Age of Cosmic Exploration
chapter-378

Chapter 378: Three Years Later

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Degree of space distortion 0.32, 0.33… Stably recovering…"

"Energy level normal, temperature of warp drive engine dropping…"

"Activating plasma shield, activating sub reactors…"

Yao Yuan, who was sitting in the captain's chair, looked at the countdown on the 3D screen and sighed. "I order for the Hope to exit warp drive state."

"Yes, Sir. Captain's order, the Hope is to exit warp drive state. Counting down, 10, 9, 8…"

"The Hope is exiting warp drive state…"

Today was the day the Hope exited the warp drive state. Similar to three years ago, even though this was the second time the Hope had used warp drive and exited it, the Hope's citizens waited with bated breath. However, the feelings were completely different from the time three years ago.

Yes, it had been three years since the battle at the Shelter. In this period, the Hope was in warp drive that lasted as long as three years. The super light speed travelling of warp drive and the distortion of space caused by the Song of Destruction meant that the Hope was not far away from their destination.

In these three years, the human society on the Hope did not seem to experience much change. A day still had 24 hours and it was filled with the hectic lifestyle similar to the one on old Earth. Be it work, recreation, entertainment, the discovery of science or weapons, it all looked to be the same as three years ago.

However, if one was to look closely, one might discover that many on the Hope had great spirit and the talks on the streets were about the various miracles in space, the culture of different civilizations, and the possibilities of future technology. Thanks to the war three years ago, the human heart and attitude had changed…

Yes, humanity no longer saw themselves as the masters of everything and a unique existence in space. Humanity was a member of the huge cosmic family, a member that was trying his best to improve himself, to go from a level 2 space civilization to a level 3 space civilization. Furthermore, in the foreseeable future, the degree of improvement would slowly increase. Whether he would become a level 4 space civilization like Blue 6 predicted, that stood to be seen.

Regarding the war three years ago, even though it was extremely dangerous, Yao Yuan was even ready to press the self-destruct button at any given moment, humanity won out in the end. Even though they did not reap any material reward, the confidence regained from that war meant that it wasn't a waste.

"Still not there yet…"

Zhang Heng was enjoying his rare holiday after the Hope left warp drive. As a part of the Black Star Troopers, or more accurately, as the leader of the 15th unit and s first generation of Homo Evolutis, as well as the most powerful Diviner on the Hope, part of the Black Star Unit, even though he did not think so himself, he was part of the higher echelon of the Hope's governmental system… Not only from his job description but political-wise as well.

There were even those busybodies on the Hope who came up with the ranking of the possible successors to take over from Yao Yuan. Yao Yuan was in first place, and the second spot would be the officially named successor, Guang Zhen. Third was Liu Bai. After eliminating people from Black Star Unit that had no interest in politics, like Ebon, Zhang Heng was in ninth place. That placing shocked even himself…

His influence and power decided his job description. He was extremely busy during the day, either training the new Black Star Troopers in simulation gunfights or simulation Space Combat Jet training, or trying out new weapons or dangerous experiments. As the most powerful Diviner, a day off was extremely rare.

Finally, it was his turn to rest. He had three days of off-days, so when the Hope exited warp drive, he activated his danger sense to ensure the Hope was not in danger before rushing to the entrance of the bio-garden at the top level of the Hope. He had a date with Ye Mu.

In fact, this was not his first date with Ye Mu. After all, the Hope had left Earth 19 years ago. This meant that the oldest second generation people on the Hope were already 19 years old. For many of the first generation survivors from Earth, many of their grandchildren could already speak.

Zhang Heng stood at the entrance, looking at the pairs of lover or families that were entering the garden. He stood there quietly, thinking about some things.

After leaving Earth, he had experienced many things. From the original playboy, he became a unit leader of the Black Star Troopers, and he had humanity's safety and future on his shoulders. He still found that development to be unbelievable… That and his relationship.

