In the Pegasus Star System, faint ripples suddenly appeared in the void. Then, an extravagant spacecraft materialized out of thin air.
The ship was more than three hundred meters long, silver-gray all over, its surface shimmering with flowing light. Behind its rows of windows were brightly lit rooms, and many people pressed against the glass to look outside.
The brilliant words "Interstellar Streamer" gleamed on both sides of the spacecraft. Beneath them was a smaller line: Golden Dragon Federation's First Civilian Hadron Technology Spacecraft.
Compared to the low-profile warships, this vessel was flamboyant in the extreme.
No fewer than seven super-engines erupted at the rear, their dazzling exhaust plumes stretching over ten thousand kilometers as the ship accelerated toward Pegasus Star in the distance.
But less than ten minutes after the spacecraft appeared, a warning signal immediately came through:
"Interstellar Streamer, this is the Pegasus Star System Interstellar Traffic Control Center. Your spacecraft did not emerge at the designated location. Please shut down your engines and maintain your current state of drift while awaiting inspection.
"This is your first warning. Shut down your engines. If you refuse to comply, we have the right to destroy your spacecraft!"
The warning was unencrypted—or rather, it was a public broadcast that everyone could receive. The countless cries of amazement on the ship instantly turned into sounds of panic.
The spacecraft immediately responded and shut down its engines.
"What happened?" Every passenger on board was asking, but they received only one answer: the spacecraft had not appeared at the designated location.
Inside one of the ship's cheap suites, two people were also discussing the matter, even having a small argument.
"Master Li Long, didn't you say you had a master divine this trip's fortune and that it would go smoothly?"
Divination before interstellar travel