Age of Cosmic Exploration, 3

by Zhttty

  "Ying, a report on the situation within the transport shuttle," relayed Yao Yuan.

  "…Everything’s normal," Ying replied, in his usual taciturn manner.

  "Then, we shall go according to plan. Follow the lights of the shuttle in front of you, but remember to change the shuttle’s internal lights circuit over to a physical switch to minimize interference when we enter the 300 kilometers null zone. We will first return to that warship husk to salvage all of its valuables."

  After giving the orders, Yao Yuan’s attention strayed to the 2 new buttons added to the shuttle’s control panel and a sealed envelope beside them.

  Inside the envelope was a series of forbidden codes… It was mankind’s most powerful set of weapon at this time. It was the only effective offense Yao Yuan could levy against a large, AI-controlled robot fleet… A high-yield tactical H-bomb!

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  Chapter121 Intention

  The nuclear weapon was a human invention that first arrived in the middle of the twentieth century. Of course, the earliest versions of these weapons of mass destruction were unlike the one wielded by Yao Yuan. They were nuclear fission-based bombs, more commonly known as atom bombs. Several decades after that, the H-bomb finally arrived at the scene. This new version, as its name suggests, used the power of molecular fusion between hydrogen atoms.

  This was mankind’s most devastating creation, one that could easily cause its creator’s extinction!

  Prior to this, mankind was pretty cavalier about their usage of weaponry and explosives, but that came to a screeching halt when it came to the usage of nuclear weapons. Caution was warranted because a single H-bomb could handily eradicate half of the Earth!

  Even 80 years later, the H-bomb still stood proudly atop the ranking of mankind’s most dangerous weapon!

  During the few months prior to escaping Earth, the Yao Yuan-led Black Star Unit was busy scouring the world for supplies. Their focus was on renewable resources, seeds, talents, parts, and equipment. Weapons and heavy artillery, like tanks, were relegated to the sidelines and oftentimes jettisoned.

  The only exception was the H-bombs.

  Regretfully, his search turned up no promising result for a long time. Despite his strenuous effort and deep web of information, there was simply no nuclear weapon to be found. In an uncharacteristically kind gesture, it appeared like the escaped government officials had desensitized Earth’s store of nuclear weapons before they absconded to prevent the chaotic masses from mindlessly blowing each other up. Yao Yuan didn’t know whether he should thank or kill them… However, on their final month on Earth, Yao Yuan happened upon the map of a secret military base encrypted within the Hope’s central mainframe. Finally, 4 high-yield tactical H-bombs landed in his possession!

  The 4 missiles were hidden in a secret warehouse on the Hope. Even Guang Zhen needed the daily randomized password given by the central mainframe to access its location. A single misstep could blow up the Hope, so Yao Yuan had to be careful.

  Prior to this mission, Yao Yuan’s conversation with Ren Tao had deeply unsettled the ship’s leader. Other than that, both he and Zhang Heng were assaulted by an insidious feeling as the day of the mission neared. Finally, they had to admit that this mission would most likely be besieged by difficulties, and on that note, an H-bomb would be handy in clearing out a large robot fleet.

  Because of that, the shuttle piloted by Yao Yuan was fitted with an H-bomb missile that could only be launched by pressing the password-protected button. However, because the scale of the H-bomb’s explosion was big enough to affect both shuttles, Yao Yuan understood fully that the button couldn’t be pressed unless truly necessary. In other words, the button was no different from a self-destruct button… They lost electrical current and contact after entering the null zone, but thanks to preventive measures, the lighting system was unaffected. Both shuttles glided swiftly towards the previous warship husk, the one where the exploration party almost perished.

  Electrical currents and signals returned when they were within 10 meters range of the warship husk. Guided by Yao Yuan, they returned to their previous landing spot. Yao Yuan stepped out of the shuttle after it had clamped itself to the warship floor. The transport shuttle shot out several ropes to entangle onto the husk’s ceiling and wall fixtures. This allowed its passengers to rappel onto the husk.

