Chapter 835

Spreading throughout the solar system!

At the same time, the exploration starships led by the Foundation crossed the Oort Cloud, swept past Proxima Centauri, and arrived at star regions dozens of light-years away.

That was the first time humanity left its home, and it went so far.

Subsequently, the Foundation began to explore other star systems, looking for alien civilizations, and building its own cities on exoplanets.

And stations.

In the fourth decade of the 21st century,

when the interstellar era involving all of humanity had just sprouted,

Shenzhou had already independently built "Chang'e," "Yutu," "Tiangong," "Guanghan Palace," "Tianshi," and "Ziwei" without relying on anomalous power.

At that time, humanity was no longer bound by planetary and stellar gravity, truly beginning to soar in space.

Strictly speaking, perhaps it was "anomalous" that pushed the development of the "normal."

The images on the light screen changed constantly.

In the initial images, the solar system was incredibly empty; between planets, an asteroid would only occasionally drift by.

But as time passed, the empty solar system gradually became prosperous, even a bit crowded.

Between interstellar buildings with different functions, starships of various types shuttled through, dragging trails behind them.

On the previously empty lunar surface, several large cities suddenly appeared, with various facilities distributed between them.

Even on the cold and dead Pluto, there were automated machines painted with the Foundation's logo, mining and refining minerals.

Outside the screen, Jiang Wenhan's voice came.

Subtitles appeared at the bottom of the screen simultaneously.

【In these few decades, the changes in the world have been too rapid.】

【In just a snap of the fingers, we bid farewell to the Earth where we had lived for ten thousand years and embarked on a bitter journey straight to the stars.】

【We have gained the ability to freely master the energy of the solar system; we can even create stars ourselves.】

【The Kardashev scale of human civilization has broken through 2, officially becoming an interstellar civilization.】

【It's just that we have paid too much to get to where we are today.】

【Forty-three years ago, the Foundation organized a research team and set sail on a clumsy, massive ship toward the distant Taurus constellation.】

【My grandfather boarded the journey as a consultant for the Shenzhou Branch at the time, and he wrote the last eulogy of the ninety-nine anomalous studies during the voyage.】

【That fleet, composed of 220 large ships, together with more than ten thousand participants from all corners of human civilization at the time, eventually disappeared silently into the depths of the void and never returned, like a drop of water falling into an abyss.】

【A few days ago, my grandchildren came home from school and chatted with me, saying to me:】

【They didn't quite understand the literary works about the starry sky that the teacher taught in class.】

【They seemed to think that these things could be seen every day and were nothing special.】

【I told them that these works were our ancestors' initial yearning for this vast starry sky.】

【The Foundation still hasn't found the "Blue Bird" to this day.】

【It might just be like most of the strange beasts in legends, merely a beautiful imagination born when a historian observed a meteor while watching the celestial phenomena at night.】

【And it just happened to be recorded by a member of the Anomalous Studies Society among his descendants who had a bit of romantic sentiment but was not very rule-abiding.】

【But it is undeniable that this legend made the Shenzhou civilization begin to look up at the starry sky.】

【In a sense, it was the "Blue Bird" that created today's human interstellar empire.】

【We will not stop looking for the "Blue Bird."】

【This is not because the "Blue Bird" is an anomaly.】

【This is simply because we, who have become an interstellar civilization, miss that shining seed in our hearts when we first observed the stars.】

【Perhaps we will never find it.】

【So what?】

【We have already received the letter that the "Blue Bird" from beside the Queen Mother of the West conveyed to the human world.】

【But in the end... I still hope to see the "Blue Bird's" tail feathers that shine like blue flames.】

……

This! Can this really be done?!

In just a few decades, no, a dozen years.

From a young civilization that had just entered space, it instantly expanded into one that had left its home star system, achieved interstellar colonization, and was sailing toward even more distant deep space.

Such speed, for any civilization, is incredibly explosive and unbelievable.

Such a time span, on a cosmic scale, is really just a snap of the fingers.

In the last moment, human civilization was still worrying about how to leave its home planet and feeling desperate about leaving the star system.

And in the next moment, their figures were everywhere, and they had even established the largest empire and civilization in the galaxy.

What's scary is that this empire is so young and so full of vitality.

That fanaticism, once bound by gravity, yearning for the universe, and craving the sea of stars, erupted brilliantly and has not yet been worn away by time.

The new generation of this civilization can still gather around the old people born on Earth and listen to them tell stories of the world of their childhood.

Even in their eyes, the veil covering the stars has been broken and has become something commonplace.

But accompanied by their families, they gradually understand the meaning of the stars.

"The sea of stars..."

Bronya raised her head, looking at the stars in the sky.

The stars still filled the sky, but they were no longer as prosperous as in the ancient era.

She inhaled secretly, her expression a bit bitter.

This era is certainly not bad.

The stars are full of life and civilization, and even if they encounter disasters like the "Cold Wave," someone will reach out to help.

This era is also quite terrible.

Life is left with only this small patch of land, different forces and different races are squeezing each other, and various giants are extending their tentacles, trying to bring the galaxy into the order they have established.

Compared to human ancestors, everything in the current galaxy called a "miracle" pales in comparison.

Even if a dreamer wants to recreate the ancient glory, there is no space to do so, unless they get the Foundation's permission to migrate to a parallel universe.

She let out a long sigh.

……

There are naturally more than just the Supreme Guardian on Jarilo-VI who have similar feelings.

On the "Foundation Big Game" forum, players have already started discussing heatedly.

"The problems that troubled human historians before finally have answers—why human civilization could spread throughout the galaxy, and why there is no reproductive isolation between different humanoid races."

"Envy a wave, okay? When Earth humanity rose, it was the golden age; there were no enemies in the galaxy, and even if there were new races, they couldn't be the Foundation's opponents... Even if the galaxy is occupied, they can develop toward other star systems."

"Forget it, there are hundreds of billions of star systems in the galaxy alone. Occupying the galaxy... do you think this is playing a coloring game on a star map?"

"If the Foundation really wants to color the star map, it's not difficult. 'Deus ex Machina' can mass-produce humans; just this one point alone, humans at that time could be on par with mechanical life in terms of quantity."

"I once envied some non-human civilizations, envied the achievements they made, but looking back, I found that humans are the true galactic overlords?"

"This can be considered a true decline of the family... I don't know what happened in that lost history that could make such a prosperous human civilization, possessing supreme divinity, fall to such a state."

"Did a battle occur between supreme divinities? It seems... that's the only possibility, right?"

"This should be the only answer... The 'Administrator' encountered a supreme divinity on par with Him, eventually leading to the great decline of human civilization."

"How could it be the only one... Maybe the 'Administrator' had a split personality, several personalities fought each other, and a great war broke out, turning the universe into what it is today."

……

Amidst the discussions of the audience and players, the images on the light screen changed quietly.

In the boundless darkness, an interstellar fleet sailed slowly.

This fleet was composed of more than two hundred giant ships; their shapes were streamlined and elegant, and the hull surfaces were coated with special materials capable of reflecting starlight.

At their tails, they were equipped with huge thrusters, spraying pale blue light, pushing the starships toward the distant stars.

【Thirty-eight years ago】

【Time: 2060】

【Affiliation: Foundation First Exploration Fleet to the Taurus Star Region】

3.0 In a slightly cramped room, an old man with graying hair sat before a computer, typing continuously.

He was wearing a white lab coat, and his face looked somewhat similar to Jiang Wenhan's.

And before him, displayed on the computer screen, was the file of "SCP-C-1559."

【Today is February 20, 2060.】 ===== CHAPTER 837 =====