Chapter 335: The Eerie Black Hole Cluster
The time came to part ways with the interstellar 'big shots'.
"Goodbye~~~"
In the battleship's restaurant, Charlotte and the children waved to the Zerg Swarm fleet outside the porthole's holographic screen.
The Zerg Swarm larvae happily flew around the fleet, wiggling their tentacles, though it was unclear if they were imitating human movements.
Their behavior was truly reminiscent of dolphins on Earth, but with higher intelligence, making them appear even more 'adorable'.
Lu Yuan stood on the bridge, calmly observing the Zerg Swarm larvae outside.
They were about to embark on their journey home, during which they would likely enter cross-galactic giant wormholes multiple times for jumps spanning millions, even hundreds of millions, of light-years.
It was precisely because of these super shortcuts in the universe that Lu Yuan believed Cangyuan would one day return to Earth.
To achieve this goal as quickly as possible, Xian Yu, at Lu Yuan's request, entered the Zerg Swarm fleet's thought-consciousness space one last time, finding the black, hazy figure representing the leader of the species.
"From now on, our two species will go our separate ways."
He spoke with a double meaning.
"Yes."
The species leader nodded.
"I sincerely advise you, please do not follow us. You are fragile, and I do not wish to harm you, but my kind desires to do so, and I cannot guarantee your safety."
It issued a relatively benevolent warning.
"Don't worry, we absolutely have no such intention."
After witnessing the Zerg dismantle and consume the 'snacks' from the Empire, the players had a firsthand experience of the formidable strength of the 'great enemy' from humanity's golden age, making them extremely cautious of the Zerg.
In the face of an overwhelmingly vast difference in firepower, all tactics were meaningless.
Moreover, if the Scholar players were not mistaken, the Gaia Zerg were a species that triumphed through numbers and reproduction efficiency; the single-ship combat power of golden age humans should have been much higher.
"That's good. I hope we don't meet again."
"I hope so," Xian Yu nodded, "But I have one last request: could you tell us the route you planned to take to Earth but didn't?"
This was a bold attempt, but unexpectedly, the other party immediately agreed.
This meant that the Zerg Swarm consciousness had already completely abandoned this attack route, for unknown reasons.
"You may."
The navigation data was then converted from psionic fluctuations into electromagnetic waves, and then into computer code.
"Executive Officer, navigation map received."
The Navigator on the Taibai was inevitably a little excited.
"Display it on the main screen."
"Yes!"
A winding Jump Point path then appeared.
From the map, the Zerg Swarm army's rallying point three centuries ago was far beyond today's Star Union Space, located in the 'northern' region near the galactic center, over fifteen thousand light-years from Li Star, nearly 30 times the distance of this expedition's one-way trip.
At the current technological level, reaching there would take at least three years.
Lu Yuan gently shook his head.
Too slow...—
The universe was too vast.
This time, no matter what, they had to recover the mysterious warp engine from cangyuan one.
"Our species originally planned to travel to the Milky Way through a human-built megastructure called a 'Stargate,' but after enduring war, I am unsure if that facility still exists."
The species leader told Xian Yu.
"You humans call that Stargate the 'Gate of Heaven,' and on the other side of the gate lies the battlefield of the 'War of Paradise.'
I wish you good luck, protect your young, for as long as there are young, there is hope for the species."
"The same to you, take care, giants of the Star Sea—"
The Zerg fleet set sail.
The species leader, over 15 kilometers long, was the first to pass through the wormhole, followed by the larvae, and finally the remaining six adults.
This magnificent scene made one marvel at the infinite potential of life and genes.
After a long voyage, this detached Zerg fleet would return to their current territory, integrate under the new decision-making Mainframe, and once again become part of the Zerg Swarm army.
They would no longer be docile, would no longer find human young adorable, would no longer heed human electromagnetic greetings, and would even completely lose their free will, becoming extremely ferocious and belligerent.
But they would also become stronger by integrating into the Gaia psionic network, possessing a more certain, more 'bright' future.
In fact, with the strength of this Zerg fleet, they could already run rampant in the Star Alliance.
But in the face of individual freedom versus the collective interests of the species, these intelligent Zerg individuals still unhesitatingly chose the latter.
Perhaps, this was the underlying genetic code of the species.
Lu Yuan couldn't help but recall the wars on Earth.
Could a Soldier who received orders to fire on civilians still return to the role of a kind father and good husband after the war ended?
As a human, his answer to this question was 'it depends,' requiring measurement against a moral standard.
But human morality was not equivalent to universal values across the universe.
For the universe, what truly constituted a higher, civilized, or excellent species?
This was difficult to judge.
At least to Lu Yuan's knowledge, the Zerg's standards must be vastly different from humanity's.
Thus, on a cosmic scale, absolute 'rationality, neutrality, objectivity' could only be nonsense; in evaluating the meaning of their own civilization, all species were biased and selfish.
Then, pushing further, war was inevitable; even verbal persuasion required a foundation of a great victory or the threat of superior military force.
After a period of contemplation, Lu Yuan further suppressed his pacifist tendencies, firming up his overall development strategy of prioritizing military strength and rebuilding civilization through exploration and expansion.
And the future first contact strategy for non-human species—always assume the other party is hostile, while simultaneously demonstrating an intent to cooperate and a determination to fight.
He wrote these memos into corporate announcements and employee handbooks.
The universe was not a fairy tale.
Fortunately, humanity had always been an extremely warlike and extremely skilled fighting species.
Encountering numerous 'great enemies' and yet not being completely annihilated was the best proof.
"Keep moving forward."
