Chapter 7

"Big Brother, what major event did you pull off? How did you suddenly become Commander of Earth's Fifth Fleet?" Wu Tianyi could no longer maintain his composure and blurted out.

"The entire internet has exploded. Everyone is talking about you!"

Lin Zhichen's eyelid twitched. He opened the Earth Autonomous Government's StarNet page, and a flood of pop-up messages immediately came rushing in.

"Mom, come out and see Superman~"

"My god, a Psionicist! Earth has another Superman who can fly through the sky and move through the earth!"

"A Psionicist, a Lightsaber! Does anyone else think Psionicists are pretty similar to Jedi Knights?"

"Similar my ass! Jedi Knights are just telekinesis, super strong precognition, and waving laser swords around. Did you even look closely at Psionicists? Their Lightsabers compress matter to the extreme with Psionics, triggering Nuclear Fusion, then use a psionic force field to draw out plasma beams. That's the temperature of the sun!"

"666~ Handcrafted nuclear bombs~ Let's launch one and bring nuclear peace to the whole world~"

"The Lightsaber above may be built through Nuclear Fusion, but the amount of matter involved in the reaction is incredibly small. At most, it's just an oversized Thermobaric Bomb!"

"Damn it, Thermobaric Bombs are terrifying too, okay~"

"Psionicists~ Psionicists~"

""

"Look! The Earth Federation's homepage updated its list of positions. There's a new post, Commander of the Fifth Fleet of the Earth Defense Directorate. The big shot in the photo lives in our neighborhood! I knew from childhood that he was extraordinary. He was bound to achieve great things!"

"This guy is terrifying!"

"All hail the big shot~"

"I worship the big shot!"

""

As soon as this news came out, its views on StarNet surged rapidly, doubling in a short time. That meant at least six hundred million Earthlings had read it by now.

"" Watching the countless scrolling comments fly past, Lin Zhichen did not know what to say for a moment.

"My Psionics awakened." After a long while, he finally said:

"There are too few talented people on Earth. To reassure Earth, which had only just joined the Federation, some key positions were assigned to Earthlings. But there are only a little over twenty Psionicists, with every one already filling a role. There simply aren't enough, so they dragged me in."

On the Holographic Projection device, Link and the others looked at one another.

That worked too?

"Big Brother, this is a good thing. If we want to make it in the Solar System, sooner or later we'll have to deal with the Autonomous Government! Look at the major Mercenary Groups and corps within the Federation—who has no connection to government departments?" Wu Tianyi consoled him.

Indeed, there was not a single one. Armed forces like Mercenary Groups had always been strictly controlled by the military. Unless one had connections above, trouble was unavoidable.

Lin Zhichen nodded slightly. "It was just a little unexpected. No matter what, even if the real authority is held by the fleet deputy commander sent by the Federal Government, the position of fleet commander is real. It will be immensely beneficial to our development!"

The others nodded. In many cases, power was tied to benefits. Given Earth's special circumstances, the Federal Government naturally had measures in place. It could not possibly let someone who knew nothing about interstellar warfare command a fleet in battle, so none of the departments staffed by Earthlings held real power.

However, as compensation, those Earthlings did not need to bear the responsibilities originally attached to their positions.

As compensation, they were also exempt from certain restrictions and could freely choose their future paths. If they wished to pursue their professions, they could rely on StarNet University and study their fields in Virtual Classrooms until they were qualified.

"The two of you have your ships now. I've got two Frigate Blueprints!" A smile appeared on Lin Zhichen's face.

"We've already scraped together enough money for one Frigate. Once we get back from this trip, we'll start building ships!"

"All hail Big Brother!" The group immediately became excited.

In this era, starships were the symbol of being above others. No amount of wealth could provide the sense of security brought by an actual fleet.

After the communication ended, Lin Zhichen sat in the captain's chair and silently gazed into the stars.

Being a Psionicist came with heightened senses, but that also had its drawbacks. Whenever Lin Zhichen looked into the starry sky, he could vaguely sense an inescapable feeling of danger.

That sense of danger was faint as dust, yet it was always there, like an unerasable haze pressing down on his heart.

Only at moments like this could Lin Zhichen truly understand the Federal Government's military-leaning policies—why it would rather create potential dangers than distribute starships throughout its territory on a massive scale, desperately stirring the public's yearning for the stars.

In this dark universe, no one knew whether the hidden darkness would suddenly erupt tomorrow.

The current prosperity was merely a fleeting firework before darkness descended.

"I'm no saint, but I can't just watch everything get worse!"

Looking at the Gate of Time and Space talent glowing on his panel, Lin Zhichen gritted his teeth and activated it. "Once a month. I hope this gives me a good start."

With a thought, the Gate of Time and Space opened.

Lin Zhichen, who had been sitting in the captain's chair, faded from solid to transparent and quietly vanished without a trace.

Within the boundless ocean of information, a certain point was stirred. Temporal energy merged with it, and a Warp space rapidly took shape.

Mountains and rivers, flowers and birds, insects and fish, cities and towns, bustling traffic—a scene of prosperity.

Inside the Instance World, Lin Zhichen floated in a liquid Hibernation Pod, receiving the influx of information.

Because of his talent, this world had taken form. Naturally, as a pseudo-creator god, he could obtain certain permissions, such as the complete plot of the Instance World.

That was right. These formed Instance Worlds were actually cycles of individual stories. Whenever a story ended, the entire instance would reset.

