Honestly, Jiang Ye still suffered from a touch of claustrophobia. The jump pod was as small as a coffin, and just looking at it made him uneasy.
With a gritted teeth, he lay down inside.
As soon as he was settled, the transparent glass panel slowly closed from top to bottom. The small glass panel in front of him displayed the jump countdown: 2:05, 2:04...
"Please remain still, breathing fluid will be filled shortly," a prompt sounded within the pod.
"The breathing fluid is harmless to the body. You can breathe freely in the fluid. It is recommended to open your mouth and breathe deeply, which will make it easier to inhale the liquid into your lungs."
"The liquid environment is to prevent spatial inertia in case of jump failure. If you feel uncomfortable, please bear with it for a moment."
Jiang Ye's eyes widened. He could clearly feel the space beneath him becoming wet, and a cool liquid was seeping out from the bottom.
He tried to push the glass panel with all his might, but it wouldn't budge, as solid as if it were welded shut!
"Holy crap!" Jiang Ye's heart pounded wildly as he felt the liquid rising, moving from the back of his head to his ears, filling them, and then creeping up his sides.
He glanced sideways. The rising liquid was pale green, resembling tea or some kind of laundry detergent.
Soon, the liquid covered Jiang Ye's mouth, then his nose, submerging him completely.
Jiang Ye tried to breathe, inhaling the liquid in the jump pod into his lungs.
It was a peculiar sensation. His entire body felt as if it were being caressed by countless cool hands. After entering his lungs, the liquid was not choking or suffocating; instead, it felt quite comfortable.
The countdown on the glass panel gradually decreased.
3! 2! 1!
The entire jump pod jolted violently, like a small boat bumping against the shore.
The vibration wasn't that significant, but Jiang Ye immediately felt dizzy, similar to the feeling of being heavily intoxicated and sleep-deprived.
Another jolt, and the dizziness vanished.
The liquid receded with a swishing sound, and the glass panel slowly opened.
Jiang Ye sat up from the jump pod, spitting out water in large gulps, feeling bewildered. Was that it? Had they arrived? He had only been lying down for less than five minutes!
The composition of the breathing fluid was very special; it evaporated incredibly quickly. Jiang Ye's clothes were soaked, but within minutes of leaving the jump pod, they were all dry. He reached up to touch his hair; it was fluffy, as if he had just showered and blow-dried it.
"Attention all passengers, the ship has arrived at the new station. Planets near this station include: Yongye Star, Yumeiren Star, Shaxing, and Luosuxing. Passengers disembarking are requested to do so within two days."
Jiang Ye listened to the broadcast, utterly astonished.
So this was how the massive spaceship operated:
It stopped at each station for two days, allowing passengers to board and disembark.
Once all passengers were in place, the jump would commence.
In just two minutes, they could jump from one star system to another!
The speed was outrageously fast. Jiang Ye didn't know the specifics of jump technology, but it certainly wasn't traditional engines. Even if the ship were covered in rocket engines, it couldn't achieve such speed. It was likely a wormhole or portal-like technology.
"Knock, knock, knock!" The door to his room was knocked.
Jiang Ye went to open it, and a robot stood at the doorway.
"Mr. Jiang Ye, please pack your belongings and follow me. Your shuttle will depart for Yongye Star in half an hour," the robot said.
"Okay, okay, just a moment, I only have a few clothes, I'll pack them right away!"
Jiang Ye frantically packed his luggage.
He followed the robot to the disembarkation area, boarding the same spherical shuttle he had arrived in. However, this time, he was the only passenger. Lu Bao had inexplicably gone his separate way. Jiang Ye didn't mind; in unfamiliar territory, it was best to follow instructions.
The distance to Yongye Star was considerable. The small shuttle traveled for over a day before they finally saw the entire planet.
When Jiang Ye first heard the name "Yongye Star" (Eternal Night Star), he had assumed it was a dark planet. Now, seeing it with his own eyes, he realized it was anything but. The entire planet could be described with one word: bright!
It was incredibly bright. Dark continents were dotted with glowing city clusters. Even without the light of a star, the entire surface shone as if it were noon. From a great distance, one could feel the planet's intense heat.
After seeing Yongye Star, they flew for another six hours before finally entering the atmosphere. The spherical shuttle vibrated and roared as it descended!
"You are landing at Yongye Star Station 1. Someone will escort you upon arrival," the shuttle's broadcast stated.
Jiang Ye stood by the window, watching the glowing clouds in the gaps grow closer. They passed through one layer of clouds, then another, then a third, the light intensifying, revealing brilliant cities spread across the dark land.
As they approached the star station, countless aircraft of various models could be seen entering and exiting. In the distance, spacecraft with flames spewing from their engines were taking off, creating a scene of bustling activity.
The layout of the star station resembled a super-sized airport, but with many honeycomb-like structures. Aircraft entered and exited these "honeycombs," their tail lights glowing orange or white, like a swarm of tiny bees.
Jiang Ye's shuttle also entered a "honeycomb hole" and came to a stop.
