Chapter 352: Worship of the Gods

The moment they laid eyes on the natives of Planet Dige, everyone was jolted wide awake. Even Marcus, who was on the front lines, shuddered and cursed under his breath.

Damn it, these guys look way too much like us!

Even though they had mentally prepared themselves, seeing the real thing sent a chill down everyone’s spine. Here was another primitive civilization, over twenty light-years away from Earth, and they looked... exactly like humans!

It felt like the universe was playing a massive, twisted joke on humanity.

The natives had oval faces with very few eyebrows, two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Their faces were entirely hairless, giving them a slight resemblance to apes. Though many of them were covered in thick, black soot from the smoke, their general features were still clear.

Their bodies were structured just like humans—a torso, two arms, and two legs. However, it was hard to tell exactly how many fingers they had; it looked like there were only four on each hand. Their skin was smooth but carried an unhealthy, grayish-white pale tint, likely from spending too much time away from sunlight. The most shocking part? They were wearing clothes right out of a human wardrobe!

T-shirts? Short sleeves?

What the hell is this? Marcus heard the soldiers swearing over the commands, and even he felt a strange, nervous urge to pull the trigger.

The real-time video feed was instantly beamed back to the Titan Z.

Seeing the live footage of the indigenous people, the scientists were stunned into silence. Jason narrowed his eyes and took a long, deep breath. He knew exactly why everyone was so tense. It was the "uncanny valley" effect taking hold!

Humans are a proud species. Even though the vast universe constantly tests them, that deep-seated pride never fades. So, what happens when they encounter an intelligent alien species that looks almost identical to them?

Pure, instinctual panic.

This psychological phenomenon, the uncanny valley, has complex roots. It originally described the unease humans felt toward highly realistic robots. When a machine looks and acts too human, the brain gets confused and fearful because it cannot easily distinguish between human and machine. Now, that same primal fear was triggering in the face of these human-like aliens.

A few young crew members on the Titan Z were nervously discussing the Dige natives on the screen. Suddenly, they felt a wave of relief. Thank goodness these aliens had tails!

Stretching out behind them were thick, flat tails, somewhat resembling a beaver’s. This single distinct feature gave the humans a massive sense of psychological comfort. Thanks to the tail, the Dige natives could easily be distinguished from normal humans. Without it, they would have been virtually identical.

About fifteen minutes later, the natives began filing out of their underground shelter. They looked panicked, and a few even seemed angry. The group was a mix of all ages, including children, and numbered over a thousand. It was clearly a massive bunker.

"Ah, ba-ik, thera in-tel pa-ka..."

An older Dige man, his face deeply wrinkled, stepped forward. He looked like their leader. He spoke a long string of incomprehensible words to one of the soldiers, his tone and posture extremely respectful as he performed what seemed to be a cultural greeting.

At the same time, the old man was carefully studying the mechanical drones, the heavily armed soldiers, and their gleaming power armor.

He was trying to make sense of the situation. Why do our enemies have such advanced gear? Are those mechanized exoskeletons? Which nation built these? I’ve never seen anything like them!

He was terrified for his people’s future, unsure of what would happen next. Little did he know, the armored figures standing before him weren’t enemy soldiers from a rival nation, they were literal aliens.

Looking through the dark visors of the Federation power armor, he thought they were just his own kind in high-tech suits. He couldn’t even tell if they had tails, as the thick armor completely covered their lower halves.

"What is he saying?" Marcus asked over the radio.

The alien language was incredibly complex, leaving even the communications officer totally confused. Translating spoken alien dialects on the fly was vastly different from decoding written text.

Following Jason’s orders, the language specialists aboard the Titan Z scrambled to decode the audio. The supercomputers worked at maximum capacity, matching syllables and analyzing audio patterns. Half a minute later, a rough translation came through.