After waiting long enough to confirm that the Zerg fleet on the other side had entered warp travel and left the detection range that would cause tension for both sides, Lu Yuan ordered the expeditionary force to also proceed to X13.
Industrial drones secured both ends of the carbon nanotube cables to the battleship and the partially printed military transport ship, so that the former could tow the latter through the wormhole.
Engines ignited, and after a burst of brilliant light, the long-awaited X13 appeared before everyone.
"Holy moly!"
The players couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
Anomaly detected!
Scientific research event triggered!
'X' in Star Alliance navigation refers to 'black hole'.
X13 was not only the 13th black hole charted, but within the same stellar system, it also happened to be composed of 13 black holes of varying sizes, essentially a black hole cluster.
The distances between these black holes were extremely close, with a distribution range no larger than the Solar System, which was astronomically abnormal.
"Executive Officer."
Soon, Jubian and the Mage completed their initial observations and came to report to Lu Yuan.
"What have you two discovered?"
"It's really eerie here! Look, the Schwarzschild radius of this black hole at the center of the stellar system is a full 800,000 kilometers; it's not small."
"Then can we still escape successfully?"
Lu Yuan was not an astronomer, but he knew that black holes had extremely high density; if the sun were forcibly compressed into a black hole, its Schwarzschild radius would only be about 3 kilometers.
"No problem, we have repeatedly verified it; we can escape normally!"
Jubian gave his assurance.
"The eerie part is this. At the current position, the gravitational force exerted by this black hole on us is completely inconsistent with its size; it's too small! But within a range of roughly 100 million kilometers, the gravity returns to normal, which you can see from the golden accretion disk around it."
Lu Yuan nodded.
The accretion disk around the black hole was like a giant straw hat, with heated interstellar dust and matter rotating around the black hole at extremely high speeds.
If not for extremely strong gravity, such a celestial structure could not exist.
"Furthermore, the temperature and radiation flux of the central supermassive black hole are also consistent with relatively mild, larger-mass black holes," the Mage added.
"As for the other smaller black holes orbiting it, the situation is the same; the gravitational force currently exerted on us is only planetary-level, yet their Schwarzschild radii are between Mars and Jupiter."
If a planet like Earth were forcibly compressed into a black hole, its Schwarzschild radius would theoretically only be about one centimeter.
"It seems none of them are natural products," Lu Yuan murmured, "In this stellar system, the laws of physics, or certain cosmic constants, have been artificially distorted."
This was a feat that only truly high-tech civilizations could achieve.
The Mage agreed.
"Yes, artificial alteration, I have that feeling too! These black holes should all be artificial creations. I believe only humans from the golden age, or other awakened old-timers with more advanced technology than humans, would have the capability to create them."
"I even think that this entire X13 might be the war relic of a god-tier civilization."
Xian Yu, who had just returned from the psionic communication facility, joined the discussion.
"All the stars, planets, moons, and space stations in the system were blown into black holes by some superweapon, like the Armageddon bombing an entire system in 'stellaris,' leaving no resources behind."
"So, why is the strategic significance here so special that it was treated in such a particular way?" Prairie asked, stroking his chin.
"Look, the X13 stellar system only has two Jump Point entrances and exits; it's not an important transportation hub. Also, we already know that the capital of this former UEG sector is the Ideal City, Ruins Star, developed with massive investment 600 light-years away. Important military and scientific research facilities should be there."
"Hmm—."
Xian Yu realized it was true.
"You're right—perhaps the truth isn't as simple as I imagined."
"Then let's brainstorm."
Lu Yuan said it was fine, then started a topic in the internal corporate group, inviting all good employees to brainstorm together.
Soon, inspiring ideas emerged from the 'stellaris' war criminals and sci-fi novel enthusiasts among the players.
"The size of these black holes is just about the same as planets, which might not be a coincidence. Is it possible that they are actually gravitational shields outside planets? Could they be encasing intact planets from before the doomsday catastrophe?"
"Yes, it looks like a black hole, but it's actually a protective mechanism."
"There's a view that a rather calm world can exist inside a black hole! Some Scholars even believe that our universe itself is a black hole with a Schwarzschild radius of tens of billions of light-years, and other universes also float as black hole islands in the quantum sea, forming an even grander overall universe!"
Lu Yuan felt that while these views were currently just speculation, they had some merit.
The arrangement of black holes within X13 was too similar to stars and planets in a normal stellar system.
"Do we have a way to enter these black holes for scientific exploration?" he asked Jubian.
The other party shook his head.
"At Cangyuan's current technological level, it's not possible! When approaching the black hole's event horizon, the powerful tidal gravity would damage the spaceship's structure; even carbon nanotube materials wouldn't hold up."
"Current stage—meaning it might be possible later?"
"Hmm—if we obtain artificial gravity field technology, and cover the scientific research spaceship with a layer of adjustable gravity field to neutralize the black hole's tidal gravity, perhaps we really could safely enter the interior of these black holes."
Good!
Let's keep that thought for now.
Artificial gravity field technology is currently monopolized by Paradise Island, but they boldly leased their special-grade ships applying this technology to the Galan Navy.
Galan Navy!
Hehe... .
As for whether they could seize these valuable warships from Galan, Lu Yuan believed Prime Minister Nadi would not disappoint him.
"I understand. Then, is the gravitational field strength of our current orbit suitable for 3D printing?"
"Yes, it's essentially in a state of complete weightlessness!" the Navigator replied.
"Good! Then we will glide uniformly around the black hole cluster, consume all the packaged raw materials here to print out the transport ship, and wait to rendezvous with the deep sea.
"During this time, the First Air Squadron will continue to scout other nearby star systems along the route. If any suspicious discoveries are made, report immediately."
"Yes!"