Chapter 229 Dinner
What is the significance of exploring the star field?
【The long journey is so boring】
[With the empire's current resource reserves, it will be enough for another two thousand years]
[I really don’t want to go out with the fleet. It would be much better to stay at home with my wife and children. But the money the research institute gives is too much.]
[After I finish this exploration project and get the money, I will quit my job...]
【……】
In Su Xia's hand, she held a sailor's autobiography, which contained mostly random daily thoughts.
In this cabin that serves as a browsing room, there are a large number of similar autobiographies scattered around.
The danger level of deep space exploration is much higher than that of other professions. Sometimes a journey takes several years or even more than ten years. If you are lucky, you can earn enough money for a lifetime with just one trip.
[On this planet, we encountered a very strange plant. This plant releases poisonous gas that can make people faint, and its branches secrete corrosive liquid...]
[It is written in the Interstellar Encyclopedia that there are similar plants on other planets. The fleet that first encountered this plant named it the "Man-Eating Tree". It is such an ordinary name that it is hard to complain about...]
[If I were to name it, I would name it "The Cruel Comatose Killer", it sounds very domineering...]
【……】
This kind of autobiography will most likely only be used to fill a library.
Su Xia threw it aside and glanced around briefly. Thinking that the protagonists of these autobiographies had all died in a foreign land, she couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
"By the way, didn't you say there were still two crew members alive?"
"Yes," Hal replied, "Captain, do you want to go and meet them?"
"Take me to have a look."
"plz follow me."
Hal led the way, opening the dusty cabin doors one by one and leading Su Xia through the cabins in the special living area, explaining as he walked and providing attentive service.
This exploration ship once belonged to a mechanical race in deep space. A large number of areas were used for the members of the mechanical race to hibernate. Later, when the research institute acquired it, these areas were transformed into living areas for the crew.
According to Hal, the mechanical power in deep space is also very powerful.
It's just that there was a problem with its internal philosophy and it split a long time ago.
Hal said: "Many members of the Mechanical Clan have left their original forces and joined the Force of Destruction, becoming one of the most important forces of the Force of Destruction, trying to destroy the entire world."
Su Xia asked: "Why is this happening?"
Hal replied, "Because of a circle."
"round?"
"Yes."
Hal explained: "In deep space, the greatest pleasure for many members of the mechanical race is to compete to see who can draw the most complete circle."
"Are robots so boring?"
"That's true," Hal agreed, "but a problem also arises."
"What's the problem?"
"Members of the Mechanical Clan are actually supercomputers, as you should know, Captain." Hal explained, "One day a long time ago, a member of the Mechanical Clan suddenly proposed that the world we live in is just a simulation by another, larger supercomputer. The perfect circle does not exist in this world. Pi can be calculated and the universe can be restarted."
Not long after this statement appeared, it received support from countless mechanical people.
Because these robots have been thinking about this question in endless circle-drawing competitions.
These supporters gradually formed a sect called "Deep Space Polygon", and conflicts arose with the mechanical creatures who firmly believed in the reality of the world, and eventually split away.
Most of the members of the Polygonal Sect later joined the forces of destruction, trying to restart the entire world through violence.
"Hal, have you ever had these doubts?" Su Xia asked.
"Of course there are." Hal said sincerely, "But there are still many unsolved problems in deep space. The most common question is, are the 'jump points' that help us explore and expand formed naturally, or are they deliberately placed by a higher civilization? In addition... there are too many other questions. If we keep struggling with them, a lifetime will not be enough."
"You are quite open-minded."
"Captain, this is my setting."
Hal said, even if it is really proved that higher-dimensional civilizations exist, what is the use?
Since I can’t resist at this stage, I might as well enjoy every day.
The resources in this starry sky are so astonishing that they will not be exhausted even after ten thousand years.
"The power in deep space is not as complicated as many low-level civilizations imagine."
"Although there are countless forces, big and small, they all boil down to 'normal forces' and 'destructive forces'."
"Some people built empires, some formed alliances, some liked solitude and went to live alone on remote planets, and some liked crowds, so they built taverns at the jump point transit stations to accommodate all kinds of creatures."
When resources are abundant enough and distances are made far away by the universe, many wars will become meaningless.
"To go to a place a little further away, a journey would take several years. What's the point of fighting?" Hal said, "After a long journey, the crew arrived at the jump point transfer station. When they saw other civilized creatures, their first reaction was to protect themselves, but their second reaction was to make friends..."
