[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-arrival-in-1994":3,"chapter-arrival-in-1994-arrival-in-1994-chapter-611":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Arrival in 1994",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2353092,4601,"Chapter 611: Researching Superman","arrival-in-1994-chapter-611",611,"\u003Cp>Since the Astral Network was seized by the Spacetime Empire, the empire truly grasped the essence of the word “void.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As people often say, to become wealthy, first build roads; the Spacetime Empire’s merchants, taking advantage of the Astral Network, constantly traveled between major civilizations, purchasing all manner of special products and rare ores found only within those civilizations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially after the Galactic Empire was formed and all civilizations in the galaxy plunged into rebellion, the Spacetime Empire’s merchants took on the role of arms dealers, selling weapons, gathering supplies, and collecting technological data across the galaxy. In just a few months, the Spacetime Empire underwent a dramatic transformation, with vast quantities of ores and new technological data entering the empire every day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To study this technological data, the empire established a new research institute, with a research team numbering in the hundreds of thousands, dedicated to studying the technological data of every civilization—no matter how minor or major, all were examined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They then combined this data with the empire’s own technology, extracting its essence and discarding its dross, thereby enhancing the Spacetime Empire’s civilizational reserves. Indeed, new research breakthroughs emerged every single day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although some of these breakthroughs amounted to only minor improvements in certain materials or weapon components—with negligible gains—in the face of the Spacetime Empire’s vast wealth, even the tiniest improvement was worth spending money to achieve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, following Ilis’s original concept, the empire used the merchants’ wide-ranging travels to compile a relatively detailed star map, and placed reconnaissance robots at certain key points on planets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These probe robots floated in space, hidden within asteroid belts, sustaining their operation by absorbing energy emitted by stars, continuously transmitting captured data back to Ilis and Simira for reception and analysis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I found something interesting,” Ilis said. As her voice ended, a holographic projection appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The image depicted a region filled with asteroids. As the view zoomed in, a planet hidden within the asteroid belt appeared before Ye Nan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is a planet discovered in the Alpha Centauri system—roughly the same size as Earth, but entirely composed of metal, like a metallic planet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alpha Centauri?” Ye Nan’s eyes flickered with suspicion. “I remember Pandora Planet is there. Didn’t our satellite scan this area before? Why wasn’t this planet detected?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the number of planets in the galaxy is countless, that’s only because the galaxy is so vast. Alpha Centauri is not large, and our Noah’s Ark had even passed near it before—there was no reason we couldn’t have detected this metallic planet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, this planet should fall within the Spacetime Empire’s sphere of influence—there was even less reason it could have gone unnoticed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was like an ancient Chinese emperor suddenly discovering a new city within his borders, with no prior intelligence whatsoever—utterly unbelievable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It appeared suddenly,” Ilis explained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This planet somehow drifted in from another star system and came to rest near Alpha Centauri. But since we never noticed it before, we can’t determine its origin.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can’t you calculate it?” Ye Nan hesitated. “I remember you built a Galactic Simulation System. Can’t it trace this planet’s trajectory and origin?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Ye Nan was still CEO of ICQ Corporation, some nations on Earth had constructed Earth Simulation Systems to model various geological disasters as a precaution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By feeding in massive amounts of data and using powerful computers to simulate possible reactions, they aimed for early warnings—but the results were poor, wasting billions of dollars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, as the Spacetime Empire matured, data gathered by merchants and reconnaissance satellites, combined with improved computational simulations, gradually formed a Galactic Simulation System capable of modeling the trajectories of planets and predicting potential explosions, collisions, and other disasters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Nan now mentioned this system because he wanted to use it to simulate the origin of this metallic planet and determine why it had suddenly entered Alpha Centauri.