I planted a sacred tree in Tokyo.

Chapter 730 The First Interstellar War

"Captain Teach, we are about to enter the asteroid belt."

"The researchers unanimously hope to collect structural components from some asteroids to analyze information about the birth of the solar system."

In the quiet, vast expanse of space, a spaceship is silently traveling at high speed: five hundred meters long, exceeding the length of most aircraft carriers. But in the boundless universe, it's not even a speck of dust!
At least compared to the 'dust' they are about to approach: the asteroid belt, it is insignificant.

Indeed, Marshall Teach's spaceship has arrived in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The many doctors on board are eager to stay there for a while and collect some asteroid soil and mineral components for scientific research.

Here, everything, regardless of the material or the encounter, is a "first time" for humankind!
Enough to go down in history: if humanity has a future.

"Can,"

In the spaceship's main control room, the tall Teach nodded;

"I'm also a historian, and I'm very curious about what information is stored in those 'time capsules'."

The direction the spacecraft was traveling was the asteroid belt, which contains as many as 120 million asteroids: these asteroids are located between Mars and Jupiter, and like the eight planets, they orbit the sun.

Although their external chemical composition has been altered by intense solar radiation, their internal components are essentially the original, untouched material from when the planetesimals formed. This makes each planeteim like a 'time capsule'; by analyzing its structure, a great deal of information about the formation of the solar nebula can be obtained.

"Thank you for your understanding, Captain."

The 'first mate' piloting the spaceship saluted Teach.

There are more than 300 crew members on this spaceship, all of whom are researchers who are prepared to embark on a journey to see a wider universe.

Those who aren't like that wouldn't have followed Teach on this adventure through the vast universe: no matter where the journey ends or what they encounter, it's highly likely they'll never be able to return home.

This time,
They were gone and never came back.

"Disable main thrusters and enter deceleration mode."

"Release three 'Explorer' spacecraft. Gentlemen, is there anyone who wants to be the first to set foot on this asteroid?"

As the first mate issued a series of orders, dozens of researchers rushed to the main control room; they all wanted to go out and 'collect data,' and for a moment, the argument resembled that of a vegetable market.

This is a chance to set foot on an asteroid and collect information; I never dared to dream of it before, but now I can go there in person. How could I possibly miss such an opportunity?
If everyone weren't 'researchers,' then it wouldn't just be a matter of talking without doing anything.

In the end, the first mate had no choice but to use a 'data lottery' method to decide who would do the job.

"It's unbelievable,"

After the victors set off in high spirits, the first mate walked up behind Teach and couldn't help but sigh.

"We reached the asteroid zone in just half a month."

"Hahaha, this is the true meaning of being extraordinary!"

Teach, letting out his signature big laugh, walked to the control panel and pointed to the aircraft's speed on the computer.

"Look, freed from the planet's constraints, we can easily reach speeds of 1000 km/s; back home, it would only take us forty seconds to circle the planet—ah,"

Patting his head, Teach laughed and changed his tune.

"That planet has now expanded several times its original size; perhaps it will take several minutes to orbit it once?"

But no matter what, this speed is terrifying: and it's far from the limit of this spaceship!
As we all know, the universe is very vast. If a spaceship has enough fuel, it can accelerate continuously. For example, the spaceship they are standing on can theoretically accelerate to 12% of the speed of light, which is 36,000 km/s.

Of course, this is just theory.

It would take half a year to accelerate to 2 percent of the speed of light;

This is only because the spaceship is full of superhumans; otherwise, the acceleration alone would have been fatal.

"Yes, these are all changes brought about by the extraordinary era."

The first mate couldn't help but sigh, only by discovering the technology of 'controlled nuclear fusion' could interstellar travel be possible.

Nuclear fusion propulsion has a specific impulse of 10 to 100 seconds, while chemical rockets have only about 450 seconds, making them incomparable. At the same time, nuclear fusion consumes far less fuel than traditional chemical rockets.

With the addition of the 'sacred tree' forming the outer shell and main structure of this spaceship, such a sci-fi feat was possible.

At this spaceship's speed, a trip between home and Mars would only take a few weeks!
Even if it flies to a neighboring star system, it will only take a few decades.

