Chapter 404: Operation Ambush at Base Eleven

Du Qiu had thoroughly dissected the principles behind this weapon, yet the critical component that triggers quantum fluctuations proved remarkably difficult to manufacture.

Even with production capabilities in Dreamland that exceeded those of Dream Technology, it remained a daunting challenge.

For a level-six civilization, this weapon was comparable to the nuclear arms once seen on Earth.

There is a fundamental difference between having it and not having it.

After careful research, Du Qiu resolved to take a risk and launch a surprise attack on the former Base 11, aiming to seed the arrival of the Dominant Civilization’s Creator.

He believed that seizing the Creator’s database would unlock the high-end manufacturing techniques of the Dominant Civilization.

Everything was being arranged at a feverish pace, and all that was needed was to free up time once the Pleiades had been explored.

At that moment, Du Qiu ordered a flotilla of cruiser ships to conduct a swift sweep of the star system, confirming that nothing remained before departing begrudgingly.

Upon returning to Base 6, he received jubilant news from Longtar.

While the main fleet had set off for the Pleiades, Dream Technology’s Longtar Fleet stationed in the Solar System had already launched an all-out assault on the Dark Matter Lifeforms lurking on Mars.

After stepping into a level-five civilization, Dream Technology had deepened its research on dark matter, pioneering advanced detection methods and smart Negative Matter Ammunition.

These cutting-edge detection systems could expose Dark Matter Lifeforms even if they hid beneath layers of cover, pinpointing their location with precision.

When paired with Transformers, the smart Negative Matter Ammunition became a veritable land warfare powerhouse, capable of tracking and eliminating Dark Matter Lifeforms like a shadow—without collateral damage to planets.

The fusion of these two technologies meant that once a Dark Matter Lifeform was detected, its fate was sealed as it would be struck dead by Negative Matter Ammunition.

Armed with these innovations, Longtar’s fleet executed a thorough, carpet-like sweep across Mars; with Transformers able to traverse any terrain, the Dark Matter Lifeforms had no escape.

The entire battle lasted merely two days, resulting in the complete annihilation of the Dark Matter Lifeforms on Mars.

Over the past thirty-plus years, Longtar’s fleet had scoured the rest of the Solar System, confirming that only Mars had sheltered the elusive lifeforms.

After the battle, Longtar employed the latest detection technology to verify that the Dark Matter Lifeforms had indeed been eradicated.

In other words, the Solar System was once again under human control.

“Longtar did well—we can finally go home,”

Du Qiu, who had initially felt dejected by his fruitless trip to the Pleiades, was instantly cheered by Longtar’s good news.

Just as Du Qiu led his fleet back to Base 6 from the Pleiades, the fleet’s sensors suddenly blared as they prepared for a second spatial jump.

Almost reflexively, Du Qiu ordered all warships to initiate an immediate space jump.

When the fleet vanished from interstellar space only to reappear within the Base 6 system, Du Qiu exhaled in relief seeing the formation intact.

“Did that jump point just encounter a temporal storm? Why are all the warships’ spatial energy sensors detecting energy?”

Although brimming with questions, Du Qiu dared not return to that jump point now.

These temporary jump points were chosen at random by the flagship’s AI, differing entirely from the one used previously to travel from Base 6 to the Pleiades.

Fortunately, these temporary points were promptly recorded in the star map, making it easy to navigate back if needed.

Du Qiu said to Song Yuanting, “Once the Consciousness Fleet’s crew are more skilled, have them send a Consciousness Warship to check out that jump point.”

“Understood. Are we heading back to the Solar System?”

“For now, we’ll remain at Base 6—I have business to attend to.”

Du Qiu decided to pause here, entering a prolonged hibernation within a dream state to prepare for the covert takeover of Base 11 belonging to the Dominant Civilization.

Soon enough, Du Qiu entered long-term hibernation in the laboratory of the flagship Space Bastion.

His consciousness quickly drifted to the distant base of the Andromeda Galaxy.

At this time, the entire base’s fleet was assembled and ready for action.

A row of colossal spatial gates shimmered in the Void as Du Qiu led a grand fleet of 24 first-rate warships through one of them.

On the other side of the gate lay a star system merely 15 light-years from Base 11.

This spatial gate had been established when Du Qiu covertly embedded a small fleet, under the guise of the Dominant Fleet, to infiltrate the area.

All the warships built by Du Qiu replicated the design of the Dominant Fleet; they looked identical and their onboard AIs operated on the same hierarchical system as the Dominant Civilization’s.

Thus, such a fleet could blend in effortlessly with the Dominant Civilization’s forces—as long as the Dominant themselves did not manifest—allowing them to pass unnoticed.

Soon after the grand fleet appeared in the star system, they immediately contacted Base 11, claiming to be a special task force en route to a forward front, requesting temporary berthing for resupply.

They were able to send such a confident message because earlier, one of Du Qiu’s small reconnaissance fleets had exchanged intel with a patrol fleet of the Dominant Civilization.

However, based on their current location, that special task force was still another half day away.

Du Qiu planned to impersonate this fleet to infiltrate Base 11—a half-day window was all he needed to seize control from the Creator within the base.

It was a meticulously layered scheme.

Once he took over Base 11, the base would be his in no time; by then, if he had a chance to seize control of the special task force’s commander, he could potentially commandeer the entire fleet.

Such an opportunity to nearly double his forces was one Du Qiu simply could not afford to miss.

Leaving a first-rate fleet to guard the spatial gate, Du Qiu led another first-rate fleet in a confident spatial jump toward Base 11.

After three jumps, they arrived in the star system hosting Base 11.

The star system buzzed with activity—a small fleet was waiting to provide guidance while also preparing to verify connections.

Taking advantage of the brief verification window, Du Qiu executed a swift descent on the small fleet’s lead warship, easily bringing it under his control.

Once control was established, any need for further verification became moot.

The Dominant Civilization had always fortified its systems against intrusions by the Ge Ya Alliance’s AIs, enforcing a rigid hierarchical verification to thwart their infiltration.

Yet the Dominant had never imagined that Ge Ya would resort to such low-level descents—a move so risky that if detected during the process, they’d be trapped, resulting in total defeat.

For this reason, neither the Dominant nor Ge Ya would normally risk such an operation, and thus never prepared for it.

Well, not entirely unprepared—they had bolstered their alarm systems so that any enemy descent on their warships or equipment would immediately trigger a protective net.

But who could have foreseen that someone like Du Qiu, descending via a dream state, could execute a safe descent without activating the defenses?

Next, Du Qiu completed his takeover by descending onto the base’s highest-ranking commander, then ordering all subordinate warships and devices to activate the physical switch on their consciousness modules.

At that moment, a virus—crafted by Du Qiu to modify the base code at its core—rapidly spread throughout the entire base network.

Thus, the operation to overhaul and seize control of Base 11 went off without a hitch.

After securing Base 11, Du Qiu eagerly began extracting key technological data from the Creator’s database.

Suddenly, the base’s commander reported to Du Qiu, “Sir, we’ve just received word from the special task fleet. They’ve been ordered to strike a base infiltrated by the Ge Ya Alliance before coming to resupply, so their arrival will be delayed by a few hours.”