Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Time flew.

The Moon Rabbit s.p.a.ce Station continued expanding over time. In just a year of development, the structure had gone from one that was only observable with a telescope to a phenomenal landmark with a magnificent presence. At night, people along the southern atmosphere could see the bright lights the structure emitted that made it seem like a miniature sun.

“05, this is overdoing it.”

At the Lilith a.s.sembly, 01's figure rose from the seat. He hammered his fist on the table, furious, his body still quaking with rage as he rebuked, “The Moon Rabbit is no longer just a simple s.p.a.ce station. You could tell me it's a fort and I'd believe it. Also, do you have any explanation for the battle s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps docked on the Moon Rabbit s.p.a.ce Station that aren't registered with the Earth Federation? We only granted the Blackwatch Company permission to colonize, but there has never been an agreement about forming the foundation of a legion!”

“01 is right, I'm afraid that even I cannot defend your actions this time.”

03's voice was composed as ever, but not without a clear tone of accusation. “You're making a serious threat to the status of the Earth Federation. Isn't this the same thing as forming your own militia? We agreed to your proposal of establis.h.i.+ng the Blacklight Foundation, we've also tolerated your exploitation of s.p.a.ce resources and its impacts on the global market. We then went on to allow your establishment of the first permanent colony on Mars and you're just going to form an interstellar s.p.a.ce fleet on the planet? Don't forget, you're not a country, but an enterprise.”

“That's right…”

“I agree…”

02 and 03 chimed in as well.

Flanked from all sides, Chen Chen remained seated calmly with his arms folded as he answered with fixed composure, “Your point being? Human beings will leave Earth and venture into the solar system one way or another. It's never been a matter of if, just a matter of when. The discovery of life on Mars is the first alarm sounded for mankind. Why should we wait to establish a s.p.a.ce fleet?”

“Those are the matters of the Earth Federation, not one for you to be concerned about!”

01 belted angrily. “You're stepping out of line for just being a mere enterprise. Do you truly intend to oppose the Earth Federation?”

Chen Chen could no longer stifle his laughter upon hearing this. He smacked his palms together to produce a single clear clap. “As I said before, I'm not interested in gaining power nor will I ever be interested in it in the future. The reason for my establishment of a s.p.a.ce fleet is as a cautionary measure in case we stumble into hostile forces as we venture outside the solar galaxy.”

“What?”

This remark raised an alert so 02 promptly enquired, “Venture outside the solar galaxy? You mean that you've already developed the technology to do so?”

“Wormhole navigation? Warp drive?”

03 asked solemnly.

“You never mentioned anything like this before.”

“I know you're wondering about where I got this technology from.”

Chen Chen set things straight immediately. “This technology is one I developed myself, only it comes with certain side effects.”

This seemed to quell the restless crowd.

Whether they believed Chen Chen's claims did not matter. Chen Chen was telling the truth. This was a technology he had developed after receiving certain “inspirations”.

“Could… Could you tell us more about it?”

03's tone turned from stern and commanding to slightly awkward. This was especially embarra.s.sing considering just a minute ago, he was furiously accusing Chen Chen of his actions and now his att.i.tude had completely s.h.i.+fted around. Here he was, trying to flatter Chen Chen shamelessly. Even the other seasoned politicians felt embarra.s.sed for him.

“This technology is related to subs.p.a.ce.”

Chen Chen had nothing to hide. Besides, the technology would be figured out by the Earth Federation in the future so he was not worried about disclosing it prematurely. “Navigating in subs.p.a.ce greatly shortens the distance between two points in the real universe. This new navigation method we developed takes advantage of this characteristic of the subs.p.a.ce. Even if the s.p.a.ce of the s.p.a.cecraft itself remains the same, the distance covered by the journey is magnified by ten thousand folds. This means that a year of navigation in subs.p.a.ce is comparable to that of ten thousand years in the real world.”

“Does the subs.p.a.ce truly exist? Isn't it merely a theory of Einstein?”

01 enquired, “And even if this subs.p.a.ce exists, how do you tear through the fabric of reality and enter it?”

“By using the subs.p.a.ce s.p.a.ce warp engine of course.”

Chen Chen claimed with a simple shrug. “Don't bother asking for the details, you know that I won't disclose them anytime soon. You're better off researching it yourself, but be warned…”

Chen Chen suddenly lowered his voice upon this mention. “There's a terrifying existence surpa.s.sing the realms of belief inside the subs.p.a.ce. Even if you manage subs.p.a.ce travel, I'd advise you to tread carefully. This is all I can tell you.”

With that, Chen Chen rose from his seat and prepared to take an early leave from the Lilith a.s.sembly.

“Hold on!”

There was an air of urgency in the air as the others clamored and tried to pry more out of Chen Chen. “Is there any chance that we can obtain this technology? Or better yet, we can exchange it with other technologies. How does our nuclear fusion engine optimization technology sound?”

“We can negotiate the price, it's…”

Without realizing it themselves, they had all risen from their seats in agitation.

