Age of Cosmic Exploration
chapter-359

Chapter 359: Exit

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Still half a month…"

This was something many people were saying recently. From the data calculated by the AI, the warp drive was ending soon. In about 15 days, the Hope and its vassal spaceships would escape from warp drive, returning from warp drive space into normal space. When that happened, this temporary peace would disappear and the Hope would once again welcome their unknown future.

Time passed by slowly. These 15 days dropped to 14, 13… It crawled slowly by until it was only 12 hours until the designated time.

In these 12 hours, the higher officials of the Hope and the Barracks were ready to face any situation that would come up after leaving warp drive. If necessary, they would enter warp drive on short notice… Of course, this was something that would only be done if absolutely necessary. After all, the Hope's supply and energy storage were reaching dangerously low levels, so if they continued travelling without recharging their supplies for five more years, the internal supply body of the Hope would be in a tense state. If it was ten more years, the Hope's government would start to collapse.

Therefore, the plan after leaving warp drive was to conduct alignment of navigation to begin another warp drive to the nearest solar system in order to refill on supply and energy before moving on to a longer distance travel.

In reality, the cosmos was a veritable place of extreme danger, but it also contained innumerable treasures. For level 2 space civilizations, any planet was an endless treasure. Terrestrial planets could lead to harvesting of more than 80 percent minerals and asteroid belts would give access to rare minerals that were absent in terrestrial planets. For gas giants, after reaching a certain technology level, one could gain access to unlimited hydrogen atoms, and hydrogen atoms were the lifeline of level 2 and 3 space civilizations; they were the core for their source of energy!

Therefore, while the Hope might be in serious need of supplies, as long as it had the technology, with a trip to a solar system, this problem would be resolved in a short amount of time and they would be prepared for a long travel that lasted for several hundred years again.

"In another hour, the Hope will be in a yellow state emergency."

Barbie once again reported the time to Yao Yuan, who was sitting in his chair. This was in the middle of the grand hall. There were not only Barracks' members but also members from the House of Representatives. The big screen here would reveal the scenery of the cosmos after the Hope escaped from warp drive so that they could come to a decision in the shortest amount of time, be it escape… or war!

"The last hour, you say… Where is Bo Li?"

Before Barbie answered, Guang Zhen, who was sitting beside Yao Yuan, suddenly chuckled, then he looked around as if it had nothing to do with him.

Yao Yuan scratched his head and said, "She should still be fussing over 'that thing', right? After all, our demand came too suddenly and we gave her too little time to come up with a prototype. The poor girl…"

Guang Zhen looked at Yao Yuan with a hidden meaning in his eyes and straightened his body to say, "Yes, the poor girl indeed… especially considering the fact that she came across a man who is unable to confess his true love. The poor girl indeed."

Yao Yuan coughed awkwardly when Guang Zhen continued, "Speaking of which… How is 'that thing' coming along? If we are really going into a war, 'that thing' will be our ultimate weapon. Honestly, if we had 'that thing', I would dare to send out Black Star Troopers to ambush a level 3 space civilization!"

"I would agree if 'that thing' could be created on time." Yao Yuan nodded. He looked around and changed the subject, "Regardless, I feel like it's better to give her more time. After all, even though the Hope has a few Whisperers, she is the only one who is in the field of military. I have heard her tell me before that each Whisperer can only hear stuff related to a few specific fields. For example, Ivan is limited to the fields of biology, viruses, and cells, while even though Bo Li is stronger, she is limited to physics, maths, and weaponry. If only we had a few more Whisperers."

Guang Zhen laughed and slapped Yao Yuan on his shoulder. "You're daydreaming! Didn't you catch Blue 6's reaction when he realized that the Hope had Whisperers? That shock and envy was not something that can be described with words, yet you still want more? Other space civilizations need to survive too. Honestly, I am already satisfied with how we are. According to our current speed, I believe… in the years I am still alive, I will be able to witness humanity become a level 4 space civilization."

