Chapter 440: Give You a 'Friendly' Reminder

His mental power had been deeply linked to the weapons systems and defense matrix of the entire fleet; any flicker of energy could not escape his perception.

Over the past ten years, he was no longer the youngster who once followed behind his grandfather.

Years of military life and several bloody battles had honed him into a restrained yet sharp sword.

Qin Hao assigned him the task of "demonstration," and he fully understood the weight behind those two words.

Demonstration was not showing off, but drawing an inviolable red line in silence.

Lei Ge, by contrast, appeared much more relaxed.

He crossed his legs, holding a cup of top‑grade Dragon Well tea brought from Blue Star, sipping it leisurely.

"Yunhai, don't wind yourself up so tight; relax."

Lei Ge took a sip of tea.

"This time we're going as guests, not to fight. Look at your posture—those who don't know might think we're here to raid homes."

Zhou Yunhai opened his eyes and calmly glanced at him.

"Uncle Lei, my duty is to ensure your absolute safety and the integrity of the fleet.

Any potential threat must be nipped in the bud at the first moment."

"Fine, fine, you're the professional."

Lei Ge waved a hand and said with a smile,

"But seriously, the star charts of the Universal Alliance are really remote—twists and turns—and we'd be stuck traveling for years if we didn't have singularity routing technology."

They were currently sailing along a safe route provided by the Universal Alliance.

This route passed through dozens of unfamiliar star clusters, among which were not a few powerful native civilizations.

The fleet proceeded smoothly with dimensional jumps, each leap spanning millions of light‑years.

Just as the fleet finished another jump and appeared in an unfamiliar dark‑matter nebula, Zhou Yunhai's brow suddenly furrowed.

"All ships, halt advance! Activate first‑level defense posture."

He gave the order calmly.

Almost at the same moment, the fleet's alarm system sounded.

"Report, Commander: a large‑scale dimensional blockade field has been detected ahead in the route! Our jump engines are being interfered with!"

"Report! High‑energy reactions are showing on both flanks, numbering over five million ships!"

Before his words even faded, sinister warships began to materialize out of the nebula's darkness.

These warships were pitch‑black, their prows shaped like rhinoceros horns, exuding savagery and aggression.

Their hulls bore a burning iron‑fist insignia.

A massive fleet, like the iron pincers of two giant beasts, clamped the Yanhuang fleet led by the Pangu in its middle.

"Oh ho, here comes the action."

Lei Ge set down his teacup, his smile still on his face but his eyes turning cold.

A crude, savage communication request was forcibly patched into the Pangu's bridge.

On the holo‑screen appeared a giant over five meters tall, with a single horn on his head and skin of rocky gray.

He wore a suit of heavy armor, his eyes full of undisguised provocation and greed.

"Fleet ahead, listen up!"

The giant's voice sounded like metal scraping, harsh and grating,

"This is the patrol zone of the Iron Fist Civilization—every passing vessel must submit to our inspection and pay the route safety tax!"

Zhou Yunhai looked at him, expressionless, and asked: "We are an envoy fleet invited by the Universal Alliance to head for the G‑37 branch—are you also members of the Alliance?"

"Alliance members?"

The horned giant snorted, baring his fangs: "Of course! Our Iron Fist Civilization is one of the earliest elders to join the Alliance!"

"Precisely because we are Alliance members, I'm giving you newcomers a 'friendly' reminder!"

He deliberately emphasized the two words "friendly".

"The Alliance's rules are far more than you imagine! Newcomers must act like newcomers!

"Don't think that reaching level seven lets you stand equal with us old‑guard civilizations!

"Hand over your dimensional shield parameters and that so‑called singularity routing technology data as tuition,

"and I might consider letting my fleet escort you for a leg, so you don't get 'lost' on the way!"

These words were no longer provocation but outright extortion.

Obviously, as a new member of the Yanhuang Civilization, we've already been seen by some ill‑intentioned old‑guard civilizations as fat meat to be pinched at will.

The atmosphere on the bridge dropped to freezing point.

Several young staff officers had flushed red with anger.

Zhou Yunhai, however, remained calm, not even a trace of anger showing.

He merely asked lightly: "Is this how the Iron Fist Civilization treats guests? Is this also the Universal Alliance's rule?"

"Hahaha! Guest etiquette? In the universe, the fist is the ultimate truth!"

The horned giant burst into laughter: "As for the Alliance's rules… we elders are the rules!"

"Give you three minutes to think it over; otherwise we'll have to board your ships ourselves and make you obey the rules!"

Having said that, he unilaterally cut the comms.

The Iron Fist fleet surrounding the Yanhuang fleet had its gun barrels flashing with dangerous fluctuations, and the dimensional blockade field intensified further,

clearly signaling that they would attack if not given what they wanted.

"Commander!"

The deputy officer looked at Zhou Yunhai, awaiting his order.

Lei Ge also looked at him, wanting to know how he would respond.

Zhou Yunhai slowly rose to his feet, gazing at the Iron Fist warships outside, baring their fangs and brandishing their claws.

He gave no order to counterattack, nor did he order a retreat.

He simply said calmly to the communications officer:

"Connect to the flagship's main computer. Activate the Mirror Flower, Water Moon Defense Protocol."

"Yes!"

"Also, send a message to the other side."

Zhou Yunhai's lips curled into a smile.

"Just say… thank them for their 'kind' reminder."

Mirror Flower, Water Moon Defense Protocol.

This is after the Yanhuang Civilization reached Level 7, based on an understanding of four-dimensional space,

and combined with the properties of Heaven-Controlling alloy, a novel defensive concept was developed.

With Zhou Yunhai's order issued, taking the Pangu as the center,

An invisible ripple of rules instantly spread out, enveloping the entire Yanhuang fleet.

From the outside, the Yanhuang fleet showed no change.

No Energy Shield, no spatial distortion, not even a trace of excess energy reaction.

One hundred thousand warships just hung silently in the dark nebula, like a bunch of frightened prey.

Inside the Iron Fist Civilization's flagship, the Unicorn Giant commander watched this scene, the sneer on his face deepening.

"See? A bunch of softies who don't even dare to raise their shields!"

He said to his aide beside him, "It seems this so-called Yanhuang Civilization is just a fluke that barely scraped into Level 7 by sheer luck."

"Commander, three minutes are up."

The aide reminded him.

"Hmm."

The Unicorn Giant nodded, grinning wickedly:

"It looks like they don't intend to cooperate voluntarily—relay my order: First and Third Squads, prepare to capture,"

"drag their flagship over to me! Remember, don't wreck the ship—the technical data inside is valuable!"

"Yes!"

With the order given, hundreds of thousands of invisible rule-weaves,

like giant pythons bursting from their dens, shot forth from the Iron Fist fleet's formation,

blanketing the sky and earth as they enveloped the Pangu.