During the construction of the Aurora, Hawk adopted some of the latest technologies, such as a more rational circuit design and a more efficient engine design, etc. According to estimates, the technological content of the Aurora is at least ten years more advanced than that of the Hope.
In particular, the Aurora is also equipped with a large number of weapon systems, the number of high-powered laser cannons has increased to thirty, the reserve of strategic hydrogen bombs has increased to ten, and the rest, the Aurora is also equipped with a large number of conventional weapon systems, such as up to one hundred conventional ammunition missiles, such as high-velocity machine guns, etc.
Not only that, but Hawke was also working intensively on the development of new weapons for the next generation. But Hawke also knew that hope was somewhat slim. The hydrogen bomb already represents the most lethal weapon within the framework of the two cornerstones of physics, relativity and quantum mechanics. Without a breakthrough in fundamental physical theory, it was impossible for mankind to develop a weapon more powerful than the hydrogen bomb. What Hawk is doing now is just to carry out some preliminary physical theory reserves.
Within the solar system, the discovery of black worm creatures and Jupiter spirit creatures had made Hawke wary of any alien civilisation he might encounter. Hawk was no peacemaker, and if he encountered an alien intelligent civilisation, Hawk would rather simply exterminate it than risk contact with it.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, Hope was already halfway back to Jupiter's orbit. Hawke's mind could not help but be animated again: "Why don't we send the Hope on another trip to Jupiter and capture some Jupiter spirits? I'm not on the Hope anyway, the Hope is safe as can be."
Hawke wrote a program and transmitted it to the Hope. The Hope immediately changed its course and sped off towards Jupiter.
As a precautionary measure, Hawke added a risk assessment code to the program, which contained an index of all possible dangers, and it had the highest authority over Hope's manoeuvring, so that if the risk index exceeded ninety points, Hope would flee Jupiter without a second thought.
The Hope slowly approached Jupiter, and under the control of the program, it first scanned all the Jupiter spirits within 150,000 kilometres of itself, and found that the number was within its acceptable range, before picking a relatively small gathering of Jupiter spirits and flying over to it.
This Jupiter Spirit gathering point was 400,000 kilometres away from Jupiter, and the Hope quietly approached them. Then, the Hope extended a mechanical arm from its hull, which was topped with a large net specially made of highly radiation-resistant material, as if catching bugs.
The Jupiter Spirits remained dumbfounded and did not resist or dodge.
Hawk, who had been paying attention to the situation of the Hope, was instantly overjoyed. This meant that his speculation was correct, and he would have an endless supply of Jupiter Spirits to build his ship from now on.
The Hope began to soar freely, as the Jupiter Spirits did not occupy space at all, and as long as their total radiation level was within the tolerance of the confinement device, the Hope did not have to worry about the Jupiter Spirits damaging the ship.
In orbit about 200,000 kilometres from Jupiter, a meteorite chunk about half a metre in diameter is carefreely orbiting the planet. On it, about thirty initial-strength Jupiter spirits had gathered. Behind it, the Hope quietly accelerated and slowly approached it. After the two had kept their speeds in sync, the mechanical arm on top of the Hope swung through and grabbed the meteorite, along with the thirty Jupiter spirits on it, in one piece. The meteorite was then abandoned and the Jupiter Spirits on it were imprisoned in a metal box.
This went on for more than half a month, and Hawke captured nearly ten thousand Jupiter spirits. Looking at the fruit of his labour, Hawke thought to himself, "One thousand more, one thousand more and then we'll return."
Ahead, a Jupiter spirit gathering point appeared, and according to the intensity measurement, there were about 1,300 Jupiter spirits gathered there. The Hope paused there and began to signal for Hawke. Hawke thought for a moment, but decided to go ahead.
Against the vast Jupiterian backdrop, the tiny Hope slowly began to approach a point where nothing could be seen to exist. Although it looked like a void to the naked eye or to the optics, the radiometer told Hawke unmistakably that there were over a thousand Jupiter spirits gathered there.
