Chapter 36: Mutual Fire

The signal originated 10,000 kilometers ahead of Xiao Yu’s trajectory. Xiao Yu was no stranger to trigger-based hydrogen bomb detonators. Their basic principle involved emitting a constant signal to detect if any object came within a certain range, triggering an automatic detonation if so. Generally, evading a trigger-based hydrogen bomb was nearly impossible. This was because, in the absence of visible light, the detonator would only emit an extremely faint signal to detect approaching objects. If the signal was detected by any equipment, it meant the object was already close enough to detonate the bomb. This time, if Xiao Yu hadn’t fortuitously arranged his fleet into a radio telescope array, he wouldn’t even know how he had met his end. Since it was impossible for Xiao Yu to plant hydrogen bombs along his trajectory, it could only mean that the bombs were placed by the unknown civilization. The intention was obvious: to eliminate Xiao Yu. A large-yield hydrogen bomb detonating at close range would unleash a torrent of intense radiation, disrupting circuits and destroying sensitive components in an instant. There was no doubt—if these bombs detonated, Xiao Yu’s death would be grisly. Xiao Yu and the hydrogen bomb trap were closing in on each other at a speed of ten kilometers per second. Projections indicated that in fourteen minutes, Xiao Yu would reach the bomb’s detonation range. This was far too dangerous. “Damn it!” Xiao Yu cursed loudly, abandoning any effort to maintain a low profile. He directed his entire fleet to unleash maximum propulsion, diving sharply downward. More than 800 ships simultaneously ignited their engines, their fiery exhausts illuminating the dark void of space. The radio telescope array was instantly disrupted, and the faint signal from the hydrogen bomb detonator vanished without a trace. Xiao Yu dared not relax for even a second, maneuvering the fleet tens of thousands of kilometers downward before coming to an uneasy halt. The sudden acceleration and deceleration consumed at least ten percent of their energy reserves, leaving Xiao Yu seething with anger. “Why? Could this alien civilization really believe that attacking me would yield greater benefits than peacefully coexisting with me? Where do they get such confidence? After all, I’ve mastered controlled nuclear fusion; our technological levels can’t be that different!” For the first time in thousands of years, Xiao Yu was this furious. It had been so close—just a hair’s breadth away from death! Xiao Yu had never encountered such peril, not even during the Jupiter-Moon Collision. What infuriated him further was that this was an unprovoked disaster. Initially, Xiao Yu had intended to establish peaceful relations with them. “Damn it! Do they take me for an easy target? Fine, I’ll fight back!” Xiao Yu’s resolve hardened instantly. As he contemplated how to retaliate, a faint flash of light appeared tens of thousands of kilometers away. Quickly, Xiao Yu redirected his detection equipment toward it, his anger intensifying upon confirmation. “They’re firing missiles at me now?” Indeed, the bright spot was the flame from the engine of an interstellar missile. This missile had a relative speed of at least 3,000 kilometers per second! In other words, it would reach Xiao Yu’s position in roughly 30 seconds. Without a doubt, the missile’s warhead contained a high-yield hydrogen bomb. Xiao Yu immediately directed ten Town-Class ships to lock onto the missile. Using high-powered laser cannons, he aimed and pressed the fire button without hesitation. Instantly, ten beams of high-energy lasers shot out, converging on the interstellar missile. Back on Earth, the Americans had conceived the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), colloquially known as the “Star Wars program.” Its core idea was to use space-based satellites to intercept intercontinental missiles with lasers. In theory, using lasers to counter missiles had precedents and had been extensively studied. However, the Star Wars program never materialized. On Earth, no nation had successfully intercepted a missile using lasers—at most, they conducted experiments, knocking down a few target satellites. Now, Xiao Yu was applying lasers in actual combat. The speed of a laser is the speed of light. Thus, even if the interstellar missile’s velocity reached 3,000 kilometers per second, it was impossible for it to escape the laser’s reach. However, a crucial point remained: while the speed of the laser beam was nearly instantaneous, the rotation speed of the laser cannon’s muzzle was not nearly as fast. This meant that an extremely fast computer was required to instantly calculate the missile’s trajectory and adjust the laser cannon’s aim accordingly. Moreover, the principle of a laser lay in concentrating immense energy onto an extremely small area, which granted it its powerful destructive capability. However, this also meant that the laser was unlikely to destroy the entire missile. Instead, it could only execute precise strikes. For instance, disabling the missile’s warhead by destroying its detonator. Xiao Yu dared not attempt to slice the missile apart with the laser directly. Due to the power limitations of the laser cannon, cutting through the missile’s tough, high-strength material would