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was wary of this planet—because of its strangeness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, due to gravitational forces, planets don’t leave their orbits. Even comets, without sufficient external force, follow fixed trajectories. But this planet had broken free and entered Alpha Centauri—and it was entirely metallic. One couldn’t help suspecting whether this so-called planet was actually a mobile fortress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the Death Star still existed. No one could say this wasn’t another weapon like it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alpha Centauri was nearly under Ye Nan’s control. If this thing fired a shot here, another there, the Spacetime Empire could suffer catastrophic losses—possibly taking centuries to recover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By the way, here’s the Death Star blueprint.” Ye Nan pulled a small metallic object from his pocket. “This contains the Death Star design. You can build one using it. Though slow-moving, its defense and offense are top-tier—perfect for siege warfare.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Death Star blueprint had originally been obtained by the Black Baron through special means from Princess Leia, but before he could return it to the Sith Emperor, Ye Nan intercepted it, turning it into the Spacetime Empire’s weapon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Death Star?” Ilis accepted the blueprint. Her powerful analytical ability quickly revealed why Ye Nan was so suspicious of this incoming planet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You think this planet is a Death Star?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If it were a Death Star, that’d be fine,” Ye Nan chuckled bitterly. “We know its weaknesses. To ordinary civilizations, the Death Star is a terrifying weapon—but to the Spacetime Empire, destroying one is trivial. Don’t forget our clone army.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clone technology had already advanced significantly within the Spacetime Empire. But due to Ye Nan’s caution, its use had been strictly forbidden. Even so, the technology had progressed greatly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he wished, he could instantly clone an army of superhumans. With such an army, destroying a Death Star would be effortless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Ye Nan feared this planet might be something even stronger than a Death Star—an interstellar fortress—or worse, the legendary planet Cybertron.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cybertron is the homeworld of the Transformers, and Transformers are what I seek. But if it truly came here, it’d be bad news,” Ye Nan thought inwardly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cybertron’s mystery filled him with unease. Its arrival also signaled the attention of Unicron. He had no desire to confront Unicron head-on now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Damn it. Just when I got rid of Aio, now Cybertron shows up. Looks like they’re determined to make my life hell.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But since you won’t let me have peace, I’ll go take a look myself. Cybertron, let me see if you’re really what I imagine you to be.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Nan thought inwardly, yet his face broke into a faint smile. “Ilis, I’m planning to return.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Return?” Ilis, who had been analyzing the Death Star blueprint, froze. When she realized what he meant, she stared at Ye Nan with wide eyes. “You mean come back?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Come back? Ilis longed for his return. His original body had remained in a deep, unresponsive slumber, impossible to wake. His clone body, meanwhile, was too far away—she missed him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he hadn’t contacted her, leaving her resentful. Now that he wanted to return, she was naturally pleased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, returning didn’t mean abandoning the original plan. Not attending the ceremony would be unacceptable—they had already agreed. To renege now would cost the empire its face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What about the ceremony after you return?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hand the ceremony over to Superman Clark,” Ye Nan said. “Judging by their attitude, they don’t seem to value us. By the time we arrive, they might already have finished.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The purpose of attending the ceremony was to probe Unicron’s power. Now that this suspected Cybertron planet had appeared, he had no reason not to return and investigate. Whether or not this metallic body was Cybertron, he needed to find out—and he alone must do it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Clark is reliable. He knows what to do.” But as he spoke of Clark’s reliability, Ye Nan hesitated. Clark’s demeanor had grown increasingly strange—he seemed to be transforming from a sunny Superman into a sinister one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the comics, he knew this was a sign of clone aftereffects. Though he didn’t know the exact cause, he was wary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By the way, check Superman’s genes. See if there’s anything unusual.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Unusual?” Ilis frowned, confused. “What do you mean? Superman’s blood came from you—could there be something wrong with the blood?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s not the blood. It’s his genes.” Ye Nan then described Superman’s behavior, not omitting the aftereffects—only framing it as: in another parallel universe, someone had once cloned Superman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll have someone study Superman’s genes.” (To be continued.)\u003C\u002Fp>",1396,"2026-06-21T03:32:52.969Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","1a231b6a4ca68e3c8b80212ca80b1d86d60ed95a38b8bf013bae0816edcd5bb3","arrival-in-1994-chapter-612","arrival-in-1994-chapter-610",643,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Farrival-in-1994-cover.jpg"]