Rebirth of the Super Battleship-Chapter 560: Empty City

Xiao Yu’s current strength had already reached a peak. It would not be an exaggeration to call him the strongest beneath a Level 6 Civilization. But Xiao Yu knew that he still had a certain gap to a Level 6 Civilization.

When that gap was bridged, Xiao Yu would truly enter the scope of a Level 6 Civilization. Now Xiao Yu already had a way to bridge that gap, which was to continue acquiring the technology of other Level 5 Civilizations.

Xiao Yu had already set out on the road to acquire technology. He had selected his target, a star system roughly more than three thousand light years from the Pegasus Civilization’s capital star system. A Level 5 Civilization with strength somewhat weaker than the Pegasus Civilization had taken that stellar system as its capital star system and, with it as the center, occupied a space roughly one hundred light years in radius.

“Mm, this direction, viewed from Earth, is about the position of Sextans. Then let us call this civilization the Sextans Civilization.”

Xiao Yu was approaching this stellar system at a speed of forty-seven times the speed of light. This was the maximum speed of the planetary war star, the Earth. At this speed, Xiao Yu would reach the target in about seventy years.

Some of the smallest, most maneuverable ships had already left the main force ahead of time at a speed of fifty-five times the speed of light. These small ships would serve as envoys or vanguard for the Divine Ark Civilization, going to this stellar system to roughly observe the Sextans Civilization’s social structure, strength, and technological level. If possible, these small ships would also initiate preliminary contact with the Sextans Civilization to lay the foundation for comprehensive contact later.

Because of the existence of the planetary war star, Xiao Yu’s vast fleet did not stop at all along the way. Once supplies were consumed, they could be replenished directly on the planetary war star. There was no longer any need to stop midway to resupply. In this way, Xiao Yu saved at least thirty years.

During this period, Xiao Yu continued to transform the Purple Civilization. The newly born generation of the Purple Civilization’s populace, under Xiao Yu’s education and integration, had fully accepted their identity as members of the Divine Ark Civilization. With the continuous transformation of life science, their thinking organs’ development and physical fitness began to increase steadily. Xiao Yu estimated that by the time he reached the capital star system of the Sextans Civilization, the transformation of the Purple Civilization would be complete. This meant his population base would increase by more than one hundred billion, and the rate of producing scientists would further accelerate.

Everything was developing in a favorable direction.

Under such circumstances, more than fifty years slipped by. Xiao Yu’s main fleet was still in curvature flight, while the vanguard had already reached their destination.

This was the edge of the Sextans Civilization’s sphere of influence. To avoid provoking the Sextans Civilization, these vanguard ships did not penetrate too deeply into its territory but revealed themselves at the periphery.

These small ships cautiously approached a stellar system located on the edge of the Sextans Civilization’s sphere and began to probe it.

With a rough probe, Xiao Yu did not find any traces of intelligent life activity in this stellar system. There were two planets in this system with very high mining value. By common sense, the Sextans Civilization should not have left these two planets unattended. That would be an enormous waste.

“This should not be the case.” Xiao Yu thought to himself. “The distance from here to the Sextans Civilization’s capital star system is only about one hundred light years. Even traveling at thirty times the speed of light would take just a little over three years to reach. This distance is quite close. The Sextans Civilization has no reason to abandon this place. Mm… what is this?”

With a further probe, Xiao Yu finally found traces of artificial modification on this planet. Unfortunately, he did not find any instruments here.

Xiao Yu thought for a moment and directed the vanguard to leave this stellar system and continue forward. There was another stellar system five light years ahead.

But to Xiao Yu’s surprise, he also found no technological artifacts in that stellar system. So he gave up on it and continued to approach the Sextans Civilization’s capital planet.

The deeper he went into the Sextans Civilization’s sphere of influence, the more puzzled Xiao Yu became. It was too quiet here. It was as if this were a virgin land that had never undergone artificial modification. Yet by Xiao Yu’s deduction, a Level 5 Civilization, in order to supply the vast consumption within its own civilization, could not possibly tolerate leaving so many resources here without mining them.

The vanguard advanced all the way, but they never encountered any ships of the Sextans Civilization, nor did they find any planets with living beings.

