Chapter 213

Yanhuang Star System, Shenlong Command Center

When Qin Hao's figure appeared again, everyone present felt an indescribable sense of oppression.

He simply stood there silently, with no visible energy fluctuations on his body, but his deep eyes seemed to reflect the entire starry sky.

His aura was restrained to the extreme, yet it was everywhere.

Even steadfast figures like Old Luo and Zhang Xianzhong felt their hearts skip a beat involuntarily when facing him.

This is an absolute suppression on the Life Level.

"Xiao Qin, you…"

Old Luo opened his mouth, but found his words pale at this moment.

Qin Hao gave him a slight nod, his expression calm, as if he had just gone out for a walk.

"Time is almost up; let's quickly prepare for the final battle!"

He lightly uttered a few words.

……

Half a month later, the piercing alarm echoed throughout the Command Center!

"Alarm! Detected ultra-high-intensity spatial ripples! Source located at K-78 coordinates on the system's edge!"

"The space structure is being forcibly torn apart! The stability coefficient instantly fell below the critical value!"

On the holographic star map, a patch of void at the edge of the Yanhuang Star System violently twisted.

Next, a silver-white burst of light erupted from nowhere, rapidly expanding into an enormous "star gate" emitting extraordinary fluctuations.

It was neither a jump nor a wormhole, but a higher-level spatial jump channel.

Inside the star gate was a deathly silence of darkness.

Then, one after another, strangely shaped warships forged entirely of cold metal silently sailed out.

They had no portholes, no signs of life, only pure mechanical lines and a chilling structure.

A fleet so vast it was suffocating descended just like that.

And at the fleet's center, a more terrifying presence slowly emerged from the star gate.

It was a colossal sphere over ten thousand kilometers in diameter.

It was not the piecemeal mechanical planet mentioned by Elwin, but a perfect one, its surface flowing with silvery liquid metal,

its interior emitting star‑level powerful energy fluctuations… the main control satellite.

It resembled a cold mechanical deity, overlooking the entire Yanhuang Star System.

Everyone who witnessed this felt a chill that rose from their bones.

Before the Federal side could react, a communication request devoid of any emotion directly linked into Shenlong's highest command channel.

There was no image, only a mechanical voice synthesized from countless data streams.

"Carbon‑based life civilization 'Human Federal', your actions have violated the Galactic Resource Allocation Agreement."

"According to assessment, your control of this region has reached seventy‑eight percent, exceeding the initial threshold."

"You must now pay half of your civilization's energy reserves and all surveyed mineral resources, plus a complete copy of your civilization's technology tree."

"Refusal, or failure to complete payment within the stipulated time, will trigger the eradication protocol."

This voice carried no threat, no anger, merely stating a set procedure calmly.

Yet this calm statement infuriated people more than any roar!

"Bullshit!"

Zhou Shaoqing could no longer contain his anger and slammed a fist onto the console.

"Half our energy and minerals? And they want our full technology tree? This is treating us like pigs for slaughter!"

"These metal lumps really think they're gods?!"

The atmosphere in the meeting room ignited instantly, all military commanders fuming.

Handing over the technology tree equals surrendering the civilization's future, giving away all our trump cards; thereafter we would be at others' mercy.

This is more vicious and insulting than a direct declaration of war!

Amid the crowd's furious uproar, Qin Hao remained terrifyingly calm.

He merely raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, then turned his gaze to Luo Ge.

Luo Ge immediately understood.

He knew Qin Hao's meaning—anger wouldn't solve the problem; what was needed now was calm and delay.

He cleared his throat, put back on his signature affable smile, and then opened the channel.

In the virtual reception hall, this time there was no avatar like Elwin's, only a cold data stream drifting slowly, representing the Silicon‑based Union's presence.

"Esteemed Silicon‑based Union civilization,"

Luo Ge's tone was as humble and polite as ever, as if chatting with an old friend: "We… express… surprise at your arrival."

"We Human Federal have always upheld the principle of peaceful development, and we truly know little about the Galactic Resource Allocation Agreement."

"After all, we are merely a newborn civilization that has just stepped into interstellar space."

The mechanical voice responded without any fluctuation:

"Ignorance is no excuse for violation; the agreement has been publicized on the galactic common data chain for hundreds of thousands of years. You have channels to obtain information, but you failed to fulfill your duty to inquire."

"Alright, alright."

Luo Ge spread his hands, a hint of helplessness on his face,

"It seems this is our mistake. However, your demands are indeed somewhat… stringent."

"Half of our energy and minerals would set our federal economy back a century—not to mention that technology tree data, which is the foundation of our civilization."

"Could we negotiate? For instance, we could pay a portion of resources as a fine for the initial violation."

"I believe that even a great Silicon-based Union would not want to see its vassal civilization completely collapse due to a one-time excessive levy, right?"

"That would also be a loss for you, wouldn't it?"

"Moreover, according to what we know, your civilization seems to be currently at war with the powerful Star Sea Divine Church Civilization, so the demand for resources must also be high."

"A vassal that can continuously produce resources is always more valuable than destroying it."

"Lei Ge casually threw out the term 'Star Sea Divine Church'."

"At the moment that term appeared, the originally steady data stream exhibited an extremely subtle, almost imperceptible fluctuation of disorder."

"Although it vanished in an instant, it was still keenly captured by the Federal monitoring system."

"Success!"

"Lei Ge's heart stirred."

"Ai'erwen's intelligence was true; the Silicon-based Union is indeed at war with another Third-level Civilization,"

"Moreover, they seem to be in a hurry."

"However, the mechanical voice's subsequent answer shattered all his fantasies."

"Logical error! The conflict with the Star Sea Divine Church Civilization belongs to resource reallocation among high-level civilizations."

"And your levy collection belongs to a different level of administrative procedure; the two are unrelated."

"Your value has already been assessed by the system; a one-time extraction is superior to long-term inefficient output."

"Final confirmation: Should we execute the levy procedure? Countdown, one hundred seconds."

"The icy countdown began to sound over the communication channel."

"Ninety-nine……"

"Ninety-eight……"