Lü Yongchang silently stared at the line of text in the holographic projection.
A long silence passed.
He let out a long, weary breath and said in a hoarse voice, "Yes, this is a threat."
"But what can you do about it?"
"This time, it could accidentally hit Probe One."
"Next time, it could accidentally hit our flagship."
"Against an attack like this... we have no defenses."
Over the comms channel, Zhao Zijie's heavy breathing abruptly stopped.
After a long while, Zhao Zijie heaved a sigh.
Click... The sound of the Electromagnetic Adhesion Device came through the comms channel.
"Then, Professor, do you have any ideas?"
Zhao Zijie's voice was steeped in helplessness.
At Zhao Zijie's question, Lü Yongchang slowly rose from his seat.
"There's nothing we can do."
"We can only agree to its demands."
The instant he heard those words, Zhao Zijie clenched his fists.
But soon, his arms dropped limply to his sides, and his fists loosened.
[Honored [Hua], following a vote by all our people, we are willing to help you relay your message.]
A message was sent from Ross 2 and arrived near Ross 154 instantly through superluminal communication.
Soon, [Hua]'s reply appeared before them.
[Very good, Human Civilization. Your courage deserves my respect.]
Lü Yongchang gave a bitter chuckle.
Was this a matter of courage?
You already had a knife to our throats!
But he certainly couldn't say that.
After a moment's thought, Lü Yongchang composed a new message.
[What do you need us to do?]
This time, however, [Hua] did not immediately respond to humanity's message.
Ten whole minutes!
Not a single response!
For every researcher, each minute and second in such a tense, high-pressure situation was agony!
"Yongchang..."
Fang Xu's voice came from beside