Chapter 502: The First Interstellar War (I)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The artificial intelligence system seemed to detect something. Data flowed like a waterfall on left screen as it beeped.
“Captain, an interstellar creature has been detected. It’s 78.8 million kilometers away from the spaceship,” said the artificial intelligence system.
Luo Yuan was stunned when he first saw it but eventually, it turned to excitement. The wisdom elixir had become the main driver of human development but the active energy provided by the energy crystal was limited which was also the main reason why production of the elixir had stagnated.
They could produce a maximum of 2,000 tubes of wisdom elixir per year. A week ago, statistics showed that only 6,123 people had consumed the wisdom elixir. The ratio was absolutely pathetic, seeing that there were 300,000 researchers. Luo Yuan thought that the ratio was pathetic. It would be an understandable situation if it was insufficient for civilians but at the very least. they should have been able to produce a sufficient amount for the researchers.
He had scientists researching on active energy. In fact, such research had begun since the reconstruction area era. Active energy was mysterious, almost invisible and unobservable. Aside from the organic matter that gives off active energy, they were not even able to observe energy off the energy crystals in high-level mutated beasts. The contradictory thing was, though it was unobservable, it definitely affected lives. Even at the level human technology was at today, there was not enough research done in this area so synthesizing it was out of the question. The only way to expand production for the wisdom elixir with immediate effect was to kill more interstellar creatures.
Unfortunately, the solar system was very vast and even if the spaceship’s advanced detection system and its powerful computational power, looking for an interstellar creature was like looking for a needle in a haystack. To top it off, there were a countless amount of stars that blocked their vision, increasing the difficulty in finding interstellar creatures and because of that, they did not find a single one in the past three years.
However, they did not expect to find one on their first test flight.
“Where is it?” Luo Yuan asked immediately.
“It’s behind venus, facing the sun!” As the artificial intelligence system spoke, it projected the scene onto the large screen. Venus occupied the screen and there was an insignificant dot that was floating not too far away from the planet, almost unnoticeable. If the artificial intelligence system did not mention it and enlarged the planet to 1,000 times, nobody would have even noticed the black dot.
“Enlarge it!”
Right after Luo Yuan instructed it, the artificial intelligence system enlarged the small dot as much as it could until it occupied the entire screen. With the sun behind it, there was a major amount on backlight on the image but it was clear enough. Looking at the clumsy movement it was making, it seemed like an aquatic creature. Luo Yuan thought it looked familiar and it finally dawned on him, it was the interstellar creature he saw on the moon a while back. It had left the moon and ended up here over the years.
However, Luo Yuan’s exclamation was not that of excitement or that of meeting an old friend, it was vengeful. Such interstellar creatures were of no benefits to humans if it continued its existence in the solar system. The existence of interstellar creatures was a complete miracle, their evolutionary path coinciding with the development of technology. By analyzing their abilities, especially the way they utilized energy and the forcefield they can utilize, it would help humans advance their technology much faster. In reality, ever since the humans adapted Glassian technology for their own use, researchers have been putting more attention on the active energy of these interstellar creatures.
The only problem was that the interstellar creature was too far away from where they were. Furthermore, they were having their first test flight today. If they immediately flew over, it would be too risky and it would take too much time to fly at such slow speeds. He thought for a moment and said, “Officer sun, can we launch the interstellar battleships now?”
“Reporting, captain! We’ve five interstellar battleships with a modified weapons systems that are ready to go at a moment’s notice!” A middle-aged man stood up in his seat, bowed down to Luo Yuan and said loudly.
“Let’s go all out, kill that gigantic beast!”
“Yes, captain!”
There were five crewmembers among them who had on customized helmets fitted with quantum communication devices. They could use the miniature quantum computer in their helmet visors to connect with and operate the interstellar battleships. Shortly after, the flight deck on one side of the spaceship opened and five interstellar battleships shot out of electromagnetic launchpads. Before the engines were even running, each battleship was moving at a stunning speed of 300 kilometers per second. Taking into account the weight of the battleship, it would launch at a speed of 150 kilometers per second. The amount of pressure put on ordinary metals traveling at such speeds would deform them but the battleships were totally unaffected
Soon, the five interstellar battleships ignited their engines and they flew like arrows, shooting into space. They accelerated at an amazing speed and soon, they disappeared from view on the screen. After flying for an hour, the test flight was completed as planned as Luo Yuan and a group of the management left the control room one after the other. There was no rush since the battleships would take some time before they reached the interstellar creature. Even if the warplanes flew at the safest speed, which was 1,500 kilometers per second, they would take at least 14 hours to reach their destination.
“Can these battleships defeat the interstellar creature?” As there were too many people earlier, Chen Xinjie asked Luo Yuan as they entered his office. Since the project team’s high-profile collection of the interstellar creature carcass from earth, this mysterious, powerful creature had made its debut to the ordinary people. Its stunning size and mysterious energy dug at the curiosity of people while it terrified them at the same time. It was a hot topic among people for quite some time.
“We’ll only know after the battle begins!” Luo Yuan said as he relaxed in his chair.
To be completely honest, he had no idea what would happen in the end. However, with the interstellar battleships’ mobility, even if they did not manage to kill the creature, they could always escape. The only thing they had to consider was the defense. These battleships were not the first generation but were the second iteration of the technology. Its electromagnetic bullets alone were 1.5 times better than the previous weapon. It could reach a staggering 150 million kilowatts which were the equivalent of three, Three Gorges Dams. Although the projectile tip only weighs one kilogram, it would be no less powerful than a nuclear bomb. What was even more impressive was that it could launch a bullet every three seconds. Other weapons were equally powerful and the interstellar battleships were no less powerful than those the Glassians’ once had anymore.
…
After a short chat, Chen Xinjie decided not to bother Luo Yuan any further and left the office. Luo Yuan sipped his tea and began going through the pile of documents before him. The countdown had begun since the humans left their solar system. The experiment of whether humankind was capable of interstellar travel was quite intense. During this period, every department was hectic, even for Luo Yuan.
