Once the entire battle plan had been finalized, Xiao Yu began to push its execution forward without hesitation or doubt.

Xiao Yu had already constructed a probe equipped with Faster-Than-Light Travel. This probe could achieve a speed of seven times the speed of light. After factoring in all the time needed for acceleration and deceleration during the journey, it would be able to reach the Molian Civilization fleet within three years, where it would be intercepted by the Molian fleet.

Inside this probe, Xiao Yu had loaded yet another brand-new dictionary. This dictionary was specifically designed for communication with the Molian Civilization.

After launching the FTL probe, Xiao Yu issued new orders to the scientists at the Central Research Academy of Science.

“All psychosocial scientists are to immediately suspend their current work and begin research on how to deceive the Molian Civilization. Within three years, you must develop a way to swindle stellar weapon technology from them. The Science and Technology Division scientists will focus on the research and development of negative matter cannons over the next three years, doing everything possible to advance our mastery of negative matter weaponry during this time.”

Xiao Yu once again turned his gaze toward the distant half-destroyed star, speaking slowly, “In order to survive, any means that are effective may be used.”

“If the stellar weapon plan fails, then all that remains is to wait quietly, hoping that the aging Specter might show some mercy and not drag me to death with it at the end of its life. And I pray that my companion Specter never reappears, let it stay well hidden twenty light-years away and never be discovered.”

There were simply too many points where accidents could occur throughout this plan. Any flaw in any step could lead to failure. But this was already the absolute limit of what Xiao Yu could do. Against overwhelming strength, there was only so much that intelligence could accomplish. All Xiao Yu could do was give his utmost and then pray for a bit of luck, to do everything humanly possible and leave the rest to fate.

As the anxious waiting continued, time passed slowly, bit by bit. Over the course of these three years, everything proceeded as usual without any incidents. The aging Specter, like an old man nearing the end of his days, lazily basked in the star’s light. Xiao Yu’s companion Specter never appeared again, and the strange red dwarf flickering phenomenon never resurfaced.

The Molian Civilization fleet remained quietly stationed in place, patiently waiting, waiting for the aging Specter to die, waiting for their opportunity to strike at Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu also conducted some analysis on the Molian Civilization. The results suggested that there was a high probability the Molian Civilization knew this was the former territory of a previous generation Specter, and that they were aware of the Specter’s impending death. This was likely why they had remained stationed here, unwilling to leave, like vultures circling in the sky, waiting for a wounded prey to die so they could feast on its corpse.

During this long wait, Xiao Yu finally received a message.

“My probe sent toward the Molian Civilization has finally been intercepted by them.”

This message lifted Xiao Yu’s spirits.

To avoid any mishaps, Xiao Yu had not equipped the probe with any offensive weapons. In his reasoning, if he were in the Molian Civilization’s position, there would be no reason to destroy an unarmed probe. Since the other party had already shown a willingness to make contact, why not allow it? After all, there would be no loss on their part.

The probe was equipped with a superluminal communication device, allowing real-time communication between Xiao Yu and the Molian Civilization. Additionally, the probe contained a brand-new dictionary Xiao Yu had created based on the Molian language. By using this new dictionary for communication, there was no risk of the aging Specter intercepting the transmissions.

“You despicable predator civilization,” came the Molian Civilization’s response. “Why have you sent this probe now? Unless you immediately surrender and obediently become one of our subordinate civilizations, we will not spare you. Do not think you can escape simply because you are sheltered by the aging Specter. It has no more than fifty years of life left, correct? Do you believe you can find a way to defeat us in such a short amount of time?”

In the very first message sent by the Molian Civilization, there was already a strong sense of hostility. However, what excited Xiao Yu was that the Molian Civilization had used the new dictionary to send this message. This indicated that, psychologically, they were far less aggressive than their words suggested.

This was a very good sign. Xiao Yu immediately forwarded the message to Luka Two and the other psychosocial scientists, instructing them to analyze it at once.

