On the bridge of the guided missile cruiser Orion, a man with a majestic face was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the cockpit. His strong facial features were clear-cut, and his black hair was neatly combed without any mess.
His name is Zhao Tianhe, with the rank of colonel. He is about in his early forties. He is the captain of this starship and the supreme commander of the 3,000 crew members on the ship.
Staring intently at the boundless starry sky outside the window, he said after a long time, "You haven't moved yet."
The navigator's face showed a hint of embarrassment.
"We have entered the hyperspace channel, but... I don't know why, we seem to have stopped." He said it tactfully, because he actually couldn't decide what the situation was.
Usually when they enter the hyperspace channel, the starry sky in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows will turn into a deep blue-purple in an instant, and after a violent shaking, a bright light like day will emerge from the black space in the center in front.
But now none of these things have happened.
The strange thing is that the warp engine has obviously been started, and all data shows that they are standing in the hyperspace channel, but they are "stuck" at the entrance of the channel.
Zhao Tianhe said nothing, and a woman in her thirties next to him had a look of astonishment on her face.
"How is it possible? You have entered the hyperspace channel but haven't moved... Can the hyperspace jump be stopped? This kind of thing... is simply unheard of!"
Her name is Wu Mengke, and she is the executive officer of the Orion guided missile cruiser unit—the so-called ship command department.
Generally speaking, this position is the captain's deputy, responsible for assisting the captain in managing the daily affairs of the ship, arranging the work of the service department, etc.
The organization of the People's Federation Air and Space Force is very similar to that of the navy of the old era, but there are differences in specific functions. Zhao Tianhe fell into deep thought, and the expression on his face gradually became serious.
As his deputy said, nothing like this has ever happened since the establishment of the Alliance Air and Space Force. 一一业
Strictly speaking, it should be since human civilization entered the interstellar era and developed the warp engine! The navigator slowly opened his mouth and continued.
"...The strangest thing is right here. We have checked and found that the engine is running well and no abnormalities have been found. As you said, it seems that we are stuck at the entrance to the hyperspace channel."
"Are you sure it's the entrance?" Zhao Tianhe suddenly said.
The navigator was stunned for a moment. He was about to nod, but then shook his head with embarrassment. "This...can't be sure."
Hyperspace is not a classical universe, but a tunnel between massive celestial bodies.
Only point-to-point movement can be carried out in this tunnel, and the coordinates in the classical universe and the distance to relatively massive celestial bodies cannot be measured.
There was silence on the bridge.
The crew members present looked at each other, and no one said a word.
After a while, Zhao Tianhe looked at Executive Wu who was also thinking deeply and asked in a deep voice, "What do you think it might be?"
"I don't know. If it's just a guess based on imagination, there are too many possibilities." Wu Mengke, who had calmed down, shook his head and said with a complex expression, "Maybe scientists from the fifth department can give us a reasonable explanation."
Zhao Tianhe nodded, looked out the floor-to-ceiling window, and said with a solemn expression, "I hope so."
He had an ominous premonition.
And as time goes by, the ominous premonition becomes stronger and stronger...
At this time, hurried footsteps came from the bridge door, and an officer strode in through the open alloy door and reported hurriedly.
"Report! There was a collision on the lower deck! A UFO hit us!" A surprised voice came from the bridge.
Zhao Tianhe did not hesitate and walked quickly to a terminal and looked at the holographic screen. The staff sitting in front of the terminal swallowed and said in a panic. "No structural damage to the ship's hull was found...are you guys?
Made a mistake?"
The officer said immediately.
"Impossible! My people are on site! We have closed the damaged area according to the emergency plan in the safety manual!" Staff: "But..."
Without listening to the argument between the two, Zhao Tianhe stared at the screen intently, and a stunned expression appeared on his serious face at the same time.
The deflector shield works well.
The hull integrity test is also normal...
But he believed that his crew would not lie, especially since they had no need to lie. Walking to stand next to him, Ms. Wu Mengke also had a complicated look on her face.
"Weird things happen one after another... Do you think it could be a trick of the Twins?" Zhao Tianhe said in a tone that left no room for doubt.
