wandering planet

"Send a communication request." Lin Ni turned his head and asked Fei Lian, "It's so far away, can you connect?"

"Yes." Fei Lian paused for a moment, then denied what he said just now, "No."

There is no problem with distance.

The problem is that the communication and interpretation systems of the Phoenix and the opponent's base station are no longer the same.

During their travels, they have been unable to communicate more than once due to the differences between the old and new ships.Both the Phoenix and the Homer are old ships from 500 years ago, but the ones in the solar system base station may already have a newer communication system.

It could pick up the Phoenix's message, but it couldn't decipher it at all.

Lin Ni had no other choice, and still made a decision: "Slow down, don't give the other party too much sense of threat. Send a communication request, give it a try... If their base station still has relevant data about the 'Great Retreat', That's all settled."

"You know, this possibility is very small." Fei Lian whispered while sending the message, "For five centuries, even if the communication data of the Phoenix is ​​kept, it is only for archiving purposes, it is impossible It is still being used in new base stations."

Communication requests were sent in the direction of the solar system.

They are all waiting to hear from each other.

Ovid couldn't walk over to pass the boiled fish to Pierre, and couldn't bear to leave, so he sat in a corner by himself and started eating.

Hours later, the Australian station received a string of odd communication requests that were repeated.

"It was sent by the other party?" Xue Ming looked at the garbled characters and the display of "unable to translate" on the screen.

"It not only sent a communication request, but also reduced the speed of the ship." The communicator spoke quickly, "It is trying to reduce its threat."

"Don't be careless, this may be a new type of predator." Xue Ming thought to himself, the shape of this ship is too strange, it is so long, it looks like two ships are connected together.According to their experience, nine out of ten ships that are eccentric are those of predators.

Just hit it.

Before receiving the communication request from the other party, Xue Ming really wanted to order a sniper attack.

But the other party's move made it hesitate.

What's the point of sending a communication request if the intent is to hack?In other words, if they really intend to invade and want to communicate with humans, how could they not have prepared in advance, but sent a string of garbled codes that cannot be translated at all?

"Banner, send the semaphore." Xue Ming issued an order, "The content of the semaphore indicates identity and inquiry."

During the long wait, all the dishes prepared by Jiang Che and Song Junxing were eaten up.

The boiled fish used up all the fish caught by Virgil, and everyone’s faces and mouths were red after eating. Ovid, who can’t eat spicy food, picked up the fish fillets and had to spend a round in the clear water. Pierre criticized it as "blasphemy chili".

The silver foil pepper obtained from the Egret space station is very suitable for planting in space, and it grows better than other vegetables.

At that time, Baiye also gave them some seedlings of potatoes, peanuts and other crops, and now they have basically grown and can be eaten.

"French fries, peanut butter, these two must be made." Ovid began to order with Jiang Che, "I said I wanted to eat burgers last time, but you didn't do it either."

Jiang Che blinked and remembered.That was before he left the Phoenix and landed on Lao Huang.After returning to the ship, affected by the spores, I focused on doing other things, and I really didn't think about Hamburg for a while.

"I will do it for you." He smiled gently at Ovid.

"Then I want potato chips." Song Junxing raised his hand between the two to block his sight, "Jiang Che, potato chips."

Jiang Che glanced at him: "Potatoes are limited, only one kind can be made."

Ovid immediately looked at Jiang Che earnestly: "Jiang, French fries."

Jiang Che smiled again: "Okay, let's make French fries."

Song Junxing put down his hand resentfully, suffering from not having an alliance to confront Ovid and Jiang Che, he pulled Pierre and Tang Mo to complain: "Is it decent? What do you think? There are so many people. Ovid said that French fries are the only ones you can make." .”

"We all eat potato chips and French fries." Tang Mo said, "It's not you who made it, you just eat it, and you're still picky?"

Song Junxing gave up.

He knew that almost everyone had been bought by Jiang Che's craftsmanship, but he couldn't do it, he was persistent.

He turned to the captain for help.

Unexpectedly, when he turned around, he found that Lin Ni and Fei Lian had disappeared after eating.

