Chapter 308: Severely Asymmetric Strength
Two jumps behind the fleet, near the wormhole, Chang Kong, who had ambushed there in advance, finally awaited the Empire's pursuing fleet.
“They’re here!”
He did not activate radar, nor did he rely on IRST, but used visible light instruments for long-distance observation.
Simply put, he used a telescope.
For the Empire's fleet, which could achieve infrared stealth, the most traditional optical magnified image was, at this moment, the most reliable.
He uploaded the images captured by his fighter to the hibernation pod in the rear, and then provided them to the fleet in the rear via a live stream akin to the Earth's internet.
“Enemy warships are entering! Four 200-meter class, four 330-meter class, four 550-meter class… I can’t see the weapon details clearly at this range, but it looks like a considerably large fleet, not like one that set out from the New Hope star system to pursue us.”
As the light on the surface of the wormhole pulsed, the last warship entered, its light point in the optical image noticeably larger and brighter than the previous ones.
“...First Air Squadron reports the discovery of one 800-meter class warship!”
Inside the Taibai’s bridge, there was a buzz of discussion.
The ace’s eyesight is truly amazing!
Chang Kong had indeed seen these targets through the eyepiece in his cockpit.
However, on the Taibai’s main display, even though the image had been magnified hundreds of times, everyone still couldn't make anything out.
Chang Kong's human eye sensitivity had already begun to surpass the small and medium-aperture observation equipment on the fighter, and had long exceeded the contrast and resolution limits of the warship's holographic display.
Who said flesh and blood must be weak?
“If the target enemy ship is truly 800 meters, then it should be a battleship, right?”
The radar operator asked.
“No, the Empire’s battleships should be around 1100 meters long. This class is between a heavy cruiser and a battleship.”
The First Fire Control Officer replied,
“Is that a battlecruiser? A large cruiser? Similar to the US Alaska-class during World War II?”
“Roughly, it depends on the armor and firepower configuration.”
“A large cruiser? This is already a naval main force.”
“Indeed! It counts as a secondary capital ship for humanity after the apocalypse. In short, it’s not easy to deal with.”
It wasn’t about being self-deprecating.
At this moment, all the players could vaguely feel that the current expeditionary fleet, whether engaging in a head-on confrontation or a sneak attack, was in no way a match for this pursuing fleet.
Firstly, the Empire’s technological level was higher than the expeditionary fleet’s; the energy output of same-volume reactors reached 5 times that of Cangyuan.
And the volume of an 800-meter class super cruiser was even 64 times that of the “Qinling” and “Wuyi”!
Therefore, the energy difference per single voyage between the two sides was around 320 times!
If we compare it to the combat power of creatures in nature, carnivorous animals with a weight difference of 320 times would be a Siberian tiger and a weasel – and it would have to be a large tiger and a small weasel!
“The Empire’s fleet has activated its conventional engines and is beginning to change formation, split, and adjust its heading.”
Chang Kong continued to report the situation, his tone heavy, “It looks like the enemy fleet intends to split up and conduct a wide search along the forward route, not just simply passing through.”
“Definitely not. How many fleets have they split into?” Xian Yu pressed.
“Wait a moment—three sub-fleets confirmed! Targets have disappeared, they should have entered warp! Squad members, attention, we will follow the sub-fleet with the flagship. Warp countdown, three, two, one, activate!”
“Phew!”
Xian Yu turned his head, supporting himself on the chart table with both hands, looking at the holographic star map.
Very bad!
The star system where the Empire's fleet was currently located had only 4 Jump Points in total.
“—Even if they just picked randomly, they would definitely guess the route we are currently taking.”
He looked up at Lu Yuan, who, with a tacit understanding, connected to the aviation team's communication.
“Third and Fourth Squads, this is the Executive Officer. I need you to proceed to the wormhole near the Empire’s fleet’s next jump. Report to me immediately upon sighting the enemy.”
“Understood!”
“Now, the key to the problem is time, or more precisely, the speed difference between the two sides,” Lu Yuan said softly to Xian Yu beside him.
“Yes,” Xian Yu, the former amateur 7-dan Go player, was now staring intently at the sea chart, his brain operating at full capacity.
For a moment, countless possible interception routes were constantly being arranged, combined, and selected in his mind.
The boundless star sea was his new chessboard.
“Fleet report, this is the Third Squad. Suspected targets found in the B038 star system. Confirmed! Targets are sailing in formation, it is the Empire’s fleet.”
“This is the fleet, received. Please trail the Empire’s fleet and try not to expose yourselves.”
The Aviation Commander on the bridge said.
Eight hours later, the Empire’s pursuing fleet reappeared within Cangyuan’s sight.
Based on the time and distance difference of the two sightings, the opponent's speed could finally be determined.
It was at least 80% of the speed of light, exceeding Cangyuan’s 60% of the speed of light!
At this speed, the opponent would catch up within 9 jumps. “The universe is actually a very vast place,” Chang Kong said, “Perhaps we can choose a remote corner of a star system, far from the shipping lanes, to temporarily hide for a period.”
“Then quietly let the Empire’s fleet ‘pass by,’ right?” Xian Yu quickly understood what he meant.
“Exactly!”
“Theoretically, it’s possible,” Lu Yuan said, “But what then? I believe the Empire’s fleet will definitely stop somewhere ahead and block our path.”
He pointed to the star map.
“Look here, the K433 star system. All forward routes converge in this star system. If I were the Empire’s commander, I would have the fleet guard the Jump Point here, then wait for us to walk into a trap, or for the rear to successfully complete the salvage.”
“Don’t forget, the Empire’s primary objective is not to destroy us, but to recover cangyuan one.”
“Yes—”
Chang Kong carefully studied the position of K433 and realized that the Executive Officer was not wrong.