They of all people knew that there was a significant gap in their aeros.p.a.ce technology and Blacklight Biotechnology. While Blacklight Biotechnology was already carving out new lands in the galaxy, they were still wasting time dallying around on Earth. They were desperate for a breakthrough.

“Don't bother.”

Chen Chen shook his head, canceling whatever hopes they had. “Let's be frank if you were in my place. Would you ever consider auctioning off this technology?”

With that, Chen Chen's figure vanished without a proper farewell!

When they saw the figure in the seat labeled 05 vanish, they slid back into their seats, wholly dejected…

This explained why Blacklight Biotechnology never bothered itself with the authorities on Earth. They had already set their sights on things beyond Earth and humans!

The Lilith a.s.sembly members understood Chen Chen's motivation now and could not suppress the intense jealousy boiling inside of them. All this time, Chen Chen was not merely putting on a front. He simply did not see a reason for engaging in the power struggle on Earth. All he needed to do was to continue expanding beyond the stars and in time, the Earth Federation would have to succ.u.mb to his feet…

It was simple. The first person to venture out of the solar galaxy represented the entirety of mankind and planet Earth.

“n.o.body can stop him.”

01 suddenly mumbled to the air, his voice turned several decades older in minutes, “Even if we unite the entire Earth Federation, we might still fail to put up a worthy battle.”

“Doing that means inciting World War Three.”

03 stated, “Besides, how can you be so sure that he doesn't have other cards up his sleeve?”

The rest of them glanced around the room, sensing each other's wavering confidence.

All 03 could do was to shake his head and scoff at their poor circ.u.mstances. The Earth Federation had become the plaything of this powerful enterprise. To think that just two decades ago, Blacklight Biotechnology was just a humble little business started by one man, that was when even the Namibia government could crush it if it wanted to.

In five years, Blacklight Biotechnology had displayed magnificent growth and rays of its brilliance began to s.h.i.+ne underneath its polished surface. Even so, any officials who wanted to could have destroyed it before it could unleash its potential.

After another five years, Blacklight Biotechnology had placed itself on the same level as the four major continents. The brilliant enterprise countered whatever offensive maneuver the four major continents took by forming alliances trading all kinds of advanced technologies.

Again, in five years, Blacklight Biotechnology's total capital rivaled that of the Earth Federation.

In the present day, even if the Earth Federation concentrated all of its forces and started an all-out war, it would only result in both sides being crippled. It was a senseless approach that only a madman would take. The cold hard truth was that the Earth Federation could no longer hinder Blacklight Biotechnology.

After departing the Lilith a.s.sembly, Chen Chen pondered for a moment then mentioned, “X. From here on, don't bother reminding me to attend the Lilith a.s.sembly if their planned agenda for the meeting is nothing of importance.”

“Understood.”

Little X sympathized with Chen Chen's frustration. Recently, each Lilith a.s.sembly felt one and the same. It was always a circle of pointless debates and jabs revolving around Blacklight Biotechnology. It was a poor use of Chen Chen's time.

“To be fair, it's natural they would respond this way, seeing that their prided power is slowly slipping away from their hands.”

Little X remarked, “They'll get used to it soon enough.”

Chen Chen was not interested in this topic and averted the subject. “How's the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p construction coming along?”

“We're around eighty percent through.”

Little X waved her hand and summoned a holographic projection in front of Chen Chen. Most of the surface of the three-dimensional s.p.a.cecraft model was highlighted in green, with only some minor sections highlighted in bright red. “It'll be completed in about three months. Who do you think you'll send on our very first extrasolar expedition?”

Chen Chen stopped for a moment and briefly considered. “I'm thinking that if the trial run is a success, I'd send myself.”

“Sir G.o.dfather…”

Little X uttered but seemed like she had trouble finding the correct words, “Earth and its inhabitants still need you.”

“That's true.”

Chen Chen a.s.sured. “Don't worry, I won't be traveling outside the solar galaxy for now. What I'm mainly interested in is the subs.p.a.ce.”

“What's so interesting there?”

Little X remarked with a quick pout. Over the last year, Chen Chen concentrated his efforts on miniaturizing the s.p.a.ce warp engine to prototype new s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p models of the same size as the Courage Voyager. These s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps would usually deploy with Deltlevel experiment subjects or psionicists as its pa.s.sengers, sometimes without any pa.s.sengers.

The findings from these experiments were quite remarkable. The s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps without pa.s.sengers boasted the highest success rate of emerging from the subs.p.a.ce. Trailing after it were s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps with regular human pa.s.sengers while psionicists pa.s.sengers seemed to regularly encounter trouble in the subs.p.a.ce.

It would appear that the subs.p.a.ce had a great effect on psionicists. Occasionally, the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps with psionicist pa.s.sengers managed to return from the subs.p.a.ce but even so, the pa.s.sengers on board would be dead already. Furthermore, the returning s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps would be tainted with a significant amount of subs.p.a.ce remnants that had to be purged off using the Civilization Monolith.

If the subs.p.a.ce remnants were not taken care of properly, the events in Event Horizon may be brought into the real world.

“The subs.p.a.ce energy is a presence that can corrode the human body as well as the human psyche.”

