"Sigh, Zeng Zhaoyuan, isn't he usually very smart? But once he encounters something that interests him, he immediately concentrates his intelligence on that one thing, and his IQ in other areas approaches zero."
"What's wrong, Academician?"
"You're still too careless. Have you forgotten what we did to the Wind Star Civilization? We lost warships in three different locations. Have space vortexes become so cheap now that you can just find them anywhere?"
"But Academician, it can't be such a coincidence, can it? We've encountered an opponent using the same methods as us so quickly? This coincidence is probably no less likely than the appearance of three spatial vortexes. Moreover, this is the Nebula Region. Academician Zeng said that the overall spatial density here is higher, and with the spatial chaos, I don't think it's surprising that several spatial vortexes appear at the same time."
Have you scanned Zhang Yuanshan?
"Yes, ever since the incident with the Wind Star Civilization, all personnel returning from long-distance voyages are now scanned to confirm their identity. We've already used robots to scan them, and their physical structures are all normal. Moreover, we've been communicating frequently these past few days and haven't found anything unusual."
"Where is Zhang Yuanshan's fleet now? Take me to command post; I want to speak with him personally."
"There are still two days' journey to Earth Two, but his fleet is currently only traveling at five times the speed of light; they can accelerate at any time to shorten the journey."
"General, that's the problem."
What's the problem?
"A person who has been in danger for months, when they are only two days away from home, could easily speed up their journey home. Why don't they do it faster?"
"I also asked Zhang Yuanshan, and he said that the fleet's energy was greatly depleted when fighting against the space vortex, and the warp drive was also damaged, making it insufficient for the Wind Master to travel at high speeds."
"Sigh, the Wind Master ' energy reserves should be enough for thousands of years, how could they be exhausted in just a few months? Also, why did all ten thousand Wind Master return with their warp drives damaged? Even if that's true, he can still ask us to send a ship to pick him up."
"Academician, now that you mention it, it seems there's a problem. Let's go to the command center to discuss it."
The two hurried towards the command center, passing through the Science City along the way. Academician Xiao stopped by the Space Physics Division and found Academician Zeng. At that time, Academician Zeng was leading a group of scientists in research on space vortexes. The entire conference room of the Space Physics Division was bustling with activity, as noisy as kindergarten children going to school. Three research topics—space compression, space vortexes, and the space transfer used by the Ninety-Seven— were being conducted simultaneously. Scientists were discussing and arguing, and the scene was extremely intense. Of course, some scientists also retreated to their offices to think quietly.
Academician Xiao pulled Academician Zeng along as Hu Yu walked towards the command center. Listening to Academician Xiao's analysis along the way, Academician Zeng was visibly exasperated, blaming himself for being careless and abandoning everything else upon hearing about the space vortex. This left Hu Yu feeling quite embarrassed, as he was ultimately responsible for these matters. The academicians' job was to lead science and technology, and while the two academicians had been assisting him as advisors for years, the responsibility ultimately didn't fall on them.
Zhang Yuanshan led the fleet forward at a leisurely pace. Hu Yu and the others did not notice that a huge gas cloud with a diameter of more than ten kilometers was also moving at an extremely high speed 0.5 light-years away from the fleet. Its speed was also five times the speed of light. This gas cloud was as thick as the dark clouds in the sky on a thunderstorm day on Earth. Lightning flowed freely on the surface and inside of the gas cloud. If this were on Earth, it would definitely be a huge storm.
This cloud of gas always seems to sense the presence of satellites in advance. Just before it passes the satellite, it suddenly increases in size by tens of thousands of times, all the electrical current inside disappears, and its speed slows down. It passes through the reconnaissance satellite silently, without the satellite noticing. Once it's out of the satellite's detection range, it shrinks in size again and moves forward at high speed.
Its every action demonstrates a highly developed intelligence, only this intelligence is a bit too great. When it expands, its maximum diameter reaches 100,000 kilometers, enough to hold hundreds of Earths inside.
" Zhang Yuanshan, the general has ordered you to halt the fleet and undergo biological inspection."
" Academician Xiao, didn't we already undergo biological testing? Why do we need to do it again?"
