503: Chapter 503 What kind of naive, sweet interstellar story is this?

yaoqing immortal vessel, Analysis Room.

On the holographic projection, the massive gift package from the Shankong Civilization was categorized and presented to everyone present in the form of languages and charts.

Researcher Zhou adjusted his glasses and swiped through the floating data panels before him. With every line he read, the corner of his mouth couldn't help but twitch.

The experts from various fields beside him shared similar expressions. Their initial serious focus gradually shifted into a mix of being caught between laughter and tears, coupled with deep bewilderment.

Their brains began to question whether their eyes were functioning correctly.

"Racial information, high-precision 3D imagery, including standard models for different genders, physiological structural diagrams, circulatory System, nervous System, digestive System... it's quite detailed."

"More than that, there are life cycle recordings, from the fertilized egg to embryonic development, birth, growth, adulthood, all the way to the full process of aging."

"I don't understand..." a biologist muttered.

"Cultural overview, here it comes. A complete language System, from phonetics and grammar to a common phrase library, with a cross-reference translation database. Script samples, several major fonts."

"There's also a chronicle of historical events. Hmm, it's quite long, though there are obvious signs of beautification; wars and conflicts are described vaguely, emphasizing 'freedom, democracy' and 'common progress'."

"The core philosophical thought is 'all things have spirits, all living beings are equal, and sharing is the meaning of life'. Whoa, they've set the bar quite high with this tone." The sociologist pushed up his glasses, his tone somewhat subtle.

"Let me take a look at the literary and artistic works. Oh, there's quite a lot."

"The musical style is ethereal, leaning towards a combination of natural harmonies and synthetic sound effects. Most of the painting themes are figures, strange creatures, and their kind of cityscapes where flesh-and-blood styles merge with nature. The artistic level isn't low; one could even say it's quite distinctive and evocative."

"But looking at it for too long, it feels a bit too 'pure', there's an indescribable sense of eeriness." An accompanying art critic chose his words carefully.

"The tech tree... oh my god, the packaging is so complete."

"Starting from their understanding of mathematical and physical laws, to chemistry and Materials science, the Biotechnica section is quite detailed, involving gene editing, tissue culture, bio-mechanical interfaces, and so on."

"As for space technology, it looks like they've mastered an efficient Fusion propulsion technology that can support conventional navigation within a stellar System, but it's limited to that."

"If I were to give an overall evaluation, they're at the Peak of a planetary-level civilization, just barely touching the threshold of a stellar-System-level civilization."

"The technical path is severely lopsided; Biotechnica is unique, while fields like physics and engineering are relatively mediocre. As for energy utilization efficiency, it's so-so."

"In short, they lack the capability for large-scale cross-stellar navigation, let alone crossing galactic Systems." The technical assessment expert quickly gave a conclusion.

Then, the panel slid to the end, which was also the most speechless part.

"Biological samples and genetic information!" Researcher Zhou's voice changed pitch. "A complete Sankong genome sequence, with detailed functional annotations and explanations of possible allelic variations."

"No, wait, are they doxxing themselves? Are they insane?!"

Before Researcher Zhou could vent any further, he saw something even more significant.

A hologram of a miniature incubation chamber in a state of cryogenic hibernation. It showed that inside the chamber were clusters of Sankong cells in a dormant state.

The analysis room fell into that eerie silence once again.

If the previous information was merely being too candid, then this final part was a complete self-exposure of their lifeblood, delivered right to the doorstep.

To package the core secrets of one's own race and send them out like this, thrown into the vast Universe in a way that suggests a fear that others might not find it, or might not understand it if they did?

"They..." a young Cloud Rider started to speak, but it took a while for him to squeeze out a sentence, "...what are they after?"

"After a friend?" someone nearby subconsciously replied, though even they felt it was preposterous after saying it.

"Sincerity." General Jing Yuan, who had been quietly looking at the report, finally spoke. He rarely raised a hand to rub his brow, his tone carrying a complex meaning, "Such actions are truly sincere."

