章 86: Chapter 86: The SC-19 Civilization Graveyard
"Data collection for the upcoming star system is complete."
"Name: SC-19, a white dwarf star. No transits have been observed, and there are no planets in the system. However, a massive asteroid belt has been discovered, estimated to have a total mass exceeding 23 Earth masses."
As Ella reported, Yan Xia was reminded of the debris disk around Tian Cang Wu.
The debris disk around SC-19 was even more extensive, containing countless asteroids, too numerous to count.
"According to the original plan, we will explore the interior of the star system and observe if there are any valuable resources with great development potential."
Ella, dressed in a sleek black liquid metal military armor, took notes on a tablet, nodding seriously.
"Understood, sir."
"Initial observations indicate that the star system is rich in metals, 25 times more abundant than Tian Cang Wu. It holds great development potential."
"The actual situation will need to be confirmed by venturing into the star system. However, I recommend sending out more soldiers and preparing for the possibility of leaving some of them there."
"We are approaching the midpoint of our journey. If possible, we should consider constructing a star fortress here and redefining the interstellar boundaries of the Galactic Federation."
Since Ella had made this recommendation, there was a high probability that her assessment was accurate.
Yan Xia nodded in agreement. "Then let's proceed as you suggested."
"I heard that the Simulation Universe 1.0 has been completed in the capital star system of the Galactic Federation and is now open to elite scholars from various fields. Some have proposed enhancements to the existing design, modifying the structure of the propulsion system to increase energy efficiency, resulting in a 20% boost in battleship speed."
"If we have access to metal resources, we can collect some to upgrade our current fleet."
As the Galactic Federation advanced, Yan Xia's fleet had to keep up.
Even if they stayed in one star system for 100 years to complete the modifications, the subsequent journey would still be several times faster.
In recent years, the Galactic Federation had hit a bottleneck in propulsion technology. The speed of their current giant battleships remained around 21,000 km/s.
This 20% increase in speed was significant, leading Yan Xia to believe that the Simulation Universe project must continue.
Currently, Ella's host only utilized 1% of the energy from the Dyson Cloud around Tian Cang Wu, but they planned to increase this gradually, aiming for 10%, 50%, or even 100%. This would enable Ella to control the energy of an entire star, allowing her to create an even larger Simulation Universe.
However, the energy from a yellow dwarf star was limited, and the Galactic Federation was already considering Sirius as the next energy candidate.
Sirius was a blue dwarf star, larger and brighter than a yellow dwarf, emitting 31 times more energy than Tian Cang Wu. The Galactic Federation's primary engineering projects were now concentrated around Sirius, aiming to harness its energy fully. Once achieved, Sirius alone would propel the Galactic Federation to Energy Level 2.2.
Four years later, the fleet reached the outskirts of the SC-19 star system.
The reconnaissance ship ahead sent back a set of images.
It was a metal plate, roughly the size of a car, twisted and with signs of melting.
"A civilization?"
Yan Xia became alert. Could there be a civilization in SC-19?
This shouldn't be possible, as continuous observations over the past four years had confirmed that the largest planet in the system was a dwarf planet, slightly larger than Pluto.
Ella appeared on the screen and said, "This metal plate is made of a high-strength alloy, suitable for constructing spaceship hulls."
"It's estimated that this civilization has reached Level 1 and is not weaker than the previous 'Eye Civilization'."
The fleet halted at the edge of SC-19, and the reconnaissance ship ventured into the system for exploration. More debris was discovered, and it wasn't scattered; it was in massive quantities.
Within just one month, over 100,000 tons of debris were found, and this was only in a small area.
Seeing the debris, Yan Xia envisioned a scene of a spaceship exploding.
What had happened here in the past?
"Yan Xia, we've found a core component, a nuclear fusion device."
The massive nuclear fusion device brought Yan Xia back to the awe he felt thousands of years ago when he first witnessed controlled nuclear fusion.
"Have these been analyzed? How long ago were they left here?"
Although metals in space don't oxidize, their atomic nuclei undergo radioactive decay. The half-life of stable elements is typically in the billions of years. By estimating the initial state of high-temperature fusion and then calculating the half-life, the time of creation can be determined more accurately.
"Approximately 107,000 years ago," Ella replied confidently.
Over 100,000 years ago, humans were still in the Stone Age.
"It seems a war took place here."
A battlefield in space.
Yan Xia had initially thought it was just that.
However, subsequent discoveries shocked him and the other soldiers and officers on the ship.
There were too many!
After releasing the unmanned fighters throughout the star system, the rate of discovering ship wreckage increased several times over, and the quantity found skyrocketed.
From the initial 100,000 tons, it surged to 10 billion tons, and this was just the beginning. Larger pieces of wreckage were found, some dozens or even hundreds of meters in size, mixed within the asteroid belt, becoming a part of it.
After nearly two years of exploration in one-tenth of the SC-19 system, the total weight of the wreckage reached 30 billion tons. If other regions had similar wreckage, the total weight would exceed 300 billion tons.
This was the amount of resources possessed by a Level 1.2 to 1.3 civilization.
It wasn't just ship wreckage; they also found remnants of buildings in the asteroid belt. These buildings were not constructed in space but on the surface of planets, using local rocks and soil as the foundation.
"Based on the analysis of the numerous asteroids in the belt, the final conclusion is that these asteroids originated from three planets of different sizes."
This wasn't a chance encounter between two interstellar civilizations.
It was a case of a higher civilization annihilating a lower one.
To completely destroy planets of such mass required a civilization close to or already at Level 2.
Yan Xia had never witnessed the power of a planet-destroying weapon, but he had once been involved in a passive planet-destroying project, which led to the destruction of Proxima Centauri b.
This was a vast graveyard of civilizations.
It was the most common and cruelest way for a civilization to be destroyed in the universe.
"Who could it be?"
Yan Xia had a question on his mind.
The closest Level 2 civilization to this region was the newly advanced "Galactic Federation," which had only achieved Level 2 status a few thousand years ago. There was also the "Purple Thorn Civilization," which the Galactic Federation had subjugated, and the "Olive Branch Civilization."
It was unlikely to be a passing civilization, as a typical Level 2 civilization wouldn't wander through space. The energy consumption of a Level 2 civilization couldn't be sustained by interstellar travel.
Yan Xia fell into deep thought.
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