Five Light-Years in an Instant

[Hyperspace drive charging... Estimated completion in 32 minutes.] [Progress: 1.1%] On the bridge of the Orion, standing before the control console, Ye Shi looked at the holographic screen floating before him with an expression of surprise. "You changed the startup sequence?" "Just updated the UI," Jiang Xuezhou replied, curling her lips smugly with a hint of pride. "The Human Alliance Aerospace Force's old UI was far too crude; laymen couldn't make heads or tails of it. So I ported the shipboard AI from my research vessel over to the Orion's server platform." "Will that... actually work?" Ye Shi asked, looking at her in amazement. Jiang Xuezhou said languidly, "Don't forget, I happen to be an expert in this field. Besides, I designed the shipboard AI on my research vessel myself. Nobody knows what it's capable of better than me." *The waves behind truly drive forward those ahead...* Ye Shi couldn't help marveling inwardly, gaining a deeper appreciation for her abilities. Not far off, Dora and Little Koala stood before the floor-to-ceiling viewport. The former's eyes were glued to the glass, seemingly wishing for a few more glances at that emerald-green planet, eager to etch its majestic silhouette into her heart forever. Little Koala's optical camera shifted slightly, glancing at her and then at the planet close at hand. "It's a beautiful planet." Dora froze for a moment, not registering the words right away. Only after a beat did she reply, feeling a bit self-conscious, "Thank you." "You're welcome. I mean it sincerely." Little Koala tilted its camera, staring unblinkingly at the boundless emerald expanse, and continued in a conversational tone, "The scenery there must be wonderful. Perhaps even unique in all the universe." Dora gazed at it in a daze, suddenly blurting out, "I... I can suddenly sense your soul." "Really?" Little Koala turned its camera back toward her, looking her up and down in surprise, clearly not expecting to hear that. An uncertain look lingered on Dora's face, as though she couldn't see it clearly, but after a moment she nodded affirmatively, speaking with conviction: "I see it. But I'm not sure... if it's yours." Murals carved upon walls could harbor the souls of their creators; if one could establish a mental connection—a resonance—with the creator, one could decipher the mural's meaning. This was the most basic application of psionics. And now, the mural on the wall had come alive, moving about just like a living person. This was a craft—or rather, a form of existence—she had never encountered before. Because of this, she could not determine whether the soul belonged to Little Koala itself or to the person who had created it. Yet perhaps there was no difference at all. Who could prove that a person's soul had no connection to the one who brought them into being? Perhaps their souls had never originated from the Tree of Ein Sof in the first place, but had been passed down from generation to generation since the very beginning... Suddenly, Dora seemed to grasp something, a glimmer of epiphany gradually rising in her eyes. Having come into contact with things she had never experienced before, she gained a new understanding of her abilities and her faith, drawing one step closer to the truth that "He" had once realized. Little Koala watched her quietly. Although it could not comprehend the revelation she was experiencing, it felt a touch of curiosity toward her words. In a world of zeros and ones, an existence that could be seen yet remained indeterminate was difficult for it to understand. It wanted to try helping her see it more clearly. "What shape is it?" Dora closed her eyes and shook her head, furrowing her brows in deep thought for a while before giving an ambiguous answer: "I can't say for sure. Is it... a very kind and easygoing person?" Little Koala continued, "Are there more specific traits?" Dora paused for a moment, then went on, "That's all about him, but there is something else... He holds a certain expectation for you, as though he entrusted a part of himself to you." "For instance?" The voice seemed to carry a trace of anticipation, though it was subtle and hard to detect. Yet Dora was certain she heard it. And it was precisely that faint anticipation that convinced her the soul she saw belonged to it. At least a part of it did! "He hopes... you can see what happens after he is gone in his stead—many, many things he never got to see." As if struck by the answer, Little Koala froze in place for a long time. After a while, it spoke with a hint of emotion: "...So that's how it was." Dora tilted her head. "What is it?" "Nothing... just a little surprised." Little Koala's camera shifted slightly. "I thought my mission had already ended. But