Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 391 - 389: The Next Destination

Chapter 391: Chapter 389: The Next Destination

"""Actually, all this information was public; Zhang Yuan merely repeated it verbatim."""

"""In the end, as for this kind of special ability, it’s not to say that using it will directly deduct points," he said. "But you should know that the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility. How to use it, and what consequences it will lead to, you’re fully responsible for yourself... that’s all."""

"""Of course, the so-called Golden Finger certainly has its limits. Abilities from Immortal Martial can’t possibly apply to urban settings, and those from science fiction can’t be transferred to fantasy; in short, they must conform to the rules of the Virtual World without directly interfering with the world’s operation."""

"""From the current data," Zhang Yuan continued, "about one in twenty people are still within the normal range. However, the number of qualified individuals will decrease over time, and those who ultimately meet the standards are likely to be between one in five hundred and one in a thousand.""""

"""Ah, the aging and death of humans are just a new beginning; there’s so much more to learn...""

"""A one in a thousand chance? That number is not good," Li Zhendong murmured, stroking his chin, deep in thought."""

During the conversation, the nearby smart housekeeper emitted a beep, indicating an astronomical report sent from the Observatory.

Kunlun Mountain was nearing its next destination, known as BD-1289, which was a Yellow Dwarf Star about 5.5 billion years old with a luminosity roughly 87.4% of the Sun.

Yellow Dwarf Stars are commonly referred to as cradles of life; they aren’t short-lived like Blue Dwarf Stars, which burn through their lifespans in mere hundreds of millions of years, nor do they have the low luminosity of Red Dwarf Stars. Yellow Dwarf Stars can typically remain stable for tens of billions of years, with smaller masses leading to longer lifespans.

They are nothing like the chaotic gravitational forces of a Three-body system... that could carelessly swallow up nearby planets.

A stable environment with an extensive existence suggests a high likelihood of complex life emerging.

Most importantly, humans had discovered a Super Earth near this Constant Star!

The reason for adding "super" is because the planet was quite large.

Zhang Yuan opened the astronomical report, "Based on estimates, the planet’s diameter is 2.4 times that of Earth, with a mass 18 times greater, which means the surface gravity acceleration is approximately 3.13 times that of Earth. Its surface is entirely blue, possessing vast oceans and a thick atmosphere."

The gravity was excessively strong; a person normally weighing 100 pounds would find themselves weighing 300 pounds on the surface, making bones prone to fracture, and fragile internal organs could potentially hemorrhage, rendering human life on the planet utterly unfeasible.

Li Zhendong frowned, "So, the entire scientific expedition can probably only be completed by robots in full automation. We don’t seem to have such robots... on our travels, we never encountered a planet with such high gravity."

Zhang Yuan browsed the astronomical report with great interest, while Ye Kaifu suggested, "Anyway, since we’re idly bored, why don’t we just let the research institute design one specifically? These high gravity terrestrial planets are not rare in the Milky Way; we were bound to encounter them sooner or later. We still have time, anyway."

"That’s true."

In the vast Milky Way, high-gravity Super Earths are not uncommon; for example, the well-known "Kepler-22b" with a diameter roughly 2.4 times that of Earth. If it had a similar density to Earth, it might possess a mass 14 times that of Earth.

Then there’s HD40307g, whose mass is at least seven times that of Earth.

In contrast, planets like Earth, Venus, and Mars are just small specks among planets.

The results for its atmospheric observations were out, and he read the line of text aloud, "Through in-depth analysis of the space telescope’s archival data from recent years, unique molecular features of water vapor were identified in the atmospheric layer, indicating the presence of hydrogen and helium."

"The atmospheric pressure is about... 8 times that of Earth!"

"Because it’s a much larger planet with greater gravity, the atmospheric pressure on the surface would be higher. Such a thick atmosphere acts like a heavy blanket, intensifying the greenhouse effect on the planet, resulting in even more abundant precipitation than on Earth."

"Thankfully, the luminosity of the central Constant Star isn’t too high, which allows for more intense greenhouse effects to ensure adequate warmth, the formation of oceans, and various geological features."

Having an abundance of liquid water greatly increased the likelihood of complex life, at least for carbon-based life forms that require water to survive.

"What kind of species would be born on such a planet? It really piques my curiosity..."

...

The work tasks issued by the government quickly spread to all the research institutes in Kunlun Mountain.

The fleet had been wandering in the Universe for a full hundred years, and all the scientific researchers were simply bored to tears. Now, finally nearing a planet that seemed interesting, this news quickly invigorated all the Awakened on the spaceship.

For people, having a worthwhile goal provided the motivation to work.

Especially since complicated high-gravity environments required both scientific exploration robots and spaceships capable of overcoming strong gravitational wells to be redesigned, which was no small task in engineering.

Fortunately, humans still had three years before reaching their destination, so there was still time...

...

This was the New Human Civilization, Ninth Robot Design Institute.

As the number of Awakened gradually increased, the staff at the design institute also slowly grew. Each time a new planet was reached, it was a day for the entire population to awaken. This time, not only would there be a reorganization, but there would also be a transition between the old and new staff.

"Shu Xiao, you’re awake, long time no see!" Colleagues around greeted him, offering friendly smiles.

"Hello, everyone, long time no see... Ha-ha, it feels like I saw you yesterday, yet it also feels like it’s been years!"

Shu Xiao washed his face in the restroom, habitually stretched his arms, and then glanced at the calendar on the wall.

For him, it was as if he had just parted with his colleagues at the institute, only to come back to a "long time no see" today.

Hibernation was indeed a strange thing, especially the first time, which was quite an adjustment... But after a while, it became natural, and he could accept it.

The main reason for arranging hibernation was to reduce wear and tear on Kunlun Mountain and cut down on maintenance. The wear produced by ten million people living on the spaceship, compared to one million, was of a completely different scale.

So, besides students in school who could continue their studies normally without hibernation, adults who had entered society were all scheduled for a certain amount of hibernation.

Of course, if someone really didn’t want to hibernate, they could find a reason to apply to the relevant departments. Kunlun Mountain always maintained a waking population of around one million, so a few more or fewer people wasn’t an issue.

Shu Xiao walked to his workstation, greeted Professor Xu Yafeng, who specialized in mechanical engineering, next to him, then turned on his computer.

The first thing to do after waking from hibernation was to find out what had happened on Kunlun Mountain and whether there were any new breakthroughs; in short, to catch up with the times.

This was indeed something to look forward to. Waking up and finding out that the world had undergone many new changes, what could be more exciting than this?

As for the second thing, naturally, it was to meet the new colleagues. Every time he woke from hibernation, there were young people joining the institute.