Chen Chen stated, “Most of the people affected by the subs.p.a.ce pollution end up losing their minds and dying while onboard the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p. The ones that manage to survive the initial symptoms don't have it any better either. Their features become distorted beyond recognition and their minds become corrupted evil… This subs.p.a.ce presence is as mystical as it is powerful, and till now there is only one person that can observe the true nature of the subs.p.a.ce.”

Little X understood that Chen Chen was referring to Shaw.

Shaw's psionic manifestation rendered him a one-of-kind individual. Not only was he able to see the true form of the subs.p.a.ce, but he could also look further into the depths of the subs.p.a.ce, into the deep unknown.

“He says that there are four large continents in the subs.p.a.ce.”

Chen Chen turned to Little X, his eyes glowed with deep desire. “I want to know what exactly they represent. Perhaps these four continents in the subs.p.a.ce contained the secrets of the dimension…”

Little X's eyes widened when she heard Chen Chen say this. Right as Chen Chen uttered these words, faint ripples in between seams of reality appeared behind him, distorting s.p.a.ce and time with its existence. At the same time, the steel walls and coverings under Chen Chen's feet groaned underneath the pressure…

“But it won't be possible yet.”

Little X intentionally interrupted Chen Chen's stream of thoughts. “Have you forgotten about the unknown ent.i.ty lurking inside the subs.p.a.ce? The cosmic ent.i.ty that may destroy every trace of mankind, an existence potentially hundred times more powerful than the Consciousness Stealer!”

A bright look returned to Chen Chen's eyes when he heard this. He smiled and agreed. “You're right, not yet.”

With that, he turned the other way, but not before mentioning to Little X, “Let's speed up the construction progress. I'd like to see the first interstellar s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p completed as soon as possible.”

Little X looked at Chen Chen's figure from behind, still feeling unnerved by the strange aura seeping from Chen Chen's body earlier. The almost negligible amount of aura unleashed from his body was enough to completely deform the corridor. Every surface of the corridor had become distorted and shaped into wave-like patterns. Certain sections seemed like they had caved inward by an unlikely force…

“Ever since Sir G.o.dfather began absorbing psionic powers from the dead psionicists, his power has grown by terrifying proportions…”

After a while, Little X managed to shake off the weary look from her eyes and trailed after Chen Chen. Shortly after their departure, a crew of Androids was sent to repair the destroyed corridor.

Three months later, the first major s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p in the history of mankind that was capable of traversing across the galaxies was finally completed.

The s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p was built in the Moon Rabbit s.p.a.ce Station. It was parked at the central dock of the s.p.a.ce station. It was an enormous creation befitting of the behemoth s.p.a.ce station.

“1121 meters long, 245 meters wide, and 360 meters tall.”

Little X looked at the image of the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p shown on the display and admired the sheer scale of it. “Sir G.o.dfather, you shall have the honor of naming the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p.”

Chen Chen did not give it too much thought. “Just call it Blacklight. How are the preparations coming along on Shaw's end?”

“After more than a year of intense training, Shaw is now an extremely qualified navigator.”

Little X remarked and proceeded to switch the image on the display with a simple gesture. The display now showed Shaw who was wearing a tight-fitting uniform, entering the new s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p branded by Chen Chen as the Blacklight. He entered the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p via a special access tunnel in the Moon Rabbit s.p.a.ce Station. Although he was still feeling anxious, he did well enough at hiding the anxiety in his eyes and pulled off a convincing determined expression.

“Shaw will a.s.sume the role of the subs.p.a.ce navigator and he'll be a.s.sisted by two thousand Android engineers, a thousand Black Knights, and two thousand prisoners. The gender distribution of these prisoners is split evenly.”

Little X added. “We've also brought the latest rendition of basic commodities and agriculture blueprints. Upon arriving at the destination, our two thousand prisoners can build a permanent colony and begin setting up an agriculture system for long-term sustenance.”

Chen Chen nodded contently. Everything seemed in place for a successful expedition. Advanced s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p, s.p.a.ce warp engine as well as a custom-made extrlarge reality anchor, and Shaw was the final piece to complete this puzzle. All these arrangements were made specifically to colonize the planet Chen Chen had set his sights on.

The planet was none other than Kepler-642b. It was the planet that most resembled the conditions of planet Earth which Blacklight Biotechnology discovered after its takeover of NASA'S Kepler Project.

After running several rounds of thorough examination, it was discovered that this planet held up to ninety-eight percent resemblance to the conditions on Earth. It was nearly sixty percent larger than Earth and an annual cycle on this planet took twenty days longer than it did on Earth. It was roughly 1115 light-years away from Earth.

Liquid and atmospheric components were detected on the planet. However, since the planet's rotational axis was not deflected, there would not be any changing of the season over the years.

The star which the Kepler-642b orbited around was a cla.s.s-G star just like the Sun seen from planet Earth, except that this star was about 1.5 billion years older than the Sun, but it was still at the prime of its eons-long life cycle.

This was the most ideal, habitable planet discovered by Blacklight Biotechnology after taking over the Kepler Project. Everything seen so far seemed highly promising…