The communication center of the Trisolaran world was dead silent.
On the massive holographic projection, the blue planet representing Earth was being encroached upon by an increasing number of black spots.
Every black spot signified an absolute blind zone that the Sophons could not penetrate.
The monitor's thought waves, carrying unprecedented chaos and panic, directly impacted the Trisolaran Princeps's mind.
"Reporting to the Princeps! Information flow has been severed! Logical analysis models have collapsed!"
"The behavior of the Earth civilization can no longer be understood. How could their technology develop so rapidly?"
"They... they are no longer afraid of us at all!"
The Princeps remained silent. His thought body had no physical form, but the light in the entire space dimmed in response to his will.
Fear.
This unfamiliar, primal emotion was spreading like a plague through the thought network that spanned the Trisolaran world.
"Convene the Supreme Consul Council," the Princeps said.
...
The supreme council of the Trisolaran world was held in a massive, empty space. There were no tables or chairs, only over a dozen floating thought cores representing the highest authority of this civilization.
"This is deception! It is the desperate bluff of the Earthlings at the end of their rope!" The Security Consul's thought waves were filled with violent fury. "They used some technology we don't yet understand to create a few 'Black Domains,' and they think that will scare off our great fleet?"
"The more they do this, the more it proves their weakness! I propose that the current fleet depart immediately, using the shortest possible time to reach the Solar System and crush those bugs along with their ridiculous lies!"
Another completely opposite thought wave, filled with fear, rose from a corner. It belonged to the fleet's Chief Navigator.
"Consul, your courage is admirable, but your judgment is pushing our civilization into the abyss."
"Please answer me: how could a weak civilization wipe out our painstakingly developed, global organization overnight? How could a bluffing civilization cause their technology to undergo explosive development?"
The Security Consul retorted, "That is their internal political struggle! It has nothing to do with us! As for their technological development, those feeble technologies are nothing to fear!"
"Nothing to do with us? Feeble?" The Chief Navigator's thought waves carried a trace of mockery.
"Does the 'Dark Forest' law also have nothing to do with us? That Earthling named Luo Ji has already grasped the truth of this universe. He has the capital to drag us down to mutual destruction!"
"And these technologies might be his warning to us! Behind him stands an existence we cannot even imagine! A higher civilization that granted them the technology to block Sophons and bestowed upon them a unified will!"
"If we charge over now, it won't be an invasion; it will be suicide!"
"You escapist coward!" the Security Consul roared. "The Trisolaran world has no option to retreat!"
"That is still better than the entire civilization being treated like bugs and casually erased by some unknown existence!"
The argument grew increasingly fierce, filling the entire council space with chaotic thought waves.
"Enough."
The Princeps's will, like a massive mountain, suppressed all the disputes.
Just then, a Communications Officer's thoughts tremblingly connected to the council.
"Princeps... we have received the final encrypted message from Earth, from the remnants of our... ETO."
The Princeps ordered, "Play it."
A fragmented message, brimming with despair and terror, unfolded in the minds of all the Consuls.
"...Miracles... we saw miracles... the explosion couldn't harm him in the slightest..."
"...A purge, a bloody and efficient purge... they are no longer looking for evidence..."
"...The scientists have gone mad, as if receiving divine revelation... technology is developing at a speed we cannot comprehend..."
"...Luo Ji is not human... he is an alien wearing human skin..."
"...Flee... don't come over... don't..."
The message abruptly ended.
Deathly silence filled the council space.
If the previous arguments were merely based on theoretical deductions, then these dying words from the ETO shattered all the wishful thinking of the war faction.
Could that man named Luo Ji truly be the spokesperson placed on Earth by some higher civilization?
A deeper, more profound terror gripped the Princeps's thought core.
He recalled Luo Ji's actions. If it were true, then the posture the Earth civilization was currently displaying was a declaration to the entire universe: "Although this is a civilization that has just stepped out of the cradle, it has a powerful guardian behind it. Who dares to touch it?"
And the Trisolaran fleet was charging right into the muzzle of that guardian's gun.
Should they change their strategy? Should they flee?
In the Princeps's mind, the three violent, eternally restless suns of the Trisolaran world surfaced. Finding a habitable planet was a dream branded into the genes of every Trisolaran from the moment they were born.
But now, having finally found a suitable planet, fleeing would mean admitting defeat, admitting fear.
The Consuls of the war faction would not agree.
Not flee?
Continuing forward meant they might face an unknown, powerful civilization. He could not gamble the entire civilization on their goodwill.
If the other party was stronger than them, it would be the funeral of their entire civilization.
The immense pressure almost caused fractures in the Princeps's thought core.
He had to make a decision. A decision that could pacify all factions while leaving a sliver of hope for the civilization's survival.
After a long time, the Princeps's will once again enveloped the space.
"The fleet will continue to advance. Maintain the current speed; the destination remains the Solar System."
The Security Consul's thought waves instantly stabilized.
"However," the Princeps shifted his tone, "detach the Third, Seventh, and Twelfth Sub-fleets. Led by the Chief Navigator, they will break away from the main route and head toward the outer spiral arm of the Milky Way to begin searching for new habitable planets with stable stellar systems."
A hint of relief seeped from the Chief Navigator's thoughts.
This was a compromise, no longer an all-in gamble.
"The Princeps is wise." All the Consuls simultaneously emitted thoughts of agreement.
"There is one more thing."
"I still need to uncover the truth."
"I need to know whether the Earthlings have truly received help from another civilization, or if this is an elaborately orchestrated dying struggle."
He paused, issuing his final command.
"Accelerate the construction of the 'Droplet.' Invest the resources of our entire species. Complete assembly and launch it within one hundred days."
The energy flow in the entire council space instantly froze.
"Princeps!" The Security Consul's thought waves grew agitated again. "The 'Droplet' still needs debugging! It is not yet complete!"
"As long as the outer shell is hard enough, that will do!" the Princeps interrupted him. "As long as it can smash open the Black Domain, we will be able to see with our own eyes exactly what has happened on that planet!"
Tens of days later, in the distant, dark depths of the universe.
Within the massive, nebula-like array of the Trisolaran fleet, a flawless, teardrop-shaped probe slowly detached from a mothership.
Its surface was incredibly smooth, perfectly reflecting all the surrounding starlight, yet it seemed as though it did not exist in this space.
In the next second, it vanished instantly.
At nearly one-tenth the speed of light, it tore through the cosmic starry sky, shooting toward the blue planet several light-years away.
Estimated time of arrival: 50 years.