The situation was now completely clear.
The decision now lay with the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity.
But Li Qingsong had left it with only two options.
One: you suffer 100% losses, and I suffer 100% losses. We all perish together.
Two: you suffer 95% losses, and I suffer none.
It could either face the wrath of an erupting star or the ambush of hydrogen bomb traps. It had to choose one.
This was Li Qingsong's entire plan.
After more than two hundred years of preparation and several risks along the way, Li Qingsong had finally steered the situation to this very point.
Of course, Li Qingsong himself would much prefer the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity to choose the second option. That way, he wouldn't have to abandon everything he had built and start all over again.
'Over two thousand long years... Two millennia of painstaking effort, never daring to relax or let my guard down for a single moment, all to reach this point. You think that was easy for me?!'
However...
If he were in its position, Li Qingsong knew he would absolutely choose the first option.
In his eyes, there was little difference between a 95% loss and a 100% loss.
'If I'm going to suffer catastrophic losses anyway, why not lose a little more to make sure my opponent dies too?'
'It's better for us both to lose than for you to win alone!'
And it wasn't just him. He knew that any conventional intelligent civilization, any civilization led by sentient life, would most likely choose mutual defeat over letting their enemy win alone.
But his opponent wasn't a conventional intelligent civilization. It was the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity.
'How will it choose?'
Li Qingsong didn't know. He only knew that he was prepared to face any outcome.
'No matter what you choose, I'm ready for it!'
Inside the Supercomputer Carrier, the logic units were still running at a frantic pace.
"If our forces refuse to retreat, the probability of the Prey Civilization detonating its hydrogen bomb vessels and triggering a stellar eruption is assessed at: 100%. Consequently, the probability of the total annihilation of our forward fleet is: 100%.
If our forces retreat and encounter the numerous hydrogen bomb traps, the projected loss rate for our forward fleet is: 95%.
In the event of mutual annihilation, the probability of capturing even a single intelligent lifeform from the Prey Civilization becomes zero. Projected yield: 0%.
If we retreat, despite the 95% loss of our forward fleet, and considering the opponent's previously demonstrated resolute combat will and the integrity of their defensive lines, our remaining forces will be insufficient to capture the Prey Civilization.
However, once our forces have recovered in the future, the possibility of capture remains.
Based on the principle of maximizing gain and minimizing loss, the comprehensive analysis concludes that the optimal choice for our forces is: Retreat."
Then... retreat!
Via Super-distance Communication, the command from the Supercomputer Carrier was instantly transmitted to the forward fleet.
In that instant, Li Qingsong saw the countless stars in space encircling his fleet all surge in brightness at once.
For a moment, space bloomed with a dazzling light, as if the vast, starry river of the galaxy had descended upon them.
The madness in Li Qingsong's eyes slowly faded, replaced by the hint of a faint smile.
He knew he had won his bet.
The Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet was, after all, different from the fleets of conventional intelligent civilizations.
It had made the choice that maximized its gains. The sudden surge in brightness from those "stars" was because they had all activated their Thrust Devices at once, fleeing away from the star at full speed.
They were beginning to retreat.
But even as the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet began its retreat, Li Qingsong didn't lower his guard in the slightest.
Under his command, hydrogen bomb vessels continued to detonate within the atmosphere of the massive Pegasus V432 Star, releasing immense energy, albeit at a lower frequency.
Li Qingsong did this to send a message to his opponent: a large-scale detonation could happen at any moment. They had to flee, and flee quickly, without entertaining any thoughts of leisurely scanning for and clearing the hydrogen bomb traps.
If they did, they wouldn't be leaving at all.
Only by making his opponent truly believe in his resolve could Li Qingsong achieve his objective.
And did Li Qingsong possess such resolve?
The answer was obvious: he did.
'I don't want to have to start over, but if it comes down to it, then so be it!'
'If you really dare to sweep for my hydrogen bomb traps, I'll dare to detonate the whole lot!'
'Either lose 100% or lose 95%. Those are your only two options. Any unnecessary maneuvers could trigger a "miscalculation" on my part, leading me to choose mutual annihilation.'
'And those hydrogen bomb vessels, detonating at a low but steady frequency, are the proof of my resolve!'
Under these conditions, the vast Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet began a truly desperate, all-out flight.
Faced with a seemingly infinite number of asteroids, the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet opted to punch through them when possible, shatter them when necessary, and only slightly adjust course to avoid a direct collision when there was no other choice.
In the midst of all this, what time or energy did they have to spare to determine which of the surrounding celestial bodies had been booby-trapped with hydrogen bombs?
'Just run. Flee with all your might. Get out first, and deal with the rest later.'
And so, the hydrogen bombs Li Qingsong had so painstakingly deployed throughout the Asteroid Belt, at the cost of immense industrial effort, began to detonate in droves.
In an instant, Li Qingsong saw tens of thousands of new "stars" suddenly flare into existence within the Asteroid Belt.
These stars would shine for only a few seconds before winking out. But as they vanished, new ones would appear in an endless, inexhaustible cycle.
Countless fireworks, countless stars, winking out only to flare to life again. The cycle repeated, like a grand fireworks gala.
One after another, Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Warships had their shields shattered, disintegrating into fragments and dust that scattered into the vastness of space.
These were hydrogen bombs, after all! The most powerful weapons of the Electroweak and Strong Core Stages!
On a true battlefield, the mass of a hydrogen bomb limited its rapid deployment, giving it little practical combat value. But here, laid as traps, those limitations were entirely removed.
Their power and energy could be unleashed without restraint, without a second thought.
'Thankfully, the Pegasus V432 Star System is too young to have formed a stable ecliptic plane. The small celestial bodies here envelop the star in a spherical shell, rather than a ring like in the Solar System. That's the only reason I was able to set up a complete hydrogen bomb trap with no gaps.'
'Otherwise, the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet could have simply chosen a different direction and broken through this defensive line with ease.'
Watching the fireworks that continued to flash across space, this thought surfaced in Li Qingsong's mind.
Of course, that was precisely why Li Qingsong had chosen to come to the Pegasus V432 Star System and lay this very trap.
If that hadn't been the case, Li Qingsong would never have come here in the first place.