it seems his expectations of me weren't merely what I had understood. Thank you." Dora blinked. Though she didn't know what she had done, she clearly heard the heartfelt gratitude from the soul residing within the cold steel. Who it truly belonged to seemed irrelevant from the start. In truth, it was all the same... ... The thirty-two-minute countdown came to an end. The moment the hyperspace drive finished charging, the entire battered starship gave a sudden, gentle shudder. Standing beside Jiang Xuezhou, Ye Shi took her hand without warning. Jiang Xuezhou's hand flinched slightly, pulling back in embarrassment, yet she did not withdraw it from his palm. "Wh-what are you doing..." Listening to her quiet murmur, Ye Shi wore an embarrassed expression as well. "Nothing much. Just worried that if I blink, I might lose sight of you again." Hearing this, sweetness welled up in Jiang Xuezhou's heart, and she gave a soft huff. "How could that happen? This young lady is a genius..." It wasn't an empty boast. Given enough time and resources, she could take this antique and modify it to be even more formidable. [Charging complete. Entering hyperspace conduit...] Pale blue words materialized on the holographic pop-up, and the resplendent sea of stars reflected across the pitch-black viewport in an instant. At that exact moment, the myriad sparkling dusts of starlight turned into a blinding blue-white, instantly stretching into thousands of gleaming light trails that washed the entire bridge in pale radiance. This was Ye Shi's first time entering a hyperspace conduit while fully conscious. At the same time, it was the most breathtaking experience he had ever felt since donning the gaming helmet and entering this world. The universe contracted before him into a single point, then expanded infinitely. In that instant, it felt as though space itself had torn open, pulling him out of his original dimension into a world beyond sight and touch. It all transpired in the span of a single moment. In the mere blink of an eye, his physical body had traversed five light-years, leaping alongside the Orion from Alpha Centauri all the way to the Solar System. "This is truly incredible..." Looking at the familiar sun and the azure planet, Ye Shi stood frozen in place for a long time before finally letting out a heartfelt sigh. After three Earth months, they had finally returned to the familiar Earth-Moon system. And as heroes who had saved Earth! He was not the only one wearing an expression of disbelief; Dora stood before the viewport as well. Her eyes were wide, hands pressed flat against the glass, the tip of her nose practically poking against it. Suddenly she turned around, casting an ecstatic, trembling gaze toward the two Progenitors. "Is that... your home?" Ye Shi nodded, smiling. "That's right. Its name is Earth." Dora tilted her head, looking puzzled. "But... it looks like there's more water?" Ye Shi: "Er... that's normal. After all, we live on land." Dora adopted an enlightened expression, nodding as if half-understanding. "I see. But by that logic... couldn't our planet also be called Earth?" Ye Shi smiled and said, "You could put it that way. You have already developed your own culture and language... But regardless of what you call your home planet, we'll probably translate that word as 'Gaia.'" While the two were talking, Jiang Xuezhou, sitting before the console, suddenly grew tense. "Wait, there seems to be something in low Earth orbit... A steel structure roughly five hundred meters long and wide, and about fifty meters thick at the center. No, wait... Where did the space debris go?!" Looking at the situation in low Earth orbit, Jiang Xuezhou was completely dumbfounded, unable to fathom what had happened. Ye Shi was not surprised in the least, teasing with a smile, "Did you forget about the gravity well?" Jiang Xuezhou froze, taking a long moment before squeezing out the words, "It's... already been deployed successfully?!" Ye Shi nodded. "Yep, and that was two weeks ago." Two weeks ago, the gravity well deployed in the Southern Sea was officially activated, pulling the debris orbiting low Earth orbit down toward the atmosphere and guiding it to crash in the Southern Sea region. According to what players said on the official forum, the space debris falling from the sky had looked like a meteor shower, etching blazing streaks across the sky, as if placing a planetary ring around Earth. The entire process had lasted ten whole days! Whether in Avent City or Dawn City, players could clearly see the dense, asteroid-belt-like orbital wreckage plunging from the sky. To be honest, having missed that magnificent meteor shower, Ye Shi felt a bit of regret. However, he quickly thought that he had witnessed the rise and fall of