Time flowed slowly in anticipation. Half an hour later, the planning department presented two hastily formulated combat plans to Zhou Guangyi.
Zhou Guangyi glanced over them and passed the plans to Dan and Mu. "Take a look. What are your opinions?"
Time was of the essence, so the staff's plans were simple.
Plan One: Fully utilize home-field advantage, conduct continuous harassment, and resist at every turn to maximally delay the enemy, buying more preparation time for the fleet. Seek opportunities in motion to annihilate the enemy's effective strength.
Plan Two: Concentrate forces to defend Earth with a decisive battle.
Dan Qiuyu pondered for a moment. "I lean towards Plan One. The most ideal situation would be to know the enemy's position and direction and intercept them outside the solar system. However, this idea is unrealistic. Therefore, my suggestion is to wait until the enemy reaches the solar system before launching an intercept and harassment campaign."
Guerrilla warfare, a long-standing tradition.
"I lean more towards Plan Two," Mu Xingyu said. "Space is open and defenseless. Whether it's a large-scale blockade or small fleet harassment, it's extremely dangerous. Rather than risking losses, it's better to concentrate forces and choose a strategically advantageous area for a decisive battle. However, the location must be chosen carefully."
The most favorable battlefield for humanity would be near Earth. It had been developed by humans for many years and possessed a complete defense system.
However, the enemy approaching Earth was itself very dangerous. If the enemy directly attacked Earth, the consequences would be unimaginable.
But besides Earth, where else could there be a strategically advantageous area?
Jupiter's environment was complex and could be utilized, but why would the enemy, with a functional brain, ignore the delicious prize of Earth and go to a ghost town like Jupiter?
No matter how stupid the enemy commander was, they wouldn't make such an illogical choice, right?
First, destroy humanity's fleet, then enslave the humans on Earth?
Don't be ridiculous, aliens aren't stupid.
Dan Qiuyu added in a timely manner, "I considered that as well, which is why I lean towards the first plan… Old Zhou, what's your opinion?"
Zhou Guangyi's brow was furrowed. "I think..."
"Report!" A voice interrupted Zhou Guangyi.
"Enter!" Zhou Guangyi said.
A major entered, saluted the three, and handed a document to Zhou Guangyi. "This is the latest news from the Sirius system."
Sirius?
The three leaders were a little confused. Headquarters had already issued combat readiness orders. Unless it was extremely important, no news unrelated to combat would be reported.
What had happened in the Sirius system?
Opening the document, Zhou Guangyi's pupils contracted. "The 'Wolf Yuan' reports that a fleet of unknown origin has appeared in the Sirius system, numbering over a hundred… The other party only stayed in Sirius for a short while, destroyed the star gate, and left."
"Is it a fleet?" Dan Qiuyu asked.
Zhou Guangyi opened the attached video. Several unfamiliar warships appeared above the terminal. "Based on their appearance, no. But what are the odds of such a coincidence?"
New Orange Star had just experienced an accident, and these warships appeared in Sirius. Could this be a coincidence?
Mu Xingyu's complexion turned extremely grim. "Three hundred from New Orange Star, and now over a hundred here, that's over four hundred!"
"It's not a big problem," Zhou Guangyi said.
At this moment, there were only over two hundred warships openly visible near Earth, but over four hundred hidden warships. Coupled with the planetary defense system, dealing with over four hundred enemy ships was absolutely not an issue.
Furthermore, fleets that had received orders were en route and would soon gather over a thousand warships near Earth.
Although these warships were all from the Rohl, humanity did not simply take them over. They underwent comprehensive modifications after obtaining the warships.
While the integrated combat capability of individual ships was indeed inferior to Rohl warships, they were already a significant step up from the warships of other civilizations.
It had to be admitted that humanity possessed wisdom far exceeding other civilizations in the ancient activity of warfare.
"Report!" The combat staff officer delivered another document.
Zhou Guangyi raised an eyebrow. "Where is this one from?"
"Wolf 359," the major said.
Opening the document, it was another fleet of unknown origin, numbering over a hundred, which also destroyed a star gate and left.
"That makes five hundred!" Mu Xingyu exclaimed. "Are the aliens trying to surround us?"
"It doesn't seem like it," Dan Qiuyu said. "First New Orange Star, then Sirius, then Wolf 359… the next should be Proxima Centauri, right?"
New Orange Star, or rather HD 85512, was located in Carina, 22 light-years from the solar system. Sirius was in Canis Major, to the northeast of Carina, 8.6 light-years from the solar system.
There was only one constellation, Puppis, between them.
