86: Chapter 86 Interstellar Expedition

The wind on the Antarctic ice sheet was cold with ice shards, like countless tiny blades, scraping across the alloy framework of the temporary space launch site, emitting a low wailing sound, like whispers from the depths of the universe.

On the seventh day after the Observer Fleet retreated, Earth's wounds were still bleeding—mutated vines in the data-contaminated zones climbed along the city's steel and concrete, and energy leaks from the Antarctic Base caused the aurora in the southern hemisphere's night sky to twist into eerie golden patterns, yet humanity's footsteps never stopped.

Lin Fan leaned against the old boarding ramp of the ark, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the cold chip in his pocket. The chip contained Kate Rollins's final human memory backup; every touch felt like touching a piece of light about to dissipate.

In the center of the launch site, the ark resembled a sleeping steel beast. Its originally rusty hull had been reforged by AKai using the Observer's alloy technology. The hull was wrapped in pale golden Light Sphere energy patterns, like living blood vessels, emitting a gentle yet dangerous light in the twilight of the ice sheet.

This was a deep-space probe ship from the Earth Alliance's Cold War era, which had been sealed in a Gobi aerospace graveyard for decades, but now it had become humanity's only vehicle for venturing into the universe and seeking hope to fight the Sower.

"The Light Sphere Fragment embedding rate in the power core is at 97%, energy output is stable, and the resonance frequency of the warp engine matches the gravitational waves of the Observer Mother Star at 89%. Three more parameter adjustments and we can precisely lock onto the coordinates."

AKai's voice came from the engine room, sounding a bit hoarse. He hadn't slept for three days and three nights, and there were heavy dark circles under his eyes, yet he was still crouching in front of the core module's console, his fingertips sliding rapidly across the holographic screen. Golden streams of code danced at his fingertips, intertwining with the energy of the Light Sphere Fragment.

Franklin's electronic voice came through the communicator, carrying his usual playfulness but unable to hide his seriousness: "AKai, don't just focus on your engine. The virtual world engine's integration progress is at 95%. I've compressed the entire virtual world's data stream into a navigation matrix. Even if the Sower uses runes to interfere with spatial coordinates, my matrix can anchor our course."

"By the way, Lin Fan, have you finished debugging the cockpit system on your end? I added an emotional linkage module for you; it can adjust the ship's defensive strength based on your emotions."

Lin Fan looked up towards the cockpit. The porthole reflected his slightly weary face, with unshakeable longing hidden in his eyes.

He walked slowly up the boarding ramp, the metal steps emitting a dull sound under his feet, each step feeling like treading on fragments of memory.

He remembered when Kate Rollins was still around, she always liked to crouch in his laboratory, watching him code, occasionally reaching out to poke his cheek, laughing and saying, "Lin Fan, you look like a little old man when you code."

Now the laboratory was empty, and she in the virtual world had become the leader of the Light Sphere Race, forgetting him, forgetting all their past, only this chip still held her final warmth.

"It's debugged." Lin Fan's voice was low, with a hint of an imperceptible choke. He walked into the cockpit, and the holographic screen instantly lit up. Various data scrolled rapidly across the screen; the parameters for power, navigation, defense, and weapon systems were clear at a glance.

He sat in the pilot's seat, his hand resting gently on the joystick, the cold metal touch making him feel a little more sober.

Just then, a gentle female voice suddenly rang out in the cockpit, clear and soft, exactly like Kate Rollins in his memories: "ark AI system initialized. Cockpit authorization bound to Lin Fan. Power core energy at 98%. Space jump engine preheating. Coordinates locked: Observer Mother Star. Estimated jump time: 12 hours. Please confirm navigation commands, pilot."

Lin Fan's body stiffened abruptly, and the joystick nearly slipped from his fingertips. He looked up sharply at the holographic screen. There was no image on the screen, only that voice, like a thin needle, piercing his heart fiercely.

His eyes instantly turned red, his nose stung, and those feelings of longing, pain, and reluctance that he had forcibly suppressed all surged up at this moment, almost drowning him.

"AKai..." Lin Fan's voice trembled as he shouted into the communicator, "This voice... is it Kate Rollins's?"

AKai's laughter came through the communicator, carrying a hint of teasing, yet hiding tenderness: "What else? I went through all of Kate Rollins's voice recordings, from her childhood voice to her composure as a data analyst, and then the tenderness when she was with you, and picked the one most like her to make the AI voice pack. How about it? Is it a big surprise?"

Franklin also chimed in: "Lin Fan, I recorded your expression just now. When Kate Rollins recovers her memory, I will definitely show it to her, so she knows how pathetic you are."

