In this way, when the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet eventually returned, they could retrieve these Detectors. By simply reading the information, they would know what his fleet had done in the Star System, and even... which direction they had fled.
Just as it was impossible for the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet to completely eliminate his own spy probes, it was even more impossible for him to clear out all the spy Detectors left behind by them.
Space was too vast, and the spy Detectors were too small. The void of Deep Space would completely conceal their minuscule forms, leaving them utterly undetectable.
Moreover, the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet was bound to do so. It was a low-cost, highly effective tactic.
’Then what should I do?’
If the main fleet and the decoy fleet parted ways within the Star System, the ruse would serve no purpose. The Detectors would surely be able to distinguish the real main fleet from the decoys.
In response to this situation, Li Qingsong devised a plan.
’If separating within the Star System would expose the main and decoy fleets, then...’
’I won’t separate them!’
’My decoy fleets and the main fleet will maintain the same heading and escape together!’
’I’ll separate them once we’re in a region of space you can no longer survey!’
Li Qingsong chose this strategy because he was certain of one thing.
He was certain that the Detectors the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet had inevitably left behind in the Pegasus V432 Star System could not possibly possess long-term acceleration capabilities. It would be impossible for them to constantly follow his fleet for close-range observation.
The reason was simple. His fleet needed to accelerate to 8% of the speed of light, a process that required the Thrust Devices to be at full power for over a decade.
And that would consume an enormous amount of fuel.
Even if those spy Detectors carried enough fuel, that much fuel would mean significant mass. Providing the thrust to accelerate such a mass would result in an incredibly bright exhaust plume.
Spy Detectors survived in space primarily through stealth. A bright exhaust plume would expose them.
’This creates a dilemma: If your Detectors attempt to follow my fleet, they will be exposed, and I will destroy them.’
’If your Detectors don’t follow my fleet, they can remain hidden, but they will fall farther and farther behind, until they are so distant that they can only see the glow of the exhaust. They’ll be completely unable to see any details of the fleet, let alone distinguish the true main fleet from the decoys.’
’And once you can no longer tell them apart, I can truly separate the main fleet from the decoys.’
’Even if your Detectors do observe the fleet splitting into six and heading in six different directions, you will no longer be able to determine which one is the true main fleet.’
’Because even the decoy fleets possess the same propulsion power.’
’The beauty of it is, once the fleets change course, the direction of their exhaust will also change, no longer pointing back at the Star System. Since the exhaust is highly directional and the fleets will be so far away, your Detectors left inside the system won’t even be able to see the plumes.’
’If you want to determine the fleets’ new headings, you’ll have no choice but to travel to the separation point and investigate the exhaust trails on-site. To find out which fleet is the real one, you’ll still have to track them down one by one.’
In this way, the spy Detectors that the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet left behind in the Pegasus V432 Star System would be rendered useless.
It was precisely for this reason that Li Qingsong had all six fleets depart together.
With the powerful thrust, the ever-increasing velocity, and the fleet’s growing distance, the light of the Pegasus V432 Star gradually dimmed. The countless planets, asteroids, and comets faded from Li Qingsong’s view.
’It seemed that, for all his efforts over the past several hundred years, he had not made any externally visible impact on this Interstellar System.’
No matter how powerful Li Qingsong’s industrial capabilities were, they were still insignificant compared to these natural celestial bodies.
’That’s for the best... It’s for the best...’
Li Qingsong sighed, casting his gaze toward the vast and distant Cosmos.
Time passed, drop by drop. In the blink of an eye, ten years went by.
By now, the fleet’s distance from the Pegasus V432 Star System had increased to approximately 3 trillion kilometers, or about 0.32 light-years. Its velocity had reached about 6.3% of the speed of light, still short of the planned 8%.
The fleet had not yet left the gravitational boundary of the Pegasus V432 Star.
Though this region of space was vast and empty, Li Qingsong knew that in corners even he could not detect, tiny celestial bodies likely lay hidden, still in the grip of the massive star’s Gravity, still orbiting it.
However, for the enemy Detectors, a distance of 0.32 light-years was more than far enough.
’Then this is the place to begin the fleet separation.’
At Li Qingsong’s command, each of the six fleets quietly altered its direction of thrust.
The next moment, the six fleets that had traveled together for ten years parted ways. Each flew off in a different direction, the distance between them growing ever wider.
Roughly another three years passed in a flash.
Aboard the main fleet, Li Qingsong could no longer see any trace of the other fleets.
The fleet’s velocity had finally reached the planned 8% of the speed of light, and its distance from Pegasus V432 was now about half a light-year.
At that moment, Li Qingsong’s fleet entered an inertial cruising phase.
After flying for some time, Li Qingsong’s fleet initiated a random maneuver protocol.
At the same time, if his pre-set programs were functioning correctly, the decoy fleets should have also initiated random maneuvers.
Numerous Thrust Devices activated again at low power, firing for a total of ten days to apply a course deviation of approximately five kilometers per second in a randomly selected direction, after which they shut down once more.
In the future, Li Qingsong would execute several more random maneuvers, striving to make his fleet’s course completely untraceable.
Time continued its slow march. Forty-six years later, Li Qingsong received a Cloned Consciousness link from the Pegasus V432 Star System.
By this point, Li Qingsong’s distance from the Pegasus V432 Star System had grown to about three light-years.
This implied a three-year communication delay, meaning the Cloned Consciousness connection from the Pegasus V432 Star System had been initiated three years ago.
And the condition for awakening the hibernating Clones was the suspected approach of the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet.
’This seems to mean... the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet has returned over a decade earlier than I originally anticipated.’
Li Qingsong sighed to himself.
’Thankfully, I’ve given it my all these years, never once slacking off. That’s the only reason I managed this narrow escape just before the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet arrived...’