Age of Cosmic Exploration
chapter-424-30041322

Chapter 424: Departure

"Huh… so this is the psychokinetic floating cannon?"

Yun Si looked at the three chopsticks in his hands that were… well, the size of chopsticks!

Yue Xuan looked at him excitedly, the expression on her face saying "praise me!"

Yun Si scratched his head with befuddlement and told Yue Xuan, "And then? How does one use this thing? What's its purpose? Energy exhaustion? Is it safe? Basically, you passed me three chopsticks and told me it's the psychokinetic floating cannon and it's all smiles at me… Are you pulling my leg?"

Yue Xuan still continued in an excited tone, "And yes, they took a long time to create. I've used all the materials we purchased and have used superelectromagnetic thought inductors that can tap into Homo Evolutis' brainwaves. It is a weapon only operable by Homo Evolutis, it's different from the system I gave you last time. For that control system, if the normal human beings have enough brain activity, reaction power, and sense of space, they can eventually use the system, but this thing is only useable by Homo Evolutis, so its power…"

"Then have you used it?" Yun Si could only play along.

Yue Xuan shook her head, saying, "No, I'm not you, I'm a Whisperer. I've discovered through my research that spiritual-type Homo Evolutis like Whisperers and Animas are different from other Homo Evolutis. We're dealing with inward diffusion, and you're the opposite. What created this, though, I still have no clue as there is too little actual data. Other than you and myself, there are no other Homo Evolutis who I can experiment on, but don't worry about that, this psychokinetic floating cannon is definitely safe, believe me… Of course, due to the lack of materials, and the devices that I need aren't sold on the market anyway, so the product is a bit rough, but it is completely safe…"

Until the end, Yue Xuan's voice petered to nothing more than a whisper, and Yun Si gave her an "I thought so" expression.

"In other words, this thing might self-destruct if I'm not too careful? And you dare say that this is completely safe…" Yun Si grumbled while scratching his chin.

Yue Xuan pouted and retorted, "This is all your fault to begin with. If you hadn't asked me to hide myself, I would have had enough materials to work with. Do you not know how much I've been saving to come up with these things? Why do you think I did all that? Who do you think it's for?"

Yun Si's heart softened and he moved to give Yue Xuan a hug. "I'm just worried about you. Who knows whether the place will blow up in the middle of your experiment or not? Why don't you stop doing these experiments already? At least until you find yourself a good lab and equipment."

"No." Yue Xuan shook her head, then she turned to Yun Si and said, "My Whisperer power appeared naturally, and the voices in my head won't stop. Experimenting and creating are second nature to me, I am compelled to do them. Also, haven't you been telling me how weak and insignificant humanity is in space? We haven't even become a level 3 space civilization yet, and even if we did, we'd just be a new level 3 space civilization. Our foundation is still too young compared to other space civilizations. In fact, if a large colony of a level 2 space civilization throws their full strength at us, we might only earn a narrow victory, so under these circumstances… I have to continue to experiment and create!"

Yun Si looked at the serious expression on Yue Xuan's face and sighed. It made him feel bad for keeping Yue Xuan's ability a secret simply because he had prejudices against the human government… maybe he truly need to see things with a new eye. Perhaps it was time for Yue Xuan to reveal herself…

"I understand." Yun Si put on his military cap and said, "I will test out this psychokinetic floating cannon, but please stop your experiments at least until I return from this New Jupiter patrol. Also, my credit card is with you, right? If you need any money, just draw from it. The pay for the Black Star Troopers is really high…"

Then Yun Si left the room, leaving behind Yue Xuan, who was smiling sweetly on her own. A long time later, she mumbled as if suddenly remembering it, "Shucks, I forgot to tell him what to be careful of…"

After the completion of the City of Light Moon, humanity could be said to have a permanent home in the New Solar System. The expansion around the City of Light Moon was to make this home more comfortable.

However, everyone from the highest official to the youngest child knew about the danger of the cosmos. There was no kindness and charity in space; therefore, to protect this new home, they had to have a strong and powerful military, and among these fighting forces, the Black Star Troopers was definitely the best.

Currently, there were 227 Black Star Troopers being split into 22 units. They had 1,690 of the latest combat jets and each unit had their own battleship. Of course, due to the constraints of time, only the first five units had battleships that were the size of the Hope, while the rest had guardian battleships.

Each unit had a logistics, maintenance, and informatics subunit. Since the City of Light Moon was completed, if the Black Star Troopers still maintained its usual unified group structure, then it would be such a waste… yes, a waste.

As a military unit that consisted of all Homo Evolutis, when they were up against enemies from a similar level of technology, they were practically invincible. One fighting a hundred was an understatement, because a single Black Star Trooper could turn the tide of the battle. Even though the advantage of numbers was the way to go for normal space civilizations, for Black Star Troopers, it was an issue of quality over quantity. Spreading them out into smaller units was the better use of their abilities.

The Black Star Troopers answered only to the highest military officials of the human government. In other words, the Black Star Troopers only answered to Yao Yuan and Guang Zhen. Under the situation where Yao Yuan and Guang Zhen were not around, the leader of each unit would be responsible to look over their own members. They had the power to decide whether to join the fray or to retreat. They were not tied to any power on the Hope, and this included the House of Representatives, the human government, the Barracks, and even the headquarters of the Defense Unit. The Black Star Troopers were an isolated force and the strongest military power available to humanity!

Yun Si was the vice-leader of the 19th unit, and the leader of that unit was Zhang Heng. According to the patrol map set up by Yao Yuan, the 19th unit's patrol zone was between the City of Light Moon and New Jupiter. Other than daily patrol, the 19th unit also had the job scope of being a mobile patrol. To put it simply, whenever there was an upcoming mission that was not within the jurisdiction of the 19th unit, they would still need to go intervene and provide help. In fact, other than the first 10 Black Star Trooper units, most of the other units were mobile patrols.

Yun Si was leading four Black Star Troopers. He was driving a small battleship towards New Jupiter. The other four members of the unit were being led by Zhang Heng towards the first defense line using the battleship assigned to their unit. They were escorting a construction crew whose destination was the construction site at the fringe of the New Solar System.

Just as Yun Si was toying with the three chopsticks, Zhang Heng sat in the captain's chair, spacing out.

After the escort mission was done, Zhang Heng's mission would be over. Of course, this mission was simple. In fact, it was more like training than anything. Zhang Heng didn't think too much of it because this was merely a minor mission. His mind was more focused on his own personal relationships.

Yes, he was still single, and the crazy part was, even though he intended to get married, he wasn't sure who his bride should be…

Of course, he couldn't share these issues with outsiders, so Zhang Heng could only work it out in his mind on his own. Suddenly, Zhang Heng raised his head with a confused "hmm". Instantly, everyone in the bridge turned to look at him. One of the soldiers asked concernedly, "Captain, you've discovered danger?"

It was already common knowledge that Zhang Heng was the strongest Diviner on the Hope, so his sudden reaction sent chills down their spines. However, Zhang Heng merely shook his head and said, "No, it's not that, perhaps… it was my imagination."

Just like that, the construction crew escorted by Zhang Heng's unit reached the first defense line one and a half months later. The construction crew consisted of 25 senior engineers and 100 new engineers. Zhang San was one of them.

At the same time, the construction crew brought with them 5,000 AI robots to be used as the labor force…

Yes, 5,000 AI robots!