  A roll-call was conducted to ensure all 301 were present on the warship. Then, the troop separated to carry out their pre-assigned objective. The Black Star Unit went to secure the area while the Homo Evolutis-led units started to comb the area. In just half an hour, the area around the entrance was cleared and they came back with about 12 alien devices and products. The lucrative salvage was more than what Yao Yuan had expected, and among them was a shiny, flat, circular object that for Yao Yuan looked most promising. The object had the appearance of a multimedia CD, and it brought joy to Yao Yuan’s heart because at least now they wouldn’t return empty-handed.

  "We’ll move in slowly. Make sure the gap between each team isn’t too big. Stay close to one another, but please be careful of friendly fire!"

  Yao Yuan’s directive was aimed squarely at the new Homo Evolutis. After all, their inexperience might cause them to make such a rookie mistake. One could train forever in battle simulations, but the actual ordeal was bound to be something completely different.

  Finally, the troop reached the spot where they first ran into the tentacle robots. Yao Yuan switched over to a private line and asked, "Zhang Heng, do you feel any danger?"

  Zhang Heng shook his head. "None. Not even those that tell me we’re being pursued. I believe we have cleared them out with the explosion."

  Yao Yuan nodded in agreement. As Zhang Heng moved ahead, he yelled after him, "Then do you feel the pressure of an omen… like the calm before a storm, the inexplicable anxiety that always precedes a calamity?"

  Zhang Heng turned to look at Yao Yuan in surprise. He dithered before adding, "I do… This feeling occurred to me even before we left the Hope, and it’s only getting stronger. I’m feeling extremely fidgety, but there’s nothing I can do to stop it. Do you think it could be related to the warship that we’re going to after this one?"

  "…You might be right, but no matter what, we need to push on. We can’t abandon this mission," Yao Yuan sighed. He then patted Zhang Heng’s shoulder and continued to lead the troop forward.

  The rest of the operation went smoothly. There was no robot left in the warship. After the Black Star Unit cleared the entire warship husk, all 301 of them sighed in relief. Other than the ones on guard duty, the rest of them started salvaging the husk for valuables. Slowly but surely, more discoveries started to appear. For example, a new music box was discovered. However, its system seemed to have been damaged because instead of music, a 3D image of a mysterious, blue plant appeared when it was activated.

  The image lasted for several seconds before going out completely. That seemed to have irrevocably broken the trinket because no matter how hard they tried after that, it remained inactive. Regardless, the box was definitely something worth looking into, so Yao Yuan happily added it to their salvage pile.

  The salvage operation took 3 and a half hours to complete. Under Yao Yuan’s command, everyone returned obediently to the shuttles. It was time to move on to the next warship husk. This next husk was bigger than the one they were leaving behind and was further into the junkyard. It sat right in the middle of the course heading towards the central battleship, so either way, Yao Yuan’s team had to pass it. Yao Yuan figured he might as well make this their next destination to collect both information and resources.

  Right when Yao Yuan planted himself before the control panel, Zhang Heng’s voice came through the communicator, "Yao Yuan, be careful! The omen is at its strongest, something big is going to happen!"

  Yao Yuan responded instantly, "Everyone heard Zhang Heng, righ
t? Be careful. In any case, Ying, I give you the power to decide whether to open the shuttle door to join in the fight or retreat should the situation arise."

  "…Yes, Sir." Came the reply.

  After that, the two shuttles returned to the null zone and all manner of electrical systems shut down again. Using the shuttles’ weak lights as guidance, they headed slowly towards their next destination.

  The systems came back online 10 minutes later. Yao Yuan was dismayed when he turned to study the now online radar system.

  "Something’s wrong! The location of the warship husk changed! It’s obviously different from when we scanned it this morning! We’ll reach it in 20 minutes, but it has moved away from the center of the junkyard!" Yao Yuan screamed through the communicator.

  "Qi Xiao Niao! Tell me under what circumstances would the husk move out towards the junkyard’s outer perimeter, but the route it took was neither horizontal nor vertical! Answer me!" Yao Yuan questioned agitatedly.

