The lost Small Star Sector Civilization may have been lucky enough to reach the edge of the Mirror Sub-Universe and enter, but even trillions of warships would find it difficult to traverse this long journey.
The people who had endured a long voyage were mentally exhausted, but now that they had returned to the vast universe, all their psychological gloom vanished instantly. Wen Zhonghua ordered the Reaper to open the thick armor layer, revealing huge portholes. People pressed their faces against the portholes, looking out at the cosmic scenery.
A huge disc appeared before everyone's eyes, with a diameter of 100,000 light-years, illuminated by countless stars.
"It's the Milky Way! Chief of the General Staff, it's the Milky Way!" Gao Jianchuan jumped up with joy.
"Fortunately, the distance isn't too far, about 20,000 light-years."
"It's not that we're lucky; the Mirror Sub-Universe is very small, so no matter where we come from, we're in or near the Milky Way Milky Way," Academician Liu said.
" Academician Liu, didn't you say you would go to other river systems?"
"Just kidding, haha."
"You... Hahahaha, let's go home now, but we need to take a detour first, to the Tree Race territory, and establish contact with the base while we're at it."
"Hmm, and while you're at it, put me in the Tree Race."
The fleet immediately drew energy from the fourth dimension and then restarted the warp drive, which had been out of service for over ten thousand years. The warp drive began to operate, and the fleet instantly disappeared into the endless deep space.
Five years later, the fleet arrived at a place 10,000 light-years away on the outer edge of the galaxy. This was the territory of the Tree Race. Upon seeing the human fleet approaching, Ninety-Seven immediately led a large group of elders to greet them.
Wen Zhonghua left Academician Liu Bo with the Tree Race. For safety, Chen Peng and dozens of his entourage also volunteered to stay on the Tree Race planet. Wen Zhonghua instructed Ninety-Seven to take good care of these people. Then, he used the equipment there to re-establish contact with Hu Yu and immediately set off for the base.
"You've worked hard these past few decades." Two years later, Wen Zhonghua and everyone finally returned to the Alliance base. Hu Yu greeted everyone happily. Although he didn't see Academician Liu and Chen Peng, Hu Yu naturally knew what Wen Zhonghua Wen Zhonghua had done while he was with the Tree Race.
"What do you mean by decades, Old Hu? It's almost 15,000 years, okay?"
"That's not right, you've only been there for a few decades."
"I understand. Time there is different from that in the universe. Don't ask, I'll tell you when I have time. I'm exhausted. I need to take a hot bath and sleep for three days and three nights. You guys should go home too. I'm giving you ten days off to rest."
"Alright, alright, you can go ahead, just come back soon."
Soon, news of humanity's crushing defeat spread throughout the Alliance. Of the 120 billion warships, less than a hundred returned. If they hadn't circled extensively outside the galaxy, they might have been completely annihilated. Of course, this was also related to humanity's misfortune in encountering Mechanical Civilization. Although they were defeated, it was not shameful.
Hu Yu immediately informed the Yun San Civilization about the Mechanical Civilization's development in the Insect Zone. The Yun San Civilization was also shocked to hear this news. No one expected that the Mechanical Civilization would be developing secretly in the Insect Zone. If it weren't for humanity's efforts to eliminate Li Shun, this scoundrel of the civilization, the Mechanical Civilization might have secretly occupied the entire Insect Zone. By then, it would have been too late to discover it.
Hu Yu asked the Yun San Civilization what to do. The Yun San Civilization did not say that they should immediately annihilate the Mechanical Civilization. They only said that they needed to discuss with the other civilizations before they could decide. If the fleet of the Great Star Region Civilization entered the Insect Zone, the high-level Zerg from the fourth dimension would also descend upon the Insect Zone. At that time, the balance of power with the Insect Race would be broken, and it would be hard to say whether they could hold their line.
Hu Yu wanted to get involved in these matters but lacked the ability. Although the Mechanical Civilization was only a rudimentary civilization in the Large Star Region, it was definitely not something the Reaper could contend with. Hu Yu wondered just how terrifying the technology of Great Star Region Advanced Civilization, such as the Yun San Civilization, would be. The Reaper probably wouldn't even dare to consider fleeing in front of them.
The families of those who remained with the Tree Race were transferred to Tree Race planets by the fleet under various pretexts, allowing them to reunite. Academician Liu, Chen Peng, and dozens of accompanying personnel had already spent a long time in the Mirror Sub-Universe and the Matter River. It was only natural to let them reunite with the Tree Race and enjoy a peaceful life.
Since Wen Zhonghua returned, Academician Zeng has not slept well for a single night. The technology from Academician Liu is urgently needed by the fleet. If it can be applied to the fleet as soon as possible, the fleet can improve its strength sooner. However, Hu Yu has not yet allowed Academician Liu to return, nor has he intended to send Academician Zeng over.
Hu Yu was actually more anxious than Academician Zeng, but every move Academician Zeng made was being watched by others. If Academician Zeng suddenly went to the Tree Race, especially since Wen Zhonghua had just returned from the Tree Race, it would definitely arouse suspicion. Therefore, Hu Yu could only suppress his impatience and wait for the right opportunity.
Five years later, news came from the Yun San Civilization that the five Great Star Region Civilization had secretly investigated the entire Insect Zone but found no fleets of the Mechanical Civilization. However, they did find traces of the Mechanical Civilization's existence. Hu Yu transmitted the video footage brought by Wen Zhonghua of the nearly five trillion Mechanical Civilization warships battling the Zerg swarm to the Yun San Civilization, hoping they would take it seriously and carefully investigate the Mechanical Civilization's whereabouts.
The Yun San Civilization stated that they would continue their search, extending it to an area within 100,000 light-years of the outer reaches of the galaxy, determined to find traces of the Mechanical Civilization. The Mechanical Civilization's rapid development had already frightened them. Although the Mechanical Civilization was only at a rudimentary stage, as long as they had an absolute numerical advantage, they could still defeat Great Star Region Advanced Civilization Great Star Region Civilization.
Five years later, all the civilizations in the alliance received an invitation to the Tree Race's grand celebration of their elders surpassing 13 billion. 13 billion is just an ordinary number for humans, but the Tree Race values this number highly, just like humans value hundreds of thousands or millions.
In addition to the leaders of various civilizations, those who received invitations included important officials, scientists, high-ranking generals, and even ordinary celebrities. As the closest friends of the Tree Race, humanity received an astonishing one million invitations. Moreover, each invitation allowed the recipient to bring several family members or friends, a privilege not enjoyed by other civilizations.
The alliance has been relatively stable recently, with no wars and a relatively relaxed atmosphere. Moreover, the Tree Race is very mysterious and rarely invites beings from other civilizations to Tree Race territory. This time, with such a large-scale invitation to members of various civilizations, everyone naturally accepted with pleasure.