Humanity is missing, luckily I have billions of clones.

Chapter 204 The prosperity comes to an end
Li Qingsong still devotes almost all of his energy to technological development.

Numerous large scientific facilities, countless large, medium and small laboratories, more than one billion clones and millions of blueprint scientists are working tirelessly and dare not rest for a single day.

Time slowly passed under such circumstances, and in the blink of an eye, more than six hundred years had passed.

Li Qingsong quietly crossed the vast distance of 50 light years during his voyage day after day.

At this stage, the distance between the fleet and the solar system has reached more than 80 light years. The apparent magnitude of the sun seen from here has dropped to about 7th.

The dimmest star that the human eye can see under ideal conditions has an apparent magnitude of about 6.5.

This means that the sun is no longer visible to the naked eye.

Li Qingsong looked towards the starry sky and saw the same sky filled with stars, but among those stars there was no trace of the sun.

"A thousand years have passed in the blink of an eye..."

Li Qingsong sighed softly.

Over the years, although we still cannot develop technology as recklessly as we do in the galaxy with abundant supplies, the fact that we carry so many extra supplies has ultimately supported a certain degree of technological progress.

After a thousand years of perseverance, Li Qingsong's technological level has made significant progress in all areas.

At the application level, whether it is the spacecraft hull, radar detection, electromagnetic gun components, thrusters, nuclear reactors, or even chemical engineering, metallurgy, casting, etc., almost all have achieved improvements compared to before the launch.

Li Qingsong had even gone so far as to update the blueprints of his various spacecraft through three generations within the simulator. It was estimated that the comprehensive performance of the latest generation of aerospace carriers could be improved by a full 10% compared to the current generation!

This is an improvement in overall performance, which is huge.

Unfortunately, this was just an estimate. Due to limited supplies, Li Qingsong had yet to build even a single new spacecraft.

At the basic theoretical level, Li Qingsong comprehensively integrated all past theories, accumulated a large amount of observational data on strong nuclear force, quark-gluon plasma, etc., and better incorporated strong nuclear force into the standard model framework.

There has also been great progress in condensed matter physics, quantum physics, mathematical principles, etc.

Improvements in biotechnology have also been enormous.

Based on the continuous iteration and improvement of Nuwa AI and the analysis of the whole genome map at the molecular level, Li Qingsong tried to use new technologies to create a batch of clones. Through generations of optimization and iteration, his current maximum number of consciousness connections has slowly increased to about 15 billion, achieving a full 50% increase!
The maximum number of consciousness connections of 15 billion means that he can almost awaken all 30 billion clones.

After all, taking into account the necessary rest and rotation time, almost twice the maximum number of consciousness connections would be enough to use, so it wouldn't be so extreme.

But due to limited supplies, Li Qingsong did not awaken the 10 billion clones, but instead kept 20 billion clones awake.

Overall, the technological progress over these millennia of voyages has been enormous. However, there's still some distance to go before we can truly unify the strong nuclear force and achieve a breakthrough to the strong nuclear level.

Now, a thousand years had passed, and even if they tried to save as much as possible, the supplies they had brought with them when they set sail had been almost used up.

It is necessary to choose a star system to dock and resupply.

Hundreds of years ago, Li Qingsong had already begun preparing for the fleet's docking and supply, and had begun selecting suitable star systems.

After determining the target, the fleet's course has been consciously adjusted over the past few hundred years, continuously moving closer to this star system.

At this moment, the fleet was only about 1.2 light-years away from its target, a stable, young, mature star about 35 billion years old, slightly smaller in mass and size than the Sun, burning steadily.

It has a large enough planetary system inside, but it is not as chaotic as the Altair Galaxy, making it a good place to dock and resupply.

Under Li Qingsong's command, the fleet headed towards the yellow-red star.

When the distance and direction were adjusted appropriately, Li Qingsong finally issued the first deceleration order in a thousand years.

At that moment, the main engines of tens of thousands of large spacecraft and aerospace carriers, dormant for millennia, simultaneously activated, launching a fierce jet toward the star. Driven by these countless engines, the weak decelerating gravity that had disappeared for millennia reappeared within the spacecraft.

After decades of slowing down, the huge fleet finally entered the interior of the star system.

Gazing at the bright star in the distance and the huge gas planet and multiple rocky planets in front of him, Li Qingsong did not feel excited about finally arriving in a star system with abundant resources. Instead, he felt full of disappointment.

Because Li Qingsong knew that no matter how much resources there were in this star system, they did not belong to him.

This time during the docking, he would not be able to carry out large-scale updates to the fleet, nor would he be able to apply the technology developed and accumulated over thousands of years to the fleet, nor would he be able to carry out large-scale scientific experiments here without regard to material losses.

All he could do was to complete the material collection and camouflage fleet construction as quickly as possible, and at most, upgrade the key components of the fleet, and then set sail again to escape from here.

Li Qingsong only planned the entire docking time for 30 years.

There was no other way. The Omnic Scourge could catch up here at any moment, and Li Qingsong didn't dare waste any more time.

Fortunately, his maximum number of consciousness connections has been increased to 15 billion. Otherwise, 30 years might not be enough.

“Let’s start building.”

Li Qingsong gave the order listlessly.

Although I feel disappointed, I dare not delay the construction work for a moment.

Under Li Qingsong's control, countless industrial spacecraft landed on rocky planets or satellites, and countless Jupiter aircraft entered the gaseous planets to collect deuterium. Under the control of Shengong AI, countless robots and intelligent machines began to work, and factories began to rise from the ground and roar day and night.

In just a few years, this strange and dead star system began to prosper, but it only lasted for more than twenty years before it quickly became deserted again.

The material collection work has been completed.

All tasks including fleet repairs, replacement of necessary components, creation of camouflaged empty shell fleets, and laying of hydrogen bomb traps in this star system have also been completed.

Well, it's time to go.

Just like travelers who stayed in a hotel for one night and then hurriedly set out on their journey at dawn, a total of six fleets sailed away in different directions again.

Looking at the stars that are gradually shrinking and dimming, the past 30 years have passed like a dream.

Li Qingsong gritted his teeth inwardly: "This time on a long voyage, we must overcome the theoretical barriers of basic physics and break through to become a strong nuclear civilization!"

(End of this chapter)