After waiting for 50 years in Upsilon1 Hydrae, the micro-ship still hadn't received the spaceship sent by Luo Zhigao. It had no choice but to return to Epsilon Eridani. Apart from receiving the message it had sent 50 years ago, everything here remained perfectly peaceful.
Hu Yu had no choice but to give up waiting. It was impossible for Luo Zhigao's fleet to find them at its current speed. 5,000 years had passed, and Luo Zhigao's fleet should have reached the Small Star Sector Civilization stage by now. It was unlikely that there would be any major problems. Now he could only hope that they were all safe and sound and that he could come back in another 5,000 years.
In a vacuum, two small spheres suddenly appear, then merge and disappear, just like two mischievous children playing hide-and-seek, hiding, then reappearing, then hiding again, endlessly repeating the cycle.
An invisible giant hand kept trying to catch the two mischievous little balls, but 2000 years later, the balls became more slippery than the giant hand had imagined. No matter how hard the giant hand tried, the balls always managed to escape.
In the year 9000 AD, under stable conditions, the fleet's population reached 80 billion. Compared to other Small Star Sector Civilization, this number was still at the bottom, but it was much better than before. The population growth brought about an increase in productivity and scientific personnel. In recent years, the fleet had not been at war and had been working hard to cultivate scientific and technological talents. Now, the total number of scientists has finally exceeded 10 million, and the number of academicians has remained at one percent, which is also quite considerable, reaching 100,000.
The number of Grim Slayer exceeded 400 million, and each one was equipped with space weapons such as Rotating Space Shockwave and improved Space Barrier. The fleet had finally and completely entered the Small Star Sector Civilization. The number of Stinger Kinetic Impact Ship also reached 100 million, and the number of Grim Slayer and Stinger was increasing by 200,000 ships per year.
To allow the Treant Civilization to develop without attracting the attention of other civilizations through large-scale star relocation, the Alliance territory was directly relocated to the edge of the galaxy. Hundreds of planets, along with JD6, disappeared from their original airspace. At the edge of the galaxy, star bodies are scarce, and the number of civilizations is extremely small. The fleet circled the edge of the galaxy, collecting stars one by one from a vast area spanning tens of thousands of light-years. So far, more than 50 stars have been transported. These are all massive stars, each equivalent to ten or a hundred, enough to sustain the Treant Civilization.
Each time a star arrives, the Treefolk use a method of cutting through space to engulf the entire star along with dozens of giant hollow planets. No one knows what happens next, except that every 20 years or so after returning to normal space, the star is left with only a cold, desolate core, while the Tree Race planets are noticeably more lush.
No one bothered to learn about this secret of the Tree Race. The fleet had no shortage of energy, and even after joining the Alliance, every civilization would have its own secrets, just like every person has their own secrets.
When the Tree Race emerged from their hidden space once more, this time the Tree Race leader brought someone with him. This person was none other than Zhang Yuanshan, who had fallen into a deep slumber. Now, Zhang Yuanshan stood before Hu Yu, this strong man still wearing a smile, calm and composed, as if nothing had happened.
" Yuanshan, you're finally back!" Hu Yu gripped Zhang Yuanshan's hand tightly.
"General, thank you all for your tireless efforts in rescuing me."
"Stop talking, go home. Your family has been waiting for you for too long."
"Yes, General, I'm aware of everything that's happened around me over the years. I can feel everyone's concern for me, and I can also feel their helplessness. It's like I'm in a long dream, but no matter how hard I try, I can't wake up."
"I'm sorry to have troubled you, but it's all over now. Everyone's efforts and your perseverance have paid off. Take a break for a while, then catch up on your new knowledge. The fleet needs you."
"No need to rest. I'll go home, review my notes, and immediately get back to work as soon as possible."
"We'll see. Go ahead and spend some time with your family."
"Goodbye, General." Zhang Yuanshan stood at attention, saluted, and strode away, his imposing figure remaining unchanged.
The two small balls were still playing hide-and-seek with the giant hand, but this time they finally couldn't escape its grasp. The two small balls were firmly controlled by the giant hand and could no longer be naughty. After hundreds of millions of attempts, they finally reaped the rewards.
The year 10000 AD.
"Ah~~~" A long scream broke the silence of the entire Academy of Sciences late at night.
"I did it! I did it! Ahhh!!" A young-looking academician lay down on the laboratory floor, stopped shouting, and tears streamed down his face.
Recalling the hardships of the past 2,000 years, the academician couldn't help but sob. In a short while, the sobbing turned into wailing. Several academicians who were still working surrounded him, without saying or doing anything, but their eyes were also glistening with tears. They almost cried with the academician who was lying down.
Academician Zhou Xiaohua, an Academician Zhou who rose from an ordinary person, was determined to make the fleet stronger through his own efforts after the battle between Tau Ceti and the Sand Python Civilization. At that time, he was just an ordinary worker. In his spare time, Academician Zhou began to study continuously.
It took Academician Zhou 200 years to successfully pass the scientist's examination. Keep in mind that at that time, the war with the Sand Python Civilization had just ended, and then he had to evade the pursuit of the Wind Star Civilization fleet. Later, he fought another major battle with the Sand Python Civilization in Alpha Centauri. During this turbulent period, Zhou Xiaohua, as an ordinary worker, not only had to work hard, but also had to accumulate a massive amount of knowledge and pass the scientist's examination. The difficulty of this was beyond the reach of ordinary people.
But Zhou Xiaohua accomplished this difficult feat. From an ordinary scientist to an academician, it only took Zhou Xiaohua 300 years, and he chose the most challenging dimension of all scientific branches.
Academician Zhou Xiaohua believes that if you're going to do something, do the most difficult thing. Only by doing the most difficult thing can you achieve the greatest effect and the greatest improvement in the fleet's strength. This kind of perseverance is something that ordinary people do not possess.
After Academician Zeng used energy to open the fourth-dimensional channel, Academician Zhou also embarked on the path of studying the fourth dimension from a microscopic perspective. By chance, Academician Zhou turned his attention to the vacuum. Academician Zhou wanted to see if particles could be extracted from the fourth dimension in an absolute vacuum environment. With the help of Academician Li Youwei, Academician Zhou created an absolute vacuum environment.
Absolute vacuum did not exist in the past, but after the fleet was able to control Basic Energy, absolute vacuum can now be achieved. In absolute vacuum, there are not only no particles but also no energy, so theoretically there should be no energy fluctuations and no virtual particle pairs will be generated.
However, something strange happened: virtual particle pairs were still being generated here. A pair of virtual particles would appear quickly and then annihilate each other and disappear in an instant. Strangely, no energy was generated in the vacuum, which meant that these virtual particles did not come from the fourth dimension.