The system handed me over to the state.

Bronya was curious as to why Heloise was on that satellite. At least a few days ago, Heloise hadn't explained this to them, so Bronya wanted to ask again.

Heloise scratched her head in annoyance. "Hmm... I don't know, I forgot!"

"Huh? How could I forget that?"

"Because I've been inside for a very, very long time! I don't remember exactly how long, maybe over a thousand years!"

Bronya and Blackie stared blankly. Thousands of years? Wait! Can this satellite withstand thousands of years?

"It's unlikely. The satellite itself couldn't possibly withstand thousands of years of operation. And even if it could, regular maintenance and inspections would be essential, and its existence would definitely be discovered by then."

"Impossible! If I don't want to be discovered, no one can find me."

After saying that, Heloise vanished into thin air in front of Bronya and Blackie. No matter what methods Blackie and Bronya used, they couldn't find her. Finally, Heloise reappeared in front of them out of thin air, still holding Blackie's lollipop. "Hmph! See? No one can find me unless I want to!"

How did you do that?

"This is a power unique to the true god! I call it a special ability that others cannot see as long as I don't want them to see it!"

Well, it seems that Heloise does possess some rather unique abilities, but it's not a big problem. This ability probably won't be of much use in the future anyway.

The two, who hadn't paid much attention to the matter, had no idea that Heloise's ability would become one of their biggest headaches in the future.

Furthermore, they clearly realized one thing: it is impossible to make a goddess of life have a certain degree of self-control unless you are a true god exactly like her. Otherwise, you should never think about limiting her abilities in this lifetime.

Of course, neither of them knows about this yet.

Heloise focused her attention on the candy she was holding, while Bronya and Seele chatted idly. After a while, Seele finished her own business and came to the bridge. The three of them looked out at the starry sky and talked.

.......

The next morning, Bronya got up early. While Black Seele and Seele were still sleeping, she got up early, washed up, and quietly left the room.

Upon arriving at the ship's mess hall, breakfast was already prepared. Following their usual practice, they swiped their cards to purchase breakfast, only to be surprised to see Heloise sitting at the food counter, munching on a white steamed bun.

"Um... Heloise, what are you doing here?"

"Hmm! Hello there, Bronya!"

Upon hearing the voice, Heloise immediately waved to Bronya. Bronya paused for a moment, then pulled aside the soldier on duty in the nearby canteen and asked, "What's going on with her?"

The soldier scratched his head. "When we were cooking this morning, she suddenly appeared in our mess hall and asked us what we were making. She wanted to try it."

"The captain's orders were that as long as it wasn't an excessive violation of discipline, we could answer her questions or act accordingly. So we gave her one of the steamed buns we had reserved for breakfast. It was meat-filled, and she just sat there eating it, seemingly enjoying it very much."

Bronya was momentarily speechless. She had previously insisted that she liked desserts and sweets, but after tasting the meat buns, she instantly changed her tune. However... there was something strange about the life goddess who ate meat.

Bronya then stepped forward and asked, "Hellois, do you know what you're eating?"

"I know! They're eating meat!"

Heloise was quite clear-headed and answered very fluently, without the slightest guilt or other emotion in her heart. Bronya asked again with doubt, "Can your goddess of life also eat meat?"

"Hmm? Why not? Nobody said the Goddess of Life can't eat meat."

"But you are the goddess of life! Do you eat life?"

Heloise rolled her eyes. "Why do you mortals worry about these strange things every day? I eat meat and the universe doesn't even object to it, but you mortals think I can't eat meat."

“I was born from the origin of the universe. If I cannot eat meat, it means that when the universe created me, it set a rule that I cannot eat meat. And this rule also applies to all life forms in the universe that call themselves the Goddess of Life or claim to be the Goddess of Life.”

As she spoke, Heloise took a bite of the bun with her head close to the opening, chewed and swallowed, and said, "Look! I ate it, and what happened? This shows that even the origin of the universe doesn't care about these things, yet you mortals do. It's really boring."