“Could the Pegasus Civilization’s data be false and they deceived me?” A hint of doubt rose in Xiao Yu’s heart, but he immediately dismissed it. Because after the vanguard had advanced more than thirty light years, Xiao Yu finally made a discovery.

It was a very obvious life planet that had undergone artificial modification. On this planet there were many wild flora and fauna, and many structures clearly crafted by intelligent beings, such as forested high-rises, vast factory buildings, and various fragments drifting in the planet’s synchronous orbit.

But there were no intelligent beings here. The vast cities were empty. The factories that should have been busy contained no intelligent beings. Dust had settled inside the workshops, and there was damage in many places. With a brief measurement, Xiao Yu knew that no one had operated here for at least three hundred years.

With the intelligent beings gone, these buildings had become a paradise for wild flora and fauna.

“Although this place is messy, there are no signs of deliberate destruction. It seems there was no disaster here. The departure of the intelligent beings should have been organized and orderly. Then it is very strange. What exactly made them abandon this place and leave in haste? Where did they go?”

There were no functioning instruments left on this planet. After leaving some landing-type robots and several ships here, Xiao Yu directed the remaining vanguard ships to continue forward.

Along the way, Xiao Yu still did not find any military forces of the Sextans Civilization or technological artifacts traveling in space. He did, however, discover at least ten industrial planets and one residential planet. But these planets also presented a completely dilapidated scene, with no signs of intelligent activity.

“What exactly is going on? Where did the people of the Sextans Civilization go?” Xiao Yu wondered in confusion. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Xiao Yu tested a broadcast message directed at the Sextans Civilization’s capital star system, stating his purpose, but he received no response.

When Xiao Yu finally reached the Sextans Civilization’s capital star system and saw the capital planet of this civilization, he finally confirmed that the Sextans Civilization had perhaps truly left.

The escape of the Sextans Civilization had clearly been thoroughly prepared. They had damaged all technological facilities that could not be taken away, as well as all equipment that might store technological information, turning this place completely into ruins.

The star of the Sextans Civilization’s capital star system was a stable yellow dwarf, radiating light similar to the Sun. Under its illumination, the capital planet of the Sextans Civilization enjoyed fine weather. White clouds dotted the blue sky. Because the influence of intelligent beings had been lost, wild flora and fauna had begun to take back the cities. Standing here, all that met the eye was pleasing green. The air carried a comfortable humidity, and the temperature was just right, neither high nor low. A faint warm breeze on the body would surely feel pleasant.

The landing-type robots stood before this ruined jungle of steel and looked upon the scene before them. Xiao Yu felt a great sense of absurdity in his heart.

“The Sextans Civilization so abandoned the cradle of their civilization and a vast territory nearly one hundred light years across, and fled just like that. Was it because of my Divine Ark Civilization? This is somewhat ridiculous. I only wanted to come and exchange technology with you. I never intended to annihilate you.”

“Where did they go?” Xiao Yu pondered, directing the vanguard to begin probing within a range of one hundred light years around the stellar system. But regrettably, because too much time had passed, all traces left by curvature flight had disappeared.

“What a… helpless situation.” Xiao Yu murmured. After confirming that there truly were no intelligent beings at the Sextans Civilization’s location, he had no choice but to redirect the main force and head toward another civilization’s location roughly four thousand light years from here.

That direction was roughly toward Carina as seen from Earth, so Xiao Yu named this yet-uncontacted civilization the Carina Civilization. As with the probe of the Sextans Civilization’s location, Xiao Yu also dispatched a vanguard ahead to scout this place.

But the result disappointed Xiao Yu once again. The sphere of influence of the Carina Civilization presented the same situation as that of the Sextans Civilization. There were obvious traces of intelligent activity, but all the planets were empty.

Xiao Yu changed direction once more, this time heading to the Gemini Civilization’s location, but he was disappointed again. Then he went to Cepheus, and what presented itself to Xiao Yu was still a wasteland.

Xiao Yu probed no fewer than six civilization locations, only to find six ruins. In these places, Xiao Yu found no living intelligent beings and no information storage devices that could determine what had happened.

A bad premonition rose in Xiao Yu’s heart. “This may be a large-scale operation targeted at me…”