General Jing Yuan had tried for a good while before coming up with the word "sincere" to avoid using words like "stupid" or "naive." But combined with this utterly ridiculous situation, the word sounded even more like Yin and Yang sarcasm.

"Sincere?" General Feixiao folded her arms, her brow furrowed into a knot. "I'd say they're brainless! Aren't they afraid of meeting bad neighbors?"

"The Universe is so big, what kind of monsters and ghosts aren't out there? With just this level of technology, they strip themselves bare and send it out? If this fell into the hands of some predatory or ill-intentioned civilizations, the fate of their entire race..."

She didn't finish, but everyone could imagine it.

Genes being modified at will, tribespeople being mass-cloned as experimental subjects or slaves, the entire civilization becoming someone else's biological weapon armory or flesh farm...

The very thought of that scene made one shudder.

"Perhaps..." Researcher Zhou said hesitantly, "they truly believe that malice in the Universe is a rare occurrence? Or, their moral values and social structure make them unable to understand the concept of 'unprovoked malice'?"

"Inability to understand is no excuse." General Jing Yuan shook his head. "For a civilization to survive, the first priority is vigilance and self-preservation. Such behavior is no different from a child carrying gold through a busy market."

"Fortunately," he looked at the image of the Sankong person's friendly smile on the holographic projection and said slowly, "the ones who found this gold first were us."

Soon, all the information was packaged and sent back to headquarters.

At the same time, based on the star map coordinates provided by the probe, an investigation began into the home System of the Shankong Civilization, known as 'Aetherland'.

That briefing was also sent, with limited access, to the internal forums of the Interstellar Peace Corporation.

Soon, some people who enjoyed browsing the forums discovered this explosive news.

The title of the briefing was very eye-catching: "The Most Straightforward Alien Civilization in History? Expeditionary Advance Team Picks Up Civilization Gift Pack, Contains Racial DNA!"

The content briefly described the discovery of the Shankong Civilization probe, listed part of its generous gifts, highlighted its straightforward behavior of actively exposing its life blueprint, and included the quote, "We long for the starry sky and friends."

After the analysis post and original data were sent out, as expected, the relevant sections exploded after a brief digestion period.

"?????????"

"I just got off work, did I open this the wrong way?"

"Upstairs, you didn't see it wrong. By the way, you don't need to rub your eyes; I've already rubbed mine, confirmed correct."

"What... kind of interstellar sweet simpleton is this?"

"Actively delivering themselves to the door with their own recipes and ingredients... wait, do they have some misunderstanding about making friends?"

"An old meme has attacked me. Coming out with your own onion, ginger, and garlic, don't make it too hard for Uncle Hannibal, right?"

"Hahahaha help! I'm going to die of laughter! What kind of cosmic-level simple folk customs are these!"

"Die of laughter? I almost died of fright, okay! How have they survived until now? Have they never met a bad person?"

"Maybe... the star sector they're in is particularly peaceful? Or they were lucky, and the probe was picked up by us just as it was sent out?"

"Lucky? This isn't just luck anymore; they must be the illegitimate children of the Goddess of Fate, right?"

After the initial shock and laughter, more comments began to turn serious.

"Everyone, don't just focus on laughing. Think about it carefully, this matter is terrifying upon reflection."

"Indeed. Fortunately, the discoverer was the Corporation, the Eastern Federation, us. Although we also do business and talk about interests, at least on the surface there are rules and moral bottom lines, emphasizing sustainable development and long-term cooperation."

"Well said. If this were replaced by a predatory civilization or some forces that like to conduct taboo experiments, the fate of this Shankong Civilization would be unimaginable."

"More than unimaginable. Just look at history; you don't even need to look at aliens, look at our own home!"

"Yes! Look at Blue Star's history, the Age of Discovery, what did the representative nations of those foreign civilizations do!"