Heloise, clutching her steamed bun, flew up and vanished from Bronya's sight. Their conversation was overheard by a nearby soldier, who scratched his head, "Uh... Doctor..."

"It's nothing. I did have a preconceived notion. What comes to mind first when you think of the goddess of life?"

The soldier answered without hesitation: "Novel!"

"Yes, in the novel, the goddess of life is always inseparable from the elves, and the elves do not eat meat. In addition, there are very few scenes in the novel where the goddess eats, so it eventually evolved into this way."

Bronya sighed and patted the warrior on the shoulder. "Keep it up. I think I should read fewer novels in the future."

The soldier, who had been patted on the shoulder by Bronya, scratched his head and said, "Let's get back to work. I'll be on the observation platform in a few days when it's my shift change, and then I'll be busy."

Bronya brought the breakfast back to the dormitory. Blackie and Seele had just gotten up and were washing up. Bronya placed the breakfast on the table next to her and said, "I brought the breakfast back. It's all your favorite food."

"Know it!"

Seele came out of the bathroom, drying her long hair with a towel as she asked with a grin, "Why are you up so early today, Bronya? I usually buy breakfast."

"I can't stay up that late every day. Besides, the anti-jamming device should be almost finished today. Thanks to the engineers. Let's go check on things as soon as possible."

"Know it!"

Morning routines are quick, since being on a ship is not like being at home where several hours would pass by in a flash. It's all about getting things done quickly and getting out the door – that's the life of most crew members.

After this voyage, upon returning to China, all crew members and captains will need at least six months to a year to recover from this life on board.

Of course, there are exceptions, such as a few soldiers who treat the ship as their own home and don't want to rest or take leave. After all, whether or not to take leave is up to the individual.

Upon arriving at Cambridge, Su Xi was earlier than the three of them. She waved to them and said, "You're here pretty early."

"Even if I'm early, I'm not as early as you. It's only 7 o'clock now. What time did you arrive?"

"Hmm...is it possible that I didn't go back to rest?"

Bronya sighed, "This is such a waste of your body..."

"Well, there is some good news after all."

Su Xi shook the tablet in her hand. "The anti-interference device has been successfully operating. The research team worked through the night, so I didn't sleep either."

"The device is working very well. We have successfully restored communication with the Gongning and the mermaids. They are even a little faster than us."

"Right now, we are conducting high-powered scans on both sides to search for a place to leave. However, this place is really big. According to the existing data, this asteroid belt is already about the size of our entire solar system, and it may be even larger."

Bronya was stunned. "Are you sure?"

"Of course!"

"How is it possible that such a large meteorite belt has remained unchanged for so many years?"

Bronya was shocked. How could such a large asteroid belt have formed? And how could it have been maintained like this for so long?

Considering that there are many asteroids or remnants of large celestial ladders in this area, what kind of force sustains the meteorite belt?

"Could it be related to those Unger people?"

Heshi offered a hypothesis: the Wengers were the examiners of this place. So, is the discovery or creation of this place related to them?

Su Xi shook her head. "I don't really think so. I believe they are more like regulators. While conducting assessments, they are also responsible for supervising this area. Just think about it, if meteorites and planetary debris from this place were to fly out randomly, how much damage would that cause?"

"Perhaps, in order to protect the civilized planets near the asteroid belt, they built this place, which also became the testing ground for the emerging civilization in our hearts."

Bronya agreed with this point, but the discussion then shifted to the interference and the journey ahead.

"In short, let's meet up with Gong Ning and the mermaids first. After we meet up, let's compile the map and see if there are any patterns. Maybe then we'll be able to find the exit."

Chapter 449: The Human Alliance

The rendezvous went very smoothly. Following the same route they had come from, they met again in less than five hours. After sharing the information they had gathered, they jointly determined a route and continued on their way.

Meanwhile, the Wenger ships observing from the outer area were quite surprised by their performance. "This new civilization is performing a bit beyond my expectations. They were actually able to find the location of our jamming device."

