Chapter 130: The Water Drop Has Arrived, Three Thousand in Space Explode!

Above the Heavenly Canopy,

The full extent of the human space fleet continued to unfold.

Over three thousand star-class warships were arranged in a matrix, their silver-gray hulls reflecting a cold metallic sheen in the sunlight.

The fleet array stretched from the left edge of the screen to the right edge,

Dense and packed, like a steel forest stretching across space.

Each warship's volume equaled that of a medium-sized city.

Energy-concentrating weapon arrays, electromagnetic protective barriers, and nuclear fusion propulsion engines.

The industrial crystallization of two human centuries, all condensed into this massive fleet.

However,

The Heavenly Canopy's camera did not linger on the fleet for long.

The view switched, cutting into the daily life of human society.

In the holographic TV's commentary program,

A white-haired sociology professor pushed up his glasses and spoke eloquently to the camera.

"We need to re-examine the intentions of the Three-Body Civilization."

"A civilization that has struggled for hundreds of cycles in a harsh environment merely seeks a stable home."

"We possess over three thousand star-class warships, while the Three-Body Fleet has only a thousand."

"In the face of absolute numerical superiority, the Three-Body Civilization could not choose war."

Comment barrage scrolled rapidly in the comment section.

"The poor Three-Body baby, come to Earth quickly~"

"Wouldn't it be fine to allocate a region for the Three-Body people to settle?"

"What era is this, still pulling the Wallfacing Plan?"

The Heavenly Canopy's narration added coldly.

【Crisis Era 208. Over two centuries of peaceful development, humanity's attitude toward the Three-Body Civilization underwent a fundamental shift.】

【Fear faded, arrogance grew.】

【An increasing number of mainstream voices consider the Three-Body Civilization merely a group of wanderers deserving sympathy and acceptance.】

【Then, the Three-Body vanguard probe arrived in the Solar System.】

Deep space.

An extremely small object was traveling at extremely high speed through the outskirts of the Solar System.

The Heavenly Canopy gave it a close-up shot.

That was a droplet-shaped probe, its entire body in a perfect mirror-like state, with no seams or flaws on its surface.

Sunlight falling on it refracted into a breathtaking seven-colored rainbow.

Compared to the human fleet that blotted out the sky behind it, this probe was ridiculously tiny.

Like a speck of dust drifting toward a steel city.

【Three-Body vanguard probe, code name 'Water Drop', arrived in the Solar System.】

On Earth, public opinion instantly boiled over.

"Look! How beautiful that probe is!"

"Droplet-shaped, crystal clear, this is clearly the Three-Body Civilization releasing goodwill!"

"Designed with such exquisite appearance, it is definitely not a weapon. It is an artwork, an olive branch extended by the Three-Body Civilization!"

More extreme voices followed closely.

"Given the Three-Body Civilization's goodwill, I propose allocating an exclusive survival zone in Mars orbit for their free use."

"We should greet them with the demeanor of a civilization!"

Stellar Human Federation, flagship of the Fourth Fleet.

Grand Marshal Xideni stared at the rolling public opinion numbers on the screen, his eyes almost popping out.

"Crazy! Completely crazy!"

Xideni slammed the tactical table, and the holographic star map on it shook three times.

"A probe sent by an invading civilization! How can these idiots think it's goodwill?!"

"They've sealed off your physics! They dispatched a fleet! They killed your scientists! Have you all forgotten?!"

"Just because the probe looks good, you think they're not here to kill you?"

Xideni grabbed the deputy's collar: "Give me an analysis of this probe's material!"

The deputy was jerked forward, stumbling, and quickly pulled up the data.

"Grand Marshal, according to optical refraction analysis of the Heavenly Canopy's imagery, this probe's surface is perfectly smooth at the atomic level."

The deputy swallowed.

"Its material…… is strong interaction force matter."

Xideni released his grip.

After steadying himself, the deputy continued: "Strong interaction force matter is not a major threat to our Human Federation's arsenal. But……"

"But for the Earth humans of that world."

Xideni took over, his voice shifting from fury to low.

"It is lethal."

She turned, facing the starry sea beyond the porthole, her face showing a frustration at her compatriots' inability to become steel.

"They've had even basic physics sealed off; they simply cannot comprehend what strong interaction force matter means."

These idiots are smiling at a bullet.

Marvel Universe,

Tony Stark braced his hands on the control panel, and a holographic interface unfolded dozens of analysis windows before him.

He played back the droplet footage frame by frame, his brows furrowing tighter.

Wrong.

Tony shook his head.

An aggressive civilization, while dispatching a war fleet, separately launched a small probe that arrived early at the target star system.