The overall strategy for deceiving the Molian Civilization had already been established. The current research was merely about adjusting details to respond flexibly. One could say that every word in Xiao Yu’s replies to the Molian Civilization was meticulously refined by the psychosocial scientists to ensure absolute safety before being sent.

While Luka Two was analyzing the message, Xiao Yu followed the predetermined plan and sent a message to the aging Specter attached to the star.

“Elder, how are you feeling during your rest?” Xiao Yu asked cautiously.

After a moment, Xiao Yu received the Specter’s reply.

“Hmm… I’m fine. Is something the matter?”

At this moment, the aged Specter truly resembled an old man at the end of his life, moving sluggishly, its twilight years upon it.

Xiao Yu carefully chose his words before speaking. “It’s like this: after receiving the Molian Civilization’s demand for my surrender, I’ve devised a counter-strategy, to feign weakness and deception, and swindle technology from them. In this plan, I intend to use your formidable strength as my trump card, exaggerating your power and threat to pressure them into cooperating with me. Since this plan involves you, I wanted to show my respect and explain it to you.”

“It doesn’t matter. You may proceed as you wish. I won’t live much longer anyway; say what you like about me, I don’t mind.” The aging Specter spoke slowly, its tone filled with something like comfort, as though it was watching a descendant finally amount to something and showing proper filial piety.

This atmosphere made Xiao Yu momentarily doubt himself. In truth, even now, Xiao Yu could not confirm whether this aging Specter truly harbored malice toward him. It was only because of the strange flickering of the red dwarf star that Xiao Yu estimated malice as the more probable possibility.

“Is it truly hostile toward me?” Xiao Yu once again questioned himself.

“I don’t know. I can only base my judgment on the intelligence I have, forming a hypothesis that may not be entirely accurate. Whether right or wrong, I must carry it out unwaveringly, because only then will my chances of survival improve.”

Xiao Yu steeled himself and pushed any lingering hesitation from his mind.

“Alright, I have nothing more. Please continue your rest, elder,” Xiao Yu said as he cut off the communication.

Sending this message was necessary. Hidden within it was a very subtle psychological tactic. Strictly speaking, Xiao Yu’s message wasn’t entirely deceitful, since he truly did plan to exaggerate the Specter’s power to force the Molian Civilization into cooperating with him. However, the true purpose of this cooperation was not to enhance his technological strength as he claimed, but to acquire the technology capable of killing the aging Specter.

Through this clever deception, Xiao Yu maximized his own safety. In this way, even if the Specter sensed something suspicious during the exchanges between Xiao Yu and the Molian Civilization, Xiao Yu could always use the explanation of ‘deceptive tactics’ to justify his actions, avoiding the Specter’s suspicion.

This move was also suggested by Luka Two.

After the brief exchange with the aging Specter concluded, Luka Two said, “Master, the message from the Molian Civilization reveals a very interesting phenomenon. On the surface, it appears they are warning you not to expect any benefit from their civilization. But upon careful analysis, a deeper issue emerges. Under what circumstances would they say such a thing? The fact that they make such statements proves that they have suffered great losses at your hands before and deeply fear you, hence their extreme caution. But this caution is very fragile. This seemingly harsh tone only exposes their inner weakness and serves no other purpose.”

“Proceed with the deception plan as scheduled. My confidence in our ability to fool the Molian Civilization has grown even stronger,” Luka Two said.

“Is that so? Very good…” After one final careful consideration of his wording, Xiao Yu sent his reply to the Molian Civilization.

“I regret that conflict has occurred between us, but you must understand: the cause of our conflict was not on our side. Had your civilization not first detained my fleet and refused to release them, would I have risked such heavy losses to wage war against you? No, please do not misunderstand. I am not saying this to erase the hatred between us. I only wish to make one point: from this moment forward, our exchanges and actions should not be clouded by hatred. Interests, everything is about interests, is it not? There are no eternal enemies between civilizations, nor eternal allies. If there are mutual interests, why should we not cooperate?”