, and the figure was still lying there, seemingly unchanged. But she believed in the spacecraft's early warning system, which was the crystallization of the most advanced technology.
He... found me? From such a distance? Because of my scan?
A cold feeling of fear finally crawled up her spine.
Without hesitation, she immediately ordered, "Stop all scanning! Turn off the active sensors! Reduce the power furnace to the minimum to maintain power! Quick!"
All the light of "Starfeather" was instantly extinguished, like ice melting into darkness, becoming even more inconspicuous than the surrounding cosmic dust.
Almost at the same moment she completed this series of operations, an indescribable feeling of being "watched" enveloped the spacecraft.
That feeling did not go through the visual organs, but directly affected her consciousness level - cold, indifferent, with a trace of extremely slight displeasure, as if a disturbed giant casually glanced in this direction.
Lilandra held her breath, feeling that her heart was about to stop beating. She didn't even dare to move, for fear that the slightest energy leakage would cause a devastating blow.
That "gazing" lasted for about two or three seconds, and then disappeared as abruptly as it had appeared.
It was as if the giant just confirmed that there seemed to be a small flying insect in the distance, found that it no longer buzzed, and lost interest.
Lilandra slumped on the chair, gasping for air, and her forehead was covered with cold sweat. At that moment, she really felt the breath of death. It was not the threat of the battleship's main gun, but some more fundamental, law-like will to obliterate.
"It's... so terrible..." she said to herself with a trembling voice, "He doesn't care who I am, where I come from, or what I want to do... as long as he feels disturbed..."
She finally fully understood the meaning of the Watchers warning. It was not an exaggeration, but the calmest description.
Any form of attention, good or bad, no matter the distance, may be considered noise as long as it attracts his attention.
This is an absolutely lonely, absolutely self-existent existence. He does not need communication, recognition, or even understanding. He only needs silence.
The "Starfeather" remained absolutely silent, like a stubborn rock in the universe, retreating slowly and cautiously, not even daring to jump immediately for fear that the energy fluctuations caused by the engine startup would attract that terrifying gaze again.
Lilandra·Shi'ar, this princess known for her boldness, felt chills and awe to the core for the first time in her adventure career. The draft report on "friendly contact" in her heart was completely shredded, replaced by a highest-level warning, ready to be sent to Shi'ar Imperial Council:
It is absolutely prohibited to approach the third planet Solar System in any form. The 'taboo' level of this galaxy should be raised to the highest level. The existence of 'him' is not an opportunity, but a walking natural disaster. Any attempt to observe, understand, and use 'him' is self-destruction.
This time, Shi'ar Empire, perhaps the entire known universe civilization, should really listen.
Malibu Beach.
Xiao Han withdrew his gaze towards the distant deep space with a hint of displeasure.
Another bug. Far away, spying with more sophisticated means.
Although the distance was far enough and the method was more concealed, the energy ripples from the scan still made him uncomfortable like fingernails scraping against a blackboard.
He did have the thought of erasing it just now. But the distance was too far, and the insect fell silent completely in time, eliminating the source of the noise.
It seems a bit unworthy to raise my hand specifically for such a distant and ignorant thing.
Forget it.
He tried to focus on the sunlight again, but the feeling of being constantly peeped at and viewed as a rare thing was always like a thin layer of dust covering his perception and could not be completely dispelled.
His irritability accumulated steadily like a slowly rising tide.
He knew that as long as he was still here and as long as the damn cosmic broadcast was still ringing, these bugs would be attracted continuously.
Maybe... it's time to consider changing to a cleaner place to bask in the sun?
This idea appeared so clearly in his mind for the first time.
But he is too lazy to move for the time being. Moving is also very troublesome.
Unless... the noise here gets really unbearable.
He closed his eyes, sinking a trace of consciousness into the cycle of energy absorption, trying to ignore everything in the outside world.
In the universe, the rumors about "Forbidden Planet" and "unobservable existence" began to be really taken seriously by some advanced civilizations because of what happened to the Shi'ar Empire Princess Lilandra (although she did not elaborate, her emergency warning and the unusually silent retreat of "Starfeather" spoke volumes).
Solar System, without the knowledge of the residents of the earth, is gradually becoming an area silently marked "circulation" on the space navigation map.
But for Xiao Han, this is not enough.
What he wants is absolute, complete purity.
And this, in a universe full of curiosity and greed, seems destined to be difficult to achieve.
The storm's low pressure continues.