scavenger

What does a speed of 300 kilometers per second signify?

This is approximately the velocity of the solar wind. In other words, if a massive solar flare were to erupt right now, unleashing a fierce solar wind, and Xiao Yu were to escape into outer space at this moment, the solar wind would never catch up with him.

Currently, the farthest human-made spacecraft, Voyager 1, is about 17.8 billion kilometers from Earth, and 16 billion kilometers from Xiao Yu. If Xiao Yu were to pilot the Hope now to chase after Voyager 1, it would take him less than two years to catch up. And Voyager 1 has been traveling through space for thirty-eight years.

At this speed, it would take just over two months to travel from Saturn to Earth. In the past, such a journey would have been unthinkable without several years.

This technological leap is what controlled nuclear fusion has brought to Xiao Yu, and it is why he places such importance on it.

A civilization can only be considered interstellar once it has mastered controlled nuclear fusion technology.

Now, Xiao Yu can proudly declare that humanity has entered the interstellar age, though all that remains of human civilization is just Xiao Yu himself.

Never before has Xiao Yu felt so filled with hope.

He maneuvered the Hope across space with great enthusiasm, performing various performance tests until he fully grasped the ship's capabilities. Only when the fuel was nearly exhausted did he finally bring it back down to the surface.

During these tests, Xiao Yu also discovered some previously overlooked issues and technical flaws with the Hope. He then embarked on a lengthy process of testing and modification. This being the first starship Xiao Yu had built, he was determined to make it perfect.

Time passed slowly, and in the blink of an eye, two years had gone by.

In those two years, the number of bases Xiao Yu had established on Titan had grown to ninety-three. Each base had its own primary output, and these materials, once transported to the main base by the Fengshen helicopters, were transformed into various construction materials, providing strong support for Xiao Yu's grand construction era.

Over the same period, the fleet of Fengshen helicopters had expanded to over a hundred, busily shuttling through Titan's atmosphere, handling the transportation of materials between bases. The scenes of hundreds or thousands of robots trudging to their destinations, like a rare-earth expeditionary force, would never be seen again.

This was a significant technological advance, demonstrating that Xiao Yu's power was growing ever stronger.

The main base had now expanded to cover an area of two square kilometers, with various factories and buildings standing tall. Countless robots moved busily among them—around 100,000 at the main base alone. Across all of Titan's bases, the total number of robots likely exceeded a million.

These millions of robots, along with various machines and sensors, all worked in perfect harmony under Xiao Yu's unified command. It could be said that everywhere on Titan, Xiao Yu had his eyes, and no slightest movement could escape his awareness if he chose to observe.

Even though Xiao Yu had mastered controlled nuclear fusion, he hadn't switched the base's power source to fusion energy. Titan was rich in methane, which was almost inexhaustible and easy to use, whereas fusion fuel needed to be collected from Saturn. In comparison, conventional chemical fuels were more economical and practical.

Even so, Xiao Yu began to consider building a fleet to gather fusion fuel. Although he currently only had one "Village"-class starship, he couldn't ignore future needs.

Moreover, the scarcity of titanium and zirconium forced Xiao Yu to quickly find a solution. Ideally, he would find these minerals on Saturn's other moons; otherwise, the search would have to extend to Uranus and Neptune, or even Mars or the former Earth's orbit.

For now, Jupiter was out of the question. The radiation sources there had left too deep a psychological scar on Xiao Yu. Of course, in the future, he would undoubtedly build a fleet specifically to capture "Number One" type Jupiter phantoms, but not now.

"Jupiter phantoms... Jupiter phantoms... That's a good name," mused Xiao Yu, "I'll name those strange radiation creatures Jupiter phantoms, or simply 'Jupiters.' As for those black bugs, let's call them Black Bugs."

In these two years, Xiao Yu had launched three more hydrogen bombs, vaporizing three methane lakes and harvesting at least 1,500 tons of Black Bug corpses. Naturally, with the Hope at his disposal, Xiao Yu no longer wasted time building rockets to launch hydrogen bombs. The Hope's speed allowed it to escape the blast zone well before detonation.

