Mutations

During the construction of the Dawn, Xiao Yu incorporated some of the latest technologies, such as more efficient circuit and engine designs. Estimates suggest that the technological sophistication of the Dawn is at least a decade ahead of the Hope.

Moreover, the Dawn is heavily armed, with the number of high-powered laser cannons increased to thirty and the stockpile of strategic hydrogen bombs boosted to ten. In addition, the Dawn is equipped with a vast array of conventional weaponry, including a hundred conventional missile warheads and rapid-fire machine guns.

Xiao Yu is also urgently developing the next generation of new weapons. However, he knows that hopes are slim. The hydrogen bomb represents the pinnacle of destructive power within the framework of relativity and quantum mechanics. Without a breakthrough in fundamental physics, humanity cannot create a weapon more powerful than the hydrogen bomb. Xiao Yu is merely conducting preliminary research in physical theories.

The discovery of the black insect and wood spirit creatures within the solar system has made Xiao Yu extremely cautious about the possibility of encountering extraterrestrial civilizations. Xiao Yu is no pacifist; if he encounters an alien intelligent civilization, he would rather eliminate it directly than risk contact.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the Hope had completed half of its return journey and reached Jupiter's orbit. Xiao Yu's mind began to wander: "Why not send the Hope to Jupiter to capture some wood spirits? Since I'm not on the Hope, it's perfectly safe."

Xiao Yu wrote a program and transmitted it to the Hope. The Hope immediately changed course and headed toward Jupiter.

To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, Xiao Yu added a risk assessment code to the program. This code includes an index evaluation of all possible dangers, granting the Hope the highest authority to control the situation. If the risk index exceeds ninety points, the Hope will flee Jupiter without hesitation.

The Hope slowly approached Jupiter, and under the program's control, it first scanned all the wood spirits within a radius of 150,000 kilometers, ensuring their numbers were within acceptable limits before selecting a weaker wood spirit gathering point and moving toward it.

This gathering point was 400,000 kilometers from Jupiter. The Hope quietly approached, extending a mechanical arm from its hull. The arm was equipped with a large net made of highly radiation-resistant material, and with a swift motion, it captured all the wood spirits at the gathering point.

The wood spirits remained bewildered, neither resisting nor fleeing.

Xiao Yu, who had been monitoring the Hope, was overjoyed. This confirmed his hypothesis—he would have an endless supply of wood spirits to build his ships.

The Hope began its free-roaming journey, unconcerned about space since the wood spirits did not occupy physical space. As long as their total radiation remained within the confinement device's tolerance, the Hope had no worries about the wood spirits damaging the ship.

In an orbit 200,000 kilometers from Jupiter, a meteorite about half a meter in diameter was quietly orbiting the planet. About thirty wood spirits of initial strength were gathered on it. The Hope stealthily accelerated, slowly approaching it. Once their speeds synchronized, the Hope's mechanical arm swiftly captured the meteorite along with the thirty wood spirits. The meteorite was discarded, while the wood spirits were confined in a metal box.

This scenario continued for more than half a month, during which Xiao Yu captured nearly ten thousand wood spirits. Satisfied with his bounty, Xiao Yu thought to himself, "Just a thousand more, and then I'll return."

Ahead, a wood spirit gathering point appeared, with an estimated 1,300 wood spirits. The Hope paused and sent a signal to Xiao Yu for instructions. After some thought, Xiao Yu decided to proceed.

Against the vast backdrop of Jupiter, the tiny Hope slowly approached a seemingly empty point. Although invisible to the naked eye or optical instruments, the radiation meter unequivocally indicated the presence of over a thousand wood spirits.

At a distance of just 3,000 kilometers from the gathering point, a sudden change occurred.

The wood spirits began to exhibit a strong blue shift!

At that moment, the Hope detected that this was not just a gathering of 1,200 wood spirits, but a powerful radiation source composed of 300 wood spirits, along with a group of mutated wood spirits whose radiation was three to ten times stronger than that of ordinary wood spirits!

