In the boundless universe, other than stars, planets, comets, and other celestial bodies, it was not an absolute vacuum. A lot of interstellar dust was floating in many places.
Their composition was essentially the same as the composition of planets. They were all particles of rocks and metals, which were condensed into celestial bodies in the shape of clouds under the restraint of appropriate gravity and magnetic fields. Therefore, they were also known as' nebulas'.
'Kunlun', the relic of the Pangu civilization, was hidden in a crab nebula. Right now, another 'black spot nebula' had appeared.
Perhaps, the Pangu civilization had grasped a certain secret technique that allowed them to manipulate nebulas.
Li Yao knew that, according to the different compositions of the metal particles inside the nebula and the changes of the magnetic field where they were condensed, the nebula could exhibit all kinds of unbelievable features, such as sending and blocking special radiations, absorbing and releasing spiritual energy, and so on.
"That's all the information we know so far."
Professor Mo Xuan said. "Although we have discovered the location of the enemy, it is covered by a large area of the 'black spot nebula'. With our current technology, it is impossible for us to observe the enemy directly from the Heaven's Origin Sector, the Flying Star Sector, and the Blood Demon Sector!
"However, from the perspective of the grand universe, the enemy is not very far away from us. It is hard to tell whether it is a blessing or a curse that such a mysterious, unknown world has suddenly popped up right next to us and even greeted us voluntarily.
"How can we tolerate a stranger snoring next to our bed, especially one that we know nothing about?
"The most critical thing is that, come here and take a look. This is a simulated trajectory map that we created by combining the star map of the Pangu civilization with the observation map of apocalypses in the Star Prier's House. Have you found anything wrong with it?"
Professor Mo Xuan pointed at the top of the picture and said, "Yes. The mysterious world is not far away from the route of the expedition army of the Imperium of True Human Beings. In a hundred years, when the expedition army of the Imperium brushes past them, it is possible that they will discover the world, just like Su Changfa and the other Immortal Cultivators who discovered Kunlun five years ago."
Li Yao took a long breath in relief. It was not hard to imagine the severity of the issue when the Immortal Cultivators such as Su Changfa occupied Kunlun.
'Kunlun' was just a 'weapon factory' that the Pangu civilization had built with the spiritual energy emitted from the pulsar. Since the mysterious world was considered by countless Pangu people to be their escape destination, it was obviously an important stronghold or a regional military center.
If such a world had anything to do with the expedition army of the Imperium, it would definitely not be a good thing for the Federation, who was waiting for it seriously.
After hundreds of thousands of years, did this extremely mysterious Greater Thousand World still exist?
What kind of race and civilization was living in this world now?
This area was far away from the prosperous area at the center of the cosmos. Therefore, it was unlikely that they were from the Imperium or the Holy League. Then, who were they? Were they demons, demonic Cultivators, or even the descendants of the Pangu or the Nuwa Clan? Or were they even more bizarre existences?
Also, why were they 'greeting' the Heaven's Origin Sector and the Flying Star Sector? Were they friendly or malicious? Did they really want to communicate, or were they harboring ill intentions and setting up a trap?
"I get it now!"
Li Yao narrowed his eyes and said, "Now that we have discovered them, we cannot sit by and do nothing. We can only adopt the stupidest approach and send an exploration team to jump to the mysterious world as soon as possible to investigate the local situation and figure out their stance, the level of their civilization, whether or not they are a threat to us, whether or not they will be taken advantage of or even conquered by the expedition army of the Imperium, and so on!
"Otherwise, it will be hilarious if, after a hundred years of hard work, we think that we are invincible, only to be attacked by not only the expedition army of the Imperium but also a formidable enemy from another mysterious world!"
"This is the 'special mission' that you mentioned, isn't it, Professor? What's the big deal? I'll go. It's a perfect match for my specialty! "
Professor Mo Xuan and Si Koulie looked at each other. The professor coughed and said, "Li Yao, don't be hasty. Let me finish first.
"The mysterious world hidden deep inside the black spot nebula is vastly different from the other space zones that the Heavenly Road Plan will explore.
"First of all, it is very far away. As you can see, it is almost at the edge of the star map of the Pangu civilization. It is very difficult to jump to it directly!
"Secondly, there are dozens of stellar systems near the mysterious world, all of which are enshrouded in mist. We do not know what is going on inside at all!
"Searching for a Sector that has been hidden for hundreds of thousands of years in such an overwhelming dark nebula is like finding a needle in a haystack. It is dozens if not hundreds of times more difficult than searching for other Sectors!
