435: Heavenly Visitor

Against the backdrop of the deep Universe, the spiral arms of the Milky Way Galaxy were like scattered fluorescent powder—vast, tranquil, and eternal.

Beneath this tranquility, a fleet composed of three ships, filled with industrial aesthetic style, was quietly tearing through the darkness between the star seas.

They were a detachment of the Eastern Federation's 77th Deep Space Exploration Fleet and were currently the ships furthest from their home territory. Leading them was the "Beiming," a comprehensive exploration ship that had undergone several refits and reached the pinnacle of its performance.

On the main bridge screen, at the edge of the map representing explored Star Domains, a star sector with a staggering density of stars was forming.

Spectral analysis data scrolled across the secondary screen; the abundance of light and heavy elements, far exceeding the average level of the Milky Way Galaxy, caused the experienced captain, Lin Yizhou, to raise his eyebrows slightly.

"Captain, preliminary wide-area scanning is complete. The target star sector is temporarily numbered '0-0-1', and the star density in its core region is approximately 9.8 times that of the region near the Solar System."

"The gravitational wave background readings are exceptionally complex, with a large number of non-natural disturbance sources," the cold voice of the Science Officer, Mu Wan, echoed on the bridge.

Lin Yizhou walked to the main screen and stood with his hands behind his back.

He was about fifty years old, with a resolute face, and was a representative figure of the young and vigorous faction in the Eastern Federation military.

"9.8 times? Good heavens, this place is crowded. Zoom in on the core area and see what is causing the disturbance."

"Yes." Mu Wan's slender fingers danced rapidly across the console.

The image on the main screen quickly zoomed in. After filtering out the interference signals, the scene presented left the entire bridge so quiet that a pin could be heard dropping.

Those were not natural gravitational ripples; they were war.

Countless light spots representing high-energy reactions flickered back and forth, collided, and then annihilated on the star map.

Within many star Systems, signal sources representing ship wreckage were densely packed, almost forming an artificial asteroid belt.

The energy trajectories of laser beams, the salvo paths of missile clusters, the violent flashes when energy cores exploded... all of this was clearly captured by the Beiming's powerful passive detection array.

"My goodness..." First Officer Zhao Youcheng gaped, subconsciously rubbing his buzz cut. "This... how many fleets are fighting here? The scope of the conflict is almost as large as a small star cluster!"

Lin Yizhou's brows locked tightly together, the ease previously on his face gone.

Because of the Interstellar Peace Corporation, he had not experienced war. But also because of the Interstellar Peace Corporation, he had experienced dozens of battles of various sizes in Penacony.

However, he had never seen an interstellar war of such grand scale and astonishing intensity.

This had already exceeded the scope of conventional conflict and was more like a life-or-death battle between interstellar civilizations.

"Can you identify the technical characteristics and ship models of the warring parties?" Lin Yizhou asked in a deep voice.

"The distance is too great, and the accuracy of passive detection is limited. But it is certain that there are at least four completely different ship design styles and weapon characteristics," Mu Wan analyzed the data quickly.

"The combat mode is very, um, how should I put it? Classical. It relies heavily on kinetic weapons and thermal energy, and while missile technology seems advanced, the level of intelligence does not seem high."

"If compared with the Interstellar Peace Corporation's fleet, they are more like the maritime combat mode of the Age of Discovery."

"Also, there is something very strange..."

She swiped her fingers a few times and brought up an enhanced video clip.

In the image, a massive ship referred to as a "Dreadnought" was hit by intense artillery fire, and its hull was severely damaged.

But soon, some kind of emergency System within it seemed to activate, "transferring" something resembling the bio-electric signal characteristics of the crew out in an incomprehensible way.

"What is this? An emergency escape?" Zhao Youcheng leaned closer to the screen.

"It doesn't look like it." Mu Wan shook her head, her expression strange. "The destination of the signal transfer is a pre-set device far behind the battlefield. It looks a bit like a cloning facility."

"Also, we captured some sporadic communication fragments. According to the AI's decryption results, a term appears repeatedly: 'Eggman'."

"Eggman?" Lin Yizhou chewed on this strange term, a feeling of absurdity mixed with reason rising in his heart.

Could they be using clones as soldiers? Transmitting consciousness back to spare bodies to "resurrect" after death? This technology, which only appeared in theory and science fiction, was actually being applied on a large scale in real combat here?

No, does this civilization not have such a thing as scientific ethics?

"Immediately release Heavenly Eye stealth probes for forward reconnaissance, focusing on collecting information about their military System, social structure, and technological level, especially everything about 'Eggman'!" Lin Yizhou ordered decisively.

"All operations must maintain the highest level of secrecy. If there is any risk of the probes being discovered, self-destruct immediately. We must never expose our existence!"

"Yes!"

Several probes, small in volume and covered with advanced radar-absorbent Materials, quietly popped out from the belly of the "Beiming."

After gliding for a distance, they suddenly disappeared in place, like stones thrown into the deep sea.

After entering the "surface," they slid silently toward that war-torn Star Domain.

Over the next few days, the data transmitted back constantly challenged the perceptions of the Eastern Federation exploration team members.