Xiao Yu also began experimenting with the artificial breeding of Black Bugs. After all, Black Bugs were incredibly useful. This way, even after leaving Titan, Xiao Yu could still replenish his supply of Black Bug resources. However, he still hadn't figured out a way to artificially breed Jupiters. The radiation from "Number One" had already decreased by seventy percent, leaving it in a half-dead state. Despite Xiao Yu's best efforts, he couldn't revive it.

"Hmm, the artificial satellites for Saturn have been built; the first batch of eighteen is ready for launch," thought Xiao Yu, as he maneuvered the robots to load the satellites into the Hope.

Xiao Yu had little faith in computer programs. No matter how advanced, they were still rigid and could never match the flexibility of the human mind. For this reason, Xiao Yu had built twelve Zhan Shen satellites to provide signal coverage over all of Titan. Now, for the same reason, he planned to create signal coverage for Saturn. Without it, the Hope would lose contact whenever it flew to the far side of Saturn.

Creating signal coverage for Saturn had another benefit. Xiao Yu's plan was to launch sixty to eighty Saturn satellites, which would almost provide signal coverage for the entire solar system, save for a few blind spots.

By then, the Hope could roam the solar system freely without worrying about losing contact.

After so much testing, Xiao Yu had become adept at piloting the Hope. As the command was issued, a pale blue flame rose from the bottom of the Hope, propelling it swiftly into space.

Allowing for acceleration and deceleration, it took the Hope about two hours to reach a point 100,000 kilometers from Saturn. Once adjusted to the appropriate speed and orbit, the Hope opened its cargo hold, and the first artificial satellite was released.

In the distance, the massive, tawny Saturn hung silently, surrounded by its resplendent rings, a bizarre and colorful sight. Against the backdrop of this colossal planet, the Hope looked like a tiny ant.

After releasing the satellite, it would orbit Saturn, driven by inertia. It carried some fuel for orbit adjustments and routine consumption.

Xiao Yu then adjusted the Hope's orbit again, moving to the next location to release the second satellite.

This process was repeated eighteen times, completing the mission. These eighteen Saturn satellites, with orbits ranging from 50,000 to 2 million kilometers, essentially covered Saturn and its moons. Of course, due to the initial shortage of satellites, this coverage was approximate. In the future, Xiao Yu would launch more satellites to complete this project.

Having finished the mission, Xiao Yu guided the Hope closer to Saturn.

This flight had another task: to collect deuterium, tritium, and helium-3 for fusion fuel. After two years of consumption, Xiao Yu's remaining fusion fuel was running low.

Saturn's volume is over 760 times that of Earth, but its mass is only ninety-five times that of Earth, meaning its average density is very low—even lower than that of water.

Xiao Yu carefully maneuvered the Hope to the edge of Saturn's upper atmosphere.

Compared to Jupiter, Saturn is generally peaceful, though this peace is relative. Saturn hosts the fastest winds in the solar system, reaching speeds of over 1,800 kilometers per hour, far more powerful than any storm on Earth.

Cautiously, Xiao Yu conducted atmospheric flow analyses, and after a while, he chose a location and gently descended.

He continually monitored the situation, adjusting his trajectory to follow Saturn's atmospheric currents, minimizing the risks.

After some time, several openings appeared on the Hope's hull, and large pumps began to work, drawing in vast amounts of Saturn's gas. Inside the Hope, the gas underwent a series of separations and purifications, with useful elements being collected and the rest expelled.

Saturn's atmosphere is mainly composed of hydrogen, but ordinary hydrogen isn't cost-effective as fusion fuel. Xiao Yu's primary targets were hydrogen isotopes—deuterium, tritium, and helium-3, though these were present in much smaller quantities.

Nevertheless, their abundance was far greater than on Earth or Titan. Xiao Yu leisurely drifted through Saturn's atmosphere, working as a "scavenger." But he only ventured into the outer atmosphere—the deeper layers were far too dangerous.

After ten days, Xiao Yu had gathered enough fuel, and he piloted the Hope away from Saturn, heading back to Titan.

"Continue building satellites to cover the entire Saturn system, perhaps even the whole solar system, then begin the titanium and zirconium collection plans! It's also time to officially start the Jupiter Phantom capture plan."

"Alpha Centauri, wait for me! I'm coming soon!"