It was just one more mindless civilization, nothing more. Nagus looked at Duo Puyuan, who was still trembling, and said, "It's only a civilization, isn't it? Has the Imperial Observation Department discovered anything out in the universe?"
Her face filled with terror, Duo Puyuan merely raised a hand and pointed at the sky outside the window. Nagus turned in his chair, but all he could see from that angle were tall buildings. He rose, walked over to the window, and looked up.
By then, the streets and the spaces before the floor-to-ceiling windows were already packed with living beings, all staring up at the sky in shock.
The sky, once filled with white clouds, was now occupied by a smooth silver surface. The civilization's buildings on the ground looked as though they stood between two continents, one above and one below.
On that silver surface was a conspicuous line of black lettering in the Crystal Civilization's script.
[Hello, Crystal Civilization!]
"Holy shit!"
Nagus swore the moment he looked up and saw the anomaly. Struggling to control his body, he returned to his chair and sat down. Looking at Duo Puyuan again, he finally understood why she was shaking so badly.
This was practically a planet right in their faces. At this distance, they were still using an interstellar broadcast? No wonder they had tacked a warning onto the end.
Nagus slumped weakly against the back of his chair. Tiny fleshy buds were sprouting on his cheeks, but he was too horrified to notice.
"Send a reply. The Crystal Civilization offers a conditional surrender."
Nagus spoke with absolute decisiveness, only to catch sight of an additional figure in the room out of the corner of his eye.
His entire body resembled liquid silver, with a river of stars swirling