322: An accident occurred

Pal hurried back to the starship, his steps urgent yet steady, his heart filled with the eagerness to report on the completed mission.

He went straight to the Command Room where Li Yang was, standing tall and reporting in a clear, resonant voice.

"Captain Li Yang, all nations on the target planet have now wholeheartedly submitted to the Empire."

Li Yang nodded slightly, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes.

"Very good, you did well."

In fact, Li Yang had observed Pal's every move on the planet through the starship's monitoring system.

He was extremely satisfied with Pal's methods and the outcome of handling the matter.

In Li Yang's view, the most straightforward and effective way to deal with stubborn and foolish individuals like the Black Country Decision Maker was to decisively send him out of this world, rather than waste time on meaningless communication.

After all, there was no room for any obstruction or delay on the Empire's path forward.

As for those who were innocently killed in this conflict, while Li Yang didn't feel much emotional turmoil, he did think they were truly unlucky.

It was their misfortune to have such a foolish and obstinate leader, leading their entire nation into an abyss of no return.

In the laws of interstellar civilization, this was perhaps the helplessness and sorrow of the weak.

"Alright, since they have all submitted."

Li Yang leaned back in his command chair, his gaze fixed on the distance.

"Then we just have to wait for the Star Controller to arrive. With the Star Controller, this planet will truly be under the Empire's control."

Just as everyone was immersed in the brief, relaxed atmosphere of the target planet's smooth submission, a burst of static suddenly came through the communication channel, followed by a fragmented message that shattered the calm.

"Captain Li Yang, we discovered a... here... powerful... dangerous..."

The voice seemed to come from a distant abyss, mixed with crackling static, each word sounding torn and struggling to reach their ears.

And the one who sent this message was none other than one of the starships that had been dispatched earlier to explore and search for other worlds.

Upon hearing this garbled message, Li Yang's heart tightened, and he immediately became alert.

"What's going on? Could it be that they encountered danger?"

His eyes instantly sharpened like an eagle's, fixed intently on the light screen, as if he wanted to see through the flickering display to understand what was happening on the other end.

Although the message came from only a planetary-class starship, which was not the most powerful entity in the Empire's fleet system, the fact that they couldn't even send a complete message smoothly was enough to indicate that the civilization they encountered was formidable.

Li Yang quickly calculated in his mind; based on his understanding of interstellar civilization levels, such a situation meant the opposing civilization's strength was at least a third-level civilization, or even higher.

It should be known that a third-level civilization already possessed a relatively mature technological system and armed forces in the universe, posing a threat even to the Empire's stellar-class starships, let alone planetary-class ones.

"Pal, go check if the personnel on that starship still have vital signs."

Li Yang decisively gave the order; he knew that in such an emergency, it was crucial to gather more information as quickly as possible.

After all, all citizens of the Empire had a smart-brain system installed, through which real-time remote monitoring of personnel vital signs was possible.

"Yes!"

Pal knew the urgency of the situation and that there was no time for delay.

He immediately turned and hurried towards the control console.

After a short while, Pal rushed back, his face anxious. Beads of sweat slightly dotted his forehead, and his breathing was a little ragged, clearly having felt the gravity of the situation during the query.

"Reporting, Captain Li Yang!"

Pal arrived in a hurry, his voice tinged with gravity and urgency.

"There were originally 1200 people on board, but now, only a mere 121 people still have vital signs. Furthermore, that starship has completely lost communication, and may have already been destroyed..."

Upon hearing this, Li Yang felt as if struck by a bolt of lightning; he shot up from his chair, his eyes wide, staring at Pal in disbelief, as if he suspected he had misheard.

"How many? Say it again?"

His voice involuntarily rose several octaves, carrying an uncontrollable shock and anger.

"Out of 1200 people, only 121 remain."

Pal repeated, his tone growing heavier.

As he spoke, he handed Li Yang the terminal with detailed information, and the stark data on it cruelly confirmed the harsh reality.

Li Yang took the terminal, his gaze sweeping over the screen. Seeing the glaring numbers, his face instantly turned extremely grim, as if covered by a layer of frost.

Since joining the Empire, the fleet he led had always had smooth sailing, and he had never suffered such heavy casualties.

This was not only a huge loss of personnel but also a severe blow to the fleet's strength and prestige.

"Go, immediately record the exact last coordinates of that missing starship, then recall all other starships at the fastest speed!"

Li Yang gritted his teeth, enunciating each word, as if squeezing them out from between his teeth, his eyes flashing with determination and resolve.

"Yes!"

Pal responded without hesitation, turning and striding away to execute the order.

After Pal left, Li Yang knew that this matter was of great importance and he had to report to Yan Ze immediately.

He took a deep breath, composed himself, and sent an urgent communication request to Yan Ze.

The communication link was quickly established, and Yan Ze's steady face appeared on the screen. He frowned slightly, a hint of concern in his eyes, and spoke first.

"What's wrong? Have you discovered another important situation?"

Li Yang's expression was solemn, his voice filled with sorrow and worry.

"There is indeed a new discovery, but the situation is quite bad. One of my starships encountered an accident and was completely destroyed. There were originally 1200 people on board, but now only 121 people survived, and they are currently unaccounted for."

Upon hearing this news, Yan Ze's expression instantly froze, a look of incredulous shock flashing in his eyes.

He clearly understood that any civilization capable of destroying an Empire starship must be at least a third-level civilization or higher.

It seemed the dangers hidden in this mysterious space far exceeded their previous estimates and should not be underestimated.