Interstellar Storm

Inside the cabin, Gu Ding could clearly feel the Young Eagle trembling slightly.

"We're still a long way from that aftershock, so the impact on us isn't too severe yet," Sea Emperor said, though his tone remained far from optimistic. "I've already changed the Young Eagle's course, but based on its maximum speed, we still won't be able to escape the affected area. We can only try to avoid the impact near the center."

"What will happen if we get caught in it?" Gu Ding had taken some interstellar studies courses at the military academy, where encounters with interstellar storms had been described as extremely dangerous. For instance, spacecraft could break apart, and most living beings could be torn to pieces.

"All the spacecraft's instruments will definitely fail. If we're lucky, the ship may only suffer minor damage, though it'll certainly be thrown off course. If we're unlucky, it could be struck by a meteor swarm and be completely destroyed." Sea Emperor continued, "I'll do my best to steer the ship away from those meteors, but you need to be mentally prepared for the ship's destruction."

"What can I do?" Gu Ding had also taken a spacecraft piloting elective at the military academy, but over the course of a year, he had only used the simulator three times. The rest had all been theory classes. And that had been during his first year at the academy, two years ago. He knew that if he were the one controlling the spacecraft, he definitely wouldn't do as well as Sea Emperor.

"Get into the Escape Pod. Fortunately, I helped you pick a better-quality D-grade one back then. I chose it with situations like this in mind. Even if the spacecraft is destroyed, there shouldn't be much of a problem."

The Escape Pod Sea Emperor had chosen came with short-range flight capability and could be controlled manually. It had cost nearly five hundred thousand Star Coins. Gu Ding had thought the price was far too high at the time and that there was no need to buy something so good.

Sea Emperor had said one thing then: "Anyone who travels through space regularly knows that an Escape Pod is more important than the spacecraft itself. You can buy another spacecraft if it's destroyed, but if the Escape Pod is destroyed too, you probably won't be alive to buy another one."

Only after hearing that had Gu Ding compromised and let the seller include the Escape Pod.

Just as Gu Ding encountered the aftershock of the interstellar storm, video programs across every member planet of the Tianhe Star Region broadcast the news at almost the same time.

Gu Lan Star and Ju Mang Star of the Tianhe Star Region have collided, triggering a large-scale interstellar storm. Residents of nearby planets, please do not panic. Follow local government instructions and enter designated shelters. Spacecraft traveling along nearby routes should also change course as soon as possible and leave the affected area. This interstellar storm is expected to end in twenty days. Please remain safe during this period. We will issue a further announcement as soon as the storm ends...

This brief video report caused panic among many people. Gu Lan Star was an ancient star that had existed for tens of billions of years, and one of the largest stars in the entire Tianhe Star Region. Ju Mang Star, meanwhile, had only existed for over two billion years, yet it was the largest star in the Tianhe Star Region—without question. Although scientists had predicted the collision between these two stars long ago, the calculated probability had been less than one percent. Yet such low-probability events occurred frequently in scientific history. There was even a saying in the scientific community: "More often than not, relying on probability is unreliable."

The collision of the stars would also completely destroy the two smaller star systems around them. Fortunately, the temperatures of the two massive stars were too high. The surface temperatures of the various planets within the smaller systems reached thousands of degrees, making them utterly uninhabitable, so they were all uninhabited zones.

"The location of Gu Lan Star and Ju Mang Star..." Pa Ma froze when she heard the report, then immediately realized something. "Gu Ding's route has to pass through there. After a full day, his current location should be..."

The smart watch on Pa Ma's wrist was not an ordinary civilian model, but a high-end product worth several million Star Coins, with many functions that Civilian Smart Watches lacked. In only a moment, she calculated the Young Eagle's most likely current location. Looking at the red dot marked on her watch's projection, she saw that it partially overlapped with the area affected by the interstellar storm mentioned in the broadcast. Her heart lurched, and she hurriedly dialed Gu Ding's number.

The contact you have dialed is temporarily unavailable... The message came through the communication earpiece of her watch.

Unwilling to give up, she tried several more times, but received the same response every time. Left with no choice, she called Ma Dike instead.

"Pa Ma, what is it?" Under normal circumstances, Pa Ma rarely called him. Even when she encountered problems while refining medicine, she usually only left him a text message and waited for his response. She only made voice calls when something urgent happened.

"Teacher, there was just a video report about Gu Lan Star and Ju Mang Star colliding. A large-scale interstellar storm has formed in the nearby region."

"I saw it too. Although Deep Sea Star will be lightly affected by the aftershock, it'll basically all be blocked by the atmosphere. You don't need to worry about it." Ma Dike thought Pa Ma had been frightened by the news and had come to him because of it, so he immediately tried to comfort her. He even secretly laughed to himself. Women really were timid.

"That's not what I mean. When I saw the video, I remembered that Gu Ding's route has to pass through there, so I calculated his current location. The result shows that he's currently within the area reachable by the interstellar storm's aftershock. And I just tried calling him, but I couldn't get through at all. Doesn't the watch only give that prompt when the SkyNet signal can't reach him?" Pa Ma explained anxiously.

"That can't be right. Wait a moment. What model is he traveling in? I'll calculate it too." Ma Dike's heart tightened. A disciple he had almost managed to get had encountered something like this, and he grew anxious as well. Still, he would rather believe Pa Ma had made a mistake. He needed to calculate it himself and confirm it.

"It's the Young Eagle." As soon as Pa Ma spoke, Ma Dike pulled up the Young Eagle's data and entered it into a calculation tool. In less than two seconds, the result appeared. A red dot showed up on the projected star map. It matched Pa Ma's calculation exactly, lying within the coverage range of the interstellar storm's aftershock.

"How could this be?" Ma Dike refused to believe it and calculated it again. The red dot appeared in exactly the same place.

"Could something have happened to Gu Ding?" Hearing no response from the other end, Pa Ma asked cautiously.

After a moment of silence, Ma Dike finally accepted reality. "We can only wait until the interstellar storm subsides, then ask people on nearby planets over there to help search for him. There's nothing we can do by worrying now."

After ending the call with Pa Ma, Ma Dike clenched his fists. "The Tianhe Star Region has finally produced such a gifted medicine refiner. He mustn't die young!"

Meanwhile, Gu Ding had already climbed into the Escape Pod. The Young Eagle was also about to face the first true assault of the storm's aftershock...