Taschwe held a burger in one hand and a cola in the other, without any of the composure one would expect from someone his age.
As he chewed his food, he asked Chi Jia, "So, are we really leaving Sonye Star? Hasn't it been confirmed that those suspected Swarm creatures aren't sent by the Chancellor?"
Chi Jia gave Taschwe, who was sitting too close, a light push. Dressed like a billionaire, this was, in fact, his undercover identity on Sonye Star.
"We've already established contact with Iridium Star and the Chancellor has confirmed that he did not dispatch the Swarm."
Cui Zhihao reached for a beef burger on the table, opened the bun, added a slice of pickled cucumber, and said while doing so, "Clearly, it's not the Chancellor's style. He wouldn't destroy hundreds of planets for no reason. Such actions are a hallmark of an all-out Swarm disaster, bringing death and devastation wherever they go."
After finishing his statement, he took a bite of the burger, infected by its delightful taste. Seeing him eat, Taschwe quickly dragged the last two burgers on the plate closer to himself.
On this alien planet, they weren't too fond of the local cuisine. Thankfully, having cooking robots, they could still make some Earth dishes to eat.
Taschwe gobbled down his burger in a few bites and said to Chi Jia, his words muffled, "Our hidden Knight, do you feel a bit regretful? After all, you've spent two years on this planet and have become the covert ruler of Sonye Star, fulfilling your dreams of kingship. You must be reluctant to leave."
Chi Jia couldn't be bothered to argue with Taschwe. A misstep when Bai Zhongqi returned had left his status among the Knights of Destiny somewhat awkward. Even the two Knights involved in this mission, though Taschwe had worked with him for many years, seemed to have a dislike for him.
"I have my own fiefdom awarded by His Majesty, which is much more prosperous and powerful than Sonye Star."
Taschwe laughed, "You have one, and so do we."
Chi Jia stood up, buttoned up the jacket of his suit, and looked composed as he said, "Sonye Star is right in the path of that mysterious Swarm onslaught. According to our investigations, this Swarm is very different from the Chancellor's. It seems they don't employ starships for combat. Instead, they use a plethora of microscopic egg sacs, propagating them through the vast expanse of space."
Cui Zhihao was surprised, "If that's the case, how fast must these egg sacs travel? Faster than the speed of light?"
"Very possibly," Chi Jia nodded and continued, "Our reconnaissance ships have detected a very peculiar phenomenon. It seems that when these egg sacs congregate, a phenomenon similar to a warp bubble occurs, allowing them to travel at extremely high speeds, eventually reaching regions influenced by gravity, which is to say, planets."
Putting down his cola, Taschwe exclaimed, "Hell, these egg sacs are seriously impressive."
Chi Jia went on, "Furthermore, information we've collected indicates that these egg sacs possess energy absorption and microscopic penetration abilities, which means they are actually capable of penetrating energy shields and armor."
Taschwe's eyes widened, "You mean to say these damned things can infiltrate starships?"
"We still don't know the extent of this penetration ability and whether it will affect starships of high-level civilizations or if there are means to counter it. However, dealing with them is indeed very tricky right now. The number of floating egg sacs is enormous, often in the quantities of Jing, Gai, and Zi at once (where Jing is ten quadrillion), and although each egg sac is easily killed, destroying such vast numbers at once, and with such widespread distribution, requires the development of specialized countermeasures."
Having heard Chi Jia's words, Cui Zhihao realized the gravity of the situation. He was reluctant, "We've spent two years on Sonye Star, gathering intelligence for the United Empire in secret. Now, when the Chancellor and the Empire need us most, we can only abandon the intelligence network we've worked so hard to establish. This is too damn frustrating."
Chi Jia tried to console him, "Surviving is the only way to keep doing work. This Swarm disaster might evolve into a very serious catastrophe in the universe. Moreover, since civilizations are still reeling from the aftereffects of the galactic mergers, another such disaster could deal a severe blow to the entire Galaxy's civilizations."
In a somewhat pessimistic tone, he added, "Perhaps the era of civilization's prosperity is coming to an end because of this."
Slamming his hand on the table, Taschwe raised his voice, "There's no sense in kneeling before a bunch of bugs. We biological entities might fear these insects, but bionic humans won't. Iridium Star is known for its artificial intelligence and mechanical strength, and His Majesty has a massive fleet of unmanned ships. Iridium Star is on the brink of becoming a Level 30 civilization, so they'll surely find a way to deal with this Swarm."
Chi Jia nodded, "Let's hope so."
Still unable to let go, Cui Zhihao asked, "Are we just going to leave millions of people on Sonye Star and even more life forms here to be devoured by those bugs?"
Chi Jia's eyes narrowed slightly as he replied, "Are you suggesting we use our Atomic Substance Construction devices to produce large transport ships and take everyone off the planet?"
Cui Zhihao affirmed resolutely, "Take as many as we can. Each one is a life."
Chi Jia shook his head, "Tiger Ben Knight, I think you still haven't fully adjusted to the normalcy of the universe. The destruction of a planet, the death of tens or hundreds of billions, is a microcosm of an indifferent universe. Even if you rescue them, what then? We still can't enter the Orion Arm; the Galaxy remains in a state of partial lockdown. Are you going to just drift through space with hundreds of billions of people?"
Adament and unyielding, he continued to point out issues, "Besides Sonye Star, there are other populated planets nearby. Do you want to save them too? Our Atomic Substance Construction devices need to make food and water, which means we will need resources. Plus, with the need to settle people, we'll have to go to other planets, where the inhabitants might see us as invaders and resist. What will you do then, kill them to save the people of Sonye Star?"
Confronted with a barrage of questions, Cui Zhihao couldn't respond. The forty-something Cui Zhihao, still carrying the idealism from his younger years, found these issues difficult to handle. Back when he was under Bai Zhongqi's wing, the seemingly omnipotent Chancellor could resolve any trouble. But now, unable to make substantial contact with the United Empire and lacking support, the inability to save the people of Sonye Star plunged him into a deep sense of powerlessness.