A Caucasian woman in a white knee-length skirt stood at the doorway. Her golden hair cascaded to her shoulders, and she carried herself with an upright posture, her calves sharply defined, and her feet clad in ten-centimeter high heels. She wore silver-white reflective glasses and greeted him with a smile, taking Jiang Ye's suitcase.
"Hello, Mr. Jiang Ye. I am Nicole, Station Guide No. 28799, responsible for escorting you to the school dormitory," Nicole said. She then took out a pair of shiny silver-white glasses from her pocket and handed them over. "The light pollution on Yongye Star is severe. Wearing these will protect your eyes."
"Hello, hello, thank you for your trouble," Jiang Ye said repeatedly, putting on the glasses.
Nicole led Jiang Ye forward, through a corridor, and into the star station's interior.
A wide central corridor, with lights covering both the floor and ceiling, resembled the layout of a waiting hall. Everything gleamed.
Thousands of passengers were coming and going. Each passenger was accompanied by a guide, male or female, all wearing milky-white uniforms, uniformly fair-skinned and golden-haired, with tall statures – a collection of handsome men and beautiful women.
The walking gait of each guide was astonishingly similar: a slight sway of the hips, heads held high, chins lifted, as if they were on a runway.
Jiang Ye suddenly gasped. He saw several male passengers place their hands on the guides' buttocks.
"Hey! What are you doing!" Jiang Ye shouted angrily.
A crowd turned to look at him, all appearing confused and at a loss, but no one stopped. They all hurried away.
"Is there something wrong?" Nicole turned back slightly, a hint of surprise on her face.
"Those men over there, they put their hands on the guides' butts!" Jiang Ye said indignantly. "Shameless in broad daylight, hooligans!"
"There's no need to be upset," Nicole replied. "We are not real people; we are robots. So, anything is permissible. Passengers can even throw us off buildings."
Jiang Ye was about to say something else but was suddenly choked for words.
Robots?
"You are... a robot?" Jiang Ye slowed his pace.
"Everyone wearing this uniform is a robot," Nicole said, reaching out to pinch her collar and explaining gently, "Our job is to escort passengers in and out of the star station."
Jiang Ye was quite shocked. No wonder every guide was so beautiful and walked with such uniformity; they were all robots. From their appearance and demeanor, one could not tell they weren't living beings.
He remembered the spy robots he had encountered in the colony back then; they were identical to humans.
As they were about to leave the star station, Jiang Ye saw a female guide collapsed on the smooth floor, clutching her head and curled up in pain.
An elderly woman in a black coat stood beside her, furiously kicking her head. The kicks echoed loudly.
"Trash model, can't even carry a suitcase properly, die! What use are you! Die!"
After a few kicks from the old woman, the guide on the ground made a cracking sound. Her head, tangled with golden hair, rolled off. Numerous data cables were exposed in her neck, and electrolyte fluid sparked and flowed out. Several springs and relays also popped out.
Passersby walked by with blank expressions, glancing at the scene before moving on, seemingly accustomed to such events.
"Holy cow," Jiang Ye exclaimed, dumbfounded. "The old lady is so violent, she kicked her head off?"
"That head wasn't kicked off; the guide committed suicide," Nicole said, glancing at the scene with a blank expression. "When a passenger is severely dissatisfied, the guide must commit suicide by detaching their head to appease the passenger's anger."
Jiang Ye felt a wave of discomfort. He had been on Yongye Star for less than ten minutes, and he already sensed that he would not like the atmosphere of this planet.
Outside the star station, they entered the underground parking lot.
Thousands of flying cars, round and plump like beetles, were all white, with only the windows tinted black.
Nicole swiped access for a flying car, and Jiang Ye got in and sat down.
Nicole also entered and sat properly, operating the screen to drive.
The underground parking lot seemed incredibly busy, with a massive number of cars coming and going like the wind. The flying car waited for over ten minutes at the exit before finally finding an opening to leave.
Outside the star station was a dark wilderness.
"We should arrive in about an hour," Nicole said, turning her head to look at Jiang Ye. "If you're bored, I can keep you company. We can do anything."
"I'm not bored. It's my first time here, so I'll look at the scenery." Jiang Ye rested his head against the window glass. He knew what Nicole meant, but he wasn't interested in robots.
The wilderness was not barren; instead, it was a dense forest.
Endless trees, all dark red, appeared as black as cola against the night sky. The shape of the trees wasn't unusual, resembling mangroves but much taller, with treetops at least ten meters high. When the night wind blew, the forest undulated like waves of red. The palm-sized leaves were pressed tightly together, creating a thunderous applause.
The car flew for a long time, but the sea of trees remained unchanged. It seemed as if the entire planet was covered by forests.
"There are many of these trees on your planet," Jiang Ye said, pointing out the window. "Are they cultivated, or did they form naturally?"
"They are all cultivated. The area within a hundred kilometers of the star station is covered with these trees, making it the largest artificial forest area in the world," Nicole explained.
"Why cultivate so many trees? For their fruit? To collect flowers? Or for timber?" Jiang Ye's professional curiosity was piqued. "Can I take a small branch back to plant on my planet?"
"You probably won't like these trees, because they are all carnivorous trees. This area is a man-eating forest."