Chapter 513: Humanity's General Mobilization! The Beginning of Time, The Messenger of the Gods!
This was the advantage of a civilization being able to reach the speed of light.
In the Three-Body universe, where spatial jumps were nearly impossible, light was the fastest medium of information transmission that any three-dimensional civilization could observe.
Once they reached the speed of light, the Trisolaran fleet could, at the very moment they were detected, already appear on humanity's doorstep, catching them completely off guard!
"Has the Trisolaran fleet already entered the solar system?"
Paul asked. If the enemy forces had already penetrated the solar system, then the time left to respond would be short. It would be best to send out troops now to intercept them.
Jonathan shook his head and replied, "Not yet. If the Trisolaran fleet maintains full light-speed travel, it would only make them sweep straight past the solar system, brushing right by us."
"In order to successfully enter the solar system, the Trisolaran fleet must decelerate well in advance. Only after reducing speed to 15% of light speed can they enter the solar system's interior."
This was undoubtedly good news. After all, the Trisolarans' deceleration maneuver also granted humanity a certain window of reaction, preventing things from being overly rushed.
"Also, the Trisolaran fleet has already rendezvoused with those nine droplets. I suspect they'll concentrate their forces into one final offensive against us."
Chairman Galnin spoke in a deep voice. Everyone could see it—after repeated setbacks, the Trisolaran civilization had already been driven to the brink by the Universal Megacorp. The coming battle would decide their very survival.
At this moment, the Trisolarans were like the Japanese army in World War II, charging at humanity with a suicidal resolve, seeking mutual destruction. Victory meant survival; defeat meant annihilation.
"You've done well. You haven't disappointed me."
Paul shook hands with Galnin, Jonathan, and the others. During his absence, humanity had faced such upheaval without panic, and society had remained stable.
That alone was the best result.
Although the Universal Megacorp had overwhelming strength in space warfare, Paul couldn't guarantee what level the post–technology-explosion Trisolaran fleet had reached.
The droplets indeed couldn't shatter the Megacorp's warship energy shields, but they could always maneuver around to attack Fleet International's stellar-class battleships.
With the droplets' agility, it wouldn't be easy even for the Megacorp to intercept them.
Thus, whether the coming battle turned good or bad, no one could say for certain.
"For now, we'll concentrate our efforts on those nine droplets. As for the Trisolaran fleet behind them, don't worry. I have more than enough ways to deal with them."
Paul understood clearly—the core of the Trisolaran strength lay with the droplets. Those enormous fleets had little actual combat experience. If the droplets could be handled, then the overall outcome was decided.
Beside him, Shi Qiang nodded. "Exactly. Right now the Trisolarans need a victory to stabilize their internal situation. I think the repeated setbacks of the sophons and droplets must have already caused turbulence among them."
"If they don't secure a victory soon to steady morale, they'll collapse on their own. Escapism isn't exclusive to humanity—they too can fall into such collective thinking."
At present, the most threatening Trisolaran weapon remained the droplets. Though the Universal Megacorp had once destroyed one, that had been largely due to Trisolaran carelessness.
If no mistakes were made, droplets were by no means easy to destroy.
And the Trisolarans had already learned their lesson. Unlike humans, they would never commit the same mistake twice.
They remembered much better than humanity.
"Do we have any way to resist the droplets' attacks?" Chairman Galnin asked with some anxiety.
In the face of droplets, all human materials were as fragile as butter. A droplet's charge was like a hot knife through butter—no city or major facility could withstand its strike.
If the Trisolarans wished, they could order a droplet to pierce straight through Earth, from Russia in the Northern Hemisphere to Chile in South America.
No human city could stop the sophons' advance. This time, if the Trisolarans simply targeted particle accelerators and other major structures, it would be enough to plunge human civilization into chaotic, lawless hell.
Droplets didn't have the power to destroy an entire planet, but they could certainly slaughter the vast majority of humanity on Earth.
The Universal Megacorp did have many methods for defending against droplets, but not in the short term. More importantly, droplets moved like the wind, always able to find another angle of attack.
Pure defense was useless.
"We cannot waste time setting up defenses on Earth. We must take the offensive. If the droplets reach Earth, that means we've already lost."
Paul's voice was solemn, his expression leaving no room for doubt.
Yet Jonathan, Galnin, and the others froze. Paul's words had reminded them of Fleet International's decision to take the offensive.
Back then, it was precisely because Fleet International attacked first that they were annihilated by the droplets. Was this now to be repeated?
The 1,300 shattered stellar-class warships remained humanity's eternal scar. Those who had lived through the Doomsday Battle would never again think of intercepting the droplets.
Naturally, they believed hope should be placed in defense, not in another reckless attempt to throw themselves onto the droplets' spearpoint.
"We cannot stop the droplets."
The speaker was Lin Yun, recently promoted from commander of the Asian Fleet to Chairman of Fleet International.
"Leaving aside the terrifying strength of strong-interaction materials, the propulsion system of the droplets far exceeds any human flight device."
"If we take the initiative, we'll only end up toyed with by the sophons, and our fate will be as tragic as that of the North American and European fleets two years ago!"
Lin Yun's voice rang with sharp opposition.
"Everyone, calm yourselves. We've long since prepared for this." Paul raised his hand to quiet the protests, though it didn't help them understand what exact preparations he meant.
The Universal Megacorp had never revealed its plans against the droplets. Even when Paul orchestrated the ambush of the first droplet, no one else had known in advance.
It wasn't until the battle was over that they understood.
"Next, I want every stellar-class battleship of the Asian Fleet to move out. Target: Jupiter's orbit. We'll intercept the droplets there!"
Hearing this, the others realized he was serious. He really intended to use the Asian Fleet to intercept the droplets.
But wasn't this suicide? Even 1,300 stellar-class battleships couldn't handle a single droplet—how could fewer than 1,000 hope to face nine?
"Are you saying that sending fewer than a thousand stellar-class warships of the Asian Fleet to intercept nine droplets… is your plan?"
Chairman Galnin looked at Paul in disbelief, his head buzzing.
If Paul hadn't repeatedly proven his vision, he would have suspected that the man's brain had been frozen during hibernation to come up with such an outrageous scheme.
But Paul's gaze was unwavering. He nodded firmly. "Only humanity can save itself. It was true before, and it is still true now."
Chairman Galnin's emotions suddenly surged. "We can toil day and night to build ten thousand high-energy particle accelerators, exhausting everything to break through the sophons' blockade."
"But we cannot let human warriors go to their deaths before the water droplets anymore!"
The council members present all thought Paul would say the same thing as last time—that they needn't worry about the water droplets, that the most dangerous tasks should be left to the Universal Megacorp.
It was precisely because of this reassurance that people on Earth had never been overly concerned about the nine water droplets floating in outer space. Instead, they had poured all their energy into building more than ten thousand high-energy particle accelerators.
In just two years, a tenth of the project had already been completed.
But now Paul was telling humanity to face those nightmare-like nine water droplets alone. How could they possibly accept that?
"The sophon blockade has ended. The accelerator project can be delayed—or even stopped altogether." Paul spoke with calm indifference.
"What did you just say—!"
At those words, the council erupted in shock.
The sophon blockade on human science had lasted for two centuries. Many believed that high-energy collision experiments were utterly useless.
That was why the plan to build ten thousand accelerators—the Wallfacer Plan—had come into being. Humanity had simply assumed that once the accelerators were completed, the sophons would be overwhelmed and unable to maintain the blockade.
Only then could humanity finally break through in fundamental physics.
During Paul's two years of hibernation, scientists had been running accelerator experiments every day. Yet they never analyzed the data too carefully.
After all, with sophons watching, they could never obtain correct results.
Now, seeing Paul so certain that the sophons were gone—and after he described in detail the extermination campaign against them—Hines immediately ordered verification.
Paul caught every flicker of expectation and nervousness in their faces. This was exactly the reaction he had anticipated.
For humanity in the Three-Body universe, sophons had been the haunting shadow clinging to their minds—a ghost that could not be killed.
Over the long years, people had gradually grown used to them. Even the most sensitive nerves dulled under time's erosion.
They knew sophons existed, but could not perceive them. And so, eventually, they stopped caring.
Only after Paul's reminder did they realize the ghost that had tormented human science for two hundred years had actually vanished!
Soon, through global accelerator experiments and analysis of earlier data, scientists confirmed it: the blockade had ended.
Their results were no longer the chaotic, patternless errors of the past.
"My God… it's true!"
No one could imagine how the Megacorp had managed that microscopic extermination campaign.
Until now, they had believed only if the Trisolarans themselves lifted the blockade could humanity escape its stranglehold.
The accelerator project had been nothing but a clumsy attempt to brute-force a breakthrough. The sophons were still there—still interfering.
But now everything had changed.
The Megacorp had eliminated every sophon in the solar system. The Trisolarans would never again receive a constant stream of information.
The era of humanity's science being strangled by sophons was over.
When the truth was confirmed, the council members were left bewildered. They stared at each other, unsure what to say.
They had lived under sophon surveillance since birth, grown up with its constant presence, grown accustomed to it. Now, learning the sophons were gone, they actually felt… unmoored.
What exactly did their disappearance mean for humanity? None of them could say right away.
"Are you truly certain the sophons have been destroyed?" Chairman Galning fixed his eyes on Paul, still unable to believe the Megacorp had pulled off something so outrageous.
The Wallfacers had absolute authority to lie. They could deceive anyone without consequence.
"Yes. The sophons are gone. From now on, the Trisolarans will no longer know the content of our conversations."
Paul's voice was steady, utterly devoid of jest.
As his words sank in, someone broke down in tears of joy.
An elderly scientist, hair white as snow, sobbed uncontrollably. Lifting the sophon blockade had been the lifelong dream of generations of scientists. None of them could imagine how the Megacorp had killed sophons in the microscopic realm.
But no matter the process, the result was all that mattered.
Then, after long silence, Luo Ji approached Paul and said softly: "You're not actually a branch of humanity that escaped Earth, are you?"
Their gazes met. Paul could see no hostility, no suspicion in Luo Ji's eyes—only calm, as still as water.
"I was chosen by humanity as a Wallfacer. You once were as well. You know very well what Wallfacers are capable of."
Paul smiled. He gave no direct answer, but his words carried weight enough.
Deception and misdirection were a Wallfacer's sharpest weapons. Sometimes you had to deceive the enemy. Sometimes your own people. Sometimes… even yourself.
To bury your true intent so deeply that not even your dreams could betray it.
"How did you do it? I mean—how did you come into this world at all?"
A light glimmered in Luo Ji's eyes. The Big Bang posits a beginning of time. That left room for the divine.
Could the Megacorp be messengers sent by gods?
It was all so dreamlike. Yet Luo Ji disliked good dreams—because beautiful dreams only magnified the cruelty of reality. The shattering of beauty was no less than a nightmare.
Paul still didn't answer directly. "That's a long story. If there's time, I'll explain it slowly. But for now, we should focus on what lies before us."
In these days together, Paul had already seen that Luo Ji was a brilliant scholar. More than anyone else, he dared to imagine. More than anyone else, he could perceive deeply.
If time allowed, Paul would gladly sit down and talk with him at length. But trouble was closing in. For now, his attention had to remain fixed on the Trisolarans.
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