It will be an expedition that spans two hundred years of time and space, and the opponent is the dead souls like them.

At this moment, they are destined not to see the outcome of this expedition, and no one will even remember the choices they made at the last second of their death.

But even so, the expedition was not meaningless.

As Dr. Wu said, they can't change what has happened.

But they were still able to decide what the descendants who uncovered the coffin board would see and discover from the black, cold box.

It will determine what kind of future they themselves will go to.

That's what it means.

Faced with their destined death, they made a completely different choice from the Twins -

And what they chose to leave behind was hope.

As for the future after that.

Someone will see it for them.

……

Zhao Tianhe was a career military officer who had neither a talent for oratories nor a persuasive eloquence.

He thought it would take him some time to convince his comrades to accept the facts and face death, but it turned out that he was underestimating them.

When they learned that they were dead or not far away, their reaction was unusually calm, not even as excited as they had been when they learned that the Twins had been sunk by their own hands.

"It's been like this for a long time."

"Haha...... I didn't expect Lao Tzu to be dead. ”

"But I didn't expect the Twins to fire at us before we even fired."

"What do you say, this may also be retribution haha."

"How can there be retribution first...... But I don't really feel any guilt anymore, I'm just glad that we did die together. ”

The bar on the lower deck is home to countless people who come here for their last drink.

According to Dr. Wu, no matter how much they drank, even if they drank and died here, everything would return to the same state when the time and space reset, and only the last memories remained.

"I still can't take ......"

Xiao Yong, who was holding his arms, stood at the door of the bar, looking at the people who were toasting and shaking their heads in incomprehension, but the colleague on the side hooked his shoulder, patted his arm with a smile and said.

"Want to open up, man, do you still want to take your regrets down there?"

Xiao Yong looked at him incomprehensibly, and what was even more incomprehensible was the open-mindedness on his face.

"I have no regrets about my death...... But I want to ask why don't we upload our own thoughts? ”

The colleague shrugged.

"It's too late, didn't you listen to the people of the fifth department? People who can't hear the explosion are dead, like you and me. ”

Xiao Yong's face was still unacceptable, and he tried to argue.

"Aren't there 227 people left? Enough of these people. ”

At this time, a drunken Wu Xinghuan walked over from the side of the bar.

He was carrying a bottle of whiskey in his hand, and it was the same as before.

But unlike last time, he is no longer decadent and depressed at this moment.

He discovered new physics.

And I saw it for myself.

In this respect, he could not have been more fortunate than the esteemed Mr. "Professor".

He has no regrets.

"Maybe, we don't even have to do it ourselves. Didn't that kid say that? 200 years later, the 'Celestials' have already made a replica of us using some kind of technology...... Even your good brother 'Luo Yi' is chasing and killing our children on this starship, including you and you...... Even me, which is of little use. ”

When he said this, Wu Xinghuan grinned and poured a sip of spicy and sweet wine.

"So here's the problem...... Are we really going to be another group of celestials? ”

"Or do you really have the confidence to do better for them when they're already doing a good job? As a 200-year-old antique. ”

Looking at the guy with a hippie smile, Xiao Yong was stunned, lowered his head and pondered for a long time, and suddenly laughed out loud.

"Hahahaha! Interesting! ”

Although I can't accept the thought that the universe will be full of ghosts flying around in spaceships and putting all kinds of messy prosthetics on my body, it is not a good thing to think about it from another angle.

The children of the future are more courageous and adventurous than they are, more confident and enterprising than they are, and have the ability to take charge of themselves.

They need 3,000 people and 10 departments to face the challenge, and the children of the future will only need two people.

If you think about it this way, it seems that there is really no need for them to stay away.

As before, Xiao Yong snatched the wine bottle from Wu Xinghuan's hand and poured it despite the latter's protests.

The difference was that this time he wiped his mouth and stuffed the empty bottle back into Dr. Wu's chest.

"Let's go! Have a drink! ”

He grinned and grabbed the Svenven guy on the shoulder and patted him on the arm hard.

"Don't get drunk!"

There is still a lot of stock in the bar.

They can even drink here for a year if they want to, and then go away when they have had their best to sober up.

They didn't, though.

The child from the future...... The child of all of them was lying on the treatment bed.

While they were indulging in their drinking, the child may have been suffering from darkness and helplessness.

Infirmary.

Lin Youyou, who was standing next to the intensive care unit, was staring intently at the girl from 200 years later who was lying on the bed.

Although she wanted to talk to her, it seemed that she couldn't wake up.

"We ...... Will it be the same as her? The young nurse whispered.

The thought of dying soon, that beautiful face was somewhat regretful and hesitant.

Lin Youyou didn't speak, and the medical director on the side nodded and said with a complicated expression.

