"Eliminate human tyranny, and the world will belong to the Three-Body Civilization."
That single sentence echoed in Leon Ford's mind like a hammer striking steel.
Only now did he truly understand the horrifying truth:
He had crossed into the world of the Three-Body Problem—one of the darkest, most brutal science-fiction universes ever imagined.
This was not a normal time-travel.
This was not an era of simple political storms.
This was a universe where entire civilizations vanished like dust.
Humanity—proud, intelligent, creative humanity—meant nothing here.
Not even a speck.
---
A Universe Where Humans Are Insects
Leon trembled as he thought of everything he remembered from the Three-Body novel and TV series.
The Trisolaran Civilization was terrifying not merely because of its high technology, but because of its attitude toward humanity.
In the Three-Body universe:
The Trisolarans could block all of human science with sophons, turning Earth's research into chaos.
Their research weapon, the "water droplet," destroyed over two thousand human battleships in minutes—like cutting through paper.
And even this was only a tiny fragment of Trisolaran technology.
To the Trisolarans, human beings were:
Insects.
Small.
Weak.
Disposable.
They didn't need to strategize to kill humans.
They didn't need advanced tricks.
One simple move was enough to destroy humanity completely.
And the horrifying part?
Even the Trisolarans—who seemed like gods to humans—were nothing more than low-level creatures in the vast universe.
---
Civilizations That Sweep Away Stars
Leon recalled the terrifying hierarchy from the Three-Body world.
Above the Trisolarans was the horrifying Singer Civilization—the cleaners of the universe.
Their weapon, the famous two-way foil, could collapse a star system into a flat two-dimensional sheet.
In the hands of that civilization, it was like a simple broom.
Above them were even more unimaginable god-level civilizations.
And above everything was the most terrifying existence—the Zero-Returning Civilization, which erased other civilizations without hesitation.
Compared to these cosmic monsters:
Humanity → an insect.
Trisolarans → a slightly bigger insect.
Even singers → still insects in the grand scale.
Everything in the universe followed one rule: The Dark Forest.
---
The Law of the Dark Forest
Leon whispered to himself:
"Everything leads to the same result…
In this universe, humans are always insects."
No matter how proud humanity was…
No matter how hard it might fight…
No matter how brilliant its science became…
Against the universe, humans were:
Dust.
Nothing.
Food for predators.
Leon sat in his cold, dim room.
He grabbed a bottle of strong liquor, poured it into a chipped cup, and drank it in one shot.
He let out a bitter laugh.
A tiny room.
A wooden chair.
Old walls.
A silent stove.
And above all this—
the infinite universe of hunters staring down at Earth.
---
Arrangements for the Blind Date
Leon didn't even know when Aunt Wang had left.
He vaguely remembered her saying:
"Leon, I'll go check on the Winter family. If all goes well, your blind date with Evelyn Winter will be three days from now. Eight in the morning. Her house is at No. 42 Paula Alley."
One kilometer away.
Just a short walk.
But Leon no longer cared about the blind date.
His mind was too overwhelmed.
He felt as if he were a small ant that had suddenly seen the truth of the entire universe.
An ant, weak and helpless, looking up at something too large to understand.
Terror flooded him like waves.
He felt as though countless eyes were watching Earth from the sky.
Stars.
Civilizations.
Hunters.
They stared at Earth the way a hungry predator watches prey.
Leon's skin crawled.
He felt a panic like trypophobia—except instead of holes, it was the idea of countless civilizations watching him.
It was suffocating.
---
Why the Trisolarans Take 400 Years to Arrive
Leon remembered the popular discussions in his previous life.
The Trisolaran fleet traveled at one-tenth the speed of light.
The distance between Earth and Trisolaris was four light-years.
So why would they take 400 years to arrive?
It didn't make sense—until now.
Leon poured another cup of liquor.
"Four hundred years…" he muttered. "But the fleet only needs forty."
Now he understood.
Even the mighty Trisolarans were insects in the universe.
If they flew openly, they risked being discovered—then eliminated—by stronger civilizations.
Flying in space was like:
A small white rabbit walking through a dark forest.
One sound, one wrong step…
And a wolf, tiger, or monster would devour it instantly.
Interstellar travel created disturbances in:
gravitational waves,
radiation patterns,
spatial signatures.
To advanced civilizations, this was like a flare in the darkness:
"Here I am! Come eat me!"
Thus, the Trisolarans could not travel in a straight line.
They had to travel in broken routes.
Silent.
Hidden.
Fearful.
Exactly like a terrified insect avoiding predators.
Only when their home world reached desperation—when survival required relocation—did they risk the journey.
---
Leon's Fear Reaches Its Peak
"Trisolaran civilization… Trisolaran fleet… Evelyn Winter… ETO…" Leon muttered in confusion.
Just thinking of the Three-Body world made his stomach twist in fear.
Even though the Trisolaran fleet would arrive four centuries later, Leon could not calm down.
This universe was too big.
Too dark.
Too cruel.
He felt as though Earth had already been marked by invisible hunters.
---
The Ant and the Lord
"Swish… swish… swish…"
Leon looked down.
An ant crawled across his wooden table, approaching a crumb of food.
He raised his finger, ready to crush it.
Just one motion, and the tiny life would disappear forever.
But then he stopped.
A strange thought crossed his mind.
He was the master of this ant.
His finger held the power of its life and death.
He could:
crush it instantly
or move it aside to give it food
or ignore it completely
He whispered:
"If this ant were conscious… would it sense my presence? Would it know I'm watching it?"
He laughed at himself.
Then he pressed his finger down.
The ant died instantly.
"Whether the ant is conscious or not," Leon murmured, "the master doesn't care."
Just like in the Three-Body universe—
"Destroying you has nothing to do with you."
It was the coldest truth of all.