"Upstairs, I get what you mean. The Great Geographical Discoveries, finding the New Continent, and then? Was it friendship and gospels that were brought? It was muskets, germs, and steel; it was colonization, plunder, enslavement, and genocide!"

"What are you blathering about? Weren't they quite polite? Otherwise, where would that rich aristocratic culture come from?"

"Upstairs, tone it down, I'm throwing data in your face. Spain, Portugal, Holland, Britain... which one didn't start by plundering colonies, selling slaves, and dumping opium? Their way of treating backward civilizations was absolute plunder and oppression under technical superiority, wasn't it?"

"If... I mean if, hundreds of years ago, the ones who had the technical superiority the Corporation has now were the descendants of those Western civilizations, the ancestors of those duchies and kingdoms, what do you think they would do when they picked up this 'Sankong Gift Pack'?"

"What would they do? Is there even a need to guess? Step one, lock the coordinates and bring in the army. Step two, in the name of spreading civilization or God's will, conquer by force. Step three, plunder all resources, including the Shankong people themselves. They might be treated as slaves, experimental subjects, or rare species for display."

"Then you're still too conservative. Their genes would be studied and then used to create biological weapons. Their culture would be viewed as barbaric and inferior and forcibly destroyed. In less than a few decades, a unique civilization would vanish, leaving only a few lines in history books and a few artifacts stripped of their cultural context in museums."

"They might not even wait for the army to arrive. Just that detailed genetic data and biological samples would be enough for some crazy megalomaniacs to create countless tragedies."

"Exactly. Don't forget, even now, in some duchies and kingdoms on Blue Star, aren't those old aristocrats and their followers still reminiscing about that feeling of being superior and being able to arbitrarily decide the life and death of others? Aren't they still preaching about some aristocratic spirit and the conquest of civilization? Give them technical superiority... I can only say 'heh'."

"Thinking about it this way, for this Shankong Civilization to meet the Corporation, they really hit the jackpot of luck."

"It's not all luck, is it? To some extent, does it also show that civilizations like the Corporation and the Eastern Federation, which pursue interests and development but are at least willing to follow basic rules and have some long-term vision and basic moral bottom lines, might be the type... well, with a better chance of growing into Interstellar civilizations in the Universe?"

"Agreed. Draining the pond to catch the fish is not the way. Sustainable cooperation and development might not sound as satisfying as a clean sweep, but it's the long-term plan. Moreover, judging from the unique technology and culture shown by the Shankong Civilization, if they can develop peacefully, the value they can create in the future will definitely be far greater than a one-time plunder."

"So, this incident has instead indirectly proven the superiority of the Corporation?"

"I think there's nothing wrong with saying that. At least it proves that the Corporation, this 'state' with a somewhat bizarre form of existence, still has some merit in terms of legitimacy and progressiveness."

"Alright, let's pause the history lesson and sociological discussion for now. The question now is, how does the Corporation plan to treat this sweet simpleton civilization? According to convention, they'll definitely be opening up a market, right?"

"That's for sure. There's no reason not to receive a friend who comes to the door. Although it's a bizarre case, it's still a well-formed civilization. We'll just have to see whether we send diplomats first or the Corporation's Market Development Department gets there first."

"I bet a bag of spicy strips that the eyes of the people in the Market Development Department and the Traditional Projects Department must be glowing green right now. Unique Biotechnica, unknown cultural products, and an entire undeveloped extra-galactic market—how many KPIs and bonuses would that be!"

"I just hope that when we make contact, we can at least teach them about the sinister nature of people. Don't be so sincere anymore; really, it's a bit scary."

The discussion on the forum was in full swing, quickly deepening from initial playful shock to a broad debate on civilization contact ethics, historical lessons, and future response strategies.

A wave of reflection and affirmation of their own civilization's journey and current interstellar codes of conduct, triggered by the bizarre behavior of the Shankong Civilization, quietly arose.