Even if we are destined to die, this is still—

This marks humanity's first step into the universe.

"First mate, don't say such discouraging things. We have plenty of time," Teach said, patting the first mate, who barely reached his waist, to comfort him.

"Soon, we will be able to witness that giant gas giant with our own eyes, and even venture deep into it to explore the 'clouds'."

The gas giant planet Teach was referring to was Jupiter, which they were about to pass by.

Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, is a gas giant: its atmosphere, composed of hydrogen and helium of incalculable mass, also forms the body of Jupiter. Under high pressure, the liquid hydrogen inside Jupiter appears as a solid, which is the planet's "land".

"Captain Teach, a magnetic field 14 times stronger might not harm you, but we—"

Hearing this,

The first mate shook his head slightly.
Even superhumans couldn't withstand it.

Perhaps a Ghost-level being could manage? But these canine-level transcendents who drink potions definitely can't!

Jupiter possesses the strongest magnetic field in the solar system—besides sunspots, this is what allows it to form massive planetary rings and numerous moons. If their spaceship gets too close to Jupiter, it won't be easy for it to escape its embrace.

"Our goal is the Alpha Centauri triple star system."

Approximately 4.244 light-years away from our solar system lies the nearest red dwarf star: another 'Sun' named 'Proxima Centauri'.

Near this star are two other stars: the yellow dwarf Alpha Centauri A and the orange dwarf Alpha Centauri B. These three "suns" attract and orbit each other, forming the famous "three-body" system!
The so-called 'red dwarf,' 'yellow dwarf,' and 'orange dwarf' are classifications of stars: simply and directly, they are distinguished by the color of the light they emit.

For example, the sun in their "hometown" is a "yellow dwarf star".

"At our spaceship's speed, it will take about several decades to reach Proxima Centauri, where—"

There are several planets, including one similar to their 'home': perhaps life has evolved on it, perhaps not.
The first mate gazed at the vast universe, having spent decades just to see it one last time before he died:
Does a world inhabited by extraterrestrial life exist?
does it worth?
of course!

"Hahaha,"

"A planet illuminated by three 'suns' must be very prone to dehydration, right?"

Teach casually made a joke, saying that in the vast universe, encountering anything is normal; however, his laughter immediately faded because:

"Alarm! Alarm!"

"Explorer 3 has been destroyed!"

"I'll repeat myself! Explorer 3 has been destroyed!"

A piercing alarm suddenly rang out in the control room, startling Marshall Teach.

How is that possible? This is the vast universe, who could possibly attack his small exploration spaceship here?
Explorer 1 has been attacked.

"Explorer 2 has detected the enemy—it's the sun!"

Almost simultaneously, two other small exploration ships also sent out reports of being attacked. Fortunately, even though the crew members were dead, the ships' monitoring and communication systems were still functioning, so Teach saw:
One after another, 'umbrellas' were approaching the three 'Explorer' small spaceships that had lost their controllers.

Against the backdrop of the universe, these 'umbrellas' don't change much, but the fact that the 'changes' are visible to the naked eye indicates that they are moving at extremely high speeds!

"It's a solar sail spaceship!"

Although Teach may have a rough and unrefined appearance, he is essentially a history professor, so he could easily recognize this 'classic' spaceship design.

The attacker was—

On the other two exploration spacecraft, which were still largely intact, numerous cameras rotated continuously and finally locked onto the target.

A demon 'floating' in the universe?

That's right, it was a Western demon with long, curved horns on its head, bat wings on its back, crimson skin all over its body, and a long sword in its hand: its eyes and armor were emitting raging flames. Such a bizarre appearance is precisely why it was locked onto by the camera.

"The Burning Legion?"

And he's the 'Flame Lord' among them!
Just as Teach frowned, the 'great demon' floating in the universe turned its head, its eyes blazing with flames, and crossed the distance between them, landing on Teach.

"Humanity."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

PS: This Alpha Centauri triple star system is the one in the science fiction novel "The Three-Body Problem".

Trisolarans: Do not answer, do not return, this is not home!
(End of this chapter)