SFS Chapter 271 Borrowing People
Chapter 271 Borrowing People
Whatever the purpose of this lurking third observer may be, it is irrelevant to humanity at this point.
This wasn't confidence, but rather a reflection that compared to the Dark Forest Strike, the arrival of an alien observer simply couldn't garner much attention.
The matter was ultimately only discussed briefly at the Earth Federation Council, and then there was no further news about it.
The turning point came on the 15th day after the observation station reported the incident to Lin Xuan.
Around 3:00 AM, all Earth-based defense facilities within a celestial unit's distance from Earth fell into a collective silence that lasted for about half a minute.
Don't underestimate this less than half a minute. If someone wanted to attack the Earth Federation's headquarters on Earth, half a minute would be more than enough time for them to accelerate at full power and crash straight into the Earth Federation's twin towers.
Moreover, the Earth Federation's defenses are now vastly different from what they used to be, especially Earth, which is now heavily armed.
Unless attacked by a more advanced civilization, it is impossible for the other side to paralyze all the defenses in an instant at the same level of technology.
"This is a blatant provocation!"
When the Strategy Department received the message from the Ground Union headquarters, they were absolutely furious.
Some veterans who had participated in the apocalyptic war were particularly visibly shaken.
This familiar scene reminded many of the doomsday war they witnessed back then.
"No matter who this person is, we must find them, otherwise what will become of the Earth Alliance Fleet's reputation?"
In less than three hours, the three starport bases on Io, Europa, and Mercury almost simultaneously dispatched troops to reinforce the fleet toward Earth.
Moreover, the first move was a direct assault by the main ship, without any intention of conducting reconnaissance.
Are you kidding me? I need reconnaissance to deploy my fleet from my own base?
Do they really think we, the local federation, are easy targets?
If it weren't for the Earth Federation Committee's fear of another doomsday war, given the murderous nature of the military, they probably would have launched a full-scale offensive.
After several major purges, the entire Earth Alliance, from top to bottom, is now full of warmongers. Everyone is worried about who has no one to train troops. When they see an accident happening at home, their first reaction is not panic but surprise.
But they were smart enough not to forget who was in charge of this local alliance. While mobilizing the army, they also gave Lin Xuan a report.
"Hmm... I understand. Let the military do whatever they want. Just treat it as a military exercise. Otherwise, I don't think these guys will be able to stay idle all day."
Lin Xuan gave a brief reply and then stopped pursuing the matter.
He knew very well that Number Three was probably just expressing his intentions. If the other party wanted to show off, there was no need to go through all this trouble.
The problem now is that I know the other person has arrived, but I have absolutely no idea where to find him!
According to Zhizi, Observer No. 3 must have had some kind of agreement with the original owner of this body.
The previous energy signals, and the current collective silence of Earth's defenses, are like two people exchanging secret signals.
The other party offered the first line: Imperial Jade Liquor.
But I had no idea how to respond with the next line.
Isn’t this embarrassing?
Not being able to match the code is secondary; the key issue is how to explain one's current identity.
Say you are a time traveler?
Please, do you really think this is science fiction?
Why don't you just say you're the one who restarted the previous universe and returned to zero?
Just as Lin Xuan was worrying about this matter, Number Three appeared on his own.
Number Three appeared suddenly in Lin Xuan's office, without any warning, just like that energy wave that appeared out of nowhere outside the Oort Cloud.
When Lin Xuan pushed open the office door, a slightly burly man was already waiting in front of her usual desk.
He leaned back in his chair, seemingly having been waiting for quite some time.
Seeing Lin Xuan push the door open and enter, he was not surprised at all, and leisurely sipped his tea.
Most of the man's face was covered by a mask, making it impossible for Lin Xuan to see his features. But for some reason, Lin Xuan was absolutely certain that the person in front of her was Number Three.
After a few seconds of silence, Lin Xuan finally broke the silence.
He directly opened the system, redeemed an atomic decomposition pistol from the store, and then pressed it against Number Three's forehead.
"Three seconds to take off this mask, or I'll make it disappear from this world along with you."
Number Three was clearly surprised that Lin Xuan would pull out a gun without warning... No, the two hadn't even exchanged a single word before this guy drew his gun, which startled him so much that he quickly removed his mask.
"No... Fourth Brother, oh no, Fourth Brother! Third Brother was wrong. I was just trying to play a little joke on you since we haven't seen each other in a long time. Why can't you take a joke like before?"
Number three, after removing his mask, has a standard square face.
How many sides? Lin Xuan really found it hard to imagine that the word "angular" could actually describe a person's appearance.
