Chapter 163: A Hidden Threat Beyond the Flow

This is utterly absurd.

Until Parlo threw down a pile of video evidence, this was the thought echoing through Sadik’s mind again and again.

But soon, after watching everything, he fell completely silent.

“Sadik, there’s something I’ve always wondered about…”

“Where exactly did Tuoba get all those warships?”

“You’ve got eyes and ears all over Tianyuan IV, right? So do I—a lot, in fact. That’s why I can say for sure there is absolutely no warship production line on Tianyuan IV.”

“Which brings us to the big question: If there’s no production line, did Tuoba just pull those warships out of thin air?”

A production line?

That’s right, just like Parlo said. He had agents all across Tianyuan IV and even in every star system in the kingdom—be it among the border clans or those deep in the core.

And yes, there really was no warship production line on Tianyuan IV.

If Tuoba actually had something like that, Sadik would’ve sent a massive force to wipe out his clan ages ago.

But without a production line, where did all those warships come from?

“Parlo, don’t tell me you’re implying…”

“Give me a break. Even I don’t have warships that powerful. If I did, would two legions plus a raider fleet have gotten routed that badly?”

“So…”

“My point is, Tuoba might have made contact with a civilization outside the Alliance!”

“No way. Apart from your Ziyang Empire, every other interstellar current from Tianyuan IV is strictly internal. Where the heck could he have…”

Sadik shook his head in disbelief and started to argue back.

But midway through, he suddenly froze.

“Starting to remember now, aren’t you?”

“Once upon a time, there wasn’t even a current connecting Tianyuan IV and Alpha Centauri. No one really knows why or how a current later appeared, but the entry point is so hidden that for years, nobody noticed it at all.”

“After all, if there was never a current there before, no one would go looking for one, let alone search that obscure corner of space.”

“It was about twenty-something years ago that someone randomly stumbled upon the current. Am I wrong?”

Sadik nodded at that.

That’s exactly how it happened.

Nobody ever figured out when that current truly appeared.

The usual thinking goes: Either the current existed from the start, or it never would—everyone knew that much.

So when the kingdom first took Tianyuan IV, they thoroughly surveyed every current in the area. At that time, there was absolutely no connection between Tianyuan IV and Alpha Centauri.

And with this knowledge in place, nobody bothered to scan for hidden currents again over the centuries—even for hundreds or thousands of years.

Which is why, like Parlo said, to this day nobody actually knows when the current appeared.

About twenty-some years ago…

No, to be precise, it was 28 years ago.

Someone happened to discover the entrance to the current hidden among a batch of asteroids.

And at that moment, everyone was stunned—the current that hadn’t existed before had suddenly formed out of nowhere!

No one could say when it had formed, but it was undeniably real now.

This is also why, despite Tuoba’s family ruling Tianyuan IV for a thousand years, they’d never been to Proxima Centauri before.

Because for them, too, that journey to Alpha Centauri and on to Proxima was a first. And it was during that trip that Tuoba first met Lin Yu.

“So… what are you trying to say?”

“Think about it: the latest place Tuoba sealed off and strictly forbidden is right at the entrance to the current leading to Alpha Centauri. He shut it down even earlier—at least ten years before he started his rebellion. Guess why he did it?”

“Because there’s another civilization on the other end, and they’re backing Tuoba. They’re using him as a pawn to target my Xitoris Kingdom—or maybe even the entire Wasteland Alliance.”

Sadik wasn’t stupid—he didn’t spend years outmaneuvering every border and core clan in the kingdom for nothing.

At the very least…

If the Human Federation hadn’t shown up, he would’ve played those clans to ruin at his leisure, then…

He’d have the whole kingdom’s power under his thumb.

And right now, his usually sharp mind instantly pieced all this together.

A look of pure shock spread across his face.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought at first too. But what happened on Skywarehouse V made me second-guess myself. You saw those videos—whether it was the orbital drop assault or the way the Empire’s people were handled after, it was always your civilization’s people in charge, not some outsiders…”

“Come on, if I were from that other civilization, I’d do the same thing. That doesn’t prove all the crews are Tuoba’s men. When you need someone to show their face, that’s when you bring out your own. Simple as that.”

Sadik, who’d outsmarted every family for decades, knew this trick well.

On this front, he far outclassed Parlo.

After all, in the Empire, Parlo sat atop absolute power. He didn’t have to deal with Sadik’s headaches.

He never had to dirty his hands with those under-the-table methods—staying focused on balancing power was enough.

“So, what’s your move? Going to ask the Alliance to step in?”

Parlo raised the question.

Sadik simply shook his head.

“Pointless. It’s all just rumors and guesses—we have zero real evidence. In this situation, the Alliance absolutely won’t intervene.”

After all, if you interfere in their business today, they might do the same to you tomorrow.

Unless we can sling undeniable proof of an outside civilization invading, no one wants to be first to cross that line.

“Let’s get something straight—I’m not sending another soldier!”

Parlo made that clear immediately, almost as if scared Sadik would drag him back into the fight.

Right now the Empire…

Just can’t take another blow.

Lack of troops aside, even if they had enough, Parlo wasn’t confident they could break through Skywarehouse V.

“Relax. I’ve got a different plan in mind.”

“At first, this whole thing made me feel hopeless. But looking closer, it’s clear that this alien civilization doesn’t want to act openly. Otherwise, with their power, they could have wiped out Xitoris Kingdom long ago.”

“I’d guess they’re trying to avoid a head-on clash with the Alliance, which means they’re probably not a Level-3 civilization yet—but still a very powerful Level-2 civilization fast approaching the next tier.”

“If they were truly Level-3, they’d steamroll the entire Wasteland Alliance already.”

“Plus, from where they’re stationed now, it’d take at least four or five years to reach the inner battlefield. So…”

“I have plenty of time to take Tuoba out before they can even arrive!”

With that realization, Sadik’s confidence started to return.

Of course, there were a few things he kept to himself—namely…

He knew Tuoba was the linchpin of the outsiders’ interests, or else they wouldn’t have rushed in to help him hold Tianyuan IV or grabbed Skywarehouse V just to teach Parlo a lesson.

So, if Tuoba faced real danger, those outsiders would almost certainly make a move.

His one chance lay in eliminating Tuoba before they had time to react.

Would they take revenge afterward? Sadik honestly wasn’t too worried.

After all…

Whatever Tuoba can offer you, I can offer as king too…

If it’s about working under a powerful civilization or swallowing up the entire Wasteland Alliance, well…

I can play that game just as well!