Lin Fan's cheeks instantly turned bright red, and he awkwardly turned his head away, but he couldn't help but listen. The voice was still reporting data, gentle and clear, as if Kate Rollins were sitting right beside him, facing the upcoming interstellar expedition with him.

His fingertips gently stroked the joystick, and the sourness in his heart was gradually replaced by a complex emotion—it was nostalgia, warmth, and the feeling of companionship even when she wasn't by his side.

"Stop messing around." Lin Fan took a deep breath, trying to calm his emotions, his voice carrying a hint of helplessness, "Hurry and finish the final debugging; we depart on time in 12 hours."

"Received!" AKai and Franklin replied in unison. The cockpit returned to silence, with only Kate Rollins's AI voice gently reporting the parameters, like a silent song lingering in Lin Fan's ears.

Lin Fan leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and his mind was filled with images of Kate Rollins. The dimples at the corners of her eyes when she smiled, the furrow of her brow when she was angry, the determination when she wrote "Lin Fan, don't forget me" in the data stream, the unfamiliarity when she forgot him in the virtual world... Scene after scene flashed through his mind, causing his heart to throb with pain.

He gripped the chip in his pocket and said silently in his heart: Kate Rollins, once I find a way to fight the Sower, once I uncover all the secrets, I will definitely bring you back, let you remember me again, and remember everything about us.

Time passed second by second, the Antarctic night grew deeper, and the aurora on the ice sheet shifted in color, with gold, blue, and purple intertwining, reflecting on the hull of the ark, breathtakingly beautiful.

AKai finally finished the final debugging and walked out of the engine room, stretching, with a weary smile on his face: "Done. The energy of the Light Sphere Fragment has fully merged with the ark. The margin of error for the space jump is controlled within 0.001 light-years; we will definitely arrive precisely at the Observer Mother Star."

He walked to the cockpit door, looked at Lin Fan, raised an eyebrow, and smiled: "How about it? My masterpiece is not bad, right? With this ship, plus the energy of the Light Sphere Fragment, we will definitely find the Sower's weakness. By the way, where is Night Owl? Didn't he say he was going to help us check the weapon systems?"

Lin Fan opened his eyes and looked towards the corner of the cockpit. Night Owl was standing there, his entire body covered in black Observer armor, revealing only a pair of cold golden eyes. He was silently watching the aurora outside the window, his aura as cold as ice, as if he were completely out of place with the rest of the world.

Ever since he defected from the Observer and joined their team, he had always been like this—taciturn, with cold eyes, only showing a hint of hatred when mentioning the Sower.

"He's checking the weapon system compatibility." Lin Fan said. He had always trusted Night Owl; after all, Night Owl was the first person to tell them that "the Sower is a civilization harvester," and the only one who could lead them to find the Observer Mother Star.

Hearing their conversation, Night Owl slowly turned around, his golden eyes sweeping over Lin Fan and AKai, his voice hoarse: "The weapon system has been adapted. The Observer's particle cannon and the ark's missile system can be linked; dealing with the Sower's small patrol ships will be no problem."

His gaze fell on the slightly protruding chip in Lin Fan's pocket, his eyes moved, but he didn't speak, just turned back around to look out the window.

AKai didn't notice Night Owl's oddity. He patted Lin Fan on the shoulder: "Alright, everything is ready. Let's go get some rest; we depart on time in 12 hours. This expedition, no matter what dangers lie ahead, we'll face them together."

Lin Fan nodded. He knew what AKai meant. This expedition was humanity's desperate gamble, and it was also their only chance to find the truth. The Observer Mother Star held the origin of the Light Orbs, his birth mother's secrets, the hope to fight the Sower, and also unknown death and crisis. But he had no choice; he could only move forward.

For the next 12 hours, the team members took turns resting, but Lin Fan didn't sleep. He sat in the pilot's seat the whole time, listening to Kate Rollins's AI voice and looking at the star map on the screen. The image of the Observer Mother Star flickered on the screen, a dark blue planet wrapped in a halo of runes, like a cursed gem, looking eerie and lonely in the dark curtain of the universe.

His fingertips kept rubbing that chip, and the warmth of the chip came through the fabric, making his heart feel a little more settled.

12 hours passed in a flash. When the first ray of sunlight in the Antarctic pierced the night of the ice sheet, the ark's power core emitted a low roar, golden energy light poured out from the core module, enveloping the entire ship, and the patterns on the hull all lit up, like burning flames.

"Space jump initiating, countdown 10, 9, 8, 7..." Kate Rollins's AI voice rang out gently. Lin Fan took a deep breath, his hand on the jump button, his gaze firm. AKai sat in the co-pilot's seat, Franklin's consciousness connected to the navigation system, and Night Owl stood in front of the weapon console, ready to respond to any emergencies at any time.

