Chapter 137: Alien, Monkey, Tree-Folk

The biggest concern right now was whether the fleshy mass inside the crashed UFO would suddenly act up and ruin humanity’s grand deception.

But according to Dr. Arthur Lambert’s theory, it was highly unlikely. First, the entity had no idea humanity was running this elaborate bluff. Second, exposing them wouldn’t aid its own survival in the slightest!

The Noah had left the UFO crash site over six months ago. With most of the UFO’s external sensors destroyed, it was practically impossible for the entity to track humanity halfway across the planet. Because of this information blackout, the creature likely severely misunderstood the current situation.

Dr. Lambert’s analogy of “aliens, monkeys, and tree-folk” perfectly mirrored the three-way standoff. If they put themselves in the biological entity’s shoes, they would realize its priorities were completely different from their own.

It had no way to catch the monkeys. If a group of heavily armed tree-folk suddenly arrived outside its ruined ship, and the two sides had never communicated, how would the trapped alien react?

Would it scream, “Catch those damn monkeys!” just for petty revenge?

No. It didn’t know where the monkeys went, or if they were even still nearby. Broadcasting a message like that would only expose its own existence to the powerful new arrivals!

It would never throw away its chance at survival just for a grudge. For any civilization or living organism, survival is always the primary objective; settling scores is strictly secondary.

Unless this entity was completely insane, or it somehow already knew the “tree-folk,” there was zero chance they would team up to hunt the monkeys. The probability was so astronomically low it was negligible. If such a bizarre scenario did occur, humanity would just have to accept its fate.

If the monkeys and tree-folk were wary of each other, then the trapped alien and the tree-folk would be equally suspicious of one another!

“So, there’s a very high chance the entity will just stay quiet inside its ship… or rather, it’s waiting for some tree-folk to wander into its trap?!” Jason said thoughtfully, stroking his chin.

“It can’t escape, and it certainly doesn’t trust a new, unknown civilization… so it wants to use its mind-control abilities to hijack the tree-folk!”

Assuming the entity was completely unaware of humanity’s grand bluff, this was entirely plausible. In theory, it was the most likely scenario!

The ruins of one civilization are a treasure trove to another. It was unclear whose technology was superior, the crashed UFO’s or the Viridians’ but the wreckage was undeniably valuable. If the UFO played dead and looked like an abandoned ruin, the “tree-folk” might send an expedition to explore it… and then, who knows? They might get captured by the entity.

That insidious trap had nearly claimed the monkeys. It could just as easily claim the much stronger tree-folk, provided the UFO’s psychic technology was capable of penetrating Viridian defenses.

The memory of that terrifying hypnotic power sent chills down Jason’s spine. It wasn’t just suggestion; it was absolute mind control.

Yes, the entity was likely playing dead, preparing to spring a trap on the Viridians!

This was the best possible news for humanity, it meant their camouflage plan hadn’t been compromised.

The catch was… this relied entirely on the entity believing it still had the element of surprise. It had no idea that the weak monkeys had thrown on a lion’s skin, claimed the entire territory, and were aggressively ordering the tree-folk to leave.

Realizing all this, Jason felt a wave of relief, followed immediately by an immense, crushing pressure.

A single misstep could sink their entire civilization. While dealing with the Viridian Empire, they also had to account for this cursed biological entity. If it realized it had no hope of survival, it might decide to take everyone down with it. Therefore, the negotiations with the Viridians had to be as brief and secretive as possible, preventing the entity from catching on.

Or… what if they just wiped the fleshy mass off the map? The moment the thought entered Jason’s mind, it took root. He wanted to permanently eliminate this volatile variable.

“Damn the consequences!” he thought. They didn’t care about the alien technology left inside the ruins anymore; it was time to finish the job!

Of course, this was all just human speculation. Maybe the entity didn’t even have enough power left to broadcast a signal into space. But Jason and his command staff would never bet humanity’s survival on wishful thinking.

The veins on Jason’s forehead bulged. Leaving the entity alive had been a massive strategic error. They should have nuked the Martian UFO into glass back then.

Truthfully, it was human greed that had stayed their hand. The ship was packed with advanced technology, and the leadership hadn’t been able to bring themselves to destroy it… thinking they might need to salvage it later.

Fortunately, they had left a contingency in place. Near the original landing site, a little over 100 kilometers from the UFO, an automated rover was parked, carrying a Helium-3 nuclear warhead with a yield of one billion tons!

With a single command signal, the rover would drive straight to the UFO and detonate. It was a crucial failsafe; they couldn’t afford to be unprepared around such a dangerous anomaly.

“Should we initiate the strike?” Austin asked. He had reached the same conclusion: rather than sitting on pins and needles, it was better to preemptively destroy the threat!

“Yes… but without our satellite network, we can’t relay the detonation signal,” Jason said, his brow furrowed.

They debated the issue intensely and finally agreed that the UFO variable had to be removed. An uncontrollable third party was too dangerous; neutralizing it was worth the risk.

As part of their grand deception, all human satellites had been deliberately de-orbited and destroyed so the Viridians wouldn’t detect their primitive orbital technology. Now, they needed to risk exposing themselves by launching a new satellite, just long enough to relay the kill signal to the nuclear rover. As long as the UFO was destroyed, the biggest loophole in their bluff would be closed!

The resulting nuclear detonation would definitely attract the Viridians’ attention, but… it was a calculated risk they had to take.

After extensive brainstorming by the tactical team, a viable solution emerged: they could use the planet’s rotation to their advantage.

Mars’s rotation period is about 24.6 hours, nearly identical to Earth’s. Although the Noah hovered in the atmosphere, it moved with the planet’s rotation due to inertia. When the Ark rotated to the far side of the planet, the sheer bulk of Mars would physically block the Viridians’ line of sight.

During that brief window of total planetary eclipse, they could launch a discreet satellite. Its sole purpose: beam the activation code to the rover and nuke the UFO!

The plan was solid, and the theory was sound, but they had no way of knowing if the Viridian Empire’s sensors would spot a flaw. They could only execute it as flawlessly as possible.

“The chances of detection are extremely low,” a weapons expert explained confidently. “The Viridian fleet is far away, and we’ll be operating on the dark side of the planet. They won’t even know we’ve achieved orbit.”

“Furthermore, the probe will be disguised as a common meteorite and will operate in total radio silence. After completing its singular transmission, it will immediately de-orbit and crash into the surface.”

Even with these assurances, Jason still felt a knot of anxiety in his chest. The weight of the entire species rested on his shoulders!

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