"Black Hole Surface." He repeatedly studied the "plot." Simply put, the starship New Domain, equipped with the latest Gravity Drive technology, vanished during its maiden voyage.

Several years later, it reappeared. Having returned from a foreign realm utterly unlike the scientific universe, the ship had become a terrifying Living Being with its own mind and a thirst for slaughter.

From the moment Dr. Will and his group unknowingly boarded New Domain, they were destined to fall into an endless nightmare.

"So, if I destroy New Domain directly, the instance ends. The key is that Dr. Will, the starship's chief engineer and designer, has an extraordinary obsession with it, so he cannot be allowed to learn of the operation."

When information was completely transparent, a Psionicist's power could be brought to its fullest extent.

Dr. Will, who had not yet fallen into darkness, witnessed the destruction of New Domain, the masterpiece of his life, in agony.

Of course, amid the final blaze, Lin Zhichen used Psionics to keep the explosion at bay. He obtained an intact Gravity Drive, along with Dr. Will, a scientist sunk in grief. The world's information told him these were the most valuable gains from this instance expedition.

This was not an infinite-flow novel. The Instance Worlds would not be explored in detail; the focus was on the gains.

"Civilization Relic: Gravity Drive, White

Passive Effect: During Sublight Travel, the equipped ship's speed remains fixed at 50% of light speed. The equipped ship's Hyperspace Jump engine cooldown is reduced by 50%. The equipped ship's Hyperspace Jump distance increases by 1000%. During Hyperspace Jump, the equipped ship has a chance of entering abnormal Warp space. Upon reappearing, the equipped ship gains the abnormal status 'Killing Ship Spirit.'

Active Effect: The equipped ship's Sublight speed remains fixed at 90% of light speed. The equipped ship's Hyperspace Jump engine cooldown is reduced by 90%. The equipped ship's Hyperspace Jump distance increases by 10000%.

Cooldown: 1 month"

Looking at the massive Gravity Drive before him, Lin Zhichen's heart thumped violently.

Civilization Relics were miraculous objects from the New Universe. Their origins were unknown, and each possessed immense value.

According to the scarce related information on StarNet, quite a number of Civilization Relics granted bonuses to an entire faction.

Just imagine it: a faction with Tens of Thousands of starships. Even a one-percent bonus in a single aspect would significantly improve its overall strength.

Of course, only one strategic relic of that kind could be activated at a time, and their cooldown periods were relatively long.

Compared with those, the one he had obtained could only enhance a single starship. It could only be considered a tactical relic, and its value was among the lowest.

Of course, even if its value was low, it was already an enormous harvest for someone like him who had only just started. It meant he could accumulate capital more quickly in the early stages.

Then he looked at the bewildered Dr. Will. As the designer of New Domain, he possessed a unique talent for Ship Design.

"Name: Will, Human, Yellow

Gender: Male

Age: 44

Profession: Master Scientist

Talent: Ship Design, Red. Ship Design ability +25%

Skills: 1—Ship Design, Red, Master 13.12%: Ship Design ability +28%. Allows the design of Cruiser hulls and the optimized design of Cruisers and lower-class ships. Note: This requires the cooperation of a draftsman.

2—Engine Design, Yellow, Grandmaster 13.12%: Engine Design ability +33%. Allows research into Warp Drives. Note 1: This technology is dangerous technology, and accidents may occur during research. Note 2: Engine blueprints require the cooperation of a draftsman.

Evaluation: The evil god of Warp space is watching you!"

"I've struck gold!" That was Lin Zhichen's first thought when he saw Dr. Will's status panel.

Generally speaking, the upper limit of a Normal person's talent without Psionics was red, and the bonus granted by a red talent was usually around twenty to twenty-five percent.

If Dr. Will possessed Psionics, then with his mastery of Ship Design, he could very likely push his talent one step further and break through the limit. As he was already a Grandmaster-level Engine Design expert, he could directly turn his talent into a Psionic Skill and become a Hero Tier scientist!

There were not many scientists of that level even within the Federation. Every one of them was a treasure of civilization, and it was impossible to find information about them on StarNet.

Lin Zhichen had only managed to find a slight introduction to that field because he had obtained the authority of a fleet commander. There was nothing more.

Evolution ultimately had to be reflected through skills. Leaving everything else aside, the path of Psionicists was to raise a skill to Master or even Grandmaster level, then use Psionics to elevate it into a Psionic Skill. Such skills provided enormous bonuses and completely widened the gap between ordinary people and Psionicists.

Dr. Will was not a Psionicist, yet he had raised his skills to Master and Grandmaster levels. Such an Elite was exceedingly rare even across the entire Human Federation's jurisdiction—Over a Thousand Habitable Planets and a population in the trillions.

"Looks like the cultivation and Awakening Plan for those under me need to be put on the agenda." Though regretful inwardly, he spoke differently aloud.

"Dr. Will, I'm sure you already know why all this happened. The star system you came from was actually only a narrow Warp space. The vast galaxy was merely a background image. This is the real universe.

Only by leaving the pond can one see the sea. If you want to build a starship truly capable of long-range travel, then this is a perfect opportunity!"

Unlike the NPCs Spawned by the Cloning Factory, whose intelligence varied but whose emotional intelligence was uniformly poor.

People brought out from Instance Worlds were all Natural Persons. They had hobbies and ideals and were no different from ordinary Federation citizens. Therefore, Normal persons like them could not be treated as simply and casually as NPCs.

Lin Zhichen activated the Holographic Projection and displayed the Earth Autonomous Government's appointment: