Chapter 146: Jungle Planet
Jubian calmly entered commands on the control panel.
"Don't worry, I already had the Engineer brothers install a synthetic aperture telescope on this ship."
The telescope swept across the system's ecliptic plane, quickly gathering a general overview of the situation.
This system was a single system, with only one star. Similar to Li Star's sun, it was also a highly radiant F-type main-sequence star, but it had a larger mass than the former, with an absolute luminosity 8 times that of Earth's sun.
There were 6 planets in the system, 3 of which were large rocky planets. All of them were relatively close to the sun, and even the coolest one had an average surface temperature exceeding 100 degrees Celsius.
Additionally, there were 3 giant gas planets. The largest one had a diameter 1.3 times that of Weixing, with beautiful wavy atmospheres alternating between azure and deep blue.
This gas giant was located within the habitable zone and had a massive moon with a diameter 0.9 times that of Earth.
Spectral analysis showed that the environment on this moon was similar to Earth during the Carboniferous period. There was a large amount of water on its surface, as well as a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere with an oxygen content as high as 39% and a high carbon dioxide content. The average temperature was 31 degrees Celsius.
There were no frigid zones on the planet, and the humidity in all regions globally reached or approached 100%, making it almost 100% certain that life existed.
Undoubtedly, this planet was chosen as the next target for investigation. The scientific research ship's warp engine was set to full power, and it flew towards it.
Five hours later, the "tianwen" docked in the moon's orbit.
The four-person team immediately began their work, continuing to observe closely using optoelectronic remote sensing equipment. They found that the planet appeared emerald green, with all landmasses covered by thick vegetation.
It didn't have continuous oceans like Earth, but vast swamps and lakes were ubiquitous. Some gigantic water pits were even tens of thousands of meters deep, and the total water volume exceeded that of Earth.
"It can basically be confirmed as a jungle planet," Jubian said to the other three. "The ecosystem can only be described as terrifyingly prosperous. The green we see is all giant tree canopies, with an average tree height of 500 meters. The actual ground is almost impossible to observe."
This sight was too tempting.
Unfortunately, the Executive Officer had given an order that for now, they could only observe from afar.
Moreover, all four members of the team realized that beneath those dense jungles, there must be massive predatory creatures.
Carboniferous Earth, with 35% oxygen content, gave rise to giant dragonflies with wingspans approaching 1 meter; here, with 39% oxygen content, the violent sun provided even more photosynthetic energy for plants.
More robust plants meant larger herbivorous animals, and the carnivorous animals that hunted them.
Landing rashly would be extremely dangerous; at the very least, they would need to summon a few strong men and women from the First Battle Group to clear a path ahead.
"Let's collect data first, and then—let's take a vote to see whether we go back first or continue to the next wormhole Jump Point. There are a total of three in this star system."
The four people were in complete agreement.
Habitable planets should still be rare in the universe. This time was a stroke of luck. Rather than continue testing their luck, it would be better to return early with the good news and begin preparations for the subsequent landing exploration.
One step at a time, steadily!
"Alright, then let's go home first!"
While the scientific research ship was returning, back at the Devil Mountain Camp, the previously captured armed transport plane had already been modified. By occupying a portion of its cargo bay volume, two warp engines manufactured by a 3D printer were installed, upgrading it into a warp transport plane.
Although very little was currently known about the principles of this advanced engine, advanced scanning and 3D printing technology ensured perfect reverse replication.
Coupled with the user operation manual copied from the yacht and the pre-separated Zero Element fuel for warp, making a few round trips into space was not an issue.
The interrogation of the Apollo captives had also yielded results long ago.
Lu Yuan learned that they no longer had more fighter jets in the wormhole station, only two space shuttles used for transporting personnel, which Cheng Lei and her team had not previously recorded, and fewer than 30 remaining staff members.
This type of shuttle was unarmed. Considering the transport plane had considerable bombardment capabilities, Lu Yuan decided not to escort it, but to let it carry troops and fly solo, quickly taking down the wormhole station by warp travel.
Ten hours later, 20 assault team members from the First Battle Group looked through the porthole and saw the long-renowned Apollo Wormhole Station.
Its size was smaller than imagined, lacking the majestic fortress feel of the Moon mining facility. The main body was about the size of a swimming pool, with identifiable radar antennas on its exterior, but no hangar, only a "simple parking spot" enclosed by a metal truss structure.
The armed transport plane circled it twice.
"Executive Officer, no fighter jets were found, nor were the two shuttles," the pilot reported to Lu Yuan, who had personally accompanied the team.
