472: Li Yang introducing himself

As for why a first-level civilization's planet would have a second-level starship? In the chaotic fringe star systems, this isn't uncommon—perhaps a crashed, abandoned ship was salvaged and repaired by natives, or maybe it's a small civilization's exiles barely surviving here.

After all, the signal was hidden so deeply at first, it was most likely a refugee civilization secretly hiding on this planet.

“Hah, a false alarm.”

The General leaned back in his seat, resuming his arrogant posture.

“A second-level civilization? Even a third-level civilization’s lone starship would have to grovel before our dozens of starships. Give the order, no need to be nervous. First, give it a warning shot to let it know who the master here is!”

The Black-Robed Persons in the bridge also breathed a sigh of relief, their previous tension replaced by mockery.

In their view, this suddenly appearing starship was merely the last resort of this dying civilization, and would soon turn into cosmic dust, just like those missiles and nuclear bombs.

In the underground Command Room, the Decision Makers of various nations stared intently at the suddenly appearing starship on the screen, their eyes filled with shock and bewilderment.

“This is… the starship the Xili Group was developing before?”

Someone reacted first, his voice tinged with incredulous surprise.

After all, before this, many thought it was just a gimmick and never imagined it could actually be built.

“Judging by its appearance, it matches the design schematics in our intelligence. It should be it.”

Another Decision Maker nodded, his tone complex.

“I never thought they actually pulled this off…”

But the admiration was quickly replaced by a heavy feeling. Someone looked at the lonely starship on the screen, then compared it to the vast fleet of dozens of Sea Soul General’s massive starships, and couldn't help but shake his head, letting out a sigh.

“But with just one… I'm afraid it’s just a drop in the bucket. Dozens of times the difference, how can we fight?”

The Command Room fell silent again. Everyone knew in their hearts that this might be the last struggle of human civilization, but hope was so faint it was almost invisible.

Meanwhile, in the Command Room of the Sea Soul General’s fleet, the General was triumphantly waiting for his subordinates to execute the warning shot order.

However, just a second before the ship's cannons were about to charge, all control panel screens suddenly flickered simultaneously. The originally smooth data instantly turned into garbled code, and control was completely lost.

“What happened?!”

The General shot up, a flicker of panic in his eerie green pupils beneath his hood.

“Report, General! It’s bad! Our main control system has been forcibly infiltrated! The firewall is collapsing at a visible rate!”

A subordinate frantically tapped on the light screen, his tentacles trembling with tension. The red alarm lights on the screen almost dyed the entire bridge red.

“Infiltration?”

The General frowned, his face full of confusion.

They were a third-level civilization; how could their starship's system be breached by technology from a first-level civilization planet?

Just as he was filled with doubt and alarm, the internal light screens of all starships suddenly lit up simultaneously, and a tall figure appeared on the screens.

The person wore a simple military uniform, his face calm, his gaze indifferently sweeping over the camera. It was Li Yang.

His gaze seemed to penetrate the screen, falling directly on the Sea Soul General’s face, carrying a condescending scrutiny, as if looking at a mere jester.

“Who are you?”

The Sea Soul General stared intently at Li Yang, who had suddenly appeared on the screen, his fingertips unconsciously scratching the edge of the control panel. The unease in his heart surged like a tide, making him inexplicably flustered.

Li Yang's figure appeared exceptionally clear on the light screen. His expression was calm, his gaze swept over everyone in the Command Room, his voice steady yet carrying an undeniable authority.

“Gentlemen, I am from the Xili Empire. From now on, this planet has been officially incorporated into the Empire's territory.”

When the intelligent computer successfully took control of their starship systems, it recorded their civilization's language, allowing Li Yang to communicate without hindrance.

“Xili Empire?”

The subordinates behind the Sea Soul General whispered, their faces blank.

“I’ve never heard of this civilization in the interstellar registry… Is it a new rising power?”

Someone couldn't help but mutter, his eyes full of confusion—in their knowledge, civilizations in the surrounding star systems were almost all recorded, and they had never heard of this person or empire.

Li Yang seemed to see through their doubts, a faint curve on his lips. His tone remained calm, yet it was like a thunderclap in everyone's ears.

“You don’t need to delve into the Empire’s origins. Just remember, the Xili Empire is a seventh-level civilization.”

“Seventh… seventh-level civilization!”

The Sea Soul General cried out in alarm, his face instantly turning ashen white.

The Black-Robed Persons behind him were even more thunderstruck, each frozen in place, their eyes unfocused.

One must know, their entire Sea Soul Civilization was only a third-level civilization, and a seventh-level civilization was an existence only found in ancient star map legends. Its technological strength was enough to easily crush civilizations like theirs, like crushing an ant.

A deathly silence fell over the Command Room. The previously arrogant Sea Soul people were now left with only bone-deep fear. Provoking a seventh-level civilization… what was the difference from seeking death?

“seventh-level civilization… Hahahaha!”

Coming back to his senses, the Sea Soul General let out a sudden scoff as if he had heard the biggest joke, the terror in his eyes replaced by arrogance.

“Don’t think you can scare people by just making up a number! If I’m not mistaken, you’re the one from that broken starship, aren’t you?”

Li Yang nodded calmly, without any extra emotion.

“Yes.”

“Ridiculous!”

The General, like a lit firecracker, slammed his hand on the control panel, making the buttons rattle.

“Your starship is at best a second-level civilization standard, and you dare to boast about being Seventh-level? Do you think our Sea Soul Civilization are ignorant fools who haven’t seen the world?”

His subordinates behind him also burst into laughter, their taut nerves relaxing—right, how could someone from a seventh-level civilization ride such a shabby starship? Especially when you also claim to be a division commander.

Li Yang looked at their mocking faces and spoke calmly.

“To tell you the truth, I am the 19th Division Commander of the Imperial Homeland Security Force of the Xili Empire. My unit encountered a space anomaly during a cross-star system mission, our starship disintegrated, and I crashed here in an escape pod. This starship was temporarily pieced together using materials from this planet.”

At these words, the laughter of the Sea Soul people abruptly ceased. They looked at each other, their expressions frozen.

That’s right… why hadn’t they thought of that just now? This planet’s civilization hadn’t even mastered space travel, how could it build a starship capable of breaking through the atmosphere?

Although the starship before them was crude, it was still a starship and could absolutely not have been built by the current civilization.

If it really was temporarily built… then the other party’s original civilization level was probably far beyond imagination.