"I analyzed the various parameters of Li Shun's fleet navigating the Matter River. Although it's stronger than what we saw in the Second Spiral Arm last time, it's still no match for the Reaper. Even if they had a hundred billion ships, they couldn't do anything to us. Besides, this is the Insect Zone; I doubt they'd dare to act recklessly here."
" Li Shun is a madman, capable of anything. If he suddenly attacks us, even with our strongest Reversed State, we'd be no match for a pack of wolves. The safety of the academicians is our top priority. We either need to go into hiding now and avoid contact with Li Shun, or we need to launch an immediate attack on them, destroy a portion of their fleet, and then let them go once they're no longer a threat to the academicians."
"This time they're far from the base, and Li Shun is very likely in this fleet. Capturing Li Shun would be an unexpected bonus. Besides, this is the Insect Zone, which the Great Star Region Civilization can't control. If we miss this opportunity, it will be difficult to capture Li Shun again."
"But..."
"No buts, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"Alright, there's no point in arguing any further. Your idea is the safest for the academicians. Let's do it this way. Let's go over there now and teach Li Shun a lesson, but don't go too far. Capture Li Shun alive."
"This is my good partner! Don't worry, Li Shun won't die. If we catch his Laozi, I'll skin him alive. How dare he lay a dirty hand on our generals and academicians! What a bastard!" Li Zhixiong cursed.
The fleet immediately replenished its energy at the nearest point on the Matter River. A day later, the fleet reached the other side of the Matter River. Li Shun's fleet was still struggling to sail out of the Matter River. They had already increased their speed to the limit, with high-energy lasers clearing the way and vaporizing the meteorites of various sizes in front of them. However, their speed was only a little over 0.3 times the speed of light.
The fleet directly blocked the exit of Li Shun's sailing direction, quietly waiting for Li Shun's arrival. At this time, the distance was still too far, and even if an attack was launched, it would not be very effective. Only when Li Shun's fleet was about to use the Matter River could the attack be launched to achieve the greatest effect.
A small meteorite detached from the Matter River Matter River its edge and suddenly appeared next to the Reaper fleet. Its appearance immediately attracted the attention of the computers, but everyone quickly realized that it must be a monitoring device left by Li Shun. It seems that Li Shun has already discovered the arrival of the Reaper fleet, and perhaps Li Shun is fully aware of all the Reaper ' actions.
Upon seeing this disguised reconnaissance device, everyone quickly recalled the reconnaissance device they had encountered before the Red Beetle attacked the fleet. Now it seemed more likely that the reconnaissance device was left behind by Li Shun. Perhaps this time they had wrongly blamed the Fish Horse Star Civilization and made them take the blame for nothing.
"Hehehe, old friends, we meet again. Is General Hu Yu here?" A message was transmitted from the disguised reconnaissance equipment into the Reaper warship.
" Li Shun, our general isn't here, what are you doing here!"
"General Hu Yu isn't here. What a pity. All that effort I put into preparing such a show for him was for nothing."
What trick are you trying to pull now?
"Do I need to resort to tricks to deal with your small fleet? It's only been 20,000 years, and you've already acquired a new type of weapon. I'm truly envious. How about you give me this weapon as a gift for our reunion?"
" Li Shun, I think you've gone mad, you're just dreaming!" Sure enough, the surveillance device was left by Li Shun. He must have seen the battle between the red beetle and the Reaper. The insects couldn't see the attack process of the Virtual Matter, but the technological civilization's methods could definitely see it.
"It's alright, you'll soon find out if I'm crazy or not. I know you want to attack me now, and you want to capture me, right?"
"You may be crazy, but you're not stupid."
"To tell you the truth, I'm in the fleet. If you're capable, you can come and capture me right now. How about it, want to try?"
" Li Shun, I advise you to surrender. You've experienced the strength of our fleet firsthand."
"Indeed, your warships are stronger than ours, but you'll soon see how powerful I am."
Li Shun's fleet had ceased maneuvering and remained stationary in the Matter River, neither advancing nor retreating. It seemed that Li Shun knew that his fleet would not fare well if it ventured out now, and that staying put would prevent the Reaper from inflicting significant damage on them.
" Zhuge Xiong, Li Shun hasn't made a move."
"He must be up to some kind of trick. If this guy were normal, I'd rip my head off and use it as a chamber pot."
"Alright, I don't need such a high-class chamber pot. Wildcat has already conducted preliminary searches in other parts of the Matter River and hasn't found any trace of other fleets hiding. Li Shun only has this one fleet, and it's already large enough. I don't believe Li Shun has any more fleets that can threaten us."
"Just wait and see. Get the fleet ready for battle."
"Something's wrong! There's something strange about the Matter River!"
The two looked along the Matter River and saw that some large meteorites along the Matter River and at the end of Li Shun's path began to crack open. One by one, those fiery red beetles emerged from them. In just over ten seconds, more than 100,000 beetles had broken through the meteorites and emerged.
Moreover, more meteorites were cracking open, and these beetles emerged from the meteorites without hesitation, flying directly towards the Reaper. Most of them were located on the edge of the Matter River, and they could break out of the Matter River and travel by curvature in just a few hours. Judging from their speed, they were definitely no less than the Reaper.
The red beetles that were killed by the Virtual Matter are still inside the Reaper ship. After analysis and testing, it was found that these beetles have extremely strong defenses. Their shells are quite hard, and even space cannons have difficulty inflicting fatal damage on them. As for their attack capabilities, they are currently unknown.
"What's going on? These beetles seem to be following Li Shun's orders!" Li Zhixiong exclaimed in surprise.
"It seems we really misunderstood the Fish Horse Star Civilization last time. The beetles and the reconnaissance equipment were all Li Shun's doing," Chen Peng said.
"This is really the end for us. There were so many of these insects hiding here. Even those five giant insects wouldn't be a match for them. In just a short while, there have already been over 200,000."
"How did Li Shun manage to control these things? Even Academician Xiao couldn't do it, and these beetles are of such a high order that controlling them is even more difficult."
"Brother, at this point, let's think of a solution quickly."
"Even you, Zhuge Xiong, say we're doomed. What can I do? Outside, the insect swarms are eyeing us covetously; inside, there are countless more Red Beetles; plus that bastard Li Shun's 10 billion warships. With our 60,000-plus Reaper, it's impossible to reverse the tide. The only way is for us to enter the Matter River. There, we might have a glimmer of hope."