232: Chapter 232 Sirius

"What is the point of entering the Galactic Center?"

Gao Yuan asked.

"The Galactic Center is the absolute core of the Milky Way. Whichever civilization can enter the Galactic Center will be the first to become a Level 4 civilization! A Level 4 civilization is a civilization of gods... According to the Polaris people, in the universe they currently know, there are no Level 4 civilizations yet, and no civilization that can leave the Milky Way!"

Gao Yuan fell silent.

After listening to Gao Gan's words, he even felt that, actually... going to Polaris wasn't that big of a deal.

If Nuwa was the ancestor of humanity, then humans were the descendants of Nuwa. And if Nuwa was from Polaris, that meant he was also a descendant of Polaris...

Going to Polaris would be like going home!

Besides, life back there wouldn't be as miserable as he imagined... Wasn't it just having children?

Gao Gan seemed to see through Gao Yuan's thoughts.

"It's not what you think... They would only extract your essence. Because natural conception is too inefficient, test tubes can produce many at once! Have you ever seen a breeding boar in a high-tech pig farm?"

Gao Yuan had indeed heard of it.

Breeding boars weren't nearly as well off as many people imagined. A breeding boar in a modern pig farm never saw a sow in its entire life; its only companion was an iron cylinder...

Gao Yuan imagined himself tied to an iron cylinder, being subjected to various stimulations...

He shuddered.

"Those damn Polaris people... Gao Gan, we must fight our way back. Humans shall never be slaves!"

Gao Gan looked deeply at Gao Yuan...

It was a look full of meaning.

Gao Yuan looked back; Mo Ti and Lin Mei walked in. Both were heavily pregnant, and Lin Mei was close to her due date.

Gao Yuan felt a bit guilty: "They said my children have good genes!"

"They certainly do..."

...

The Human Fleet flew toward Proxima Centauri.

The fleet accelerated at full power for three months. Now, the fleet's speed could reach sixty thousand kilometers per second, which was the limit! It had reached 20% of the speed of light, the limit for the starships' materials...

To continue increasing speed, they needed sturdier materials and more powerful thrust.

According to calculations, it would take twenty-five years to fly from here to Proxima Centauri...

Time was now meaningless to Gao Yuan, and it didn't mean much to Gao Gan and the others either, but for other humans, time was still passing...

On the long journey through the universe, all necessary supplies could only be obtained from space. For instance, to get water, the Human Fleet needed to deploy massive adsorption membranes to capture the very few water molecules in the cosmos...

Sometimes, they wouldn't even capture a single kilogram of water over billions of kilometers!

If they needed metal, they would capture passing meteorites!

A few years passed, and ordinary people had grown accustomed to life in space. On the Aerospace Carriers, life for ordinary people wasn't much different from life on Earth; the carriers also had artificial gravity systems...

Gao Yuan was playing with his son...

Now he had two sons and a daughter. His eldest son was named Gao Hei, and he was very handsome! He had a bit of his father's flair! The younger son was born to Mo Ti; although he was born a few months later than the eldest son, he was a full thirty centimeters taller, and his skin had a blue tint, like a noble Ice Prince!

The daughter was younger than both sons... She was born to Bai Moyu, spoke with a babyish voice, and loved shiny things most of all.

The room she lived in now was carved from a single massive diamond.

The diamond had been captured from space.

Gao Yuan had grown used to the leisurely life in space, and had almost forgotten the threat of the Polaris people.

Now, when Gao Yuan looked back, he could no longer see the Sun; it was gone.

But Proxima Centauri was right ahead, and Gao Yuan could see it.

That day, the humans held a routine meeting.

There were eighteen core members of the meeting. Gao Gan, Liang Yi, Zhou Zhengwang, and Qin Mi were the four assistants Gao Qiu had originally chosen for Gao Yuan. Now, as four-dimensional beings, they all held positions in the human core. Gao Yuan was in charge of military affairs, Gao Gan was in charge of research and development, Zhou Zhengwang was in charge of starship maintenance, Liang Yi was the general manager of kyushu xiaoyao zhi, and Qin Mi was the director of the Aerospace Carrier Construction Committee...

"We are still 3.5 light-years away from Proxima Centauri! It is estimated that it will take another 17 Earth years to arrive!"

Gao Gan said.

"Based on the data we previously collected on Proxima Centauri, it's a triple-star system with about 18 observable rocky planets! No threats have been discovered so far!"

Gao Yuan frowned...

"Change course!"

"What?"

"We're changing course!"

Gao Yuan's decision left everyone completely bewildered.

"Why?"

Gao Yuan didn't speak, but projected the star systems within 10 light-years of their current position onto the light screen in front of him.

"Gao Gan, do you think Polaris has discovered that I've escaped yet?"

"They probably have!"

"Our first choice was to head for the nearest star. Wouldn't the Polaris people think the same?"

The others fell silent for a moment.

"Not necessarily. The time flow on Polaris is thirty times faster than ours. To confirm your escape, it would take them at least half a year, which is 15 to 20 years for us!"

Gao Yuan nodded!

"So... Proxima Centauri. We'll arrive at Proxima Centauri in 17 years, but what might be waiting for us there is a Polaris fleet! As soon as they know I'm gone, their first reaction will be to deduce where we'd go. And Proxima Centauri is the first choice!"

Gao Gan frowned.

"Keep going! If we don't go to Proxima Centauri, where do we go?"

Gao Yuan's finger slid across the light screen, finally landing on a star.

"Here... Sirius!"

Gao Gan frowned: "Why?"

"There are a total of 12 star systems within ten light-years of us! Three of them are single-star systems. According to Gao Gan, we cannot enter single-star systems; those systems are actually projections of some other galaxy and can only be entered through wormholes... So, those three are excluded!"

"Besides single-star systems, other binary and triple-star systems have a major hidden danger: the potential existence of powerful native civilizations! So, we can't go to the ones with good conditions! And those with poor conditions might be where we encounter an ambush from the Polaris people! Sirius is too bright; within our detectable range, Sirius is the brightest! And the most dazzling..."

"Since it's the most dazzling, it must be the one the Polaris people are watching most closely!"

Gao Yuan asked in return: "There are only a few star systems around here. Do you think the Polaris people have the capacity to set up ambushes in all of them simultaneously?"

"That... is indeed possible!"

Gao Yuan nodded.

"So, while we don't have the capability for Space Jumps, going to any star system is actually dangerous, but we can't drift forever! Therefore... we need to head to Sirius! It's 8 light-years away from us, and it will take 40 years to fly there!"

"But... since there's a risk, there's no need for us to take it, right?"

It was Liang Yi who spoke.

"No, if we want to escape the pursuit of the Polaris people, we must go to Sirius..."