Chapter 247: Fifty Thousand Years of Solitude

「118！！！」

Before finally entering the Black Hole Voyager, Yunxiao let out a final shout, but she didn't have time to hear 118's answer.

Her body slammed heavily to the ground, Yunxiao stared blankly at the silver dome, her heart unsure what she felt.

"Chief, how are you?"

Within the Federation, few knew Yunxiao and 118's relationship; there was only a powerful councilor and a decisive Federation Chief.

"I... I'm fine."

Yunxiao stood up blankly, looking at the Federation soldiers nearby taking off their gear, feeling at a loss.

What should we do next? Go out and retrieve 118?

But the Black Hole Voyager simply lacked the ability to escape the black hole's gravity.

Are we really supposed to wait like this for a whole year?

"Chief, any other orders?"

Yunxiao was roused from her thoughts, looking at the commander speaking before her.

"Nothing else. According to the original plan, rest for a year."

"Alright."

At this moment, outside, the flow of time around them had already begun to diverge sharply.

Watching the Black Hole Voyager fully enter the black hole's event horizon, 118 let out a soft sigh.

His body now was only half intact, and behind him countless insect disasters still watched hungrily.

"Search... how to escape the insect swarm's attack."

To prevent any deviation in the black hole's event horizon time, the Intelligent Machine Empress did not activate the black hole's gravity function.

If nothing unexpected happens, in the next fifty thousand years this black hole will remain this size until the Gravity Prison automatically decompresses matter.

118 looked out at the insect tide; he thought these insect disasters would immediately swarm over, devouring him and his mecha, but he never expected that these insect disasters, seeing the black hole within the Gravity Prison, dared not fly forward even a bit.

"They... seem to be afraid of the black hole."

118 watched the insect disasters' neat formation scatter, flying around continuously, as if an invisible barrier blocked them.

"Looks like we can be safe for a while."

118 had just relaxed when the mechanical radar connected to him suddenly blared a deafening warning, like countless insect disasters flapping their wings.

"!!!"

Countless insect tides suddenly flew past him, some even bursting through the damaged hole in the mecha's chest, brushing past 118 without a glance.

The insect tide that had just been terrified of the black hole now surged toward it like mad.

They fearlessly charged into the black hole, merging their bodies with it; even the Insect Emperor flew uncontrollably toward the black hole.

The hundred-meter mecha tumbled back and forth under countless insect swarm impacts, and 118 nearly got thrown out.

When he came to again, the only thing that could still move around him was himself.

The surroundings were the cosmos's characteristic dead silence, while the black hole they had made suddenly swelled by a full 35%.

No one expected these insect disasters to actively march toward the black hole, and the Gravity Prison device was now arcing with electricity everywhere, as if it could fail at any moment.

"......"

The plan once again encountered an unexpected situation, and this time 118 had no ability to change any of it.

"Power remaining..... 85%."

"Fifty thousand years' time.... probably needs to be delayed further..."

118 didn't know the formula the Intelligent Machine Empress used to calculate time flow inside the black hole's event horizon; he was pondering how he should endure this fifty thousand years.

Moreover, why did so many variables arise in just a single day?

Clearly his calculation error was only one in a thousand, yet he couldn't fathom why such a fatal error would appear.

"Prepare to hibernate..."

If he is to survive the long ages, hibernation is 118's best option.

Besides that, he also needs to wake up periodically to adjust his position, lest he get lost in space.

Here, with no gravity and the black hole's pull limited, even a tiny force could cause his position to shift dramatically.

Fortunately, Yunxiao had left a huge amount of aether inside the mecha when she fled at full speed.

If used sparingly, it should last a very long time.

After calculating everything, 118 used the remaining materials to tightly bind himself inside the mecha's cockpit, preparing to hibernate.

And then another accident occurred....

"Hibernation.... failed..."

Power function control was completely normal, and control of the electricity for his remaining parts was also normal, only the hibernation module had failed.

"Why?"

118 tried several times, all ending in failure; the power remained as before, utterly unable to shut down.

"Sigh...."

118 sighed again, resting his head on the edge of the cockpit, gazing at the pitch-black night sky.

If he wanted to cut power, 118 could do it, but the problem remained: he needed to periodically adjust his position.

Once the power is cut, in fifty thousand years no one knows where he'll drift; even if Yunxiao eventually arrived, it would be meaningless.

"To remain conscious and wait fifty thousand years...?"

"Shut down deep thought... shut down limb power... retain only minimal consciousness..."

Machinery.... what is the definition of the feeling 'loneliness'?

118 didn't know, nor did he realize, that emotions are a major taboo for machinery; a machine endowed with emotions, even if it had an immortal body of endless lifespan, would still one day self-destruct due to the decay of its thoughts.

But... even so, 118 also had to continue waiting; he had promised Miss to wait for her to come back.

Let's record the diary...

In the past, 118 always liked to rest like an old man, but now this wish has indeed been fulfilled, yet 118 does not wish it were true.

Only a few hours have passed, and he has already begun to feel bored.

So, he decided to record his diary here, in case his senses go awry.

Diary one........