If it truly meant goodwill, why not halt the fleet?

Why doesn't the probe carry communication equipment? Why not just send a text message?

He popped up a new window, magnifying the droplet's surface.

And this material. Atomically perfect smoothness.

JARVIS, tell me, what kind of civilization would turn a 'goodwill gift' into this spec?

Sir,

JARVIS's voice sounded steady,

According to known physical models analysis, an absolutely smooth mirror structure means the probe's surface has no exploitable weak points.

This is an extreme defensive configuration.

A goodwill gift needs no defense.

Tony straightened up, his expression turning grave,

This thing is a weapon.

The Wandering Earth Universe,

Navigator International Space Station.

Liu Peiqiang stood by the porthole, arms crossed, staring at the teardrop-shaped detector on the sky screen.

"Impossible."

Liu Peiqiang's voice was soft, but his tone was decisive and unequivocal.

"Aggressors won't release goodwill. The moment they dispatched the fleet, everything was already made clear."

He turned around and looked toward the spherical terminal at the center of the space station.

Pale blue light streamed down from the surface of the terminal.

"Moss, what do you think?"

Moss's voice had no emotional fluctuation; each word had been precisely calculated.

"Mr. Liu Peiqiang, I have completed a multidimensional simulation of that detector."

"From a game theory perspective: the Trisolaran civilization has already sunk irreversible war costs, including fleet construction, sophon deployment, and the Wallfacer Plan. Sunk costs determine that they have no rational motive to release goodwill midway."

"From a materials science perspective: the production cost of strong-interaction force material is extremely high; using it as a 'diplomatic gift' violates the principle of optimal resource allocation."

"Conclusion: the probability that this detector is a weapon is 99.7%."

Liu Peiqiang fell silent for two seconds.

"What about the remaining 0.3%?"

"That's my margin of error."

Moss replied,

"But if we factor in the Trisolaran civilization's historical behavior patterns, this value can be corrected to zero."

Dragon Ball World, Jiewang's planet.

Wukong sat cross-legged on the grass, tilting his head to stare at the sky screen.

"Hey, Bikke, do you really think that shiny little thing came to make friends?"

Bikke stood not far away, arms crossed, his face grim.

"Wukong, think with your toes."

Bikke's tone icy: 'A civilization first sends sophons to lock down your technology, then dispatches a fleet to attack you, and finally launches a small detector ahead of time. Do you think this detector is here to deliver flowers?'

Wukong scratched his head: "Put that way, it really is strange."

"But those humans seem happy, all saying the Trisolarans are good people."

Jiewang adjusted his sunglasses, unusually serious: 'Wukong, there's a saying: boil a frog in warm water. By the time they realize the water is hot, they can't jump out.'

Bikke snorted: 'A civilization full of morons deserves to be eliminated.'

Naruto World.

Uchiha Sasuke stood on a broken statue, his Sharingan fixed on the sky screen.

The corner of his mouth gradually rose.

The Trisolaran civilization's detector is so beautiful, human society is wholly harmonious, and public opinion has fully turned toward peaceful coexistence.

More importantly, the Wallfacer Project has been abolished, and Luo Ji has lost his Wallfacer status.

Sasuke typed a line on the public screen.

【Naruto World—Uchiha Sasuke】: @Saibotan—Weizhentian. Tinplate, open your electronic eyes and look.

【Naruto World—Uchiha Sasuke】: The Trisolaran civilization is already releasing goodwill—what about your "most dangerous Wallfacer"? You've even lost the Wallfacer title.

【Naruto World—Uchiha Sasuke】: In your fantasy, Luo Ji's grand display of power—this time it's totally gone up in smoke, right?

Saibotan, Decepticon base.

Weizhentian watched the image on the sky screen.

No reply to Sasuke.

His scarlet optical sensor stared fixedly at the water droplet on the screen, his processor running at maximum frequency.

Then he turned toward Qingtian Zhu.

"Qingtian Zhu."

Weizhen Tian's electronic voice was unusually calm.

"Look at the carbon-based creatures you love to protect."

"See what they're doing."

"Facing an invader's scout probe, they are cheering, celebrating, discussing how to make room for the enemy."

Weizhen Tian stood up, and the Iron Throne behind him let out a dull metallic groan.

"Foolish. Arrogant. Short-sighted."

"A species that was still weeping in despair three eras ago, after acquiring a few big ships, thinks it is the ruler of the universe."

He extended his metal palm, pointing at the sky curtain.

"Watch, Qingtian Zhu. What will happen next will let you understand a truth."

"The carbon-based civilization you are trying to protect with all your might has never had an alien as its greatest enemy."

