The monitor stared intently at the three curves on the screen representing jump energy peaks, which were climbing frantically.
They originated from three familiar coordinates.
L-7, N-12, S-22.
Battleship class, signature codes clear—everything indicated that colossal entities would tear through space and invade this star domain in the next second.
His hand hovered above the button to issue the highest-level assault alert to the fleet.
Then, right at the critical point where the three curves were about to reach the "jump completion" threshold—
Without warning, as if severed by a sharp blade, they plummeted vertically.
Energy readings dropped off a cliff, and spatial disturbance waveforms calmed into background noise in the blink of an eye.
All that remained on the screen were three cold coordinates and rapidly dissipating, insignificant energy residual signals.
It was like a grand opening performance where, just as the curtain was about to rise, all the lights suddenly went out.
The monitor's finger froze mid-air, his eyes wide, mouth slightly agape, unable to utter a sound for a long moment.
He repeatedly refreshed the data, switched between different frequency monitoring views, but the results were equally empty.
"Vanished...?"
He finally found his voice, dry and bewildered.
"The jump signals... were actively canceled at the last moment?"
This defied logic.
The jump process of large vessels was like an arrow released from a bow; once it entered the final stage, forcibly interrupting it carried extremely high risks and would leave behind entirely different chaotic energy signatures.
This precise "cancellation," right before the critical point, seemed more like... a controllable switch.
He swallowed hard, realizing the situation was far from simple.
This was no mistake; it resembled a meticulously executed operation.
He immediately compiled the anomaly data packet and preliminary analysis.
"Suspected artificially controlled high-fidelity jump signals, actively terminated during the final stage."
Uploaded urgently.
Bridge of the Obsidian Fleet flagship, Unbreakable Fortress.
Lancaster stood before the tactical console, hands braced on its edge, his gaze sharp as an eagle's, repeatedly scrutinizing the three coordinate points and the vast star chart surrounding them.
The bridge was unusually quiet, filled only with the low hum of equipment and the Commander's suppressed breathing.
He muttered softly, as if sorting through his thoughts or speaking to the staff beside him.
"Actively canceled during the final stage of the simulated jump."
"Commander, are you suggesting... this was a feint? Their main force never intended to break through from these three points?" the Chief of Staff asked.
"Highly likely they're trying to mislead us," Lancaster said slowly, his finger tracing across the star chart to point toward other areas far from these three "busy" coordinates.
Those more concealed interstellar dust belts, the edges of gravity anomaly zones, even seemingly impossible long-range jump paths.
"Their real breakthrough point is likely elsewhere. Using realistic false signals to pin our attention firmly here. Mobilizing our forces to rush back and forth, exhausting our vigilance, and then..."
He paused, his tone growing even more profound.
"Of course, we cannot completely rule out the possibility that they are playing the 'cry wolf' game."
The staff officers exchanged glances.
"Cry wolf?"
"Exactly."
Lancaster's eyes were icy.
"This time, or the next few times, could all be false alarms.
They want to exhaust us, gradually lulling us into complacency, making us think this is just the enemy's harassment tactic.
Once we become psychologically lax and think 'it's fake again'...
The fourth time might be the real main force jump.
By then, our reaction speed and force deployment could develop fatal gaps."
Both possibilities were troublesome, each more challenging than the last.
The first implied meticulous planning, a feint to conceal the true blade hidden in the shadows.
The second was a precise manipulation of psychology, testing the discipline and sustained focus of the Imperial military.
Whichever it was, Qin Bei Wang, as an opponent, had demonstrated cunning and patience far exceeding his age and experience.
"Orders!"
Lancaster no longer hesitated, his voice resolute and decisive.
"The Amethyst, Emerald, and Jade Fleets are to continue maintaining high-intensity surveillance and rapid response posture toward coordinates L-7, N-12, and S-22. Do not slack off!
However, expand the alert perimeter to the surrounding 10 light-minute airspace, with a focus on searching for any potential stealth reconnaissance units or subsequent infiltration signs."
"The Sapphire, Ruby, and Beryl Fleets are to withdraw from their ambush positions.
Form a mobile patrol formation and expand the alert perimeter to cover the reliable navigation routes from the Elvira Star System to the Savannah Star System."
"The Directly Subordinate Fleet is to adjust its formation and elevate its mobile reserve status.
I need the capability to provide strong support in any direction within one hour."
The orders were swiftly relayed.
The Obsidian Fleet's formation began a complex and cautious adjustment, unwilling to completely abandon defense of the three points yet compelled to disperse more forces to counter the unknown true threat.
Lancaster felt a long-unfamiliar pressure.
This was not the pressure of facing superior numbers, but the weight of confronting unknown strategies and high uncertainty.
Elvira Star System, three "River"-class Battleships.
"Third simulated jump, aborted."
A cold electronic voice echoed across the Tianhe's Bridge.
On the Imperial monitoring screens, another performance of a sudden energy spike followed by an abrupt halt played out.
The observers at the Imperial monitoring station no longer bothered to show any expression, numbly recording "Signal X3, suspected false, interrupted."
The officers and soldiers at the Obsidian Fleet's forward positions had shifted from initial tension to the irritation and subtle laxity that came from repeated provocations.
Once or twice was vigilance, but three or four times... brought a sense of "here we go again" resignation.
Then, a change occurred.
Almost simultaneously with the three "River"-class Battleships concluding their third false jump performance.
In the vast, silent border buffer zone between the Savannah Star System and the Elvira Star System.
Thousands of sparsely distributed, relatively rudimentary Imperial passive monitoring buoys recorded a subtle yet synchronized set of data changes within their internal chips.
Not a violent jump fluctuation, but a sustained and significantly elevated high-energy radiation above the background noise.
It was the wake signature that could not be completely concealed when multiple high-power starship fusion engines were operating at full speed, along with specific frequency harmonics generated by the friction between the high-speed moving hull and the thin interstellar medium.
There were tangible engine activity traces at the border!
This report was quickly marked as "border anomaly activity" and delivered to the Obsidian Fleet Command Headquarters.
Aboard the Obsidian Fleet's flagship, the "Unbreakable Bastion."
Lancaster had just finished listening to the report on the third warp signal interruption and was pondering the ultimate purpose of such repeated deception when the border anomaly report appeared before him.
"Multiple engine high-energy reactions detected at the border?"
He immediately pulled up the detailed star chart of that region, his brow furrowing even tighter.
"What is he trying to do?"
The Chief of Staff was also perplexed.