"By the way, counting the time, the other party's reply should have been sent." Pierre wiped his mouth and jumped up and rushed out. Everyone was very curious about the message from the solar system, and they all rushed to the cockpit.

There was silence in the cockpit. Lin Ni and Fei Lian stood in the center of the cockpit, frowning at the content displayed on the big screen.

In the distant solar system, there is a place that is constantly shining with light.

"It's Makemake on the Kuiper belt." Fei Lian quickly identified the position of the light source, "It seems to be some kind of code, but I can't decipher it."

The other party was asking, but they couldn't understand.

There is nothing more tedious than this.

"The base station is still targeting us?"

"Yes." Fei Lian turned his head and found that everyone was gathered in the cockpit.

There are strange emotional programs kicking into action in his system.It's called "Helpless".

"I'm sorry." Fei Lian said in a low voice, "I can't help it... If we get closer, the other party will definitely attack us."

This is almost an unsolvable proposition: they want to return to the solar system and return to the earth, but the defense system of the solar system can no longer recognize the Phoenix and lock it as an enemy ship.

"Is there any way to let the other party know our identities?" Pierre scratched his head, he was a little desperate, "Aside from communication... Is there any other way?"

It couldn't be more daunting to cover such a long, long distance and then be forced to stop so close to home.

"Turn."

Linney looked up in surprise.The person who spoke was Jiang Che.

Jiang Che looked a little excited, his eyes were red, and he pointed at the screen.There, the hometown in the distance is flashing undecipherable codes, blocking his way home.

"Turn around!" Jiang Che yelled, "Let them see the sign, and they will know!"

Lin Ni still didn't come back to his senses: "What are you looking at?"

Ovid suddenly remembered.

That night in the Black Sea, he and Jiang Che were striding over the valley, and the Phoenix was right below them, bathed in a dazzling array of stars.

"The color of the Phoenix...and the number of the Phoenix!" cried Ovid. "That bird! That big fiery bird!"

The fiery red bird that was engraved on the side of the mottled orange-red ship dragged its long and brilliant tail feathers into the air.

"Xue Ming, the semaphore is useless."

In the main control room of the Australian station, other people started to argue with Xue Ming.

Although Xue Ming is the person in charge of the base, but because his age is about the same as that of all the staff members, he is not used to being old or young. Everyone knows that this time the situation is weird, so they don't give him much face, and they keep putting forward different suggestions one after another. Opinion.

Xue Ming was doing exclusions.

"It took the initiative to slow down, and sent a message that we couldn't interpret. I don't think they should be predator ships that came prepared." Xue Ming explained, "The semaphore sent now is only after the establishment of the Earth Defense Fleet. The new semaphore has been used for almost 500 years. If it can recognize the content of the semaphore, then it must be a ship that ran out of the solar system. Then it can use the semaphore to answer."

But the other party did not answer.

Instead of answering, he even tried to turn around.

"Are you ready to run away?" Xue Ming looked at the image on the screen and scratched his head, "Hey, activate the telescope and pull me an image that can clearly see the whole picture of the ship. If you run away like this, this time We have to keep a photo of the event."

"It didn't answer... so it must not be our ship." Someone said, "Hit it! What if it came to explore the way? It's too dangerous."

"What is not our ship?" Xue Ming was dissatisfied.While waiting for images from the telescope, he decided to teach his subordinates a lesson.

"500 years ago, there were also ships that ran out of the solar system." He lit a cigarette, stood under the vent and exhaled the mist, "You have learned it all, 'Great Retreat'."

Everyone looked at each other.

Learning is learned, but it is not what they need to focus on learning.

The "Great Retreat" at that time was carried out with the desire to build a livable home for human beings outside the earth.However, after the "Great Retreat" fleet left, for more than 500 years, no message was sent back, nor was there any contact.

When the solar system crisis defense system was established, the Earth headquarters, under pressure, stored all the communication data of all the ships in the "Great Retreat" into the defense system.