"It is themselves."

Qingtian Zhu remained silent.

The image on the sky curtain continued to advance.

The Human Space Army dispatched a small scientific expedition to make close contact with the water droplet.

The leader was a two-hundred-year-old elder.

Physicist Ding Yi.

He sat in the cabin of the probe ship, surrounded by a group of young students and assistants.

Everyone's face showed excitement and curiosity.

Only Ding Yi's expression was unusually calm.

A student turned and glanced at him: "Professor Ding, why aren't you happy? This is humanity's first close contact with an alien artifact!"

Ding Yi leaned back in his seat, staring at the water droplet drawing nearer outside the hatch, and spoke slowly.

"Children, do you know how long I've lived?"

"Over two hundred years."

"Right. I am a person from two hundred years ago."

Ding Yi's voice was soft,

"A physics old-timer from two hundred years ago, and yet he can still teach physics at a university today."

"Don't you find that strange?"

The cabin fell silent for a moment.

An assistant laughed and said: "Professor Ding, you're too modest; your knowledge would stand in any era…"

"It's not modesty."

Ding Yi interrupted him,

"Two hundred years have passed, and what I teach has no essential difference from what it was two hundred years ago."

"Do you know what that means?"

Silence.

Ding Yi turned his head, looking at those young faces.

"Our technological development has been interrupted."

"Interrupted?" another student exclaimed, eyes wide: "Professor Ding, we have three thousand star‑class battleships, antimatter engines, and…"

"It's all just piling up applications."

Ding Yi shook his head and sighed,

"Basic physics has seen no breakthrough in two hundred years—not a single step."

"The Wise Son still exists, and the ceiling of physics still exists."

"Three thousand battleships are merely a new house built of old bricks; the foundation hasn't changed."

The cabin fell silent again.

The ship arrived near the water droplet.

Ding Yi personally stepped out of the airlock and drifted toward the perfect object suspended in the vacuum.

He first took out a hammer.

Ding.

The hammer struck the surface of the water droplet.

No dent, no vibration, no reaction at all.

The rebound force of the hammer head almost made Ding Yi tumble.

He steadied himself, then pulled out a high‑magnification optical magnifier and brought it close to the water droplet's surface.

Ten‑fold.

Smooth.

Hundred‑fold.

Smooth.

Thousand‑fold.

Ten‑thousand‑fold.

Still smooth.

Mirror-like, absolutely smooth, with not a speck of imperfection at any magnification.

The magnifier in Ding Yi's hand slowly slipped away, drifting into space.

His face turned deathly pale within a second.

As a top physicist from two hundred years ago, he instantly understood what this material signified.

Absolute smoothness below the atomic level.

Strong-interaction-force material.

All of humanity's existing weapons are powerless against this.

Ding Yi whirled around and bellowed into the comm channel.

"Children!!"

"Run!!"

The moment his voice fell.

The Water Drop moved.

No warning, no engine ignition, no acceleration.

That perfect water droplet, regarded by humanity as a 'benevolent gift,' pierced the probe ship where Ding Yi was at a speed violating all known physics in an instant.

Boom!

The spaceship split apart midships, fragments scattering in all directions.

Immediately after, the Water Drop did not slow or pause, but headed straight for the first capital-class battleship at the rear of the formation.

That colossal vessel, which humanity had spent decades building, before the Water Drop,

was like a block of tofu pierced by a bullet.

Explosion.

The fireball expanded in the vacuum, silent yet blindingly bright.

No time to be shocked.

The second.

The third.

The fourth.

The Water Drop, like an untouchable taboo, surged through the fleet formation; each contact meant the destruction of a warship.

Some warships tried to evade, firing engines at full power to flee.

At high speed, the Water Drop made a sharp turn that completely defied the law of inertia.

Less than ninety degrees.

No deceleration curve, no transitional arc.

Sharp turn.

Catch up.

Pierce through.

Explosion.

The whole scene turned into a one-sided massacre.

Three thousand capital-class battleships, before a single probe, were as fragile as paper toys, crushed one by one.

Fireballs merged into a sheet, illuminating the entire star field.

The sky-screen camera pulled back.

From a macroscopic view, the region where the human fleet lay became a river of flame stretching tens of thousands of kilometers.

And that Water Drop, moving through the flames, remained untouched by a speck of dust.

The sky-screen flashed cold subtitles.

【Battle of Doomsday.】

【Trisolaran scout probe 'Water Drop', one against three thousand.】

【Human Space Fleet】

The image froze on that burning river of flame.

The last line of text slowly surfaced.

【Basically, the entire army was wiped out.】

……