"I guess so...... Luckily, it happened in an instant. If the explosion is not heard, it may end without even feeling any pain. ”

"Then I'll be relieved......" the beauty-loving little girl smiled suddenly, and said jokingly, "at least I can't see my disfigurement." ”

"Death......" The doctor on duty next to him sighed, pressed his index finger to the center of his eyebrows, "Anyway, they all have work to do in ten parts...... Isn't there anything we can do? ”

Everyone exchanged glances with each other, and Lin Youyou, who had not spoken, suddenly opened his mouth.

"There should be ......"

Seeing everyone looking at him, Lin Youyou closed his eyes and thought for a while, and then continued to speak.

"Is there any way to extend the shelf life of hemostatic gel beyond 200 years?"

The doctors looked at each other, and finally a slightly older doctor raised his hand.

"I heard that freezing can be ...... However, great care needs to be taken when thawing to prevent crystallization and precipitation. ”

This is quite unpopular knowledge.

After all, the vast majority of inventory will be disposed of and replaced with new ones before the expiration date.

He also learned about this knowledge point because he had studied related topics when he was a doctoral student.

Lin Youyou's eyes lit up, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Cryopreservation, isn't it? Is there a more specific way to do it about thawing? ”

The slightly older doctor said cautiously.

"I can teach you how to do it, it shouldn't be difficult for you, but the problem is that even if you memorize it, it doesn't mean much, right?"

"How so? As long as there is a way. I'll keep a record of how it works...... Before I take the last bite. ”

As he spoke, Lin Youyou looked at the girl who was lying unconscious on the treatment bed.

She lovingly reached out and gently stroked the few strands of hair that remained on her forehead.

That's supposed to be a beautiful face.

Even though the smooth skin had rotted, she could still see through the pure soul buried beneath the radioactive fallout.

“…… You will live. ”

"Your partner is a brave child...... And his bravery is not lost to any of us. ”

"I'm sure he'll be able to heal you, with the way I left it."

……

The final dinner lasted three days, and the rehearsals that followed lasted nearly half a month.

During this time of non-existence, everyone was clear about what they were going to do.

Whether it's the dead people.

Still alive.

Finally, when the time came, all the crew members tacitly returned to their respective positions.

That's where they were when they entered the hyperspace lane, and where they were when the neutron bomb exploded.

In addition to the fighters of the three space combat groups.

They have one last thing to do before they get back to their place.

That is to go back to the scene of the accident, put the dormant pod that does not exist in this time and space back into the landing craft, and re-close the overturned "box".

Two soldiers in power armor carried a coffin-like hibernation pod through the barrier.

Looking at the spaceship lying in the gym, Xiao Yong said with a grin.

"It's weird......"

Luo Yi asked.

"What's weird?"

Xiao Yong replied with a smile.

"We're all dead, but we're still on a mission with the 'living.'"

"Do you mean me, or the child 200 years from now?"

"It's all there."

Looking at his teammates walking in front, Luo Yi thought about it and gave an ambiguous answer.

"It was a bizarre experience, but I think if it happened, there must be a reason for it."

He is not a physicist, and it is difficult to give a rational explanation from physics.

Gotta say why.

Maybe it's because they all believe it.

In the face of despair, they all planted the seed of hope.

This in itself is not something difficult to explain.

The two carried the hibernation pod into the room and placed it back into the twisted landing craft.

Then they closed the hatch and left the room, removing the barrier outside the room...... It's like you've never been here.

After handing over the equipment in the duty room, Xiao Yong took a deep breath, exchanged a military salute with Sergeant Luo Yi, and then strode out of the door.

From the moment he returns to his room and closes the door, everything goes back to square one.

The stagnant time will continue to move forward.

Their bodies will decay in radioactive fallout, and their souls will travel to the battlefield 200 years from now.

It will be a ghost-to-ghost showdown.

By the hand of the living.

Regardless of the final victory, they will not leave their children alone to face the ghosts from the old times.

They will fight side by side.

On the bridge of the Orion missile cruiser, Zhao Tianhe, who was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, straightened the officer's hat on his head, and then set his eyes on the deep galaxy in front of him.

"I suddenly realized...... The stars outside seem to have stopped a long time ago. ”

Although the stars seen in the universe do not twinkle as frequently as they do in the atmosphere, they are not completely stationary and alternate between red and blue light.

Especially when their relative distance changes.

Also looking at the brilliant galaxy, Wu Mengke smiled softly.

"Actually, I found out before, and then I realized that it's not that they're still, it's that we're stopping......"

Zhao Tianhe smiled and said with squinted eyes.

"It seems that there are many things hidden in this universe that we don't know......"

Faintly, his eyes seemed to see that the frozen galaxy flickered again.

And it's not the same as ever.

It was a brilliant light he had never seen before.

"Looks like the time is almost up."

"Colonel."

Hearing a voice from the side, he turned his face slightly and looked away from the twinkling stars.

I saw that the old friend who had worked with him for many years was now putting his raised right hand on the edge of the brim of his hat.

Her expression was more solemn than ever.