"Indeed, and the Ignos ships that were the first to be tested lost contact with us. The reports from the scouts sent back indicate that the Ignos ships have disappeared, and the pulse storm has dissipated. A massive earthquake occurred inside the planet, destroying the planet's control center."

"In other words, these new civilizations destroyed the planet's internal control center and defeated the Ignos ships. Now, the whereabouts of the Ignos ships are unknown, and their civilization is urging us to investigate and provide clues."

"I understand. We will ask them questions once they pass the assessment."

Captain Ungerer looked at the communications officer beside him and continued, "Do you think they can pass the third test?"

"They definitely can. Although the third test requires them to pass through a quantum space and face attacks from quantum creations, given the technological prowess they've demonstrated, passing it shouldn't be a problem."

"What I'm more curious about now is their shield technology. Their shield technology has far surpassed the shield technology that our alliance has. Have you ever seen a shield that has been continuously hit by meteorites for several hours and still maintains 100% charge?"

"I haven't seen it before, have you?"

The Wenger on the other end of the communication line said he had never seen such shield technology before. Captain Wenger was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "Indeed, such shield charging efficiency requires energy that ordinary engines cannot provide."

Captain Unger nodded.

"They must have a very high level of expertise in energy technology."

"If possible, I hope that the higher-ups can make contact with them in the future. If we can trade or learn about their energy technology, perhaps the alliance can take another step forward."

"Most importantly, they are also human beings. In this vast universe, it is very important for fellow human beings to care for each other."

Indeed, as fellow human beings, mutual care and assistance are essential. Otherwise, facing powerful mechanical civilizations and energy life forms that enjoy meddling and causing trouble, what might seem insignificant to them could become a turning point leading to the decline of our civilization.

"Hopefully they will accept our alliance request. By the way, how is that civilization called Keponia doing?"

Captain Unger suddenly remembered the emergence of a civilization called Keponia some time ago. They were also a civilization that had entered space, and they were also of the human race. He wondered if they had made any contact with them.

However, when this issue was raised, the person on the communication channel remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "The Cosmic Civilization Association beat us to it. According to our intelligence personnel, ever since the Kebonia civilization left its own planet, there has always been the presence of a mid-level civilization from the Cosmic Civilization Association."

"They were mostly used as food. We tried to contact them, but they refused to talk to us."

Captain Ungerer's eyes widened in astonishment, and he shook his head repeatedly, "Pathetic...pathetic indeed, they probably don't even know what their future holds..."

"Fine, they started their plan so early, it's inevitable that we can't win... Let's just leave it at that."

Captain Unger was disappointed. They hadn't expected this at all. The other party had actually started planning from the development of a civilization, leaving its influence everywhere, and then appeared in front of them in the future to reveal its origins and what it had done.

They would naturally gain the favor of the Keponian civilization, and then, with a casual mention, bring them into their camp. Then, once the other side develops unique technology, they would annex them, acquiring their technology, population, and star system, and finally look for the next prey.

This is an unspoken rule within the Cosmic Civilization Association, and it's the reason why the Human Alliance never joined the association. Of course, most intermediate and low-level civilizations are unaware of this.

Only the original founding association and the first few civilizations to join knew about this.

"Let's continue to observe this new civilization. Their energy technology is very advanced. Hopefully, we can incorporate them into our alliance in the future."

..........

On the other side, the three ships that were rapidly advancing within the asteroid belt finally found the edge of the asteroid belt after nearly two weeks of navigation. The Nuwa and Ningye ships then sandwiched the mermaids' ships in the middle, creating a passage.

The mermaids, in turn, used their magic to provide them with ship-level magical shields, protecting them from meteorite attacks on the ship's main body.

Although there was no real need for it, since it was their kind intention, I chose to accept and trust the mermaids.

The moment they broke through the asteroid belt, there were no cheers on the ship, only sighs of relief as the task was finally over. Although everyone said that crossing the asteroid belt was simple and easy, in reality, everyone was on edge the whole time, afraid that any small problem would lead to a bigger mistake.

Now, everyone can finally relax for a while.