"3, 2, 1, jump!"

Lin Fan pressed the button, and the ark's engines erupted with extreme light. Space twisted and folded around the ship, forming a massive wormhole. Golden light tore through the darkness, leading to the unknown depths of the universe.

Just as the ship was about to rush into the wormhole, the cockpit alarm suddenly rang out frantically. Red warning lights instantly illuminated the entire cabin, and the shrill buzzing sound pierced the silence, like the horn of death.

"Warning! Cockpit authorization tampered with! Navigation coordinates forcibly modified!"

"Warning! Power core energy being drained! Space jump engine about to shut down!"

"Warning! Sower rune signal detected, coordinates being transmitted outwards!"

Kate Rollins's AI voice turned from gentle to urgent, carrying a hint of panic. The coordinates of the Observer Mother Star on the screen were covered by a string of strange golden runes; that was the Sower's exclusive code, transmitting the ark's real-time location outwards at a speed of several light-years per second.

Lin Fan stood up abruptly, reaching out to try and regain control of the cockpit, but found that the console had been completely locked. His code energy surged into the console but was rebounded by a powerful force, knocking him back two steps.

"What's going on?" Lin Fan roared, his gaze sweeping across the entire cockpit, finally landing on Night Owl.

At this moment, Night Owl was no longer his silent self. His hand was pressed on a hidden button on the weapon console, sharp energy blades popped out from his black armored arm, and his golden eyes no longer held their usual coldness, but only a strange fanaticism, with a cold smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

"Night Owl, was it you?" AKai stood up abruptly, instantly manifesting an energy gun in his hand, aiming it at Night Owl, his eyes full of shock and anger, "You traitor!"

Night Owl slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over Lin Fan and AKai, his voice hoarse yet clear: "Lin Fan, AKai, you are too naive. Did you think that with one Light Sphere Fragment and a modified old ship, you could fight the Sower? You underestimated their speed of evolution, and you underestimated their power. The law of the universe has always been survival of the fittest. Only by submitting to the Sower can you gain the opportunity to evolve. Resistance only leads to a dead end."

As he spoke, he pressed the button abruptly. The ark's wormhole entrance instantly closed, the space jump engine stopped running, and the entire ship stalled in the void at the edge of the solar system, like prey nailed to the spot, trembling in the darkness.

I have already sent the coordinates of the ark to the main Sower fleet. They are only 3 light-years away and will arrive in at most half an hour.

Night Owl's voice carried a hint of cruel amusement. "Your resistance has been a joke from the very beginning."

"Why are you doing this?" Lin Fan's voice was filled with incredulous pain as he looked at Night Owl—the comrade who had once fought alongside them against the Observer and uncovered the truth about the Sower, but had now become a traitor. "Didn't you say the Sower were civilization harvesters? Didn't you say you wanted to resist them? Why are you betraying us? Why betray all the civilizations persecuted by the Sower?"

Night Owl's attacks became increasingly fierce, and a flash of complex emotion crossed his golden eyes, only to be quickly replaced by fanaticism. "Resistance? That was just my excuse to get close to you. I am an Observer, and my mission is to serve the Sower and harvest the low-level civilizations in the universe. You humans are nothing but ants in the Sower's experimental field, not worthy of my sympathy."

He lunged at AKai with ghost-like speed, his energy blade glowing with a black light as it thrust directly toward AKai's chest. AKai immediately dodged to the side and fired a golden energy beam from his energy gun. It collided with Night Owl's energy blade, producing a violent explosion that twisted and deformed the cockpit's metal walls and sent debris flying everywhere.

Lin Fan immediately stepped forward to intercept him, gathering code energy at his fingertips. A golden light blossomed in his palm as it collided with Night Owl's energy blade. The collision of the two powerful energies created a shockwave that blasted both of them apart. Lin Fan stumbled back three steps before steadying himself, his chest aching with a dull pain as a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

"Lin Fan, you are no match for me," Night Owl said, looking at him with a cold tone. "Your code energy is merely a superficial ability granted by a Light Sphere Fragment, whereas I possess the Observer's top-tier combat genes and the power bestowed by the Sower."

He charged again, the glow of his energy blade intensifying with every lethal strike. Lin Fan gritted his teeth, mobilizing all the code energy within him to engage in a desperate struggle with Night Owl. Inside the cockpit, the light of colliding energies flared repeatedly, while the sounds of shattering metal, roaring energy, and their ragged breathing intertwined in a chaotic and brutal scene.

