章 283: Chapter 283: Leaving and Staying Behind
"Prepare!"
"What else is there to prepare?"
"Prepare!"
"I mean, can we really defeat the Olive Branch civilization?"
"Prepare!"
"What's the point of all this resistance? It's better to escape. The universe is so vast, and since the Federation cannot provide us help, let's flee. We can remove the quark robots from our bodies and gain almost eternal life; perhaps we can reach the edge of the universe."
A slap landed on his forehead.
"I told you to prepare for ignition, why are you dragging your feet?"
Godra awkwardly pressed a blue button, and the spaceship started moving.
This spaceship was designed to leave the Federation; they would head to the Four Empire Alliance, which has a more lenient system. They not only accept Federation citizens but also offer favorable prices for removing quark robots from their bodies.
The Cangmo Flower Covenant Star Nation, however, is more resistant because their citizen population is already large enough, and they are relatively stable. Past citizens from the Federation sometimes clashed with locals, leading to some negative impressions.
Now, the Cangmo Flower Covenant Star Nation is accepting migrations from Federation scholars or groups, but it is very difficult for ordinary people to become their citizens.
As he felt the spaceship take off, Godra suddenly experienced a strong sense of emptiness.
He was an explorer; theoretically, he had left Star City for unknown star domains more than once, but none of those times had felt like this. This time, it was as if he had no internal organs or flesh left—only a layer of skin supported by bones.
This feeling was too strange.
As the spaceship moved away, he retrieved images of the starry sky outside. In the distance, there was a void where countless lives once thrived.
"In interstellar times, technology has developed to this extent; life forms like us are less than ants beneath powerful warships. If we don't escape, what else can we do?"
He asked himself, arriving at the answer that there was nothing he could do but wait to die there.
The Federation provoking the Olive Branch civilization wasn't his fault; why should he pay for it?
Although the Federation was where he was born and raised, he had no obligation to die for it. If later on, the Federation could persist in this war and survive, perhaps he might return.
Perhaps...
Is it possible?
Godra didn't know because the Federation had lifespan limitations while other star nations could potentially offer infinite lifespans—a fatal attraction for him.
At that moment on the spaceship was a Kate from the Four Empire Alliance who had reportedly lived for over 7,000 years—what an enviable longevity!
Godra set a course for the spaceship and then returned to his cabin to enter a state of sleep; this journey would take quite some time.
He didn't worry about colliding with celestial bodies in space. Godra had watched some sci-fi movies where spaceships crashing into planets were always depicted at the beginning. To him, those were just fantasies of people who had never experienced long-term interstellar travel—though such people did exist even now.
The universe was too vast; sometimes it took decades just to find a planet in deep space. It was said that Federation warships could lock onto nearby planets in just a few years' time—but that still required years.
In deep space, the distance between one planet and another is usually measured in astronomical units—hundreds of millions of kilometers apart in some places—even up to one light-year away (which is about 9 trillion kilometers). Within such ranges, there might not even be one planet larger than 1 kilometer in diameter; even smaller planets might not exceed 100.
What were the odds of a spaceship colliding with a planet in such conditions?
The probability of an explosion in space should be about as low as that—after all, both scenarios are nearly impossible. Even within a star system, distances between planets typically reach hundreds of thousands of kilometers; a planetary-class ship could freely navigate without touching anything.
Of course, unless there was a malfunction in the ship's main engine that caused it to crash into those planets itself.
So Godra didn't like watching those sci-fi works—they were too ridiculous.
Unless you were aboard a ship larger than a gas giant—which could indeed collide with planets—but such ships would easily smash through any planet larger than 10 kilometers in diameter and could even create massive craters if they hit a star's surface.
The spaceship was safe; they had traveled for hundreds of years. Their ship was relatively old at 5,000 meters long with 20,000 passengers onboard and traveling at one-tenth light speed.
After hundreds of years of travel covering dozens of light-years, they would soon need to refuel their ship.
Although the ship's engines consumed no energy during flight after takeoff, there were still systems onboard consuming power—like maintaining virtual worlds—so they couldn't fly indefinitely without shutting down those systems.
But that wasn't an option; there were interstellar pirates in deep space. If they didn't keep their systems running continuously, they might find themselves hijacked without realizing it.
They entered a new star system.
