495 Chapter: The Aspiring Paradise_1

3.2 light-years away from the New Continent Star System, 66th Fleet.

The commander of this fleet was Colonel Bodde, with a total of 58 warships, equipped with six star accelerators.

In addition, there was one Monster Cannon, one combat radar, as well as two supply ships, and 31 ordinary battleships.

The current mission of Bodde's fleet, along with eight other fleets of the same size, was to search for and eliminate a small Silicon Star People's fleet in this area.

Because there were simply too many small fleets of the Silicon Star People, the initial interstellar probes were insufficient, so some small fleets of Silicon Star People could only be roughly located within certain areas.

Now that the war was nearing its end, only the task of clearing these enemy fleets with unknown precise locations remained.

The net held by Commander-in-chief Cao Yang was tightening, and it was estimated that the war could be completely finished within three to five years!

Since it was a search mission, Bodde's fleet did not use the star accelerators but was cruising at maximum speed.

The combat radar was always turned on at full power, and as long as the enemy fleet appeared within a radius of one thousand six hundred astronomical units, they could detect it immediately.

In the command room of Fleet 66, Bodde looked at the 3D sand table. The distances between the nine human fleets were getting smaller, and they should be able to find the position of this fish soon.

Suddenly the communications officer reported, "Colonel, we've received a communication invitation."

Bodde snapped back to reality with a smile, "Could it be that the Silicon Star People want to surrender again?"

During the encirclement operations, Bodde had tried to persuade many Silicon Star People to surrender, and indeed, some Silicon Star People, driven to desperation, chose to surrender.

It seemed that the Silicon Star People were now on the run, with no time for communication, so many of them were still unaware of the battle that occurred on their mother star.

However, Bodde did not let them go; after a small-scale battle ended, the prisoners were executed immediately.

With the Dark Forest Law in place, it was impossible to have prisoners in a star conflict!

Moreover, Wallfacer Jiang Yu had once given explicit orders: do not accept prisoners from the Silicon Star People.

That is to say, they could accept the surrender, but not keep prisoners.

The communications officer reported, "No, it's a human communication signal."

Bodde was taken aback; the fact that the other party did not show up on the combat channel meant it was not a military signal but a civilian one?

"Connect then!" Bodde was curious to see who it was.

After the communication was established, the screen showed a genteel middle-aged man, who could be seen as a scientific researcher judging by his white lab coat.

The man smiled amiably, "Hello."

Bodde nodded, "Hello, how did you find us?"

Typically, military signals were not publicly available.

"Because we are the closest, it was quite easy to find you," the middle-aged man said with a smile. "Let me introduce myself, my name is Ji Kang, and we are on a mission to explore the gravitational sources between star systems."

Bodde nodded, "I've heard of that mission. So, any discoveries?"

"A significant discovery!" Ji Kang's expression became grave at once, "That place is Paradise, a place all intelligent beings yearn for."

Bodde thought Ji Kang would sidestep his question, after all, they weren't from the same system, and even if the scientific expedition found something, there was no obligation to inform Bodde.

Unexpectedly, Ji Kang responded directly to his question.

Moreover, Bodde noticed when Ji Kang mentioned "Paradise," his expression made one feel uneasy.

This feeling was indescribable, but somehow Bodde felt there was something different about Ji Kang.

Bodde frowned and asked, "Do you need something from me?"

"Nothing special," Ji Kang revealed an unsettling smile, "I just thought I'd tell you about the Paradise I saw."

Suddenly, Bodde felt a dangerous atmosphere surrounding him as though he were being encircled by an enemy.

He had once heard from a friend at the Academy of Sciences that soldiers who had experienced the slaughter of battlefields would have their sixth sense enhanced.

Therefore, Colonel Bodde truly believed in this feeling of his, "Sorry, we are on a mission, and we don't have time to chat with you."

He then ordered, "Close the communication!"

However, the communications officer, as if bewitched, retorted, "Colonel, we should let him finish!"

Colonel Bodde felt all the hairs on his body stand on end as he stood up from the captain's chair and shouted, "What was your oath when you enlisted?"

The communications officer shivered all over, "To defend the people, to guard the Solar System!"

"I suspect the other party is engaging in actions harmful to the people and the nation! Now is the time for you to fulfill your oath! Terminate the communication!"

"Yes, sir!"

Ji Kang, however, laughed, "What an interesting race!

"Unfortunately, it's too late. Your communications officer has already fallen.

"I have completely, ah, to use your words, descended. I am more powerful than before!"

The communication was cut off, and both Colonel Bodde and the communications officer breathed a sigh of relief.

The communications officer asked, "What, what just happened?"

Colonel Bodde did not understand either, "Were we hypnotized?"

Hypnosis had always been a plot point in novels and films, but the reaction of the communications officer just now seemed very much like that of someone hypnotized.

Colonel Bodde immediately ordered the Galaxy III to summon the fleet's doctor, who provided psychological counseling to the communications officer, visibly calming him down.

Afterwards, Bodde reported the incident.

Half an hour later, the executive officer and several other staff officers came to take over their shifts. Bodde, feeling tired, returned to his own cabin to rest.

He hadn't experienced this in a long time, he fell asleep as soon as he lay down.

In his dream, he saw himself as a child, lying on the grass under a tree and daydreaming, beside him was a half-assembled drone, which was his biggest hobby as a child.

That was the backyard of his grandparents' house, the most beautiful memory of his childhood.

At that moment, Bodde felt someone approaching him. He looked up and saw it was Ji Kang.

Ji Kang smiled, "Everyone here can find their own Paradise!"

With a wave of his hand, outside his grandparents' backyard, a mountain peak rose from the ground, upon which sat a majestic temple at its towering summit!

Bodde stood up from the grass, not knowing why, but he felt an ineffable attraction to that temple.

It seemed to be the destination for everything, the source of all happiness.

This feeling was strange; the temple seemed very grand, imposing enough psychological pressure.

Yet Bodde could not understand why the temple represented a destination and happiness.

Ji Kang asked, "What do you see?"

Bodde murmured, "I see Paradise!"

The dream shattered, and Bodde awoke with a start!

"Colonel!" The voice of the executive officer suddenly came through the communicator.

Bodde rubbed his face and fully woke up before asking, "What is it?"

The executive officer said, "I have changed our course, and now, our entire fleet is heading towards Paradise!"

A tightness gripped Bodde's heart, but then he felt as if there was nothing wrong with the decision. However, another voice inside him shouted, "You're doing the wrong thing, have you forgotten your mission?"