Chapter 767

Chapter 767: The True Age of Chaos

Year 6525 of the Xia Calendar, Haigang City

The Lu Xuan case remains unsolved because Lu Xuan has not been found. Although Lu Xuan died in Fangzhang Continent, the high-ranking officials like Lin Jiang do not believe he is truly dead. Relevant experts have already calculated that he conducted cloning experiments; perhaps the one who died was a clone, or perhaps the clone is still alive.

They must continue searching. The threat of Lu Xuan is significant, and Lin Jiang cannot ignore it, so he is urgently sending people to investigate.

The anti-corruption campaign led by Cao Ying has come to an end, lasting over three years, during which more than two hundred thousand people were involved.

It started with the Bahuang Group, investigating their smuggling operations and land grabbing activities on the Penglai Continent, resulting in the uncovering of hundreds of people, changing about two-thirds of the staff from top to middle management.

Following that, the investigation expanded from the Bahuang Group to other conglomerates and then to the Huaxia authorities, leading to tens of thousands being dismissed.

Once all that was resolved, the focus turned to the immortal families, as these conglomerates acted as their puppets, already colluding together.

While addressing the different families, Cao Ying spoke directly to the heads and leaders, clearly stating that the purpose of this action was to warn them. If they dared to resist, Cao Ying would not hesitate to carry out extermination actions, and anyone who disagreed could try their luck.

With Cao Ying’s presence ensuring order, the major families dared not act recklessly, and the various teams made very smooth progress, punishing over one hundred thousand people.

Of course, the number of people actually sentenced to death was small, only a little over one hundred, while more than two thousand lost their powers, and the other punishments varied, such as removal from office, prison sentences of several years, or physical punishments.

Those punished included Lin Liyan, a representative of the new generation, as well as members of the Lin family. Lin Jiang showed no favoritism, gaining respect from many people.

After the case concluded, the social atmosphere in Huaxia became much clearer, creating a great deterrent effect against wrongdoers within Huaxia and offering countless hope to those seeking opportunities to rise.

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Year 6565 of the Xia calendar, Huaxia Space Base

Lin Jiang, Cao Ying, and Cao Wang were watching a secret video. This video was sent back by a spacecraft called Pioneer, and it took many years for the information to return.

The video showed a planet that had a yellowish-brown color. When the view zoomed in, they saw heavy rain, the kind of rain that covered the entire planet.

This reminded Lin Jiang and the others of the heavy rain at the end of the Immortal Cultivation Era, but compared to that rain, this one was much more intense.

What Lin Jiang and the others saw was a world filled with dark clouds, flashing lightning, and pouring rain, as if the whole planet were underwater.

"The Pioneer spacecraft was launched one hundred sixty years ago, after a breakthrough in space technology. It was built on Cape III Planet and launched at the end of that year, which was the year 6005 of the Blue Star Xia calendar. The design concept focused on speed, discarding most functions. The whole spacecraft weighed only 1.5 tons because most of the weight was replaced by space equipment, and the average speed was designed to be fifteen thousand Mach."

"In actual flight, the average speed far exceeded fifteen thousand Mach because we did not account for celestial gravity…"

"After flying for one hundred fifty years, Pioneer crossed a distance of three light-years. Then it continued at a constant speed while observing the planet codenamed New Hope during the journey…"

"The video we just saw is a depiction of the observation results made by the computer…"

"It is well-known that water is the source of life; every living thing needs water…"

"Wait a minute, you called me and Cao Ying all the way here just to tell me that the video we just saw is fake, a fake one?"

Cao Wang was still explaining eagerly when Lin Jiang interrupted him, wondering if he had gotten excited for no reason.

Lin Jiang truly believed that Cao Wang and the others had found a habitable planet, but now being told it was false, he couldn’t accept it.

"Ancestor Lin, the Pioneer spaceship is still very far from New Hope Planet…"

"Don’t talk to me about that; how far is it?"

"About halfway, it should still be around 3.5 light-years away."

"Can we reach it in one hundred and fifty years?"

"We can’t reach it; the Pioneer’s energy is not enough. Ancestor, let me finish. Although the video we just saw was fake, we do have scientific evidence."

"Go ahead."

"The Pioneer had the most advanced space telescope at that time, and it had enough computing power. According to our…"

Cao Wang continued speaking. Lin Jiang and Cao Ying were confused, but they understood the general idea.

Cao Wang meant that although the Pioneer spaceship did not reach New Hope Planet, it was close enough for the robots on board to observe it with the space telescope. They created a model based on various scientific principles, which led to the video. That video reflects the real conditions of the planet quite accurately.

"So, you mean this New Hope Planet really could become a habitable planet?"

"Yes, Ancestor, this is the second closest habitable planet to us, which is why it’s called New Hope. Moreover, our planet also experienced a great prehistoric flood, with thunderstorms lasting over a million years. Geologists have confirmed this."

"Over a million years? Are you sure? The history of the cultivation world is long, but the confirmed history of the cultivation world does not exceed two million years."

Lin Jiang was greatly surprised; this was something he truly did not know. Did Blue Star also have such a remarkable past?

"I am sure that the time should be three hundred to five hundred million years ago. At that time, Blue Star was hot and humid, with heavy rain for over a million years, and volcanic eruptions and earthquakes happening all the time. There was no life at that time, just a few bacteria at most."

"What happened next?"

"We named this time the prehistoric era, which can also be called the age of chaos. So this planet is now in the age of chaos, the true age of chaos. Once this heavy rain stops, life will begin to emerge on New Hope Planet."

"How reliable is that?"

"In terms of science, I cannot give you a hundred percent guarantee, but we all agree that the possibility is over fifty percent. If we want to proceed with interstellar migration, this planet is our first choice."

"Tell me your needs."

"Give me another funding, about one trillion Huaxia coins, and I will build a more advanced spaceship. It will be launched from Cape VII Planet and will take about two hundred years to reach the vicinity of New Hope Planet. Then we will send a landing craft to explore New Hope Planet. If it proves to be real, at the latest in one thousand years, we can start our interstellar migration plan."

"Two hundred years to fly seven point five light-years, which is one-thirtieth of the speed of light. Can you do that?"

"Yes, but only for the spacecraft. A spacecraft and a Space Mother Ship are two different things; their size and weight differ by millions of times."

Cao Wang said, "Space has no gravity, but that doesn’t mean mass doesn’t exist. The weight difference is millions of times, and the speed is not the same, so the spacecraft and the Space Mother Ship are two different things."

"When we get to New Hope Planet, what will we do? Isn’t it a heavy rain there? Isn’t it supposed to rain over a million?"

"Elder, each planet is different, and you underestimate our current strength. The combination of technology and cultivation gives us a very powerful influence on the environment. If the news is confirmed, we can develop ways to deal with this situation. I believe that within a hundred years, there will be a complete solution. It will not be a problem to spend another three to five hundred years transforming that planet. With breakthroughs in interstellar transport technology, completing the interstellar immigration plan within a thousand years will be no problem."

"Elder, I don’t know how much money has been invested in the space project anymore; it’s just countless. We have persisted for hundreds of years, so this little bit doesn’t matter. Just agree!"

Cao Wang pleaded desperately, and Lin Jiang and Cao Ying exchanged glances. It seemed that this money had to be invested, even if it meant selling everything they had.