Although the total mass of this planetoid reached over 200 trillion tons, compared to a natural planet, its own Gravity was still too weak. Its gravitational binding energy was too low, making it unable to withstand the subsequent interstellar propulsion maneuvers.
The moment propulsion began, it would completely fall apart. It needed additional reinforcement to hold it together.
In other words, "packing it up."
At this moment, a feeling welled up in Li Qingsong’s heart.
When he was young, leaving his hometown to study elsewhere, his mother had prepared many things for him: clothes, a quilt, toothpaste, a toothbrush, food, and so on—a huge pile of odds and ends.
Back then, Li Qingsong didn’t have anything like a suitcase. So his mother prepared a bedsheet for him, wrapped all these things in it, and tied the sheet into a bundle.
Li Qingsong shouldered that bundle and set off on his educational journey.
The scene before him now seemed worlds apart from that experience on Earth, but... in a way, it was also so similar.
Li Qingsong had also prepared far too much luggage for himself. Now, he also needed a "bedsheet" to wrap it all up before he could take it with him.
Unknowingly, several thousand years had passed. But the memories left from that distant past were still stored in Li Qingsong’s mind, perfectly clear and unfaded.
Only by relying on these memories could Li Qingsong feel that he was still connected to Human Civilization, that he had an origin and hadn’t just appeared out of thin air.
Only then could Li Qingsong know that his identity was human, and had always been human, not some bizarre, misshapen creature.
With a myriad of emotions in his heart, Li Qingsong began the task of packing his "luggage."
He brought in a massive quantity of the specialized cables originally used for building the space elevator. He wrapped them around and around the 50-kilometer-radius Flying Star, securely binding all the materials that constituted the planetoid to prevent them from breaking off.
After that, Li Qingsong transported a huge number of Large Thrust Devices and installed them one by one onto the Flying Star.
This type of Thrust Device was originally used to propel Space-Air Carriers and Large Transport Ships. But when used on the Flying Star, they still seemed too small.
Li Qingsong hadn’t had time to develop larger Thrust Devices, so for now, he could only seek greater thrust by increasing their quantity.
Propelling an asteroid, even a massive one, was not originally a difficult task.
He had done something similar back in the Solar System.
However, back then, the velocity requirements for the asteroid were lower. Now, Li Qingsong needed to propel an asteroid, maintaining a constant acceleration of 0.06 meters per second squared for an extended period, ultimately accelerating it to 8% of the speed of light. The requirements were much higher, and the task far more difficult and complex.
To achieve this, Li Qingsong had to develop a specialized intelligent propulsion control system and build a dedicated supercomputer for it to run on. This system would control, in real-time, the more than one million Large Thrust Devices in total, which finally solved the problem.
At this point, all work within the Pegasus V432 Star System was complete.
Li Qingsong’s fleet had not expanded; in fact, it had even shrunk due to the previous war.
But even with fewer transport ships and Space-Air Carriers, the problem of material reserves was completely solved thanks to this Flying Star.
The construction of several decoy fleets was also finished.
Li Qingsong had also prepared a Flying Star for each of the decoy fleets. Only by doing so could these fleets have identical trajectories, effectively masking the main fleet.
Of course, those Flying Stars didn’t need to be so painstakingly piled with resources; he simply picked a few asteroids of roughly equivalent mass to serve as stand-ins.
All preparations were complete.
It was time to shoulder the luggage and hit the road.
’Thousands of years ago, I shouldered my bundle and went to university, beginning the journey of my future life.’
’Now, I must once again shoulder a bundle and re-enter space to undertake the most crucial technological leap yet.’
’This time, in the depths of space, I will complete the transition of fundamental physics theories to practical applications, truly converting scientific breakthroughs into combat and industrial strength.’
’After this escape, I must solve the problem of the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet for good.’
’I’ve been running for so many years. I’ve had enough of it...’
At this moment, 250 years had passed since the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet had left the Pegasus V432 Star System.
It was estimated that in about 50 years, the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet would return.
In those 50 years, Li Qingsong had to escape far enough away and then use the vastness of the Cosmos to hide himself.
Time was short. He had to act immediately.
"Alright, let’s go."
Following Li Qingsong’s command, flashes from Hydrogen Bomb detonations erupted simultaneously on numerous planets throughout the Pegasus V432 Star System.
The industrial facilities, built with Li Qingsong’s countless hours of effort and energy, were reduced to dust and ash in the brilliant flashes, vanishing completely.
Countless engine plumes erupted from the rear of the numerous residential ships, Space-Air Carriers, Scientific Research Vessels, experimental ships, and large science vessels in Li Qingsong’s fleet. They propelled each ship forward, and also pushed the massive, heavy Flying Star, which slowly began to accelerate.
The numerous specialized cables bound the materials composing the Flying Star tightly together, preventing it from disintegrating under acceleration, just like the bedsheet his mother had used to pack his belongings so long ago.
Unlike the previous escapes, where the decoy fleets and the true main fleet had fled in different directions, this time, Li Qingsong’s main fleet and the five decoy fleets all chose the same direction.
A total of six fleets, merged together, formed an armada of unprecedented size. If one were positioned directly in the path of their engine plumes, even from tens of millions of kilometers away, the fleet would still appear as bright as a star—bright enough to truly illuminate a planet, making it seem like day.
Having all six fleets choose the same escape direction might seem to render the decoy fleets meaningless, but that was not the case. Li Qingsong had a much deeper plan in mind.
Li Qingsong was certain of one thing: in his previous escapes, the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet had never arrived ahead of schedule. But this time, the fleet had already come once, been forced to retreat by him, and was now destined to return.
The Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet was most likely incapable of interstellar communication, which meant it was impossible for them to monitor his movements in real-time by deploying Detectors in the Pegasus V432 Star System.
But it was predictable that the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet would inevitably leave behind automated surveillance devices in the Pegasus V432 Star System to watch his every move.
If they couldn’t communicate in real-time, then so be it. They would only need to store all the surveillance data gathered over the years under an automated program.