Chapter 1020: Five Light-Years in an Instant

Chapter 1020: Five Light-Years in an Instant

[Hyperspace engine charging... Estimated completion in 32 minutes.]

[Progress: 1.1%]

On the bridge of the Orion, Ye Shi stood before the console, staring at the holographic screen floating in front of him, his face etched with surprise.

"You changed the startup sequence?"

"Just tweaked the UI," Jiang Xuezhou said, a smug curl to her lips, her tone tinged with pride. "The old UI from the People's Union Aerospace Force was too sloppy—laymen couldn't understand it at all. So I ported the shipboard AI from my research vessel onto the Orion's server platform."

"And... that works?" Ye Shi asked, looking at her in astonishment.

Jiang Xuezhou said lazily,

"Don't forget, I'm an expert in this field. Besides, the shipboard AI on my research vessel was designed by me—no one knows its capabilities better than I do."

Truly, the waves behind drive the waves ahead.

Ye Shi couldn't help but marvel inwardly, gaining a deeper appreciation for her skills.

Dora and Little Koala stood by the floor-to-ceiling window not far away.

The former's eyes were glued to the window, as if she wanted to take one more look at that emerald-green planet, to etch its majestic silhouette into her memory forever.

Little Koala's camera shifted, glancing at her, then at the planet so close at hand.

"A beautiful planet."

Dora was momentarily stunned, not reacting at first, then after a moment she said awkwardly,

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. I truly mean it."

Little Koala nodded its camera, fixing its gaze on that vast expanse of emerald, continuing in a conversational tone,

"The scenery there must be quite something—perhaps even unique in this universe."

Dora stared at it blankly, then suddenly blurted out,

"I... I can suddenly sense your soul."

"Really?"

Little Koala turned its camera toward her, looking her up and down in surprise, as if it hadn't expected to hear those words.

Dora's face also bore an uncertain expression, as if she couldn't see clearly, but after a moment she nodded affirmatively and said with certainty,

"I saw it, but I'm not sure... if it's yours."

Murals carved into walls can harbor the soul of their creator, and if one can establish a mental connection or resonance with that creator, they can read the mural's meaning.

This is the most basic use of "psychic power."

And now, the mural on the wall had come to life, moving about like a person.

This was a craft, or rather a form of existence, she had never seen before.

And so, she couldn't decide whether that soul belonged to Little Koala itself or to the one who created it.

But perhaps, it made no difference after all.

Who could prove that a person's soul has nothing to do with the one who created them?

Perhaps their souls did not originate from the Insov Tree at all, but from the very beginning came from that chain of inheritance, generation after generation...

Suddenly, Dora seemed to grasp something, and a glimmer of understanding rose in her eyes.

Having encountered things she had never known before, she gained new insight into her own abilities and beliefs, drawing one step closer to the truth that "He" had once comprehended.

Little Koala watched her quietly.

Though it could not understand her epiphany at that moment, it felt a flicker of curiosity about what she had said.

In a world of zeros and ones, an existence that could be seen yet not confirmed was something it found hard to grasp.

It wanted to try to help her see more clearly.

"What shape is it?"

Dora closed her eyes, shook her head, furrowed her brow in deep thought for a while, then gave an ambiguous answer.

"I can't say clearly—it's... a very kind and easygoing person?"

Little Koala continued asking,

"Any more specific features?"

Dora paused for a moment, then continued,

"That's all about him, but there are some other things... He has a certain expectation of you, as if he has placed a part of himself in you."

"Such as?"

That voice seemed to contain a hint of anticipation, though not easily discernible.

But Dora was sure she heard it.

And it was precisely that hint of anticipation that convinced her that the soul she saw belonged to it.

At least part of it did!

"He hopes... that you can see for him what happens after he leaves—many, many things he never got to see."

As if struck by this answer, Little Koala stood frozen in place for a long time, then after a moment said with some emotion,

"...So that's how it is."