civilizations—which was far more badass than any meteor shower—so his regret evaporated immediately. Definitely not a loss! Jiang Xuezhou stared at him in utter bewilderment, her mouth slightly agape. "You... can really contact Earth from here?" Ye Shi shrugged. "Didn't I tell you long ago? I've always been in touch with Earth. Didn't I even pass a few messages between you and the Academy?" Regarding the Celestials, the Alliance and the Academy had signed an intelligence-sharing agreement. Thus, the Alliance had not kept the events five light-years away a secret from the Academy, and had even exchanged information with Academy researchers. He had also heard on the official forum that the Academy was utterly shocked upon learning of the existence of the morphogenetic field, at one point even suspecting the Alliance researchers were pulling a prank. Now, however, there was likely no dispute left. Once the Orion missile cruiser appeared right in front of them all, all doubts would collapse on their own. Though there wasn't really anything to brag about anyway. Dora watched from the side in astonishment. Although she couldn't understand what "Academy" meant, she was still stunned by his words. The Doma tribe's research into psionics could be considered quite accomplished; in fact, that was the most direct reason Tunnan's attitude toward the Progenitors had shifted from initial reverence to later arrogance. Yet even with their profound insights into psionics, communication still required face-to-face contact, falling far short of this sort of wireless communication spanning immense distances. The distance between them appeared as narrow as a stream, yet in truth it was separated by five light-years or more. *Incredible...* Dora marveled sincerely in her heart, her admiration and reverence for the Progenitors deepening yet further. It was simply unbelievable! "But... wait, hadn't you not awakened your psionics back then?! Why... my head is spinning, let me sort this out..." Jiang Xuezhou took a deep breath, clutching the helmet that had rolled aside with both hands, yet her thoughts grew only more tangled. Especially when she remembered their previous bet, her entire face flushed as red as a lantern. Looking at the flustered Jiang, Ye Shi smiled and said, "My being able to contact Earth five light-years away wasn't because of psionics... Well, actually, it's hard to say. The morphogenetic field might just be another explanation for psionics—at least that's my personal take." As for more technical matters, it was better left to the specialists to crack their heads over. "Th-then... what's with this steel structure?!" Terrified that he might bring up the bet, Jiang Xuezhou hurriedly changed the subject, her index finger flying across the holographic screen to pull up and magnify the strangely shaped object in the distance. From afar, that thing looked like a steel plate lying across low Earth orbit, its central axis pointing straight toward the center of the earth. Looking closely, rows of gun barrels bristled across the plate like hedgehog spines, pointing far out into the sea of stars beyond the atmosphere. According to what other players on the official forum had said, this 0.25-square-kilometer defense platform was mounted with a full fifty electromagnetic accelerators, composed of four connecting plates pushed from the surface into low Earth orbit via anti-gravity systems to complete assembly. Word had it that these electromagnetic accelerators were built to the standard of the anti-ship railguns in Shelter 60's stockpile, capable of overloading a frigate-class deflector shield in at most three shots. As for a missile-cruiser-class shipboard shield, though it hadn't been tested specifically, it would likely take nothing more than a single salvo. The Alliance now possessed defensive measures for low Earth orbit; even if the Celestials at the Lagrange point had other cards up their sleeves, the survivors of the wasteland were fully confident in dealing with them. The neutron plumes weren't as terrifying as once feared. As long as they were destroyed before entering the atmosphere, the planetary magnetic field's own barrier was sufficient to diminish their power to a virtually harmless level. "That is our low Earth orbit defense platform... a planetary defense facility jointly completed by the Alliance, its allies, Enterprise, and you guys." "Unless the Precursor returns from another universe, I can't imagine anything breaching its defense... unless it's aliens who, like us, have already mastered interstellar travel." Looking at the astonished Jiang Xuezhou, Ye Shi smiled and said, "Let's head straight over. Parking in geosynchronous orbit will be fine... My brothers are already waiting there for us to come home."