Yao Yuan thought about it but did not share his thoughts. In reality… His ambition was bigger. If possible, he wished humanity could become a high tier space civilization in his lifetime. If that happens, then he would be able to pass away without regret!

In the nervous atmosphere, the time dropped down from one hour to one minute. This was a completely different experience from space warp. Space warp happened in an instant, and even though they both led to uncertainty, there was no waiting for space warp. Now it felt like they were waiting for death or war to arrive as the seconds ticked by…

Finally, as the last second completed, in everyone's bated hearts, the Hope exited space warp and returned from super light speed to an idle state. Everyone's heartbeat could be heard if attention was paid.

At the same time, one of the adjutants accompanying Blue 6, who was in the grand hall, laughed under his breath. Then he heard Blue 6 whisper to him, "You find this humorous? Mocking them because they are afraid of warp drive?"

The adjutant immediately mumbled in return, "No, Your Highness, I…"

"There's no need to hide it." Blue 6, who was sitting gracefully in his seat, turned his neck slightly to say, "This is nothing worth mocking. How many space civilizations have not gained access to warp drive technology before they disintegrated into endless space? Even if they had such technology, they did not dare to use it, or they are unable to calculate the most accurate navigation when they are in warp drive due to the lack of AI and implode within empty space. Just how many are those? So mocking is not necessary…

"Furthermore," Blue 6 looked at this adjutant and explained seriously, "Human beings have access to something more powerful than warp drive, wormholes, and even star gates, so who are we to mock them? Just like how we, the Blue Race, have our own prehistoric means of transportation known as the bicycle, wouldn't those who have experience going through warp drive be afraid when using the bicycle? It is the same thing here. Remember this… Prehistoric species have no right to mock the fears of the civilized! Because the civilized… have their own style of bravery!"

The adjutant lowered his head and answered in a serious tone after a long time, "Yes, I understand, Your Highness."

At the same time, the Hope and the few vassal spaceships' surveillance devices were all activated to scan their surroundings. All the videos and images were displayed on screen, and everyone in the Hope was looking at the surrounding space around them.

This was a piece of dark space, but at a location not far away from the Hope was a glowing star whose glow could be seen with the naked eye. It was a sun. Even though the Hope was not in the range of its solar system, it was not far from it. At least they were close enough to be able to survey the whole solar system with the naked eye.

Instantly, everyone in the Hope cheered. Many people on the streets cheered and hugged each other when they saw this. They were cheering for their good luck. This time the Hope would not need to run into any danger before reaching its destination.

A few minutes after the cheering, Barbie whispered a message into Yao Yuan, one which froze Yao Yuan on the spot.

"What do you mean? Wasn't our pre-set destination close to that solar system? Aren't we lucky to exit near our designated destination? What is the meaning of this?"

Yao Yuan, Guang Zhen, and a few others left the grand hall and entered the secret meeting room. Yao Yuan then communicated with the surveillance room.

"Yes, Chancellor, theoretically speaking, we should be heading towards that solar system. Even if our warp drive entrance was a bit unconducive, the most it would affect was the angle and, theoretically speaking, the distance is a variable that shouldn't be affected, but… It seems like we were mistaken. Our Hope is no longer near the solar system we were supposed to head to, we have passed that solar system and have landed ourselves closer to the other solar system beyond it! This warp drive crossed a way larger distance than what we have predicted!

"It was as if… the space has shortened!"

At the same time, in this solar system, in a place far away from terrestrial planets and gas giants was a giant floating, metallic, circular plate which was spinning on its own axis. Due to the ginormous size of the plate, instead of calling it a mechanical creation, it was more suitable to call it a metallic planet, but that was not entirely true either because from certain perspective, it was even bigger than an actual planet…

Within the circular plate, there were many alien lifeforms, and each race had their own active space. Other than that, there were public places, and some dark and bloodied places. These were amenities which were preserved due to certain reasons after a mass massacre…

This circular plate had an alternative name among low tier space civilizations…

Shelter!