314: Friendly means

“Alright, I understand.”

Captain Li Yang nodded slightly. Although he had long anticipated the complexity of the mission, upon hearing Yan Ze's arrangements, he quickly mentally reviewed the upcoming steps.

Since Yan Ze requested to first use friendly means to persuade that civilization to submit, he would execute it methodically.

After all, as a Soldier, his duty was to obey orders and complete missions.

“Oh, and…”

Yan Ze seemed to suddenly remember something extremely important, his tone slightly urgent as he spoke.

“Because we are currently not in the same universe, and there are differences in spatial rules, even if the application for the Star Controller is approved by the higher-ups, it cannot be directly transmitted to your starship. At that time, you will need to send someone to the spatial rift where we came from to receive it.”

Yan Ze explained in detail, afraid that Li Yang would miss any crucial information.

“Understood.”

Li Yang responded concisely and powerfully.

Li Yang understood Yan Ze's reminder, as such cross-universe operations faced numerous limitations.

After ending the call with Yan Ze, Li Yang's gaze swept to one side of the Command Room, calmly and decisively pressing the communication button.

“Pal, come to me.”

Soon after, Pal entered the Command Room, his posture tall and straight, his eyes focused on Li Yang as he respectfully said, “What are your orders, Captain Li Yang?”

“The research institute is preparing to use the Star Controller on that planet to bring it back to the Empire, but the process is quite complicated and will probably take a few days.”

Li Yang's gaze was deep. While explaining the mission details to Pal, he pondered various possibilities in his mind.

“You will select the best-performing starship and arrange a reliable team of personnel. Have them wait at the spatial rift where we came from. Once notified, they are to immediately go and receive the Star Controller. This item is crucial and allows for no errors.”

“Yes!”

Pal's expression was solemn, his eyes revealing a high degree of seriousness towards the mission.

After his concise and powerful response, he quickly turned to prepare to execute the order immediately.

However, after taking only two steps, he heard Li Yang's voice again.

“There's one more thing…”

Li Yang frowned slightly, his expression serious.

“Arrange some more personnel to use our existing equipment to comprehensively investigate the general situation of the civilization on that planet. This includes their technological level, social structure, military strength, and so on. This information is crucial for our upcoming contact with them, so ensure it is comprehensive and accurate.”

“Yes!”

Pal responded firmly again, then quickly walked out of the Command Room to carry out Li Yang's orders.

Watching Pal's departing figure, Li Yang slowly leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and fell into a brief contemplation.

This journey of exploration into the unknown universe was full of variables and surprises.

The discovery of that human planet was undoubtedly a major gain, but it also brought new challenges.

He sighed softly, muttering to himself, “I wonder if the other starships sent out have made any other discoveries…”

In this vast and boundless unknown space, the fleet had been dispersed for some time.

Apart from his main starship, which had fortunately discovered this Galaxy with human civilization, and another starship that successfully reached the spatial wall, confirming this was a limited space, the other few starships had remained silent until now.

They were like ships lost at sea, neither encountering the spatial wall that marked the boundary of space nor finding any other traces of worlds.

The sheer size of this mysterious space made one marvel at its immensity; several starships had explored it for a long time yet had not been able to uncover its full extent.

Time passed quietly amidst tension and anticipation. Unconsciously, several hours went by.

At this moment, Pal walked quickly, holding a carefully organized report, his expression focused as he approached Li Yang.

He came before Li Yang, respectfully presenting the report and saying, “Captain Li Yang, this is the general situation on that planet.”

Upon hearing this, Li Yang's eyes immediately flashed with a hint of anticipation. He quickly reached out to take the report, eager to examine it carefully.

The report meticulously detailed information obtained through various advanced scanning and analysis equipment, from the planet's geographical environment and climatic conditions to the technological development level of its civilization, its social structure, and a preliminary assessment of its military strength—all-inclusive.

Li Yang's gaze moved quickly across the report, not missing any detail, trying to construct the overall outline of this unfamiliar civilization from this information, to be fully prepared for the upcoming contact with them.

In this detailed report, Li Yang learned that this human planet was home to over a hundred countries, and its civilization's development level was roughly equivalent to Earth during World War II.

Currently, this planet was deeply mired in a world war, with various countries embroiled in conflict, and the situation was unstable.

“Oh, they're at war. That makes things easier.”

Li Yang raised an eyebrow slightly, a faint smile unconsciously appearing at the corner of his mouth, and a hint of certainty flashed in his eyes.

Seeing that the planet was currently in a state of constant conflict among its nations, he was secretly pleased.

After all, in such a chaotic situation, persuading them to submit would be relatively easier.

Chaos often makes people long for order, and the Empire's powerful strength could undoubtedly bring them the peace and stability they yearned for.

“Pal.”

Li Yang turned to look at his subordinate, his tone decisive and firm.

“Go prepare; I want to address that planet.”

Although the civilization on that planet had not yet developed advanced information dissemination technologies like networks, this was not an insurmountable obstacle for Li Yang.

With the Empire's advanced technology, he was confident that his voice and image could be broadcast to every corner of the planet.

Pal immediately understood Li Yang's intention and quickly responded, “Yes, Captain Li Yang!”

He then quickly left the Command Room to arrange the relevant matters.

Li Yang, meanwhile, lowered his head to review the report again, beginning to plan and consider how to best demonstrate the Empire's strength and sincerity, so that those mired in the quagmire of war could see the bright future after submitting to the Empire…

At this moment, on this war-torn planet, in a trench filled with the smell of gunpowder and death, a Soldier with a dirt-stained face and a weary expression glared at the food in his hand.

“Damn it, what are the officers above doing?”

He roared angrily, his voice particularly harsh amidst the clamor of gunfire.

“Is this stuff even fit for humans to eat?”

In his hand, he held a dry, hard piece of bread. The bread was like a hard stone, devoid of color or aroma, completely unappetizing.