Fifty years of voyage time was nothing but a fleeting moment for a civilization that had developed over countless years.
Trisolaris, Supreme Command Center.
The Princeps's thoughts, vibrating at a "joyful" frequency, joined several core consuls in enjoying the "Earth Theater" transmitted back by Sophon Two.
On the holographic projection, the azure planet was staging a brilliant play.
Say, the new leader of the PDC—an Earthling who, in the eyes of the Princeps, was full of "weakness" and "idealistic stupidity"—was tearfully denouncing Luo Ji's dictatorial tyranny and calling for love and peace.
The scene shifted to "large-scale riots" erupting all over the world. Countless "citizens" took to the streets, holding up banners demanding the disbandment of the military, the reduction of space project expenditures, and the reallocation of resources to improve livelihoods, leaving the rest of their time purely for pleasure.
"Look at these bugs."
The Princeps's thought waves carried a condescending indifference.
"Their so-called unity is as fragile as a bubble. A gentle poke is all it takes to burst it."
The Security Consul's thoughts were also filled with a sense of superiority. "That individual named Luo Ji did indeed bring them a brief moment of cohesion. But now that he lies on a hospital bed like a dead dog, this civilization has immediately regressed to its original state. Infighting, chaos, and stupidity."
"Their technological development has stagnated, even regressed," the Chief Navigator added. "According to Sophon Two's report, they have dismantled several important fusion power stations to quell internal conflicts. It is truly... utterly ridiculous."
They relished this feeling.
Enjoying the sight of a civilization that had once threatened them stepping toward self-destruction.
This decades-long "Earth's Internal Strife" drama, personally directed by Luo Ji, had perfectly paralyzed everyone in Trisolaris.
Right at this moment, a message cut into the command center.
"Supreme Alert! The 'Droplet' probe has completed its final deceleration! It has successfully entered the outer edge of the target star system!"
"Excellent."
The Princeps issued a new command, his thoughts filled with the anticipation of soon reaping the fruits of victory.
"Activate the highest resolution panoramic detection and transmit the footage back in real-time."
"I want to see our new home with my own eyes."
"Yes!"
A moment later, the clearest footage from four light-years away was projected right into the center of the command center.
Then, the entire command center plunged into a suffocating, dead silence.
There were no more thought waves, no more communication, only a blank void.
The thought cores of all Trisolarans stopped functioning the instant they saw the footage.
In the footage, there was no expected chaos, no signs of decay, and certainly not that blue planet that appeared primitive and backward in the lies.
The first thing to enter their field of vision was Mars.
The surface of the red planet looked as if its outer shell had been peeled off by something, revealing the gray rock layers beneath. Countless massive, fiercely designed unmanned engineering ships were orbiting the planet, continuously gnawing, dismantling, and hauling away its remains.
The footage shifted.
Jupiter's orbit.
A giant metallic octopus, larger than the moon, floated quietly there. It extended gathering tentacles thousands of kilometers long, plunging them deep into Jupiter's churning, magnificent, and violent atmosphere, acting like a giant pump frantically extracting the gas giant's resources.
The Princeps's thoughts began to experience a slight, uncontrollable disorder.
His thought core could not process the incomprehensible sight before him.
The Chief Navigator's thought waves were like jammed radio signals, filled with chaotic, terrified shrieks.
"What... what is this?"
And when the Droplet's detection perspective finally turned toward the center of this star system—the Sun.
The thoughts of all Trisolarans in the entire command center were completely frozen at this moment.
The Sun had been "crowned."
A giant ring spanning the heavens, its majesty beyond words, gleaming with a cold metallic luster, had been placed upon the head of this star like a sacred crown.
A Dyson Ring.
It absorbed the star's energy, silently and proudly declaring that this star system already had a powerful master.
And on the inner side of that giant ring, a war fortress larger than a planet exuded a suffocating sense of oppression, like a demon parasitizing a god.
That was the "Star Harvester."
"What... what are they doing?"
The Security Consul's thoughts completely twisted from extreme fear, turning into a scream.
"They are terraforming the entire star system! They are treating a star as their energy source and arsenal!"
"Impossible... This is absolutely impossible!"
"How could Earthlings possibly do such a thing! What kind of powerful technology would this require! The massive resources and energy! Their technology... how could their technology have developed to this extent in just a few short decades!"
Lies.
Everything was a lie!
Those two Sophons, upon which they had placed high hopes and viewed as shackles locked around the throat of human civilization, had been lying to them all along!
Everything they had seen, all the reports they had heard, were all fake!
It was all what that man named Luo Ji wanted them to see!
Like the most brilliant theater director, he had staged an earth-shattering, fifty-year-long scam for Trisolaris!
"Ugh..."
The Princeps's thoughts began to fluctuate violently.
It was a mixture of extreme shock, anger, and a trace of... uncontrollable trembling.
He had been deceived.
The entire Trisolaran civilization had been played for fools by a civilization they looked down upon.
While they were leisurely enjoying the "Earth's Internal Strife" drama, that man was leading his civilization, sharpening their fangs and claws in the dark.
Forcing down his panic and humiliation, the Princeps issued a command.
"Order the Droplet to immediately evade all human constructs! Activate the highest level of stealth mode!"
"Penetrate directly into Earth's low orbit!"
"I must know! What exactly happened on that planet!!"
The command was issued.
Far away in the solar system, the Droplet probe's mirror-smooth Strong Interaction Material shell rippled imperceptibly.
It instantly entered stealth mode, perfectly hiding all its signals and traces.
It flew silently toward that azure planet, which appeared exceptionally serene and beautiful against the backdrop of the universe.
In its logic, nothing in this universe could harm it.
Its shell, composed of the strongest material in the universe, was an absolute, flawless defense.
It could easily tear apart humanity's most massive interstellar battleships and ignore attacks from any energy weapons.
In its judgment, this penetration was nothing more than a simple reconnaissance mission that would meet no resistance.
It had absolutely no realization.
What kind of... monster it was about to face.