"Because we just discovered a suspicious microorganism in the Nebula Region, for safety reasons, we would like to trouble Commander Zhang to cooperate with another inspection."
"Okay, no problem, Academician. General, why is the fleet being mobilized?"
After receiving Hu Yu's order, 500,000 Wind Master advanced at high speed, blocking the gap between Zhang Yuanshan's fleet and Earth Two. Each warship aimed its cannons at the 10,000 Wind Master led by Zhang Yuanshan. If there was any unusual movement, these 500,000 Wind Master could easily devour the 10,000 Wind Master.
" Zhang Yuanshan, stop immediately and submit to inspection," Hu Yu ordered sternly.
"Yes, General, I will halt the fleet immediately, but this will take a while."
" Zhonghua, is it possible to take over Zhang Yuanshan's fleet by radio at this distance?"
"No, Zhang Yuanshan's fleet is in a warp drive, making it impossible for radio to penetrate deep into the fleet. The fact that Zhang Yuanshan's fleet is very close together is the only reason it's possible to use high-powered radio for command."
Electromagnetic waves have very large distance limitations when used to command warships. Warships traveling at high speeds in warp drive are not unable to receive electromagnetic wave signals. On the contrary, the strong gravitational effect caused by high curvature can help them receive electromagnetic waves better. However, the distortion of space will cause electromagnetic wave signals to become chaotic. What was transmitted as 0000011111 may become 01010101 at the receiving end, or the signal may be lost altogether. The interference of warp drive with gravitational waves is even more serious.
Electromagnetic waves can only be barely received when sailing at low speeds and curvature. Although there may be signal loss, the error rate is not too high, and the correct command information can still be recovered after post-correction.
" Zhang Yuanshan, what are you doing? Stop advancing immediately! That's an order."
Zhang Yuanshan did not respond.
" Zhang Yuanshan!!!"
" Zhang Yuanshan!!!"
" Zhang Yuanshan, this is your final warning. If the fleet does not cease operations within five minutes, we will launch a devastating attack. Do you hear me, Zhang Yuanshan?!"
By this time, everyone had realized that something was wrong. Five hundred thousand Wind Master had formed a solid structure, and antimatter bombs were already loaded into the electromagnetic rails, ready to be fired at any moment.
" Zhang Yuanshan!!! Attack in ten seconds, halt advance immediately."
"Hehehe~~~ Humans, it's too late, prepare to die~~~"
"Attack! Attack!!" Hu Yu shouted the order.
Zhang Yuanshan's 10,000 warships and Hu Yu's 500,000 warships launched their attacks almost simultaneously. In just a few dozen seconds, more than 7,000 of Zhang Yuanshan's fleet were destroyed. At this point, they were only 6 light-days away from Earth Two, and traveling at five times the speed of light, they could reach it in just one day.
Zhang Yuanshan's remaining fleet still did not break free of warp drive, recklessly breaking through the blockade and heading towards Earth Two. Hu Yu had no choice but to order the Wind Master to change direction and intercept them again.
" Old Hu, this is bad! We've lost over 8,000 Wind Master!!!"
How is that possible?
"We only lost a few hundred ships in the first wave of attacks, but just now we lost contact with over seven thousand Wind Master, the situation is exactly the same as before!!!"
"Order the fleet to disperse immediately! Activate the anti-particle beam defense system immediately! Hurry, hurry, hurry!!!"
Before anyone could figure out what was going on, the orders were carried out without hesitation. The Wind Master quickly dispersed and attacked Zhang Yuanshan's fleet from a distance. However, at this moment, Zhang Yuanshan's fleet had once again grown to ten thousand ships. Moreover, everyone discovered that for every warship of Zhang Yuanshan destroyed, a new Wind Master would lose contact and join Zhang Yuanshan's fleet.
How can this battle be fought? For every warship we have, the enemy has just as many to replenish. Intercept? No, the enemy is immortal. Don't intercept? Even worse, the enemy is already heading for Earth Two. Earth Two they haven't exceeded five times the speed of light, they are getting closer and closer. Once this fleet reaches Earth Two, the consequences will be unimaginable.