Star Iron, building an empire starting with game development

Chapter 164 First Day in Office

Unknown star system

"Whoosh!" A spaceship broke free of warp drive and arrived here.

"Announcement to all ships: Captain, we have reached the coordinates for the tenth jump, but we have encountered some trouble."

"Huh? This is the tenth time already?" Xing got up and went out of the officer's single room.

…………

Bridge of the Glory of the Sun

"What kind of problem? Also, how much time has passed?" In less than five minutes, Xing walked into the bridge.

"Three hours, Captain," the operator reported.

“Three hours? Okay, tell me the current situation.” Xing paused for a moment before saying.

"Our ship is currently within one light-year of a supermassive black hole, and there is a massive cosmic storm one light-minute directly ahead," the communications officer reported.

"According to the detection, the storm is a thousand light-years wide, its depth is too great to be detected, and the jump coordinates cannot be located due to the storm," the technician reported.

"Can this ship pass through this storm cloud?" Xing asked after thinking about the technology tree of humanity in this world.

"If we force our way in, there's a low probability our system will be damaged, with a loss of about 0.005%, but that's based on the most basic and common level one cosmic storm," the technician reported.

"However, the depth of the storm ahead of our ship is undetectable, and the energy level of the storm is even higher, so the damage cannot be calculated. The most likely scenario is that the entire ship will suffer losses exceeding 10%!"

"Let me see... Deploy all shields and defensive energy fields. Charge straight in, otherwise we might not be able to reach our destination on time." Xing picked up the captain's manual from the captain's seat, flipped through it a few times, and issued the order.

"Yes, Captain!" The operators began to move.

"Also, let's see if we can use the accretion disk of that black hole a light-year away to accelerate this ship." Xing suddenly thought of a way to escape from a trapped point using a black hole in a movie.

"Yes, Captain." The operators began to calculate.

"It seems the technology of the humans in this world is quite advanced," Xing muttered.

"Humans have been away from their home planet for tens of thousands of years, and have fought against various interstellar civilizations and insectoid races for tens of thousands of years. How could they possibly control one-tenth of the observable universe without some strength?" the system said.

"Indeed~ Enough said, let's see if this starship can get through that cosmic storm," Xing said.

"A massive storm cloud stretching a thousand light-years and exceeding one hundred thousand light-years in depth, classified as a level eleven gale according to the human classification of this world," the system suddenly announced.

"Are cosmic storms really that big? I feel like I'm experiencing a raging storm on a planet," Xing exclaimed, startled.

"Anything is possible in the universe," the system replied.

"Okay, I got it." Xing reached out and pressed a button on the seat, and the seatbelt automatically extended and secured her.

"Lieutenant, just in case, notify the entire ship to prepare for an impact," Xing issued the order.

"Yes, Captain," the adjutant replied, then began broadcasting to the entire ship.

“Now, let me see what the capabilities of this Empire’s newest and most advanced exploration cruiser are like,” Xing said in a low voice.

…………

Unknown star system

"Zzz~ Boom~~" A flash of light of unknown meaning suddenly appeared in outer space.

"Whoosh—!" After a flash, a starship billowing smoke detached from the jump sphere and entered the star system.

"Our ship has successfully completed its emergency jump and we have successfully passed through a Category 11 storm!" the communications officer reported loudly.

"Report the current status of this ship." On the bridge, Constellation asked from the captain's position.

"Starship shield energy loss 5%, starship system loss 1%! The intensity of the target cosmic storm zone is much stronger than expected, approaching the highest level," the communications officer reported.

"I understand, continue the mission. By the way, where are we now?" Xing asked.

"Still within the Empire," the adjutant replied after glancing at the tablet in his hand.

"Report to headquarters about the cosmic storm we just encountered, in case any ordinary spaceships accidentally wander in," Xing suddenly said.

"Yes, Captain." The adjutant turned and walked toward the communications officer to give instructions.

"How far are we from the target star system?" Xing asked.

"According to the markings on the Imperial map, this ship will be able to reach a new, unexplored star system after five more jumps," an operator reported.

"The route remains unchanged, continue forward," Xing gave the order.

"Beep—! Beep—!..." The starship's alarm suddenly sounded, and the bridge quickly switched to combat mode due to the alarm.

"What's going on?" Xing asked the adjutant.

"Report! Radar has detected a high-level Zerg biosignal within 100 light-years. Signal source comparison with database... Comparison complete! It's the Isamara Zerg!" the communications officer reported loudly.

“Hai Si…” Xing muttered.

"How many of them are there?" the adjutant asked.

"The swarm is enormous; our ship will be facing an army-sized Zerg force," the communications officer reported.

"This is troublesome..." the adjutant frowned.

"Chief, is there any way to take a detour, or to perform a long-distance jump to escape the Zerg army?" Xing picked up the communicator and asked the engine department.

"It's possible, but a long-distance jump would completely obscure the coordinates of the destination, and we wouldn't know what would appear at the destination's coordinates," the Minister of the Department responded.

"Communications officer, send the information about the Zerg discovery to the rear. As for this ship, immediately initiate a long-range warp to escape the Zerg swarm. We must reach our destination within the specified time," Star issued the order.

"Yes! Captain."

“Right now, we’d better pray that the swarm hasn’t detected our presence, so we can slip away quickly without having to face an army-sized Zerg force,” Xing said.

…………

Ninety light-years away from the starship Sun of Glory, a massive Zerg fleet is advancing, turning every planet it passes into a dead star. Asteroid belts are also torn apart and their minerals are rapidly extracted and drained, leaving virtually nothing to grow...

…………

Within the Empire - 350 light years away

Imperial Frontier Fortress Star System - Main Star

"Report! The exploration cruiser Glory of the Sun has sent an urgent notification: an army-sized Isamara Zerg force is moving within the Star Empire. According to Glory of the Sun and the Zerg's speed of advance, they will arrive in the Ancesrowan star system in one week," the officer reported.