Chapter 91: The Road Back to the Battlefield

What Lin Yu was actually responsible for wasn’t scientific research, but deciphering the data within the Alien Civilization Cube.

In this area, he really was the perfect choice.

Nearly every day brought fresh breakthroughs and new technical data was constantly being decoded.

This only convinced Lin Yu further that what the Klein had discovered was likely a lab set up by that civilization specifically for spatial technology.

Because aside from hyperspace tech, there were all sorts of technologies—stuff that even now remains pure fiction for humanity, with not even a basic theory to support it.

According to the universe’s levels of civilization, all these projects fall under the scope of a level 5 civilization.

But here in the Milky Way, the most advanced civilization is only level 4.

And from what the Klein have gathered, level 5 civilizations are just legends. At least in the Milky Way’s well-documented history of over a hundred thousand years, there’s never been a level 5 civilization.

If all of this is for real, then this unknown civilization…

Must have existed at least over a hundred thousand years ago.

As for why there’s no history from that period in the Milky Way—it’s as if that memory simply vanished.

No one has any answers yet, and none of the data Lin Yu’s decoded sheds any light on it either.

Well, that’s not really his problem right now.

At the moment, he only cared about one thing: finishing the deciphering as fast as possible and returning to the front lines.

Because…

Lin Yu once again felt a sense of warning.

It was like an alarm going off in his mind, warning him that if he didn’t return soon, something bad would happen.

Not to human civilization as a whole, but…

To the Fifth Fleet!

The feeling grew stronger day by day.

——

Two months passed by.

Seventy-nine days total—Lin Yu finished decoding the entire cube ahead of schedule.

A massive trove of technical data had been completely extracted.

But that didn’t mean the Federation would have working technology the very next day.

According to Dr. Lu’s reasonable estimate…

Even if everything went as smoothly as possible, mastering and implementing all these technologies…

Would still take decades at best.

And that’s the most optimistic scenario.

Still, the Federation had already decided: put everything into cracking hyperspace technology first.

That might come sooner—maybe just a few years for some early results.

Then again, that’s if everything goes right; if not, decades without progress wouldn’t be unusual.

After saying goodbye to Dr. Lu, Lin Yu took a shuttle up to lunar orbit.

After all, in these two months, the Zhulong hadn’t been idle either.

As the Federation’s only Zhulong-class warship at the moment, it’d become an impromptu training ship, in charge of crew training in lunar orbit so that when all 18 new Zhulong-class ships were ready, new crews could take charge right away.

No time for months of on-the-job learning after delivery—the Federation needed crews ready to fight as soon as the ships rolled out.

The goal: get the ship, deploy it, and have immediate combat power.

So, for over two months, everyone aboard the Zhulong had been run ragged—especially the bridge team.

They’d all become instructors, each training anywhere from a dozen to several dozen crew.

That’s not surprising considering there’d be crews for 18 Zhulong-class warships—so many people to train.

“Report: Shuttle E3371 requests permission to dock.”

“Did they say who’s onboard?”

“Yes, it’s… the Captain!”

“Huh?”

George was stunned.

Lin Yu said he’d be away for three months—wasn’t it a bit early for his return?

“Docking approved. Commander, you have the bridge. I’m heading to the hangar!”

With that, George stood up and left at once.

——

A few minutes later.

Zhulong’s main hangar bay.

Lin Yu swung his military duffel onto his shoulder with one hand, took a deep breath, and stepped down the ramp.

Finally…

He was home!

Even the air inside his own warship seemed sweeter.

“Lin Yu!”

Just then, someone came running over, shouting his name.

“George—how have things been while I was gone? No issues, right?”

“None at all. Everything’s gone smoothly. Just another month and we’ll have bridge and main department training wrapped up ahead of schedule.”

“Good. What about the new ships?”

“Those are ahead too. You know how the whole Federation is shifting gears for the military—production just keeps ramping up. The new roll-out schedule for the ships almost exactly matches our training timeline.”

“One month, huh… I’ve had this bad feeling lately, but maybe we’ll get back to the fight sooner this way!”

Lin Yu nodded.

Then he spoke up.

It gave George a jolt.

Lin Yu’s uncanny gut feelings had a scary track record.

Maybe the first few times, George could laugh it off or tell him he was being paranoid.

But now…

He didn’t dare ignore it whenever Lin Yu said he had a bad feeling.

“Alright, I’ll go clean up in my quarters and file a report with the admiral. You hold down the bridge a little longer!”

“No problem—and honestly, you really do need a clean-up.”

George had actually noticed it earlier.

Lin Yu looked so scruffy and unkempt that George almost didn’t recognize him at first.

Showing up on the bridge looking like that just wouldn’t do…

——

About an hour later.

In his quarters, Lin Yu had a service robot trim his hair, shave his stubble, and help him get cleaned up.

Then he changed into a crisp, spotless uniform.

He checked himself in the mirror.

Not bad—pretty handsome, if he did say so himself.

Next, Lin Yu requested remote comms with the Qiongxiao, and a few seconds later the connection went through.

But the person who picked up wasn’t Mu Qingxue—it was Ye Lingwei.

Lin Yu wasn’t surprised.

Mu Qingxue couldn’t possibly be on bridge duty all day, and whenever she was away, Ye Lingwei would fill in. Sometimes, if neither was there, Serena, as chief of staff, would be in charge.

“Hey, if it isn’t our Colonel Lin! Finally broke out of the lab, huh?”

Ye Lingwei couldn’t help teasing the moment the call connected.

After all, Lin Yu had looked like a mess with scruffy hair and stubble the last few times they’d talked.

Now, it was obvious he’d just tidied up.

“Go easy on me, Deputy Ye. How are things with the fleet lately?”

“No issues here. The Commander just went to rest. Want me to patch you through?”

“No need to disturb her. If there’s nothing urgent, I’m relieved. Been having this weird bad feeling lately…”

Lin Yu quickly waved his hand.

It wouldn’t be right to bother Mu Qingxue for no reason when she’d just gone off-duty.

He didn’t really have any emergencies—if the fleet was fine, he could relax.

After chatting a bit longer, he signed off.

Then he headed to the bridge.