"They are already dead." Wu Mengke asked back.
"What if not? No one has actually gone up to confirm."
"...There is no need to confirm that we have indeed penetrated their shield. This is a sure thing. Let's not discuss this matter anymore."
After saying these words expressionlessly, Zhao Tianhe paused for a moment and continued.
"And taking a step back, even if they really escape by chance, there is no way they can block us in the hyperspace channel."
There is a way to close the hyperspace channel. All you need to do is build a large gravity well to interfere with the nearby gravitational field. This is not a difficult task.
But it is simply impossible to close the hyperspace channel that has been opened. At least it cannot be done with the technical means currently known to mankind.
Wu Mengke sighed and said.
"Then it can only be because aliens have intervened in our war."
"Unless there is conclusive evidence to prove their existence, I don't want to make such baseless assumptions." After leaving these words, Zhao Tianhe looked at the officer standing at the door of the bridge and said. "Can I be sure what hit me?"
Did you fuck us?"
The officer was obviously also confirming. After pressing his index finger to his ear for a long time, he said with a strange expression.
"Is it... uh, a lifeboat-class civilian spacecraft? My subordinates are not sure... but there are no friendly signs on the spacecraft." "Civilian spacecraft?"
Wu Mengke's eyebrows raised slightly, and the crow's feet widened with a hint of surprise. "Why is there a civilian spacecraft here?"
"Maybe it's a KB member of a radical organization, or maybe it's an unlucky reporter... Is there something on it?" Zhao Tianhe looked at the officer and continued to ask.
After confirming the situation at the scene through the communication system, the officer looked at the captain and said.
"We found a sleeping cabin on the spacecraft, and inside lay a boy who looked about seventeen or eighteen years old... He claimed to be from an organization called the Alliance? He was affiliated with the Burning Corps..."
"Alliance? Burning Corps?" Wu Mengke's expression changed slightly, and he murmured to himself, "Is it really an alien..." Zhao Tianhe's expression was also a little strange, and he stared at the officer and continued to ask.
"What else did he say?" "A lot..."
The officer was silent for a while, then his face suddenly changed slightly, he raised his head and said, "He started fighting with our people..."
In the prosthetic repair room of the Engineering and Maintenance Department, Luo Yi, who had successfully subdued a certain boy, was leaning on the operating table, letting the robotic arm hanging above his head fiddle with his left arm.
Standing next to the control terminal, Koala, who was wearing work clothes, skillfully operated the tablet, cut open the bionic leather on Luo Yi's left arm, and pulled out a burnt black metal round tube from inside.
"The capacitor is burned out...it needs to be replaced with a new one."
"Is it serious?" The big man standing aside with his arms folded asked with a frown.
His name is Xiao Yong, and like Luo Yi, he belongs to the space combat team under the sixth department, and his military rank is also sergeant.
"Serious...it's not serious. It's just a capacitor that burned out. The most important thing I need is the capacitor," Koala grinned and shook his head. "But these young people are very ruthless, and they will die as soon as they strike." hand."
"The young man's actions are really careless, and the person who performed the prosthetic surgery on him is really tired of life." Xiao Yong couldn't help but cursed.
According to the Prosthetics Management Act, bionic prostheses are prohibited from installing plug-ins for harmful purposes, especially when installed on minors who are not fully developed.
They have preserved the evidence and will prosecute those involved when they return to Earth.
Luo Yi, who was sitting on the operating table, looked at his newly replaced prosthetic right hand. After a moment of silence, he suddenly spoke. "That guy has been on the battlefield."
Xiao Yong, who was standing nearby, raised his eyebrows. "You mean he is a soldier?" "Yes."
Looking at Luo Yi who nodded, Xiao Yong lowered his arms across his chest in surprise. "...Do we have such young soldiers?"
You should still be in high school when you are eighteen. To join the army, you must have at least graduated from college. As for the colonial rebels, those guys should have turned into ashes by now.
Luo Yi raised his head and looked at him and said.
"Didn't you hear him say he was from the Alliance?"
Xiao Yong frowned.
"Do you really believe what he said?"
Luo Yi's expression was a little complicated and he shook his head.
