Deploying relay equipment is entirely feasible for Wildcat. Wildcat activity range can now reach several light-years, thanks to the electromagnetic wave relay equipment deployed over the years. The defense system is almost complete, and Chen Peng and Li Zhixiong have taken on the role of production supervisors for the relay equipment.
On a planetary system 500 light-years away from the JD6 Planetary System, an unprecedented panic is unfolding.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, twelve of the Guardian Stars have suddenly disappeared, leaving only three. There's a lot of talk among the people, everyone's saying that Your Majesty..."
"Say what you said about me, and I'll forgive you!"
"They say, they say His Majesty is immoral, ambitious, and reckless in his conquests, and that he has angered the gods, who have abandoned us."
"Ignorant foolishness, utter nonsense! Summon Lord Yuan from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau."
"Your Majesty, Lord Yuan should be arriving soon. He observed the disappearance of the Guardian Star last night and didn't sleep a wink."
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"
"Yuan, what exactly happened?!"
"Your Majesty, I observed the celestial phenomena last night, and indeed, 12 of the guardian stars have disappeared."
What does this tell us?
"Your Majesty, the celestial instrument I crafted spewed forth pearls from its dragon head last night, a sign of an impending change in the heavens. Perhaps the guardian star hasn't vanished, but rather died."
"Lord Yuan, the guardian star has protected our Great Cang Empire for billions of years. How could it just die like that, especially 12 of them at once? This is disrespectful to the gods. If the empire is in trouble, you should be executed!" the divination official from the Celestial Divination Bureau retorted.
"Lord Bu, in your opinion, you're saying that the disappearance of our Great Cang Empire's guardian star was due to the emperor's lack of virtue, is that right?"
"You, you're slandering me! Your Majesty, that's absolutely not what I meant!"
"Quiet, Yuan, please continue."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Does Your Majesty still remember that night a few years ago when we had a long and fruitful conversation?"
"Yes, I remember."
"Your Majesty, I still hold the same belief: there must be celestial beings in the heavens. These celestial beings are not gods, but rather people just like us, only they possess certain technologies. The disappearance of the guardian star may well be the work of these celestial beings."
"Yuan, while I like your idea, I can't believe it. Bu, you must immediately find a way to calm the panic among the people. We are currently at war with the Great Cheng Empire, and I don't want these things to affect the war. The Great Cheng Empire has crossed thousands of miles to invade us; I absolutely cannot hand over the Great Cang Empire. My people are shedding blood on the front lines; their blood cannot be shed in vain."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Entrust the matter of pacifying the people to me; I will certainly handle it well."
After Bu finished speaking, he glanced at Yuan with disdain. In crucial moments, His Majesty still had to rely on himself.
"Let this matter be dropped as soon as possible; if there is nothing else, the court may adjourn."
"Your Majesty, I have something to report."
"Yuan, I know you are very capable, but this is a critical moment. Your words will only cause greater panic and unrest. For the sake of the empire, you understand."
"Your Majesty, I wish to prove something."
What is it?
"I wish to prove that the place we are in, like the Imperial Star and its companion stars, is simply a giant sphere!"
"What! Yuan, you, you're deceiving the emperor! The place we live in is clearly a vast flat area, Your Majesty!"
"Shut up! Yuan, tell me, how are you going to prove it?"
"Your Majesty, over the years I have observed our imperial star and its companion star, and I have gathered sufficient evidence. However, no one would believe this evidence if I were to state it. To prove it, I have decided to leave the imperial city and set off from where the imperial star rises, heading towards where it sets. If one day I return to the starting point, will that prove that the place we live in is a sphere?"
"Yuan, you need to think this through. The Great Cheng Empire is thousands of miles away from us. From the Great Cheng people we've captured, we know that the other side of the Great Cheng Empire is still not our border. Whether your thinking is correct or not, it's an incredibly long and arduous journey, and you might lose your life for it."
"Your Majesty, I know that as long as it can be proven that the place we live in is a sphere, what does it matter if I die? I have no regrets about dying on the path of pursuing truth."
"Yuan, if you return, you will be rewarded with unparalleled glory."
"Your Majesty, I serve only the truth, not glory. I take my leave."
Outside the majestic imperial city, a small, thin figure braved the scorching sun and embarked on his long and arduous journey in pursuit of truth. He didn't know when he would return to the starting point, or even if he could return at all. He wanted to use his own two feet to prove that this place, like the imperial star, was a sphere.
Ahead lay towering mountains, deep ravines, rushing torrents, raging floods, and fierce beasts. He was battered by wind and rain, and his frail body fell down time and time again, but his strong will enabled him to rise again and continue forward.
He could tread on the highest mountains and bravely cross the widest rivers. Through wind, frost, rain, and dew, through the changing seasons, day after day, year after year, whenever his life was nearing its end, a flying insect that didn't exist in this place would bite him while he was unconscious, and then he would be able to stand up again and continue his journey.
As the sun and moon alternated and the stars shifted, 30 years passed in the blink of an eye. A ragged, haggard, and aged figure appeared at the majestic gate of the imperial city.
"Get out of here, get out of here! Can't you see this is the imperial city?!" The city guards impatiently shooed the old man away.
The old man shakily pulled a token from his pocket.
"Tell His Majesty, Yuan has returned."
"Yuan? Never heard of it. Where did you find this token? This is a capital offense, you know?" Upon seeing the token, the guard, though disbelieving, did not act recklessly.
"Make way, make way, Lord Yang is here."
"Yang." The old man uttered the loudest sound he could make with his body, which was unable to exert any strength.
Although the voice wasn't loud, a simply dressed middle-aged man still heard it. The voice was so familiar yet so unfamiliar. He froze, looking around to find the source of the voice.
"Yang, don't you remember your teacher?"
The middle-aged man finally realized the source of the voice; the frail body before him suddenly unlocked long-dormant memories in his mind.
"Teacher, teacher, is that you? You're back!" The middle-aged man knelt down with a thud, weeping with joy.
"It's me, I'm back."
"Teacher, what happened to you...?"
"Child, stop crying! Quickly, take me to see His Majesty!"
"Yes, yes, teacher, please come with me."
Inside the palace.
"Your Majesty, it's too late." Yuan prostrated himself on the ground, unable to rise.
"Yuan, you've kept me waiting for so long." His Majesty personally helped Yuan up, and the two old men embraced each other tightly like long-lost relatives.
"Your Majesty, I have followed in the footsteps of the Imperial Star for thirty years, traveling 108,000 li and passing through 139 large and small countries. I have finally circled our homeland, proving that our homeland is spherical. Hundreds of times I almost did not see Your Majesty. Heaven blesses my Great Cang Empire, I have finally returned."
"Yuan, you're getting old."
"His Majesty is getting old."
"Haha, Yuan, you've accomplished a magnificent feat that's unprecedented and will likely never be repeated!"
"It is entirely thanks to Your Majesty's great fortune that I have escaped death multiple times."