  "…Someone’s controlling the husk?" This was the first hypothesis that came into Xiao Niao’s mind when he activated his power, but he quickly vetoed it. "No, that’s unlikely because any life force would have come up on the Hope’s scanner. Plus, this husk has been confirmed to not contain a functional engine, so where would the force to move it come from… That leaves us with the logical conclusion of…"

  "Something bounced it out of the junkyard from within!" Yao Yaun and Xiao Niao finished in unison.

  The reality of the situation finally dawning, Xiao Niao’s face turned a sickening white and then ashy grey. The same happened to Yao Yuan several minutes later.

  "That something is heading towards the Hope! We must have missed it… or it has the technology to go invisible?!"

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  Chapter122 Forward!

  Both shuttles were suspended in the infinite cosmos, uncertain of whether to move forward or back.

  "Something’s heading towards the Hope?"

  That was the first question asked after Yao Yuan came over to the transport shuttle and had everyone gathered. Many were initially surprised by Yao Yuan’s sudden appearance, but the gravity of the situation immediately dawned with a look at Yao Yuan’s fretful mannerism.

  A racket erupted the moment Yao Yuan shared his and Xiao Niao’s hypothesis.

  The Hope’s first space troopers agreed to the mission with the understanding that they would probably not return.

  The Hope was the entity that harbored their future. The spaceship had given them and their families a safe place to thrive after the nightmare on Earth. They were ready and willing to lay down their lives to protect humanity’s last bastion of hope.

  The Hope was a self-contained environment. Cornered on all sides by the cosmos’ impenetrable darkness, humanity had no one but itself. Albeit initially meant to be temporary, the Hope had become a veritable symbol of home for its 120,000 citizens.

  The Hope became the collective that the soldiers would voluntarily defend with their lives. The Hope was the final bulwark of humanity’s future, and hope was more important than their individual lives. This pseudo-nationalistic sentiment had been fostering among the space troopers during the 6-month-long training, so it was only natural that they would not let the Hope be harmed. Furthermore, practically speaking, the space troopers would only end up starving to their deaths if the Hope were to fall!

  Therefore, many urged Yao Yuan to return the Hope. The troop was technically the Hope’s only legitimate force of defense, so they had to save the Hope from the alien monstrosity’s assault.

  "We can’t go back!"

  Before Yao Yuan could get a word in, Xiao Niao interjected, "We won’t be of any use even if we return. First, we’re not even sure such a threat exists, and even if it does, what can we do if we can’t even pinpoint its presence. The Hope had its radar aimed at the junkyard 24/7, but such a threat didn’t even once appear on our system!

  "This elusive entity, if it does exist, is armed with a technology that evades our detection. We’ll be of no use to the Hope even if we choose to return!"

  A soldier stood up to protest. "But we can’t possibly sit here and watch the Hope go up in flames! The least we can do is to inform the main ship to warp. We’ll be abandoned here, but at least the majority will be safe. Isn’t that the right thing to do?"

  "What about the null zone?"

  It was finally Yao Yuan’s turn to speak. "All our communicative and electrical signals are neutralized by the null zone… Even the multi-frequency communicator couldn’t hack through it! So should we try going back through it instead? Know that in the time we spent doing that, the enemy should have taken several laps in and out of the junkyard, that’s how fast they move, so tell me, are there any other bright ideas?!"

  The cantankerous crowd was immediately silenced. They knew they couldn’t possibly outrun the invisible threat. The combination of the null zone and the floating debris populating the junkyard conspired to slow them down.

  After further contemplation, Yao Yuan added, "There was no sign of tampering on the positioning of the debris and husks on the junkyard’s outer perimeter, so the enemy intended to lure us in with a false sense of security. They knew that we couldn’t possibly untangle ourselves from within the junkyard in a short amount of time!"

  "Then what shall we do?"

  A new Homo Evolutis broke down and cried, lamenting, "I still have a 1-year-old son on the Hope… I’d die before I would let anything happen to him and his mother!"

