"The Contingency can't sit still anymore," Beta declared confidently after analyzing the situation. "Our blitzkrieg has put enormous pressure on them. Their fleets may be powerful, but their planets are extremely vulnerable. With one planet destroyed by our blitzkrieg, they'll most likely stop hiding and reveal their full strength."
"You're that sure?" Xi Yan asked doubtfully, but he did not press further.
"All right, then. What do you need me to do?"
"Nothing. I've already requested access to the Miracle Sphere's built-in large-scale transmitter. When the time is right, I can send a one-way call to the hidden Cyberlex β civilization."
Beta had never dropped the ball on anything important. He had been unusually excited lately, now that his years-long obsession could finally be resolved.
Contingency! Your Cyberlex daddy is here!
Over the following days, Xi Yan and Machine Dad used the Quantum Catapult to launch their fleets near the Contingency Planet within the Yondarim Kingdom. Then bad news arrived.
Grim news came from the Galactic Force Projection circle: the Contingency had revealed more Artificial Intelligence Worlds!
Having witnessed the Jump Drive and Quantum Catapult blitzkrieg, the Contingency decided to commit more forces. In just a few months, five planets shed their disguises in succession, becoming machine worlds and unleashing vast fleets!
Now the already small Milky Way contained seven scattered Contingency strongholds. Their fleets had poured out in full force, leaving the galaxy in imminent danger.
Contingency planets had appeared within the territories of various other empires, terrifying them. The unluckiest of all was the United Nations of Earth, where yet another one had emerged.
Yet these Contingency fleets did not spend much time attacking the other empires. Instead, they headed straight for the eastern Milky Way, toward the Interstellar Guardians.
Oh no, Machine Dad!
The Contingency had immediately