Dora tilted her head.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing... just a bit surprised," Little Koala's camera shifted. "I thought my mission was over, but it seems his expectations for me were not what I understood. Thank you."

Dora blinked.

Though she didn't know what she had done, she clearly heard the heartfelt gratitude from that soul dwelling in cold steel.

It never really mattered whose it was.

It was all the same...

The 32-minute countdown ended.

The moment the hyperspace engine finished charging, the entire battered starship began to tremble slightly.

Ye Shi, standing beside Jiang Xuezhou, suddenly grabbed her hand without warning.

Jiang Xuezhou's hand gave a slight start, and she shyly tried to pull away, but she didn't withdraw it from his grasp.

"You, what are you doing..."

Hearing that soft murmur, Ye Shi also looked embarrassed.

"Nothing, just afraid that if I'm not careful, I'll lose sight of you again."

Upon hearing these words, Jiang Xuezhou felt a sweetness in her heart and let out a soft hum.

"How could that be? This young lady is a genius..."

She wasn't bragging.

Given enough time and resources, she could even upgrade this old relic to something far more impressive.

[Charging complete, entering hyperspace lane...]

Pale blue text imprinted on the holographic window, and the brilliant starry river was instantly reflected on the dark floor-to-ceiling windows.

At that same moment, the countless shimmering specks of starlight turned into dazzling blue-white, and in an instant transformed into countless threads of light trails, bleaching the entire bridge white.

This was the first time Ye Shi had entered a hyperspace lane while fully conscious.

At the same time, it was also the most awe-inspiring experience he had felt since putting on the game helmet and entering this world.

The universe before him contracted into a single point, then expanded infinitely.

In that instant, he seemed to tear through space, leaping out of his original dimension into a world he could neither see nor touch.

It all happened in a flash.

In the blink of an eye, his physical body had crossed five light-years, jumping from Proxima Centauri to the solar system aboard the Orion.

"This is truly incredible..."

Gazing at the familiar sun and the azure planet, Ye Shi stood frozen for a long time before finally letting out a heartfelt sigh.

After three Earth months, they had finally returned to the familiar Earth-Moon system.

And as heroes who had saved Earth!

He wasn't the only one with an incredulous expression; Dora, standing by the window, was the same.

Her eyes wide, she pressed her hands against the glass, her nose nearly touching it.

Suddenly, she turned around, casting a delighted and excited gaze at the two Progenitors.

"Is that... your home?"

Ye Shi nodded and said with a smile.

"That's right, its name is Earth."

Dora tilted her head, looking puzzled.

"But... it seems to have more water?"

Ye Shi: "Uh... that's normal, since we live on land."

Dora looked as if she understood, nodding with a semblance of comprehension.

"I see, but if that's the case... couldn't our planet also be called Earth?"

Ye Shi chuckled.

"You could say that. You've developed your own culture and language... but no matter what you call your homeworld, we'll probably translate that word as 'Gaia.'"

Just as the two were conversing, Jiang Xuezhou, sitting at the control console, suddenly grew tense.

"Wait, there's something in low Earth orbit... a steel structure about 500 meters long and wide, with a central thickness of about 50 meters. No... where did all the space junk go?!"

Staring at the situation in low Earth orbit, Jiang Xuezhou was utterly baffled, unable to grasp what was happening.

Ye Shi, however, was not at all surprised and quipped with a grin.

"Did you forget about the gravity well?"

Jiang Xuezhou froze, finally squeezing out a sentence after a long pause.

"It's already... been deployed successfully?!"

Ye Shi nodded.

"That's right, and that was two weeks ago."

Two weeks ago, the gravity well deployed in the southern seas officially activated, pulling the junk orbiting in low Earth orbit toward the atmosphere and guiding it to crash in the southern sea region.

According to what players said on the official forum, the falling space debris was like a meteor shower, forming trails of fire in the sky, as if Earth had been wrapped in a ring of stars.

The whole process lasted a full ten days!

Whether players in Avant City or those in Dawn City could clearly see the dense belt of orbital wreckage falling from the sky like an asteroid belt.