"I don't know, but his reaction speed and fighting ability are not weak. If it weren't for the fact that he had just thawed, I might not be able to subdue him by myself."
Xiao Yong looked at him in surprise.
"Are you kidding me? Is that the guy?"
Luo Yi looked at him seriously and said.
"I'm not kidding, I'm serious."
The guy could predict his attack and react instinctively, but his body didn't keep up.
This is definitely not a skill developed on the training ground. It can only be learned in close combat. There is only one doubt.
As his comrades said, this kid was too young and looked like an immature child to them. At this moment, an unexpected voice came in from the door of the repair room.
"My opinion is the same as that of Sergeant Luo Yi. That kid is not a civilian at all, he is a soldier, and unlike you... he was killed from the wasteland."
Three pairs of surprised eyes drifted to the door, and they saw their "ship chaplain" walking in drunkenly from outside carrying a bottle of whiskey, and even burped when he crossed the threshold.
Xiao Yong frowned.
"Wasteland? What kind of movie is that?"
The fifth department is the department with the lowest presence on the entire guided missile cruiser.
This department is said to be established to deal with the strange and changeable cosmic environment, but since its establishment, I have never heard of any starship having five departments put to use.
The scientists who traveled with the ship could neither repair the engines nor have any say in the strategic deployment. Their only use was to produce a bunch of academic garbage called papers.
He did not deny the contribution of physicists to the Era of Prosperity, but just doubted whether it was necessary to "have a scientific research team on each starship."
Faced with Sergeant Xiao Yong's questioning, Wu Xinghuan couldn't help but belched again and wiped his mouth in embarrassment.
"Movie? It's not that kind of thing. This guy comes from our future, or he is our future."
Koala looked at him with a strange expression.
"What crazy nonsense are you talking about."
Xiao Yong also sneered and said disdainfully.
"That kid? If he were our future, then humanity would be really hopeless.
"Haha, don't say that, who didn't have a young age? I bet you were more messy than him when you were young, and you may not be as skilled as him." Wu Xinghuan laughed twice, looked around at everyone present, and realized
He cleared his throat and continued, "I also want to tell you some unfortunate news. Our spaceship is stuck in the hyperspace channel...and that time traveler may be the reason why we are stuck."
The room fell into an eerie silence, with three pairs of eyes looking at each other blankly, exchanging confusion in their eyes. The hyperspace channel...is it stuck?
Seeing the other two people looking at him, Koala quickly raised his hand and said.
"Don't look at me... I have never heard of such a thing, and repairing FTL engines is not my job." Xiao Yong couldn't help but ask.
"Aren't you the engineering director?" Koala coughed and explained.
"The full name of Department 4 is the Engineering and Maintenance Department. The hyperspace engine is the job of the maintenance department. There are dedicated engineers responsible for it...and this key equipment is directly managed by Department 1, that is, the captain's side.
"
Xiao Yong was confused and patted his head. "We have too many departments, it's time to cut some of them." Koala snapped his fingers.
"Good idea, I also think five parts are redundant."
"Ahem," Wu Xinghuan hid the wine bottle behind his back and said awkwardly, "Is now the time to talk about this..."
"I have to figure it out..." Luo Yi pressed his index finger between his eyebrows, frowned and thought for a while, "You mean, that child comes from the future? And our future... is a wasteland? In other words...
…Our world is destroyed?”
"The world is not destroyed, it's just that our civilization has entered the next historical stage from one historical stage." Wu Xinghuan finally got back on track. He quickly picked up the topic and continued, "Have you noticed the clothes on his body? Then
It’s just a jacket from the shelter, not a high-end imitation.”
Xiao Yong sneered.
"If he was just a cosplayer, you would be embarrassed."
Wu Xinghuan looked at him with bright eyes and a hint of uncontrollable excitement in his tone.
"But he is obviously not. We found spores of mutant slime mold on him, and they are spores we have never seen before!" The room became quiet again.
This time it wasn't just Xiao Yong, Luo Yi's expression also changed.
However, Wu Xinghuan didn't pay attention and continued chattering endlessly.