AKai joined the fight as well, his energy gun firing continuous beams to coordinate with Lin Fan's attacks, attempting to pin down Night Owl. Franklin's electronic voice rang out frantically over the communicator: "I am trying to crack Night Owl's intrusion program, but his code contains the Sower's encryption protocols, which are very difficult to break! Lin Fan, AKai, hold on!"

During the battle, Night Owl's armor was torn open by Lin Fan's code energy. As the black alloy fragments fell away, the skin beneath was exposed. Lin Fan's gaze sharpened suddenly; there, on Night Owl's collarbone, was a pale golden pattern. The shape and direction of the lines were identical to those he had seen in his birth mother's diary. It was her unique genetic marker, a symbol of her status as a Light Sphere modifier, a mark carved into her very soul.

"This pattern..." Lin Fan's attack faltered, his heart reeling in shock. His voice trembled. "Who exactly are you? Why is this pattern the same as my birth mother's?"

Night Owl's movements also stalled. He looked down at the pattern on his collarbone, a flash of pain crossing his golden eyes before being covered by coldness again. He exerted a sudden burst of force, knocking Lin Fan away, then stepped back and looked at Lin Fan with complex eyes. "You don't need to know who I am. You only need to know that your doomsday has arrived."

He turned and rushed toward the communication cabin, intending to further strengthen the coordinate signal so the Sower could find them faster. AKai immediately gave chase, while Franklin frantically cracked Night Owl's intrusion program in the virtual world, data streams surging wildly like a digital storm.

Meanwhile, in the distant virtual world, Kate Rollins stood in the center of the Light Sphere Race's territory, her brows furrowed as she looked at the scene before her, filled with unease.

The sky of the virtual world was pale gold, and the Light Sphere Race's territory was enveloped in golden energy. The NPCs, originally composed of data streams, now had bodies that were gradually becoming solid. They were no longer transparent phantoms but possessed flesh and blood; their skin had a faint golden sheen, and their eyes glimmered with light originating from the same source as the light orbs as they walked through the territory like a newly born race.

Kate Rollins stood at the highest point of the territory, watching these Light Sphere Race members as they gradually materialized. She gently traced her fingertip across the forehead of one of the members, and code energy surged into their consciousness. Instantly, a hidden segment of code unfurled before her eyes, carrying the aura of the Sower's runes—cold, eerie, and coiled like a venomous snake deep within the consciousness of the Light Sphere Race member.

"It's induced evolution..." Kate Rollins whispered to herself, a chill passing through her eyes. "The Sower is using the Light Sphere Fragments to induce the Light Sphere Race to materialize, turning them into pawns to conquer the universe."

She immediately relayed this discovery to Franklin, her fingertip code energy surging as she attempted to purge the Sower's commands from the Light Sphere Race's consciousness. But those commands were like roots embedded in their souls—stubborn and powerful. Her code energy struck again and again, but it could only suppress them temporarily; it could not clear them completely.

"Franklin, tell Lin Fan quickly! The Sower is using the Light Sphere Fragments for experiments; the materialization of the Light Sphere Race is their plot. They want to create a new race to serve as a tool for their expansion!" Kate Rollins's voice carried a hint of anxiety. She looked at the Light Sphere Race around her, their eyes becoming increasingly vacant, more and more like puppets being controlled, and she felt a sense of helplessness in her heart.

Upon receiving the message, Franklin's expression changed abruptly, and he immediately synced the news to Lin Fan and AKai: "Lin Fan, AKai, Kate Rollins has discovered an important clue! The materialization of the Light Sphere Race is not a natural evolution; it is an induced experiment by the Sower. They want to turn the Light Sphere Race into their own army!"

Upon hearing this news, Lin Fan's heart sank. Night Owl's betrayal, his birth mother's pattern, the crisis of the Light Sphere Race, the approach of the Sower—all these crises intertwined like a giant web, trapping them firmly. He looked at Night Owl's back, at that same pattern as his birth mother's, and a terrifying speculation surfaced in his mind: perhaps Night Owl was a clone of his birth mother, a tool created by the Sower, and all of this had been a trap laid by the Sower from the very beginning.

"AKai, Franklin, don't give up." Lin Fan's voice was calm and powerful, carrying the determination of burning the bridges behind them. He looked at Night Owl, a flicker of resolve flashing in his eyes. "Even if we are trapped, we must tear open a way out. We will find Night Owl's secret, the truth about the light orbs, and the Sower's weakness."

As he spoke, the code energy at his fingertips resonated with the Light Sphere Fragment in the ark's power core. Golden light surged from within him, enveloping the entire ship like a tidal wave. His consciousness merged with the ship's systems, forcibly breaking through Night Owl's permission lock and regaining control of the cockpit.

