I handed over to another world

In the year 2036, the largest interstellar exploration fleet in human history, the Explorer and its escort formation, finally arrived at their destination - the outer edge of the White Ursa Cantilever.

Zhao Chenyang stood in front of the holographic projection table in the center of the bridge, gazing at the starry sky that no human had ever set foot on.

As the commander-in-chief of the Red Dragon Association's expedition, he is responsible for the lives of 45,000 fleet members and the expectations of the entire human civilization for this unknown star region.

"Reporting to the commander, we have successfully established an interstellar transmission device on the outer edge of the White Bear Arm."

Communications Officer Li Wei's voice came from behind, "The quantum communication link with Earth Headquarters has been established, with a delay of approximately 37 hours."

Zhao Chenyang nodded, without taking his eyes off the star map.

"Notify the scientific team to prepare to begin the first phase of exploration. I want to see the preliminary scan report within 48 hours."

"Yes!"

The "Explorer" they are on at this time is a miracle of human engineering - a twelve-kilometer-long super starship built in the solar system, equipped with the most advanced curvature drive engine and quantum computing array.

It is not only a mobile scientific research base, but also a city floating in space.

There are twelve frigates and eight scientific research ships on both sides of the ship. These starships are arranged like loyal guards, and together constitute the largest interstellar exploration fleet in human history.

The order given to them by the Red Dragon Society was not to require them to go far, but to find a second new home suitable for human habitation in the Milky Way. It would be great if they could discover truly intelligent creatures.

Science Director Erica Cho walked quickly into the bridge, her holo-tablet projecting a complex stream of data.

This woman was an external association member who joined the Red Dragon Association in the late interstellar era. With her own abilities, she became the flagship scientific director of the Explorer. This in itself proved that the Red Dragon Association's strategy of absorbing elite talents from around the world was actually implemented.

"Commander, we have just received a set of abnormal signals from a star system deep in the cantilever."

"Their signal patterns are...very specific."

Zhao Chenyang raised his eyebrows: "Special?"

"The regularity is too strong to be a natural phenomenon."

Erica called up a set of waveform graphs. "It repeats every 11.3 seconds and lasts for at least 72 hours. Our AI analysis shows that there is an 85% chance that it was emitted by a man-made structure."

"distance?"

Zhao Chenyang's voice was low and restrained.

"About 17 light years away, within the range of our exploration plan."

Erica's eyes sparkled with excitement. "If we adjust the course, we can get all the bridges to that location within three days."

Security Chief Lin Mo immediately objected: "Commander, there is a huge risk of deviating from the planned route in an unknown area! We are not even sure what the signal is."

Zhao Chenyang did not respond immediately. He called up the star map and saw that the star system that sent the signal was marked as "B-7421". It was a middle-aged G-type star surrounded by three gas giants and at least five rocky planets.

"Send out reconnaissance drones for preliminary exploration," he finally decided. "At the same time, keep the fleet at its current location and only send the Explorer and two frigates to investigate. The rest of the ships will stay at the transmission device."

Lin Mo wanted to say something else, but Zhao Chenyang raised his hand to stop him: "This is the core goal of the exploration mission, Director Lin. If there is really something there... we will have enough distance and time to evacuate safely."

Members of the fleet’s science team could barely contain their excitement, and in the lounge area, experts from different disciplines sat together to discuss the possibilities.

"The signal structure shows a highly complex modulation pattern," said Zhang Kai, a communications expert, as he presented the results of his analysis on the holographic table. "This is definitely not something that can be produced by a pulsar or any known astrophysical phenomenon."

Astrobiologist Marta Colson rubbed her hands excitedly: "If it is really intelligent life... we may be about to become the luckiest generation in human history!"

“Maybe we’ll be the most unlucky.” Anderson, the fleet’s chief engineer, poured cold water on him. “We’ve actually had contact with alien civilizations. They may be friendly, or they may see us as a threat, just like the Devourer and the Morning Star Community!”

"That's why the commander only brought the main battleships," Zhang Kai pointed out, "leaving the majority of the fleet as backup."

