"Wee-ooh, wee-ooh, wee-ooh."

Awakened by the blaring klaxon, Luna, her vision filled with red warning lights, scrambled out of the hibernation pod.

"Ayla, what's happening?"

Ayla's voice, unchanged over the centuries, responded.

"Luna, we are under attack by an extraterrestrial civilization."

"Their weapon systems are too powerful. Our alloy hull is rapidly melting under their laser fire."

Luna glanced at the date in the bottom right corner of a nearby screen: A.D. 2806.

She had been asleep for so long.

She hurried to the bridge, where she saw a white-haired Ayla standing at the controls, seemingly piloting the ship.

It appeared to be... a 3D projection.

Her attention was quickly drawn to the display.

It showed a fleet of seven ships.

The flagship was oval-shaped, like a giant rugby ball suspended in space, adorned with flowing, crimson veins. White tendrils, like those of a living organism, extended from the ship.

Each tendril stretched for tens of thousands of meters. Looking closely, they appeared to be crystalline, like optical fibers.

Azure laser beams lanced out from these tendrils towards them.

Another laser struck the Hope, shaking the entire vessel.

"Can we retaliate?"

As soon as she asked, she remembered a crucial detail: her original plan hadn't included weapons on the Hope.

Theoretically, they were sitting ducks.

Unless, during that long period, Ayla had developed weapons...

The answer, of course, was no.

Ayla turned to Luna, her beautiful face bearing the serious expression of a commanding officer.

"Luna, we are outgunned. This civilization's technology is far superior to ours."

"The enemy is 0.7 AU away. Their flagship is pursuing us at a velocity of 625 km/s."

"I await your command."

The enemy was being incredibly aggressive, likely because they hadn't detected any offensive weaponry on the Hope's exterior.

As they spoke, another laser beam struck the hull.

The entire Hope shuddered violently, and an explosion rocked the ship.

"Change course, Ayla! Maximum velocity. Evade the enemy ships."

Luna didn't hesitate, making a swift decision.

Their speed was significantly higher than the enemy's.

As long as the enemy's maximum speed was 625 km/s, they could escape.

The Hope altered its trajectory.

The pursuing ships, unable to accelerate further, fell behind.

However, they continued their pursuit relentlessly, unleashing a barrage of laser fire, like a shower of deadly blossoms.

The lasers, carrying intense heat, easily melted through the Hope's outer hull with each impact.

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The hull had been hit dozens of times, its surface riddled with holes.

"Luna, the hull has been breached."

Ayla's avatar's face paled.

"Damn it! Seal the bridge. Prevent air leakage."

There was nothing they could do but endure the attack.

Luna anxiously watched the radar display on the screen, tracking the enemy ships' positions.

Fortunately, as the distance increased, the lasers became easier to dodge.

The chase continued for 21 days.

The distance between them had stretched to 350 million kilometers. The enemy ships, while continuing to harass them with weapons fire, had ceased their active pursuit.

"We've lost them!"

Luna finally breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't slept properly in 21 days.

The Hope was battered and bruised, a fifth of its hull missing, a truly sorry sight.

"Weapons... I didn't consider them initially. Space is so vast. I never thought we'd actually encounter an extraterrestrial civilization."

She was now much more wary, determined to equip the Hope with some main cannons.

They needed some means of defense.

"Judging by their attack methods, this civilization specializes in laser weaponry."

"Yes..."

Luna suddenly remembered a much earlier incident, shortly after Earth's destruction, when a laser beam had nearly killed her in the asteroid belt.

Perhaps that laser had originated from this same civilization.

Located between Earth and Proxima Centauri... could they be the fabled Trisolarans?

"Analyze the probability that this alien civilization originated from Proxima Centauri."

This was a crucial question.

However, Ayla shook her head, providing an answer that contradicted her suspicions.

"2.38%. The enemy ships are not fast, and their primary attack method is lasers. Analysis suggests their civilization is an entry-level Type 1 civilization, not even reaching Type 1.2."

"Such a civilization wouldn't possess the capability for interstellar travel across five light-years. If they originated from Proxima Centauri, they wouldn't be here. And if they were, it would be with a far more advanced fleet."

"Further comparison with the laser's trajectory from 769 years ago confirms it aligns with the enemy ships' direction of retreat."

"Analysis complete. This civilization's home planet is likely located within this region of space. Furthermore, their technological progress is exceptionally slow, having advanced only approximately 0.1 on the Kardashev scale in 769 years."

Luna observed the space outside through the screens.

They were in the void between star systems. Could a civilization truly arise in such a place?

The discovery on Europa had already confirmed that life was abundant in the universe.

If a Type 1 civilization existed in a place like this, how many civilizations were there in the universe?

Nevertheless, she trusted Ayla's analysis.

"Wee-ooh, wee-ooh."

The alarm blared again.

"Luna, enemy fleet detected ahead..."

Luna looked and saw a fleet of ships similar in design to the ones they had encountered earlier, but numbering over ten.

As soon as they were sighted, the enemy lasers arrived.

Hundreds of laser beams rained down, turning all the screens on the bridge white.

"They couldn't have been ahead of us. They must have been operating in this area, and we've entered their territory."

"Keep evading."

This alien civilization seemed determined not to let them go.

"Ayla, what is our current civilization level?"

Another thought had occurred to Luna.

This civilization was extremely hostile, displaying strong aggressive tendencies.

They had attacked on sight. If their lasers had been more powerful, she might have died in her sleep.

Since they weren't being polite, she wouldn't be either.

"During the 664 years of your hibernation, Luna, I have continuously developed our civilization. We are currently a Type 1.3 civilization."

"However, we are a nomadic civilization. We lack a robust infrastructure. Even against a lower-level civilization, we wouldn't necessarily have an advantage."

"I recommend developing a fleet before engaging in conquest, colonization, or destruction of other lower-level civilizations."

Ayla seemed to have sensed Luna's intentions; her holographic avatar now wore a suit of armor.

They had reached Type 1 status years ago with the advent of controllable nuclear fusion, but their progress to 1.3 had been limited by a lack of resources to exploit and achieve a qualitative leap through quantitative change.

Furthermore, this 1.3 classification was still largely theoretical.

Since their civilization level was currently higher than the enemy's, Luna made a decision.

"Ayla, produce probes. First, scout the extent of this civilization's territory, their civilization type, and their life forms."

"We must know our enemy."

Upon receiving the command, Ayla quickly began producing unmanned scout ships.

Luna named these scout ships—Falcons!

Half a month later, after shaking off the alien ships once more, the first Falcon was ready.

Ten meters long and shaped like a shuttle, it was completely black, coated in a radar-absorbent material, and equipped with twelve cameras at the front.

Its primary capability was stealth.

This wasn't optical camouflage, but signal masking, designed to make the Falcon undetectable by enemy electronics.

Watching the Falcon scout ship disappear into the depths of space, Luna couldn't help but feel a heavy weight on her chest.

This was her first interstellar war, a war between civilizations.

She had no other choice. While civilizations might have a benevolent side, such benevolence was only extended to those who completely submitted.

This unknown civilization had discovered them and would likely continue to pursue them. It was a fight for survival.