"They probably realized the situation was bad and ran away," Guo Li Cheng said, blowing a bubble with her bubblegum.
With the industrial ship landed, Cangyuan now had sufficient productivity to produce various civilian gadgets. The specific types were determined by a public vote and then submitted to the Executive Officer.
Engineers enjoyed 1.5 times the voting power in the production proposal drafting process and would receive further bonuses as their rank increased.
Of course, high-ranking soldiers like Guo Li Cheng had the right to bypass the production plan and order some private goods for themselves, but it wasn't free; they had to pay according to the production capacity.
"Don't be careless," Lu Yuan told her. "You're good with propulsion devices. Call a few more people, go out of the cabin first, scan the space station, and find a demolition point that causes the least damage to the overall structure."
"Understood, Boss!" Guo Li Cheng saluted with two fingers.
A moment later, it was initially confirmed that there were no dangers inside or outside the space station.
The internal temperature had already dropped below -100 degrees Celsius, indicating that the power was off and the station was empty.
"Begin action!"
With a single command from Cao Yuan, the First Battle Group skillfully carried out the demolition and breached the space station's interior.
The wormhole space station was very crowded, and living conditions were harsh, but fortunately, the planning and design were quite orderly.
"Report! No enemy detected on the first floor!"
"Second floor is safe, no anomalies."
"Third floor is empty, safe!"
The assault team members sent to explore continuously reported back.
"Commander, a heat source has been detected in the power room on the fourth floor! There's a rhythmic tremor inside the door—it should be a heartbeat!"
"Received. Maintain vigilance. Wait for me and the Executive Officer to come over."
"Understood."
Apollo had not expected the space station to be breached, which resulted in the power room being protected by only a thin hatch.
After breaking down the door, everyone saw a group of people huddled together, all wearing fully enclosed space suits because the air in the space station had already been evacuated.
"Mercy, please save us—" One of them opened his radio and spoke in Li Star language, his voice quite weak.
Guo Li Cheng stepped forward to scan and found them gathered around a heat exchanger, which could barely radiate a little heat. However, the people around it still showed symptoms of hypothermia, and at least a quarter of them no longer had heartbeats.
"Send a few people to see if the reactor device can still be started, and try to be as quick as possible," Cao Yuan ordered upon seeing the situation.
"Try to restore the air pressure too," Lu Yuan reminded, "that way it will warm up faster."
"What's going on? What happened here?" Cao Yuan walked up and asked the people huddled together for warmth.
"The people guarding the 'space station' left and didn't take us with them—" the person who had called for help earlier replied.
He explained that these people were slaves Apollo had bought from Oasis City, totaling over 40 individuals. The women were for entertainment, and the men were responsible for manual labor within the space station.
Just yesterday, the Apollo personnel stationed here suddenly abandoned the station and left. The slaves didn't know the reason, but the players were well aware: the dispatched fighter squadron had gone missing, and there was no news from Oasis City. The people remaining here smelled the scent of a major defeat and finally couldn't endure the torment of fear, so they fled for their lives.
Before they left, they shut down the nuclear reactor and vented the air.
This caused the internal temperature to drop rapidly. To survive, the slaves had to put on space suits and then fumbled to open the backup chemical batteries for warmth.
Even so, 14 people had already frozen to death due to their weak constitutions.
If Cangyuan had arrived one day later, the rest would have either died from hypothermia or suffocated.
Unfortunately, the team sent to activate the reactor did not bring back good news.
The Apollo remaining personnel left in a hurry. They couldn't take the 150 tons of Helium-3 nuclear fuel from the station, but they damaged the reactor control panel and the space station's main control computer before leaving.
"Since they've already abandoned it and will never return, would leaving the heating and air on kill their entire family?" Dan Ta truly found this action difficult to understand.
"These people are just used to being despicable. Good. It'll be easier to butcher them later with less psychological burden," Guo Li Cheng said coldly.
"Ensure the rescued individuals have no weapons, then send them to the transport plane to warm up," Lu Yuan ordered on behalf of Cao Yuan. "Transfer the bodies over as well."
"Are they to be used as raw materials for clones?" Cao Yuan quietly asked.
Lu Yuan paused for two seconds.
"The old Cangyuan faced a survival crisis, so we had to become stronger at all costs. But now, we are a well-established force, so let's do things that allow us to sleep more soundly."
He glanced at Cao Yuan.
"After we return, assign a task to the new Investigator players: have them ask the survivors for the addresses of the deceased, then send the bodies back to their respective hometowns to give the families of the deceased some closure."
"Yes!" Cao Yuan stood at attention and saluted.