Chapter 117: Don't Let Them Return

[Additional Chapter for the "Run with the Kids First" Master's Certification!!!]

Chu went to meet Yan Xia, hoping to gain some information from him.

It was expecting an answer.

The answer should be: This is all a lie, just a scam, a carefully planned scam by Yan Xia.

But it couldn't read anything from Yan Xia's words or expressions.

After returning to the surface of Xingcheng, Chu waited for 61 years to confirm the authenticity of the news.

However, the news that came back still claimed that they had defeated the Silkmoth Federation.

The Second Fleet even confirmed the accuracy of the news, and when asked if they weren't curious about defeating the Silkmoth Federation in such a short time, the response was...

"Short?"

"The war has lasted for 31,625 cycles, which is already an extremely long time."

31,625 cycles is equivalent to 18,387 years.

Chu searched through the shared consciousness cluster and asked 10,000 lives in the Silkmoth Federation region, and the information received was from the year 5093.

The time was grossly wrong.

This was too bizarre.

But it was certain that this was a lie because there was a 61-year time difference between when they sent the message to the Second Fleet and when they received the response.

By the time the Second Fleet sent back the first message, it had already traveled away from Xingcheng for 400 years. In other words, when they sent the message, the Second Fleet had actually left Xingcheng for approximately 362 years, and at that time, they were 37.5 light-years away from Xingcheng. After receiving the message from the First Fleet, they transmitted it back, and the total time was just over 400 years.

When they received the message, it meant that the Second Fleet had already traveled back for 37.5 years, which was 3.875 light-years, leaving 33.6 light-years to Xingcheng. At this moment, they sent the message back to confirm, and after 31 years, they had traveled for 31 years and were 30.3 light-years away from the Second Fleet.

In other words, the time matched, and because of the difference, the confirmation message they sent would also take about 61 years for a round trip.

Their time was not wrong, so who was?

It seemed that they couldn't wait for the Second Fleet to return to find out the problem.

In fact, Chu hoped that the Second Fleet would not return, so it could conclude that all the previous information was false, just like the previous fake starry sky.

But 293 years later, the Second Fleet did return.

The first time the Second Fleet's life forms connected to the shared consciousness cluster, the first message received by the shared consciousness cluster in Xingcheng was: "Finally, after 32,184 cycles, we have returned to Xingcheng again."

It was real.

The Second Fleet's lives truly believed they had been gone for 18,712 years. (All numbers were calculated, and if there is a difference between the calculated result and the actual result, it is because of the rounding of the difference.)

In the shared consciousness cluster, the two times clashed, causing chaos among all the lives in Xingcheng.

Chu was also confused.

Who was telling the truth?

"What if the time on both sides is real?"

"Does this mean that the Second Fleet or Xingcheng has encountered a time weapon?"

Chu checked the metal half-life of the Second Fleet's warships and life forms and was even more astonished to find that the Second Fleet had indeed passed 18,712 years.

But that's impossible; they had only observed the Second Fleet traveling less than 38 light-years away.

Was the Silkmoth Federation truly defeated?

However, the evidence showed that the coordinates of the message sent back by the First Fleet were in the Orion Star Region.

Chu was truly confused; he couldn't understand what was going on.

The message from the First Fleet observed by the shared consciousness cluster made it even more terrified.

The First Fleet was rushing back at the speed of light. They had surpassed physics, surpassed the limits of the universe, and according to calculations, the reason they observed the First Fleet at the speed of light was that their observation period was light itself. In reality, the speed of the First Fleet might be 2.2 times the speed of light because some observation data overlapped.

At the same time, they observed the First Fleet in two different positions in the starry sky.

"If they are truly advancing at this speed, then by now, we should see nothing because the universe would have collapsed."

Chu carefully studied the video clips and photos, all of which were incredibly real.

"It's impossible for that to be our fleet."

Finally, he came to a conclusion.

"If the Silkmoth Federation truly has a weapon that controls time, then the First Fleet must have been destroyed."

"This First Fleet may be carrying such a weapon."

The shared consciousness cluster discussed and finally came up with an answer: "This is impossible, Manager."

Of course, Chu knew it was impossible.

"But is there any other possibility in the current situation?"

The shared consciousness cluster provided a solution.

"Perhaps we should wait for the First Fleet to return before making any decisions."

Chu was furious.

"Return?"

"We may face an unknown weapon at any time, and Xingcheng could be destroyed because of it."

But the shared consciousness cluster offered the only way to confirm.

Chu thought for about a month and finally gave a reply.

"Don't let them return!"

"We must shoot them down."

"Whether it's the First Fleet or Xingcheng, we must choose one."

The shared consciousness cluster was willing to take the risk, but Chu, as the manager, was not.

"We should confirm," the shared consciousness cluster suggested another solution.

"No, we should use the gravity weapon to destroy the First Fleet. You are wrong, and we are exercising our authority."

The shared consciousness cluster agreed and aimed the gravity weapon at the First Fleet, firing an invisible strike.

According to the current observed data, they should observe the information of the First Fleet being hit after 382 years.

However, the expected image did not arrive after 382 years.

Instead, it took another 214 years for the message to be transmitted back.

When Chu saw the destroyed First Fleet, his foggy body struggled to maintain itself, and his entire body scattered 100 meters away.

He had been deceived.

The First Fleet was still in its original position, still heading towards the Silkmoth Federation, 596 light-years away in a star system.

And his gravity weapon had hit the target, completely destroying the First Fleet.

He didn't understand how the Silkmoth Federation could simultaneously influence the judgment of the Second Fleet and Xingcheng, leading him to make such a ridiculous mistake.

What kind of weapon was that?

However, he didn't have time to think about it carefully because the shared consciousness cluster was fed up with his mistakes.

Ever since Chu's authority was elevated hundreds of years ago, he had been making mistakes, and this time, it was a huge blunder, to the point of absurdity.

"Manager, Xingcheng does need to change, but you haven't shown us the success of the change; instead, it's a complete failure."

"We have found that you are indeed unsuitable to be the manager."

"..."