"Academician, there's still a danger zone. We haven't obtained any useful information. I suggest we stay on the outer perimeter for now. The swarm seems hesitant to come closer. Staying on the perimeter for a while should be fine. We can go in after we've explored the inner space."
"Well, now that we're safe for the time being, we shouldn't take any risks. This Matter River is so wide that it would take us a very long time to probe it at sub-light speed, so there's no rush."
"Yes, there are too many small particles here, and conventional navigation speeds are not fast enough. Academician, I suggest we break through from above the river and take a detailed scan first. This might be very helpful for our research."
"Yes, that's what I was thinking too. This Matter River is only ten light-years long. Let's scan it first, then use computers to locate that so-called danger zone; that's where we need to go."
"Academician, before we left, the general repeatedly instructed that only unmanned spacecraft could be sent in there. It would be very difficult for us to get in. To prevent us from entering, control of all flyable objects in the fleet is in the hands of General Chen Peng and General Li Zhixiong, and both of them must authorize it to fly."
"We'll talk about it later. Let's get to work first. I need to go talk to the two generals about drawing up detailed maps of the Matter River and the exploration."
The detailed map of the Matter River and the exploration plan were quickly finalized. The fleet knew in advance that warp drive was not possible in the Matter River, and made ample preparations for this operation.
In addition to being fully loaded with weapons and ammunition and ample energy, each Reaper also carries countless miniature spaceships— the Bee. The Bee are conventionally powered miniature spaceships specifically designed for exploring the Matter River. They cannot perform warp drive and are as large as their name suggests. The Bee are not ordinary miniature spaceships, but rather antimatter spaceships.
The Bee has a reserve of 3 grams of antimatter in its body for annihilation. When carrying out exploration missions, the Bee can collect abundant hydrogen atoms and other substances in the Matter River to annihilate the antimatter in its body and obtain huge amounts of energy. At the same time, it can also use the anti-gravitational force field to eliminate the influence of surrounding particles on the Bee itself.
Don't underestimate these 3 grams of antimatter; it's enough for Bee to consume for countless years. Once their speed increases, Bee will no longer need to consume antimatter during flight. Only when turning or slowing down will they need to continue consuming small amounts of antimatter.
In addition to its physical properties, the Bee is also a powerful weapon. It is composed entirely of antimatter and explodes wherever it touches. Given the large number of Bee and the simple manufacturing process, if its attack power were further improved, this inexpensive weapon would be very cost-effective and efficient.
Although the Bee is a conventionally powered spaceship, it can still disguise itself as a fragment of a star. It doesn't need wings to fly between stars, nor does it need to consider aerodynamics in its design. As long as it has power, any shape of spaceship can fly. The current shape of these Bee is randomly designed by computers based on the appearance of small meteorites, so almost no two Bee spaceships are the same.
In addition to the Bee, the Reaper also carries another small Wildcat, the Wildcat. The Wildcat has warp drive capability, is about 5 meters long, and has no attack capability, but it is powerful, equipped with a variety of instruments and equipment, and is highly maneuverable. It is also specially designed for exploring dangerous areas.
In addition, the Reaper is equipped with a variety of machines and robots, which can manufacture various experimental equipment for the academicians anytime and anywhere, ensuring the smooth progress of their research work.
Dozens of Wildcat spaceships, carrying Bee, began flying around the Matter River from all directions, mapping out the detailed conditions of the entire Matter River along the way and deploying Bee spaceships.
The computer will draw the most reasonable exploration route based on the situation in the Matter River and transmit it to the Bee. All of this can only be communicated via radio. This is Insect Zone, and if communication is cut off, it's not a big deal if the communication between ships is cut off, but it would be troublesome if the communication between the fleet and the base were also cut off.
A Wildcat spaceship had already reached the other side of the Matter River when it suddenly stopped. On the other side of the Matter River, there was a massive fleet, numbering at least one hundred million ships. They had already ventured deep into the Matter River Matter River, but were now sailing towards its edge. Since warp drive was not possible inside the Matter River, it would take them at least a year to get out.
The Wildcat immediately stopped flying and, after gathering enough information, turned back towards the main ship, relaying information to other ships along the way to temporarily halt their journey towards the other side of the Matter River. Twenty hours later, the Wildcat returned to the main ship and immediately relayed the information back to it.
Inside the main ship, everyone watched the footage transmitted by Wildcat, and a strange feeling welled up inside them. The fleet in front of them was so familiar to them.
These disc-shaped spaceships are built in the unique style of Li Shun's human forces. Based on the images they received, the fleet consists of at least 10 billion ships. They have already penetrated about 0.3 light-years into the Matter River, and may be even further, as they have now changed direction and are heading towards the outside of the Matter River.
"It's Li Shun. How did they get here too, and even earlier than us? How did such a massive fleet manage to get through the Insect Zone?"
"What a small world, Chen Peng. Should we give them a piece of our minds? Last time, Li Shun almost put the general and the academicians in danger. I've been holding this grudge for a while now, and I'm just looking for a way to vent it."
"Academician, what are your opinions? Our relationship with Li Shun is very subtle and special. Although he attacked you and the general last time, the general did Youwei the humans there. He was just very dissatisfied with Li Shun personally, as if the general had other considerations," Chen Peng asked.
"I don't know what the general's plans are. Youwei, we haven't seen Li Shun for over 20,000 years. They've made progress over the years. Can our Reversed State Armor still defend against their attacks?" Academician Zeng asked Academician Li Youwei, the creator of the Reversed State Armor.
"Well, Academician, based on normal estimates, we should be able to defend against it. However, Li Shun is too cunning. I suspect that the strength their fleet displayed last time was not their full strength, so I can't say for sure now."
" Li Shun, Li Shun, what exactly do you want to do!" Academician Zeng sighed to himself.
"Academician, regardless of what Li Shun is planning, I think we should strike first. They're inside the Matter River, while we're outside. It's the perfect time to trap them like dogs in a jar," Li Zhixiong said.
" Zhuge Xiong, I think we should figure out the situation first. Li Shun hasn't attacked us yet, so it doesn't make sense for us to just rush over and kill him. At least we don't have any real deep-seated hatred for each other right now. If it were any other civilization, it would be fine to just go and kill them, but they are human after all. The general probably wants to deal with Li Shun and replace him with a leader. It would be best if we could turn enemies into friends."
I haven't considered as many things as you have.