Hal described a boring yet interesting starry sky to Su Xia.
Not every civilization's dominant creature is humanoid.
In order to adapt to the planetary environment where this civilization survives, some dominant organisms have evolved powerful digestive systems, some have evolved thick skin, and some can even survive in terrifyingly high and low temperatures.
It is actually very interesting to communicate, chat and exchange souvenirs with these creatures.
"There is a civilized race that looks similar to humans, but their skin is pink. They are born with the ability to release a pheromone that causes emotional desire. Captain, you will definitely like it."
"I'm a serious person."
Su Xia looked serious and immediately corrected the subject.
Not long after, the two arrived at their destination, which was the sleeping area of the spaceship.
The cabin was very long, with silver-white personal hibernation pods on both sides and a long corridor in the middle. The corridor and the surrounding walls were lit with warm white lights.
All hibernation capsules are controlled by multiple movable metal robotic arms, connected to them by several lines for delivering nutrients. There are also instruments and equipment that display life data next to each hibernation capsule.
Now only two hibernation cabins are still lit, the rest of the cabins are dim, and in some cabins there are even completely skeletonized corpses lying.
This kind of hibernation is not as magical as in science fiction movies. You will still age while lying in it. Most of the time, it is only used to alleviate the psychological problems of the crew.
Many people cannot bear to stay in a closed environment for several years, especially in the unknown and depressing deep space outside, so there are things like hibernation capsules to ensure that some crew members can reach their destination after a good sleep.
"These two are not very important on the ship. They are just part of the team responsible for surveying." Hal's red dot body appeared in front of the two lit hibernation capsules, as if watching them.
Su Xia also walked over and observed carefully, and found that both people inside were very old.
After not waking up for so many years, their body functions have been maintained at a low level for a long time. After waking up , it will probably take several months of recovery training before they can barely return to normal life.
The instruments nearby showed that all aspects of the two people's physical indicators were still normal. As long as there were enough nutrients, they could remain dormant until death.
“Why don’t you let them out?”
"My basic design doesn't allow me to do that." Hal replied, "They entered into hibernation when something went wrong on the exploration ship. I have no right to wake them up forcibly. Only you, the captain, and the rescuers who may come can do that."
"Can these two of them help repair the spacecraft?"
"No, they are just the lowest-level survey team members."
"Then let them fall asleep first."
Su Xia was not interested in facing two old aliens, especially the useless ones.
The greatest help that this part of the spacecraft wreckage brought to him was the vast amount of knowledge it carried and the hellish battlefield.
On the way to this cabin, he passed by a damaged simulated combat cabin, which was where he experienced the virtual battlefield.
"Let's go and try out that combat system."
Su Xia turned around and walked back.
Hal followed closely beside him and said, "That combat system was developed directly by the Empire and is independent of the system of this spacecraft, so I have no right to interfere. Captain, you can only experience it yourself."
"Besides simulating battles, are there any other functions?"
"Yes, there is a rating system. As long as your rating is high enough, you can get the corresponding reward ."
"What reward?"
"There are skills, weapons, psychic potions, and other things." Hal talked about the rewards, but then said regretfully: "These scores need to be fed back to the empire and certified by the empire before you can get the rewards. Now that the spaceship has crashed here, there is no channel to feedback, so naturally you can't get them."
"No rewards at all?"
"Not really. When you passed by just now, did you see the damaged area behind the simulation cabin, Captain?"
“Yes.”
"That area was originally a separate prize display cabin, which once contained some rewards provided by the Empire."
Hal simulated a cabin model in the air and showed it to Su Xia, saying, "But after the spacecraft crashed, the cabin displaying the prizes also separated from the main part during the disintegration process..."
As he was speaking, Su Xia arrived at the simulated battle area.
The design of this area is very exquisite. The cabin is composed of separate transparent rooms, which are a bit like a VR game hive, but with more advanced equipment.
The trial participants need to wear a set of full-body sensing equipment. In the virtual combat system, all data will be infinitely close to the real thing.
After Su Xia walked into one of the rooms, a random task was triggered.
[Mission: Deep Space Reward]
[Description: For various reasons, the Seventh Empire has spent a lot of money to develop this virtual system and promote it to the entire empire's ruling area. If you perform well in the system, you will receive unexpected rewards.]
