Rebirth of the Super Battleship
Chapter 239: The Giant Hat

It was only after developing a true Faster-Than-Light detection device and acquiring its full performance specifications that Xiao Yu realized just how dangerously reckless he had been. Put bluntly, if he had known in advance what FTL detection was truly capable of, he wouldn’t have dared rob the Molian Civilization even if his life depended on it. Those fifty thousand ships he lost back then, he would’ve just written them off and handed them over. That would have been far better than losing his entire fleet.

Because under normal circumstances, there was simply no way his fleet could have escaped. If the Molian Civilization had been willing to commit the effort and time, they absolutely could have tracked him down.

And once they did, all it would have taken was a fleet of twenty thousand ships, no more than two flagship-class vessels, a few rounds of combat drills, and a bit of intelligence analysis on Xiao Yu, to utterly wipe out his five hundred thousand ships. Xiao Yu wouldn’t even have had the chance to run.

Back then, when his hidden fleet wasn’t detected, it could be explained as a limitation of the Molian alert radius. But after robbing their entire market, why wouldn’t they expand their search radius to its maximum and hunt for him in a frenzy?

So why, then? Why didn’t they ever come after him?

“There could be many reasons,” Xiao Yu thought, “but the most plausible one likely involves that strange star. Maybe, limited by my own technological level, I haven’t yet uncovered the danger hidden here. But the Molian Civilization knew, and that’s why they never followed me.”

“Perhaps… this is a hazardous zone,” Xiao Yu reasoned. “If even a Level 5 Civilization would resist the temptation of Alien Beast flesh and not dare to pursue me, that might mean the danger level here is extremely high.”

“No, there’s a flaw in that logic,” he suddenly realized. “If this truly were a danger zone, preventing them from entering, then why didn’t they intercept me mid-escape? They’re a Level 5 Civilization. Their FTL speeds are at least five times faster than mine, and with tachyon technology, they should also be capable of FTL combat. The fact that they didn’t intercept me en route can only be explained by two possibilities.”

Xiao Yu’s thoughts continued unfolding.

“The first possibility is this strange star affects areas up to 250 light-years away. It may have exerted some kind of influence on them, perhaps it scared them off or even destroyed them outright. That would explain why they never pursued me. The second possibility is that they actually don’t possess FTL combat capability. They haven’t yet developed the technology to miniaturize a negative matter cannon. After all, on the Molian Province-Class warship I captured, I found no sign of such a cannon. So maybe they couldn’t intercept me on the way and had to watch helplessly as I fled to this dangerous zone, ultimately giving up the chase.”

“Each of these possibilities has a fifty-fifty chance of being true. But one thing is certain, this star is definitely not normal. There’s something bizarre and dangerous about it. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have allowed me to settle here without sending a fleet to annihilate me.”

“Then… just what exactly is this star?”

Once again, Xiao Yu aimed his telescope at the strange celestial body, studying it carefully.

Its upper hemisphere resembled that of a typical star, but its lower half was pitch black. With the precision of his observational instruments, Xiao Yu could even measure the strength of its stellar winds and observe sunspots on its surface.

The FTL detection devices he had deployed upon arriving in this system had now circled around and reached the back side of the strange star. Several other devices had approached it from different angles. Using this multi-directional observation, Xiao Yu confirmed one thing.

“What’s covering this star isn’t a planet or a nebula, or anything naturally occurring. It’s something… like a hat. That is, some massive object is tightly fitted over this star, like a colossal cap, shielding half of its surface.”

“One thing’s certain, this phenomenon is not naturally formed. It must have been deliberately created by some unknown force. So then… what could it be?”

“This problem has no solution for now. In fact, I don’t even need to know what it actually is or how it managed to accomplish such a thing. Whether it’s the result of some absurd experiment by a twisted civilization or something else entirely, I only need to understand one thing: any existence capable of doing this must be incredibly powerful, beyond my imagination. Under these circumstances, staying here any longer is no longer wise.”

