Chapter 401: Voyage to Base Two

Old Song, what do you think?

Song Yuanting frowned and said, “That area is vast and empty. The nearest stellar system is Base 2.”

Aside from that, the other stellar systems are at least 12-15 light years away. If we need to deploy a fleet, whether it’s via superluminal travel or spatial jumps, we’ll have to contend with standard flight conditions.

And as for the Ark spaceship showing up there, logically it must have been delivered by a spacetime storm.

From what I know about the Ark spaceship, it simply doesn’t possess superluminal capabilities—it’s 90 light years away from the Solar System.

No one can guarantee that another spacetime storm won’t erupt near the storm’s exit. I propose we first send out unmanned intelligent warships to search, then decide our next move.

Du Qiu thought for a moment and asked, “How well-trained are our consciousness fleet warriors? Can they now control warships with their minds?”

For over 30 years, aside from advances in spatial technology, Dream Technology has pushed the boundaries in consciousness research far beyond that of a common six-level civilization.

First, Kawanohoroharu and Hao Ren worked together to elevate the consciousness of a group of individuals to the necessary level. Then, Rein Leinar collaborated with them to develop a set of modules for consciousness-based machine control.

Rein Leinar’s involvement with them began quite by chance—he once demonstrated his own version of Transformers to Hao Ren.

Hao Ren quickly realized that merging consciousness with artificial intelligence could allow remote control of Transformers, promising excellent practical results.

Their cooperation resulted in a system similar to the Tianhuang People’s consciousness upload module—though this wasn’t a transfer of consciousness, it was a form of mind control.

Such mind control requires a certain intensity of consciousness, and the current practitioners are more than capable.

Unlike you, Du Qiu, who must enter a dream state to exert control, this method works while fully awake.

This delighted Du Qiu, and he immediately began assembling a consciousness fleet.

However, this form of control demands long periods of training—it isn’t as effortless as the intuitive control you display in your dreams, Du Qiu.

“Two consciousness-controlled warships are already fully capable of managing their vessels. We can deploy them to handle emergencies—offering more flexibility than unmanned warships,” he stated.

Song Yuanting quickly summarized the current training status of the consciousness fleet and offered his recommendations.

“Excellent. Our main fleet will set off immediately for Base 2, but we must stay there for a while. Meanwhile, send the two consciousness-controlled warships to the region from which the Ark’s signal originated to commence a search.”

“Understood. I’ll have them ready right away,” came the reply.

At his command, the meticulously arranged fleet began passing through the activated space gates in formation—over 200 gates at once—a truly grand spectacle.

At that moment, Du Qiu felt a swell of pride.

From what he had gathered in Dreamland, Ge Ya had imposed such strict controls on spatial technology that other civilizations within the Ge Ya Alliance lagged remarkably behind.

This, in turn, prevented the Dominant Civilization from acquiring crucial intelligence, leaving them significantly behind in this field.

It could be said that the only area where the Dominant Civilization fell behind the Ge Ya Civilization was in spatial technology.

That very edge allowed the Ge Ya Civilization to escape the Milky Way for the Andromeda Galaxy in time. Without diverting the Dominant Civilization, they might have evaded its pursuit entirely.

In another sense, Ge Ya clearly valued those five civilizations, guarding them as a vital link to the legacy of the Tianhuang People.

Perhaps, in Ge Ya’s eyes, those five civilizations were the key to reconnecting with the heritage of the Tianhuang People.

Later, in a bid to advance their spatial technology, the Dominant Civilization began capturing intelligent beings from the Ge Ya Alliance to research and replicate their tech.

But under such conditions, the Dominant could only manage to mimic the spatial equipment seen on seized Ge Ya warships.

Thus, the Dominant Civilization never developed true space gate technology, which left their fleets unable to transfer quickly between bases—this allowed the Ge Ya Alliance to conduct guerrilla warfare against them for years.

The Dominant was well aware of its shortcomings, so it first seized the passage to other River Systems.

Then, capitalizing on its massive production capacity, it methodically established footholds in the Andromeda Galaxy with its unbeatable fleet.

This strategy of locking down and striking swiftly had reached its final phase after thousands of years.

It was precisely because the Dominant Civilization lacked space gate technology that Du Qiu could safely develop his fleet in the remote reaches of the River System.

Otherwise, with space gate technology, the Dominant’s enormous fleet could have patrolled every stellar system in no time.

Not only would that nullify the Ge Ya Alliance’s guerrilla tactics, but it would also expose Du Qiu’s fleet—hiding in a backwater—to swift annihilation.

Under Du Qiu’s watchful eye, the main fleet reached Base 2, with all warships and spacecraft docking at various spaceports.

Then, the two consciousness-controlled warships broke off from the fleet; after drifting tens of millions of kilometers away, they activated a spatial jump and vanished into the Void.

In interstellar space, just 5 light years away, the two warships briefly reappeared before disappearing again.

When they emerged once more, they had arrived at the location from which the Ark spaceship had sent its distress signal.

Cautiously, the two warships advanced, soon pinpointing their target.

Approximately 6 million kilometers ahead, an old, worn-out spacecraft drifted in the Void, seemingly out of power.

Meanwhile, at Base 2—6 light years away—in the command center of Du Qiu’s Space Bastion,

the view from ahead was projected onto the main display almost without any delay.

Everyone in the command center watched as the consciousness warships crept closer to the old spacecraft.

As they drew nearer, the image of the ancient vessel became ever clearer in their view.

“Wow, that’s really the Ark spaceship from back in the day!”

“I remember it was developed by Musk’s team, and they escaped Earth quite early.”

“It looks like there’s no one left on board.”

“Perhaps everyone perished.”

“No way! The three small fleets we rescued had all their crew intact.”

“In a spacetime storm, time practically stands still—it makes sense they should still be alive.”

“Enough talk. Let’s take a closer look…”

……

Amid hushed whispers, the two warships positioned themselves tens of thousands of kilometers to the left and right of the spacecraft before dispatching landing ships to board it.

Not only were these landing ships under remote consciousness control from the rear, but even the Transformers aboard were similarly guided.

With the advent of advanced consciousness technology, Transformers had become the infantry backbone of the consciousness fleet.

Under genuine human mental guidance, these Transformers could perform any task requiring human finesse.

The landing ship quickly boarded the spacecraft, and a squad of Transformers stepped through the open airlock.

As these warriors entered the vessel, everyone was astonished by what they saw inside.

The entire interior was in a state of dilapidation, as if it had endured countless ages.

Ultimately, the Transformers uncovered only a few mummified corpses within the spacecraft.

With the ship’s energy completely exhausted, the Transformers managed to reboot the main computer by supplying external power via the landing ship.

At that point, they discovered a radio transmitter that still held a remnant of power—it appeared to emit a signal every ten days to conserve energy.

Once the main computer restarted, it rapidly revealed the sequence of events that had transpired on board.

All other data had vanished from the database, leaving only a video file. Playing it made clear that it was recorded by the last surviving occupant.

That person was David Morgan, the final heir of the Morgan family.

In the video, he recounted the story of the Ark spaceship.

Thanks to “Zhu Ya” for the 100 coin tip!