"Dammit!" Xiao Yu exclaimed, helpless. By the time he received the signal, half an hour had already passed. In other words, whatever was going to happen had already happened. Xiao Yu could only wait for the next signal to make a judgment.

Xiao Yu's nerves were stretched to the limit as he closely monitored the Hope's movements.

The Hope was the first true interstellar ship Xiao Yu had built, holding a special significance for him—an accident was out of the question.

As he watched the Hope's movements, Xiao Yu nervously pondered, "What on earth is going on? Why does this powerful wood spirit behave so differently from the others? Could it actually understand the concept of an attack?"

Unable to figure it out, Xiao Yu decided to put the matter aside. One thing was clear, though.

It would be far more difficult to capture wood spirits in the future.

The Hope's data streamed continuously into Xiao Yu's mind. He saw that the moment the wood spirits exhibited a strong blue shift, the risk assessment code began operating, and the risk index shot up from ten to twenty, then fifty, and continued to climb…

However, Xiao Yu had set the parameters so that the Hope would only pause for observation when the risk index reached seventy points. At eighty points, the Hope would initiate an attack, and only at ninety points would it flee.

The current risk index was only fifty, so the Hope was still trying to approach the wood spirits.

This cluster of wood spirits had a strength equivalent to 1,200 times that of an ordinary wood spirit! Even with the Hope's special enhancements from the black insect carcass and wood spirit radiation, it couldn't withstand such intense radiation!

If this cluster of wood spirits got too close, the Hope would immediately lose most of its instruments, and Xiao Yu would lose the ship entirely.

The two entities were closing in on each other at a speed of 100 kilometers per second. In just thirty seconds, they would collide head-on.

At that moment, Xiao Yu regretted not making the risk assessment program more thorough. He felt like tearing his hair out in frustration.

The risk index continued to rise, and finally, at seventy points, the Hope paused, as if unsure of what lay ahead.

"Dammit, you idiot, run!" Xiao Yu silently screamed.

This was the difference between a program and the human brain. A program only executes pre-coded instructions without flexibility. If Xiao Yu were in control, he would have fled long ago. But to a program, what is intuition? Is it a one or a zero?

The wood spirit cluster was now just 2,000 kilometers from the Hope. At that moment, the risk index rose to eighty.

The five high-powered laser cannons facing the wood spirits began firing. These cannons were more than ten times stronger than the old ship's laser guns. But these wood spirits were all mutated, far stronger than ordinary wood spirits. A single laser cannon had to fire continuously for thirty seconds to destroy just one.

Moreover, this cluster of wood spirits included one with radiation strength equivalent to 300 ordinary wood spirits!

Xiao Yu shut his eyes, unable to bear watching any longer. The wood spirits needed only twenty seconds to close the remaining 1,500 kilometers.

The risk index kept climbing.

Eighty-one… eighty-two… eighty-five… eighty-nine…

Finally, with just ten seconds left before collision, the risk index reached ninety!

The emergency escape program kicked in immediately, and the Hope turned and fled without hesitation.

At that moment, the Hope's powerful overload resistance and maneuverability came into full play. Almost instantly, its speed shot up to 2 kilometers per second, and it kept accelerating! As it fled, the five laser cannons continued firing, desperately trying to slow the wood spirits' pursuit.

Xiao Yu's nerves were taut; he had no idea if the Hope could escape.

Time ticked by. The wood spirits pursued at a constant speed, while the Hope kept accelerating. After thirty seconds, the lead wood spirit caught up with the Hope, clinging to its hull.

"Thankfully, it's just a wood spirit with seven times the strength of a normal one. I can still handle it," Xiao Yu muttered, keeping his eyes fixed on the Hope.

Another wood spirit caught up with the Hope. Meanwhile, the Hope's speed continued to climb. After forty seconds, its speed had reached 80 kilometers per second!

At this point, Xiao Yu was drenched in sweat. A speed of 80 kilometers per second was enough to escape the wood spirits' pursuit.

Seeing the dozen or so wood spirits clinging to the Hope's hull, Xiao Yu could only manage a bitter smile.