Chapter 142: New Interstellar Situation

Leite was defeated. A 900-year-old established Fifth-grade Civilization was defeated by a newly promoted civilization, and it only took one month!

When the Star Alliance received a message from Leite requesting intervention in the dispute between the two parties, similar to a cry for help, even the Aostarians looked at each other in disbelief!

With the capabilities of the Star Alliance, the complete and detailed combat process was quickly retrieved. The group watched seriously from beginning to end. Their feelings shifted from initial worry for Earth, to sympathy for Leite’s tragic fate, and finally, only sighs remained.

Elder Yun reflected on the combat process and finally made a summary: “Rather than saying Leite was defeated by Earth, it is better to say that the civilization itself went down the wrong path. Now, this error has been infinitely magnified by them, and was finally accurately hit by the Earthlings.”

For a hundred years, the contradictions between Leite and Earth had always been handled by Elder Yun. This old man had witnessed the efforts of generations of Earthlings.

His intervention gave Earth a peaceful development period of over a hundred years. It was also his decision that made Earth lose an existence that could have served as a belief. And now, he was playing the role of the protector of the Leite People again.

The unpredictability of worldly affairs could be seen from this.

The Leite People controlled a star domain of fifty Light Years. Unfortunately, in this star domain, aside from Earth on the edge, there was not a single Life Planet.

However, the Universe made up for this deficiency of the Leite People in another aspect. Within this star domain, there were unusually rich and diverse mineral resources. Almost all rare minerals in the Universe could be found in this star domain, and the content was quite abundant.

The Leite People established nearly a hundred resource planets in the star domain, specifically for mining minerals. Whether these minerals were for self-use or export, they ensured the wealth of this Fifth-grade Civilization, Leite.

Now, having lost almost all their military power, the Leite People were like lambs guarding a gold mine, only inviting the covetousness and plunder of the strong.

Not only Earth, the victorious side, but also the neighboring Renos People!

The mother star of the Renos People was fully 125 Light Years away from Earth, and more than 80 Light Years away from Leite’s mother star. They had almost become a Fifth-grade Civilization at the same time as Leite.

After decades of war between the two sides, the ownership of the star domain was finally determined on a large scale according to the median line principle. But this was a general range. The ownership of specific planets on the border had always been in dispute.

Now that Leite had suddenly weakened, as an unfriendly old neighbor, how could they possibly just watch the show from the sidelines? They would definitely want a piece of the pie.

He also had sufficient reason to do so. Leite’s fourth main fleet was destroyed by Renos.

Thus, when the Star Alliance arrived at the periphery of the Leite Star System, the participants in the negotiation were not just Leite and Earth. The Renos People also sent people to participate, ready to loot while the house was burning.

The Renos People looked very strange. How should one put it? At first glance, they had eyes, a nose, and distinct features. But the proportions of their facial features, whether by the aesthetic standards of Earthlings or the Leite People, gave off an indescribable sense of disharmony.

At least, when Lin Lei saw this Renos person who forced his way in, his first impression was not very good.

The person from Leite this time was still the former Foreign Minister Norance. However, he had been promoted now and had become the newly appointed Speaker of Leite. The previous Speaker had committed suicide to apologize, unable to withstand the huge shock of the defeat.

Lin Lei looked at this pitiful fellow and could not help but smile.

At this juncture of negotiating peace after a defeat, Norance was pushed to the highest position. This was not glory, but being treated as a scapegoat. It was estimated that after signing the shameful treaty here, he would be immediately dismissed and nailed to the pillar of shame in Leite upon returning to the Leite Mother Star.

If his psychological endurance was good, he might manage to live an ignoble life amidst the curses of his clan for the rest of his life. If it was a bit worse, he would probably commit suicide directly.

Clearly, Norance also knew this. His face was pale, his palms trembled slightly, his double-pupils involuntarily dilated, and he had completely lost his composure in his heart.

The visitor from Renos was named Kaqi. He was a short and fat fellow, extremely ugly in Lin Lei’s opinion. As soon as he arrived on the Star Alliance spaceship, he grinned at Lin Lei. Anyone would be happy to get a windfall for free.

Indeed, the Renos People picked up a huge bargain this time. Other things didn’t matter much, but that primeval planet on the border of the star domain was extremely precious. Just this one planet made the Renos People earn a fortune.

