256: Coordinate Updates and the "Hidden Dragon" Project

The faint response from "Guixu" was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, stirring up unprecedented waves in the "Spark" base.

hope was confirmed, the path ahead was illuminated, and the construction enthusiasm of the entire base blazed like a bonfire doused in oil.

Wen Youyi immediately immersed all his focus into the crystal key, repeatedly analyzing the broken message.

"Path dangerous... correction... coordinates updated..." These few words were the key.

Clearly, the secret path they had previously found on the star chart still held unknown risks in the eyes of "Guixu"; based on some intelligence they did not understand, the other party had fine-tuned the final coordinates and sent an update.

"The star chart inside the key has indeed changed slightly!" Senior Brother Zhang confirmed after a careful comparison, "The final coordinates of 'Guixu Beacon' have shifted upward from the 'Ecliptic Plane' by about... three 'Star Distance Units'."

"At the same time, the intensity of the energy turbulence marked by the star chart in this area has increased by two Ranks, and there is an additional warning mark for a 'suspected spatial fold' that wasn't there before."

Wen Youyi looked at the updated 3D star chart; the end of that silver path had become more winding, bypassing a newly marked, dark red danger zone that looked like a stain, and finally pointing to the newly fine-tuned coordinate.

"It seems that 'Guixu' possesses real-time celestial or danger information that we are unaware of," Wen Youyi mused, "This update is crucial; it very likely allowed us to avoid a fatal trap."

But at the same time, this brought new problems: the path had become more complex, which meant increased navigation difficulty and risk.

Moreover, the "Guixu" message revealed an urgent sense of "waiting," as if the situation over there was not exactly worry-free either.

"We must accelerate the construction progress!" Wen Youyi said decisively, "At the same time, initiate the 'Hidden Dragon' Plan!"

The "Hidden Dragon" Plan was a supplement and precursor to the "Voyage Plan."

Its core content was: before "hope" was fully built, use existing technology and resources to first build a small, highly maneuverable reconnaissance and precursor ship.

This precursor ship would undertake several important tasks: scouting parts of the route in advance, verifying the performance of the "star core engine" and "Flowing Silver" network in a real deep space environment, and serving as an early warning outpost and emergency escape pod for "hope" when necessary.

"This is a good idea!" Zhao Iron Pillar was the first to agree, "With a pathfinder, we can feel at ease! What should this precursor ship be named? How about 'Vanguard'?"

"'Vanguard' is too straightforward and not low-key enough," Wang Wu shook his head, "We are going to explore the unknown, not to fight a war. How about 'Firefly'? Although tiny, she can illuminate the path ahead."

"No, no, it doesn't sound sturdy enough," Senior Brother Li also joined the discussion, "Since it's a precursor, it needs to be fast and agile. How about 'Peregrine Falcon'?"

Everyone chimed in, suggesting quite a few names.

Listening to the discussion, Wen Youyi's gaze fell upon the silver path hidden among the stars on the chart, and he recalled the message of waiting from "Guixu," heavy with the dust of time, and his heart suddenly stirred.

"Let's call it 'Hidden Dragon'," he said slowly, "Taken from 'the hidden dragon in the abyss.' We are currently dormant in this Starry Sky Debris, like a hidden dragon in the abyss, accumulating strength. This precursor ship is the first 'Dragon' claw we reach out of the abyss, silently yet firmly reaching towards that distant road home."

"Hidden Dragon"... Everyone savored the name and felt it was extremely fitting. It had the implication of enduring and accumulating strength, while also hinting at the ambition to soar into the sky.

The "Hidden Dragon" Plan was immediately launched. Since there was no need to consider long-term ecological maintenance and housing for a large number of members, its design was much simpler than "hope," with its core focus on speed, stealth, and detection capabilities.

The team led by Senior Brother Li quickly produced a design proposal: a small, streamlined hull, a strengthened "star core engine" prototype as power, a stealth coating covering the entire body made of "Flowing Silver" and special wave-absorbing Materials, and a set of high-precision deep space detection arrays.

Construction work proceeded intensively. Many technologies developed for "hope" were directly applied to "Hidden Dragon," which served as both an early verification of "hope" technologies and a way to accelerate the construction speed of "Hidden Dragon."

The base's resource allocation was adjusted again, with a portion tilted towards the "Hidden Dragon" project.

Zhao Iron Pillar's combat team gained a new task—searching the debris for lightweight, high-strength Materials suitable for building small, high-speed hulls.

Mu Wanqing began configuring concentrated, high-energy nutritional supplements and emergency survival kits for "Hidden Dragon," as the crew of the precursor ship was destined to be a very small elite group, and living space would be extremely limited.

Just as the keel of "Hidden Dragon" began to be laid and the entire base was buzzing with activity for the two starships, Wang Wu, who was responsible for external environment monitoring, brought some unusual news.

"Recently, the 'Flowing Silver' activity around the base's perimeter seems a bit... restless," Wang Wu reported, "They are not foraging or assisting with work as regularly as before; instead, they often gather in a fixed direction towards the depths of the debris, but they don't seem to have any clear purpose, dispersing after hovering for a while."

"The depths of the debris?" Wen Youyi became alert. They hadn't explored that area deeply, only knowing that the energy environment there was more chaotic, with occasional powerful energy turbulence and spatial rifts. "Could there be something over there attracting them?"

He immediately communicated with several meritorious "Flowing Silver" through Xiao Wu, attempting to ask for the reason. The feedback received was vague, consisting only of chaotic thoughts like "attraction... fluctuation... familiar yet strange..."

The unknown restlessness, occurring at a critical moment nearing departure, was not a good sign.

Wen Youyi decided that in the gaps of "Hidden Dragon's" construction, he would select an elite team and lead them personally to investigate the area where the "Flowing Silver" were restless. He had to ensure the absolute safety of the base's surroundings before he could set off on the long journey home through the star sea with peace of mind.

(End of Chapter)