Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“As expected. They were already occupying such a high position of power. They had money, women, authority, and everything in between. How could they bear to throw their lives away just to perish with others? Just before pressing the button to release the nuclear weapons and unleash the destructive war, would they have left a way out for themselves?”
Obviously, the way out that the upper echelons of the Red Empire had left for themselves was in this spaceship named “The Permanent Number of Truth.” No matter how hard Chen Jin thought, he just could not understand how it was possible for the bigwigs who had money, women, and power to do something like perishing together in mutual destruction rather than enjoying their luxurious lifestyle. If others were in their shoes, they would have chosen to sacrifice their mobility rather than carry out such an extreme plan. The existence of “The Permanent Number of Truth” had eliminated the suspicions that Chen Jin had.
But, why was this spaceship stopped while it was still on the ground? Why did it not fly up into outer space and make for its target emergency shelter?
The answer to this question was quickly found after the robots opened the hatch and entered the interior of the spaceship.
“There is evidence of a battle inside the spaceship.”
“About 10 damaged and/or destroyed robots have been found.”
“Seven bodies have been found inside the luxury cabin.”
“The primary engine of the spaceship received severe damage from explosives and was unable to take off.”
Alice guessed, “Master, it was probably the army from Garrison Island who started the rebellion and killed their leaders.”
Chen Jin nodded. Alice’s guess should be largely correct. The furnishings in the luxury cabin was really too extravagant. The cabin was gilded and plated in gold. Exquisite artwork hung on the walls with nary an inch to spare. It was decked out like a magnificent royal palace; it was extremely resplendent.
The seven bodies were well-preserved inside a low-temperature environment. They were all fat as pigs with ages that were 70 or older. There was a bullet hole on the center of each of their foreheads. It was shot from the back of the head. The victim received an execution-style ending. The terror, hopelessness, and devastation that the victims felt just before they died remained on the faces of the bodies. Traces of urine and feces could be seen under the crotches of the bodies.
“Um…” Chen Jin felt somewhat awkward. “This is not too decent.” However, he could also understand the soldiers who revolted. The rage and hopelessness they must have felt because they had all been abandoned.
So, they bombed the main engine of “The Permanent Number of Truth” just when the spaceship was about to take off. This caused the spaceship to stop, and they rushed in for the kill…
“Alice, is it possible to repair this spaceship?”
“Master, with the current reserves of the Base, we are unable to repair its main engine. The technological systems of the Base and the spaceship are not compatible. It may be…. troublesome to repair it. We would need a certain amount of time. Also, the body of the spaceship is too big, making it very difficult to transport back to the Base. It’ll be even more troublesome to repair it in this foreign land.” Alice suggested, “Master, there are four 6th generation high output nuclear fission reactors in the engine room. They are actually the most valuable equipment in this spaceship. Each reactor only has a volume of 80 cubic meters, but it can provide 500 megawatts of electrical output and work continuously for 50 years or more. We can transport these nuclear reactors back to the Base, and using the technology at the Base, create a new spaceship that would be even more advanced.”
Nuclear fission reactors? Chen Jin frowned. “Why are they still using fission-type reactors? Based on the technological standard of that time, it shouldn’t be too much of a challenge to make nuclear fusion reactors. Why are they still using this kind of antique?”
“Master, nuclear fusion reactors can be created but their sizes will be too big! The smallest reactors have a volume of at least 1,000 cubic meters. This does not include the relevant equipment for power supply, operations… The total weight would be at least 8,000 tons and above. It would be very difficult to squeeze all that into this spaceship. Moreover, it is very difficult to control a fusion reactor. It can only be operated with engineers specializing in fusion reactors and a higher level of artificial intelligence. However, there are only seven seats left on “The Permanent Number of Truth.” The operating system of the spaceship is suitable only for the simplest kind of handling, so only a few fission-type reactors were installed.”
At the end of the day, the westerners of this world were similar to that of Earth’s. The things they made were big and clumsy. The high -precision equipment was beyond their ability. Chen Jin took Alice’s advice and did not try to transport the entire spaceship back to the Base. It was too heavy to transport. He got the robots to cut apart the spaceship instead! The nuclear reactors were taken out. Other parts that did not have much value were simply thrown aside. Hence, it was more appropriate to say that he found four nuclear fission reactors to describe the gains from this trip.
Besides that, there was another mysterious navy base in the center of the Red Empire that was located in the Arctic Circle. From an aerial view, one could see a few bulges on the surfaces of the ice as well as a few pencil-like shapes in a parallel arrangement, suggesting something long and slim were lying underneath the ice. Alice sent out Flight No. 10 to check out the phenomenon. The robots scraped away the thick layer of ice on the surface of the shapes.
He found four nuclear submarines. They were fully made with a titanium alloy with a length of 180 meters and a diameter of up to 20 meters. It had an underwater displacement of over 40,000 tons!
They were four behemoths. All the strategic nuclear missiles within the nuclear submarines had been discharged. After their attack mission had been completed, they had rested quietly in the military harbor, enjoying their long days of harmony and peace. It seemed as if they were in their leisurely days of retirement. The submarines, who were whole and undamaged, were the real survivors who made it to the end.
“Fully built using a titanium alloy?” Looking at the golden sheen on the surfaces of the nuclear submarines, Chen Jin suddenly thought of the rich rednecks. “If such a nuclear submarine was to be manufactured on Earth, it would, at the very least, use up the annual GDP of a small to mid-sized country. It would definitely need a few tens of billions. It’s production price will not be lower than an aircraft carrier.”
Speaking of which, the UAV formations had actually discovered a few aircraft carriers in other military harbors. However, they were mottled with rust and extremely darkened. They looked really bad, so he did not risk taking a further look at them.
On the contrary, Chen Jin really liked these four nuclear submarines. He planned to take one back and park it in a harbor near the Base. The robots would remodel it into a large sightseeing submarine that could be used to travel the world under the oceans. When he was free, he could wander underwater for some relaxation and admire the scenery. There was no fear of accidentally hitting an underwater mountain ridge. It was fully made of titanium alloy. What’s there to fear?
He sighed, “Ah…” There was a spaceship that could travel the air. There was a titanium alloy nuclear submarine that could travel underwaters. He could rise up to pluck the moon from the skies. He could catch the turtles in oceans.
Even the greatest man could not live as freely as me, could he?
Chen Jin shook his head and sighed. He felt that he would fall into another ego trip if he remained careless. “Stay calm, stay calm….” Speaking those two words again and again, Chen Jin focused on the last piece of land that had yet to be explored.
The mysterious Eastern Country!
“The UAVs have been unable to find the existence of any survivors in the Red Empire. They probably could not last till the very end. How about you… My Motherland from another dimension? Will there be a miracle in your lands; will there actually be survivors? Speaking of which, should I look forward to the existence of survivors or none at all? It’s good if there were none. If there are survivors… How should I respond? Should I be ruthless? Or observe, then make friends with them and listen to their story?”
He shook his head. Apprehension. Chen Jin’s feelings were very complicated and perturbing. He felt great anticipation but also some conflict. He gave himself a hard shake mentally and tossed aside all distracting thoughts! He gave an order for all the UAV formations to change directions and head east. Onward! “No matter what I’ll face there, I’ll be coming to you, the mysterious ancient country of the East!”