The value of a primeval planet did not lie in its minerals, but in the rich and diverse life resources on it. This was a natural genetic treasure trove that could inject fresh blood into the evolution of a race. And in this Universe, what could be more attractive than life itself evolving? This was almost the driving force for the existence of any life!

Moreover, in the critical moment when the mother star was in crisis, this was also a foothold for the race, a natural refuge.

Now, based on Renos’s understanding of the Earthlings’ military power, they knew that this newly promoted Fifth-grade Civilization was impossible to control the vast star domain of the Leite Civilization in a short time. Renos would definitely be able to snatch a big chunk of meat from it!

The atmosphere of this negotiation presided over by Elder Yun was absolutely not harmonious or pleasant.

Throughout the process, the Renos People smiled so broadly that their teeth showed but their eyes didn’t, while Norance of the Leite People frequently wiped the cold sweat oozing from his forehead.

As for Lin Lei, his expression was calm. At the beginning, he also remained poker-faced, just letting Norance and Kaqi negotiate first, while he watched from the side with an almost leisurely manner.

Elder Yun found it a bit strange. He remembered that the protagonists of this meeting seemed to be Earth and Leite. How did it become Renos now?

This Earth high official named Lu Yuan was the only person present among the three that Elder Yun could not see through.

At first glance, Lu Yuan’s face gave a very clean feeling. The graying hair at his temples did not make him look old, but instead highlighted the charm of a mature male. His eyes were slightly squinted, making it hard to see the specific content inside, but they seemed to reveal a pure, transparent luster.

His figure was well-proportioned, and his height was neither tall nor short. But sitting there, he gave people a sense of stability as immovable as a mountain.

But these were just superficial phenomena. Elder Yun, who could truly be said to have seen countless people and had seen all kinds of creatures, even Pan-dimensional Creatures, would not be deceived by this appearance.

Norance and Kaqi were discussing over there in the form of an argument. The Leite side lacked confidence. Norance’s rebuttals were merely superficial efforts. In the end, he helplessly agreed to the countless extremely excessive conditions proposed by Kaqi.

On this side, Elder Yun began to use a skill similar to mental probing to conduct a hidden scan of Lin Lei’s body. He was very careful. As long as the person was not very physically sensitive, they would not detect his little trick.

What Elder Yun ultimately cared about was not the body, but the mind. He was very curious about the mind of this Lu Yuan, so he used this almost barbaric way to seek the truth.

Almost at the first moment Elder Yun’s probing arrived, Lin Lei sensed it. He was shocked in his heart, then immediately suppressed the waves surging from the bottom of his heart. He pretended to be nonchalant as he watched the argument between Norance and Kaqi, even putting on an interested look.

In his heart, however, he had already made the deepest defense. He hid his massive Will away without revealing a single bit. No matter how Elder Yun probed, he would find nothing unusual.

Even if this body was Lin Lei’s split consciousness, it was not something an ordinary intelligent creature could probe at will, even if he was a person from the Watcher Civilization.

But at this very moment, as luck would have it, Lin Lei’s main consciousness buried deep underground on Earth comprehended the third Dimension of energy: Chaos. A huge Will Fluctuation, like a terrifying wave, transmitted towards Lin Lei’s split consciousness.

This was simply impossible to hide! Lin Lei could almost imagine the reaction Elder Yun would have after discovering the truth.

Just at this moment, a faint blue light enveloped the body of Lin Lei, or rather, Lu Yuan. This light was close to the Will level. It was faint and barely visible, but it actually blocked Elder Yun’s mental probing outside the body.

Lin Lei immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Earth’s Will Body had helped him once again. This mother in the true sense of the word had always been watching over and sheltering him.

Lin Lei took a deep look at Elder Yun. The meaning in his eyes was very clear: he had discovered the other party’s little trick!

Elder Yun, however, breathed a slight sigh of relief and nodded slightly to Lin Lei to express his apology. Perhaps some of his original guesses were wrong. This Lu Yuan might just have won the favor of the Planet Will Body.

But as for what this extremely mentally sensitive and unfathomably wise Elder Yun was actually thinking, even Lin Lei could not guess through.

Perhaps this matter would pass like this, or perhaps it would lead to a huge trouble. Who knew?

