Chapter 154 Finals (VIII)
Outside the free star field, near the disappeared star line, on the edge of the resource star won by humans after the last Black Tide Day victory.
A makeshift space station hovered in the starry sky. Several large construction starships descended, entering orbit around the resource star and slowly landing.
Two months after the battle at the edge of the star, the remaining black tide energy on the resource planet had been completely cleared. Although most of the original creatures on the planet had died and withered in the black tide, the planet's core had also been eroded, shortening the lifespan of the entire planet.
However, buried in the planet's strata are a large number of special plant minerals like blue lotus stones that can absorb the energy of the black tide to grow, turning it into an extremely special mineral planet.
Faced with such a planet, the Central Star Region did not waste a moment. After the black tide energy was cleared, it immediately sent out starships to build a mining base to collect all these special minerals.
Second Legion Commander Musa had remained in this starry sea since the Battle of the Star Line. Today was the first day of construction at the mining base. He toured several construction ships aboard his starship, confirming that everything was in order. He then ordered the Second Legion's main ship to ascend and return to the temporary space station above.
The space station, completed in just fifteen days, wasn't large; ninety percent of its space was devoted to the construction of the starport. At that moment, the Second Legion's five large warships were stationed at the starport's five departure positions.
Compared to the standard warships originally used in the Central Star Region, these ships had the same exterior appearance as ordinary warships. However, Musa knew that beneath their primary protective hulls, scattered and unevenly, yet in a very regular pattern, dozens or even hundreds of cubes were placed, each housing an energy generator.
All of these starships are space shuttle warships built based on Mingyu's design drawings and experimental results.
"What kind of logic is this?" Musa heard two of his subordinates whispering to each other as they prepared at the starport as he entered the space station. "In the Star Line battle, it was Your Majesty, Mingyu, us, and the Free Zone exploration team who repelled the high-level Black Tide creatures. We also reclaimed the resource star. Even after the battle, the Central Star Region Security Department didn't appreciate it and spoke rudely to Mingyu."
"Now we still have to work for the Central Star Region? Help them develop resource planets?"
"Although the Central Star Region accepted a large number of immigrants from the Northern Star Region after its destruction, which initially caused a period of economic downturn, we also put in a lot of effort to gain a foothold here. However, if it weren't for the Second Legion's reputation and the intervention of the higher-ups, the policy treatment that immigrants from the Northern Star Region received here would be completely unequal..."
The engines of the standby starships in the starport were all running at low speed, making a humming noise. The two men unconsciously raised their voices: "When will Your Majesty reveal his identity and negotiate with the executive officers of the North Star Region?"
"You said, His Majesty has returned from the dead, is it possible for the North Star Region to recover?"
Musa: “…”
Musa recognized these two people as the best of the younger generation of the Second Legion: Hao Ru and An Qiang.
These two men were from the Northern Star Region and were once outstanding military academy students there. They had obviously recognized Mu Boxing's identity during the previous battle.
For Hao Ru, An Qiang, and Musa himself, although they have been in the Central Star Region for more than fifty years, they still often feel like they are living under someone else's roof.
But Musa couldn't be sure how many people thought that.
Therefore, when Mu Boxing first recovered his memory, although he wrote a detailed investigation project proposal, using the reason of obtaining more research data on the Black Tide creatures, and with the help of Musa, persuaded the Central Star Region to launch a search and rescue project for survivors in the North Star Region, he never mentioned the re-establishment of the North Star Region.
Musa knew that he was slowly observing, weighing the pros and cons, and judging whether it was better or worse for the immigrants to the North Star Region to maintain the status quo or to re-establish the star region.
Mu Baixing doesn't care whether he is the supreme ruler of the star field. He hopes that the peaceful life of the people in the Northern Star Field will not be easily disrupted.
Over the past two months, he had read through many documents, and the plan he was finally going to implement was to re-establish order in the free travel zone as a civilian interstellar navigator.
It was originally the territory of the North Star Region, but now it is a lawless area.
After being rescued, Mu Boxing had already established an exploration team in the outer harbor, where he had connections and a strong reputation. He planned to hunt down the fugitives and then build a defensive space station outside the star region to counter the Black Tide. Then, the Free Zone would be restored from the dangerous zone to a civilized society, self-sufficient, and economically revitalized...
Once everything is stable, this place will return to being a place where people can live and work in peace and contentment, and then we can consider whether to rebuild the North Star Region.
