Interstellar Survival: Invasion

"Who do you have on your list?" Zhang Xingxing asked.

"Old Du, Bao'er, Titan, Dodo, and me," I replied.

Nobody could argue against that list. Even Zhang Xingxing knew that as the leader, she wouldn't be in the landing team.

"As decreed by His Majesty, the three of us also need to land," said Lifu.

I nodded. I knew he was on a mission.

"Cough, cough. Why don't you let me go with you as well," Master Crystal suddenly offered.

"Old man, don't joke. We're not going on a tour," said Domo.

"I only look old and am not actually old," argued Master Crystal.

I was very surprised that Master Crystal would actually offer to come.

"No, you stay. It will be hard to move around with too many people," said Master Crystal.

I understood that that was Master Crystal's way of protecting the youth. "Sarje, stay in the ship and help the team leader."

He wanted to say more, but when he saw the firm looks Master Crystal and I had, he gave up.

"Team Leader, the probes have returned," said Dodo.

Everyone grew excited. Since the probes could return, there was a chance we could return from this trip.

"The data is not optimistic. Of the three probes, only one returned. Because image transmission is not possible here, we can only hope that the probe is back with the information we need," said Dodo.

"You Eternals can transform sound into image, right? Can we perform a sound wave scan on the planet before transforming it into images?" asked Zhang Bao'er.

"The five-dimensional equipment needed requires an excessive amount of energy. It is also not feasible for us to carry the machine with us. However, we can send the sound data back to the empire. In this short while, my assistants have gathered all the data from the sound wave scans. However, it will take 390 years if we send the data back from here. We can only bring the data back during our next wormhole leap. As for the sound-to-image transformation, it will take 50 Betelgeuse days," said Lifu.

"In other words, the service won't be available for us during the duration of this mission. In that case, let's check the recordings of the probe and see if there are any treasures on this planet," said Domo.

"Upload complete. Should I play it?" asked Dodo.

"Yes, let everyone have a look," said Zhang Xingxing.

"This probe did not penetrate the planet's atmosphere. It took the recording from an altitude of 250,000 kilometers. All contact was lost with the two probes that went through the atmosphere," said Dodo.

While Dodo explained, the recording started playing through the projector. We could clearly see that under the light analysis mode, all light within 150,000 kilometers around the planet would drop straight into the planet and be absorbed. The planet seemed to fuse with the dark matter in outer space, making it impossible for a recording to be made of its surface.

From the sound wave scan of the probe, half the scanned surface was craggy and uneven. The data also indicated that the planet was a sphere, but the other half of the data was very odd because the data made it seem as though the planet was also completely flat.

"What is this? Dodo, can you analyze this with your database?" said Zhang Xingxing.

"I made a comparison between the data and all records in my database. Similar readings will only be obtained from meteorites or irregular asteroids. Large-scale planets have never given off such readings before," said Dodo.

"Perhaps this is a planet with an irregular form?" I asked.

"That is likely. I also believe that the planet has an extremely odd shape," said Old Du.

"Old Du, what shape do you think this planet has?" asked Zhang Bao'er.

"Bao'er, do you remember the saying, round sky and square land?" asked Old Du.

"Of course. In ancient times, the people of the East believed that the sky is round and the land is square. Of course, that is a misconception due to the lack of knowledge in ancient times," said Zhang Bao'er.

"I believe this planet literally has a round sky and square ground," said Old Du.

"Genius! That would perfectly explain these confusing readings," said Dodo.

"However, the sky is not actually the sky. It is the outer layer of the planet. I believe the outer layer has the same composition as a black hole. I also believe that the flat side is the actual land of the planet. We need to first look for a suitable landing site before doing anything," said Old Du.

Everyone was engrossed in Old Du's explanations.

"Just what in the world are you talking about? What makes you believe this planet has such a shape? If you're wrong, the consequences will be grave," said Domo.

"Yes, that might sound unbelievable. But I have seen records of planets with such shapes in a Gliesen duke library," said Old Du.

"Duke library? Even libraries are ranked?" asked Zhang Bao'er.

"Yes. Some top-secret information is not available to commoners," said Old Du.

"That is the source of inequality," I said.

"Let's not talk about that for now. We need to stay united for our current mission. Old Du, do you think that Gliesens have landed on such planets before?" Zhang Xingxing asked.

"Planet Gliese is located at the place known as Libra on Blue. Beside the Libra Constellation is the Scorpius Constellation. There are three popular stars there, Sigma Scorpii, Antares, and Tau Scorpii," said Old Du.

