Chapter 5: Bad News

"Alert! Alert! An asteroid has been detected at 38 degrees in the first quadrant, six o'clock direction of the ship. Coordinates S23345, A52314, G84541. Calculating impact trajectory...Alert! Alert! The asteroid's trajectory has changed. Impact with the ship in five seconds. All crew members, evacuate to escape pods immediately! 4! 3! 2! 1!"

An alarm blared, causing chaos aboard the second exploration Science ship. The chief scientist was hastily shoved into the lab's dedicated escape pod by his assistants.

The collision was silent, like a scene from a 20th-century silent film. The ship's armor failed to withstand the impact of the asteroid, and the vessel was torn apart, debris scattering in all directions. Amid the explosion, a small escape pod weaved through the fragments of the ship and the asteroid, fleeing toward a nearby planet.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, our second Science ship was struck by an asteroid while exploring H4-Y2K. The ship lost control and has been destroyed. Only the chief scientist and five researchers managed to escape in the life pods and survived."

"Oh? Struck by an asteroid? How is that possible? Aren't the ship's warning radar and supercomputer supposed to prevent this? Have the command center send me the ship's final logs." Li Mingze slumped into his office chair, rubbing his temples. The research ship, which had taken so much effort to build, was now gone.

Data transmission in progress...

"2021.11.22. 22:13: System detected an approaching asteroid. Calculating impact trajectory... Beep. Based on calculations, the asteroid will not collide with the ship. Safe. Collision alert deactivated."

"2021.11.22. 22:50: The asteroid's trajectory has changed! Recalculating impact trajectory... Warning! Warning! The asteroid is on a collision course with the ship!"

"2021.11.22. 22:51: Ship's external armor integrity at 0%! Ship disintegrating... static."

What? The asteroid changed its trajectory on its own? Why would it do that unless... its target was the Science ship! This incident was no accident—it was deliberate!

Li Mingze was shocked by this realization. The only entities in the empire with access to spacecraft were the government and the military, and he had complete control over the empire's movements. This could only mean one thing: they had finally encountered an alien civilization—and a hostile one at that!

This was serious. The enemy's goal was clear: destroy the exploration ship. Whether the crew escaped or not, any nation would send rescue or salvage teams. If those teams were also destroyed in "accidents," the empire would inevitably send a small military force to investigate, falling right into the enemy's trap.

This was a variation of the ancient tactic of "besieging a point to ambush reinforcements." By continuously eliminating the empire's forces through these "accidents," the enemy could weaken them and gauge their military strength.

"Tianyi, issue a red alert! Notify all warship crew members on leave to return immediately! All warship reactors are to be preheated and prepared for deployment!"

With that, Li Mingze stood up and walked to the right side of his office, where a wall that had been as smooth as a mirror suddenly lit up and slid open, revealing a machine resembling a hibernation pod from the movies.

This was the pinnacle of the empire's technological achievements! The machine used quantum entanglement technology to link a person's consciousness to the brain of a clone located elsewhere. This allowed Li Mingze to project his consciousness into clone bodies stationed at various space stations and ships, enabling him to personally oversee operations while ensuring his own safety.

However, due to the exorbitant cost of production, this technology was currently only used for Li Mingze himself.

Aboard the flagship of the imperial fleet stationed at the edge of the Home Star System, a hibernation pod slowly opened, revealing Li Mingze's eyes, filled with nutrient fluid.

"Beep. Physical examination complete. Health status: excellent. Quantum brain synchronization rate: 99%. Consciousness transfer successful. Hibernation pod opening! Welcome, Your Majesty!"

Li Mingze touched his face and pinched his thigh. He could feel the touch but no pain. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Technology truly is the primary productive force," he muttered.

"Your Majesty, you are currently using Clone Body 001. Its skeletal structure has been replaced with alloy bones, and its muscles have been injected with medical nanobots. Your physical capabilities are now at the peak of human potential."

Li Mingze rinsed off the nutrient fluid and donned the power armor prepared by a nearby robot. He combed his hair into a dashing style.

"Hmm, looking sharp! Now, drape the cape over me!"

The android waiting nearby immediately placed the cape over Li Mingze's armored shoulders, instantly making him feel more imposing.

The doors to the bridge slowly opened, and the great Emperor Li Mingze strode in with a confident swagger, heading toward his command seat.

"All ships, listen up! Set course for the H4 System. Assume dispersed formation and prepare to activate hyperspace engines. 5! 4! 3! 2! 1! Engage!"

The hulls of the six ships shimmered with blue electricity before vanishing from sight...

At the edge of the H4 System, the six ships shut down their engines and drifted forward on inertia.

Was Li Mingze foolish? Did he knowingly lead his fleet into a trap?

Of course not. He had exited hyperspace early, using inertia to approach cautiously. He planned to launch drones for reconnaissance and retreat if necessary. It was better to fall back to Sith's orbit and fight defensively than to risk the entire fleet.

The undersides of the six ships opened silently, releasing dozens of drones that sped toward the planet H4-Y2K.

The bridge was eerily quiet as everyone stared intently at the monitors displaying the drones' perspectives, hoping to discover something.

Suddenly, an asteroid accelerated, heading straight for the lead drone!

There it was! The enemy had made their move!

The drone executed a roll, deftly dodging the asteroid. However, the asteroid didn't explode or change course. Instead, it ignited its thrusters and flew off into the distant stars.

"Launch all drone probes! I want to know what's going on!" Li Mingze ordered from his command seat, now thoroughly puzzled.

Several minutes later, the drones transmitted their data back to the fleet. Researchers and tactical experts immediately began analyzing the information.

"Your Majesty, our drones have discovered the ruins of an ancient shipyard in the asteroid belt. Scans indicate that these 'flying asteroids' are actually construction ships from the shipyard. Due to their unique reactors, they attract fine space dust. Over millions of years, this dust has clogged their weapons and engine nozzles, leaving them only capable of defensive maneuvers like ramming when triggered by our presence."

"Send a marine team to board the shipyard. I want to know if there's anything valuable inside," Li Mingze commanded.