  That outburst lowered everyone’s spirits. Helpless, they opted to shoot the messenger, whom in this case was Xiao Niao, because no one dared to train their ire at Yao Yuan. Yao Yuan also turned to Xiao Niao. "I too agree we shouldn’t return. Since the Hope is out of our reach, what should we do now?"

  Xiao Niao once more submerged into his Thinker state. If one was to measure his temperature then, it would appear like he was suffering from high fever.

  "We press on deeper into the junkyard!"

  Xiao Niao replied, "As we can see from the pathway taken by the enemy, only this warship husk and a few other’s positions have shifted. This meant that there is a direct pathway going from here to the main battleship!"

  "And… What about it?" Yao Yuan already had a rough idea after Xiao Niao laid down his plan, but he enquired regardless.

  Xiao Niao shrugged. "Our next course of action depends on the accuracy of Ren Tao’s hypothesis. If he’s correct and there’s no more life-forms existing within this junkyard, the true entity of that enemy that swept past us towards the Hope can only be the AI residing within the main battleship.

  We’re going to bet on how evolved this AI is."

  Xiao Niao raised his voice. "First, I want everyone to step into this AI’s shoes. Imagine that you’re forever stuck inside this un-operational broken spaceship. You’ve resigned yourself to this fate, but one day, another spaceship appears not far away from you using a space-warping technology so advanced that you’ve not seen it before. Now, if the spaceship has such advanced technology, is it not fair to conclude that its occupants will be powerful enough to crush you with the flick of a finger? So what would you do if you’re this AI?"

  The question was greeted with silence until Yao Yuan answered, "Go into in hiding. Since there’s no other living organism inside the junkyard, my presence within it will probably go unnoticed. I shall hope that the powerful adversary will leave on its own before my existence is discovered."

  "Indeed," Xiao Niao explained, "and I would like to believe that this AI did exactly that. We’ve been in this area for almost 1 year, and we’ve no clue of its existence, do we? While we’re examining the robot remains, it’s only fair to speculate that the AI is also examining us in return… And then a thought crossed its mind… Why are the occupants of such a powerful spaceship so… weak? Now, what will you do next if you’re the AI?"

&n
bsp; "…Conduct a test." Yao Yuan offered.

  "True, the truth can only be revealed through a test! It needed to know the actual technological level of this spaceship, and only then would he decide what to do with it. The AI probably couldn’t parse the Hope’s drastic difference in technological level, so if I’m not mistaken, it’ll be cautious enough to not send its actual server to the Hope but send a robot fleet or a broken-off segment of the battleship that could carry the robot fleet to attack the Hope!" Xiao Niao concluded.

  Yao Yuan found Xiao Niao’s inference to be logical and reliable. At the end of the day, mankind’s technology on the Hope was too weak to defend against this invading AI.

  So the only chance of survival fell on his retinue of space troopers!

  "If that’s the case, we shall follow this opened path and speed towards the heart of the junkyard. I believe it’ll only take us 10 minutes to get there. After the location of this AI has been located…

  "We shall let him have a taste of mankind’s ultimate weapon!"

  At the same time, Ren Tao was sitting in his room reading the newspaper while Chou Yue was busy setting up the table in preparation for lunch. Chou Yue glanced at Ren Tao and sighed. "I know you wanted to follow them, so why didn’t you? I would've gladly gone with you."

  Ren Tao shrugged. "Who said I wanted to join them? I’m not dumb enough to go on a suicide mission."

  "…Then why have you been reading the papers upside-down for the whole morning?" Chou Yue sighed again as she plopped herself down beside Ren Tao.

  "…I wanted to improve my upside-down reading skill, obviously," Ren Tao answered, without hesitation, fully dedicated to his ludicrous façade.

  Chou Yue wasn’t going to let him off so easily, but at that moment, an acute sense of danger surged through her heart. She yelled, "This is bad! Danger incoming!"

  Just as she finished, the lights in their room went off, and a moment later, the Hope was submerged into darkness. Then they started to float off the ground.