Chapter 314 Dragnet Search

Li Qingsong crossed the vast distance of over a hundred light-years in just under 130 years, including the time for deceleration.

While still hundreds of billions of kilometers from this star, in a region of space nearly devoid of macroscopic celestial bodies, Li Qingsong had already released tens of billions of detectors. Together, they formed a vast net, beginning a dragnet search of the entire star system.

This process did not stop, even after the main fleet entered the star system and parked in orbit around the nearest large planet.

At this moment, this massive star was still in a rather turbulent state.

Under normal circumstances, a star of its mass and elemental composition shouldn’t have such a high surface temperature or such violent radiation.

Li Qingsong was well aware of the reason.

It was, of course, because it had been subjected to a fierce bombardment several thousand years ago.

The Space-Air Carrier holding the Electromagnetic Creatures moved forward and opened its bays. Under the leadership of the Electric Calamity, the throng of Electromagnetic Creatures descended onto the star.

A long while later, a message reached Li Qingsong.

“I can clearly sense that my ancestors once lived on this star. But now, they are all gone.”

Clearly, the Purple Moon Civilization had taken them all when they left.

“Your kind, the Electromagnetic Creatures, hide on stars. Was the Purple Moon Civilization still able to control all of your ancestors?”

“Yes. The Purple Moon Civilization’s technology is incredibly advanced. They built specialized ships that could get extremely close to the star. Back then, we were unable to escape their control.”

‘They could get that close to a star…’

Li Qingsong mused in silence.

That was something even he couldn’t do. This point alone was a testament to the power of the Purple Moon Civilization.

However…

“When I find the Purple Moon Civilization and defeat it, there may be a chance for you and your ancestors to reunite,” Li Qingsong still pledged solemnly.

“Thank you.”

Leaving the Electromagnetic Creatures to roam freely upon the star, Li Qingsong turned his attention to the many planets orbiting it.

These planets were desolate and lifeless, showing no trace of having ever harbored life, nor any sign of artificial constructs.

However, they did bear the unmistakable signs of violent explosions.

Clearly, before leaving this star system, the Purple Moon Civilization had employed the same method he did: using hydrogen bombs to erase every trace they left behind.

The massive dragnet search also failed to turn up any valuable clues within this stellar system.

Li Qingsong also tried using the same method the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity had once used to track him: analyzing engine exhaust trails, attempting to find the faintest traces of the Purple Moon Fleet’s wake in space.

But to his regret, Li Qingsong was once again met with disappointment.

Too much time had passed. Even without the effects of stellar radiation and the movement of interstellar dust, any such traces had long since dissipated, impossible to discern from the vast emptiness of space.

It seemed this search was destined to yield nothing.

‘If it yields nothing, it yields nothing. At least I’ve confirmed the starting point of the Purple Moon Civilization’s journey. If I keep tracking along their flight path, I should be able to find more traces.’

Li Qingsong thought silently, setting the issue aside for the time being to begin preparations for his next long voyage.

Right now, the Flying Star’s radius had shrunk to a mere 20 kilometers, its total mass less than one percent of what it was at its peak. It was time to replenish it.

While busy establishing an industrial system to extract resources from this star system, Li Qingsong did not neglect his ongoing research missions. He also took command of his vast number of warships and once again commenced live-fire combat exercises within the stellar system.

These exercises involved both Manned Warships and unmanned combat forces.

Although the Primordial AI was powerful, there was no limit to performance enhancement and self-growth. Every bit of training made it that much stronger.

As for the Manned Warships, it was worth noting that after fully assimilating the technological data from the Harville and Black Mountain civilizations, the maximum number of consciousnesses Li Qingsong could connect to had once again increased significantly.

At this point, the number of Clones Li Qingsong could simultaneously control had climbed to approximately 10 billion. Including those reserved for the Unified Force Field, the total number of Clones under his command had increased to 30 billion.

However, the number of Warships Li Qingsong could now control simultaneously had decreased, dropping to just half of the 4 million he had commanded during the war against the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Alliance.

He estimated that if a full-scale war were to break out now, he could only control about 2 million ships simultaneously, even with his logistics and industrial systems running at full capacity.

It couldn’t be helped. As the performance and technology of the Warships advanced, so too did their complexity.

In the past, a mere ten Clones could operate the smallest type of Mercury-class Warship, but now that number had skyrocketed to sixty.

The largest Mars-class Warships, meanwhile, required the coordinated effort of over ten thousand Clones to reach their maximum combat effectiveness.

However, although the total number of Warships had decreased, their overall combat power had increased by more than tenfold compared to before.

This could be seen from the impact the warring factions had on the surrounding environment during the exercises.

Often, a single ordinary stray shot could blast a crater over ten meters in diameter into a planet’s surface. A single medium-scale battle during one exercise was enough to heat an entire massive gas giant, causing it to begin glowing.

Li Qingsong was even confident that with just one of his current smallest Mercury-class Warships, he could flawlessly defeat one of his former Venus-class Warships.

A few dozen Mercury-class Warships working together could potentially even defeat one of the old Earth-class Warships.

A fleet of no more than 400,000 Warships was all he would need to utterly defeat the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Alliance as it was at its peak.

This was the tangible increase in combat power that technological advancement had brought Li Qingsong.

More than 60 years passed in a flash. In that short time, Li Qingsong had completed all of his resource-gathering tasks in this stellar system.

The diameter of the Flying Star had once again climbed to 150 kilometers, and all the ships had completed their maintenance, returning to peak operational status.

The transport ships and numerous warehouses, which had been empty, were once again filled to the brim with all manner of supplies.

It was time to depart once again.

Beneath the bright glow of engine trails, the massive fleet followed a course 16 degrees off-center from the Galactic Core. Following in the footsteps of the long-departed Purple Moon Civilization, the numerous ships accelerated in unison, plunging once more into the vastness of Deep Space.