Published: February 13, 2025
"Is the signal this weak?"
Ye Zhongming entered a building specially set up for communicating with the Long-Distance Expedition Fleet. He frowned while looking at the intermittent fluctuations on the sensor.
Due to the great distance, communication could no longer be conducted through normal means. Thus, the expedition fleet had left signal transmission devices on various celestial bodies, using them as relay points for phased transmissions to maintain contact.
This method is very risky and unstable, easily affected by external disturbances. To maintain clarity as much as possible, the signal transmission devices were chosen to be 'robust;' the sturdier, the better. Naturally, this came at the cost of effectiveness and efficiency.
The timeliness of communication cannot be guaranteed, but previously there had been some regularity; messages from the fleet could always be received at roughly equal intervals.
However, recently, according to records, after a sudden series of emergency contacts from the circular fleet, the signal has become sporadic. Sometimes, the content is even somewhat incomprehensible and completely deviates from the 'signal protocol.'
The people in the building were feeling uneasy.
Signal interruptions can be understood; after all, the positioning of the transmission devices is susceptible to interference and destruction. A stellar storm or a meteor could render these devices inoperative.
But the sudden surge of emergency distress signals, followed by intermittent communication filled with confusing content, was abnormal.
"It's weak but still follows a pattern. It’s obvious that something is wrong," Le Da Yuan remarked.
Having already broken through the nine-star level, Le Da Yuan’s current level had surpassed 10,000. In the years since coming to the universe, he has absorbed a vast amount of advanced technological knowledge and is now gradually becoming an expert in the field. While he has yet to reach the status of top figures like Sister Hong, he has completely supported the technology department of Cloud Summit Manor.
Everyone fell silent.
The first batch of the expedition fleet consisted of Cloud Summit people, and the second mostly consisted of Earthlings, with members from Cloud Summit Villa at the core and some researchers from the Star-Eye Clan as support.
These are truly 'our people,' just like this building.
If something happened to the expedition fleet, the Cloud Summit people would mourn for a long time. Too many people who had grown up alongside Cloud Summit were in those two groups, including seven or eight core members.
At this moment, the door was pushed open, and Sister Hong entered like a gust of wind.
She first glanced at the signal recording station before sitting next to Le Da Yuan, frowning as she asked, "Are our communication requests still on hold?"
Le Da Yuan nodded.
"Do we know how far away they are?" Ye Zhongming pondered for a moment and asked the person responsible for contacting the expedition fleet.
"The straight-line distance has already exceeded tens of thousands of light-years. If we were to send a fleet now, due to factors like celestial bodies, the actual distance might reach 100,000 light-years. Moreover, the coordinates of the fleet are vague, so we would also need to search nearby galaxies, which is time-consuming."
The person didn’t finish the thought, but everyone understood; not to mention the long journey, just finding the source of the signal nearby could mean scouring several surrounding galaxies, which wouldn’t be easy to accomplish in a short time.
Given the current technological level of the Sule Alliance, even using the fastest spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the vague signal, Ye Zhongming and the others estimated that it would take over half a year without delays, and any minor mishap could extend that to years.
Currently, various plans within the Sule Alliance were still in full swing. As a key figure and gradually emerging top combat force, Ye Zhongming could not be allowed to leave for so long.