Lin Lei did not dwell on it either, because the discussion between Norance and Kaqi over there was coming to an end.

Norance’s face was so pale it was almost transparent, and the sweat on his forehead had dried up. Kaqi, on the other hand, was triumphant, almost crossing his legs in delight.

At this time, Lin Lei finally spoke: “Norance, this is our second meeting. The last time was a month ago. Times have changed. A month later, we are sitting here again, but a distinction of superiority has already been established.”

Facing Lin Lei’s taunt, Norance just smiled weakly and did not refute, silently enduring it.

This time, the victor’s treaty that Lin Lei needed to discuss with Leite had already been discussed and finalized in the emergency council held on Earth. Now that it was proposed here, there was no need to care whether the other party accepted it or not, because Leite had no choice.

Now, Earth’s opponent was no longer the Leite People, but the Renos People, who possessed actual deterrent power and the full strength of a Fifth-grade Civilization!

Lin Lei saw this more clearly than anyone else. He was no longer that simple, ideal-filled teenager. He had already lived for more than 150 years. In this Universe, he had seen quite a few people and things.

“We Earthlings are much more civilized than the Renos People sitting across from us. Norance, listen carefully to the treaty I propose. It won’t be too excessive.” Lin Lei first gave Norance’s weak heart a shot of strong medicine.

Sure enough, hearing Lin Lei say this, a spark of hope reignited in Norance’s double-pupils.

“First, I want to declare that Earth is now the victor, while Leite is on the loser’s side. You must keep this in mind!

We have a very thorough understanding of Leite’s various heavy industries, especially the spaceship manufacturing industry. There are a total of eleven manufacturing bases, with a total production capacity of 500 small Space Warships per day, and there are two space bases with the capability to manufacture Space Fortress-level spaceships.

The first requirement proposed by Earth: In the future Leite, these spaceship production bases, except for two civilian spaceship production bases, must all be thoroughly controlled by Earth. In the future, any military warships and weapons of Leite will be controlled and produced by Earth. The Leite People are not allowed to produce any weapons without authorization!

Second point: Earth’s digital citizens will enter Leite’s network and supervise Leite. Our side will set up a strategic-level military fortress in the outer space 0.8 Astronomical Units away from the Leite Mother Star to ensure that Earth’s rights and interests are not infringed upon.

Third point: For the star domain of Leite near the Earth side, Earth will distribute it according to the internationally recognized median line principle. A clear dividing line will be drawn at twenty-five Light Years. And as the victor’s rights, Earth will obtain the mining rights of three resource planets in Leite’s star domain: Gamma Star, Water God Star, and Iridium Star.”

These three planets were Leite’s treasures. The minerals they produced were the most critical resources for producing Warp Engines, energy cores, and Subspace weapons. Earth was determined to get them.

Just these three conditions placed the entire situation of Leite for the next hundred years under Earth’s control.

The Earth side would not be foolish enough to annex Leite. Earth did not have that capability right now either. Instead, they would let Leite become a strategic buffer zone between Earth and Renos. They would plot further after Earth developed more.

Of course, Norance knew Earth’s thoughts. But regarding the star domain control range, Earth was not being too excessive, at least on the surface. He used the median line principle, which gave Norance an explanation for his people when he went back.

As for the rest, as long as the current Leite wasn’t exterminated, it was fine. Norance couldn’t worry about that much anymore and agreed immediately.

Lin Lei was very satisfied with Norance’s attitude. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Kaqi across from him, but said to Norance meaningfully: “Earth and Leite do not lack room for cooperation. In the future, the relationship between our two races will become increasingly close, and we will even share benefits. I hope Leite can realize this and make the right choice at the critical moment.”

Norance seemed to understand something. He lowered his head, his facial expression indiscernible, and just replied in a low voice: “We will, we definitely will.”

Kaqi was also a smart person. He knew that in just this short while, this Earthling sitting opposite him had formed some kind of alliance with the Leite People. His originally happy mood suddenly turned gloomy, and he became silent.

Elder Yun looked at Norance of Leite with some pity. On this day, this civilization had been neutered!

He was very sure that Earth, this powerful race, would not let Leite become independent again. The civilization of the Double-Pupiled People would step by step become vassals of the Earthlings in the future, and finally be completely annihilated in the ocean of civilizations in the Galaxy.