Age of Cataclysm: I can light up the technology tree

Orion Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy, Ross 154.

As a message came from the center of the Milky Way, an extremely strong flash of light occurred near this unknown black dwarf star.

The source of the light is the small detectors released by the Sweeper detectors.

The moment the light appeared, irregular black cracks resembling spider web shapes appeared in the "cubic net" composed of these small detectors.

Viewed from the side, it looks like a complete mirror that was smashed by a high-speed flying object.

However, it is slightly different from the cracking of the mirror. The cracks that appear in the surrounding network are three-dimensional.

They appear from the vicinity of every small detector and spread toward the center of the black dwarf star at extremely high speeds.

Like a black hole, the crack swallows up the faint starlight in the background of the universe.

There was no resistance, and in just a moment, the pitch-black cracks easily split the black dwarf into countless three-dimensional fragments.

The light emitted by the detector is getting stronger and stronger!

An indescribable vibration came from the black dwarf area.

That's a tremor originating from three-dimensional space!

The next moment, the light from the small detector slowly dissipated, and the dark cracks and vibrations gradually disappeared.

However, the originally integrated black dwarf star has turned into a loose interstellar dust composed of carbon atoms.

Ross 154, as Sweeper 9527 said, was completely shattered on the physical level.

At the beginning, under the influence of inertia, this cloud of interstellar dust still retained the shape of Ross 154 - a sphere.

With the unscrupulous detection behavior of the small detectors, its appearance quickly became irregular.

It is foreseeable that, if there are no accidents, this loose interstellar dust will eventually form an alternative nebula.

Unlike normally formed nebulae, which are mainly composed of hydrogen and helium, its composition is mainly carbon atoms from black dwarf stars.

…

"Sir, the time when the dimensionality phenomenon will occur has been determined."

The subordinate's tentacles moved slightly, sending a light curtain in front of Sweeper 9527.

"About a hundred years ago, it was a long time ago, and the detection error was very large."

Cleaner 9527 looked a little ugly when he heard this.

The error is very large, which means that the difficulty of the subsequent search will be increased by several levels.

He didn't speak, just glanced at the time in the screen, then turned around and opened another light screen.

"KZQXD771 star system..."

"The last observation was two hundred years ago..."

The indicator light on the external memory storage device flashes rapidly.

"Import specific parameters of the star system."

"Preparing to Rebuild a Simulated Star System."

Sweeper 9527 quickly operated the light curtain in front of him.

Soon, a virtual star system appeared in front of him.

That was the Ross 154 star system observed by detectors two hundred years ago. Compared with the carbon nebula today, the two are simply worlds apart.

At that time, it was still a healthy and long-lived red dwarf star.

Planets orbit around it in an orderly manner.

Sweeper 9527 looked at the star system in front of him with an indifferent expression.

"It's so barren, it doesn't even have basic life."

"I didn't expect that [Hua] would choose to hide in a place like this." A subordinate's voice full of disgust came from the side.

In their opinion, even the intact Ross 154 is not as good as the smelly ditch on the roadside.

There are still some lives and resources in the stinking ditch!

What does Ross 154 have?

Apart from an energy-scarce red dwarf star, there are almost no useful resources.

Of course, this is for the sweeper civilization and [painting].

Cleaner 9527 responded calmly: "But this is indeed the best choice."

"There are too many such star systems in the Orion Arm of the Milky Way. Even we don't have the resources to check these ordinary star systems one by one."

"That's why we haven't been able to find [the painting]."

As he spoke, Cleaner 9527 stretched out his tentacles and lightly clicked on the light screen in front of him.

Time has sped up.

The Ross 154 star system in the picture is moving rapidly.

One month, one year, ten years, one hundred years...

In just an instant, the Ross 154 star system simulated in the light curtain reached a critical point in time - the period when the dimensionality phenomenon occurred.

"Track all the stars in the star system and calculate their next trajectory."

"Let other detectors follow all possible paths to find it."

Upon hearing this, the subordinate's movements paused slightly.

"Sir, what do you mean..."

"[The painting] may have been a suspended animation, and it left the star system through a planet?"

Cleaner 9527 did not reply, but silently looked at the picture in the light screen.

He wasn't sure either.

But he couldn't believe that a seventh-level civilization could die on such a remote star!

The subordinates who received no answer silently conveyed the instructions to the outside world.

The artificial planet gradually stopped spinning and returned to its original appearance.

…

January 19, 2384 in the Earth calendar.

Hope is wearing a spacesuit and sitting by the water near City One.

He had picked up this habit since his first exploration mission.

Whenever he is free, he will come to the water next to City No. 1, sit on the rocks on the shore, and quietly watch this peaceful scenery.

Although the water area is not large, the sound of the gentle waves and the slight "sea breeze" always remind him of memories from the earth's time.

As usual, he turned on the radio function on his helmet.

The sound of waves and wind filled his helmet again.

Suddenly, a burst of heavy footsteps came from behind.

He subconsciously turned his head and looked behind him.

"Hope, I knew you were here again!"

A familiar voice came from the team radio channel.

"Hansent?" Hope was stunned, stretched out his hands on the ground, and stood up from the rock.

"Why are you here?"

Unlike him, Hansent is not a regular visitor here.

At first, perhaps because he was worried about his teammate's mental condition, Hansent stayed with him a few times.

But after a few times.

Hansent found that his teammates' mental state was extremely stable, so he chose the comfortable No. 1 city.

"There's news!"

Hansent said bluntly: "Didn't you see the message I sent you?"

Hope was stunned, then raised his watch and checked it.

really.

Dozens of messages were neatly arranged in the small holographic projection.

"Excuse me."

Hope canceled the mute function with some embarrassment: "I am used to turning on mute at this time."

Hansent waved his hand indifferently.

After so many years together, he has long been accustomed to Hope's bad habits.

"So," Hope asked casually while checking the unread messages in the watch as read, "What news made you come to me specifically?"

Hansent took a deep breath, with a bit of excitement in his eyes.

"The planetary transformation plan has officially started."