To be honest, Ye Shi felt a bit regretful for missing that spectacular meteor shower.

But then he quickly thought that he had witnessed the rise and fall of civilizations—surely that was far more impressive than a meteor shower—and so his regret faded.

No loss here!

Jiang Xuezhou stared at him blankly, her mouth slightly open.

"You... can really contact Earth from there?"

Ye Shi shrugged.

"Haven't I told you all along? I've been in touch with Earth the whole time. Didn't I even help pass a few messages between you and the Academy?"

On the issue of the Celestials, the Alliance and the Academy had signed an intelligence-sharing agreement, so the Alliance didn't keep the Academy in the dark about things five light-years away, even exchanging information with Academy researchers.

He'd also heard on the official forum that the Academy was quite shaken after learning about the morphogenetic field, even suspecting the Alliance researchers were joking.

But now, there was probably no dispute left.

Once the Orion missile cruiser appeared before them all, every doubt would be dispelled.

Though there was really nothing to boast about.

Dora stared blankly at them.

Even though she didn't understand what "Academy" meant, she was still stunned by his words.

The Doma tribe's research on psionics was quite accomplished—indeed, this was the direct reason why Tun Nan's attitude toward the Progenitors shifted from initial respect to later arrogance.

But even with their insights into psionics, information exchange had to happen face-to-face, far from this kind of long-distance communication across vast distances.

The gap between them seemed like a small river, but in reality, it was five light-years or more.

"So impressive..." Dora murmured sincerely in her heart, her admiration and reverence for the Progenitors growing even stronger.

This was utterly incredible!

"But... wait, weren't you not awakened to psionics back then?! Why... my mind's a mess, let me sort this out..."

Jiang Xuezhou took a deep breath, clutching her helmet tightly, but her thoughts only grew more tangled.

Especially when she recalled their earlier bet, her face flushed bright red like a lantern.

Seeing the flustered Xiao Jiang, Ye Shi smiled and said.

"My ability to contact Earth five light-years away isn't because of psionics... hmm... though it's hard to say. The morphogenetic field might just be another explanation for psionics, at least that's how I see it."

As for more technical matters, he'd leave them to the experts to worry about.

"Then, then... what about this steel structure?!" Afraid he'd bring up the bet, Jiang Xuezhou hastily changed the subject, frantically swiping at the holographic screen to drag a magnified view of the strange object in the distance before her.

From afar, it looked like a steel plate lying across low Earth orbit, its central axis pointing straight toward the Earth's core.

Look closely: embedded in the steel plate were rows of cannon barrels standing like hedgehog spines, aimed far off at the sea of stars beyond the atmosphere.

According to other players on the official forum, this 0.25-square-kilometer defense platform was equipped with no fewer than fifty electromagnetic accelerators, constructed from four connecting plates, and lifted from the surface into low Earth orbit via an anti-gravity system for installation.

It was said that these electromagnetic accelerators were built to the standard of the anti-ship electromagnetic cannons in Vault 60's inventory; at most three shots could overload the deflector shields of a frigate-class vessel.

As for the shipboard shields of missile cruiser class, though never specifically tested, it was thought to be a matter of a single salvo.

At present, the Alliance had mastered low-orbit defense measures. Even if the Celestials at the Lagrange points held other trump cards, the survivors on the wasteland had full confidence to deal with them.

The neutron plume was not as terrifying as imagined.

As long as it was destroyed before entering the atmosphere, the barrier of the Earth's magnetic field itself would be enough to reduce its power to a nearly harmless level.

“That is our low Earth orbit defense platform… a planetary-scale defense facility jointly completed by the Alliance, its allies, the corporations, and you.”

“Unless the Pioneer returns from another universe, I can’t think of anything that could breach its defenses… unless it’s aliens who, like us, have mastered interstellar travel.”

Looking at Jiang Xuezhou’s astonished face, Ye Shi said with a smile.

“Let’s just head over and park in geosynchronous orbit… my good brothers are already waiting there for us to return.”