56: Research Station Log

Looking at the series of documents,

Xi Hai scrolled up and then down to the very first entry.

It was the first piece of information recorded by this outpost.

He clicked on the title.

A web-like graphic slowly expanded outwards from the center in a radial pattern.

Then, a few lines of text scrolled by—

[Federal Year 15233]

[The armed research outpost at Ursa Major V27.29 is completed.]

[From this point, the large-scale project spanning an entire star system, the “Monitoring Network for Void Creature Species No. 3”—the Compound Eye System—]

[has completed its network construction.]

[Starting today,]

[since humanity began exploring the Void,]

[the largest Void Creature species ever discovered will be fully exposed to the Federation’s surveillance.]

Following that were the completion date, the signatures of the stationed personnel,

and an entry point to the platform log.

Opening the log,

history, sealed for ten thousand years, instantly unfolded before his eyes—

[February 1, 15233]

[The armed research outpost at Ursa Major V12.22 is officially put into use.]

[{Federal Research Department·Void Research Office·Void Creature Research Section} officially appoints ■■ as the station chief; {Federal Armed Forces Department} officially appoints Second Lieutenant ■■■ as the general commander of station defense affairs]

[This station’s direct superior unit is {Void Creature Research Section·9527th Detection Team}]

...[March 3, 15233]

[The first month in office is nearing its end.]

[Currently, everything at the station is operating normally.]

[No abnormal activities of the monitored target, “Void Creature Species No. 3,” have been detected so far.]

...[January 3, 15254]

[No significant reproductive behavior observed in the target population.]

[However, the target population has noticeably expanded.]

...[February 8, 16349]

[Due to the continuous expansion of Void Channels within Ursa Major,]

[the void energy content in the target area has significantly decreased.]

[The targets show signs of migration.]

...[March 3, 16421]

[The targets have begun to migrate!]

[They migrated right before my transfer!]

[The void turbulence in the areas they passed through has changed from chaotic to stable.]

[Estimated direction is towards the K-series nodes.]

...[April 8, 17222]

[No target signals detected in the monitoring area.]

[Perhaps after that historical migration,]

[these Void Creatures have already changed their habitats.]

...[May 3, 18674]

[An operational error occurred with the star marker between Ursa Major V12.22 and Ursa Major V13.01.]

[A massive void energy outburst triggered a brief collapse within the Void.]

[Small-scale Void Vacuum Bubble regions (areas without void energy) appeared.]

[Creatures similar to the observed targets appeared out of nowhere during this event,]

[and rapidly reproduced into new colonies.]

...[June 8, 19227]

[The target species no longer acts as a whole.]

[Mostly in small groups,]

[they wander near void energy extraction factories.]

...[July 1, 20098]

[I can't sit on this cold bench for another day!]

[Staring at these bugs every day,]

[and I still have to write some log?]

[Screw that, no one has seriously looked at this stuff for hundreds of years.]

...[August 7, 23600]

[All facilities belonging to the {Compound Eye System} in Ursa Major have their affiliation changed to {Federal Armed Forces Department·Co-Defense Office}.]

[Military administration over Ursa Major is declared.]

...[Year 24002, ■ Month ■ Day]

[All equipment is disconnected.]

[Although I don't want to admit it, I, the one left behind, am most likely the last living person here.]

[Hahaha, they want my space station?]

[Don't even think about it!]

[Later, whoever you are,]

[if you see this,]

[no matter what situation humanity is in at that time,]

[remember, we shall eventually be great!]

[The Human Federation spirit endures! The glory of humanity lives forever!]

...(Following this was a command for the mainframe to self-destruct all data and shut down.)

The log ended abruptly.

Most dates in this log simply read: “Nothing happened.”

Xi Hai skipped through and read the key points of the log.

The moment he closed the memo,

the night lamp suddenly stirred.

“Time-Space Walker mission, progress bar advanced.”

“second era: 2%—>3%”

“Progress bar for the Second ‘Great Decay’ period activated: 0%—>1%”

“Phase reward: proxima centauri coin*4000; Encrypted Technical Archives*6”

“...”

After reading it,

both of them were silent for a few seconds in the compartment where the mainframe was stored.

“So,”

“these bugs we’re facing now,”

“are the targets monitored by this small base.”

“Treating such dangerous things as a research project, and peeping at them every day?”

“I guess I should say, as expected of the Human Federation, with its manifest destiny...”

Although these two didn't seem to be the same thing,

he secretly added in his heart.

Finally, Xi Hai was the first to break the silence.

He looked back at the list,

just above the log,

a prominently marked folder clearly read—

“Response Methods for Sudden Void Seepage: From Occurrence, Hazard Avoidance, to Resolution”

Good heavens, there’s even a contingency plan... At this moment, at Ursa Major V01.01,

Marshal Dietrich Cloud was distraught over the loss of contact with Ursa Major V12.22.

It was currently the time for the Order Grand Ceremony,

and everyone was at the negotiating table.

The Lacray Empire was unlikely to suddenly launch a large-scale military operation against The Consortium—

With the Cloud Consortium and the Haivier Federation clearly allied,

Dietrich believed

that the Lacray Emperor would not be foolish enough to intentionally provoke a war at such a sensitive time,

at least not now.

But why?

Ursa Major V12.22 had lost contact early this morning.

Could it be some overambitious noble from the Empire?

Unlikely.

Or a probing attack from some unknown party?

He was utterly baffled.

At least,

the Cosmic Army was already on its way,

and the vanguard reconnaissance fleet was almost ready to land.

Then, we’ll see... I’m busy today with alliance battles.

School is starting soon, busy.

These few days, maybe one update.

I’ll note down the missing word count and make it up later.

Also, to the person who said they’d give a bad review if I wrote about Zerg, why?

Besides, I never said I was writing about Zerg, hah.

I’m writing about slime mold, slime mold, slime mold!

Only the appearance is similar. Have you ever seen Zerg reproduce by spreading spores?