Chapter 332: Dimensional Erosion

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

[This ship has entered a Level 3 combat readiness state. Citizens, please abide by the Wartime Alert Act and do not go out unless necessary.]

[The material distribution method will be changed from self-collection from the distribution point to direct delivery. Please take note to check and receive it within the specified time.]

[…]

Following the news from the border outpost, the entire Lightchaser Civilization entered a state of war. As the Dawn Song Homeship was the center of civilization, this place was the least affected and was only in a Level 3 combat readiness state.

Although martial law had already begun, it was still much more stable than the frontline defense supply fleet.

The Solar Engineer walked along the main road in a hurry. Occasionally, the guards passing by would see him, but they seemed to have greeted him in advance and turned a blind eye to him still on the street.

It was not that the Solar Engineer had done anything to bribe him. It was just that his profession was special, especially in wartime.

All the life-support facilities in the Homeship were the most important to maintain at this time. In the past, the engineers who could still have a leisure leave were basically in the company of stimulants now. It was basically normal for them to work day and night.

The artificial sun that the Solar Engineer was responsible for was not a high priority. Even if it was deactivated for a short period of time, it would not affect the ecology of the Homeship. However, this was still one of the “life support” parts of the spaceship. Therefore, he became privileged personnel during wartime.

Now that the chip in his body had been marked as a mobile signal source, all the security officers would know what he did for a living. That was how he was able to pass through the streets unimpeded.

Although there was no privacy, this was the ecosystem here.

After turning countless corners and passing through several subdistricts such as the Plaza Area, the Distribution Area, and the Labor Reform Area, he arrived at his workplace.

—it was a tower.

This was the place in charge of the entire spaceship’s life support system. Other than him, there were many other staff members here. These were all engineers who had gathered here because of wartime security.

However, Level 3 combat readiness was not that strict. In their spare time, these engineers could say a few words. Many people noticed the arrival of the Solar Engineer and greeted him.

After responding one by one, the Solar Engineer noticed that some unfamiliar engineers seemed to have appeared in this place. They seemed to be new recruits from the government.

Out of curiosity, he learned the identities of those people from his fellow engineers.

“They… They are the maintenance engineers of a Level 1 Confidential Building. We don’t know what that kind of building is, but it’s most likely related to our improved treatment. It’s very likely an unknown energy-producing building.”

“But it’s not that I want to say this, but those engineers are too free… I’ve worked here for so long, but I’ve never seen them move. They gather here all day long and even smile at us… Could they be real privileged people?”

His companion’s words made the Solar Engineer understand that these people were probably the real privileged people.

After all, they were not machines or Gestalt consciousnesses, and their quality was not that high. Even if this was a planned society, there were indeed privileged people.

There would always be some positions that were relatively easy and qualified. Those who could be parachuted here were privileged people.

However, this was all they could do. Although they had privileges, it was impossible for them to be assigned to such a position if their basic abilities were insufficient.

Among the more leisurely engineers, the Solar Engineer recognized one who had published papers in scientific journals and the other who had won scholarships many times at public universities. He was capable.

Their special privilege was just that the work they did was a little easier. Perhaps even these engineers themselves did not know what their specific work was.

Therefore, the Solar Engineer shook his head and entered the tower, which was controlled by the artificial sun.

There were several Solar Engineers, but he was the only one who came today. There were no problems with the artificial sun’s various data, but he had to stay at his post until the combat readiness was lifted.

A few weeks passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, the engineers had already rotated several times. However, not only did their combat readiness not deactivate, but they were also promoted from Level 3 to Level 2. This made the Solar Engineers a little uneasy.

There was only beauty in the channel through which he could obtain information. It was as if the world was still peaceful and prosperous. However, the upgraded combat readiness indicated that the situation was not optimistic.

As if to confirm his premonition, he, or the Solar Engineers, received a confidential mission from the government.

[Citizen Sequence: SE-086713392, please proceed to the Control Tower.]

This was a notification sent directly to the chip in his body. He arrived at his destination with uneasiness, only to find that the people who came seemed to be Solar Engineers like him.

The military personnel did not explain much. They brought them onto the departure spaceship and only told them the purpose of their trip halfway through the journey.

“I think everyone can more or less feel that we have actually started a war with the enemy a long time ago. Now is indeed the time when we have no choice but to need you to serve the civilization.”

“All of you are the defenders of artificial suns and irreplaceable experts in this field. This time, your mission is to restart the sun that has left the group.”

After that, they saw their mission target—a spaceship covered by a large number of strange plants. From the looks of it, it seemed to be their other Homeship.

“This is…”

“Yes. This is the Dawn Star Homeship. We find it difficult to understand why we would be attacked even in our hinterland. We understand that this matter is vital to our battle situation.”

“Currently, the only thing we know is that the last announcement from the Dawn Star is to restart the sun.”

“Don’t worry, the Special Operations Forces will be operating with you. They will ensure your safety on the Dawn Star.”

The Solar Engineers looked at each other, but they could not say anything to resist. They could only follow the team and log in to the Dawn Star.

At this moment, Li Wenyuan, who was five million light-years away, gradually realized something.

There was no longer any information related to the Firechaser in the Lightchaser Archives, but the information that the Lightchaser Leader had synchronized with him because the war never stopped.

He also observed the behavioral logic of the Firechaser, as well as the state of the individuals in their race. Then, he recalled the Ether Dragons.

According to the narration of humans and the Ether Dragons, the Ether Dragons were gradually declining because they were not used to the rules of the universe. Their former intelligence was gone, and they had become killing machines.

In the Lightchaser’s records, it was also mentioned that the Firechaser was not in a crazy state where they killed anyone they saw. They still maintained their civilized rationality.

Although the Lightchaser believed that the Firechaser had lost his intelligence after being infected by a virus in a certain war, Li Wenyuan knew that perhaps what happened to the Firechaser was similar to the Ether Dragons.

This civilization from the last cosmic era seemed to have been corroded by the current universe and was no longer adapted to the environment here..