“Then perhaps, we should consider taking a detour. The current wormhole routes are a network structure, so taking a detour in time would minimize the time delayed.”
“If we continue forward, the routes converge into a linear shape, and then trying to detour would mean backtracking.”
“I’ve calculated it, even if we detour now, it will still take two weeks,” Xian Yu shook his head, “Too long!”
“And we can’t actually guarantee that after detouring, we won’t encounter other Empire’s fleets trying to encircle and intercept us.”
Lu Yuan’s gaze focused on the red K063 star system.
This designation meant it was the 63rd K-type star to be included in the Star Alliance Territory’s star chart, and it was a relatively rare K-type red supergiant.
“I still want to try my luck here.”
“You mean... that potentially existing unknown power?”
Lu Yuan nodded.
“I can’t quite describe this feeling, it’s like a calling from the depths.”
He couldn't explain this matter too specifically.
In fact, what Lu Yuan truly thought was that if there really was something worth exploring on that ancient, abandoned space station in K063, the system might give a hint in advance.
At that time, whether it was necessary to stay and explore there, he could make up his mind in the shortest possible time, without hesitating and wasting time.
Chang Kong and Xian Yu exchanged glances.
“Alright then, let’s go take a look.”
To be frank, neither of them could come up with a better solution.
From the beginning, the difficulty of this expedition had clearly exceeded the current strength limit of Cangyuan, so they could only do their best and try every possible option.
“But before that, there are still some things that need to be done.”
Lu Yuan called Charlotte to the bridge.
“Next, I need you to run a prediction using your mathematical model based on the intelligence we’ve gathered, calculating the probability of the Empire’s fleet appearing at various route points around us.”
“At the same time, Advisor Xian Yu will do the same prediction, but using a different method.”
“Hello!”
Xian Yu, who was already working, looked up and greeted Charlotte.
“So, it’s a competition then! What model is the Advisor using?”
Charlotte immediately perked up, asking curiously.
“Human brain model, human brain calculation,” Lu Yuan answered for Xian Yu.
“You—are you serious?”
Charlotte was incredulous.
In non-combat status, she could access most of the main computer’s processing power on the ship. How could a human brain possibly compete?
“Of course. If there are no questions, please start as soon as possible.”
“Alright.”
Charlotte glanced at Xian Yu, who was deep in thought, and, convinced she would win easily, began her work.
Probability percentages were continuously marked on the star map.
Charlotte was surprised to find that Xian Yu’s calculation results were not far off from hers! They were usually within 1%.
Sometimes her results came out earlier, sometimes his were earlier, so it couldn't be shameless plagiarism!
“This—”
The Executive Officer wasn't kidding, he really did have a strong team of experts!
No mistake about it.
The comprehensive quality of the crew for this expedition was absolutely no less than that of the crew selected for cangyuan one in 2095!
What exactly was their origin? “Hey, you’re not some Go master, are you!?”
“Oh?”
Xian Yu straightened up from the chart table, rubbing his sore lower back, grimacing.
As a Sailor, the game character “Bei Hai Xian Yu” was very special.
He often engaged in high-intensity mental work, and the hibernation pod also recognized this play preference. So, in addition to the two main Sailor attributes of physique and spirit, it also gave him a good deal of extra intelligence at the expense of strength, agility, and perception.
This resulted in Xian Yu’s intelligence attribute not being much lower than that of Scholars and Engineers of the same level.
“Looks like you also understand Go? What dan rank?”
“I only learned a little in Cangyuan’s aerospace training camp, wait, that’s not the point. How do you know Go has dan ranks? This board game, as far as I know, should have been completely lost after the disaster!”
“Haha, really?” Xian Yu gave an awkward laugh, “Don’t mind such details, let’s get to work! The Executive Officer is waiting!”
Charlotte looked suspicious.
It was only then that she realized this “new Executive Officer” and the mysterious employees he had recruited seemed to be hiding some extraordinary secrets from her as well.
A day later, the results finally emerged.
Both their calculations showed that whether it was K063, ahead, to the side, or other routes after a detour, the probability of the enemy appearing was not as disparate as previously estimated.
Which way to go actually made little difference.
With these data supporting him, Lu Yuan became even more determined.
Let’s explore the high-risk area of shipwrecks along the way!
He ordered the First Air Squadron to return, no longer trying to search everywhere for the faster Empire’s fleet, to avoid being counterproductive.
Four days later, the fleet successfully entered the K063 star system.
“Report, target sighted!”
The intelligence officer sent the synthetic aperture image to Lu Yuan.
Dust and nebulae permeated the star system, making visibility extremely poor.
There were three planets orbiting the central orange-red K-type supergiant, one of which was a gas giant with 11 times the mass of Jupiter.
Observations showed that the internal temperature and pressure of this gas giant were sufficient to support a small amount of thermonuclear reactions; strictly speaking, it was a brown dwarf.
If observed with the naked eye, one would also find it glowing from within, like a hazy lantern with atmospheric vortices and stripes.
That ancient space station was orbiting this brown dwarf at high speed in a low orbit.
Without external interference, in a few decades, it would plunge into the dense atmosphere of the celestial body.
However, apart from the somewhat fast orbital speed and low orbital altitude, this rotation looked very serene.
It was like a wild yet tranquil dance, possessing a unique beauty.
There were no other suspicious objects around, nor any unknown giant warships.
Lu Yuan could finally understand why Charlotte said it “looked quite safe” here.
“All ships maintain formation, adjust heading by 180 degrees, decelerate in a hyperbolic orbit, and use engine jets to clear the nebular dust along the way. We are approaching.”
As Lu Yuan gave the order, in the upper right corner of his vision, the system information indeed refreshed.