"Are you sure?" Academician Xiao's hair stood on end.
"Yes, Academician, all the results we analyzed were the same."
"Come with me, let's go see the general right now!"
Academician Xiao immediately ran to the command center, wishing he had two more legs, and relayed the message to the high-ranking officers of each fleet as he ran.
Bang! Academician Xiao slammed open the door to the command center.
"General, it's Minister Luo!"
" Academician Xiao, speak slowly, speak slowly."
"Just now, Number One and his team received an electromagnetic signal from a light-year away, and preliminarily determined that it was sent by Minister Luo Zhigao. Number One, you tell everyone in detail."
"Yes, Academician, that's right. Our Consciousness Field still exists after we've been liberated, and it's always spread within a one-light-year radius around us. Normally, the Consciousness Field can't receive electromagnetic wave signals at all because the two fields don't react to each other. We can't even sense the radio signals that Earth Two transmits every moment. Only when the electromagnetic waves are particularly strong can the Consciousness Field detect a faint signal. Just now, a segment of electromagnetic wave signal from one light-year away disturbed our Consciousness Field, which is why we were able to detect it."
"This electromagnetic signal is extremely strong. Either the signal source is nearby, or the transmission power is very high. We've been learning about humanity from Academician Xiao for years, so this signal is very familiar to us. It definitely comes from humanity or a civilization very familiar to humanity. However, Luo Zhigao sounds very much like a name of one of your people. So we immediately informed Academician Xiao."
" Number One, can you detect the signal source?"
"General, I'm sorry, our Consciousness Field is very limited, but we do know the direction from which the signal is coming. If you need us, we can lead the way."
" Old Hu, what are we waiting for? Let's set off immediately. Minister Luo must be in danger to send this message."
"Wait, Zhonghua, we need to confirm. Think about it, we've been here for over a hundred years, and our reconnaissance satellites have been deployed as far as 500 light-years away. Although the density is very low, how could the signal possibly bypass the outermost satellites and reach the interior directly?"
"That makes sense. It shouldn't be like that. The satellite equipment is working perfectly; how could it not pick up such a strong signal?"
"General, Chief of the General Staff, what we have said is absolutely true. If there is any falsehood, we are willing to be punished." Seeing that Hu Yu Wen Zhonghua had doubts, the Number One and several others immediately stood up to express their stance.
"General, Chief of the Number One Staff, they have no reason to lie. Our satellite density is already very high at one light-year. I believe it won't be long before these satellites receive the signal," Academician Xiao said.
"I also think that Number One and the others have no reason to lie." Academician Zeng agreed with what Number One said.
"What should we do now? What are everyone's opinions?"
"First, we should analyze the content of this message," Academician Zeng said after thinking for a moment. "If the message is true, and it's about danger, revenge, the Xuan Star Civilization, and Luo Zhigao —eleven characters in total—it's short. There are two possibilities. First, it might require high-power transmission, so the message can't be too long. Second, Luo Zhigao might want the message to travel further; shorter messages are better for long-distance transmission. In other words, Luo Zhigao might not even know our exact location; he just wants the message to travel further so that we and the leader have a chance to receive it. Third, the situation is extremely critical, reaching its final moment."
"Furthermore, the first word, 'danger,' is a warning against rash action unless our strength is sufficient. The second and third words, 'revenge,' and 'Xuan Star Civilization,' refer to the civilization that clashed with Luo Zhigao, or rather, the civilization that threatened Luo Zhigao. The last word, 'Luo Zhigao,' is clearly a name intended for us and our leader; only our two fleets would be interested in this name."
" Academician Zeng, if this information is true, then Minister Luo's condition may be extremely critical, but what if it's false?"
"If it's fake, then this civilization has likely already devoured Minister Luo's fleet. We speculate that they discovered two other human fleets within Minister Luo's fleet. But even Minister Luo couldn't possibly know our location. How did this Xuan Star Civilization know our exact location? If they truly have the ability to know our exact location, it means their strength is already above ours. If they wanted to devour us, they wouldn't need to send false information; they could just come directly."
"Perhaps they possess some special technology to track our location and use this information to lure us, which only shows that their strength is insufficient, or at most they can only match ours, and they dare not engage in direct conflict with us. But why would the signal bypass our distant satellites and propagate internally? This is truly inexplicable. Only a civilization with technology far superior to ours could do this, but a civilization far superior to ours would not do such a thing."
"In that case, I've decided to continue tracking the signal source. Zhonghua, prepare ourselves; we're setting off with the fleet."
"You're going in person?"
"Yes, if it really was sent by Minister Luo, we must take immediate rescue measures. The receiving location is only one light-year away from here. According to Number One, the signal was very strong when it was received. Radio waves cannot maintain such a high intensity over long distances. I estimate the signal source is not too far away. I have to go and check it out."
" Old Hu, let me go."
"No need for further explanation, let's go together. From this moment on, the fleet is on a state of emergency, and all production should be prioritized for military purposes."
One hundred thousand Wind Master set sail from orbit near Earth Two. Hu Yu and several academicians, along with seven Nebula Person, stayed in one of the Wind Master and sped off in the direction sensed by the Nebula Person.
" Minister Luo, is it really you? Hang in there, we're here," Hu Yu silently cried out in his heart.
Eight hours later, the fleet arrived behind the location where the Nebula Person sensed the radio waves. According to calculations, the radio waves should have just arrived at this point. The radio waves travel at the speed of light, which is much slower than the Wind Master.
" Number One, you guys continue to monitor the radio waves. The satellite equipment will also be receiving them. We need to find the signal source."
"General, we've detected the radio waves, but they're much weaker than before. They'll arrive here soon."
Sure enough, less than a minute later, the Wind Master also received the distress signal. Hu Yu immediately dispatched several Wind Master to a location one hundred astronomical units away. Radio waves, like water ripples, spread throughout space. The farther the radio waves spread, the more difficult it is to locate them. A single point on the receiving end can only roughly determine the direction of the signal source, not which point along the path is the signal source. Only by finding the angle between two points in the radio wave transmission can the exact location of the signal source be accurately determined.