One of the lead linguists cleared his throat and spoke softly over the comms. "He says that the radiation levels outside are extremely high. He is begging us to let the pregnant women stay inside the bunker to prevent birth defects..."

A heavy silence fell over the Titan Z command center. Jason let out a soft sigh. He never expected his first interaction with this alien race to be a desperate plea for mercy.

It is hard to call any civilization purely "good" or "evil." Survival is always the ultimate priority, and self-interest dictates most actions. However, as an individual, Jason didn’t mind showing a little kindness.

Human psychology is complex. People rarely empathize with those who are better off than them; instead, they feel jealousy. But when faced with those who are suffering, they feel sympathy. It was woven into their very DNA.

These natives were far weaker and far more vulnerable than humanity at this moment.

"Request granted," Jason said with a nod. It cost them nothing to agree.

Down on the surface, the mechanical drone’s external speakers crackled to life, stating in a stiff, synthesized voice: "Request granted."

The older Dige leader visibly relaxed. It seemed these invaders were reasonable after all.

What no one noticed was the old man’s hands, hidden behind his back. The slight trembling stopped. With a sudden burst of strength, he crushed a small remote control hidden in his sleeve, completely destroying it.

Deep inside the bunker, a hidden nuclear self-destruct sequence silently deactivated!

Only a select few among the natives knew how close they had just come to total annihilation.

The natives near the back of the crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief. These soldiers didn’t seem like mindless butchers. Whispers broke out among them. They wondered why the strange machines were talking instead of the soldiers themselves.

They quickly reasoned that these enemy troops must speak a different language, or perhaps they just didn’t want to reveal their voices.

Surrounded by heavy weapons, no one dared to ask any questions.

Suddenly, a deafening roar tore through the air. Every single Dige native whipped their heads up toward the sky.

They froze in absolute shock.

Several massive starships, each over a hundred meters long, descended from the clouds and landed just a kilometer away. As the loading ramps lowered, hundreds of heavily armed Federation soldiers in power armor marched out!

At that moment, the smarter Dige natives realized something was terribly wrong. When did anyone on this planet build flying ships like that?!

The technology was impossible! Their eyes were wide with disbelief. Yet, even then, they couldn’t fathom that these beings were from the stars.

"Yarasa sha na ya!"

Suddenly, the old leader at the front of the group screamed in absolute ecstasy, as if he had just realized a profound truth. He dropped to his knees, his eyes burning with fanatical devotion, and bowed deeply toward the massive starships.

A wave of realization swept through the crowd. Instantly, the entire group of natives collapsed to their knees. They threw their arms up and screamed wildly at the ships. Some bowed so fiercely and repeatedly that they bruised their foreheads against the dirt.

"What’s going on down there?" Jason asked, his guard instantly up.

The soldiers on the ground tightened their grip on their rifles, their nerves on edge, but discipline held them back from firing.

A few moments later, the linguists replied, their voices thick with disbelief. "They’re screaming: ’Gods! The Gods! The Gods have come to save us!’"

Confusion washed over the command center. One officer looked at the translation team, bewildered. "How is that possible? They have modern industrial technology and nuclear weapons. Why would they still worship gods?"

"Are you sure the translation is right? Check the software again!"

"There is absolutely no mistake," the lead linguist confirmed a few minutes later. "The syntax is incredibly straightforward. There is zero ambiguity."

Everyone stared at the screens in bewilderment as the Dige natives continued to weep, pray, and bow in the dirt. The entire situation had taken a bizarre, surreal turn.

"Their Gods..." Jason muttered, a sudden spark of inspiration hitting him. He immediately linked the term to the mysterious Gaia entity.

If they worshipped a god, the chances of the Gaia entity being involved just skyrocketed!

"Those landing ships will serve as your temporary base of operations!" Jason ordered sharply, his voice buzzing with new energy. "Linguistics team, crack the rest of their language immediately! We need to interrogate them and find out the truth about this ’God’ they worship! Get it done now!"