They saw the sky-covering missile sea of the faction known as "Caldari," saw the defensive network built by the "Gallente" using peculiar "spatial bombs," and saw the "Amarr Empire's" mountain-sized "eon-class" supercarriers and the swarm-like fighter aircraft they released...

They also saw the pirates known as "Gustas" active near the borders between nations, as well as small factions with distinct styles like the "Blood Raiders" and "Serpentis."

More importantly, they basically confirmed the existence and operating mode of the "Eggman" System.

This was a war mode that exchanged near-"zero casualties" at the cost of huge sacrifices in cloning technology and social ethics.

For any army, this temptation was undoubtedly fatal.

All intelligence was compiled into a report tens of thousands of EB long, which was transmitted across the vast galaxy back to the capital of the Eastern Federation via the Interstellar Peace Corporation's Silver Rail communication network.

Blue Star, Eastern Federation capital, Zijin Pavilion.

A report marked "Top Secret" was holographically projected in the center of a massive circular conference table.

Everyone present was a true helmsman of the Eastern Federation; any decision they made could affect the future direction of human civilization.

The room was silent, save for the war footage playing silently in the holographic projection.

After a long while, a general with three stars on his shoulder slowly spoke, his voice filled with irrepressible excitement: "Good stuff, this is really good stuff!"

"A war mode where there is absolutely no need to worry about casualties! Gentlemen, what does this mean? This means our most elite soldiers can hone their tactics or test new equipment on the most realistic battlefields an infinite number of times!"

"This means we can gain immeasurable combat experience at almost zero cost! This is the perfect ultimate training ground!"

"I agree with General Zhang's view," the representative from the Academy of Sciences also expressed an opinion. "Their overall technology is more than two generations behind ours, but this 'Eggman' System and its supporting social structure are also of great research value."

"Although our 'consciousness anchor' and 'rapid biological matrix cultivation' technologies can achieve similar or even better effects, they still fall into the category of remote control. What these civilizations are using is definitely a type of consciousness cross-space-time transfer technology."

"If we could establish a forward base there..."

"What about the risks?" A stern-faced old man interrupted in a deep voice. "According to the report, this 'New Eden' world is full of factions, and war is the norm. If we intervene rashly, we are very likely to bring trouble upon ourselves."

"And looking at their historical records, technological development, and cultural evolution, especially their Warp Engine technology route, don't you find it familiar?"

"Don't forget the fleet that the Interstellar Peace Corporation exiled in the name of interstellar exploration in Star Calendar Year 24. Although this matter has faded from public view, and at the time, the fleet could not determine its destination due to a Star Gate malfunction and was eventually deemed lost, I dare say that those people in this New Eden are definitely the descendants of that group."

"Regarding this point," another committee member spoke up, "we have completed the analysis. There is a 90% chance they are the descendants of the Westerners exiled by the Interstellar Peace Corporation back then. However, for some reason we cannot yet understand, their historical records are a bit off, and the historical time flow they experienced was significantly faster than ours during one period. Although this can be explained by stable rule, there is still..."

"Just give us the result," an old man signaled for him to keep it simple.

"Fine, I will state the conclusion directly. Three hundred years of independent development have allowed them to form a brand-new civilizational identity. Except for a very small number of individuals who have extended their lives through special means, no one remembers that Blue Star is their home."

"They are now Caldari, Gallente, Emma... To them, we are no different from aliens. Likewise, we should not be bound by so-called 'fraternal feelings'."

The debate lasted for a long time. Finally, everyone's eyes turned to the person sitting in the main seat.

He had remained silent, his gaze sweeping over the region on the holographic star map known as "New Eden," and the outermost, unnoticed Star Domain on the edge marked "0-0-1."

Finally, he slowly raised his head: "The technological advantage is on our side. Space-time distance is our barrier. A chaotic and divided new civilized world is an opportunity for us, not a threat."

He extended his finger and tapped lightly on that "Region 00" on the holographic star map.

"Notify the South Heaven Gate Fleet: highest resolution, approve the 'Frontier Base' construction plan, codenamed 'Sharpening Sword'."

"The location shall be chosen here."

"Understood!"

Several months later, on the edge of New Eden, in a star System regarded as a wasteland by the Six Great Powers.

In fact, it was not really a wasteland, but rather that their power could not yet reach such a distant place.

Massive space structures gathered like stardust, and the Eastern Federation's most advanced industrial ships, like busy worker bees, were constructing the prototype of the base at a staggering speed in the orbit of a rocky planet.

Asteroids were towed, crushed, smelted, and directly printed into modules for shipyards and factories.

On the shadow side of the planet, countless prefabricated components were precisely docked in space, and a circular structure with a radius of one hundred kilometers had already taken shape.

That was the first generation of permanent, large-scale, habitable space facilities independently designed and built by the Eastern Federation after mastering the "Interstellar Peace Corporation's" space city technology: the "Sky Fortress."

It would be the bridgehead for the Eastern Federation to step into this new world, and also the core of the "Lawless Zone" that countless outlaws would love and hate in the future.

And for the soldiers of the Eastern Federation, there was only one codename for this place.

Region 00.