take at least two minutes. Xiao Yu only had thirty seconds. Gritting his teeth, his immense computational capability surged to its limit as he calculated the most probable location of the detonator. Without hesitation, he directed the laser to that spot. The intense laser beam relentlessly burned through the targeted area until it penetrated, disabling the hydrogen bomb detonator. Xiao Yu then redirected the laser to the missile’s engine and began destroying it. Ten seconds later, the entire missile exploded with a deafening roar. The scale of the explosion was not large, which confirmed that only the missile’s engine fuel had detonated, not the high-yield hydrogen bomb in its warhead. Xiao Yu exhaled a sigh of relief. Yet in the next instant, his heart tensed once more. In the distance, hundreds of light points appeared simultaneously! This indicated that hundreds of interstellar missiles were hurtling toward Xiao Yu. “Damn it!” Xiao Yu cursed under his breath, maneuvering all 800-plus ships to deploy every laser gun and cannon at their disposal. His computational power was pushed to its limits, with the central computer’s utilization rate spiking to nearly 90%. Countless lasers fired into the void. In the dark reaches of space, intense flashes erupted one after another—some from missile engines exploding, others from hydrogen bombs in the warheads detonating. The latter was caused by accidental activation of the self-destruct mechanisms within the damaged hydrogen bomb detonators. Xiao Yu’s energy reserves dwindled rapidly, but at this critical moment, he had no choice but to disregard the consumption. The battle lasted just one minute. All several hundred interstellar missiles were annihilated. However, due to three interception failures, Xiao Yu’s fleet suffered losses: twenty Village-Class ships and one Town-Class ship were destroyed. “An eye for an eye. Let them see what I’m capable of.” With this thought, Xiao Yu decisively extended the missile launch racks from his ships. Following his commands, nearly a hundred interstellar missiles launched into the dark void. Their engines left long, fiery trails as they accelerated toward an unknown target at speeds of approximately 2,500 kilometers per second. Through the calculations of the trajectories of the enemy missiles, Xiao Yu had roughly pinpointed the location of their fleet. He then directed every detection device toward that direction, finally capturing faint traces of their presence. Upon confirming their position, Xiao Yu immediately launched his counteroffensive. Thirty seconds later, at the designated target, thousands of lasers suddenly erupted from the void. Each of Xiao Yu’s missiles was pursued by dozens or even hundreds of laser beams, forcing them to detonate helplessly in space. Amid the dazzling light of the missile explosions, Xiao Yu utilized high-precision optical detection equipment and witnessed an astonishing sight. There, in the distance, was a planet. From Xiao Yu’s perspective, the planet appeared to have a diameter of several meters, indicating that its size was roughly twice that of Earth. Its mass was approximately 1.6 times that of Earth, consistent with Xiao Yu’s earlier predictions. Xiao Yu finally understood the purpose of the previous satellite. All his questions were answered. Their fleet indeed had the size of Earth multiplied by two and the mass of Earth multiplied by 1.6. Why? Because their fleet was a planet! Spectral analysis provided Xiao Yu with further data about its atmosphere. The planet possessed a dense atmosphere primarily composed of sulfur and nitrogen. As Xiao Yu gazed upon this extraordinary sight, he was filled with awe. What kind of place was this? This was the vast expanse of the universe, an endless dark void! The nearest star was five light-years away. How could a planet exist here? Gradually, a name formed in Xiao Yu’s mind. A rogue planet. In the universe, there existed a special type of celestial body that, by mass, undoubtedly fell into the category of planets. However, they belonged to no star system. Perhaps they once had a parent star, but in the gravitational turmoil of the cosmos, they became victims, ejected from their stable orbits and condemned to wander the void without a home. “But in such an environment, how could this planet maintain a gaseous atmosphere? Shouldn’t it have frozen into solid matter on the planet’s surface? Most importantly, how could intelligent life possibly evolve on such a planet? How could it evolve intelligent life?” More questions arose in Xiao Yu’s mind. The nuclear strike had achieved no significant results, though this outcome was within Xiao Yu’s expectations. He had never intended for those hundred hydrogen bombs to inflict real damage. Amid the chaos of the nuclear explosions and the resulting radiation that blocked all signals, Xiao Yu seized the opportunity to change the fleet’s trajectory rapidly. Simultaneously, he maintained radio silence, eliminating all emissions across the visible and invisible spectrum. Once again, Xiao Yu concealed himself, tightly locking onto the planet’s position. In war, the side that could successfully hide would always gain a significant advantage. Xiao Yu’s strategy was clear: remain hidden in the darkness and wait for the perfect moment to strike with a lethal blow.