Event Description
After approximately two centuries of preparation, humanity had assembled a massive space fleet of over two thousand stellar-class warships. During these two centuries, humanity achieved controlled nuclear fusion and mastered powerful space propulsion technology, with optimism pervading society and most people believing humanity possessed the strength to contend with the Trisolaran civilization.
When the Trisolaran fleet's first probe — the Droplet — reached the solar system, humanity decided to engage it with the entire fleet. This decision was based on a fatal miscalculation: humans believed the probe was merely a reconnaissance device that could be easily captured or destroyed. The investigation team led by physicist Ding Yi approached the Droplet for observation, initially marveling at its perfect appearance — but Ding Yi quickly realized the Droplet's surface was composed of strong-interaction material with strength exceeding human materials by a factor of ten trillion. Before he could issue adequate warning, the Droplet began its massacre-like assault. Moving at extreme velocity through the fleet formation, each penetration destroyed a warship. All human weapons proved completely ineffective against it. In less than thirty minutes, nearly two thousand warships were reduced to space debris. Only a handful of vessels whose commanders chose to flee at the battle's onset survived. This battle fundamentally altered humanity's destiny and strategic direction.