Throughout the day, everyone contemplated the question that would shape their future.
In the end, nearly a third of the people expressed their willingness to journey with Red Alert Base to the real Earth. Most of these individuals were adventurous young souls, excited about the opportunity to embark on free interstellar travel to a different planet, Earth or not. Where else could they find such a remarkable opportunity?
A small portion of professors and scholars also agreed to travel to the actual Earth, intrigued by the claims of Red Alert Base.
"Commander, a total of 90,000 people have indicated their desire to go to Earth," Ju Ling reported the compiled numbers to Su Chen.
Su Chen was somewhat surprised. "So many?"
In his view, having around a hundred or two hundred thousand would be considered good enough, but this result exceeded his expectations.
"Some individuals analyzed various advantages and disadvantages online, providing these people with a thorough choice. The most crucial point is that the Zerg have excessively exploited the resources of this planet. Many have recognized this and would rather go to another planet."
Su Chen nodded in agreement. That made sense.
The overexploitation of the planet's resources by the Zerg made it difficult for the humans from Earth-Ship to enjoy a good life in the short term. Since this planet was under Su Chen's control, he would not stand idly by and watch it deteriorate.
"Contact Yan Yun Star and have them regularly transport a portion of energy and minerals here to aid in the initial development of this place.""Yes, Commander."
Various orders proceeded methodically, and in the blink of an eye, a week had passed.
Su Chen gazed at the imposing Hyperspace Teleportation Device before him and then turned to Yun Ru. "Are you sure we can return to Earth?"
Yun Ru rolled her eyes. "Commander, you've asked that question at least a dozen times. I can swear on my identity as the Chief Scientist of Red Alert Base that there won't be any issues."
"However, just to be safe, should we conduct a test first?"
After all, it was the first attempt, and even Yun Ru had some doubts in her heart. If, by accident, she sent the Commander somewhere unknown, it would be awkward.
Soon, a hundred Red Alert soldiers arrived as the first batch of test subjects in front of Su Chen.
Since this test aimed to determine if they could be directly transported back to Earth, the participants had to be members of their own group.
"Wait a minute, even if we transport them away, how will we contact them?" Su Chen suddenly remembered this issue.
Yun Ru seemed to have been prepared for this, taking out a small device. "Commander, this is a little gadget I developed. It has only one function, which is to amplify a specific signal, enabling communication between planets."
"Such a small thing is so remarkable?"
"I dismantled it from the device on Yan Yun Star and then developed it myself. Its performance should be no worse than the original. You can trust it completely, Commander!"
Seeing Yun Ru's confident expression, Su Chen could only trust her.
Soon, the Hyperspace Teleportation Device was activated, and a hundred Red Alert soldiers vanished from his sight in an instant.
"How long do you think it will take to receive a signal?"
"Well, it should take several hours."
Su Chen pondered, considering the vast distance of 0.5 light years. A few hours was, in fact, already fast. Recognizing the possibility of high-level knowledge involved, Su Chen refrained from further inquiring about the principles of how the signal could traverse the universe. After all, anything Yun Ru would explain would surely go over his head.
As the Commander, all he had to do was reap the benefits.
The wait was somewhat agonizing. Deciding to take a break, Su Chen went for a short stroll. Ju Ling and Tanya faithfully trailed behind him.
Ever since arriving on the spaceship Earth, Su Chen had never ventured outside the Red Alert Base. The planet itself bore little resemblance to Earth now. Most of its environment had drastically changed, cities had turned to ruins, and humanity was still in the process of reconstruction.
With every step he took, Su Chen could feel dust rising from the ground. The once fertile land had turned arid and lifeless. Many such barren terrains existed elsewhere.
The devastation brought by the Zerg was heedless, consuming everything usable on a planet, leaving it scarred and desolate. They were veritable pests of the universe.
He gazed at the sky, which retained its familiar blue hue, reminding him somewhat of Earth.
A thought suddenly struck Su Chen, "I can understand the creation of other things, but how were elements outside of the planet replicated?"
Tanya immediately responded, "Based on the information we have, the knowledge of the universe on this planet is identical to Earth's. All constellations are named similarly, and there's even a moon in the sky."
"Really? I wonder if there are Lunar people on that moon, and the fragment." With that thought, Su Chen utilized a subordinate's teleportation ability and, along with the two women, arrived on the Moon.
However, a side effect of the teleportation manifested. Su Chen's body stiffened. The two women quickly armed themselves, shielding the Commander.
Almost half a minute passed before the rigidity subsided. Su Chen lamented, "Teleportation is a handy ability, but the longer the distance, the longer the stiffening effect. Such a troublesome limitation."
"Yun Ru mentioned that if she mastered all space-time techniques, this side effect could be negated. Achieving this level of teleportation as we have now is already remarkable," Ju Ling comforted.
Su Chen realized she was right; after all, most of humanity couldn't even fathom such advanced space-time technology.
Their chat concluded, Su Chen surveyed the surroundings. The landscape resembled the actual Moon, filled with lunar craters and ring-shaped mountains. One side was perpetually enshrouded in darkness.
"Given the meticulous nature of our unseen adversary, there might be Lunar people here. Have the Chronolegionair Troops teleport the MCV (Mobile Construction Vehicle) over."
Following Su Chen's command, an MCV was teleported to their location. The ensuing procedures were self-explanatory.
Numerous troops and tanks soon arrived, embarking on an exploration of the moon's dark side. Hours quickly passed, and they made a discovery.
Deep within the Moon, they found Lunar people, identical to their Earthly counterparts, bizarre in appearance. Yet, no fragments were found on the dark side, everything was normal.
"It seems the fragment was an anomaly, even our hidden adversary missed it," Su Chen sighed.
At that moment, Yun Ru's voice echoed, "Commander, we've received the signal. They've successfully transported to Earth, but..."
"But what?" Su Chen asked, puzzled.
"But... something's gone wrong with Earth." (To be continued...)
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