Star Port

In the near orbit of a star encased in Dyson Sphere, a beautiful metallic structure floats silently. It is ring-shaped and shimmers with starlight-like lights, making it look like a winding galaxy.

Although the ring appears small compared to the Dyson Sphere next to it, its inner diameter is actually five thousand kilometers and its outer diameter is close to seven thousand kilometers, making it a colossal creation several times larger than the Zerg's Megastructure.

Moreover, this is the smallest Star Gate. It is said that the largest Star Gate has an inner diameter of 25,000 kilometers and an outer diameter of 30,000 kilometers, making it a monster that is larger and more terrifying than many planets.

Even the smallest Star Gate is large enough for hundreds of warships to pass through simultaneously. In the habitable orbit of the star, the Epoch Clan also built a large Star Port, which is also circular in structure and its enormous size is comparable to that of the Star Gate. However, unlike the Star Gate, it is solid.

The outer edge of the Star Port is a dense ring of interstellar docks. Although thousands of ships of all kinds are docked here, the area still appears very empty due to its enormous size.

However, with the Star Gate about to open, more and more spaceships arrived at the Star Port. Countless spaceships were flowing endlessly at the dock, searching for their own positions. Everything seemed somewhat chaotic but also orderly.

The Zerg Anchor Unit's ship is one of those waiting for the Star Gate to open. It's an ordinary Epoch Clan transport ship with a maximum speed of six times the speed of light. This speed, which other races would envy, isn't the slowest among the Epoch Clan, but it's still only in the lower-middle tier.

Although the Star Port and Star Gate were both built by the Epoch Clan, they are public facilities of the Star Sea Alliance. Therefore, Epoch Clan ships only make up a small portion of the space here, while the rest belong to the ships of various other races.

Unlike the ships on the front lines of the war against the Zerg, here, apart from the Epoch Clan fleet guarding the Star Port and Star Gate which are warships, the rest are civilian ships from various races.

With their various sizes, shapes, designs, appearances, and paint schemes, almost no two spaceships were exactly alike. The sheer variety of spaceships appearing at this one Star Port alone was an eye-opener for Rowan.

This Star Port has a total area larger than many small planets, and because it is entirely man-made, it is utilized very efficiently. Therefore, it is like a small society, with abundant and complete facilities such as hotels, restaurants, and inns, as well as a wide variety of trading venues.

Because of its proximity to the Star Gate, this place boasts an exceptionally rich variety of goods, with several large distribution centers located here. In addition, it offers a wide range of services such as gambling, black markets, and even mercenaries.

Not only does it contain all kinds of light industry, but the Star Port also has various heavy industries. Repairing spaceships is just a basic operation, and it even has the capability to produce spaceships smaller than large ones.

In addition, the Star Port is also home to an enormous amount of various crops, enough to sustain many people even without external supplies.

This Star Port has existed for over 50,000 years. Many foreign peoples settled here after doing business or providing other services, eventually becoming its permanent residents.

To date, the permanent residents of this Star Port have exceeded two hundred million, comprised of various ethnic groups, many of whom have never left the area from birth to death. As a result, the residents identify themselves as Star Port and generally have little attachment to their original ethnicity. They have even established their own administrative bodies, living in a manner reminiscent of the Epoch Clan.

Rowan liked this place. Unlike naturally formed planets, this colossal, entirely man-made structure lacked a normal ecosystem and was riddled with various detection instruments from the inside out. If it were under military control, infiltrating it and establishing a Zerg base here would be an extremely difficult task.

But now that there are civilian districts and plantations here, and many places where filth and corruption thrive, hiding a Zerg base shouldn't be too difficult.

While waiting for the Star Gate, Rowan planted Seed in the Star Port. Under Rowan's special care, the Seed quickly took root, sprouted, and multiplied into more than a thousand basic Node Unit.

Even if the Anchor Unit leave, this Star Port won't be lost in the Swarm Network. With this Transfer Station, the scrutiny of civilian ships shouldn't be as strict as that of warships. Packing up some Node Unit and hiding them among various cargoes can accelerate the Swarm's expansion. It's an unexpected bonus.

A few days later, the energy of the Dyson Sphere became restless, and the massive energy convergence could even be felt by the physical body within the Star Port.

The spaceships that needed to pass through the Star Gate left the dock one after another, lining up in an orderly long queue according to the pre-arranged numbers. The spaceships of the Anchor Unit were placed at the front. Of course, it was understandable that the facilities built by the Epoch Clan would prioritize their own spaceships at the front.

Although the star is surrounded by Dyson Sphere, causing the habitable zone where the Star Port is located to be further forward, the Star Port is still a relatively long distance from the Star Gate, given that only Sub-light Engine can be used.

Although the energy was surging and overwhelming, the energy monitoring instruments on each spacecraft exceeded their limits, and some spacecraft even shut them down to protect the instruments.

Because many of the researchers on board were crossing Star Gate for the first time and had just left the Star Port, most of them did not immediately enter hibernation mode. Instead, they gathered in front of the spaceship's observation windows to watch the Star Gate open.

From the perspective of the Node Unit, Rowan also witnessed this scene, which he found quite shocking.

The stargate ring, originally shimmering like a constellation of Star Gate, gradually merged into a single, intensely bright Starlight under the continuous infusion of energy from the Dyson Sphere. In the end, the entire Star Gate ring transformed into a giant halo.

Energy continued to pour in, and the enormous energy disrupted space. The originally clear starry sky at the center of the ring slowly became blurred, and then it seemed as if ripples were spreading.

As time passed, the ripples gradually subsided, but when looking at the center of the circle, the starry sky on the other side, which was originally visible, had become extremely abnormal. The stars were stretched out, as if looking at the other world through a concave-convex mirror.

At this point, the Star Gate was successfully opened and remained stable, and the long-waiting fleet began to pass through one after another. The huge Star Gate could accommodate hundreds of ships passing through at the same time.

Through the perspective of the Node Unit, the ship ahead can be clearly seen. As it approaches the Star Gate, the ship appears to be stretched. A three-thousand-meter-long ship is stretched hundreds of times longer before slowly disappearing into the Star Gate and being gradually swallowed up.