“…… Recently, the Seeker-1 unmanned exploration spacecraft, which carries the yearning for the starry sky, has successfully reached a position 21 billion kilometers away from us. ”

"Although the nuclear power battery it carries will only work for another 42 years, it will still be able to maintain contact with us during this time, and continue to transmit the scenery from space back here!"

"I believe that although this is a small step for our country, it will be a big step for the whole world!"

“……”

"-Beep!"

The abrupt shutdown of the television that was still broadcasting the news also caused dissatisfaction among viewers.

"Dad, what are you doing! You put an end to one of your son's great advances, and that's something the whole world should celebrate! ”

Despite the shouts of the viewers, he immediately ran back to his room without looking back, looking at his father's gradually gloomy expression.

I heard him shout, "I remember I still have homework to do!" Then I heard the sound of the door locking, and I didn't know if I was really doing my homework inside.

And the father could only sigh helplessly when he looked at his son's naughty appearance, and then his eyes shifted to the newspaper on the table, looking at the various news about "space exploration" on it, revealing a serious expression.

He sat down at his desk and began to flip through the pages of the newspaper, frowning from time to time at the celebratory stories on it.

"There's a lot of cover-up...... Even after so long, hasn't it shown the slightest clue? ”

The man seemed to know something inside, and after reading the newspapers, he got up directly, left a note saying "make your own dinner", and then put on his coat and hurried out.

On the streets, as always, there were people hurrying off work, and there were students returning home from school, and in this crowd of people who "walked back", he seemed a little out of place as a retrograde.

But I saw him make a phone call, as if he was asking someone to meet, and then traveled for quite some time, and finally came to a hidden tavern.

Shortly after he sat down, another man in an overcoat hurried in and sat down directly in front of him.

“…… Huh, teacher, you should know that the work I do is strictly confidential, and your identity is ...... It's special, for the sake of your student's future, can you stop looking for me in the future? ”

As soon as the man sat down, he was full of complaints, but from the words he could tell that they were actually very familiar.

The man called "Teacher" did not care about the tone of the person, but said seriously:

"You shouldn't have come, but you still came here, which shows that I, the 'teacher', still have a bit of weight in your heart."

"Of course, after all, you are the famous 'Scientist of Alien Civilization' - the Puzzled Star Scholar. If you ask for something, students can't help it. ”

The face of the man who had not used his name for a long time flashed with a look of remembrance of the past, but he quickly became firm.

I saw him speak directly: "Don't talk about it, I must have something important to discuss with you." Ever since the Institute fired me, I've been haunted by that discovery. ”

"But twenty years have passed, and I haven't seen the slightest report about it, and I haven't heard any information, I want to know, does the institute really pay attention to the discovery I said?"

The Puzzled Star Scholar's eyes were very hot, as if he must get the answer to this question, staring at his students a little uncomfortably, and had to reluctantly admit:

“…… In fact, your discovery did attract the attention of the whole office in the beginning, and it even alarmed some big people, so that the people in the office worked overtime for almost a long time......"

"But you also know that it takes time for information to be transmitted, since the institute took the initiative to reply-"

"-What!?" Hearing this, the Confused Star Scholar stood up suddenly, and his voice was even a little distorted because of the huge incredible.

"Didn't I tell me again and again not to reply to any messages, just to be a quiet listener?! Why reply to the messages of those 'alien civilizations'?! ”

The others in the tavern looked at the strangeness of the Puzzled Star Scholar, which made him realize that he was too excited to sit down again.

And before he could continue to ask, his student reluctantly replied:

"This is the only clue to communicate with an extraterrestrial civilization, and of course it is impossible to pass up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and in any case, the first contact is necessary, which will affect our strategy ......"

"Confused! What a confusion! The Confusing Star Scholar was full of distress, "How dare you assume that the other party must have come with good intentions?" Our strength, our country, our civilization are far from enough to deal with a space attack! ”

“…… Teacher, calm down, I know that you think your 'Dark Forest' theory is correct, and I deeply agree with your research, but you see, if you want to get more funding, you must naturally make a big enough discovery......

The student once again persuaded the Confused Star Scholar, but the Confused Star Scholar was so anxious that he stomped his feet on the spot at this time, and regardless of the strange eyes of the people around him, he asked directly:

"When was your first response?"

"About 15 years ago? That's what happened not long after you left, teacher......"

But he saw that the Confused Star Scholar rushed home directly after listening to the time, and he didn't hear the words behind the student at all.

On the way, he kept thinking in his mind: "That alien signal from about five light-years away was discovered by me twenty years ago, but it took another five years for the Astronomical Institute to choose to respond......"

"If the time for information transmission is also calculated as five years, then the blow should have come five years ago, why not? Could it be that my theory is wrong? ”

“…… No, no, the preparation of weapons also takes time, the blow has not yet appeared, maybe I still have time......"

The Wandering Star Scholar rushed back to his home, but he didn't notice that one of the people who was supposed to leave work seemed to have received some urgent message, and hurried back, targeting the unique landmark in the distance, the Astronomical Observatory.

At this time, the people in the astronomical institute were in a mess, countless people were nervously calculating something, and their heads were sweating.

A staff member who had just been urgently recalled from work was a little confused when he saw this, and hurriedly caught one of them and asked what was going on.

After hearing the reason, the staff member was also shocked into a cold sweat and joined in the intense work.

Because he heard an incredible answer:

"The latest information from Seeker 1 indicates that a beam of light filled with massive energy is approaching, and the target is ...... Our stars! ”

It was also at this time that the "Seeker-1", which was advancing 21 billion kilometers away, was unfortunatelyly hit by a thick pillar of light and disappeared into the light in an instant.

Disaster countdown: 19 hours.

(End of chapter)