Millions of years ago, when primitive humans first gazed at the night sky, humanity embarked on an unrelenting journey to explore the mysterious universe.
That journey has continued to evolve until today, when Xiao Wu took a monumental step forward.
Humanity had finally traversed a distance equivalent to one light-year.
Yet in this vast cosmos, it seemed only Xiao Wu remained as a human.
This was the Oort Cloud, one light-year from the Sun, approximately 9.5 trillion kilometers away. From this vantage, the Sun appeared far dimmer than Sirius did from Earth. It had truly become just another ordinary star among countless others.
In the distance, a dark, ten-square-meter asteroid briefly flared before swiftly hurtling toward the Sun.
Xiao Wu gave a wry smile. He had observed that the asteroid's orbit shifted due to his fleet's gravitational influence. Calculations suggested that, within a few thousand years, it would enter the inner Solar System, unfurling a massive comet tail before evaporating almost entirely near the Sun.
Here, billions of asteroids lay scattered across the boundless darkness. Their combined mass was estimated to be about ten times that of Earth. These were remnants from the Sun's formation. Disrupted by Jupiter and other large planets, they never coalesced into a planet like Earth or Mars. Instead, they were exiled from the Solar System in a gravitational struggle billions of years ago, arriving at this desolate place. Only a few would ever chance a return to the Sun.
This region was so distant from the Sun that other stars exerted no influence over it. Estimates suggested that, in a few million years, a star humanity called Gliese 710 would pass nearby. When that happened, part of the Oort Cloud's material might be captured by it, while the rest could be flung into the Solar System.
Xiao Wu directed a Village-class ship to nimbly approach an asteroid roughly a few dozen cubic meters in size and haul it aboard. These asteroids bore traces from the Solar System's early formation, proving invaluable for Xiao Wu's research into stellar evolution.
Beyond the two asteroids Xiao Wu observed, the Oort Cloud remained as empty as other regions. His footsteps didn't falter, pressing onward at high speed.
The Oort Cloud marked the final frontier of a star's dominion. Beyond it, no celestial bodies were bound by the Sun's gravity. Aside from faint light, the Sun held no sway here.
Perhaps, when the Sun died in five billion years, the nebula it formed might stretch this far.
Time passed swiftly. Since Xiao Wu left the Oort Cloud, over two thousand more years had elapsed.
After 1,600 years, all of Xiao Wu's spare parts were depleted. Thus, over the next four hundred years, fifty Village-class ships were decommissioned. Their components were stripped to repair other damaged vessels. These fifty ships, reduced to mere frames without propulsion, could no longer keep pace with the fleet. Xiao Wu lacked the means to tow them along. Abandoned, they drifted aimlessly in the cosmos, forever lost.
Alongside the fifty Village-class ships, two Commune-class ships met the same fate. The three District-class ships, though overhauled once, remained operational for the journey.
The voyage had reached 40%, or four light-years. Had Xiao Wu's destination been Centaurus A, he would have arrived.
Centaurus A, the closest star to the Sun, formed part of the Alpha Centauri system with two others. These three stars influenced each other, moving chaotically. Observations indicated no stable large planets existed there, so despite its proximity, Xiao Wu didn't choose it.
In these 2,000 years, Xiao Wu had passed through at least four large gas clouds. Each traversal slowed his speed, requiring subsequent acceleration and course corrections.
Every acceleration and adjustment consumed substantial fuel. Fortunately, Xiao Wu had stockpiled as much thermonuclear fuel as possible, sufficient to reach the Epsilon Eridani system.
The largest gas cloud spanned about one light-year in length and over ten light-days in width. Xiao Wu spent more than twenty years crossing it.
In the universe, such vast gas clouds weren't rare. Even the Solar System had emerged from one. Billions of years ago, a nearby supernova's disturbance caused the cloud to collapse toward its center. Eventually, the central density and temperature surged, triggering thermonuclear fusion and birthing the proto-Sun.
The proto-Sun's powerful stellar wind dispersed surrounding dust, which later condensed into planets. After billions of years of evolution, they stabilized into their current forms.
If a celestial body perturbed that gas cloud now, a star might form there in the distant future.
Regrettably, Xiao Wu lacked the means to create a star at will.
This gas cloud had reduced Xiao Wu's speed from 563 km/s to 506 km/s, also nudging his course off by a thousandth of a degree.
In space, precision was paramount, demanding accuracy greater than hitting a mosquito on the Moon. Over vast distances, a tiny initial error could amplify massively. Ignoring this thousandth-of-a-degree deviation would lead Xiao Wu to a point tens of billions of kilometers from his target.
Luckily, Xiao Wu had a pulsar navigation system. Using signals from six pulsars, he recalibrated his course, steering the fleet back toward Epsilon Eridani.
Current position: five light-years from the Sun, 5.5 light-years from Epsilon Eridani. Nearly half the journey was complete, with 3,700 years elapsed since departing Saturn.
The tally of damaged Village-class ships had risen to 135, with eight Commune-class ships lost. Yet all three District-class ships—The Far Voyager, The Sun, and The Epsilon Eridani—remained functional. The reason was simple: District-class ships held the greatest value. Under normal conditions, Xiao Wu sacrificed parts from Village-class and Commune-class ships to maintain the larger ones.
Xiao Wu's fleet resembled a band of refugees, with members succumbing to hunger and cold along the way, left behind.
Thermonuclear fusion was currently the most efficient energy source, and the ships' materials represented Xiao Wu's pinnacle of technology. Still, time's relentless toll weakened them. Without new scientific breakthroughs, such losses were inevitable.
At five light-years from the Sun, its light faded, blending among the stars without distinction. Conversely, Epsilon Eridani's light grew stronger. With fewer gas clouds obscuring it, Epsilon Eridani outshone the Sun from this vantage.
Over nearly four thousand years, Xiao Wu's technology had advanced steadily, mostly in engineering. For instance, he'd developed a new photonic computer model. Once perfected, it would enable computers dozens of times faster, less energy-intensive, and smaller. Other advancements included improving thermonuclear fusion efficiency and studying JS's material-strengthening mechanisms. Xiao Wu could now simulate JS's strengthening process with strong magnetic fields, though it fell short of genuine JS effects.
The most significant and practical breakthrough was in laser technology. Lasers served two key purposes: offense (laser guns, cannons) and defense (the legendary energy shield). Xiao Wu had a preliminary hypothesis for an energy shield, using strong magnetic fields to control high-energy photons, forming a protective layer around ships. However, testing this required reaching the Epsilon Eridani system for sufficient material resources.
Fundamental physics, however, hadn't seen a breakthrough. Xiao Wu remained patient. He believed that, upon arriving at Epsilon Eridani with ample materials and a completed large-scale particle accelerator, breaching fundamental physics would be a matter of time.
Xiao Wu even speculated that if the Epsilon Eridani particle accelerator detected the Higgs boson, verifying the Higgs field, he could tap into a near-infinite energy source. Then, all obstacles hindering him would vanish.
This underscored the greatness of relativity and quantum theory. Even now, with spacefaring capabilities far beyond humanity's by untold years, Xiao Wu still relied on their foundational principles.
The endless journey pressed on. Suddenly, a leading Village-class ship detected an unusual disturbance.
It was a radio wave with a distinct pattern. Xiao Wu confirmed it wasn't emitted by his fleet.
The wave instantly seized Xiao Wu's full attention. But its brevity prevented him from pinpointing its source. After a moment of reflection, Xiao Wu made a decision.