Chapter 151: Reed Richards

As a race that lost its home star, the last fleet of the Dibery people scattered in all directions, seeking an opportunity to revive the Dibery people.

This warship, which had pursued that cosmic energy, saw a very special opportunity. Therefore, all the Dibery people on the warship, of course, could not let this opportunity slip away, even if it meant turning the culprit into the hope of the entire clan.

Wu Ke immediately asked, "Scientific Officer, what is the surface environment? Threat level?"

The Scientific Officer reported, "The surface climate of this planet is slightly severe for the Dibery people, but they can still survive without environmental adaptation equipment.

"If we use our mimicry ability to disguise ourselves as the planet's natives, it will only slightly reduce the physical performance of our warriors compared to their peak fully armed state.

"The natives of this planet still belong to a planetary civilization; the spacecraft observed earlier were still very backward. Judging by their appearance, they possess no jump capability.

"Based on the above conditions, this planet is classified as low threat. Although this sector belongs to the Kree Empire, it is a border region, and there are no signs of Kree Empire warships operating nearby."

"Very good." Wu Ke stood up and commanded everyone, "Now begin the infiltration operation. I will lead personally and serve as the commander of the infiltration unit.

"The marines will use single-person landing pods, carry no weapons, and wear bio-mimetic armor for ground combat. After landing on the surface, the primary mission is to mimic the planet's natives.

"Others will be organized into ground support units and surface attack units, ready to act at my command. The objective of the operation is to find native targets absorbing cosmic energy and seize the cosmic energy when the opportunity arises. The main focus is on covert operations."

"Yes, sir."

Following the spectacle of the solar flare approaching Earth a few days ago, Earth welcomed another meteor shower. This time, no astronomer, no matter where they came from, could say where this meteor shower originated.

On a highway in the suburbs of New York State, a car sped forward. Reed Richards, the top genius of the Marvel Universe and a wandering PhD candidate, was driving. On the passenger seat lay a fax paper covered densely with observation data.

Regarding the solar flare phenomenon from a few days ago, all observation data from observatories had been sealed by the government under the pretext of secrecy. By the time the slow-footed Reed's curiosity was aroused, there was nothing left to study.

Until today, Beast Hank McCoy, the logistics officer of the X-Men whom he had met at an academic seminar and a rare smart person among that group of foolish mutants, sent a brief report, allowing Reed to see an opportunity.

So he hurriedly drove to the X-Men's base, the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. The location was told to him by Hank; it was non-public and required assistance in keeping it secret.

Reed didn't care about any of that; he only wanted to study the "solar flare" spoken of by the government. Let's see what on earth that nonsense "solar flare" really is!

The car drove into a manor with many children and teenagers active there. Reed momentarily thought he had come to the wrong place; this was not some X-Men base. However, since there was a sign hanging at the entrance reading "School for Youngsters," such a scene should be considered normal.

In front of the main gate of the mansion, Hank McCoy, whom he had met before, was waiting. Reed parked the car on the empty ground in front of the main gate, then got out and approached to greet him, "Mr. McCoy, long time no see."

"Dr. Richards, I truly did not expect you to be willing to come."

"I am simply interested in the truth behind the 'solar flare' spoken of by the government," Reed Richards stated frankly.

"Of course, it is precisely regarding this matter that we wish to borrow your wisdom. Please follow me." After the pleasantries, Hank immediately led the man inside the mansion.

The house on the surface was a manor estate established by the Xavier family, continuing from the era of the Civil War, or even earlier. It had been passed down through generations of additions and expansions.

Although it was completely destroyed in '73, it was rebuilt according to the original design. Its level of magnificence did not lose out to European noble mansions in the slightest.

Since Charles Xavier, also known as Professor X, donated it as a school for mutants, the place had been modified several times with the help of mutants. Although it could not be seen from the ground, the underground space was already quite large and modernized.

However, Reed did not care about this traditional beauty at all; all the way he was asking Hank about the details of their mission to save the Space Shuttle Endeavour.

The focus was on the direct, close-up experience of everyone on the X-Jet after contacting the "solar flare."

Such an experiential feeling was information outside the data that could potentially influence the final judgment. Without listening to the parties involved tell the story and asking questions on the spot, it was very difficult to understand clearly.

When Reed followed Hank to the experimental area beside the underground hangar, there were quite a number of finished products and semi-finished products designed by Hank for future use by the X-Men placed there.

Reed Richards glanced over roughly, evaluated them as having little technical content, and lost interest in investigating further. The two arrived at a personal computer slightly more advanced than those outside; on the big-butt CRT screen were data reports in green font.

Beside it were several other screens playing video footage data of the X-Jet from different angles. Hank explained the situation while assisting Reed in reviewing the materials.

After just a few operations, Reed became familiar with this system developed by the X-Men himself and operated it skillfully.

The first-hand observation records of the "solar flare" from the X-Jet were very detailed.

As a rare scientific big shot among mutants, Hank McCoy's sensitivity to data collection and recording was far beyond what other X-Men could compare to. No one knew when these things might come in handy.

Even if most of the time they were just sitting idle, one could not be without them when needed. This was Hank's thinking and practice. Moreover, since the X-Jets were built by his own hands, if he wanted to install some sensors on them, would anyone dare say no?

And when these data came in handy, they indeed helped a great deal. At least judging from the data, from temperature to recordable radio frequencies, Reed could responsibly say that this was absolutely not a "solar flare," though it could not be ruled out as some form of cosmic radiation.

As for how this high-energy, high-level cosmic radiation was produced, how it was absorbed, and what kind of impact it would cause, these still required in-depth research.

However, Reed Richards' entire attention was attracted by the recorded photos outside the X-Jet. He pressed the pause button and controlled the rewind.

Hank noticed Reed's behavior and asked in confusion, "Is there a problem?"

He asked this because the part Reed was concerned about was not the image of the fake solar flare, but a pitch-black scene of outer space.

Reed Richards pointed to a certain section on the paused screen and answered, "Don't you think this part in the video is strange? It seems like something is being hidden."

Hank examined the screen image carefully and adjusted the knobs to play the image correctly. The recorded footage on the X-Jet was not recorded on VHS tapes, but on eight-millimeter camera film.

The content could not only be clearer, but there would be no noise when paused. It was just possible that it might stop in the middle of two frames, requiring some adjustment.

After fine-tuning, to be honest, Hank still could not see what was going on. He asked honestly, "Is there a problem with this image?"

"Starlight, the brightness of the starlight is abnormal. And the positions of the stars are also wrong," Reed answered.

(End of this chapter)