"What if they come back?" The person in charge of the headquarters at the time said, "When my family members come back to visit relatives, we can't use the ceremony to receive the enemy, right? We have to leave a communication channel for these people."

However, hundreds of years have passed, because there has been no contact, the defense system has been continuously upgraded, and finally this part of useless data has been completely deleted.

In Xue Ming's impression, after the establishment of the Earth Defense Fleet, ships were also sent to Marseilles along the "Great Retreat" route.But these ships also disappeared without a trace, just like the ships of the "Great Retreat".

They should all be dead. — that's what people think.Therefore, mentioning the "Great Retreat" again, what I have in my heart is not only respect but compassion.

Someone laughed. "Xue Ming, do you think this is a 'Great Retreat' ship?" He pointed to the screen, "It's been 500 years, which ship can last so long."

"Yes." Xue Ming took a deep puff of cigarette, "...so you don't understand. My dad is Chinese, you know the vanguard ship made in China, Phoenix. It was the most outstanding ship at that time. The vanguard, with all the hard equipment and power, is enough for it to last for 500 years."

The rest laughed.

Xue Ming lost face a little bit.

But he said so, but he didn't feel that the ship was the Phoenix in his heart at all.

After all, "should be dead".

Everyone thinks so.Their siblings, their families, will never have the opportunity to go home to visit relatives.

But the title of the person in charge of the base made Xue Ming couldn't help but say one more thing.

"I have always hung a portrait of the Phoenix in my house. It is very beautiful. The entire hull is orange-red, and the whole body is orange-red. The Phoenix is ​​printed on the side, like fire. It is outlined in silver, which is very eye-catching and beautiful. "

A girl laughed: "So popular? How tacky."

"Tacky or tacky, you'll know it when you see it. It's so big and shocking." Xue Ming raised the cigarette in his hand and kept gesticulating, "The tail is so long that it burns like fire. What kind of technique is that?" , At that time, this painting had a special name, and it was our patent... I can’t remember it, my dad understands it very well, I’ll ask him next time.”

He was still talking non-stop, and the console had already received photos from the telescope.

The "enemy ship" completed a 90° turn and stopped moving.It shows its side logo in the direction of the solar system.

"Xue Ming..." The young man who accepted the picture stammered back, "A bird like fire... is it this?"

Photos are high resolution.In the darkness as heavy as an abyss, there are two connected ships.A ship was severely damaged, and a piece of metal on the hull had sagged, but a large eagle on it could still be seen clearly.The other ship is relatively well preserved, although the paint has been mottled and unrecognizable, but a little orange red that has not peeled off can still be seen.

On the silver ship whose paintwork has peeled off, a flaming bird is raising its wings.

After the Phoenix's turn was completed, it still did not dare to move.

Everyone had no intention of doing other things, they were all sitting in the cockpit, chatting without saying a word, waiting for the reply like the result of the trial.

This time the waiting time was extremely long.Tang Mo fell asleep on Jiang Che's shoulder, and Song Junxing couldn't find anyone to lean on, so he lay on the ground directly.He didn't fall asleep, his eyes were fixed on the top floor of the cockpit, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

After nearly twenty hours passed, the communication indicator light suddenly lit up.

Communications from afar have arrived.

And it is a communication that can be interpreted!

Fei Lian immediately started the translation program, Pierre turned to look at Lin Ni, and found that Lin Ni's face had been pale all the time, and then he smiled as if he finally lost his strength.

If it can be translated, it means that the other party has dug out the Phoenix exclusive communication code from the old data.

On the screen covering three walls, there is a picture of the boundless starry sky ahead.Lin Ni found that his hands were trembling, he carefully and slowly breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately a sore feeling emerged from the depths of his nasal cavity, attacking his eyes.

"It's a text message."

In the dark universe, square characters are slowly appearing.

This is a message sent from the Earth headquarters, passing through the base stations of Jupiter and Saturn, and arriving at the Australian station of Neptune, and then sent specifically for the Phoenix.

Jiang Che has not seen Chinese for a long, long time.

He held Ovid's hand tightly, and said that sentence in his familiar yet unfamiliar language.

"Welcome home".