Resurrection Empire

Chapter 1289 - 490: Divergence

After speaking, Ren Zhong temporarily cut off the communication and then looked up at the ceiling of the conference room.

A moment later, he closed his eyes, seemingly resting them.

The conference room fell into complete silence.

Everyone’s face was filled with gravity.

Vincent Fanhuoyi couldn’t help but mention another situation.

"Actually, even if Huang Xubo and his team succeed, it won’t make much of a difference. The nearest 981-27 ship, even if it accelerates to 0.2 times the speed of light and cruises forward, will still take 19 hours to arrive. There will inevitably be a three-hour gap in between. We need to make other plans."

Ren Zhong opened his eyes.

He didn’t want to tell the others the harsh truth.

In fact, just now, he had successfully initiated a Premonition Illusion.

This time, the Premonition Illusion lasted a very short moment.

He had already seen the scene of the Source Star Fleet being destroyed by the Space Pirate Alliance, inevitable and certain death.

This was a prediction made by his subconscious, based on all the memories in his brain so far, all known information, and additional information collected from the cosmic background information stream.

Ren Zhong thought for a moment and made a new decision in his heart, planning to have the fleet immediately turn and leave the Black Mist Zone, attempting to reach other areas.

Soon after, a new Premonition Illusion appeared again, with slight changes.

In the vision, he himself quietly pilots a shuttle ship away, not being tracked, yet the Source Star Fleet still suffers destruction at the hands of the Space Pirates.

The conclusion is clear: exposure means annihilation, with no chance of survival.

Ren Zhong didn’t find any meaning in surviving alone.

Also, the universe is too vast, and relying only on a shuttle ship’s endurance, he wouldn’t escape far, and the ultimate end would most likely be a lonely, despairing death in space.

Alternatively, he might initiate cryogenic sleep, relying on the help of Sun Ai kept in the pseudo-network at Starfire Town, to quietly drift back to Source Star with a few people. If lucky, it’s possible, and upon return, they could lay low again, praying that Liu An finds the distance daunting and doesn’t send scouts to investigate, avoiding exposure of Source Star.

If they truly avoid immediate exposure and could regain strength, there might still be hope for avenging the fleet’s thirty billion people.

But revenge is the last resort among last resorts, which means the Source Star Fleet no longer exists.

If there were any choice, Ren Zhong wouldn’t want this.

Putting aside emotions, at least eighty percent of the superior genes of Source Star civilization’s heritage are within the fleet.

Having painstakingly built up such an asset, to lose it would be like returning to the pre-liberation days, wouldn’t it?

Moreover, even if they return to Source Star, they would still live in constant fear. What is the point? Especially since Source Star is a lone star on the edge of the Ancient Disk Galaxy, with nowhere to run.

However unwilling he might be, the situation is stronger than people, leaving no choice.

With the mindset of treating a dead horse as a living one, Ren Zhong said, "Contact the 981-27 ship, let me see the situation of this working ship, if there’s any chance."

Moments later, Chen Qiao informed that the connection was established.

Ren Zhong said again, "Calling 981-27, this is Fleet Headquarters, I am Ren Zhong, please respond."

Like before with Huang Xubo, the person responsible for communications at 981-27 also fell into a brief silence.

After two seconds, a voice came through.

"Falcon here, I am Technical Officer Ma Wei’an, hello, my lord Earl."

Unlike Huang Xubo, the person on the other side spoke in a relatively calm manner, seemingly not very excited, and did not respond using the standard work fleet number but instead used a name he devised, Falcon.

However, the stereoscopic projection on Ren Zhong’s side immediately revealed the relevant situation of the 981-27 ship, including personnel information and the current status of the ship, all detailed.

It turns out that the Falcon is a name given to the work ship by its Captain, Ahmed Sammy, out of personal interest, usually only used internally. During communications with headquarters and other working ships, Ahmed Sammy strictly adhered to fleet management regulations, using the standard identifier.

But this Ma Wei’an evidently is not someone who plays by conventional rules.

According to information provided by Chen Qiao, Ma Wei’an is a senior researcher at the Institute of Artificial Intelligence, only 25 years old. The elderly Ma Xiaocheng even once considered appointing this young man as the next successor of the Deep Communication Group, but Ma Wei’an refused.

During the personnel selection for the working fleet, Ma Wei’an volunteered to join. Although Chen Qiao felt some regret, unwilling to let a talented programmer be sacrificed in a low-level position, seeing his resolute will, she agreed nonetheless.