"Therefore, the starship that carries out the exploration mission must be able to withstand hundreds of space jumps. It must boast a high sailing speed. It will be best if it has the ability to receive the signals released by the Pangu civilization and a well-equipped hibernation system.
"In the three Sectors, our starship expertise is far from enough to build such an exploration starship. Even Sparkle, the multipurpose exploration starship of the Star Ocean Imperium, does not have such an ability.
"Only Sparkle, which is modified from the single escape capsule of the Pangu civilization and is one level smaller than Sparkle, has such an ability!
"Just now, as Fellow Cultivator Si said, Sparkle is modified from the single escape capsule of the Pangu civilization. A lot of units of the Pangu civilization have been adopted, which means that it is unique. It is unlikely that we will be able to build a second one in the next few decades!"
Li Yao finally understood everything. He gasped and said, "Are you suggesting that, with our current technology, the only thing we can do is to launch Sparkle into the dark nebula with an explorer to search for the mysterious world that disappeared mysteriously a long time ago?"
"Yes."
Professor Mo Xuan nodded and said, "This is a one-off deal. If the explorer is lost deep inside the dark nebula, we won't even be able to organize a rescue team. We will have to abandon the mission completely and wait for them to come to us one day!
"However, this is not the most special aspect of this mission."
"Huh?"
Li Yao was dumbfounded. "You are exaggerating, and it is not the most special feature? What is the problem exactly?"
"The problem is that Sparkle is too fast. Not only is it the best starship in the three Sectors, it is also multiple times faster than the second starship. It has reached the real sub-light speed!"
Si Koulie continued. "It can accelerate to the 'sub-light speed' immediately after a space jump. It is also the biggest reason why we have chosen it for the exploration of the dark nebula."
"Isn't it a good thing?"
Li Yao was confused. "Since Sparkle can perform multiple space jumps repeatedly and can cruise at the sub-light speed, and it is a Pangu escape capsule modified from the escape capsules of the Pangu clan, it is very likely that it will receive the enemy's signal. It is almost tailor-made for the exploration mission. What's wrong with its high speed?"
"Have you ever heard of the 'clock slows down and space shrinks' effect?"
Si Koulie smiled bitterly. "To put it simply, when an object approaches the speed of light, the time around it will be slowed down, and the space around it will shrink. The closer it is to the speed of light, the thinner the significance of time and space will be. Once it reaches the speed of light, time will stop, and space will collapse into a single point, entering the 'zero space and time' state!
"Reaching or even surpassing the speed of light is something that is beyond our imagination with our current technology. Therefore, the 'zero space and time' state is just our speculation.
"However, when it is close to the speed of light, the relative deceleration of time is an observable and verifiable fact.
"In our previous interstellar voyages, we mostly relied on space jumps to bypass the barrier of 'light speed'. In regular voyages, our starships can barely maintain the sub-light speed. The best we can do is to charge forward for several seconds!
"Therefore, even if the 'clock slows down and space shrinks' effect does exist, it will have little influence on us and can be ignored.
"But the mission this time is different.
"Firstly, Sparkle, which is carrying out the mission, is the fastest starship in the three Sectors. It can easily break the sub-light speed and maintain it for a long time. Secondly, it is destined to fly at the sub-light speed for a long time in order to find the mysterious world hidden deep inside the dark nebula!
"The combination of the two factors means that the explorer who is piloting Sparkle has a different perception of time from the people in the Heaven's Origin Sector, the Flying Star Sector, and the Blood Demon Sector!
"Perhaps, in his eyes, the exploration has only been going on for a year and a half, but in the three Sectors, decades have passed in a hurry.
"Do you see it now, Li Yao?"
Professor Mo Xuan sighed and said, "If we are really going to explore the mysterious world, we can only send one explorer. Even if he completes the exploration, mapping, and localization smoothly and neatly, it is very likely that decades or even a hundred years will have passed by the time he returns to the Tian Yuan Realm!
"This is the most special and confusing exploration mission in the 'Heavenly Road Plan'.
"In other Sectors, the sailing routes are relatively clear, and the locations are relatively clear, too. There is not much interference. It will be best if we can find one, but if we can't, we can jump to a new space zone and look for the next one. If we find nothing, we can always return to the Federation in a couple of years, reunite with our families, and carry on with other projects.
"But this mission has too many uncertainties, and it will take too long!"
Li Yao and Ding Ling Dong both fell silent.
Clock slows down and space shrinks down?
The closer one was to the speed of light, the slower the relative time would be?
It would take at least decades to carry out such an exploration mission?
It had never occurred to the two of them before they came here hand in hand.
"No matter how difficult the mission is, how long it will take, and how high the price is, we have to carry it out, don't we?"
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