In the strategic conference room below the bridge, Zhao Chenyang was conducting the final mission briefing with the heads of various departments.

"We will stop at a distance of 0.5 light years from the target system and conduct an all-round scan," he said, pointing at the star map. "If it is confirmed to be safe, we will send an advance team into the interior on a fast reconnaissance ship. Under no circumstances are we allowed to approach the source of the signal rashly."

Lin Mo still frowned: "Commander, I strongly suggest that we at least wait for the response from the Earth headquarters before making a decision. Although the delay is a bit long, it is at least safe..."

"We have been given on-site decision-making authority, Director Lin."

Zhao Chenyang interrupted him calmly, "In deep space exploration, opportunities are often fleeting. President Chen from the association's headquarters sent us here because they trust our judgment."

After the meeting, only Erica was left.

Zhao Chenyang closed all external communication links in the conference room, obviously preparing to have some more private conversations.

"Honestly, what do you think of this signal?"

he asked directly.

Erica took a deep breath. "It's perfect. It's almost like... an invitation."

"The interval of 11.3 seconds is exactly a mathematical multiple of the frequency of the ground state hyperfine transition of the hydrogen atom. It's like someone deliberately chose the most basic constant in the universe as a business card. I think it would be difficult for any scientist to refuse this perfect invitation."

"Do you think this was emitted by intelligent life?"

"I don't know," Erica said honestly, "but if not, it would be a more shocking natural phenomenon than an alien civilization."

"Hopefully that's the first possibility."

Zhao Chenyang narrowed his eyes. He really couldn't imagine what was over there.

Five days later, the Explorer arrived at its designated location.

The entire fleet was put on high alert, all weapon systems online but silent, shields running at minimum power to avoid appearing aggressive.

"Full-band scan completed, Commander."

The sensor supervisor reported, "Anomalous energy readings detected in orbit of the third planet in the B-7421 system. There appears to be some large structure there...

The main screen showed an enhanced image - a perfect ring outline was faintly visible against the starlight.

"enlarge."

Zhao Chenyang gave the order decisively.

The image gradually became clear. It was a huge ring-shaped structure with an estimated diameter of hundreds of kilometers. It was suspended in the planet's orbit and did not match any known natural celestial body.

"Oh my God..." Erica exclaimed softly, "This is definitely man-made."

There was silence on the bridge, and everyone was shocked by this discovery. The human dream of finding evidence of extraterrestrial civilization may have come true at this moment.

"Prepare the advance team," Zhao Chenyang broke the silence. "I want the best team, equipped with a full set of scientific research equipment and safety protection. The two frigates should remain on combat alert and report any abnormalities immediately."

Lin Mo tried to dissuade him for the last time: "Commander, at least let us launch more probes first..."

"We have observed from a distance long enough, Director Lin."

Zhao Chenyang said firmly, "Some answers must be found in person."

The advance team consisted of fifteen members, including top scientists and special operations personnel such as Erica, and they headed towards the mysterious ring structure on a high-speed reconnaissance ship.

The flagship's captain, Zhao Chenyang, watched them leave from the bridge, feeling both anticipation and uneasiness.

"The reconnaissance ship has set off and is expected to arrive at the target in 4 hours."

The communications officer quickly reported to Zhao Chenyang.

Captain Zhao Chenyang also nodded: "Maintain a real-time communication link. I need to know every detail they see."

The first three hours were uneventful.

The data sent back by the reconnaissance ship "Swift Shadow" showed that the ring-shaped structure was much larger than imagined - preliminary estimates showed that the diameter was close to 800 kilometers, the material was unknown, the surface was as smooth as a mirror, and there were no visible seams or entrances and exits.

"We have detected a faint gravitational anomaly," Erica's voice came through quantum communication, "This structure seems to generate its own gravitational field, independent of nearby planets..."

Suddenly, the communication was interrupted.

"Swift Shadow? Swift Shadow, please answer!"

The communications officer called urgently, but only static responded.

Almost immediately, sensor alarms rang throughout the bridge.

