Volume 3 Chapter 144: The Second Son of Mankind: The Cleanser of the Universe
"Lord Lin Xu, take a look at this report. Some people actually speculate that humans have already upgraded their dimensions." Nanzhu was lying on the sofa and browsing the online information of the capital galaxy. He found an interesting report and pushed it to Lin Xu.
"Which media outlet is making blind guesses again?" Lin Xu had already read all kinds of reports in recent days. He could only say that the media in any era are like this, making up stories based on hearsay.
"I think they were just making it up, but the process of making it up actually led to the correct conclusion. It's really magical." Nanzhu's snow-white feet were shaking, causing the huge fox tail to shake left and right.
"It's like a multiple-choice question. There's always one correct answer. You just guessed it." Lin Xu shook his head, not caring at all.
"Master, news has come from the capital planet that the warships returning to defend the capital circle have arrived at the outskirts of the galaxy, and Dopple asked for our opinions." Miss Qiu was sitting in front of the quantum communication console. After reading the information she had just received, she reported to Lin Xu.
"Asking for opinions? What is there to ask? Let the fleet move in quickly. It's time for us to leave." Lin Xu understood what Dopper meant.
It simply means submission. If Lin Xu does not allow the fleet to enter the capital area, then the fleet naturally will not dare to enter.
However, Lin Xu has no intention of occupying this place for a long time.
The matter here is over. The reason why Lin Xu stayed here for a while was simply because he was worried that after he left, the capital galaxy would not even have basic defense capabilities. If someone took advantage of the situation and broke in, the entire galaxy alliance would be in complete chaos.
Therefore, Lin Xu must continue to stay here until the garrison arrives to defend.
Until now, when the defense fleet returned, Lin Xu could finally leave with peace of mind.
As for staying here and not leaving, that simply doesn't exist.
"Send a message to Dopple, no, send a message to the Council, telling them that we are leaving and won't see you again." Lin Xu thought for a while and said.
"I understand." Ms. Qiu nodded and then sent the message.
"Are you leaving now? I haven't had enough of shopping." Nanzhu felt a little regretful.
Instead, Mu Xiyue felt relieved.
Because these days, Nanzhu would drag her shopping almost every day.
She had been troubled by it for a long time, but now she is fine and finally gone.
"Aren't you shopping every day these days? You haven't had enough. You like it so much, but I've never seen you shopping every day on Earth." Lin Xu asked puzzled.
"Well, it's different! Although the cities on Earth are well maintained and prosperous, they are not popular after all. Unlike here, there are all kinds of intelligent creatures of all races on the streets, it is really lively." Nanzhu thought for a while and replied.
"It's lively, indeed." Lin Xu nodded. He admitted that the deserted Earth really lacked popularity.
After thinking about it, Lin Xu suddenly had an idea, but he would have to wait until later.
Miss Qiu has already informed that the Skylark is about to leave, and not only will it leave the capital area, but it will also directly leave this galaxy and head to another galaxy a million light years away.
The Council of Review that received the news was in a state of panic, but they were actually filled with surprise.
If humans really leave, it would be like the dark cloud hanging over their heads leaving as well.
Although the restoration of humanity's historical status and the seat of God-given being cannot be reversed, it would be a great thing to have one less emperor in the future.
Of course, they now know that humans may come back at any time, so they will think twice before doing anything in the future, and will definitely not do things so drastically.
Dopple immediately sent a request for video communication to the Skylark.
Lin Xu thought about it and finally connected the communication. In the blink of an eye, Dopple's holographic projection was projected onto the floor of the cab.
"Lord Lin Xu, are you really leaving? In fact, you can stay for a while longer." Dopper tried to persuade him to stay.
Compared to the other reviewers who all wanted Lin Xu to leave as soon as possible, Dopple might be the only one who sincerely hoped that Lin Xu would not leave so early.
After all, he took the position of chairman of the council by relying on humans for support, so naturally he doesn't want humans to leave.
"All that should be done has been done, and it's time to leave. Also, I have to thank you for this time. Without you, things wouldn't have been so smooth." Lin Xu said sincerely.
After all, in many cases, a good guide can save you a lot of trouble.
"You're so polite. This is what I should do." Dopper looked flattered. He never expected that Lin Xu would actually thank him.
For a moment, I even felt that a man would die for his friend.
"That's it, goodbye." Lin Xu nodded and then closed the communication.