"Space jump engine restarting!" Lin Fan's voice overlapped with Kate Rollins's AI voice, gentle yet firm. "Coordinates remain unchanged. Target: Observer Mother Star! Even if the Sower pursues us, we must find the answer first!"

Hearing Lin Fan's words, AKai's eyes rekindled with fighting spirit. He exerted a sudden burst of force, pushing Night Owl back, while simultaneously coordinating with Lin Fan's energy to reactivate the power core. The energy of the Light Sphere Fragment surged again, and the golden light broke through Night Owl's blockade.

Franklin also found a way to crack the program in the virtual world. He mobilized all the data streams of the virtual world to form a solid digital barrier, cutting off the channel Night Owl was using to send coordinates to the Sower and re-locking the position of the Observer Mother Star.

Night Owl watched the engine restart and the golden light erupting from Lin Fan. A flash of panic crossed his golden eyes. He wanted to intervene again, but was trapped by Lin Fan's code energy, unable to move. The code energy, like golden chains, wrapped around his body, rendering him completely unable to move.

"You cannot stop us." Lin Fan looked at him, his tone cold, a hint of complex emotion in his eyes. "No matter who you are, no matter what secrets you hide, and no matter what trap the Sower has laid, we will make it to the end and uncover the truth."

The ark's engines roared again, and golden energy light pierced the darkness of the void. The wormhole reopened, and a massive spatial vortex rotated in front of the ship like a gateway to the universe. Lin Fan sat in the pilot's seat and pressed the jump button. The ark shot into the wormhole like an arrow released from a bow, disappearing at the edge of the solar system.

Night Owl, bound by the code energy, watched the ship rush into the wormhole and watched Lin Fan's back. The pattern on his collarbone glowed faintly, and a flash of pain, confusion, and reluctance crossed his golden eyes. He murmured softly, his voice as light as the wind, audible only to himself: "Mother... what have you done... You created the Light Orb, modified the Sower, and left me behind—what was it all for..."

Inside the wormhole, the folds of space twisted and folded continuously. Golden light illuminated the dark passage as the ark traveled through it, as if sailing through the long river of time. Lin Fan sat in the pilot's seat, listening to Kate Rollins's AI voice gently broadcasting the navigation data, his longing and determination intertwined in his heart. He looked out the porthole; the light of the wormhole changed colors, looking remarkably like Kate Rollins's smile.

He remembered how Kate Rollins looked when she forgot him in the virtual world, remembered her figure dissipating in the data stream, and remembered the last words she wrote: "Lin Fan, don't forget me." He gripped the chip in his pocket and said silently in his heart: "Kate Rollins, wait for me. I will definitely find you, I will definitely make you remember me again, and I will definitely protect our world with you."

AKai sat in the co-pilot's seat, looking at Lin Fan's profile, his eyes filled with relief. He knew that this interstellar expedition was full of unknowns and dangers. Night Owl's betrayal, the secret of his birth mother, the Sower's conspiracy, and the crisis of the Light Sphere Race—each one was enough to lead them to utter ruin. But he also knew that as long as Lin Fan was there, as long as they were together, there was no obstacle they couldn't overcome and no mystery they couldn't solve.

Franklin's consciousness pulsed within the navigation system as data streams continuously calibrated the coordinates. His electronic voice carried a hint of relief: "Alright, coordinates locked successfully. In one hour, we will reach the orbit of the Observer Mother Star. Lin Fan, AKai, are you ready to face the truth?"

Lin Fan nodded, his gaze firm: "Ready. No matter what the Observer Mother Star is hiding, no matter what the Sower's weakness is, we will find it. In this war, humanity will not lose, and we will not lose."

At the end of the wormhole, a faint blue light gradually appeared. It was the outline of the Observer Mother Star, becoming clearer and clearer against the dark curtain of the universe. Lin Fan knew that the planet ahead held the origin of the light orbs, the life of his birth mother, the hope to resist the Sower, and even more terrifying crises.

But he was fearless.

Because he was not fighting alone. AKai was by his side, Franklin was supporting from the virtual world, Kate Rollins's consciousness was with him, and there were billions of his fellow humans on Earth, as well as those civilizations waiting for salvation, all behind him.

The interstellar expedition had only just begun. And all the foreshadowing and secrets would be revealed one by one on the ruins of the Observer Mother Star. Lin Fan's fingertips gently caressed the joystick, Kate Rollins's AI voice continued to broadcast gently, and the golden light danced in his palm like a spark of hope, never to be extinguished in the dark universe.