If the skeletal remains could truly be recovered, what would it mean? To Azure's core leadership who were already in the know, the answer was self-evident.
A leap forward in human civilization's combat power, a chance to turn the tables on the Great Spike civilization and end a century of humiliation and stifled suffering, and even the opportunity to usher in an age of cosmic exploration...
All of this, in all likelihood, hinged entirely on this single gamble.
Therefore, this would undoubtedly be an epic interstellar march for human civilization. Even if, in truth, it seemed more aptly described as a collective space treasure hunt by humankind.
Perhaps to pay tribute to the outstanding contributions of the Huaxia Front across nearly a century of resistance, Azure's core leadership unanimously decided at their final decision-making conference to name this unprecedented exploratory expedition—equal in both scale and significance—after the Huaxia people's sentimental imagery of the Moon: Operation Nostalgia.
*Lost nostalgia, reclaimed today.*
To ensure that nothing went awry, and taking into account the immense scope of the potential search area, more than eighty percent of Azure's operational source energy airships were mobilized. Mobilized alongside them were over a hundred thousand of humanity's most elite, top-tier source weapon combat forces, as well as the finest Refusers.
In terms of the tier, scale, and particularly the quality of the resources deployed, this was practically the entirety of what Azure had accumulated in the domain of source energy civilization.
Aside from certain individuals whom they desperately wished to bring along but simply couldn't, what Azure deliberately chose to hold back was minuscule.
Only out of their customary prudence and a century of ingrained anxiety did the Elder Council, after meticulous selection and cautious deliberation, leave behind certain individuals.
For instance, Wolf—the barefoot grassland youth who had once stood alongside Han Qingyu and Pegmont as one of humanity's three great rookie prodigies—as well as a few individuals possessing special Yanxiu traits, and a small number of young geniuses who might one day take the lead in other fields.
After that, there was not the slightest hesitation or delay.
To seize every second and prevent complications from unforeseen delays, the expedition's ships and personnel did not conduct a unified assembly, nor did they hold any unnecessary pre-battle rallies or departure ceremonies.
According to the plan, news regarding the skeletal remains would not be disclosed until this super-fleet approached the vicinity of the Moon.
The preparations were urgent yet efficient. Just two days later, the personnel and fleet belonging to Azure Headquarters were the first to complete preparations, lifting off and embarking on the journey.
Next came the personnel and fleets of the other Fronts. They would assemble at their respective home countries' Azure bases, collect the expedition airships and personnel from neighboring smaller nations along the way, and take to the skies one after another to join the expedition.
The entire expedition fleet would form a rough echelon formation beyond the dome, and then, maintaining a nose-to-tail separation of no more than two hours at most, fly in close trail toward the Moon.
***
The starry river was vast and boundless.
While the colossal fleet glided silently through the tranquil depths of space, and the expedition army's more than a hundred thousand elite soldiers—tossed in a swirl of bewilderment, curiosity, excitement, and tension—strictly upheld military discipline, patiently awaiting orders or explanations from their superiors while inspecting their equipment over and over again by the book, poised at any moment for a fierce battle that might erupt at any time...
The billions of ordinary people on Blue Star fell into chaos first.
An operation of such scale and scope by Azure could naturally never be concealed from the public eye. As reports converged from around the globe while officials at every level offered no explanation whatsoever, humanity's non-source energy populace quickly cooled from the joy of the Martian victory. Suspicion set in, swiftly followed by terror.
People easily arrived at what seemed like a reasonable deduction, and from it drew a corresponding conclusion: the news of victory on Mars was fake, and this was an exodus on a massive scale.
*They are fleeing. They didn't take us along, and they didn't even tell us.*
With doomsday approaching, the powerhouses and superhumans of the source energy civilization had in the end set themselves apart as a different group, abandoning those who were once their own kind.
At this point, something—a whole chain of things—seemed to ignite in an instant.
It was the fear and despair accumulated over ages, suppressed only through daily efforts of self-persuasion and encouragement.
It was the sensation of being weak and useless that had silently spread ever since the emergence of source energy military might, coupled with the mistrust and outsider anxiety of being abandoned at any moment.
It was despondency.
It was even, for some, the reckless self-abandonment of broken vessels smashed to pieces.
It was even, for a few, a perverse anticipation of hastening the terrifying end: *Just destroy everything. I'm tired. Make it quick. I'm sick of this shit.*
The fuse burned swiftly. In what felt like no time at all, humanity on Blue Star plunged into comprehensive chaos.
In every corner of the world, people began demanding clear explanations and guarantees of personal safety from Azure officials by every means possible. Some, driven by panic, even began storming Azure bases to seize the remaining source energy airships and supplies.
Others chose mad venting. Destruction, crime... the disorder and twisted ugliness, selfishness, and ferocity of total loss of control were unleashed.
This was undeniably a catastrophe—a heartbreaking catastrophe that seemed as though it never should have happened.
Such a turn of events was clearly beyond the expectations of Azure's leadership. Filled with excitement and nervous anticipation, they were wholly absorbed in the greatest opportunity in human history. Perhaps for that very reason, they had never imagined that the total chaos they had striven so hard to guard against and avert—or rather, a total baptism of the human race—would suddenly arrive, finally arrive, at a moment so brimming with hope.
As Azure's upper echelons hastily convened meetings and joined forces with national governments to hash out emergency contingency plans—
"There's really nothing surprising about this. This is humanity. It has always been like this; the vast majority are not worth saving," Zhe Qiuhong said calmly to the person beside her.
As she spoke, she was walking with several others down a street in Milijian that had descended entirely into chaos. Because a squad of fully armed source energy soldiers escorted them, the surrounding madness did not spread to her, and people kept their distance as best they could.
She knew the news regarding the skeletal remains; in fact, she was among the very first to know. Yet this hopeful intelligence would not alter Voyage's obsession with and yearning for the Spark Project and cosmic exploration in the slightest—not even an iota—even if the journey was destined to offer only a one-in-ten-thousand chance of survival.
Exploration itself had nothing to do with catastrophe; disaster seemed merely to have provided a sense of urgency for departure, along with the conditions and the timing.
In Zhe Qiuhong's words: *Even if humankind were thriving and prosperous, untouched by the slightest threat, as long as the conditions were met, we would still set out.*
Therefore, no matter how the situation shifted, whether for better or worse, the people of Voyage continued their earnest, proactive preparations for departure, awaiting the final clearance from Azure's leadership.
Zhe Qiuhong had a premonition that this moment was drawing very near.
Chapter 931