Wandering Meteor-Chapter 343 - 342 Hourglass Nebula

Boom boom boom!

In the dark universe, a massive explosion suddenly occurred.

Moreover, it was not just one but ten explosions, each at evenly spaced distances, lined up in a row, forming an appearance like ten newly formed Constant Stars suddenly bursting with infinite light, creating a rare spectacle of a linear constellation in the universe!

The ten explosion sites formed a broad explosive belt. Energy shockwaves swept in all directions. At this moment, a massive asteroid group also happened to arrive, with many large asteroids directly colliding with the shockwaves. Many of the asteroids in the path were pulverized into dust and particles, forming an even larger and denser wave of material. This matter wave, mixed with the energy wave, continued to spread outwards, further affecting subsequent asteroid groups. Although the force of the explosion weakened with distance and could no longer directly destroy the asteroids, the mixed material wave effectively slowed the speed of the asteroid group.

When the massive asteroid group passed through the explosive belt, its overall speed was reduced from the third cosmic speed to the first cosmic speed!

Seeing the plan successfully implemented, all members of the Wandering Alliance were relieved. Now being a Level 4 Civilization, they were more than capable of handling such an asteroid calamity.

Next, the Wandering Alliance made comprehensive preparations to welcome the approaching huge asteroid group. As the asteroids neared the Wandering Star System, each asteroid hit the Four Base Space Wall like bullets in rapid succession. However, since the speed of the asteroid group had already been reduced to the first cosmic speed by the shockwave, even the large number of asteroids could not shatter the Space Barrier, and most were blocked outside. After most of the asteroids were intercepted, the Wandering Alliance deactivated the Four Base Space Wall, then Lu Chen, using Constant Star Gravity, absorbed all the surrounding asteroids into the Heliosphere, making them a part of it.

As the Wandering Star System voraciously absorbed the surrounding asteroid material, its size and mass also grew rapidly—from 1.2 light-years, slowly to two light-years, then gradually to three light-years. After absorbing the nearby space’s asteroid material completely, the diameter of the Wandering Star System reached 3.5 light-years, with a mass of about 500,000 Constant Star Masses.

Among them, Lu Chen accounted for about fifty percent of the mass of the entire Wandering Star System.

However, including Lu Chen, the orbits of all the Planet Battle Stars occupied only one-thousandth of the entire space of the Wandering Star System, with half of the mass concentrated in the very center, which is also a condition for maintaining the Heliosphere material in orbit around Lu Chen.

However, as the diameter of the Wandering Star System reached 3.5 light-years and the mass reached 500,000 Constant Star Masses, Lu Chen gradually felt overwhelmed, as the periphery of the Heliosphere material spread wider, and its mass became comparable to his own. This made it increasingly difficult for him to use gravity to speed up the rotation of the Heliosphere.

But this does not mean the Heliosphere material was excessive, or that the Wandering Star System needed to stop absorbing interstellar material, rather, it was that Lu Chen’s mass was not increasing fast enough to keep up with the growing mass of the Wandering Star System. After all, there is still more non-Constant Star material in the universe, so while absorbing interstellar material, Lu Chen also needed to accelerate the plundering of Constant Star Hydrogen to maintain balance in the Wandering Star System.

To address this pressing issue, Lu Chen immediately informed the scientific team at the Wandering Base.

He tasked the scientists to prioritize the detection of nearby Constant Stars or Constant Star Systems and nebulas, to find a relatively safe target for plunder.

After careful detection, the scientists finally discovered a dazzling nebula ahead, which was spectacular and unlike anything the Wandering Alliance had ever seen before.

Displayed on the detection monitor, the nebula consisted of two inverted triangles, standing corner to corner against each other, creating a striking contrast. From afar, it somewhat resembled the shape of an hourglass once seen on Earth, hence the scientists named it the hourglass nebula.

According to observatory data, the hourglass nebula spans approximately 7 light-years and is a vast nebula with six bright stars forming two triangular cores, surrounded by various diffused gases. As the light from the six stars passes through these diffused gaseous clusters, after multiple refractions and reflections, it results in the hourglass nebula’s vibrant and colorful appearance, making it seem like a cosmic hourglass, both magical and dazzling, grand and majestic!

"What is the status of the hydrogen in the hourglass nebula? Is there any civilization inside?"

To get a clearer understanding of the hourglass nebula’s situation, Lu Chen further inquired.

A scientist from the Wandering Base responded: "Observations show that the diffused gas in the hourglass nebula contains less than fifty percent hydrogen, only about forty percent, and the six stars are all newborns with over 95% of Constant Star Hydrogen, making them perfect targets for assimilation. Additionally, there are no Celestial Civilizations within the hourglass nebula, and it is estimated that the nebula was formed by these six stars within a giant hydrogen nebula several billion years ago. There are also no signs of biological civilization activity."

"That’s good, let’s head there immediately, and keep an eye on our surroundings!"

Once confirmed that the hourglass nebula was a newly formed nebula and posed no danger, Lu Chen immediately controlled the Wandering Star System to fly towards the hourglass nebula.

The gesture resembled a lion happily sprinting towards a sheep.

However, considering the current substantial size of the Wandering Star System, Lu Chen did not employ the plundering methods of the past. Previously, Lu Chen would descend directly over other Constant Stars and proceed with the plunder. But now, the size of the Wandering Star System was too large; getting too close to a planet would cause the expansive Solar Sphere Material to collide and produce friction with the stars at the two other corners.

Therefore, Lu Chen dispatched six Planet Battle Stars, each equipped with a Celestial Body Capture Device. Since the Wandering Alliance became a Level 4 Civilization and mastered Unified Force Technology, they could effortlessly replicate a similar Celestial Body Capture Device based on the dissected one previously acquired, which wasn’t a challenge. Lu Chen tasked these six Planet Battle Stars equipped with Celestial Body Capture Devices to capture the six stars within the hourglass nebula and then bring them nearby for direct absorption. As for the nebula’s diffused gases, materials, and Dark Matter, Lu Chen could directly absorb them into the Heliosphere without any worries, achieving a winning scenario in one move!

Visit freewe𝑏nove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺 for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience