However, the scientists did not give up because of this error. Photons were activated one after another, information was collected, and then the activation was turned off. This tedious cycle was commonplace for these scientists who were engaged in scientific research. If they could not endure this tedium, it would be impossible for them to achieve anything on the road to scientific success.
In the year 43,500, a photon was activated, and a familiar fleet appeared in the message. It was the fleet of the Xuan Star Civilization that had been searching for 3,500 years. They had also arrived at the edge of the galaxy, but they were 50,000 light-years away from Hu Yu.
This time, scientists did not close the channel, hoping to gather more information about the Xuan Star Civilization. The Xuan Star Civilization's situation is not particularly good; they seem to be in a crisis.
The photons were not fixed in place and continued to move at high speed even after the four-dimensional channel was opened. In addition, the channel opening was very small, so the information collected by the fleet was very blurry and incomplete. However, from the blurry images, large numbers of Xuan Star people on the planet of the Xuan Star Civilization were lying on the ground at will.
Humans have had numerous interactions with the Xuan Star Civilization, and dangerous spaceships have even infiltrated Xuan Star Civilization's territory for many years, collecting countless pieces of information about Xuan Star Civilization's creatures, including their lifestyles. Such a large number of people collapsing on the planet's surface is definitely not the behavior of normal Xuan Star people.
" Old Hu, the Xuan Star Civilization seems to have fallen ill."
"It's unlikely. At the Star System-Level Civilization can generally solve the physical problems of their inhabitants perfectly. Although the biotechnology of the Xuan Star Civilization hasn't developed significantly, solving their own problems is no problem for them at all. Could they be holding some kind of celebration?"
"Are you lying on the ground while you're celebrating...?"
"I can't think of any other reason why they would behave like this. Their fleet is perfectly intact and docked near the planet, showing no signs of combat. What other reason could there be for them to act this way?"
"I don't know, but why don't we send the fleet over to check? If we can save them again, things might be easier to discuss."
"It's good to go and take a look. Judging from the current situation, something must have happened to the Xuan Star Civilization. Zhonghua, arrange for 20 billion Reaper. Let's go."
"Shall we go too?"
"Go, going in person will be the best way to show our sincerity. Oh, and remember to invite Academician Xiao and the others too."
"Okay, anyway, these are all trivial matters, they'll handle them. We'll just go ourselves."
At this point, the Xuan Star Civilization had become a nomadic civilization with no fixed abode, just like humanity had before. However, their situation was much better than that of humanity, since they were already Small Star Sector Intermediate Civilization, their fleet carried enough planets, and their people no longer needed to live in the cramped spaces inside the warships.
Since being rescued by Human Civilization, the Xuan Star Civilization has been wandering in the Milky Way galaxy. They pass by stars one by one, stopping to replenish their energy when it is depleted, and staying for a period of time. As a Small Star Sector Intermediate Civilization, other civilizations dare not provoke them.
A new leader was elected, Bi Cha returned to his original post. When they reached the edge of the galaxy, the Xuan Star Civilization once again chose a star to settle all the planets. Then, a nightmare began. The people fell into a deep sleep for no apparent reason. Their bodily functions were all normal, but they could not be woken up no matter how they were called.
The leader dispatched top biologists and medical personnel to examine the comatose citizens, but found nothing wrong. Every day, countless people fell asleep for no reason. The leader could only send robots to transfer the sleeping citizens into buildings, but as the number of sleeping citizens increased, even the robots could not keep up.
The leader immediately ordered Bi Cha to relocate the fleet, but it was too late. All the fleet's high-ranking officers, including Bi Cha, had fallen asleep. Before falling asleep, they seemed to be under a spell, altering the entire fleet's control program, shutting down all systems, and physically cutting off parts of the fleet that they did not have permission to access.
Now, only the leader of the Xuan Star people remains conscious among the dozens of planets. Looking at the scattered and ubiquitous civilians on the planet, the only consolation is that the robots can still function, and the unconscious civilians will receive good care, so there's no need to worry about their lives. The Xuan Star leader directly activated the planet's self-destruct device, the only device he could still directly control. If he pressed the button twice in a row, the entire planet would be destroyed.
However, the leader was not so easily defeated. He would never be willing to let the Xuan Star Civilization perish so easily in his hands. He just wondered what caused these people to fall into a deep sleep this time, while he himself was unharmed. It seemed like an invasion, but there were no signs of one.
The leader waited quietly, hoping to see the culprit who caused all this appear, even if it was just to threaten him. This silence made the leader uncomfortable.
One year, two years, three years... ten years have passed, and the leader still hasn't seen the culprit he hoped for. Even the leader himself doubts whether it was really just an accident. He is such a lonely person. The creatures of Xuan Star are also social creatures. Loneliness, solitude, and inexplicable fear make even the leader of Xuan Star feel extremely tormented. But he is the leader, and he perseveres no matter how tormented he is.
But how long could this hopeless persistence last—a hundred years, a thousand years, or ten thousand years? The leader seemed more exhausted than ever before. He began to emerge from the underground bunker and walk alone across the planet's surface, sometimes shouting and yelling, sometimes running and jumping wildly, to vent his incomparably dark loneliness.
The greatest punishment for civilized beings is not physical torture, but mental trauma. The beings of the Xuanxing Xuan Star Civilization are no different from humans in this respect. During the Age of Exploration, many sailors were shipwrecked on deserted islands. Many islands were rich in food, but nine out of ten sailors who were eventually found had developed mental problems. Some sailors who survived for more than ten or twenty years even forgot that they were still human. Their spirits had been completely destroyed by loneliness, leaving only biological instincts. Many sailors who sought help for many years without hope ultimately chose to end their own lives.
The leader wanted to pilot the spaceship to explore other planets, but now he has no news of any other planets. However, the spaceship's control system has been tampered with, and the leader is unable to restore it. He is just an ordinary Xuan Star and is not familiar with technological matters.
On a planet unseen by its leader, a group of tall, thin aliens were already busy at work. They seemed particularly interested in technological things, but the important technologies of the Xuan Star Civilization were stored in very hidden places. Now that the system was shut down, the technology storage point had become an ordinary place.