At this moment, the vast majority of the countless factories Li Qingsong had built within the Oriental Star System were now useless. They had long since ceased production and were about to be destroyed.
However, a portion of the factories had not only avoided shutdown but had, on the contrary, ramped up production with even greater efficiency.
Right now, Li Qingsong was producing only two things.
One, Hydrogen Bombs. Two, passive detection devices.
That’s right. Before he left, Li Qingsong was going to produce a vast number of Hydrogen Bombs.
A hundred million? Two hundred million? No. Ten billion, perhaps even twenty billion!
What was the point of producing so many Hydrogen Bombs?
They were, of course, to be covertly installed into the almost inexhaustible number of asteroids within the Oriental Star System!
In various parts of the Oriental Star System, Li Qingsong would randomly select asteroids, use cutting and drilling equipment to bore holes into them, plant the Hydrogen Bombs inside, and then restore their surfaces, leaving only a tiny, extremely well-hidden part of the passive detection device exposed.
These passive detection devices would not actively emit any signals—no radar waves, no visible light.
Powered by isotope batteries, they would silently observe the surrounding space.
The moment they detected an approaching vessel that didn’t belong to Li Qingsong’s fleet, they would immediately send a signal to the detonator, triggering the Hydrogen Bomb.
And a Hydrogen Bomb, whether for an Electroweak Civilization or a Level Three Strong Core Civilization, was the most powerful weapon there was.
Li Qingsong could make this judgment without needing to know the technical details of a Strong Core Civilization.
The reason was simple: the energy released by atomic bombs and Hydrogen Bombs was based on the application of the Strong Core Force. According to fundamental physics, this was the most powerful form of energy release possible within the known technological framework.
In terms of raw power alone, it was unlikely—practically impossible, in fact—that even a Strong Core Civilization could possess a weapon more powerful than this.
’When the time comes, the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity will be in for a big surprise. I wonder if your Energy Shields can block the heat and radiation of a Hydrogen Bomb blast?’
Li Qingsong’s heart filled with anticipation as he imagined the scene when the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity finally arrived at the Oriental Star System—and he was almost certain they would find it.
Under the orders of the Clones and the direct control of the Divine Craft AI, the factories grew ever busier.
A Hydrogen Bomb’s fusion fuel typically consists of deuterium and tritium. However, tritium’s half-life is too short—only a little over a decade—making it unsuitable for long-term storage. Thus, Li Qingsong opted for a different fusion model, using only deuterium gas as fuel.
This way, the bombs would utilize deuterium-deuterium fusion, dramatically increasing their shelf life.
To induce fusion in the deuterium gas, it was also necessary to manufacture small atomic bombs.
This was because only an atomic explosion could generate the temperature and pressure required to make the deuterium gas fuse.
And to detonate that small atomic bomb, chemical high explosives were required. Again, this was because only chemical high explosives could create the conditions needed for the atomic bomb itself to detonate.
Thus, the detonation process of a Hydrogen Bomb followed a sequence: conventional chemical high explosives would detonate the atomic bomb; the atomic explosion would then trigger the Hydrogen Bomb; finally, the Hydrogen Bomb would release thermal energy, radiation, and a shockwave to deliver the lethal blow.
And so, the corresponding factories—metal casing foundries, chemical plants, uranium enrichment facilities, final assembly plants, and more—ran at full capacity, churning out one Hydrogen Bomb after another.
The bombs were immediately sent to space via space elevators, loaded onto fleets of ships, and sown like seeds in springtime across the vast, fertile fields of the Oriental Star System.
He believed that when "autumn" came, they would blossom into brilliant flowers.
This entire operation took Li Qingsong only a few short months.
Now, the vast fleet had finished assembling. Standing before a viewport and gazing out at the immense Oriental Star System, Li Qingsong knew it had been transformed into a minefield.
Any fleet, other than his own, that arrived here would be in for a great many surprises.
Besides planting the "Landmines," Li Qingsong also followed his standard practice from the Solar System. In the hidden corners of certain planets, and in the vast Deep Space far from the ecliptic plane, he left behind automated bases. These bases housed Clones in hibernation, waiting for an external signal that would awaken them and reconnect them to Li Qingsong’s consciousness.
All preparations were complete.
That being the case, it was time to leave.
After less than a century, he was being forced to leave this promising Star System. He had to venture into the vaster, deeper Cosmos in pursuit of a slim chance of survival.
At that very moment, on every planet Li Qingsong had ever set foot upon, high-yield Hydrogen Bombs were detonating in succession.
They blasted all of Li Qingsong’s factories and bases to smithereens, simultaneously blooming into gorgeous flowers—a magnificent farewell fireworks display held in his honor.
Sent off by this multitude of brilliant blossoms, a total of six fleets activated simultaneously, accelerating away in six different directions.
This departure marked the beginning of a thousand-year voyage through space, a millennium of drifting through a sea of stars.
But Li Qingsong knew that even a thousand-year journey would likely not be enough to escape the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity’s pursuit.
Whether he could ever truly escape would depend on how the situation developed. At this moment, Li Qingsong had no real confidence.
All he could do was try his best.
Li Qingsong knew that back in the age of nations on Earth, spending a millennium on an escape would have been incomprehensible. This was especially true considering this escape wasn’t even the complete plan, but very likely just a single part of it.
After all, the lifespans of people back then were far too short, not even reaching a century.
But for someone like him, who had truly stepped out among the stars, it was different. Even if he lacked the ability of consciousness transfer and immortality—even if he were just an ordinary individual from a relatively advanced Electroweak Civilization—he likely wouldn’t find this surprising.
With highly developed biotechnology and mature hibernation techniques, even a span of ten thousand years was not an insurmountable gulf for an ordinary person.
A mere thousand-year escape was no big deal.
Molomans and the other Blutuk People were similarly accustomed to it.
Still, Li Qingsong felt a surge of emotion.
’A thousand years... How long did the whole of Human Civilization even exist?’
Under Li Qingsong’s command, with the Jade Emperor AI managing overall coordination and various specialized AIs in direct control, all ships in the main fleet began to accelerate in unison.
Ten thousand giant Space-Air Carriers, tens of thousands of heavy transport ships, tens of thousands of cylindrical residential ships, several thousand bizarrely shaped large Scientific Research Vessels, and more—all accelerated in unison at 0.06 meters per second squared, heading away from the Oriental Star.