Chapter 53: Unknown Interstellar Civilization

H'el contemplated, slowly ascending into the air with his black cape billowing behind him. He traveled across more than half of the planet, reaching a gaping hole that led deep underground.

The hole was approximately two kilometers in size, and looking down, it appeared lifeless and abyssal, with smooth walls that crystallized and emitted a weak magnetic field.

H'el stood at the edge of this chasm-like pit, gazing up at the grayish-brown sky, piecing together the puzzle. He surmised that a resource collection spaceship had emerged from the clouds of grayish-brown, pierced through MT745, the wandering planet's mantle like a straw, and suctioned up its core.

The magnetic confinement and gravity technology used must have been highly advanced.

H'el's expression darkened as he shifted his gaze downward, scanning the smooth walls of the pit. Nanobots had already collected samples of the crystalline rock structure on the smooth walls, connecting to Zero to use the previously determined geological ages to compare the age of the geological damage caused by the external force here. This would help determine when the intruders had extracted the core.

"Approximately 10-20 years ago," Zero calculated the estimated time when the core was extracted and reported its findings.

H'el's heart trembled.

So close in terms of time?

He had only appeared in this star system five years ago. In other words, the spaceship that extracted the star core had likely passed him by.

In the vastness of space, even encounters within a five-light-year distance were considered remarkably close.

But how far was five light-years?

One light-year equals 9,460,730,472,581 kilometers. That's 94 trillion kilometers.

For spaceships without warp drives, superluminal speed, or curvature engines, covering a few single-digit light-years would mean multiple generations of normal human lifetimes.

H'el's Stellar Probe and the spaceship of this unknown civilization both had warp drives. Within a distance of twenty light-years, they had essentially passed each other. For two entities that never met and just barely missed each other, it was a stroke of luck for both.

The mysterious ship or civilization, whose intentions were unknown, easily extracted star cores from wandering planets. H'el had no idea whether the other party was an entire civilization or a single ship.

Regardless, they were significantly more powerful than his small Stellar Probe.

However, at the same time, H'el was powerful enough; his physical body could pierce through the armor of any spaceship.

The chain of suspicion in the cosmos began to take shape.

H'el controlled the nanomachines in his nanosuit, which entered the blood vessels around his eyes, and, in conjunction with his bio-magnetic field, began constructing an astronomical magnifying glass.

Around H'el's eyes, prominent veins became visible as he constructed the astronomical magnifying glass.

He activated his far vision, microscopic vision, and X-ray vision, gazing up at the interstellar expanse as if he were traversing the stars. A faint shimmer of light surrounded him as he roughly scanned the area within ten light-years but found no signs of any spaceship.

It seemed like the other party had likely collected their resources and left after creating what seemed like gravitational collapse traces from warp jumps.

H'el then focused his attention on the asteroid flows within the ten-light-year radius. The craters and cavities on the surface of the asteroids became evident, and he identified three different asteroid flows.

Most of the asteroids were composed of silicates, with iron, nickel, and other mineral-rich asteroids not being uncommon in the cosmos. With enough luck, one might even come across a unique type of asteroid formed from the core of a planet.

These planetary core asteroids were a special category of celestial bodies characterized by having almost exclusively metallic cores. Typically, the surface of regular celestial bodies would be covered by a mantle, but planetary core asteroids retained only the metallic core, usually due to impacts or other forces.

In the absence of external interference, MT745, the wandering planet, would gradually lose its atmosphere over an extended period, and the dust from its rocky surface would disperse into space, colliding with other asteroid flows. This process would eventually transform it into a planetary core asteroid, drifting in space. This was considered a normal part of its lifecycle.

Planetary core asteroids were rich in heavy metal elements such as iron, gold, platinum, silver, and copper, making them a natural source of minerals in the universe.

"Most of the mineral resources in the asteroid flows have been collected," H'el muttered.

Using the nanomachines in his suit, H'el constructed an enhanced astronomical magnifying glass to survey the environment within ten light-years. He found several asteroid clusters that should have contained substantial mineral resources. The trails resembled the tunnels dug by engineering machinery, indicating that the resources had been removed.

The other party possessed a well-developed civilization structure, capable of operating in space, utilizing warp-capable ships, advanced detection technology, mining techniques, precise identification of mineral resources within asteroid clusters, heavy engineering, magnetic confinement, and gravity technology for extracting planetary cores. This was beyond the capabilities of a simple spaceship.

At least, the Stellar Probe couldn't accurately search for mineral resources within asteroid clusters, nor could it utilize heavy engineering magnetic constraints and gravity technology to extract planetary cores.

H'el retracted his far vision, X-ray vision, microscopic vision, and the astronomical magnifying glass formed by nanomachines dissolved. The veins around his eyes slowly settled down, like a flowing stream of nanomachines returning to his suit.

He had a rough idea that the other civilization might be facing the same shortage of mineral resources. H'el felt a slight unease. What could happen when two interstellar civilizations lacking mineral resources encountered each other?

Perhaps what set him apart from other civilizations was that he was an entire civilization in one person. The other party remained an unknown entity.

"I hope we don't met," H'el muttered under his breath.

H'el didn't consider himself invincible at this moment. Even during the ancient times of Krypton, there were more powerful beings, yet they still perished in the universe, forgotten with time.

This indicated that Kryptonians were not invulnerable in the cosmos. They couldn't claim dominance over the universe yet.

H'el, still in his accumulation phase, didn't want to immediately engage in interstellar conflicts with advanced civilizations.

He turned away, his black cloak billowing, and left the tunnel that led to the MT745 wandering planet. He traversed through the gray-brown mist in the planet's sky, returning to the position of the Stellar Probe.

He began to modify the Stellar Probe, continuously using his heat vision and nanomachines to create various detection auxiliary devices. With the assistance of Zero, he transformed this originally scientific research probe, which still resembled a small spacecraft on the outside, into a massive bullet that could withstand a few attacks.

Every seam was welded tightly, and all the remaining steel was spotted onto the outer armor of the Stellar Probe. He hoped that it could endure a few attacks and keep him safe during confrontations.

The Stellar Probe, originally designed for scientific research, had almost no firepower for interstellar warfare. The only capability for interstellar warfare on this spacecraft was H'el himself.

He didn't know if a war would break out, but being prepared for anything was the safest course of action.

Two months later.

"Master, the Brain-in-a-Tank learning system is complete."

"Sylvia has proposed a plan to use the remaining 20% nutrient solution to cultivate a new body."

Zero reported.

"Allow her to use the remaining nutrient solution."

H'el, who was absorbing radiation in space, heard Zero's report from the planetary surface. He no longer required nutrient solution to sustain his life, and it would be a waste to keep it. This was a good opportunity to construct a new body for Sylvia.

Cultivating a new body wouldn't affect his warp capability. With the spaceship now repaired and energy conversion completed, possessing 38% of the crystal core engine's energy, he could endure at least two warps.

H'el immediately flew into the Stellar Probe, adjusted the atmosphere inside the ship to maintain his peak performance, and issued the command:

"Zero, initiate the warp."

"Destination: Krypton!"

°°°

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