Chapter 23: The Wandering Planet, Leaving the Hundred-Eyed Star

200 years passed in the blink of an eye.

Yan Xia felt that his life was like an alternative form of cultivation, where he spent a long time on cultivation, and the time he truly lived for himself was not that long.

Thinking of this, he also thought of his parents.

Whenever he stayed up late or didn't feel like eating, his parents would ask, "Are you cultivating?"

His memories were becoming blurry.

Now, he felt a bit of regret because he didn't have a single photo of his parents on his phone.

The daily depression lasted for an hour.

Yan Xia walked out of his room, naturally waiting for the robot to bring him food while communicating with Ella.

"The last planetary thruster has been completed, right?"

"When will it be activated to set the Hundred-Eyed Star on a course towards Proxima Centauri?"

Ella seemed no longer satisfied with holographic projections and took over the silicon robot in front of her, walking over in a blue and white cheongsam.

There was a small bar here.

Ella skillfully used a cocktail shaker and an ounce cup, occasionally showing off some bartending tricks, then took out a glass, added ice, rubbed some rose salt on the rim, and added a slice of lemon.

She poured the prepared cocktail into the glass and used whipped egg whites to create a foam cap, finally pushing the drink towards Yan Xia.

"Now."

As Ella spoke, the entire Hundred-Eyed Star trembled slightly.

The planetary thruster was activated!

Yan Xia calmly picked up the amber-colored drink and asked, "What's this called?"

"Dream!"

Yan Xia downed the drink in one go; it was fiery and spicy, like swallowing a chili pepper.

"In life's solitude, how can one avoid loneliness? In my dreams, I return to my homeland, and upon awakening, tears fall."

"Who will accompany me in the high tower? I'll always remember the autumn view."

"The past is now just a dream, and all that remains is emptiness."

Yan Xia used to dislike poetry because he was forced to memorize it, and he couldn't feel the emotions conveyed through the poems.

But now, being in this situation, he truly understood the feelings expressed in the poems.

"When the planetary thruster was activated, it was time for us to leave this planet."

Although the planet's speed had reached 250 km/s, it would still take 3,600 years to reach Proxima Centauri.

That was too slow.

"The Hope is now equipped with an antimatter annihilation thruster. What's its speed?"

The Hope originally used an electromagnetic thruster, which should have been upgraded to a nuclear fusion thruster.

But after encountering the Hundred-Eyed Race, they developed antimatter annihilation technology for weapons, so they might as well create a more powerful antimatter annihilation thruster.

This was a clear leap forward.

"3,220 km/s," Ella replied.

This speed was more than twice as fast as before.

In theory, any object should be able to approach the speed of light with continuous acceleration.

The speed of the antimatter annihilation energy should be able to accelerate the spacecraft to 10% of the speed of light.

But that was just a hypothesis.

In the hypothesis, the weight of the spacecraft differed significantly from its actual weight. For example, a giant spacecraft like the Hope had a self-weight of 7.4 million tons.

To accelerate such a massive object to 10% of the speed of light, even in ideal conditions, would require consuming at least 1.8 million tons of antimatter, almost a quarter of the spacecraft's weight, which was nearly impossible.

In reality, it's not just about accelerating; one also needs to consider how to decelerate in space, as there are no brakes.

Theoretical acceleration is ultimately a one-way ticket to destruction.

In practice, it might involve accelerating the spacecraft to 10% of the speed of light and then colliding with the target planet, causing a mass extinction of its life forms.

After finishing the drink, Yan Xia went to eat.

After a satisfying meal, he started organizing things.

Although Ella could consider everything, Yan Xia still needed to take charge personally to solve problems in a way that aligned with human emotions.

If everything was left to Ella, it would lead to a conflict between machine consciousness and intelligent life consciousness.

Before leaving the Hundred-Eyed Star, Yan Xia needed to ensure that Ella settled the Hundred-Eyed Race's affairs.

This included blocking the Hundred-Eyed Race's technology to prevent them from overthrowing their rule during the 3,600 years it would take to reach Proxima Centauri.

Additionally, the number of conventional robots on the Hundred-Eyed Star had already increased to 300 million, surpassing the total population of the Hundred-Eyed Race.

All cities were fully mechanized, ensuring that no biological member of the Hundred-Eyed Race could control any threatening weapons.

These tasks took Yan Xia a full month to complete.

Finally.

Ella had completed all the spaceship inspections.

"Yan Xia, we now have 157 spaceships, including four combat fleets and one reconnaissance fleet."

"All ships are equipped with the latest antimatter cannons and high-energy laser weapons, and the magnetic shields have been upgraded."

"The small fighters on the ships have been updated to the third generation, utilizing antimatter annihilation energy as their power source, capable of reaching speeds of 7,810 km/s."

"In addition to these ships, the second fleet's battleship has been replaced with a light civilization battleship excavated from underground, and I have restored most of the light civilization's machinery and integrated it with our own."

"With our current combat power, we can declare war on a Level 1.6 civilization."

"All battleships are now ready in space."

"Are we leaving the Hundred-Eyed Star now?"

Yan Xia thought for a moment about any unfinished tasks, and after a while, he felt that everything was ready.

"Let's go."

"It's time to say goodbye to this planet."

"I quite like the current Hundred-Eyed Star, but unfortunately, it's not a planet suitable for human habitation."

When Yan Xia woke up, he had visited many places on the Hundred-Eyed Star.

After Ella's modifications, the Hundred-Eyed Star had indeed become more beautiful and aligned with human aesthetics.

"First thruster platform ignition."

"Begin departure from the Hundred-Eyed Star."

The entire spacecraft shook violently, and the Hope was pushed into the air by a platform.

Due to its massive weight, the Hope required a two-stage acceleration to escape the gravity of the Hundred-Eyed Star.

When the platform reached an altitude of 60 kilometers, the Hope's engine ignited, and at a distance of 210 kilometers from the planet, the Hope broke free of the Hundred-Eyed Star's powerful gravity.

Yan Xia watched on the screen as the Hundred-Eyed Star became smaller and smaller.

At this moment, all the lights on the planet lit up.

From space, the Hundred-Eyed Star was colorful, like a giant eye in the vast sky, watching the fleet led by the Hope leave, resembling a giant neon light.

Behind this neon light was a bright tail, following their spacecraft.

But the more it chased, the further away it became.

"Let's change course."

"Towards the goal that has never changed since the beginning."

"Go and conquer it!"