"I know this is a little hard to accept, but this is what will happen in the future! In the distant future, people have achieved symbiosis with mutant slime molds. They are no longer deadly to us, and we no longer regard them as enemies.
Kou, but became part of each other."
"Pull a few eggs, please." Xiao Yong cursed, "According to what you said, this battle was not in vain?" Looking at this reckless man who couldn't accept it, Wu Xinghuan shrugged his shoulders and said with a smile.
"This may be true from an individual's perspective, but when is it not true from the perspective of civilization? We cannot look at civilization issues from the individual level, and we cannot look down on individuals from the perspective of civilization. Issues of the same dimension must be used
Research from the perspective of the same dimension. Whether you believe it or not, this is the fact... I have to improve my theory, and you should feel honored that you are standing in the same boat as the new stars of the future physics community."
"What does this have to do with the new star in physics?" Koala scratched his furry hair and asked in confusion.
"Isn't this obvious?" Wu Xinghuan smiled and opened his arms, revealing the wine bottle hidden behind him. "Time is reversible, so is the movement of matter, and so is entropy. I discovered a new physics
.”
"I think you're fucking crazy."
Xiao Yong snatched the bottle from the guy's hand and took a sip despite the latter's protests. He still couldn't accept it.
This war that lasted for three years turned out to be like this. In the distant future, not only did the mental guys install combat prosthetics without any scruples, but they also drove quasi-spaceships with anti-gravity devices like cockroaches.
The universe is in chaos. If this is the ending, it would be better to just destroy it.
Luo Yi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb. "Did you just say that we were stuck?"
"Yes, that's right."
Seeing that the wine in the bottle was finished, Wu Xinghuan gave up trying to get it back in disappointment. Luo Yi looked at this smug guy, the so-called future academic giant, speechlessly.
"I tentatively believe what you say, but I think since this is the case... you should first think about how to help us get out of trouble."
Hearing these words, Wu Xinghuan's face once again showed a confident smile.
"It's actually very simple. Although I don't know whether that guy fell into a black hole or hit a neutron star or something, in short he broke into our timeline by accident."
"So?" Luo Yi didn't think it was that simple at all, and even started to feel a headache. However, Dr. Wu standing in front of him at this moment obviously had a completely different view.
"So we just need to find out what happened to him before he came here, and then send him back." After hearing what he said, the three people in the repair room were stunned.
Is it really that simple?
It sounds like putting a knocked-over box back together and then closing the box again.
There was a bit of doubt in Luo's eyes, but looking at Dr. Wu's bright eyes, he couldn't help but believe.
At least this guy is professional.
"It seems that our five units are finally going to play some role," Koala shrugged. "On the eve of the end of the war, we saved a child from the future and more than 3,000 crew members."
"My achievements are far more than that. I believe that many years from now you will recall this meeting today... and the approachable me that I am."
Wu Xinghuan made an exaggerated nod and bow gesture, as if his feet were already standing on the podium. Xiao Yong snorted with his nose, still showing the same disdainful expression.
"Although this sounds stupid, let's try it first..."
Although the home planet was affected by the war, it was far from sinking into the wasteland. Especially the reconciliation with the mutant slime mold...
Doesn’t that mean that the radicals who messed up everything won the final victory? Don’t even think about it!
"Let's solve the immediate problem first."
Luo Yi didn't want to think about things so far away. He had been away from home for too long and just wanted to go back as soon as possible. Let's just reconcile.
The universe is so big, and there are countless galaxies besides Nanmen II, so even one star for them is not a bad idea. Letting the other party live is also letting yourself go.
Moreover, that planet originally belonged to "Gaia", and they lived well there. If human colonial ships hadn't disturbed their dreams, they would probably have continued playing with themselves until the heat death of the entire universe.
From the perspective of the People's Federation, the three-year war was undoubtedly glorious, but from the perspective of the other side, it may not be so. He stood up from the operating table, moved his arms, and turned his attention to Dr. Wu standing at the door. "That
Where is the boy named Ye Shi? Where is he now?" Wu Xinghuan said with a smile.
"In the infirmary, Xiao Lin checked his body and he is basically fine." Luo nodded.
"Go and see him."
