Chapter 43: The Omen of the Flare Project

Li Nanke no longer looked at the horrifying images on the screen.

He turned away and spoke to Alba, who was already petrified with fear: “Do you remember the logs we saw in the laboratory?”

“When the number of abominations reaches a certain threshold, it triggers a broader fusion of abominations, which can ultimately evolve into an abomination on the planetary scale.”

“And the electromagnetic signal emitted by the Construct will reach its peak, capable of attracting other planetary abominations or even alien civilizations from distant outer space.”

“If you connect these two key clues with the deliberate explosion in the main control room of the detention sector, and the information about leaving a hundred thousand death row inmates to perish in the prison, it becomes clear that the researchers and prison authorities did not simply evacuate.”

“They knew perfectly well that the Construct would cause corpses to mutate, yet they still chose to leave a hundred thousand death row inmates behind, their corpses inside the prison. Their malicious intent is self-evident.”

“They—or rather, the United Human Government—have never been able to absorb the advanced technology in the Construct, so they decided to use the large number of prisoners in the prison to artificially create a supermassive abomination, in order to summon even more planet-scale abominations and proactively make contact with that terrifying alien civilization.”

“If the advanced technology in the Construct truly originates from some unknown alien civilization, then even a small chance at mastering such technology would mean a qualitative leap for human civilization.”

“A planet-scale abomination can emit some kind of electromagnetic signal that transcends the limitations of space, attracting its own kind or even unknown advanced civilizations to this planet.”

“A solar flare is the most violent phenomenon on the sun, and can emit various forms of electromagnetic radiation, accompanied by a sudden increase in particle emission. The radiation spans the entire electromagnetic spectrum…”

“So, the gigantic abomination on the planet beneath our feet is essentially a flare, capable of emitting electromagnetic signals.”

“This is what they call…the Flare Project!”

At that moment, a synchronized prompt sounded.

[Nightmare, you have triggered a subsequent hidden node!]

[Hidden node: Prevent the planetary-scale abomination of Gliese 798c—the ‘Omen of Death’—from taking form!]

Li Nanke’s pupils contracted.

After he read the content of the prompt, his expression became as dark as water.

Prevent the formation of that immense, sky-obscuring abomination? Was this hidden node set by the Great Beyond something a human could accomplish?

In the previous guided dream, perhaps because he was a novice, he was able to use the power of the Church to complete the hidden node and eliminate the spawn of the evil god, Orphanus. But now, where was he supposed to find support? The United Human Government? That was utterly impossible.

Alba, after hearing about the Flare Project, collapsed into a chair, his face deathly pale. “Has the United Human Government gone mad? How could they dare do this? It’s sheer suicide!”

“A civilization capable of creating Constructs and abominations—how could that possibly be a benevolent civilization? They must be unimaginably terrifying! And the United Human Government actually wants to contact them on purpose?!”

Li Nanke took a deep breath to steady himself. “Gliese 798c is a mining planet extremely far from humanity’s homeworld. Even though the physical distance is vast, just in case, the government treated all prison guards, researchers, and space station staff as expendable, and even cut off contact with Gliese 798c to prevent any alien civilization that might arrive from discovering humanity’s homeworld.”

“In this way, even if the civilization that comes is extremely hostile, it’s unlikely they could threaten the homeworld. At worst, the United Human Government would lose a mining planet and a hundred thousand condemned prisoners.”

“As an exploratory trial, this was likely the optimal plan after much consideration by the government.”

Such an apparently reckless and suicidal plan was, in fact, easy to understand. Take Blue Star in Li Nanke’s past life, for example—even when their own civilization was weak, they too sought contact with extraterrestrial civilizations, like a defenseless child shouting in a dark jungle, ignorant of whether ferocious beasts lurked within.

Moreover, the United Human Government was not necessarily monolithic; among its members, there would be both supporters and opponents of the Flare Project. Yet, in the end, this perilous plan was still carried out.

Li Nanke turned his head, knowing it was unlikely, but still unwilling to give up hope, and asked Bijou: “Does the space station have any powerful weapons? Something like orbital cannons or space-based weapons that can effectively strike the planet’s surface—do we have anything like that?”

Bijou shook her head, just as he’d expected.

That shake of the head completely shattered Alba’s last hope for survival. He slumped in his chair, his gaze vacant and lifeless.

Once the planet-scale abomination was formed, it would devour the entire space station. The station was suspended between heaven and earth, abandoned by the United Human Government. Where could they possibly escape to now?

As for the escape pods—if they crawled into one and went into hibernation, they could easily sleep a sleep from which they would never wake. Either they would be swallowed by the planetary abomination, or drift endlessly through the cold, empty void until the pod’s power ran out.

Li Nanke closed his eyes in thought. When he opened them again, a wild, audacious idea had taken shape in his mind.

“Bijou, does the space station have its own independent propulsion system?”

“Yes, the station is equipped with an independent propulsion system for orbital adjustments and attitude control, but its power and energy are insufficient for the station to achieve escape velocity from Gliese 798c.”

“Escape velocity? No, that’s not what I mean. Since the station doesn’t have any planet-striking weapons, then I’ll make the station itself the weapon!”

Li Nanke let out a cold laugh. “Bijou, calculate the feasibility of dropping the space station onto the planet’s surface, using the enormous kinetic energy from gravitational acceleration to strike a designated target—specifically, that damned giant abomination beneath our feet.”

Alba suddenly sat up, staring blankly at Li Nanke as if he’d seen a ghost. “Michael, what are you planning to do?”

Bijou quickly analyzed the request and gave a professional answer:

“The space station is in a synchronous orbit, where centrifugal force balances gravity, keeping it stationary relative to Gliese 798c’s rotation. However, the station is tethered to the planet by a space elevator cable tens of thousands of kilometers long. The immense weight of the cable, under planetary gravity, pulls the station toward the surface.”

“To balance this, the station is also connected above to another cable of equal length, fitted with a massive counterweight. When centrifugal force exceeds gravity, the upward pull from the counterweight balances the downward force, keeping the station stable.”

“If the counterweight above is deliberately detached, the station will lose its orbital balance and begin to slowly descend into a lower orbit, eventually causing the space elevator cable to drag the station down to the planet’s surface.”

“Given the station’s mass and structural strength, it can withstand atmospheric friction without breaking apart. The weight of the cable will pull it down, and with the propulsion system making precise adjustments to the trajectory and attitude, it is theoretically possible to deliver a devastating strike to a ground target.”

“To implement this plan, Director, you would need to take an escape pod to the upper section of the station and manually disengage the counterweight from the station.”

“Bijou can calculate all the necessary orbital parameters with precision. Once you authorize Bijou with control of the station, the impact plan can be executed—at least in theory. Of course, there’s always the possibility of unforeseen mechanical failures or unpredictable external factors.”

Li Nanke didn’t hesitate. “Good. I authorize you to proceed. The plan will be called ‘Project Sunspot’!”

“Understood, Director! Once you disengage the counterweight, Bijou will initiate Project Sunspot, guiding the station’s descent to strike the target with precision.”

Alba was utterly stunned by this mad plan. He stammered, wanting to speak, but no words would come.

Li Nanke shot him a look. “If we neutralize the ‘flare’ in the Flare Project, the terrifying advanced civilization will never arrive. The United Human Government will have to send a ship to pick up us two monstrous criminals.”

“At that point, we’ll either be executed in secret or imprisoned for life—but at least there’s a sliver of hope for survival. That’s better than waiting here to die.”

“I’m off to find an escape pod. Are you coming or not?”