The region of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way.
The artificial planetary fortress, as always, hovered in the vastness of space.
The atmosphere inside the planetary fortress was extremely heavy.
Cleaner 9527 sat up straight, his eyes fixed on the information on the light screen.
"[The painting] is dead?"
"Human civilization..."
It couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
[The painting] is dead. What should be done about the task entrusted to us by the mother civilization?
"Sir, the comparison results are in." A subordinate's voice came from the side.
"Speak," Cleaner 9527 said without the slightest change in expression, directly asking, "What was the result?"
"The similarity exceeds 99%!"
The subordinate's voice held a hint of excitement: "It's almost certain that this human civilization is the same low-level civilization that was in the KZQXD771 star system (Ross 154)!"
The tentacles of Cleaner 9527 swept across the light screen.
After confirming it several times, it slowly said, "We have the coordinates. Send a warship there."
At this point, Cleaner 9527 paused slightly: "If you can find the 'corpse' of the [painting], bring it back."
"Even two-dimensional fragments will do."
"As long as there are research samples, the mother civilization can speed up its research progress considerably."
"Okay." The subordinate nodded and turned to give the order.
A brand new light screen automatically popped up around Cleaner 9527.
It glanced at it subconsciously.
"etc!"
“No need for a warship.” Cleaner 9527 quickly interrupted his subordinate’s actions. “I remember that the numbered detector is in that area. Just send it there.”
"Sir, is it just a detector?" The subordinate paused, stunned, and stopped what he was doing.
Cleaner 9527 slowly shook his head: "There's no need to send warships."
"Although the information did not explicitly state the technological level of human civilization, more than two hundred years ago, they were only a small Level 2 civilization."
"Right now... it's at most a level three civilization."
As it spoke, its gaze lingered on the light screen beside it: "Moreover, the mother civilization has already sent a message."
"The original mission priority has been downgraded; we need to prepare for a possible war in the future."
"War?" A hint of doubt flashed in the subordinate's eyes. "Isn't [Hua] already dead? Why is there still a war?"
Cleaner 9527 glanced at his subordinate beside him and explained in a low voice.
"The distress signal sent by [the painting] will inevitably attract the other members of the pastoral faction."
"It won't be long before the Milky Way is in chaos."
“Every warship is an important resource. The Orion Arm is too far away from us. A round trip would consume a lot of time and energy for the warship.”
"That's such a waste."
...
Gliese 555 star system.
The appearance of the painting disrupted Lü Yongchang's original series of development plans.
Lu Yongchang sat in his office, staring at the text projected on the holographic screen.
Suddenly, he sighed softly and looked at He Bilin, who was sitting at his desk, with a bitter expression.
"Academician He, are there any suitable planets within 50 light-years?"
He Bilin did not answer Lü Yongchang's question, but instead asked in return, "Professor, is it really necessary to leave Dawn Star?"
As he spoke, he turned to look at the window to the side.
Outside the window, the sun shines brightly.
Light from the host star Gliese 555 shone through the gaps in the leaves onto the office window.
A gentle breeze rustled the leaves.
After the environmental modifications were completed, Dawn Star has become an extremely habitable planet for humans.
The thought that humanity would have to leave this beautiful planet in the near future filled He Bilin with a pang of heartache.
In that instant, he suddenly gained a profound understanding of the older generation's obsession with the Earth.
"I have to leave."
Lu Yongchang was silent for a moment, then stood up from his chair, walked slowly to the window, and looked up at the bluish-purple sky: "Humanity probably doesn't have many peaceful days left."
In the sky, besides the main star Gliese 555, which emits endless light and heat, there is also a huge "moon".
Around that "moon," you can even see starships and equipment the size of sesame seeds.
“You also saw the information left behind by the painting.” Lü Yongchang lowered his head and withdrew his gaze.
"If nothing unexpected happens, it has already sent a message to the pastoral faction."
"The message may not be complete, but we can't afford to gamble."
"Faced with the possibility of an advanced civilization, we can only escape our current planet as soon as possible."
Upon hearing this, He Bilin's expression immediately dimmed.
He sighed softly, then shook his head and said, "Professor, we haven't yet begun exploring the surrounding star systems."
"As you know, the focus of the Human Federation has not been on finding habitable planets during this period."
Lu Yongchang's expression changed slightly.
He Bilin is right.
After arriving on Dawn Star, the Academy of Sciences focused on terraforming Dawn Star and developing technology, without exploring exoplanets.
"but……"
He Bilin pondered for a moment, then reached out and opened a brand-new holographic image: "There are a few alternative destinations."
“Gliese 19, HIP545 and Gliese 8496 star systems”.
"These three star systems are all within 50 light-years of us."
"Based on previous observational data, there is a high probability that Earth-like planets exist in these three star systems."
"Of course, it's only a possibility, not certain."
Looking at the holographic star map in front of him, Lü Yongchang fell into deep thought.
The Gliese 19 star system is 31.05 light-years away!
The HIP545 star system is 43.37 light-years away!
The Gliese 8496 star system is 46.34 light-years away!
This is just their straight-line distance from the Gliese 555 star system!
Keep in mind that these planets are not in a straight line!
If we were to actually search for them one by one, the actual journey would far exceed our expectations!
“Let’s continue observing.” Lü Yongchang slowly closed his eyes and sighed. “Let’s choose the star system with the highest probability as our destination.”
"……good."
He Bilin remained silent for a while, then nodded with difficulty in agreement.
"perhaps……"
Lu Yongchang slightly opened his eyes and looked at He Bilin in front of him with a sorrowful expression.
"Humanity is becoming a nomadic civilization."
He Bilin felt a sudden tremor in his heart. He didn't say anything, but just clenched his fists tightly.
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