Chapter 32

The unmanned fleet controlled by Li Wenyuan had returned to the solar system, but a large number of research spaceships and engineering vessels under his command had already set off for the solar system in all directions.

After confirming that the surrounding situation was very stable, he began the expansion plan that he had been preparing for a long time.

The first thing he had to do was to bring the selected galaxy under his control. This required him to build a building in the galaxy that was enough to declare sovereignty.

That was the star base.

This kind of large space station, which was integrated with monitoring, defense, and supply, was the best choice.

If necessary, Li Wenyuan could arm it to the teeth and turn it into a space fortress.

He could also build docks and spaceports on them to increase the production capacity of his fleet.

Craybow’s star map only told Li Wenyuan the situation of the galaxy around him. He still needed to explore the actual galaxy himself.

One of the research spaceships encountered an unexpected situation in a solar system.

“A special signal was detected on a giant gas planet?” When Li Wenyuan received the news, he was slightly stunned. He immediately switched the image to the research spaceship.

At this time, the research spaceship floating on the giant gas planet was looking at a looming building in the tumbling atmosphere.

[ Lost atmosphere mining station detected ]

[ Establishing connection with it… Connection failed. The mining station control center is not detected. ]

[ Please manually restart the control center. ]

“The lost atmosphere mining station?” Through the broadcast, Li Wenyuan instantly realized that this was one of the traces left behind by human beings.

This star system was not far from the solar system. If mankind had once been an interstellar civilization, it would not be a surprise for them to expand to this place.

“So that’s how it is, which means that there might be many similar ‘lost buildings’ in the Milky Way, waiting for me to restart them?”

At this thought, Li Wenyuan remembered a star map he had found when he excavated a relic on earth.

The star map might have been recorded a long time ago, but the coordinates of many galaxies had been highlighted, as if to indicate what those places were.

“Is it possible that he’s referring to this ‘lost building’?” As Li Wenyuan thought about it, he simply compared it to the coordinates on the star map to see if this was one of the galaxies that had been marked.

And with this look, he really did discover something.

“This place was really a star system that had been marked. Then, what would be here? Is it really just a ‘lost atmosphere mining station’?”

Li Wenyuan didn’t quite believe it.

The atmosphere mining station looked to be of a certain scale, but it was still a small building in the universe. Its actual volume was about the size of a city.

After having the dimensions creation device on earth, he was no longer interested in these small buildings that did not have a high production capacity.

If it wasn’t for the star map’s special marking, he might have just skipped this planet.

“Let’s just take a look, a mosquito’s leg is still a leg, not to mention what if there really is something good?”

With that in mind, he ordered the research spaceship to slowly approach the atmosphere of the giant gas planet.

….

Two figures were conversing in a conference room. They were the chief scientists and engineers of the city, as well as one of the highest-ranking people in the city.

“How’s the area where the atmospheric protection shield was damaged last time?”

“We’ve already checked it, but we don’t have the right materials to repair it. It’s only a matter of time before it breaks again.”

“Did the people we sent to the satellite bring any good news?”

Yes, they found some rare resources, but with our old equipment, the amount we can bring back is very limited.”

At first, they were discussing some worrying matters, but soon, one of them thought of something and comforted,

“Let’s not bother about these things today… It’s a rare memorial day. Maybe we should go and celebrate with the people.”

“You’re right, after all these years, it’s not a bad idea to look at the sky once in a while.”

The two of them chatted and laughed as they walked out of the meeting room.

After leaving the gate, a city filled with a festive atmosphere entered their sight. Countless people were having fun on the streets, and from time to time, fireworks would shoot into the air and explode, scattering into ribbons and falling.

An aircraft flew over their heads with a long ribbon at the tail. Those with good eyesight could see the words on it: To commemorate the 600th anniversary of the successful escape.

The two looked at each other and smiled, then walked forward side by side.

They turned a blind eye to the orange-red atmosphere in the sky and the huge planet looming in the clouds, as if they were already used to it.

“Speaking of which, it’s been a long time since we’ve been so relaxed,”

“Yeah… In order to maintain the stability of this mining station, we have worked hard for several generations, and only now have we managed to build this place into a suitable place for living…”

“Then, do you think the previous owner of this place will return?”

One of them’s hypotheses caused both sides to fall into silence. After a long time, the other person pretended to be relaxed and said,

“This place has been abandoned for so long. It must be one of the forgotten places… It’s a rare celebration, so let’s not talk about such a heavy topic. It’s time to go, or we won’t be able to make it in time for the mayor’s speech.”

“Yes, yes, it’s good to let go. Let’s go…”

The two of them strolled along the streets filled with celebratory crowds, not knowing that a crisis that concerned the survival of their race was gradually approaching…

At this time, Li Wenyuan, who was in control of the research spaceship, frowned.

The reason was that he had detected life signals at the abandoned atmosphere mining station.

He immediately stopped the approach of the research spaceship and released a group of research drones to approach the atmosphere mining station.

“There’s really something special about this place? Was it a human who was still alive? Were they other sightseeing aliens? Or is it some kind of life form born from the planet’s atmosphere?”

Many thoughts flashed through his mind, but he still needed to wait for the drone’s observation results.

The drone cluster approached the giant gas planet and was quickly submerged in the dense atmosphere.

The wind speed here was as high as 100 meters per second. Even the most powerful hurricane on the surface could not reach this speed.

At the same time, there were all kinds of thunderstorms. Although the drone would not be damaged under the protection of the shield, it was still difficult to move forward.

They only managed to capture a strange scene after they flew past a huge storm.

Compared to the violence of the outside world, the center of the storm was extremely calm.

There were no destructive gales or intermittent thunderstorms. The clouds moved quietly and changed into what they liked, enjoying the peace without being torn apart by the storm.

And in this peaceful sky, a city was quietly floating above the clouds.

It looked like a funnel, with a semi-circular disc at the top. A huge atmospheric protection shield covered the entire ground, which was where the city was located.

The bottom layer of the ground was wrapped in a layer of metal armor, which gradually converged into an extremely long pipe in an inverted cone and extended down into the depths of the clouds. It was impossible to imagine how long it was.

It floated here with unknown power and became a place for life in the city to live and work.

The drone continued to approach the floating city and gradually transmitted more detailed images to the spacecraft.