"Commander! Large-scale energy fluctuations detected! The source is... that ring structure!"

On the main screen, the giant, stationary ring began to glow, radiating blue energy waves from the inner edge outward.

Even more shocking is that it is slowly spinning and gradually speeding up.

"Recall the Swift Shadow immediately!" Zhao Chenyang ordered, "All ships enter combat mode, shields at full power!"

But it was too late - a dazzling beam of light shot out from the center of the ring structure, not towards the fleet, but towards a point in the void.

That point began to twist and expand, forming a vortex-shaped hole.

"Space tear!" the science officer exclaimed, "They're opening some kind of wormhole!"

Worse, sensors showed objects pouring out of the wormhole—dozens of unknown signals, moving quickly, heading straight for the fleet.

"Invisible spaceship!" Lin Mo shouted, "We were ambushed!"

Zhao Chenyang understood everything in an instant.

The signal did come from the ring structure, and the whole scene was an elaborate trap.

Some intelligent life - or something - had lured them here.

"All-ship combat alert! Activate defense protocol Omega! Send a distress signal to the remaining fleet!"

He roared, "Prepare for battle!"

But the first wave of enemy attacks has arrived.

Three stealth ships suddenly appeared around the Explorer and fired some kind of energy weapon that penetrated the starship's shield.

The entire ship shook violently, lights flickered, and multiple systems began to fail.

"Shields down! Engines damaged!" the engineer yelled. "They're using some technology we don't understand!"

Zhao Chenyang grabbed the command console to steady himself, watching more and more red dots pouring out of the wormhole on the main screen.

He remembered the advice given by Chen Lin, the president of the Red Dragon Association, before he left: "The greatest danger in the universe often comes from what we don't know we don't know."

Now, the meaning of this sentence has become extremely clear - humanity’s first true interstellar contact may become a catastrophic encounter.

"Prepare for emergency jump," he ordered the navigation officer, "calculate the shortest route back to the transporter."

"Commander, our engine is damaged. It will take at least 20 minutes to repair it before we can safely jump!"

Zhao Chenyang looked at the tactical screen - the enemy was surrounding them, and the "Swift Shadow" was still out of contact.

The lives of 45,000 fleet members now depend on his decision.

"Then buy me 20 minutes." He said calmly, "Fight the enemy head-on!"

Everyone on the bridge turned to look at him. Zhao Chenyang had already realized that if the evacuation jump was activated, not only would the personnel who went out not be brought back, but his flagship and the entire fleet might also suffer huge losses. Therefore, the best option at the moment was to confront the enemy head-on.

As soon as Captain Zhao Chenyang's order was given, the entire fleet immediately took action.

The Explorer itself is an exploration vessel built to the highest standards of the Red Dragon Association. It has been the most advanced and powerful ship in the entire Red Dragon Association since before it was designed. Any one of the various armed systems installed on it is enough to shock other associations on Earth.

"Level 4 protection activated!"

Along with a slight humming sound like a fusion device being activated, the outside of the entire explorer fleet was instantly covered by an invisible energy. The Explorer and the surrounding ships were instantly wrapped up by a special force field, and the previous attack disappeared without a trace in an instant.

"Enable attack stance, target location and send!"

With the official start of the weapon control device, the Explorer immediately revealed its unique ferocious posture - before setting off from the solar system, Zhao Chenyang was very clear that the Explorer ship actually had the ability to directly destroy a planet, but it would not be activated casually unless it reached the limit.

In addition, this was the first time for the association to enter space in the true sense, and many things were still in the exploratory stage, so many weapons and equipment did not even have the chance to be used.

But now is obviously the best time to test!

Following Zhao Chenyang's order, the Explorer's weapons control console locked onto all the attacking spacecraft in a few seconds - even if these spacecraft only had a few seconds to become visible!

"Kill them!"

Zhao Chenyang spoke coldly, and everyone only saw an unknown number of rays suddenly shooting out. The deep purple light instantly covered everyone's vision, and an explosion followed! (End of this chapter)