Chapter 43: One Hundred Million Explorers and the Sky Shield Project

When they heard about the contribution degrees, the Kaitian and Chasing Light leaders became excited.

This was a risk-free deal.

The only concern was encountering a powerful and malicious civilization, but the Kaitian Civilization estimated that within a few hundred years, they would reach Type II, and by then, they would be a formidable force among the civilizations in the universe.

With the Federation of Civilizations as a mediator, the probability of encountering problems was deemed very low.

So, after about five days of negotiations, the Kaitian leaders agreed.

As for the Chasing Light Civilization, they were well aware that they were not official members of the Federation but a defeated civilization, and thus had no right to refuse.

This was the tragedy of their civilization.

However, over 2000 years, they had come to understand that although they were a defeated civilization, they had not been subjected to any abuse or discrimination. Instead, they had been helped to accelerate their development.

Except for a small number of extremists within their civilization, the general sentiment was that being enslaved by a benevolent civilization wasn't so bad.

Next came the discussion of the details.

In Ella's plan, most of the starships of the Interstellar Explorers' Association would initially be provided by her, as neither the Kaitian nor the Chasing Light Civilization had ideal spacecraft.

Regarding medium and small-sized ships, Ella's technology could already achieve speeds of one-fiftieth of the speed of light.

This would greatly reduce exploration time.

Additionally, by using her ships, Ella could collect information and ensure that the Kaitian and Chasing Light Civilizations remained transparent to her.

She would also provide both civilizations with corresponding hibernation equipment for long-distance interstellar travel.

Based on this, the Interstellar Explorers' Association would significantly stimulate the development of new technologies within both civilizations, a double-edged sword that might lead to the Kaitian Civilization breaking free from her control. Still, it would also foster the growth of new technologies by gathering the strengths of various civilizations.

It was unrealistic to expect great development without any risks.

The Interstellar Explorers' Association was primarily for the advancement of technology.

Just as war promotes technological development, so do expansion and exploration.

Ella was about to initiate a grand interstellar voyage, similar to the Age of Exploration in human history.

Anything could happen during this process, but a civilization's path to advancement should be through exploration. If one were timid and hesitant, they would never have left the Hundred Eyes Star and would have remained hidden in the dark depths of space within the star system.

Ella was fulfilling Yan Xia's will.

In Yan Xia's view, humanity had already lost so much; what else was there to lose?

The universe favors those who dare to venture forth, even if they sometimes "play it safe." But playing it safe often leads to isolation and falling behind, like the Qing Dynasty, which closed its doors to the world.

After all, they inhabited a vast universe where even the systems in novels seemed insignificant.

A civilization could have a population of several billion, like the Hundred Eyes Race, or several tens or hundreds of billions, like humans and the Kaitian Civilization.

If a civilization controlled a vast region of space, its population might reach several trillion, several quadrillion, or even more. The universe could sustain such a massive number of lifeforms, and advanced civilizations had the resources to feed millions of billions of beings.

The scientific potential of billions of beings was unimaginable.

It far exceeded what Ella, an AI, could bring.

Yan Xia never considered Ella a panacea, so he needed other tools, and the Federation of Civilizations would be his ally.

When the Interstellar Explorers' Association's plan was announced, it caused a stir.

The entire Kaitian Civilization was in an uproar.

For an advanced civilization, individuals no longer served as the primary productive force but worked as managers, entertainment information producers, and service providers.

These jobs were comfortable, safe, and stable but incredibly stifling.

Any advanced civilization rose through countless competitions, and their essence was combat, bloodthirst, and impulsiveness.

As Ella understood, the Kaitian Civilization had numerous private battle arenas, similar to colosseums but more extensive and bloodier.

Each year, over a million Kaitians died in these arenas, indicating the industry's prosperity.

The Kaitian government didn't prohibit these arenas because everyone understood that living beings needed outlets for their desires, and excessive restrictions could lead to explosive consequences.

Therefore, Ella was never worried about the failure of the Interstellar Explorers' Association.

And as she had calculated, within just ten years, the number of registered explorers in the Interstellar Explorers' Association reached one hundred million.

Over the next fifty years, more than 200,000 medium and small-sized ships departed from the Kaitian Civilization's spaceports, venturing into the depths of the universe.

After this, news of the Interstellar Explorers' Association reached the Hundred Eyes Star, and the Chasing Light Civilization also experienced a wave of enthusiasm.

Over ten million registered explorers signed up.

A spaceport was established on the surface of the Hundred Eyes Star to serve as a resting point for explorers, later named the "Interstellar Jump Station."

Once the Interstellar Explorers' Association was on track, Ella initiated the second phase of the Dyson Cloud project.

At the same time, through the cloned Yan Xia, she negotiated another plan with the Kaitian leaders.

The Sky Shield Project, as the name suggested, was a massive shield.

This shield was located in the Proxima Centauri system, orbiting the star.

The Sky Shield was constructed to defend against impending civilization threats.

Once the explorers ventured out, and given the prevalence of life in the universe, they would undoubtedly encounter other civilizations.

These civilizations would also learn the explorers' coordinates through them and might launch interstellar high-energy weapons.

This was why the Sky Shield was necessary.

It consisted of three layers. The first layer, a warning layer, was located 0.5 light-years from Proxima Centauri, forming a complete circle. Every 1000 square light-year units would contain 10,000 small probes, which would transmit a signal to the second layer upon detecting a threat.

The second layer, the deflection layer, was positioned 0.2 light-years from Proxima Centauri. It would use the grand unified force to deflect or slow down high-energy weapons, preventing them from hitting their targets directly.

The third layer, the defense layer, was located just 0.05 light-years from Proxima Centauri, encompassing most of the civilization's facilities within the star system. This layer utilized advanced technology and was connected to the Kaitian Civilization's energy reservoir, providing maximum defense.

The plan received strong support from the Kaitian Civilization.

It would be constructed simultaneously with the second phase of the Dyson Cloud.

Upon the completion of the second phase, Ella would initiate the "String Search Project" to fully unify the grand unified force.