At this distance, it meant the target civilization was actually aware of the situation in this star system and was likely here specifically for the Zero Point Tides.
However, looking at their flight direction, the possibility that they were just passing through could not be ruled out.
The Zerg did not make any response, simply monitoring everything calmly.
It was currently impossible to determine whether the other party had discovered them.
There is no universal solution for communication between civilizations; it is largely dictated by the behavioral patterns of each individual civilization.
Like the Zerg, who in the past belonged to a more extreme category.
Their way was expansion—conquering every planet they encountered with no communication, only endless fighting.
As a result, they did not know how other civilizations achieved initial contact.
In truth, it was very fortunate that the Zerg of the past were able to develop at all.
Because if they had encountered a civilization that could absolutely crush them while they were still weak, a race like the Zerg would have had no room for salvation.
...
300 million kilometers away, inside the unknown vessel.
“Warning: Unknown signal detected 1,000 light seconds away. Inferred as curvature flight fluctuations.”
A sudden message was broadcast by the highest level smart computer inside the hull.
“Curvature flight fluctuations?”
Inside a cabin that relied on constant acceleration to simulate gravity, several strange looking creatures faced the screen in surprise.
They had bumpy skin and were upright creatures, but they were supported by three legs, making their lower bodies look like moving stools. Their heads were round and covered with many eyes, with no visible nostrils, and they communicated through sound.
At that moment, a blurry point of light appeared on the screen before them.
“It is not a natural phenomenon; this is definitely a signal from an unknown civilization.”
In an instant, every individual inside the ship grew tense.
“The other party possesses curvature flight technology. They seem to be an advanced interstellar civilization like us. Find a way to perform precise observation,” commanded one individual who seemed to be an operator.
Following the request, the smart computer began to work, and the detection equipment on the ship's surface aligned with the target's direction.
Soon, the image gradually zoomed in.
Finally, a bizarre, bio like object came into view.
“My God, what is that?”
Everyone inside the ship was stunned.
“A living organism? No, perhaps it is just some biomimetic spacecraft or similar spacefaring equipment.”
The thing's appearance was truly terrifying, but those inside the ship did not seem to realize the target's true nature yet.
“It seems our observations were correct; the situation in this star system is indeed unusual. Perhaps the target ship was attracted by the strange phenomena, just like us.”
“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. We have always lacked enough habitable planets for our exploding population. If we make contact with a new civilization, we might gain information on more suitable planets. Should we attempt to contact them?”
...
Whether out of hesitation or something else, the other ship remained unresponsive for a long time, just like the Zerg.
But they took the same action in one regard... silence.
“Hmm, are you telling me you have already found me?”
Silence was only useful when the other party had not yet discovered you.
But sometimes, those inside a ship could not tell if they had been spotted.
Following the principle of stealth, they would enter standby mode and let the ship travel through space at a steady speed.
This made it even harder for an enemy to pinpoint their exact location.
Xia Jin pondered. After a period of confrontation at a distance of several hundred million kilometers, a strong signal was suddenly transmitted.
“Phew, so they did see me after all.”
The Zerg immediately began analyzing the signal.
It was clearly an electromagnetic wave signal, high in power and very rhythmic.
But as with the greatest obstacle in communication between cosmic civilizations, the two sides lacked a common method of exchange.
Their languages were incompatible.
Although the incoming signal was complex, it was encoded according to the sender's thoughts; to any other civilization, it was nearly impossible to understand.
“Initiate psionic analysis.”
In such situations, Brain Bug No. 1's experience was to perform a psionic scan on the target ship directly, extracting the decryption method from their brains.
Regardless, the Zerg could not understand the other side's thoughts otherwise.
After a period of analysis, the specific message was finally deciphered.
The message sent by the target was: “Hello, unknown civilization.”
“Well, only the Zerg could do this. Any other civilization would likely be completely baffled.”
Xia Jin shook her head speechlessly as she read the content.
“Prepare a reply.”
Brain Bug No. 1 quickly performed reverse encoding and sent a message back.
Over ten minutes later...
“It has been so long, and there is no reply.”
“I believe they might not understand our meaning. However, the information we sent is very complex. With a powerful enough computer, the linguistic patterns in the signal can be found.”
“That is just wishful thinking. If they can decipher it, then they are someone we must take seriously.”
“But they definitely know now that we are willing to communicate. This is a risk every cosmic civilization must take to develop.”
As they spoke, the ship suddenly issued a new alert: “Ultra strong signal detected, decodable.”
In an instant, every individual on the ship grew tense.
“It is here. A reply.”
“Decodable?”
Almost instantly, the message sent by the Zerg appeared on the screen.
Because it used the civilization's own encoding method, it was easily converted into their language.
The content read:
“You have entered Zerg controlled territory. Leave immediately.”
...
After a moment of silence.
“It seems the other side has very strong information deciphering capabilities. How should we respond?”
“If they are more powerful than us, showing any sign of weakness could be very troublesome. Let's communicate directly; that was our original goal. It is best to find a reason for approaching their territory and use quantum encoding to transmit this information back to our home planet.”
Ten minutes later, the civilization's reply reached the Small Leviathan.
“We are an exploration fleet from the Dulu Civilization. We hope to achieve friendly exchange with your civilization.”
...
“Friendly exchange? Even if I wanted to, you might not give me the chance.”
Xia Jin merely smiled casually upon seeing the message.
For cosmic civilizations to meet and actually achieve a dialogue was already rare. Most encounters were filled with unease and risk. Although alliances between different civilizations were common, the path to them was usually fraught with complications.
Especially civilizations encountering aliens for the first time—they tended to behave extremely erratically.
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