"Thank you......"

"It's been a pleasure to work with you."

Looking at Wu Mengke, who looked solemn, and the people who were standing with her, Zhao Tianhe's face showed a relieved smile, and he raised his hand to salute in return.

"It's an honor to say it's me, and it's the greatest honor of my life to work with you."

"Thank you for your cooperation over the years."

"We'll see you in the cemetery."

……

In the silent universe, a shining light suddenly bloomed, but no one could see it.

The moment the Orion missile cruiser left the hyperspace passage, a raging neutron plume pierced through the impregnable armor, and the sound wave of the explosion spread through every cabin along the shattered steel.

Same as Dr. Wu said.

It happened in an instant, so fast that there was no time to react, more than 2,700 of the 3,000 crew members died, and only 227 survived.

And even the 227 people who survived were all hit hard without exception.

The high-energy neutron rays destroyed the cellular structures of various organs and tissues in their bodies, as well as the large molecular proteins that were free from cell to cell, but fortunately, the biomimetic prosthetic body in their body was only affected by the electromagnetic pulse, which briefly pulled them back from the ghost gate.

However, the crisis is not over.

The exploded neutron bomb not only killed and injured the crew of the Orion, but also severely damaged the Orion itself.

In the absence of rescue, there is not the slightest chance of them surviving or saving themselves.

Death is only a matter of time!

At the same time, the intelligent program carried on board the landing craft began to work.

Taking advantage of the chaos of the Orion missile cruiser, the shipboard AI of the landing craft mercilessly launched electronic warfare according to the preset program to fight for control of the Orion.

Under normal circumstances, the information security engineers and artificial intelligence experts of the 10th Department would never let it succeed.

However, the entire ten surviving engineers can now be counted on even one hand, and it is almost impossible to have the slightest chance of winning in the face of a prepared electronic warfare invasion.

The smart virus from the Twin will break through the Orion's firewall without any suspense, and by the time the survivors on the Orion come to their senses, it will be too late.

The intelligent program that carries the will of the entire crew of the Twin missile cruisers will take over the entire starship and use the latter's on-board servers to "borrow the dead" and continue the plan called "The End War".

The whole plan is perfect to seamless.

Even five light years away, the bullet had hit the target!

However, the flame of civilization has not been extinguished, but has bloomed like never before.

In the power room of the lower deck, the engineer who collapsed on the ground rubbed his elbows against the ground and crawled forward with difficulty.

Blood couldn't stop oozing from his mouth and nose, mixed with sticky blood clots on the alloy floor, and a shocking drag mark from the clothes on his chest.

His legs were out of order, and all he could move was two prosthetic arms.

But even so, he still endured the burning pain all over his body and crawled into the operation room of the power room.

The starship's fusion reactor was only a wall away from him, and the power was right in front of him.

Like a terrible ghost crawling out of the abyss, he was covered in blood, he used all his strength to prop up half of his body, stretched out his trembling right hand, sent the blood-stained key into the keyhole, twisted it hard, and opened the protective cover on the safety gate.

The guy who designed the Aerospace Force's Starship Operation Safety Manual probably didn't know that Article 27, which he wrote after repeated deliberations, had now accidentally saved the lives of everyone on Earth.

According to Article 27, at least two power engineers are required to be in the reactor to confirm the operation of the core before entering the hyperspace shipping lane, and to report to the first department at any time.

And he is the one who survived, and he is one of the 227 survivors!

The trigger is already in his hand, and he will fire the first shot of this Jedi counterattack!

"Lao Tzu's spaceship...... Want it? ”

He grinned, coughed up a mouthful of blood, and then exerted all the strength of his body and pressed down the grip of the knife in his hand.

With a soft sound of "hum-", the originally stable reactor was extinguished in an instant, and an overwhelming red alarm flashed throughout the power room.

Reactor shutdown.

The entire starship's power supply facilities were quickly switched to backup circuits and entered energy-saving mode.

In the energy-saving mode, the shipboard server that provides information services is the first facility to be shut down, and soon the entire starship will only be able to use the walkie-talkie with wired connection.

The guys on the Twins probably wouldn't have even thought that their old friends would have the trick of unplugging the power supply, and even the most awesome hackers would not be able to hack into the power-off server.

The engineer who had done this breathed a sigh of relief.

And as the tense nerves finally relaxed, his barely awake consciousness began to blur.

But it doesn't matter.

His mission has been accomplished.

Next, it depends on the remaining 226 brothers and their comrades-in-arms 200 years later-

They made an appointment.

As the gravity device powered out anyway, he felt his body float up from the floor, and the workbench and office chair floated along with him to a corner of the room.

Looking at the key floating from his fingertips, an unyielding smile turned into his bloody face.

"Want to ......"

"Then ...... From Lao Tzu's corpse...... Go get it! ”

Stomach aches.,I can't finish writing the second half.,Send it tomorrow ==.