As Godra was among the first to awaken as an operator, he would soon dock at a spaceport to refuel. Their refueling system was relatively outdated and required about 17 days for charging. So after reaching the spaceport, they would have some time for activities while also waking up passengers onboard.
Strictly speaking, they were smuggling ships.
Passengers without any passports weren't allowed into other star systems' cities.
However, it seemed that management from the Federation on this front was quite lax now; no one monitored these activities closely.
"Perhaps everyone wants to escape!"
Godra thought so; those officials might have fled already—perhaps they had long ago.
What do you call this?
It's human nature!
His race didn't have this concept; it came from humans—the main race of the Federation—but now they were categorized as humans too using this terminology almost interchangeably.
Godra followed the captain off the ship. The captain quickly issued orders: "Free activity! Gather back here on day 15; if you're late, you'll stay here forever."
Not at all polite.
The captain opened up a map and headed towards some area in Star City directly.
There have always been some gray industries existing within the Federation—industries not sanctioned by them—but since they weren't overly suppressed by authorities either. Everyone knew that if the Federation truly cracked down on them, no one would escape; thus these gray industries gradually grew stronger over time.
Godra felt that the Federation allowed these gray industries to exist because they fundamentally weren't worried about how lives engaged in these industries would affect society as a whole. The Federation controlled all its citizens through quark robots; citizens wouldn't cause any chaos whatsoever.
Law enforcement personnel within Star City generally did not carry weapons since Federation citizens couldn't attack them; showing hostility while holding weapons would render their bodies immobile instantly.
He actually wanted to enjoy himself a bit but didn't have much money on him.
Explorers earn well but expenses are high; equipment costs alone are significant.
He planned to visit some markets to buy something—a memento from the Federation at least.
"Ha~"
Thinking about this made him chuckle wryly; he previously thought about returning but subconsciously still didn't want to come back after all.
Sometimes he deceives himself into portraying himself as a good person but deep down he knows he's just a bad person who has killed many other explorers during his journey as an explorer.
He is an executioner who would do anything for profit.
A good person wouldn't last long among explorers' ranks.
As he entered Star City, he found it quite desolate and checked current population statistics for Star City:
**[147 million]**
Indeed, not many remained.
By rights, a planetary-level city should have resident populations between 1-1.5 billion for small cities, 1.5-3 billion for medium cities, 3-10 billion for large cities, and 10-50 billion for super-large cities.
They were currently in a spaceport where most parts are medium-sized cities yet now their population barely reached even one-tenth of normal levels—indicating most residents had fled just like them.
"I'm just following along," Godra thought fleetingly in his mind as he walked along seeing many beautiful women standing by on street corners.
Even regular streets had streetwalkers now?
Godra couldn't imagine it; these places used to be strictly regulated. A woman approached him closely until her body almost melded with his own.
"Hey handsome! Want to have some fun?"
So direct! Godra felt no discomfort as he had long since become accustomed to such scenes.
However, this time he wasn't in the mood.
He Noticed the Streetwalker Was Still a Bit Green.
"He just started?"
The streetwalker had an unnatural shy smile on her face: "Mm!"
Like a green apple.
Godra said, "You're not really suited for this, although some might like it."
He preferred someone more mature, as there would be no entanglements afterward. A young girl like this would cling to him, usually holding onto a tree for dear life.
"Maybe, but don't you want to vent a little? A long interstellar journey," the girl said.
Godra shook his head: "I don't have time to think about these things."
Perhaps he lacked someone to confide in; at that moment, he surprisingly found himself saying such things, which even surprised him.
The girl sensed a vague feeling in Godra's eyes and tentatively asked, "Do you want to leave the Federation?"
"Mm!"
Godra felt there was nothing to hide.
Suddenly, he felt the girl's hand gripping tightly: "Is there still room on your ship? Can you take me along?"
"Don't worry, I'll pay you, is 300 energy coins okay?"
Godra was taken aback, recalling that he hadn't seen many ships when he had stopped at the starport. This star city had already lost over 90% of its population, which meant...
"300 energy coins probably won't be enough!"
That amount was what an ordinary citizen could save in 3–4 years.
The girl felt suffocated: "But that's all I have. I can work for you in the future; I heard the Four Empire Alliance has a slavery system. I can be your slave."
She pleaded with Godra.
At this moment, other streetwalkers gathered around; the girl's voice had been too loud and caught their attention.
Godra coldly pushed the girl away: "Get lost!"