“But… if I classify the area around this star as a danger zone, then the Molian Civilization might be waiting right at its edge, hoping I’ll walk into their trap. Staying here isn’t ideal either. If that mysterious entity suddenly lashes out, with its power, I’d be annihilated in the blink of an eye. I wouldn’t even have the chance to resist, let alone escape.”

“So then… what should I do?” Xiao Yu fell into a state of conflict.

“Maybe I should gather the Luka scientists for a discussion. No, perhaps I should summon all the scientists. Even if the scientists of other races haven’t yet fully earned my trust, they must understand one thing: at this stage, their entire future rests with me. If I fail or die, it won’t benefit them in the slightest.”

After thinking for a moment, Xiao Yu issued a command.

“All scientists, regardless of race, temporarily set aside your current tasks. Gather by species, I have something very important to discuss with all of you.”

Although the negative matter cannon that Xiao Yu had built still had no practical combat capabilities, the fact that he had succeeded in constructing it at all meant the most difficult phase was behind him. A major hurdle had been overcome. Gradually improving its performance, reducing its mass, volume, and energy consumption, these were not problems that could be solved overnight. So the current stage of research was not particularly urgent.

Upon receiving Xiao Yu’s order, nearly ten thousand scientists quickly assembled, sorted by species into designated conference rooms.

Each of these rooms had a special communication system installed by Xiao Yu. Whenever a scientist from any race spoke, their words would be broadcast to every participant in every room.

This was a true assembly of ten thousand minds.

The head of the Psychosocial Sciences Division among the Luka scientists, Luka Two, was the first to speak: “Respected Master, may we ask the reason you’ve summoned us?”

Even now, with scientists from over a hundred races serving Xiao Yu, nearly ten thousand in number, the trio of Luka scientists, Luka Two, Three, and Four, remained unmatched in status. No one had ever replaced them in Xiao Yu’s mind.

After a brief pause, Xiao Yu said, “It’s about our next course of action.”

“To date, we’ve been in this binary star system for several decades. Over those decades, our technologies have advanced rapidly. We’ve grown steadily stronger, and everything has been progressing in a positive direction. But beneath this appearance of prosperity, there is a looming crisis. If we fail to handle it correctly, it could destroy us all.”

“Is this about that star?” asked Luka Three.

Every word spoken by Xiao Yu, Luka Two, and Luka Three was relayed in real time via the communication system to each species’ scientists on their 3D screens. As it was transmitted, Xiao Yu ensured it was translated into a language each species could understand.

“Yes and no,” Xiao Yu replied. “That star is part of the issue. But I wonder, has anyone considered the real question here. Why has the Molian Civilization never come after us?”

“By now, I’m sure you’ve all become familiar with the performance of our FTL detection systems. With our current capabilities, if we run them at full power, ignoring energy cost, we can achieve all-weather, 360-degree scanning up to a range of 0.01 light-years. Whether a fleet is traveling normally or in curvature flight, it’s impossible for them to evade detection. So after we left the Azure Market, how could the Molian Civilization not have the means to track us?”

“If they were capable of locating us, then why didn’t they come to hunt us down?” Xiao Yu continued. “Considering how desperately they craved Alien Beast flesh at the Azure Market, this behavior seems highly illogical.”

“I’d like to hear your thoughts on this issue.”

After Xiao Yu finished speaking, a brief silence followed. A moment later, a scientist from Species Eight stood up.

“With the limited intelligence we have, we can’t make any definitive analysis. However, the possibilities are likely limited to two. First, an internal issue within their civilization, perhaps a civil war, or maybe they were wiped out by another civilization. Second, some unknown force prevented them from pursuing us. Based on the information we currently have, the only plausible thing that could have stopped them is either that strange star, or the entity responsible for the bizarre phenomenon surrounding it.”

“The first scenario is highly unlikely and can largely be ruled out. Which leaves us with the second.”

“In other words, the true reason they never came after us… lies with that star.”

After offering this conclusion, the scientist sat back down.

As soon as the statement was finished, Xiao Yu could hear the sound of intense discussion rising from more than a hundred conference rooms.