Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

Dawn Star One City Dock No. 3.

The spherical Poseidon exploration vessel sat quietly in its designated spot, awaiting orders from the Academy of Sciences.

At the very front of the exploration vessel are two small windows.

Two figures can be vaguely seen through the window.

The cramped cockpit was equipped with a large number of sophisticated instruments and equipment, so the two men didn't have much room to move around.

At this moment, as takeoff approached, the two men sat solemnly in their chairs, their eyes fixed on the small window in front of them.

Outside the window is the familiar No. 1 city port.

Perhaps because the two were about to embark on a journey to an unknown region that no human had ever set foot in, the atmosphere in the cockpit was extremely serious.

Hope subconsciously tugged at her collar, took a deep breath, and relieved some of the pressure in her heart.

But it was clear from his expression that the pressure he felt hadn't lessened much.

"Hope".

Hansent's voice broke the deathly silence in the cockpit.

Hope's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and he replied in a hoarse voice, "What?"

"...Do you regret it?"

Hope paused slightly, but then shook her head without hesitation: "No regrets. At least, I am now a member of the Human Union Academy of Sciences."

Hansent chuckled softly but said nothing.

"And you?" Hope asked in return after a moment of silence.

"Me?" Hansent murmured in a low voice, "Do you want the truth or a lie?"

"..." Hope didn't speak, but turned her head and quietly looked at Hansent beside her.

"To be honest, I did have some regrets when I sat in this cockpit." Hansent took a deep breath. "However, the thought that I might be the first human in history to land on an ice giant made me feel better."

"When I get back, I can proudly tell that old bastard Walter, 'I'm a guy who's been inside the Ice Giant!'"

"Want to know what it's like inside an Ice Giant?!"

As he spoke, Hansent laughed and made an exaggerated expression: "I can even imagine the look on that conservative kid's face."

Hope briefly imagined the scene in her mind and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The tense atmosphere in the cockpit dissipated considerably at that moment.

"On another note..."

Hope's expression relaxed slightly: "Do you think Professor Lü will be in charge this time?"

Hansent was silent for a moment, then shook his head somewhat helplessly.

"Probably not."

"After all that incident..."

Hope sighed with some regret: "What a pity..."

Although the takeoff process itself wasn't particularly difficult, Hope felt a little uneasy because he couldn't hear Lü Yongchang's voice.

"What's there to regret?" Hansent shrugged and adjusted his chair. "Based on the timeline, Professor Lü should have just completed his human enhancement."

"When we arrive at our destination..."

"Hey, Poseidon, can you hear me?"

Before Hansent could finish speaking, a familiar voice came through the radio channel.

Hope's dim eyes suddenly lit up.

"Professor Lü?!"

"You, what brings you here?"

"What's wrong?" Lü Yongchang seemed to be in a good mood, replying with a smile, "Can't I come?"

"No, no, no, what I mean is..." Hope's face flushed slightly as she explained, "Didn't you just complete the enhancement program?"

"How does this conflict with my command?" Lü Yongchang asked with a smile.

"No...nothing?" Hope murmured, looking bewildered, as if questioning the meaning of life.

As far as I remember, he had difficulty even walking when he first woke up, right?

Why did things change when it came to Professor Lü?

"Alright, enough with the nonsense."

"Enter the deep-sea compartment."

Lü Yongchang didn't dwell on the topic for long. He clapped his hands and said with great enthusiasm, "Ready to set off!"

"The first in-depth exploration of ice giants by humankind has begun!"

……

[Calling Command Center, this is Poseidon]

[Our side has successfully entered synchronous orbit]

The exploration vessel is in good condition, and the pilot is in good condition.

[Route has been set]

[Preparing to enter hibernation]

【…】

To conserve resources as much as possible, Hope and Hansent entered hibernation after entering Dawn Star's synchronous orbit.

……

Beyond the Dawn Star.

A small, spherical starship traced a graceful arc, using the gravitational slingshot effect of Dawn Star to accelerate toward its target planet.

The Gliese 555 star system is not large, so the distance between the two planets is not far.

Propelled by the latest Hall thrusters, Poseidon rapidly closed the distance to the ice giant.

In just a few days, Poseidon arrived near its destination.

Lines of faint text flashed across the holographic projection above the console.

[Approaching the preset location]

[Deceleration complete]

[Successfully entered into a relationship]

[Awakening the driver...]

Inside the cockpit, the indicator lights for the two deep-sea submersibles quickly lit up.

The pale yellow deep-sea fluid inside rapidly decreased.

The hatch opened.

Hope suddenly opened her eyes.

"Cough! Cough cough!"

He coughed violently as he crawled out of the deep-sea compartment.

Because he had just emerged from hibernation, his body was still somewhat stiff.

He first glanced at the hibernation pod beside him, and seeing that Hansent had already opened his eyes, he put on his electromagnetic boots with peace of mind and staggered toward the driver's seat.

"Click".

A crisp sound rang out, and the electromagnetic adsorption device on the seat took effect.

He coughed as he pressed several buttons on the holographic projection.

When he saw the indicator light on the side light up, Hope, despite the discomfort in his lungs, loudly reported to his supervisor:

"Calling command center, cough cough, this is the Poseidon exploration vessel, please respond, cough cough!"

"We have arrived at our destination. Repeat, we have arrived at our destination."

"I've exited the capsule and I feel great!"

"Click".

Beside me, I heard the sound of an electromagnetic adsorption device.

"Ahem, so this is an ice giant?"

Hansent coughed as he looked up at the blue planet through the small porthole in front of him.

"That's... truly spectacular..."

Looking at the reddish-brown "ribbons" that slowly moved across the surface of the ice giant, Hansent expressed his feelings.

"Is it spectacular?"

Hope shrugged. "Hopefully you'll say the same thing when we go in."

Before Hansent could speak, the indicator light on the long-range communication device lit up.

"This is the command center."

"Prepare to initiate landing procedures."

Lu Yongchang's gentle voice came from the speaker.

"Be careful, you two."