His body gradually covered in armor, and the other streetwalkers instantly ran away at this sight, while the girl he pushed away was too scared to move.
At this time, armor was so common that almost every citizen of the Federation could afford it. However, ordinary citizens' armor lacked combat capability; it only provided some assistance, like increasing strength by 10 or 100 times.
But Godra's armor was real; even the cheapest piece cost thousands of energy coins.
At this moment, a Lelella approached and helped the girl up, then said to Godra: "Young man, don't be so angry; she just wants to leave this place."
"Who doesn't want to leave the Federation and survive? It's only natural!"
Godra removed his armor and coldly looked at the Lelella in front of him. He wouldn't show any kindness; experience taught him that any kindness would ultimately lead to his own demise. He had seen too many explorers die because of it.
Then he heard the Lelella say to the girl: "Don't demean yourself like this; when you're well-fed and warm, you'll think of desires. But now no one feels well-fed; degrading yourself won't help at all; instead, you'll attract some bad people. At that time, if you have no money left, your life will be lost too."
"The Machine God is working hard to build ships; there will always be enough ships. It's still early; who knows?"
"Just wait at home; after a while, this star city will be chaotic."
The girl stared at the Lelella: "Really?"
"If that's the case, why don't you leave? You have enough money; your status is enough for the Machine God to send you away."
The girl knew the Lelella well. Godra re-evaluated this Lelella before him; he had some face blindness and simply couldn't recognize them.
"I don't want to leave; I'm a pillar here. If I leave, there will be no hope here."
"Although most have left, there are still some who remain. Perhaps they can't leave or don't want to leave. Anyway, I can stay here with them so they don't feel lonely."
Upon hearing her first words about leaving, Godra thought this Lelella must have some status but was definitely foolish.
He walked into a restaurant where he enjoyed eating spicy food with a slight stimulating sensation—said to be similar to eating chili peppers.
He ordered a bowl; before his food arrived, another Kater came in through the door.
Seeing him, they walked over and sat across from him.
"You must be that operator on the ship."
Upon hearing their voice, Godra recognized who it was.
Dugus Yami.
The only guy who returned from the Four Empire Alliance on the ship; he was good friends with the captain and returned only to transport those passengers on board. The Four Empire Alliance lacked something, so these passengers were highly sought after when they reached there.
Dugus Yami also ordered a bowl of spicy food.
"I really like this flavor; however, my reason for liking it is probably different from yours. You feel pain similar to spiciness while I eat this as if it's sweet."
Different races experience different sensations from certain foods.
Spicy food is considered a successful dish; reportedly five races in the Federation enjoy eating it.
"I saw what happened on the street earlier; you probably didn't know that person you faced was actually the governor of this star system."
Godra was stunned; he had thought that Lelella held high status but didn't expect it to be so high.
The governor currently managed a star system—how many truly lived in that star system in the Federation?
"I really didn't know, but he seems not to have any intention of leaving the Federation—he's quite stubborn."
This time it was Dugus Yami's turn not to speak. Silence continued until their meal ended.
When Godra left, Dugus Yami suddenly said: "Sometimes it's about following your heart. What is living for? What is living so long for?"
Then he smiled and expressed his apologies to Godra: "Sorry; old folks tend to say some nonsense."
They parted ways.
Fifteen days later, when counting supplies on board, the captain shouted: "Where did Dugus Yami go?"
Godra recalled what Dugus Yami had said and replied: "He probably won't come back."
Upon hearing this, the captain stopped looking for him because Dugus Yami was his friend and likely felt more strongly than Godra did.
"Prepare!"
"Are there really such fools?"
"Prepare!"
"We can't defeat Olive Branch civilization."
"Prepare!"
"It's meaningless! Escape is our only choice! What pillar? What loneliness? If you're dead yourself, why think so much?"
Another slap hit his head.
"I told you to prepare! Are you deaf?"
Hearing this voice made Godra look back in confusion—it was actually the first officer. He asked: "Where's the captain?"
The first officer replied: "He's probably resting now."
Godra pressed a blue button; the spaceship began to accelerate. He checked one last time through the ship's camera and saw the captain—not inside but outside…
He suddenly felt something slipping away inside him as an empty sensation invaded his entire body.
What did he lose?
He realized he hadn't lost anything!
But he truly felt like he had lost many things.
Godra thought he seemed… just a little… unwilling… to leave… what a joke!
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