"I'll go too." Koala raised his arm, hurriedly turned off the equipment, and followed the three of them. Although the security on the ship was the responsibility of the third department, how could he miss such an interesting thing?
Besides, someone has said that this is a moment to witness history!
The four of them arrived at the door of the infirmary and saw that many people were already gathered around here.
Not only doctors and nurses from the Medical and Life Support Department, but also people from other departments, and even senior officers from the ship's command department.
Luo Yi even saw artificial intelligence experts from the "Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Department" here. Even people from the 10th Department came to join in the fun, which he really didn't expect.
Luo Yi's heart sank slightly, and he couldn't help but glance at Dr. Wu next to him. This big mouth...
There is no doubt that word has spread that this kid is from the future, and now all the crew members know that there is a visitor from the future on their ship.
"Give way and let me in..."
Wu Xinghuan raised his arms and squeezed towards the center of the "stage" like a star.
Seeing this guy from the fifth department, the people around him all made way out of the way, curiously looking at what he was going to do.
Walking straight to the young man sitting blankly on the treatment bed, Wu Xinghuan half-crouched beside him with a kind smile on his face.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Wu Xinghuan, and I am a scientist here."
Ye Shi looked at him and felt that this man looked more like a clown than a scientist.
But thinking about those people in the college, he felt relieved again and nodded expressionlessly. "Oh."
His mind is very confused now.
On the one hand, he was not sure if Jiang Xuezhou was still alive after such a long time. On the other hand, he couldn't figure out what situation he was in now. Two possibilities.
Either he was currently in a certain dungeon, or he had really traveled through time. Although it was a bit stupid to seriously think about the latter situation, he couldn't help but panic.
A Guang hasn't responded to him yet, and he can't contact his friends on the forum because he's not offline. He even regrets that he should have let Fang Chang stay in the cockpit instead of himself.
If it were Brother Fang, he would have solved the problem in minutes...or Lao Bai.
At least that guy might act a little more maturely.
Ye Shi carefully recalled his gaming career. It seemed that most of the time he relied on "recklessness" rather than brains. "Maybe I can help you." Wu Xinghuan looked at the young man in front of him sincerely, trying to win his favor.
Trust. "Help me?" Ye Shi turned his face slightly to look at him, and the corner of his mouth suddenly raised a playful smile, "You?" As he was speaking, he could already smell the smell of alcohol on his body.
This guy reminded him of mosquitoes, and there was no one more unreliable than that guy.
In comparison, Awei may be a little more reliable, at least he didn't really mess things up.
But this guy probably didn't realize that he was still drunk, so he kept talking.
"According to my inference, you probably encountered some trouble when moving through hyperspace. I might be able to help you... This is good for you and me."
Ye Shi looked at him with a playful expression.
"Looking at it from this point of view, your reasoning seems not very reliable. My scientific research ship does not have a warp engine. It can only use anti-gravity devices to take off and land from the surface, but it cannot conduct hyperspace navigation."
Wu Xinghuan gestured with his fingers and continued.
"I know that the technical principle of the SLR gravity device is actually similar to the warp drive, it's just a different use of gravitons. And... well, maybe it's just an escape ship, and you have other ships not far away -
—”
This guy was probably too drunk to speak clearly. Ye Shi curled his lips and continued.
"That's a research ship organized by the academy. I don't have any other ships, only this one. You must have heard of the academy, I remember this organization also existed before the war."
"It's an academic organization...Wait, you mean they were very useful after the war?" Wu Xinghuan looked at him in surprise, as if he had discovered some big secret.
Ye Shi could guess what he was thinking. This guy had probably already thought about which big tree to climb after returning to Earth. But this guy was obviously overthinking.
To tell you why...
"We hit a neutron torpedo. Even if we didn't hit it... that thing also exploded near us. I'm not sure how much the deflector shield blocked it, but the spacecraft lost control and then hit you...
…”
When he said this, Ye Shi paused for a moment, looked at the excited eyes of this so-called scientist, and said something that made the latter and everyone present feel his hands and feet go cold for a moment.
"What do you think I went to do? Or why did I bump into you?" "Yes, I went to dig graves."