After entering the Mirror Sub-Universe, Academician Liu no longer stayed in the logistics department, because there was no fourth dimension here, so there could be no spying. Academician Liu was very interested in these fragmented spaces. Wen Zhonghua was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, restless all day long, while Academician Liu acted as if nothing was wrong, spending all his time except for resting observing and calculating the space outside the Reaper.
It has been over 14,000 years since we entered the Mirror Sub-Universe.
"General, since 50 billion warships went missing in a short period of time ten years ago, the Chief of the General Staff has not given us any news. Could there be a problem?" Yang Fan asked.
"There shouldn't be any problems. If things really got to the point of no return, the Chief of the General Staff would definitely have notified us. Since he hasn't contacted us, it means they still have the ability to maneuver in the Insect Zone. Something must have happened; they've probably hidden in the danger zone of the Matter River, which is why they've all lost contact."
"Oh, I hope they return safely, General. Wasn't this attack on Li Shun a bit too reckless?" Yang Fan was unaware of the matter of guiding Academician Liu. Only Hu Yu Wen Zhonghua, and Li Zhixiong knew about it. Even Gao Jianchuan only found out after arriving in the Insect Zone.
"Some things always need to be settled. How are the Gemini Civilization and the Crystal Civilization doing?"
"Nothing unusual. They're all developing within their respective territories. Recently, the Great Cang Civilization has reached the Star System Level. Could we provide them with some technological support?"
"Their development was barely acceptable; they reached Star System Level in just over ten thousand years."
"If we hadn't intervened, they would still be struggling on the brink of death. Now they don't need to worry about security at all and can focus entirely on developing technology. They're only so-so, I suppose."
"Other civilizations have shared hardships with humanity and are now firmly bound to us. However, the Great Cang Civilization was cultivated by us and is not particularly loyal to humanity. We can provide them with some technological support as appropriate."
"Understood, we will leave backdoors in these technologies."
"Okay, you can arrange it yourself, you don't need to go through me again."
Wen Zhonghua remained anxious every day. The fleet only had 1,200 ships left. One day, Academician Liu, who was observing, suddenly discovered a huge space debris in front of them. The debris was over 100,000 kilometers long and wide. If it hadn't been discovered in time, the fleet might have been trapped in this space debris forever.
The fleet continued forward, but the spatial fragments ahead grew larger and appeared more frequently. The fleet had to slow down and carefully weave through these fragments. Although space was shattered, the fleet could still rely on it to move forward; otherwise, if there were no space at all, the fleet would not know if it would still exist.
Space debris is like a broken pane of glass in a picture frame, but it can still form a whole. It is precisely because of this that the fleet can barely navigate through these pieces of space debris.
" Academician Liu, is there any other way? We only have 900 ships left in our fleet now," Wen Zhonghua asked, his face full of worry.
Why is the Chief of the General Staff in such a hurry?
"Sigh, how can I not be anxious? These 900 warships can only last for a maximum of 1,000 years. After a thousand years, the fleet will drop to 50 ships. When our energy is exhausted, we can only wait to die."
"Chief of the General Staff, haven't you noticed that the space debris we're encountering is getting larger and more numerous?"
"Indeed, when it rains, it pours; it's a waste of a lot of energy."
"But I think this is a good thing."
"Good news? My dear academician, you really have a big heart!"
"Chief of the General Staff, why are the space fragments getting bigger and bigger? It's because we're getting closer and closer to the universe. Think about it carefully, isn't that the logic? The last large fragment will directly connect to the universe. We've now entered the buffer zone, and I believe it won't be long before we return to the universe."
"Really!!!" Wen Zhonghua instantly became excited, and everyone's attention was focused on Academician Liu.
"Now I'm about 90% sure, and through recent research I've also roughly figured out how to leave the Mirror Sub-Universe. Actually, once we reach the edge of the Mirror Sub-Universe, we can leave in any direction. It's just that without Lord Zu's help, we simply can't reach the edge within the Mirror Sub-Universe."
"Great! We'll be able to return to the vast universe soon."
"Chief of the General Staff, don't be too happy yet. Although the direction is correct, whether our energy can last until we reach the vast universe depends on luck. And even if we get out, we don't know our exact coordinates. We might be in the Milky Way, or we might be in another galaxy."
"Who cares? As long as we can get out, we'll find our way home."
The spatial debris ahead was getting larger and larger. To avoid getting lost among these debris, the fleet had no choice but to activate its space cannons, destroying large areas of space along the way. This caused the already scarce energy to be consumed even faster, and the loss of warships was also accelerating. The 900 warships that could originally last for 1,000 years could now barely last for 500 years.
When the fleet had dwindled to only one hundred ships, and there was still no sign of the vast universe ahead, Academician Liu, who was surveying space, suddenly shouted, "Switch off the interstellar searchlights!"
No one understood what was going on. The fleet needed lights to guide its advance. If the photons were propagating normally, it meant there was a large piece of space debris ahead, and they needed to navigate with caution. Now, Academician Liu's order to turn off the lights would undoubtedly put the fleet in danger. However, seeing Academician Liu's excited expression, Wen Zhonghua immediately turned off the lights.
From the spatial fragments ahead, a faint ray of starlight emanated. The starlight was extremely weak, but it was still discernible to the naked eye. Everyone knew perfectly well what seeing starlight meant, and they all cheered.
"The vast universe, the vast universe!"
"We're finally going back to the vast universe!"
"We did it! We did it!"
No celestial bodies were visible in this sliver of starlight. It must have traversed many spatial fragments to reach this place and was eventually captured by the fleet. The road ahead is not far, but the fleet can only hold out for a maximum of one hundred years.
Eighty years later, a battered fleet suddenly appeared in the three-dimensional universe. This fleet consisted of only 60 warships, all of which were on the verge of exhaustion. This was the Reaper Fleet, which had been sailing through the shattered space for nearly 15,000 years. If it weren't for the help of the Lord Zu, no matter how many fleets there were, they would not have been able to pass through this long journey.