"Yes, those three stars are very popular on Blue as well. Antares, in particular, is also known as the dragon star," said Zhang Xingxing.

"But to be precise, the three stars are actually double-star systems with massive primary stars. Both Antares and Tau Scorpii have blue dwarf stars as their companion stars, which they are suppressing. Sigma Scorpii is the exception; its companion star being is just as massive as it. In the past, the league believed that there was some sort of energy maintaining the balance between the two stars," said Old Du.

"When was that?" asked Zhang Xingxing.

"Three hundred years ago. A group of explorers discovered the system while searching for iron. They even discovered a black object that couldn't be scanned between the two stars. They used the same transit photometry technique to finally discover the planet," said Old Du.

"Big guy, can you get to the point already?" urged Domo.

"The team discovered that the object had a semi-circular shape. It seemed to be slowly absorbing and dissolving the energy of the two stars. The gravities of both stars had a nonexistent influence on it. Thus, the league concluded that the object was made of some unique substance," said Old Du.

"Perhaps the black object is actually half a black hole?" asked Zhang Bao'er.

"Time, light, and sound can't escape a black hole. However, that object only absorbs light. Thus, this does not seem to be the case," said Old Du.

"What happened next? Did the league have people scout the object?" I asked.

"The league believed that the object might be a powerful energy source. Thus, arrangements were made to have a team perform a detailed study on it," said Old Du.

"And? Get to the point already," said Domo impatiently.

"There is no next. That was where the record stopped. There was only one extra description. The celestial body had a flat ground while the circular part of its body was most likely not part of the ground. The league should take heed of this fact when encountering a similar celestial body," said Old Du.

Everyone sank into a disappointed silence.

"Old Du's explanation proves that such a planet exists. Furthermore, we are sure that it's not a black hole. Rather, it is something that exists in a different state of matter," said Dodo.

"A different state of matter? Have we stumbled upon a brand new state of matter?" Zhang Bao'er suddenly exclaimed.

His words reminded everyone that this black celestial body could very well be a brand new state of matter. Everyone grew excited at the major discovery, completely forgetting about the upcoming dangerous mission. Including Lifu, everyone started chatting passionately.

"I believe the honor of this discovery should be credited to the Divine Empire. After all, we were the ones who brought you here," said Lifu.

"By that logic, Gliesens had discovered the same 300 years ago," countered Zhang Bao'er.

That left Lifu speechless. Unable to argue, he sat down silently.

"I suggest naming this new celestial object after Old Du, Dudal," suggested Zhang Xingxing.

"No, don't use my name. I had merely made a simple observation. The discovery stems from the sacrifice of our predecessors, including Eternals," said Old Du.

That was reasonable. Many people had contributed to the discovery of this black celestial object. We were merely here to draw a conclusion from the results of our predecessors.

"This celestial body exists in an irregular semi-spheroidal form with an appearance that resembles black holes. I suggest we call it a grayroid for now," said Master Crystal.

Most of us agreed.

"Alright. Let's call it a grayroid for now," said Zhang Xingxing.

"Why did no one propose to name it after Bao'er? If I can return to the league, a discovery so major will be enough to get me all the medals I want," said Zhang Bao'er.

"Why don't you name it Steamed Bun? I can even give you a diamond medal when we go back," I said.

"I never expected a world with a round sky and square ground to actually exist. What a surprise," muttered Dodo to himself.

"This isn't exactly a world with a round sky and square ground. This is a celestial form that we are still unaware of. Only by landing on it will we get our answer," said Zhang Xingxing.

"According to Old Du's theory, we can't land on the coordinates the Eternals used. They point to the spherical part of the planet. We already know that the spherical part is dangerous," said Dodo.

"Yes. According to my analysis, if we land on the spherical part of the planet, we will share the fate of the teams before us," said Old Du.

"Do you also believe that the creature is hidden in the spherical part?" Zhang Bao'er asked.

"Not necessarily. But I believe that the white light and the creature's control ability are probably related to the spherical part," said Old Du.

"In that case, we should land at the intersection of the sphere and the flat part of the planet. I'll send more probes over there," said Dodo.

Lifu and the other Eternals nodded with praise at how meticulous we were and at our rich knowledge of astronomy. At this time, I saw Master Crystal walk up to the ship's control panel before staring at it.

"What are you looking at?" Dondon asked.

"Grandson, the design of this panel seems slightly different from what the successive generations of Storms have passed on," said Master Crystal.

Dondon was unhappy at being called grandson, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"How is it different?" he asked.

"The panel can be further simplified, and the leap capability can be further strengthened," said Master Crystal.