Space Odyssey from Abandoned Mining Space Station

Two days later.

The Destroyer Chen Ming was on arrived in the Beinu Star Realm.

From the Superspace Channel data coordinates of the ship, they could reach the Star Realm Capital in another hour.

It was at this moment that the door to the room suddenly knocked.

Chen Ming walked a few steps to open the door and saw He Gu standing at the entrance saying, ”We’re almost there, get ready. There will be some turbulence when entering the Star Gate.”

”Turbulence?”

Chen Ming had experienced countless teleports with the Teleportation Engine without any bumps, so why would there be turbulence with the technically superior Star Gate?

He asked, puzzled, ”What is the operating principle of the Star Gate? Why is there turbulence?”

He Gu patiently explained to Chen Ming: ”The operating principle is quite simple, it’s the same as a wormhole.”

”So when the ship passes through, it will experience pulls from tidal forces, causing turbulence.”

”At that time, we also have to turn off the ship’s anti-gravity devices, be mentally prepared beforehand, and tidy up anything that might fly around.”

Wormhole technology?

This was something Chen Ming had known for a long, long time, and it was only now confirmed, yet a level of technology he had not encountered.

Although his psychic abilities could achieve similar effects, achieving wormhole effects through non-spiritual means was truly something only top scientists could do.

Hold on, if the Empire’s Star Gate technology is modeled after wormholes, then...

”Are there naturally occurring wormholes?”

”Of course there are. In fact, there used to be many wormholes within the Empire’s borders, but... you probably won’t see them.”

”Why?”

He Gu turned his head to look out the cabin window.

Although nothing could be seen outside except the deep purple background of the Superspace, He Gu’s gaze seemed to penetrate it, seeing all the way to the Star Gate of the Beinu capital.

”Because the singularities at the core of all the discovered wormholes have all become the cores of the Star Gates we have built.”

”This is human power, not the power of Psychics.”

He Gu said this in a calm tone, making an exaggeratingly incredible statement in Chen Ming’s view.

Having control over wormhole power at least indicated the Empire possessed equivalent means.

That means the Main Ship is definitely not the Empire’s strongest combat force; the Empire must have even higher tier power.

Following He Gu’s words, Chen Ming let his mind wander a bit but quickly reined it back in, asking, ”If I remember correctly, each Star Realm has such a Star Gate, so when the Empire builds a new Star Realm, it not only involves site selection but also considers the Star Gate, right?”

He Gu said: ”That’s right, the Star Gate is the fastest method of movement available in this era. A Star Realm without a Star Gate might break away from the Empire’s control.”

”There were many reasons the Empire stopped external expansion, and one of them was the temporary inability to find suitable wormholes.”

Chen Ming then asked: ”So now suitable wormholes have been found?”

”They were found long ago, and the singularities have been acquired.”

”After all, during expansion, it’s hard to have the opportunity to slow down in the middle and fully develop the areas already occupied, some places will be missed. If the expansion pace slows down, then opportunities arise, and wormholes are found.”

Chen Ming immediately considered whether his colony also needed a Star Gate, because if the Star Gate could connect directly to the Empire, the benefits would be unimaginable.

However, the problem would also follow.

”By the way, Star Gates need to be opened in both directions, correct?”

”Yes, otherwise Zuo Jing wouldn’t have needed to occupy the Star Gate on the Cai Mo Star Realm side before.”

Okay, then Chen Ming had no issues. It seemed that Star Gates were indeed very necessary.

Finding a way to acquire Star Gate technology for the colonies should also be put on the agenda.

Just thinking about the difficulty of this made Chen Ming’s head ache again.

But since he previously managed to obtain blueprints for a Main Ship and an entire giant shipyard, acquiring a Star Gate blueprint wasn’t something completely hopeless.

Chen Ming collected his wandering thoughts again and returned to the previous topic.

”So other than the lack of wormhole singularities, what else made the Empire stop its expansion?”

Chen Ming had heard from many people about the Empire’s era of exploration, which was a burgeoning, progressive time.

But the reasons for the gradual disappearance of this era, as told by those whom Chen Ming knew, varied, and he was curious about He Gu’s answer.

”There are many reasons for it to stop, but there’s only one major reason.”

He Gu held up one finger to Chen Ming.

”Do you know the concept of maximum range of a regular scheduled ship?”

Chen Ming understood He Gu’s meaning, but this ”maximum range of a regular scheduled ship” had to be a specific term, not the literal meaning he understood.

So he simply replied: ”I don’t know.”

”It’s alright not to know. This concept refers to a ship traveling using available objective means, like Superspace, or Phase Space.”

”Abilities inherent to the ship, like a Teleportation Engine, aren’t included.”

”The distance traveled by the ship in one year is the specific meaning of ’maximum range of a regular scheduled ship.’

”Placing the starting point of this distance in the Empire center, the endpoint of this distance is the theoretical maximum boundary limit of the Empire.”