And this time with the reconstruction of the North Star Region, the political system will also be completely changed.
The original monarchical system would be changed. After the turbulent period of the early star reconstruction, the king of the North Star Region would lay down the scepter that symbolized power and would no longer reside on the main star of the North Star Region.
...and concentrate on being the leader of an exploration team.
Because of this series of troubles, Mu Boxing originally did not intend to reveal his identity to the Central Star Region until order was re-established in the Free Travel Area. Although this would cause some disadvantages in some matters, it would save him a lot of trouble and avoid those hypocritical upper-class social circles and the tug-of-war between the forces of the star region.
This is a simple mode.
However, just last night at midnight, Musa received a message from Mu Boxing.
Because the Central Star Domain Security Department had set its sights on Ming Yu, their Majesty was extremely furious and initiated an emergency dialogue with the Central Star Domain Directors overnight, laying everything out in the open.
For the central star region, this news was like a thunderclap.
For Mu Boxing, the situation has become more complicated than before.
But there are also benefits.
Musa thought to himself, for example, all the immigrants in the North Star Region will soon know that His Majesty Lando has returned.
When discussing the restoration of the North Star Region, Mu Boxing's primary concern was the true intentions of the North Star Region's immigrants. However, since a large-scale survey was impossible, all his speculation remained just that: speculation.
Musa believes that most people in the North Star Region want to return home, while Mu Boxing believes that they have settled down and have new ties in the Central Star Region. If the North Star Region is rebuilt, their status and treatment in the Central Star Region may be in jeopardy, leaving them in a dilemma.
"I think Your Majesty is overthinking it." After the meeting, Qi Wei whispered to Musa, "Just because he found a queen in the Central Star Region doesn't mean everyone else can find one! Fifty years, and I'm still single."
Musa also wanted to advise him not to judge others by his own standards, because just because he was single, not everyone would be single!
The problem Mu Boxing was considering was not impossible. But since he was going to announce his identity now, he would definitely fight for equal status and treatment for those who wanted to stay in the Central Star Region.
For those who want to return to the North Star Region, they can go home earlier.
"Who told you that we are helping the central star field develop resource stars?" Musa said softly.
There was a lot of noise in the starport. Hao Ru and An Qiang were startled by the sudden appearance of the legion commander. They quickly straightened their chests and abdomens and stood at attention.
They saluted Musa, and the four of them stared at Musa with shining eyes, as if they realized something.
"Commander?" Hao Ru spoke first. "What did you just say...what did you mean?"
Musa glanced at the file on the communication bracelet.
"The benefits of developing the resource star will be split 50-50." He didn't say much, just said it briefly.
Hao Ru and An Qiang looked excited, and just as they were about to ask again, Musa's face darkened.
"The Second Legion is still in the Central Star Region. You're on standby for your mission, and you still have the mind to think about this and that?!"
"Hurry up and board the ship!" he shouted, "Be ready to start the mission at any time!"
"Yes!" Hao Ru and An Qiang answered loudly.
Musa didn't say it explicitly, but the hint was enough.
The North Star Region will soon be restored! The Second Legion will also be reorganized! If they wish, they will become subordinate legions of the newly established North Star Region Military Headquarters!
Hao Ru and An Qiang were extremely happy!
"Hold on." Musa glanced at them again and warned, "This is humanity's first large-scale space shuttle mission. The destination is still the Black Tide Star Sea."
"The action is dangerous, proceed with caution."
"Yes!" the two answered solemnly.
Musa turned around and took the space station elevator to the command platform.
A past star map of the Northern Star Region was displayed on the large light screen in the command console, and the five inhabited planets on the map were marked in red.
These five planets are the targets of their space travel this time.
Five teams of pilots and observers selected from the Second Legion piloted five warships to explore the destination, conducting a six-hour preliminary survey.
During these six hours, they will not be able to communicate with each other. If any emergency occurs, they can immediately shuttle back to the temporary space station.
Six hours of exploration is not a long time, but as he told Hao Ru and An Qiang, this is a space shuttle, and the target is still the Black Tide Star Sea.
Musa was not in a relaxed mood.
He took a deep breath, checked the time, and turned on the live broadcast of the Star Navigation Competition.
"Space travel!!!!"
As soon as the game screen popped up, he was pierced by a throat-splitting howl, "It's space travel!!!——"
The rabbit's commentary was so loud that it frightened Musa, the leader of the army.