In his nineteen years, he had had his fair share of relationships. He dated both Ning Xue and Mao Miao, having sexual relationships with them both in fact. He had also been with other women, but in the end, the only woman that managed to capture his heart was Ye Mu, who had been nothing but icy and aloof towards him. A mercenary from Earth and a woman who had nothing but training and combat on her mind… How did I end up this way?

Zhang Heng thought self-deprecatingly. Ever since he met Ye Mu, the woman was a constant fixture in his mind even after she had told him seriously that she would not be interested in someone like him. After the war on the cursed planet, he started to seriously pursue Ye Mu. He had annoyed her so much that one time, during simulation training, she beat him until he needed to be sent to the hospital, but somehow, he could not shake the thought of her out of his mind. Finally, after the war at the Shelter, around two years ago, he managed to ask her out on the pretext that he wanted to discuss official business with her.

It was worth noting that due to Zhang Heng's personal request and Liu Bai's special treatment of this little brother that they met back on Earth, Ye Mu was assigned as the vice-captain of the 15th unit. She was Zhang Heng's subordinate.

For this so-called date, Zhang Heng had asked Ye Mu to join him at the bio-garden for some reason. To his surprise, it was a success. Ye Mu seemed to like green plants and cute animals like cats, pandas, and sloths. Even though Ye Mu realized that the meeting did not end after the official work was done, she decided to join Zhang Heng for a walk around the bio-garden.

After that, Zhang Heng kept asking Ye Mu out on dates, using all sorts of reasons. Other than the first few times, which she rejected, she eventually accepted his invitation. Even though Ye Mu was still rather aloof towards him, at least now she no longer beat him up during simulation training. Zhang Heng had even noticed that Ye Mu would occasionally reveal her vulnerable and tired side to him when they were on their dates.

This was a good development!

From the many experiences Zhang Heng had with women on Earth, this was a veritable signal that their relationship was improving. In other words, if he worked harder, then…

However, there was something troubling Zhang Heng's mind as well, and that was his personal life, especially his relationship with Ning Xue and Mao Miao. Until now, he did not have the courage to fully reject them, so their relationship was still in an unknown situation. Of course, Zhang Heng hid that information from Ye Mu, or else he believed he would be killed during training the next day…

"What's on your mind?"

A cold voice said. It pulled Zhang Heng out from his contemplation with a start. He saw Ye Mu standing before him in normal attire. Her long face framed her pretty hair that was not done up. At that instant, his troubled mood was cleared and he smiled. "You're late by about half an hour, anything happened?"

Ye Mu nodded and answered honestly, "It's my brother, he's down with a fever. I was sending him to the hospital. It took some time because they needed to check whether it was the Homo Evolutis fever."

After the battle with the Shelter, perhaps it was because they had slaughtered the entire Shelter, in the three years after the Hope entered warp drive, there were about 10 people who had awakened as Homo Evolutis. Even Blue 6 could not explain this phenomenon. After all, slaughtering an entire Shelter was not something new. Other civilizations had done that, but it did not lead to the forming of more than 10 Homo Evolutis.

Zhang Heng replied with a smile, "As long as he's fine. The medical science is very advanced now, so I'm sure he'll be fine. The doctors will contact us if anything happens to him, so don't worry… Shall we go in? I've booked a table at the green restaurant you liked last time for lunch, the one that serves vegetarian meals. I hear that it is the harvest period for the Bread Fruit, we should go try one."

Ye Mu nodded, and when she was about to reply to Zhang Heng, a short but urgent beeping suddenly came from Zhang Heng's body. The two of them were startled, especially Ye Mu. Her eyes turned sharp immediately. Zhang Heng instinctively reached for the communicator on his waist and answered, "This is Zhang Heng, what's happening?"

"Zhang Heng, it's Yao Yuan. Sorry for disturbing your date… But I need you to come to central command immediately, there's a new discovery!

"We have detected a large area covered with creator's particle, and the things shown on the high frequency optic sensors proved that…

"This place we're stopping at just had a space war not long ago!"