519: To be continued tomorrow

The insect ship fleet clearly realized the disparity in strength between the two sides, and the remaining hulls suddenly made a unified response.

The carapaces on both sides suddenly flipped outward, unfolding a pair of membrane-like structures that vibrated violently like insect wings, with layers of spatial ripples appearing on the surface.

"They are trying to escape!"

He Dong pointed sharply at the light screen. Before his voice had even faded, those insect ships disappeared without a trace in a blinding white light, along with the spatial rift connecting to Subspace, which seemed to be smoothed over by an invisible hand, slowly shrinking, fading, and finally disappearing completely into the starry sky, leaving only the insect swarms still rampaging on the surface of a few planets, proving that the previous confrontation was not an illusion.

"Strong spatial movement fluctuations detected."

The technical officer's voice rang out in the Command Room, carrying a hint of gravity.

"The opponent's spatial movement completely bypassed our blockade network. The jump trajectory cannot be tracked; they must have escaped directly back into Subspace."

Li Yang's brows knitted together instantly.

One must know that the universe class flagship equipped in the fleet carries the Empire's Advanced spatial blocking System, which in theory is sufficient to block all spatial movement capabilities below a Level 6 civilization.

This technology, which allows for such a calm withdrawal right under the nose of a universe class, clearly exceeds the scope of conventional civilizations.

"It seems these biological civilizations are far more troublesome than recorded in the database."

Li Yang tapped his fingertips on the console, his gaze falling on the swarms still wriggling on the planet's surface.

"To be able to complete spatial movement under the blockade of a universe class, their spatial technology is completely different from ours."

"Division Commander, this is not unsolvable."

He Dong quickly pulled up the spatial parameter analysis chart and explained.

"During the first contact, we had not yet captured their spatial frequency. It is like using a key to open a lock; without knowing the tooth pattern, one naturally cannot block it. As long as we record their spatial characteristics a few more times, we can adjust the blocking parameters accordingly, and next time we will surely be able to trap them."

Hearing this, Li Yang nodded slowly, his tense expression relaxing slightly.

He understood that the confrontation between civilizations often begins with an information gap, and probing during the first engagement is inevitable.

He raised his hand to signal the technical department.

"Immediately create a special file, record the spatial fluctuation data of this time, all starships enter Level 2 alert, closely monitor spatial anomalies in the surrounding Star Domain, since those insect ships can come once, they might come a second time."

After all, his Nineteenth Division could easily blow up these insect ships, but the Guard Division of these galaxies might not be able to; the highest starships they have are only galaxy-class starships, and only a few of them at that, with most being stellar or super-stellar class.

On the light screen in the Command Room, the real-time images of several planets were refreshing; ground forces had already begun to clear out the remaining swarms.

Li Yang watched the light points still fighting, his eyes gradually becoming sharp.

"First, resolve the hidden dangers on the planets. As for those insect ships that ran away... we have plenty of time to settle the score with them slowly."

Having lost the continuous supply from the Subspace rift, the insectoid race on the planet's surface was like a kite with a broken string, with no further support.

The Imperial Fleet and ground forces coordinated tacitly. The starship's cannons precisely cleared the gathered swarms, while the ground mecha units, like a torrent of steel, Advanced along the ruins, clearing out the fish that slipped through the net one by one.

Those once densely packed creatures rapidly decreased under the systematic clearing. In just half a day, the insectoid race on several planets was completely wiped out, leaving only a devastated surface and solidified green blood.

The smoke gradually dissipated, and on the light screen in the Command Room, the red dots on the planet's surface finally all went out.

But Li Yang's gaze did not ease. The city ruins devoured by the swarms, the broken energy pipelines, and the dust floating in the low altitude were all silently telling the trauma left by this invasion.

Fortunately, the insectoid race had not yet completely occupied the core areas of the planets and had not managed to penetrate deep into the planetary core to devour minerals, having only destroyed the surface ecology and buildings.

The report submitted by the technical officer showed that as long as enough engineering fleets were deployed, basic reconstruction could be completed within a year, restoring the planets' livable functions.

"He Dong, Pal."

Li Yang turned around, his tone returning to its usual steady composure.

"Pass on my order: the entire Huanlong Galaxy will immediately enter a Level 1 combat readiness state. All spaceports will close civilian routes and activate the highest-level spatial monitoring. The three surrounding galaxies will simultaneously be upgraded to Level 2 combat readiness, and border patrol density will be strengthened. In addition, transfer a portion of the Guard Division from remote galaxies and incorporate them into the Huanlong Galaxy's defense sequence to fill the gaps in garrison forces."

After all, the main force of the border garrison troops still needs to guard the interstellar defense line of the Longlan Star Cluster and cannot be transferred for a long time. They can only dispatch Guard Divisions to assist in defense; this way, it can ensure the safety of the Huanlong Galaxy without affecting the stability of the border.

Li Yang nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the images of the insectoid remains on the light screen.

To be honest, this type of biological civilization, although seemingly ferocious, actually has a limited upper limit. It is merely relying on numerical superiority to show off for a while. Once it encounters a true elite, it is like an ant meeting a crusher, with no power to fight back.

To put it plainly, it is about the same as bullying low-level civilizations; when encountering an Advanced civilization, it is just like easily eliminating actual insects.

But the fact that the insect ships could complete a spatial jump right under the nose of a universal-class starship gave him a reminder.

No civilization can be treated lightly based solely on a Rank label; even a biological civilization classified as "Level 5" might hide unexpected trump cards.

"While clearing out the remaining swarms, have the Research Department analyze the insectoid samples as soon as possible."

Li Yang added.

"See if we can come up with a specialized 'insecticide'. Using firepower to clear them all the time causes too much damage to other resources."

Take this cleanup for example; in fact, there were still a lot of building materials left on these planets that the insectoid race had not yet had time to devour, but they were all gone because of the indiscriminate attacks by the starship cannons.

...

Outside the Command Room, the starship fleet was slowly adjusting its formation, beginning to execute the full-domain defense mission.

In the starry sky of the Huanlong Galaxy, although traces of war still remained, a glimmer of clarity from the reconstruction of order had already emerged.

Li Yang knew that this disturbance had not yet completely subsided, but as long as the defense line was solid and preparations were sufficient, no matter when those creatures hidden in Subspace came again, the Empire was already prepared.

But the troublesome part of this spatial rift lies precisely in its uncertainty.

No matter how cunning the enemies in the main Universe are, one can always track them to find their lair and root them out once and for all. But the Subspace rift is different; it is like a cockroach lurking in a crack in the wall—you don't know in which corner or at what hour it will suddenly crack open.

It could be next to the energy hub of a bustling spaceport, in the farmland of a remote colonial planet, or even appear in the defensive blind spot of a military fortress.

To completely solve it is by no means a task that can be accomplished overnight.

The spatial frequency of this kind of rift is extremely unstable, and each appearance may carry slight deviations, like a lock that constantly changes its code.

Only by recording the energy fluctuations when it opens and capturing the spatial residuals before it closes, time after time, and accumulating enough samples, can one piece together the complete frequency spectrum and precise coordinates, and finally find a way to reverse-anchor, actively open, and completely seal it.

For now, there is no other way but to cast a net.

Li Yang faced the holographic map, his fingertips sliding across every Star Domain of the Huanlong Galaxy.

"Pass down the order: all Guard Divisions are to expand their patrol radius and install spatial fluctuation detectors at every outpost. Once a Subspace energy reaction is captured, report the coordinates and fluctuation data immediately; no delays are allowed. Combat troops are to maintain Level 3 alert; upon receiving the signal, assemble immediately. You must arrive at the scene before the rift closes. Even if you cannot eradicate it temporarily, you must wipe out the swarms that crawl out every time, root and branch; never give them any chance to breed."