Proxima Centauri was in Centaurus, 4.22 light-years from Earth, separated from Carina by only one constellation, Vela.
In other words, all three discovered enemy forces came from the direction of Carina. No enemy alerts were received from other directions.
"The situation is very clear!" Mu Xingyu said.
Zhou Guangyi brought up a holographic projection of the solar system. "The possibility of the enemy directly jumping within the star system is not high. Therefore, their most likely emergence location should be between Cancer and Libra, where they will briefly rest before jumping directly to Earth."
Dan Qiuyu shook his head. "The range is too large, it's impossible to intercept."
Zhou Guangyi sighed. "There's no other way. We'll defend Earth to the death. What's the situation with the civilians?"
"They are still evacuating, and it's quite chaotic."
Wealth is worth ten thousand gold. Most civilians, after receiving the alert, did not immediately hide in air-raid shelters. Instead, they packed their belongings, at least the valuables, rather than leaving them in their homes which might turn into ruins.
Along with food and water, each family had to carry a lot of luggage, which was a heavy burden for the evacuation.
Despite the military's repeated emphasis on evacuation speed and restrictions on luggage quantity and weight, many civilians were still reluctant to part with their possessions.
Their feelings were understandable, but war was no child's play.
As the old saying goes, don't flaunt your wealth. The valuables carried with them attracted the covetousness of a large number of criminals, and the public order situation in various parts of the world deteriorated rapidly.
Extraordinary times called for extraordinary measures. Martial law had been successively declared in various regions, and any criminal behavior that disrupted order was infinitely magnified, with thousands of criminals being shot on the spot.
There were also some foolish individuals who, under the banner of welcoming alien civilizations, roamed around and even gathered quite a few people, looking eager to become lapdogs for the aliens, as if the aliens would enshrine humans in temples upon arrival.
There were also some idiots who took the opportunity to incite the public with doomsday theories, threat theories, ascension theories, and all sorts of bizarre ideas, making many places chaotic.
There were even those who sabotaged air-raid shelters.
The vast majority of comrades were able to suppress destruction and disperse crowds in a timely manner, but there were some who not only did not stop them but even adopted a schadenfreude attitude, fanning the flames and fearing that the world would not be chaotic enough.
In this regard, one could only say that there were all sorts of people in a large forest. Some people had completely lost their bottom line for their own benefit and would do anything.
However, the military could not manage other comrades and could only ensure its own safety. Thanks to the military's thorough preparation, domestic order was maintained, and the evacuation progress was much better than expected.
Zhou, Dan, and Mu were discussing whether to build more underground cities and relocate some civilians to them for long-term residence when the combat staff officer reported for the third time.
Zhou Guangyi glanced at the report. "Old Dan, you were right. They really did reach Proxima Centauri!"
"How many ships?" Dan Qiuyu asked.
"Still over a hundred."
Mu Xingyu asked worriedly, "Could there be any we haven't detected? Let's just call back all the warships outside."
"I suggest notifying the Starship," Dan Qiuyu said.
"Recall the fleet, and notify the Starship as well," Zhou Guangyi said.
He had initially thought that the remaining fleet alone could solve the problem, at most with the strategic reserve fleet. However, from the current situation, the number of enemy ships was much larger than expected. To be safe, it was better to be better prepared.
Rohl System 4.
Another round of negotiations ended. Ou Zhanpeng left the bridge with heavy steps and returned to his dormitory.
There were no clashing swords on the negotiation table, but in terms of intensity, it could be called a battlefield without smoke.
Every day here, the Alliance delegation engaged in fierce confrontation with the Rohls. When emotions ran high, directly greeting each other's female relatives was not uncommon.
Although his body was not tired, after several days, he felt an indescribable fatigue in his heart.
Ou Zhanpeng would rather fight the Rohls to the death on the battlefield than engage in verbal duels and spitting on the negotiation table.
The cabin door opened, and Xu Qing immediately showed a brilliant smile. "You're back!"
Ou Zhanpeng breathed a sigh of relief, his straight back instantly relaxing. "Yes."
Xu Qing really wanted to know if there had been any progress in the negotiations, but she didn't want to talk about work at this time. She could only prepare food while making small talk.
In short, Ou Zhanpeng could not be left idle, or he would start thinking about the negotiations again.
Although the negotiations were led by the Starship, the main conflict was the conflict of interests between various civilizations and the Rohls.
To put it bluntly, the Starship had now become a supporting role, and other civilizations were the protagonists.