Dopple on the other side wanted to say something, but it was too late.
Immediately afterwards, a report was received, and footage from the Skylark was being monitored.
At this time, a space jump channel had opened in front of the Skylark.
The Skylark sailed into it and disappeared.
When it reappeared, the Skylark had already arrived at a location a hundred light years away.
The Skylark had already prepared for this jump many days ago and was just waiting for news of the fleet's return.
Now that the Galactic Alliance fleet has returned, the Skylark naturally initiated the jump as soon as possible.
Then, the jump was completed and they successfully arrived a hundred light years away.
At the same time, the jump channel in front of the Skylark began to form again. The Skylark continued to extract vacuum zero-point energy and quickly folded the space in the jump channel.
Three days later, this jump was finally ready.
The Skylark sailed into it and once again completed a space jump of a hundred light years.
At this time, Lin Xu had already returned to Earth, leaving only the Skylark still in the universe, constantly leaping.
This time the voyage is as long as one million light years.
According to the information that Wang Jian gave to Lin Xu in the human ruins, the next destination of mankind is in a river system millions of light years away.
During the process, they will cross several river systems. If it were not for Wang Jian's information, Lin Xu would have been looking for a needle in a haystack and would have had no chance of finding the right direction.
According to the current speed, Skylark can jump 100 light years every three days, and can jump 12,000 light years every year.
Theoretically, it would take eighty-three years to travel this distance of one million light years. If something unexpected happened in the middle, it might take even longer.
However, think about when we first left the solar system, it took us a thousand years to reach Proxima Centauri by driving the Earth, and each subsequent voyage took hundreds of years.
If we think about the distance travelled at that time, we can say that eighty-three years now is very fast.
It’s just that recently, with speeds getting faster and faster, it’s rare to experience such long voyages.
Lin Xu thought about it and felt a little emotional.
In this way, Lin Xu embarked on another voyage in the year 11410 of the Sailing Calendar.
The target is another galaxy millions of light years away.
I don’t know what I’ll encounter there again.
But Lin Xu is full of expectations.
Time flies, and eighty years goes by in a flash.
It has been 11490 years since the start of the voyage, and Lin Xu has never slept during these years.
With more and more people around him, Lin Xu gradually no longer needed to hibernate to fight the endless loneliness.
For example, now, Lin Xu is taking Miss Qiu, Nanzhu and Mu Xiyue to a hot pot restaurant on the top floor of a high-rise building in Chongqing, eating hot pot.
The store was bustling with people coming and going, countless guests were drinking, and the waiters were running back and forth, their steps were so fast that they seemed to be flying.
And in such a lively atmosphere, Lin Xu looked down from the top floor and could see that the entire CQ city was brightly lit.
There is a constant flow of all kinds of vehicles on the street, and from time to time the entire road is blocked.
There are so many pedestrians and tourists on the roadside that they often compete with cars for the road.
In short, this is an extremely busy metropolis, full of the flavor of life.
Lin Xu put one hand on the windowsill and looked down. Beside him was the voice of Nanzhu who was teasing Mu Xiyue from time to time.
Mu Xiyue was too lazy to pay attention to her, but just glared at her from time to time as a threat, so Nanzhu quickly restrained herself a little.
It all seemed as if a few people were really just living on Earth in the 21st or 22nd century, and just going out to eat hotpot together on the weekend.
But in fact, except for Miss Qiu, Mu Xiyue, and Nanzhu who were beside Lin Xu, everything in this entire city was just a large-scale performance.
Millions of robots without intelligence are dressed in human form and performing a grand drama according to the program.
Even though all this was not true, Lin Xu was still very satisfied.
At least this made him regain the feeling he once had.
This was also what Lin Xu suddenly thought of after hearing Nanzhu say that there was no popularity on Earth.
The company of Miss Qiu, Nanzhu, and Mu Xiyue, plus this bustling city, even if they are all played by robots executing commands according to a program.
But looking back, for people living in big cities, people other than themselves, their relatives and friends are just like NPCs. There is no difference at all.
"Sorry, sorry, I'm late." Lu Yao, who had just walked out of the elevator not far away, came over and sat down next to the few people.
Just like friends who were late at a party.
Lu Yao still loves reading books, doing exercises, and studying science, so she goes to the library every day.
But he would also find time to get together with Lin Xu and others, but he was often late.
"You have to drink since you're late. These are all yours." Nanzhu said, and called the waiter to bring over several boxes of beer.
"Just this much? Who are you looking down on?" Lu Yao curled her lips with a look of disdain.
"Don't worry, I added some ingredients to these beers, I guarantee you'll enjoy them." Nanzhu smiled mysteriously.
In short, in the end, Lu Yao and Nan Zhu both got drunk after the drinking contest.
When they left for the last time, it was Miss Qiu and Mu Xiyue who carried one each and took them away.
Walking on the street, Lin Xu was in front, Miss Qiu and Mu Xiyue were behind, and each of them carried a beautiful girl on his shoulders.
If this were really the 21st century on Earth, someone would have called the police long ago.
But at this moment, the cheerful crowd on the street seemed not to see it, and walked around Lin Xu and others and continued doing what they were doing.
This is a minor flaw.
At this moment, a pedestrian passing by Lin Xu suddenly stopped, came to Lin Xu and spoke.
But it was Yinghuo's voice that came.
"Master, the hyperspace radar detected that a fleet of suspected intelligent life is sailing in warp mode near the next scheduled jump point a hundred light years ahead. Do you need to change the jump direction?"
"A fleet of intelligent life? In extragalactic space? How fast are they? Where are they going?" Lin Xu looked a little puzzled.
"According to calculations, the speed is fifty times the speed of light. It is suspected to come from the target galaxy. The destination should be the nearest galaxy sixty thousand light years away." Yinghuo replied.
"With a speed only fifty times the speed of light, you dare to break into the extragalactic space? Are you looking for death?" Lin Xu was surprised.
After eighty years of sailing, the Skylark was only 40,000 light years away from its target galaxy.
If this fleet really came from the target galaxy, it would mean that they had traveled a distance of forty thousand light years at fifty times the speed of light.
In other words, they sailed in this space outside the river for a full eight hundred years.
This is not an arrival in a resource-rich river system, but an empty space outside the river. How did they survive for eight hundred years relying only on the supplies stored in the fleet?
Moreover, they are still 60,000 light years away from their destination, which means they have to continue sailing for another 1,200 years.
This suddenly reminded Lin Xu of the situation when humans first set sail ten thousand years ago.
However, it only took humans 500 years to reach Proxima Centauri at that time, and they would occasionally encounter meteorites and other things along the way to replenish some supplies.
But in this extragalactic space, there is really nothing.
And their total journey will take two thousand years.
What were they thinking? Or what was the reason that prompted them to embark on the voyage?
Lin Xu was full of doubts.
"Don't change the direction of the jump, let's go and take a look." Lin Xu ordered.
"Your will."
So three days later, the jump channel was folded and the Skylark started the jump again.
A hundred light years away, a huge fleet is traveling in the dark and empty space outside the river at a speed fifty times the speed of light.
Maybe it's because everything here is too empty and there is no danger.
Or perhaps the greatest danger is the emptiness itself.
Therefore, the fleet only has a few small, faster reconnaissance ships that patrol around the fleet and perform guard duties.
The fleet itself is composed of huge spaceships that are tens of thousands of meters in size.
However, these spaceships are obviously not warships, but more like civilian spaceships.
There are also very few weapons on the spacecraft, and most of them are life-support devices used to maintain life after hibernation.
Therefore, this is not actually an armed fleet, but an immigrant fleet, or even an immigrant fleet with very little armed forces.
On one of the reconnaissance ships, a strange intelligent life with four arms who serves as captain is directing his crew members to conduct routine surveys of the surrounding airspace to guard against possible dangers.
"Boss, I don't think we need to do any detection. What could there be here? There is nothing. Detectors are meaningless except wasting resources."
"Shut up, this is the operating procedure. If you don't want to do it, get out. I believe that some of the people in hibernation want to take over from you."
The guy who was complaining just now suddenly stopped talking.
This voyage was considered by everyone in civilization to be an almost impossible voyage.
Even if the voyage is successful, according to calculations of intelligent computers, the population of the entire civilization will be reduced by more than 90%.
It can be said that 90% of people are dead the moment they enter the hibernation chamber of the long-distance fleet and begin to hibernate.
In the end, only less than one in ten people were able to successfully wake up after the long voyage.
That’s why the captain said that if people in hibernation have the chance to wake up, they will definitely be willing to do any job.
However, even though the mortality rate of this voyage was so high, everyone still resolutely embarked on the voyage.
Because this is the only way to escape the Great Purge.
Even if there is a nine out of ten chance of death, it is better than the entire race being completely wiped out and returning to the Stone Age.
"Damn the Cleaners, damn the humans." Someone cursed in a low voice.
The people around him continued to work as usual, turning a deaf ear to the emotional venting curses.
If the cleansers could really be killed by being scolded a few times, they would be willing to be scolded every day.
Sadly, if the Cleansers could be scolded to death so easily, they wouldn't have to make such a long voyage to seek refuge.
"Boss, why do you think the Cleansers want to cleanse the universe? And why do the Cleansers call themselves the second sons of humanity! What exactly do humans look like?" Someone sighed and asked a question that no one knew the answer to.
"Do your job well. The Cleaners are lunatics. Don't try to guess what a lunatic is thinking." The captain glared again because he didn't know either.
At this moment, the monitor at another camera position next to him suddenly jumped up like crazy.
"What are you doing? Have you forgotten the operating procedures? Do you want to be forced into hibernation?" The captain was so angry that he walked over and was about to slap this guy.
But then, he looked at the screen in front of that person and was stunned.
"Is this a suspected aircraft signal? It's an aircraft. Why is there an aircraft here?"
"Boss, according to the operating procedures , we need to report it immediately." Someone next to him whispered.
Instantly, the captain reacted.
"Quick, report it, report it directly to the head of the group."
In this way, after layers of reporting, the top leaders of this long-distance immigration fleet soon learned the news that a spaceship had been discovered ahead.
"That spaceship is rapidly approaching us, at a speed of about a thousand times the speed of light. If nothing goes wrong, it will soon meet us."
"A thousand times the speed of light? That's impossible. Theoretically, the speed of the curvature engine can only reach a hundred times the speed of light."
"You also said that it's only in theory. Just because we can't do it doesn't mean that a higher level civilization can't do it."
"So, have we encountered a higher level of civilization?"
"A spaceship alone sailing in extragalactic space, what else could it be but a higher level of civilization?"
"So what should we do?"
"I think this could be an opportunity. He only has one spaceship. Even if his civilization is at a higher level, what does it matter? If we can capture this spaceship, we might be able to improve the speed of our existing warp drive after studying it."
"If we can increase the speed of the warp drive, we can reach the target galaxy faster."
"Ridiculous. How terrible is the level of suppression between civilizations? Are you sure we can fight against a civilization that can increase the speed of its curvature engine to a thousand times the speed of light, even if it only has one spaceship? Even if we can, won't the other party run away? At a thousand times the speed of light, can you catch up?"
"But, I missed it just like that."
"Is there any way to trade for a method to increase the speed of the warp engine?"
“It’s very difficult, very difficult!”
"Do you think that spaceship has discovered us now?"
"He must have discovered it. Didn't you see that he was flying towards us? I even suspect that he deliberately leaked his whereabouts so that we could discover him. Otherwise, given his level of civilization, our radar might not be able to detect him."
"So, what is the purpose of the other party deliberately revealing their whereabouts and even looking for us? In other words, what do we have that the other party needs? If we can detect this, we may be able to exchange something."
"What does the other party need? I don't think we have anything that a civilization of this level would need."
"We don't have it, but what about the Cleaners?" someone said suddenly with a flash of inspiration.
"Purifier? You mean the Purifier Armor that we still can't figure out? But, we sacrificed an entire fleet to get this little bit of armor. And the technological content of the Purifier Armor is countless generations beyond ours, and we're just handing it over like that."
"But these armors are meaningless to us now. We have been studying them for hundreds of years and still have no clue. It would be great if we could exchange them for something useful, especially the warp engine technology."
"If we can really get the warp drive technology, maybe our entire civilization will survive."
For a moment, the eyes of the senior executives in the conference room lit up.
Everyone was discussing this matter.
Finally, the chief executive, who was sitting in the upper position, made the decision.
"Since everyone agrees, let's try to use the Cleaner Armor to exchange something from this higher-level civilization! If they have technical data on the warp engine, that would be the best. Even if not, it would be best if we can exchange for some technology that can help us. At the same time, try not to conflict with the other side. Our civilization can no longer withstand any losses."
As the chief spoke, his expression revealed a feeling of physical and mental exhaustion.
And just like that, a consensus was reached at the highest level.
The reconnaissance ship that first discovered the Skylark also took action.