Seeing the other person's reaction, Lin Xuan couldn't help but chuckle and put the gun back in her hand.
"It would have been better if you had done this earlier. You're just pretending to be an expert while I'm not saying anything, are you?"
"No way, it's just that we haven't seen each other for so long, so I thought I'd give you a little surprise with this special way of making an entrance, wouldn't you say?"
"Fourth brother, it's been so long! You've gotten so thin. Have you been eating and sleeping poorly here? How about you hand over control of Earth Four to me and let me manage it for you for a few days?"
Seeing the other person's expression, as if reuniting with an old friend, Lin Xuan showed little outward reaction, but inwardly she breathed a sigh of relief.
He had prepared himself for a tough opponent, but it seemed that this Number Three had a relatively harmonious relationship with the original owner of his body. This was one of the few pieces of good news he'd received since learning of his identity as an observer.
But Lin Xuan did not let her guard down. The more familiar the other party was with her, the greater the risk of her being exposed.
"Speak, what brings you here?"
In response to the other party's teasing, Lin Xuan chose to bypass the topic and regain control of the situation.
He wasn't familiar with the original owner of this body's way of doing things, and the more he said, the more mistakes he would make. Since he didn't know how to answer, he simply didn't answer.
"It's nothing much. The eldest and second eldest sent me to find you. Tianchen and Dixing have been eliminated, so now the four of us should be the only observers left in this experiment. According to the eldest, we can begin the [final experiment] whenever you're ready."
"[The final experiment]?"
Lin Xuan had a rough guess about the observers' role; they were more like conducting a breeding experiment.
Six Earths could very well represent six completely different directions of development, and raising Gu (a type of insect) is naturally a way to determine the final winner.
The winner takes all, the loser eats the dust—this was predetermined.
So this so-called "final experiment" is probably to verify which of the six Earths will go and which will stay.
Lin Xuan's current information is still very limited, but to have deduced so much from just a few words from the other party is already quite remarkable.
But what should I say next?
Lin Xuan had no idea how to participate in the final experiment, and she was completely clueless about who the "boss" and "second-in-command" mentioned by Number Three were.
"You know what? Before I came here this time, I heard from them that you were actively interfering with the development of Earth 4. At first, I didn't believe it. I thought that kid Tianchen was messing around on Earth 4 under your name."
"It turns out it really was you!"
Number Three looked very excited, as if he had seen something extraordinary.
"Tell me, how did you suddenly change so much? Of the six of us, you were the most rigid in doing things, always following the rules of the experiment. How come you're the first to break the rules now?"
Lin Xuan didn't speak. He couldn't answer that question. He couldn't very well say that he did it to save his own life, could he?
The Three-Body Crisis did indeed influence many key turning points in the events; otherwise, Earth would probably have already entered the two-dimensional era.
"But I understand you. I told you before, it would be more interesting to add some uncontrollable variables to the experiment. The eldest and second eldest are just hypocritical. You don't know about their two experimental fields. One has completely gone down the path of mechanical ascension, and the other has been frantically pushing the technology tree of biological evolution. It's very boring."
"I don't believe for a second that they weren't involved, but those two just won't admit it. I told you long ago, even if they die and are cremated, they'll still be stubborn."
"So what if they interfered? Anyway, we don't even know if the bosses are still alive. They might have been killed by some civilization long ago. This damn experiment of ours should have ended a long time ago. If you ask me, we shouldn't even bother with the final experiment. Wouldn't it be better if we all just went home, packed our bags, and lived our own lives?"
Number Three was still talking non-stop, but Lin Xuan quickly gleaned the key information from it.
"You mean to say that you, as observers in this experiment, actually intervened in the development of the Earth where you are located?"
"if not?"
Number Three looked at Lin Xuan with an expression that seemed perfectly natural.
"I've grown attached to my cats and dogs over the years, so how much more so to a civilization?"
"Tianchen was an accident. He was too reckless, and the civilization he brought out was also reckless. In the end, they were directly killed by high-dimensional monsters. As for the remaining five observers, do you think any of us wouldn't protect our own?"
"So, you came to see me this time because it's related to this matter, right?"
Lin Xuan looked at Number Three and saw a hint of wanting to ask someone for a favor in the other person's eyes.
"Well... to be honest, I do need your help with something."
"Actually, you don't need to go yourself. Just lend me some people."
"Who do you want to borrow?"
For some reason, Lin Xuan suddenly had a strange feeling; he felt that Number Three was hiding something from him.
Number Three thought for a moment and then held up one finger.
"Bai Bing".