Chapter 380: Discovery
The Daqi race was moving much slower than anticipated, and Luo Wen had already figured out the reason. An Intelligent Entity based on the prototype of a Daqi captain provided a crucial piece of information.
It turned out that among the three peculiar vessels destroyed by the Swarm in their ambush within the asteroid belt, one of them was a highly significant Communications Vessel. Without the equipment aboard that ship, Prince Diallo of the Daqi Empire had to resort to conventional communication methods to request assistance from their race.
However, conventional communication operates via directional broadcasting, which meant that even civilian devices could potentially intercept these signals. Although encrypted, should the encryption be cracked, the Daqi race would suffer a tremendous loss of face.
Thus, the Daqi were unwilling to use this method. Furthermore, their proud Prince Diallo was most likely still struggling with whether to admit failure, which further delayed their actions.
Luo Wen was quite pleased with this development. He even secretly leveraged his connections within the Riken network to discreetly supply the Daqi with food, helping them sustain themselves for a longer period.
Ultimately, after five years of enduring hardships, Diallo’s remaining fleet withdrew from the Riken star system under the watchful gaze of Observer Bugs. A small formation of ten warships separated from the main fleet, heading toward the Daqi Empire’s territory, while the remaining ships floated quietly in the void, waiting in silence.
Luo Wen deduced the situation immediately: Prince Diallo likely didn’t dare return home. If he did, he’d most likely become a scapegoat, with no chance of redemption. Staying behind might give him a slim opportunity to make amends for his failures.
Additionally, their supplies were insufficient to sustain the entire fleet’s journey home. Diallo had truly held out until the fleet was utterly drained before being forced to request aid from his race. Among the ships left behind, very few conscious Daqi individuals remained. Most of them had entered cryogenic sleep.
Although Luo Wen was aware of their location, he had no intention of launching an attack. The Daqi had set up numerous warning devices around their fleet, and their choice to remain in the void was to minimize interference. Even if a Primordial body stealth ship were launched toward them, it would be detected by their gravitational-wave radar.