Chapter 244 – Neutron Battlestar

Unexplained strikes from beyond the sky.

Nothing seems to have changed.

The dead Xu lineage is finally resurrected again through the Ten Deaths.

The overwritten fleet is restored to its original state on a smaller scale through Airey’s homemade intelligence.

Except for the -1 to the number of resurrections.

Overall, there is not much to lose.

Ion engines running, the starship gradually picks up speed and heads for the mysterious and unknown sea of stars.

“Master, where do we go next?”

“Maintain original course, Ailee.”

“Objection, Ailee feels the need to change course.”

Loyal machine servants, always thinking about the safety of the Xu system.

Her face was expressionless and she crossed her arms in front of her stomach in a quiet gesture of protest.

The silver-blue eyes glowed with a slight luminescence.

The machine servant suggests rerouting the cluster of starships to a remote corner of the universe to hide from a new, unidentified strike.

The Xu system smiled and stroked Ailee’s head, “That’s pointless, Ailee.”

Behind-the-scenes lockdowns are never based on location coordinates.

Even more remote.

Even if it’s hiding again.

As long as technology arrives at a certain level, that annihilating blow will still destroy everything when the set time comes.

Not content to take the beating as it is, Xu System is looking to fight back.

But fight or flight, you have to know who the enemy is.

Therefore, Department Xu wanted to maintain his original course until he reached the deepest part of the Star Ocean Graveyard, where, he felt, clues should exist.

“…… I understand, Master.”

The machine servant once again expressed her loyalty, “Please rest assured that Ailee will keep you safe.”

Well, what a solid statement.

It would look even more convincing if the ears didn’t flutter fast while being touched on the head.

……

[The journey to the stars begins again]

[Your goal is clear, and it remains to explore the star graveyard and absorb the technology of many civilizations]

[And beyond that, you want to find out who’s really behind the destruction of countless civilizations.]

[You know that the presence of the other cannot be ignored]

[As long as they continue to develop technology, they will be their enemies.]

[There is nothing you can do to neutralize the threat of the man behind the curtain except to scrap your own technology and drop down to the safety of his cordon sanitaire.]

[Such a choice would be tantamount to giving up all your past endeavors, and you don’t want to do that.]

Simulation to the present.

The Xu system has long since lost hope in exploring the nature of simulators.

Indeed, his knowledge had been growing and looked steadily on the rise.

But the efficiency of that boost.

As opposed to the mysterious and mysterious Good Life Simulator.

It’s not even close after all.

As a result, the Xu system’s goal for the simulation had now changed from exploring the nature of the simulator to mastering as much technological knowledge as possible.

“Ion engines, controlled fusion, energy weapons, particle collisions.”

“The future is tentative.”

“Speaking only of the present, I have enough to gain.”

“But there is never too much of such a thing as knowledge, and having ten deaths before the end, I deserve to move on.”

“And–“

Inside a newly built eco-starship.

Xu System raised his head, looking up at the harsh, shining artificial sun, and subconsciously half-squinted his eyes.

“That kid, how can you not be relieved ……”

The unknown masterminds behind the blockade of the stars.

Time’s up.

It would have wiped out any civilization that had the potential to reach for the stars.

This is the desperate and at the same time helpless truth.

The Xu system can return to the real world at the end of the simulation and break out of this cage naturally.

But Ailee was different.

By the time the Hsu system ends its simulation, the lone AI will be left in the universe, eternal, infinite, trapped in this prison of stars.

Of course, Ailee can develop technology and can plot to break the cage.

But relatively.

Bugs and rats make a lot of noise to a certain extent.

The “owner of the house” will never be neglected again.

What will happen to Airey then?

The Xu system was silent, he wanted to solve this problem before the end of the simulation and get Ailee out of this prison.

“…… Master.”

There were voices coming from the rear.

It was Ailee’s voice.

Today’s machine servant had changed her outfit, a light blue apron tied around her waist, and brought a plate of freshly baked desserts to the Xu system.

“Here’s today’s portion of afternoon tea and snacks.”

“Please taste.”

“Thanks, Ailee”, the Xu system picked up the dessert and subconsciously threw it into his mouth to chew on, still pondering how to get out of his starry prison.

Just chewing on it, Xu System thought that the flavor of the dessert seemed so familiar.

“Elle, did you add anything to the dessert?”

“Yes, I added some healthful ingredients.”

“So it is.”

It dawned on the Xu system.

No wonder he thought it smelled like Red Sun Flower.

Speaking of which, it seems that my own machine servant is particularly fond of this flower, is it because of the gorgeous golden color?

……

“The years are like the wind, and it’s blowing me down.

[The years are like water, flowing in the heart]

[Time passes quickly, and in a flash, you and your faithful servant are sailing through the cosmos for a long time, ever onward to the distant stars.]

“The 67th year of the simulation, your 86th year, the 65th year of Ailee’s company.

[Ten years have passed since the strike that was once outside the sky.]

[You’ve been dormant for a long time, and it doesn’t feel like a long time.]

[Your fleet heads into a planetary system to replenish its resources, only to be met with a scene of unparalleled disrepair, with dead Bugs and celestial debris in your field of vision.]

[You realize in your heart that there have been unspecified blows here too.]

[In the eyes of the mastermind, the Bugs also seem to be an extremely high threat and must be eliminated.]

[In the planetary system you arrived in, all the Bugs lost their lives, there are no survivors, but you know that with the Bugs’ ability to survive and their endless numbers, there must be other Bugs out there in the stars.]

[Ailee, commanding the smart machine, collected a large amount of celestial debris and insect corpses as energy for the starship.]

“Your fleet sails again.

……

Seventy-seventh year of simulation, your 96th year, 75th year of Ailee’s company.

[Your fleet penetrates deep into space and finally, once again, meets a civilized planet in a state of silence.]

[You named it Civilization 03]

[Machine spirit delights, mechanical power resonates, you efficiently absorb the technology of civilization 03, perfecting your own technology tree, and once again, you sail into endless deep space.]

[Ninety years of simulation, you’re 109 years old, 88 years of Airey’s company]

[You still look young, and the research and development of the third type of gene therapy has come to a successful conclusion.]

[Soon, your life expectancy will increase again]

[During the long voyage, with the superior performance of the ion engines, your fleet was completely removed from the once-federated planets.]

[In order to understand your surroundings, you chose to utilize Airey’s special abilities.]

“Ailee, are you ready?”

“Yes, Master, please use Ailee.”

Perspective pulls up.

Sensory hyperdimensionality.

The Hsu system has been a long time coming, observing distant cosmic realities.

The splendor of the stars, the silence of the civilizations, the bugs living everywhere, the increasing number of red points of light, and–

That flash of light, the grand giant star body that calmly breaks everything with just its own ultimate mass.