"It's a space shuttle in the universe!!! A large warship!!! The shuttle distance is ten star miles!!! Colorful!! In a short moment, it has crossed the nearly seven miles between the two starships.
The distance between the stars..."
"The nature of the space tearing is different from that in Elbin. What's traversing space isn't just energy fire, but an entire starship... an entire large starship!"
"The colorful ones were traveling through space to intercept the Rangers, and their final stop was right in front of the Ranger starship..."
"The landing point is precise! The colorful starship is intact! And it didn't cause any abnormal energy collapse!"
"Perfect...perfect space travel!!! Safe, controllable, and fast..."
The rabbit-eared youth took a deep breath. His face flushed with excitement as he stared at the game screen in front of him, his chest heaving and his breathing rapid. He'd been talking so excitedly that he'd choked on his own saliva and started coughing violently.
This should have been considered a live broadcast accident, but no one cared about this little thing at the time.
What's more, everyone can understand his excitement!
It's not just the rabbit commentary.
Everyone who was paying attention to the Star Navigation Competition—the competition staff, organizing committee members, the general manager, the military, the Star Navigation Department, the civilian exploration team... and the millions of spectators—had their hearts pounding with emotion, their minds almost blank.
The only thing still working was the rescue starship, heading towards the Ranger rescue capsule. The starship's pilot was sweating from the scene he had just witnessed. He rushed to the scene and, relying on years of professional training, forced himself to control his thoughts as he operated the rescue manipulator, working intently to pull the rescue capsule into the starship's docking port.
In the square of Kash Space City, the audience watching the event stared at the screen.
The camera responsible for tracking the live broadcast had no human emotions and diligently locked onto the rescue project for broadcasting.
The colorful silver-white starship was floating not far behind the rescue starship. It was in the corner of the camera, but no one could ignore it.
Like a silver star hanging high in the sky, and also like a sudden miracle.
No one spoke in the huge Kashgar Square, only the rapid and frequent breathing due to excitement.
The comment section of the Star Tournament livestream was completely blank. The most recent comment was posted three minutes ago. The well-known LU blacklister xkk 五彩花彩, about to be hit, couldn't wait to taunt him.
For three minutes after the colorful comment traveled through space, it was displayed in the latest comment position in the comment section. It looked very funny, but no one paid any attention to it.
In the office of the Director of Star Navigation, Gao Siqi rested her hands on the edge of the table. She stared at the game screen in front of her, her face showing no surprise, but also no joy, only a deep sense of nervousness.
Special effects designer Su Bing sat next to her. The old woman was also staring at the screen, pulling her hair nervously, clutching a handful of heart-saving pills.
"The farthest testing distance in the laboratory is five miles, and seven miles is not long either." Su Bing murmured.
"The distance in Qixingli is not that long." At this moment, the rabbit commentator took a deep breath and finally found his voice again.
His brain started to work, and after the initial excitement, his rationality returned, but because of the thoughts in his mind, he seemed even more excited than before.
"According to the current speed of starships, it will only take a few minutes to cross." The commentator's body began to tremble, and the tips of his ears trembled slightly.
"But we all know! The first step is the hardest!"
"Don't even mention seven stars! Even one star, or even a tenth of a star, would represent a greater advancement in human technology!"
"At this moment, this colorful attempt opens the door to an infinite future for mankind."
"Today's seven-star-mile space travel may become seventeen star-miles, or even one hundred and seventy star-miles in a few years. We will be able to travel even further! Explore more of the universe..."
His words suddenly cut off.
Because the silver-white warship on the light screen moved.
The rescue starship had just brought all the rescue capsules into the docking rail. As if completing some kind of oversight, the silver-white starship's gun barrels beneath the cockpit flashed as if greeting everyone in front of the screen.
The next second, the image of the starship suddenly disappeared from the screen.
At that moment, Gao Siqi and Su Bing both stopped their backs.
The stuffed bunny looked dazed.
The colorful tracking camera suddenly lost its target. The Star Navigation Competition live broadcast system, assuming it was a camera malfunction, immediately activated the emergency plan. All participating teams' tracking cameras, as well as fixed-position cameras scattered throughout the starry sky, conducted a 360-degree search of the surrounding area.
Just half a second later, a fixed camera in the sea of stars spotted the white starship. Simultaneously, a new notification flashed on the competition screen.
"Number of teams that have reached the finish line: One."
"Arrival team name: Colorful."
"Race time: 25 minutes and 30 seconds."
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