Chapter 78: Hello

When Shen Xing discovered the sudden appearance of this starship, his consciousness instantly arrived. He first gazed at the vessel from outside; its exterior was unlike anything crafted by any civilization he knew, and its surface was covered with scars and signs of damage. The origins of these marks were unclear—apart from the battered hull, some compartments had gaping holes, though several strange mechanical entities were diligently repairing them.

Shen Xing's consciousness quietly approached the mysterious starship. His mental power pierced the ship’s shell, beginning a careful scan of its interior. As his awareness swept over the ship, he first noticed a hidden compartment in the lower levels, filled with various mechanical beings. Shen Xing's mind drifted among them; their designs were fierce and bizarre. Even with his limited understanding of technology, it was clear that each machine was forged for war, built as instruments of slaughter.

Yet, none of these mechanical bodies showed any sign of energy—almost as if they had been deliberately isolated. While Shen Xing could translate certain signals by combining electromagnetic force with his consciousness, he could not control these machines with his mind. He had tried before to use his mental power for complex tasks requiring expertise, such as hacking networks or invading robots, but had always failed for reasons unknown. He could instantly destroy machines with electromagnetic force, but could not fundamentally manipulate them.

Perhaps the power of the mind could not directly affect material existence in certain scenarios.

With this thought, Shen Xing pressed deeper into his investigation. The starship’s interior was divided into several distinct regions, each operating with its own unique system. These systems were intricate, and the ship’s functions highly automated, suggesting a civilization of advanced technological prowess.

In some parts of the ship, Shen Xing observed creatures of unusual forms. Their behavior was entirely unlike any life he knew, and there were many varieties, grouped into regions by some classification. Within these areas, unique ecosystems operated; the creatures seemed to be eating and cleaning, among other activities.

Their presence intrigued Shen Xing and heightened his curiosity about the starship’s origins. To unravel the ship’s history, he realized he must start by understanding those who controlled it.

His consciousness swiftly moved to the upper levels and the bridge. Here, the atmosphere differed greatly from the lower compartments. He found several intelligent beings of various shapes, busy at their instruments, guiding the vessel through space.

Shen Xing briefly observed the number of these sentient lifeforms; for a ship of such magnitude, their numbers were oddly few. Each individual handled many tasks, in stark contrast to a crowded Earth ship’s command center. Moreover, their movements were peculiar—some joints could rotate three hundred sixty degrees, something Shen Xing found strange.

He quickly focused his mind, scrutinizing their bodily structures. Upon scanning, he discovered that despite their organic appearance, these beings were, beneath the surface, entirely mechanical.

“So that’s it…”

Shen Xing pondered, his consciousness furrowing in thought. No wonder such a massive ship could be maintained by so few; these entities, seemingly organic, were in fact pure machines inside, capable of feats impossible for ordinary life.

This mechanical existence reminded Shen Xing of the silicon-based civilizations from the archives. But why would they bother disguising themselves as organic beings?

After some consideration, Shen Xing made a decision. He would attempt to guide this starship into the Sky Dome System, marking the Star Origin civilization’s first active contact with the cosmos.

When the Sky Blue people first arrived in the Sky Dome System, the Star Origin civilization lacked the means to detect or communicate, but now it had advanced technologically, with the capability to actively reach out to other cosmic civilizations. This would be not only a test of diplomacy and wisdom, but perhaps a trial of technological and military strength.

As Shen Xing contemplated how to subtly direct the starship toward the Sky Dome System, the vessel suddenly began to exhibit a series of spatial reactions.

“Space fold?”

At the brink of the ship’s spatial jump, Shen Xing secretly used spatial force to influence its trajectory. Under his guidance, the starship was slowly steered toward the fold point. In an instant, the ship vanished from its current planetary system, reappearing in the cosmic space near the Sky Dome System.

…

The outermost major planet of the Sky Dome System—Sky Ocean Planet.

This is the sixth planet of the system, once the first to be devoured by Sky Abyss Planet. After being transformed into a world of life, it was managed by Qu Shixin.

As the outermost planet, Sky Ocean Planet moves almost symmetrically with the fifth planet, Sky Fire Planet, making both serve as outposts for cosmic observation by the Star Origin civilization.

“Divine Attendant Qu, I’ve detected some anomalous data here. Should I activate the star chart for observation?”

In the observatory, Yao Yuan reported before a virtual screen.

“Activate the star chart.”

Using the Dir Star Chart’s observation function, Yao Yuan discovered a large starship traveling through the cosmos—a significant find, which he quickly reported to Qu Shixin.

The Sky Blue people had largely been integrated into the Star Origin civilization, and some had come to revere the Star Father. These alien believers held the right to travel to other planets and could assist the Star Origin civilization in its affairs.

Yao Yuan was one of five such individuals, though they had long been scattered across different planets and hadn’t met in some time. On Sky Ocean Planet, only Yao Yuan was engaged in observation work, while Yang Kui had joined the Star Origin military.

“Try to establish contact. We must first determine their intentions.”

“The fleet is on standby. If anything unusual occurs, notify me at once—I’ll lead the fleet to handle it.”

After hearing Qu Shixin’s instructions, Yao Yuan nodded, then activated the star chart and the Distant Star Quantum Communicator.

The zero-point energy core had once been overclocked, but after returning to normal, showed little change, leaving the scientists who studied this mysterious energy core deeply impressed.

Since language could not be shared, they used signals to convey the civilization’s goodwill. If their intentions had been hostile, they would have sent an attack, not a signal.

As expected, after some time, Yao Yuan received a reply. To his astonishment, the response contained only two familiar characters:

“Hello.”