"I think it's not advisable for us to launch a large-scale search for the Treant Civilization just yet. Let's reconsider. Although Zhang Yuanshan has waited for thousands of years, I believe he doesn't want us to take any risks. Let's stick to the third plan. Although we can't travel that far from the Milky Way galaxy right now, we can use a multi-point imaging method to obtain a complete view of the Milky Way from a distance of 10,000 to 20,000 light-years."
"Academician, isn't a span of 10,000 to 20,000 light-years too small for the Treant Civilization? The chances of the Treant Civilization moving through space in such a short timeframe are not very high. Another question is, have other civilizations done the same thing? If they have, it would be very risky for us to go there. After all, civilizations capable of such actions are not to be underestimated, and we cannot afford to provoke them."
"There's no need to worry too much about that. Indeed, we can't afford to offend civilizations capable of such operations. There can't be many special races like the Tree People in this Milky Way. If other civilizations can fold space, there's a 99% chance they're technologically advanced. If they are, they must be at least mid-level civilizations in Small Star Region, or even higher. But not every advanced civilization will do this, so we still have a good chance of finding the Treant Civilization."
"Academician, in that case, when shall we begin?"
"We need to wait for the general's decision. If the general agrees, we can begin immediately."
"No need to wait, let's set off now!" Hu Yu walked in as the academicians were discussing. " Academician Zeng, however, the Grim Slayer shouldn't be deployed; we can only send small spaceships."
"Yes, that's our plan too. The small spaceship's range is not much different from the Grim Slayer's, and we should receive news in as little as 20 years."
"It's going to take this long?"
"Yes, although we are not currently at the center of the Milky Way, the galactic disk here is over 30,000 light-years thick. We plan to conduct simultaneous imaging and analysis from both above and below, and we also need to jump out of the Milky Way from the side. Due to the limited energy of the spacecraft, we can only travel to a distance of 25,000 light-years. Even if we replenish our energy at the edge, we can only fly for another ten years. Therefore, the spacecraft's warp drive time is at most 20 years."
"Does that mean if the Treant Civilization hasn't been active for the last 30,000 years, there's nothing we can do?"
"Yes, conventional travel speeds can't keep up with the speed of light, so there's no point in continuing."
"Alright, let's send a portion of the Grim Slayer transport ships to assist. Twenty to thirty thousand light-years means we can only capture scenes from twenty to thirty thousand years ago, which is still too short a time span."
"General, even if we take transport ships, we can only travel a distance of over 100,000 light-years. Grim Slayer and the transport ships are major energy consumers."
"Yes, after escorting the transport ship to the outer edge of the galaxy to replenish its energy, the Grim Slayer will immediately return and not continue forward. It will allow the transport ship and the small spaceship to operate independently. When the transport ship is also nearly exhausted, it will replenish the small spaceship's energy and then destroy it, allowing the small spaceship to fly to its maximum distance."
"If that's the case, the small spaceship could probably travel to a place 300,000 light-years away, which would greatly increase the chances of finding the Treant Civilization."
"Academician, if I may ask a question that seems unrelated, is there really no way to leave the Milky Way?"
"If the peak Small Star Sector Civilization have already fully mastered three-dimensional space, like the Fish Horse Star Civilization, whose understanding of space has reached a terrifying level, then what about the Great Star Region Civilization?"
"Is it a dimension?"
"Indeed, General. You should remember that when the Fish Horse Star Civilization hunting down Earth Two, we dispatched Wind Master to the center of the galaxy to conduct a broadcast deterrence. The Fish Horse Star Civilization very certain of our Wind Master numbers because they could detect every dimensional communication channel between Earth Two and the Wind Master."
"It seems so. They are very clear that they have severed our connection with the Wind Master, and I remember they said they couldn't trace the source through the four-dimensional channel."
"Yes, that means they can't find the exit on the other side through the four-dimensional entrance on this side. They still need to rely on other methods to find the Wind Master. I guess that Small Star Sector Advanced Civilization like the Fish Horse Star Civilization civilization have also mastered some dimensional technology, but they may not be able to apply it to attacks yet. However, Great Star Region Civilization must have applied dimensions to attacks."
"Dimensional attack?"
"Yes, there are energy level differences between different dimensions. For example, opening a channel between three and four dimensions requires an enormous amount of energy. Conversely, if we were to transform four dimensions into three dimensions, it would release an enormous amount of energy, stronger than the energy that any matter can unleash. Furthermore, the higher the dimension, the greater the difference in energy levels. If the energy difference between two and three dimensions is 1, and the energy difference between three and four dimensions is 10, then the energy difference between four and five dimensions could be 100."
"Does the fifth dimension really exist?"
"We're currently only at the mathematical modeling stage. Whether it truly exists requires a certain level of understanding of four dimensions before we can draw a conclusion. We're also working hard to research the fourth dimension, but four-dimensional space is far more difficult than three-dimensional space, and we haven't made much progress so far."
"One day, we will control the fourth dimension."
All the academicians nodded firmly. Over the years, they had survived life-or-death crises time and time again, and everyone was full of confidence and hope for the future.
Six fleets have set sail. Each fleet consists of 100,000 Grim Slayer, 10 transport ships, and 20 small spaceships. Nine of the 10 transport ships are reserved for the Grim Slayer. The fleets are not very large, but as long as they do not encounter a civilization of the level of Fish Horse Star, their safety will not be a problem. These six fleets are heading to the upper and lower parts of the Milky Way disk, as well as the side occupied by the Milky Way civilization. From these three major directions, they will jump out of the Milky Way and head to a distant and desolate area 300,000 light-years away.
There are no stars there; the matter is so sparse that there are fewer than ten atoms per cubic kilometer—it's truly a desolate place. It will take the spaceship 85 years to traverse this vast distance, and even then, it will only have completed a small portion of its work. The small spaceship will continue to fly slowly, photographing the Milky Way from multiple angles. After all, the Milky Way is not only vast but also contains many stars, and it's perfectly normal for stars to be obscured by other stars. Therefore, it would take a very long time to photograph every single star.
The photography mission is not a one-time event. It requires taking a set of photos every 10,000 light-years away, starting from 30,000 light-years away, until it reaches 300,000 light-years away, for a total of 30 sets of photos. It is estimated that it will take at least 200 years.
As soon as the spaceship took off, Hu Yu found Academician Xiao. Earth Two, Earth Four, and more than 20 base planets were about to leave the Nebula Region. Hu Yu planned to go with Academician Xiao to the Aquila Civilization Base to say goodbye.
"General, so fast?"
"Academician, we've been in the Nebula Region for almost 600 years. The people yearn for the light of the stars. I know you're reluctant to part with Number One and the others, but they've grown up, so there's no need to worry too much."
"That's true. Flowers grown in a greenhouse can't withstand wind and rain. They need to be tempered and strengthened if they want to grow."