Although Earthlings had anticipated that the Trisolaran civilization's "Sophons" would, like a ghost, constantly monitor humanity's actions,
when the "Sophons" truly appeared before them, even stating without hesitation, 'Humans are bugs'—that deep, bone-chilling sense of powerlessness, as if an invisible hand was squeezing their hearts, still uncontrollably spread through everyone's minds.
Can humanity truly win?
All the strategies and plans they discussed and formulated in front of the Sophons were overheard clearly by the Trisolaran fleet, currently 4.2 light-years away and en route.
What's more, among the four Wallfacers chosen by the combined strength of humanity, three had already been 'Broken' by their own people, and their plans were confirmed to be completely unfeasible. In such circumstances, even the most tenacious person would inevitably fall into despair.
"You are not Luo Ji."
On the screen, the Sophon gave its reply.
The sentence was somewhat inexplicable, but Emrys understood what the Trisolarans were saying. He nodded and chuckled, "That's right, I am not Luo Ji, and it's impossible for me to become Luo Ji, because the goal I pursue is completely different from his. This dictates that we won't use the same methods, isn't that right?"
"You have already lost the only method to counterbalance us. This was humanity's last chance, but you failed to seize it."
This was the first time in history that the "Sophon" had spoken so many words to humanity in one breath.
"Are you referring to the Dark Forest Theory?"
Emrys raised an eyebrow and asked.
"Correct."
"Given your statements and actions, the Trisolaran fleet Commander speculates that, with your help, there is a 97% possibility that humanity will discover the 'Dark Forest Theory' prematurely."
"Once humanity discovers this theory, according to the human civilization data we have obtained, it is highly likely that they will implement the strategic ploy of 'Driving a Wolf to Devour a Tiger'."
"Evans taught us that humans are adept at using metaphors, disguises, and other methods to conceal their true strategic intentions. Also, the diverse war patterns throughout human history have made us clearly realize the shortcomings of the Trisolaran civilization."
"Unfortunately, he is already dead."
Mentioning Evans, Emrys couldn't help but feel a touch of regret.
"According to 'Imperial' law, colluding with heretics and attempting to subvert humanity is a crime punishable by 'white Phosphorus Death'."
If Ye Wenjie could barely be considered a crime in progress, and thus forgivable—then Evans was a bona fide war criminal!
Caught by the Tribunal, Evans would only regret why he hadn't committed suicide.
However, the Sophon seemed not to care about Emrys' blasphemy towards Evans. It continued to speak to itself:
"Based on the information provided by Evans, the Trisolaran fleet conducted a discussion and detected a major 'error' in our strategy."
"You overlooked higher civilizations."
Emrys pointed out the error with a smile.
"Correct."
"We should not have underestimated humanity's resolve."
"In the face of an extinction crisis, humans might take certain uncontrollable actions."
"At the same time, your existence has made us realize that humanity may have already been discovered by other civilizations, and even similar civilizations may have infiltrated human society. We must ensure that no more civilizations get involved."
"Under quantum computer simulation, we preset 18.37 million hypotheses from a human perspective. One of these hypotheses is: under the disguise of a Wallfacer, humanity launches a satellite into the Solar System, and with current technological capabilities, it is entirely possible to broadcast its coordinates into the depths of space, thereby attracting destructive strikes from higher civilizations."
"Therefore, to avoid the war between the Trisolaran civilization and the Earthling civilization being discovered by even higher civilizations, just seven Earth days ago, the Supreme Commander of the Trisolaran fleet held a military meeting and ultimately decided to launch the 'Droplet' towards the Solar System ahead of schedule."
"We will completely destroy all of humanity's arrangements in the Solar System, including satellites, exploration devices, nuclear weapons, and a series of other actions that might potentially broadcast coordinates, thereby completely curbing humanity's possibility of establishing any form of contact with higher civilizations in the depths of space."
Clap! Clap! Clap!
After hearing their plan, even Emrys couldn't help but applaud the Trisolarans.
"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! Meticulous, going all out, stifling every possibility for humanity, even knowing the vast technological gap, not leaving a single flaw. It's truly brilliant."
And wasn't it brilliant?
With his 'change' in play, the Trisolarans had prematurely detected the 'flaw' in their strategic plan. Now, even if Luo Ji awakened, it would likely be impossible to establish the Deterrence Era.
Which meant humanity would be completely trapped on Earth.
The representatives of various countries looked ashen.
The most despairing part was that they had just learned there was a glimmer of hope for humanity, only for it to be erased in a flash!
"But—as far as I know, you haven't fully mastered faster-than-light travel yet, have you?"
Emrys tilted his head and asked, "If that's the case, it will take at least a hundred years for the Droplet to reach the Solar System, but we don't need that long to set up a gravitational wave device to broadcast coordinates, starting now."
He didn't believe that the Trisolarans, with their intelligence, wouldn't know about such a significant flaw.
"Correct."
"Sophons can only lock down humanity's basic science, but cannot extensively interfere with applied materials and engineering. Even at its highest initial velocity, the Droplet would still need at least several decades to reach the Solar System."
"Based on the above conditions, we have formulated our final counter-strategy: using Sophons at a macroscopic level to precisely interfere with and strike humanity's industrial foundational capabilities, while simultaneously blockading networks and energy."
"At the same time, the ETO organization will infiltrate various countries and dismantle anything that could become a potential threat from a human level."
The representatives of various countries were already in despair.
The Trisolaran civilization was getting serious; they wanted to completely destroy humanity's hope from all sides!
But Emrys remained silent, his intuition telling him that the Trisolarans' arrangements—couldn't be that simple.
Even combining 'Sophons' and 'ETO'.
It would still be very, very difficult for the Trisolarans to completely lock down humanity's plan to broadcast coordinates into space!
"Your plan shouldn't be this simple, should it?"
Emrys asked with a half-smile.
""
The Sophon fell silent.
"Ha, it seems I guessed right." Emrys smiled, because silence—was already an answer.
"You are very clever."
"But unfortunately, you were one step too late."
"Our blockade is complete."
"We must thank you, Merlin Emrys."
"If it weren't for your actions, statements, and conversations with Ye Wenjie, we would not have detected such a significant 'flaw' in our strategic plan for humanity."
"For this, the Trisolaran civilization thanks you."
"And you—will become the greatest 'war criminal' in the history of human civilization."
The Sophon's text gradually turned scarlet.
And before it disappeared, it left humanity with one last sentence.
"Weakness and ignorance are not obstacles to survival, arrogance is."