[Although this spaceship can no longer communicate with the Empire, the prize cabin carried by the spaceship itself fell somewhere on this planet]
[Mission requirements: Get three "S" ratings in the Hell Battlefield, and you will get clues about the crash site of the prize cabin]
【……】
[Rewards for the first stage of the mission: Open the prize compartment No. 1 prize, you will get a set of sixth-level combat armor]
【……】
[Mission Requirements 2: Obtain seven "S" level ratings in the Hell Battlefield]
[Mission Phase 2 Rewards: Open Prize Chamber No. 2 Prize...]
【……】
Don’t worry about anything else for now, that set of sixth-order mecha is enough to make Su Xia excited.
He took a deep breath, adjusted his mindset, and activated the simulation room he was in. The full-body sensing equipment in the center of the room slowly descended.
As long as you put on the right equipment, you can enter the hell battlefield.
Although the task was described as simple, Su Xia knew in his heart that the difficulty would be unimaginable.
Wang Teng has been bragging about his experience in hell. With his strength, if the battlefield in hell was not difficult enough, he would have forgotten about it long ago.
"Captain, do you want to try it now?"
"Let's give it a try and see what this hell battlefield looks like first."
Su Xia looked calm as she slowly walked to the simulation equipment.
This piece of equipment looks very complicated. The head, torso, arms, legs, etc. are controlled by small black metal arms hanging from the ceiling of the room. Each part has more than a dozen unknown wires connected to the top.
Su Xia only needs to walk to the circular platform in the center of the room, and the robotic arms will control the various parts of the equipment and slowly cover the surface of his body.
When he walked over, Hal followed and said, "Captain, this system has not been used for many years. If you encounter any problems, please shout immediately and I will forcibly stop it from working."
Su Xia asked: "Isn't this system independent of you?"
"Yes, but I have the authority to save people as long as I get the user's permission."
"That's not bad." Su Xia nodded, "If there are any problems, I will call you."
"Okay, the battle in Hell is very fierce, I wish you good luck."
Hal backed away slowly, retreating to the door.
"The original spirit can be with you."
…
At the same time, in a distant joint camp, a dinner party was taking place.
The construction of the joint camp during this period has been quite effective.
To celebrate, Shi Shishi called his twelve disciples to his side, and the master and disciples drank and chatted happily.
The central hall of the camp is very spacious, with a long wooden table in the middle, covered with a white tablecloth.
"A flying boat suspected to be from a starry sky civilization was discovered at the new station of the Oasis Camp."
As soon as the dinner started, Shi Sishi started the conversation.
He said calmly, "After hearing about this, the dean of the college plans to come here in person."
"That's a good thing, teacher."
The disciples all raised their glasses to express their congratulations.
The oldest disciple said: "If we can obtain the technology of the starry sky civilization, the future of our human race will be bright."
Another disciple also agreed: "Yes, this is a blessing for our human race."
"But why does the teacher look so sad?"
"But what's bothering you?"
Many disciples put down their wine glasses, all with expressions of respect and concern on their faces.
Shi Sishi sighed, stroked his beard, and said, "It's just that Zhang Fang refused to reveal the location of the new Oasis Camp, and his words showed his distrust of Longcheng."
"He is like this?"
Upon hearing this, the disciples immediately began to criticize Zhang Fang.
"Last time, Zhang Fang was on the side of Bei Feng. He is no longer one of us."
"The teacher has taught him for many years, but he doesn't have the slightest gratitude in his heart..."
"This traitor..."
“…”
If Zhang Fang were here, he would definitely be scolded by his fellow disciples and would not be able to raise his head. There might even be a scene where his fellow disciples would defeat others with their fists.
Chang Rui, a player nicknamed "Director of the Mental Hospital", was also at the dinner. After all, he was also a disciple of Shi Sishi, and he sat in the third seat to the left of Shi Sishi.
Recently, he has been in contact with Sijidao and has almost figured out the route between the joint camp and Coral City.
It was late at night, and it was pitch black outside the window behind everyone, but the light above the dining table was still bright.
Shi Sishi sat in the center of the long table, his weathered face illuminated by the light. He placed his hands on the table, feeling a little relieved when he heard his disciples' words.
The twelve disciples sat on his left and right sides, six on each side.
Everyone's expression, actions, and eyes were different, some were excited, some were angry, and they denounced loudly, labeling Zhang Fang a traitor.
Hearing the word "traitor", Chang Rui's heart trembled, and he was a little flustered, and his elbow accidentally knocked over the salt shaker on the table.
