"So powerful? They're two or three times stronger than us."
"Actually, it's nothing. Even if it's two or three times stronger than ours, it's only slightly stronger. Our human Consciousness Field is inherently very weak."
" Jinqiao, although your Consciousness Field is qualified, but... you know..."
"Minister, there's no need to say anything. I know what happened. As a soldier, it's my responsibility to sacrifice myself first."
"Whether publicly or privately, I have no right to ask you to go and die, but..."
"Minister, it's nothing. What does my life matter compared to the fleet and the people? If my life can save billions of lives, then it's a worthwhile trade."
"Alright, get ready, we're leaving in three days."
"Yes."
Xie Jinqiao left without any hesitation or fear. Everything was so calm and natural. Giving up his life seemed like a trivial matter to him. Luo Zhigao still remembered how reluctant he was to part with the warships when they were about to dismantle part of his fleet to provide material and energy support for other warships. Now, when it came to his own life, he was so calm and composed.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye, but in those short three days, everyone in the fleet remembered a name called Xie Jinqiao. This name was so ordinary, yet so great.
All the portholes on the warship were open, and everyone silently watched a small shuttle in the distance. At this moment, all the lights on the warship were focused on the shuttle, and inside the shuttle was a tall and imposing figure, Xie Jinqiao. All preparations were complete, and they were just waiting for Luo Zhigao to give the order to depart.
"Let's go," Luo Zhigao said softly, his heart aching as if he were sending his comrades to their deaths. If he were qualified, Luo Zhigao would rather be the one in the shuttle than his comrades.
Xie Jinqiao stood by the porthole, smiling and waving goodbye to the distant warship. The lights made it impossible for Xie Jinqiao to see what was happening inside the warship, but he knew that all his compatriots were watching him.
He was not afraid of sacrifice. For the sake of the billions of people in the fleet, Xie Jinqiao felt that his sacrifice was so worthwhile. Life is only given to each person once, and at this moment, all the virtues of the Chinese Nation were perfectly embodied in Xie Jinqiao: dedication, selflessness, courage, fearlessness, perseverance, and indomitable spirit...
Without the slightest hesitation, the shuttle, having received the order, rushed into the area of Closed Spacetime Curve. Time and space were blocked here, and Luo Zhigao could no longer see anything about the shuttle. He could only silently pray that Xie Jinqiao's Consciousness Field could survive independently and transmit useful information to the fleet, otherwise, his sacrifice would have been in vain.
A large number of Consciousness Field sensing instruments were deployed in the airspace near the Closed Spacetime Curve, ready to receive information from Xie Jinqiao's Consciousness Field.
Luo Zhigao and everyone else waited anxiously, but 30 days passed in the blink of an eye, and they still hadn't received any news. Luo Zhigao was almost ready to give up.
That day, Academician Zheng Kaiping suddenly shouted.
"Minister, Minister, there's news! There's news!"
" Captain Xie is still alive!"
"To be precise, his Consciousness Field was preserved."
"Quickly, let me see what Captain Xie said!"
"Minister, the instrument has detected fluctuations in the Consciousness Field. The interpreted information is: Minister, I'm fine. I've arrived in a strange place."
"This Xie Jinqiao, even at a time like this, he's still thinking about comforting us, and then what? What did he say?"
"There is none left."
"How come there's only so little?"
I'm not sure.
"Minister," Gao Zhengyang continued, "Although Captain Xie's Consciousness Field survived, it should still be affected by the Closed Spacetime Curve. Otherwise, it wouldn't have taken 30 days for the message to come back. It's possible that Captain Xie pauses even slightly, it will take us a long time to receive the information."
" Academician Zheng, is there any way to restore Captain Xie to health?"
"Minister, restoration is possible. I can reconstruct a body to house Captain Xie's consciousness. However, Captain Xie's Consciousness Field cannot leave the Closed Spacetime Curve. Once it leaves, it will immediately Yun San unless we complete the rescue operation within the Closed Spacetime Curve."
Let's try to think of a solution.
Luo Zhigao said this, but he also knew that there was no way to rescue Captain Xie Jinqiao now. He could only preserve his Consciousness Field here for the time being and come back to rescue him when he had the strength.
Twenty days later, Xie Jinqiao's Consciousness Field transmitted new information. Having become accustomed to the existence of the Consciousness Field, Captain Xie Jinqiao transmitted more data about the Closed Spacetime Curve this time, which amazed Gao Zhengyang. This data was something he never dared to imagine before; the Closed Spacetime Curve was so magical.
This information provides a far deeper understanding of space than the fleet currently possesses. If the fleet's current understanding of space is akin to middle school trigonometric geometry, then it is now equivalent to spatial analytic geometry.
However, this spatial information still wasn't enough for the fleet to leave. Gao Zhengyang worked day and night, hoping to find a way to escape from this data.
Twenty-five days later, Captain Xie Jinqiao sent in new data. This time, Captain Xie said he saw the time, but he couldn't describe it. He also said he might have a way to get the fleet out of there.
"Minister, Captain Xie's Consciousness Field has weakened considerably; he may not have much time left."
Is there any way to contact Captain Xie?
"If Captain Xie's Consciousness Field can be detected by our instruments, then we should be able to make contact. But for some reason, our messages seem to disappear without a trace. Although I don't understand physics, I suspect it might be a matter of time. After our transmitted information enters the Closed Spacetime Curve, it may not be on the same timeline as where Captain Xie is, so he cannot receive our messages."
"Sigh!" Luo Zhigao sighed deeply. He had never felt so helpless. He could do nothing, and nothing he did mattered.
As time passed, every time Xie Jinqiao sent a message, Academician Zheng Kaiping could clearly feel his Consciousness Field weakening.
Another century has passed in the blink of an eye. On this day, Xie Jinqiao sent a very long message.
Minister, comrades, I have done my best to transmit the information from the Closed Spacetime Curve, but I dare not go through the strange ring. If I go there and disappear, the fleet will lose its last hope. I know that only a little over a hundred years have passed because you still exist, but I feel that billions of years have passed here.