"Alas, it's my limited ability."
"Academician, this has nothing to do with you. Our fleet has developed to this point entirely thanks to you. Without you, where would the fleet even exist?"
"General, why don't you come back first? We can discuss this further, or perhaps we can try a different civilization."
"We have no choice. The Xuan Star Civilization is probably the weakest of all the Small Star Sector Civilization. I don't believe any other civilizations will enter the Small Star Region in the short term, and even if they do, we'll have a hard time finding them."
"So you're planning to stay there?"
"Academician, to be honest, I don't know what to do right now. If I go back, I'm unwilling to give up; if I don't go back, there's nothing I can do. If I miss this opportunity, it won't come again."
"It is indeed a difficult matter."
"Academician, here's what we'll do: I'll stay here for another 600 years, making it a thousand years. If you still can't solve the space technology problem within 600 years, I'll go back. If you do solve it, we'll focus all our efforts on building ships and strive to surpass the Xuan Star Civilization within a few thousand years. That way, perhaps we'll still have a chance."
"Okay, we'll do our best."
Five hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye. Hu Yu finally understands why there are so few Small Star Sector Civilization. In these five hundred years, scientists have exhausted countless efforts and have only managed to increase the speed of the Grim Slayer to 3,500 times the speed of light and slightly improve the power of the spiral space attack. Apart from that, there has been no other progress.
Hu Yu knew that these scientists had already done their best. Some things are beyond their control; a hundred years of effort is not as valuable as a second of inspiration. So, over the years, Hu Yu not only didn't put pressure on the scientists, but also acted as if he didn't care, letting them relax, work on time, rest on time, and take vacations on time. He hoped they could find inspiration elsewhere, as the laboratory was not a place to find inspiration.
However, the more Hu Yu acted this way, the more uneasy the scientists became. They all felt that they had not done their best, putting the fleet in a dilemma. Even during rest, they would suddenly fall into deep thought, only to find that they were still wrong when they looked back, and then they would feel disappointed again.
" Old Hu, it's almost been a thousand years," Wen Zhonghua sighed.
"Yes, it seems we should prepare to leave this place. A thousand years—I have never endured such a long period of helplessness."
"You can't say that. We've built at least 80 million Grim Slayer warships over the years. By the way, Old Hu, how about we take down the Mu Star Civilization while we're retreating?"
"There's no need for that. The Mu Star Civilization is nothing to fear. We won't gain much of value from consuming them."
"It's not about their technology, it's purely about venting my anger, the anger I've held back for a thousand years."
"With our meager number of Grim Slayer? You've forgotten that there are nearly two hundred million Xuan Star Civilization warships within the Mu Star Civilization's territory, and another hundred Fish Horse Star warships lurking in the shadows. If we attack them now, it's as if we've accomplished nothing in the past thousand years and have only exposed our own existence. If we're going to do it, we should devour the Xuan Star Civilization as well, otherwise, it will be very difficult to shake off this tail. In the past thousand years, the Xuan Star Civilization civilization's warships have increased by another one hundred million. If they had been building ships at the same pace as when they first entered the Small Star Sector Civilization, their warships would probably have reached two billion by now."
After a significant technological advancement, every civilization will focus on building new warships for a short period. Only when the number of warships reaches a certain scale will they gradually slow down. A nationwide warship-building program is not suitable for long-term implementation. Like Hu Yu, they only build warships at full speed when there is an urgent need. Normally, warship production will slow down. Although more warships are better, the civilization itself must be able to manage them. The Xuan Star Civilization built 100 million warships in a thousand years. This number is more than ten times faster than Hu Yu's all-out warship-building speed. The Xuan Star Civilization's warships are much larger and more complex than the Grim Slayer.
"Damn it, if only we could fight in this spatial vortex, their spatial attacks would be useless, and our energy spheres would be invincible."
"A spatial vortex?"
"Yes, what's wrong?"
" Zhixiong, get me Academician Zeng and Academician Liu."
"Yes, General."
"General, what brings you here? Are you preparing to depart?"
"No, Academicians, I have an idea; perhaps there is still hope for a fight."
What are your thoughts?
"Gentlemen, look at this spatial vortex. Is there any way to move it to the territory of the Xuan Star Civilization? Then we can fight within the vortex, rendering their spatial technology useless, while our energy spheres can still be used as usual."
"The idea is good, but a moving space vortex? We've never thought of that before. This thing isn't as small as a star or planet; it's a full two light-years in diameter."
"If it's a bad idea, then it's Chief of Staff Wen's idea; if it's a good idea, then it's on me," Hu Yu joked, trying to ease the tension.
"Hey, Old Hu, how come all the bad ideas are mine? Haven't I ever come up with any good ideas?!"
"General, Chief of Staff Wen, we need to study this. Please give us some time, but don't have too high hopes; our current technological level is limited."
"We have plenty of time. We've been waiting here for almost a thousand years. We're not afraid to wait a few more decades. You can think about it slowly. As long as we can defeat the Xuan Star Civilization, it's worth waiting no matter how long it takes."
" Old Hu is right, but you guys should hurry up. You haven't been home in so long, I reckon you'll get a scolding when you get back."
"I understand, I understand, haha."
" Old Hu, don't laugh. Do you think you're having an easier time than me? With Xiao Xiao's temper, you're in for a rough time when you go back this time, haha."
"Me? Am I like you? I'm the boss at home."
"Keep pretending. I wonder who was whispering sweet nothings to the madam in their room the other day."
"Hey, you're getting more and more sleazy, eavesdropping like this!"
"Do you think I want to listen? You didn't close the door properly, and then you turned up the volume at a crucial moment. I feel like washing my ears."
"Gentlemen, gentlemen, please continue your conversation. We have to get back to work," Academician Zeng said with a smile.
"You flatter me, Academicians."
"It's alright, it's alright, haha, goodbye."
Academician Zeng and Academician Liu returned to the lab to conduct their research, leaving Hu Yu Wen Zhonghua still bickering. This is one of the ways people usually relieve loneliness and depression. Although there is a four-dimensional network that allows them to meet at any time, just like in real life, it is only like that, not real.
It would be a lie to say he didn't want to go home, as this was the first time he had been away from home for so long. But for the fleet and for the people, Hu Yu and his 3 million crew members remained in this unfamiliar planetary system without complaint, silently enduring everything. Although the four-dimensional network was advanced, direct human involvement was still required in many areas, and complete unmanned operation was not yet possible.
In the laboratory.
"Academician, do you really think a space-moving vortex is feasible?"
" Little Liu, I don't know either, but I can't bear to reject the general so directly. It's good to give them some hope. Besides, maybe we really can do it."
"But this spatial vortex is just too huge. If we were to rely on warships to move it, even hundreds of billions or trillions of warships might not be able to move it."
"Yes, whether we can do it or not, let's study it first. At least this idea is our only hope of defeating the Xuan Star Civilization. Even if we can't do it, we still need to give the general an explanation."