As the two were chatting casually, Ou Zhanpeng's terminal suddenly vibrated, and Zeng Qiao's voice appeared. "Captain, an urgent dispatch from home!"
Ou Zhanpeng's brow furrowed. "Send it over immediately!"
A surge of emotion washed over him. What had happened?
Opening the document, Ou Zhanpeng took one look and shot up from his seat, his face alternating between blue and white.
Xu Qing froze. "What's wrong?"
"An unknown fleet has been discovered at home, with as many as four to five hundred warships. Full mobilization has been ordered," Ou Zhanpeng said, already walking out.
Xu Qing became anxious. "When are we going back?"
In her... no, in everyone's mind, Earth was far more important than any damn negotiations. Other civilizations could negotiate as they pleased, but the Starship had to prioritize Earth's safety.
"Immediately!" Ou Zhanpeng rushed out of the dormitory, heading towards the bridge while notifying others.
By the time he reached the bridge, Gong Yiding and others had also arrived.
Ou Zhanpeng directly opened the file and let everyone see it clearly.
Ling Xiao immediately thought of the crucial point. "Are they the Rohls?"
Gong Yiding carefully analyzed the images of the enemy warships in the document and shook his head. "Doesn't seem like it… I've never seen Rohls use warships of this appearance, and their external weapon systems are also different."
Everyone's gaze immediately focused on Gong Yiding.
No one doubted his judgment because all the data was stored in the base's database, and Gong Yiding could perform comprehensive comparisons and searches at any time, leaving no room for omissions.
Ou Zhanpeng asked confusedly, "These warships didn't just appear out of thin air, did they?"
"Wait!" Gong Yiding waved his hand, rapidly browsing through photos and videos, quickly locking onto the highest resolution and clearest photos.
After extracting the photos, Gong Yiding meticulously analyzed the details and extracted them one by one for another round of comparison, quickly arriving at a result.
Although his mechanical body had been replaced, Gong Yiding's expression turned gloomy at an extremely rapid pace.
Ou Zhanpeng eagerly asked, "How is it?"
Gong Yiding shook his head slightly. "Open the spherical display!"
Ou Zhanpeng didn't understand what he intended to do, but he immediately complied. The lights in the bridge dimmed, displaying the surrounding scenery on the spherical display.
Gong Yiding's eyes swept over it like radar, pointing and gesturing on the screen. "This, this, and this, send me the screenshots!"
Everyone was bewildered, not understanding why he needed screenshots of the Alliance warships.
Ou Zhanpeng's heart stirred, and he immediately sent the screenshots.
Gong Yiding took only a few seconds to send a batch of photos to Ou Zhanpeng. "Release them, let everyone see."
His voice was low, his eyes gloomy, filled with suppressed anger.
Ou Zhanpeng displayed a set of photos, all showing partial details of the warships.
"The report from headquarters on the left, and the Alliance warships on the right!" Gong Yiding said.
Upon seeing this, everyone gasped.
The two types of warships were completely different, but the weapon systems mounted outside the ships were identical.
Next were the second set, the third set... a total of seven sets of photos, pinpointing seven civilizations within the Anti-Roh Alliance.
Ling Xiao couldn't believe it. "What's going on? It's not the Rohls stabbing us in the back, but the Anti-Roh Alliance? Could it be that the Rohls are deliberately confusing us?"
"There's a possibility," Gong Yiding said.
Ou Zhanpeng had intended to immediately contact these civilizations and question their intentions. However, after hearing Gong Yiding's words, he immediately dismissed the idea.
He only had comparative photos, which could not prove who was attacking humanity. It would be meaningless to initiate an inquiry at this time and would only make the Rohls laugh.
Ou Zhanpeng's thoughts shifted, and he made a decision. "Notify the Rohls that the Starship will be temporarily leaving for a while, and the negotiations related to humanity will be postponed; also notify the Alliance, if they wish to talk, they can continue, if not, they can wait."
"Yes!" Zeng Qiao agreed and immediately conveyed Ou Zhanpeng's instructions.
Upon receiving the news, the Leng'e people were the first to contact the Starship, inquiring about what had happened.
Ou Zhanpeng didn't know what had happened. At this moment, he viewed everyone as a potential perpetrator of the attack on Earth. He feigned a perfunctory response and ended the communication, activating a wormhole to leave.
The Alliance fleet immediately fell into disarray. Just a short while ago, they had been united against the Rohls. Now, they had become headless flies, with no one caring about anyone else.
The Rohls did not take the opportunity to attack but watched coldly, allowing the fleets of various civilizations to leave.
It seemed that something interesting had changed!