Only three thousand kilometres away from this Jupiter spirit gathering point, a change occurred.
The Jupiter spirits began to show a strong blue shift!
It was only at this moment that the HOPE realized that this Jupiter Spirit gathering point was not 1,200 Jupiter Spirits, but an extremely powerful radiation source of 300 Jupiter Spirits, and a group of powerful Jupiter Spirits whose individual radiation was three to ten times the size of ordinary Jupiter Spirits!
"Holy shit!" Hawk shrieked in shock, but there was nothing he could do. For when he received this signal, more than half an hour had passed since it had happened. In other words, everything that should have happened had happened, and as for what exactly had happened, Hawke could only make a judgment in accordance with the next signal he received.
Hawke's mind was strained to the limit, watching the Hope's movements closely.
The Hope was the first truly interstellar ship that Hawke had ever built, and it had a special significance to him, so there was no room for surprises.
As he watched Hope's movements, Hawke began to think nervously, "What the hell is going on? Why is this powerful Jupiter spirit behaving differently from the rest of the Jupiter spirits? It actually understands the reasoning behind active attacks?"
Unable to understand this reasoning for the moment, Hawk simply put it behind him. There was just one thing that Hawke saw clearly.
That was, in the future, I was afraid that it would not be so easy for him to capture the Jupiter Spirit again.
The message from the Hope came into Hawke's brain in an endless stream. Hawke saw that the moment the group of Jupiter spirits showed a strong blue shift, the danger assessment code immediately started to run, and the danger index shot up, from ten points to twenty points, and climbed to fifty points, and it was still going up ...
However, what Hawke had set was that the danger index rose to seventy points before the Hope would stop and observe, eighty points before the Hope would make an attacking strike, and ninety points before the Hope would run away regardless of the danger index.
Right now, the danger index is only fifty points! So the Hope was still trying to slowly approach the cloud of Jupiter spirits.
The strength of this mass of Jupiter Spirits was equivalent to twelve hundred times the strength of the initial strength Jupiter Spirits! Even if the Hope had the special bonuses of the black worm corpse and the Jupiter Spirit radiation, it would not be able to carry this much Jupiter Spirit radiation!
If it was approached by this Jupiter Spirit, the Hope would immediately have most of its instruments damaged, and Hawk would lose the Hope completely.
The two were approaching at a speed of a hundred kilometres per second. In other words, in just thirty seconds, the two would collide head-on.
At this moment, Hawke regretted wanting to grab a handful of his hair off. He regretted that he hadn't done a better job of assessing the danger.
The danger index was slowly climbing, and finally, the danger index reached seventy points. At the operation of the program, the Hope stopped, seemingly wondering what the hell was going on up ahead.
"Motherfucker, you stupid bird, run for your life!" Hawk shouted wordlessly.
That was the difference between a program and a human brain. A program would only ever follow a pre-determined code, without the slightest ability to adapt. If it were Hawk in this situation, he would have run as far as he could. But what is a hunch to a program? Is it a one or a zero?
That mass of Jupiter spirits was only two thousand kilometres away from the Hope. It was at this point that the danger index climbed to eighty!
The five high-powered laser cannons on the side facing the Jupiter Spirits began firing. These laser cannons were ten times more powerful than the old ship's laser guns at the beginning, but those Jupiter Spirits were all mutated and much stronger than ordinary Jupiter Spirits.
What's more, among the Jupiter Spirits, there was a super strong Jupiter Spirit with the radiation intensity of 300 ordinary Jupiter Spirits!
Hawk had already closed his eyes, not daring to look any further. They only needed twenty seconds to cover the distance of fifteen hundred kilometres.
The danger index was climbing.
Eighty-one ... eighty-two ... eighty-five ... eighty-nine ...
Finally, ten seconds before the encounter, the danger assessment index climbed to ninety!
The pre-set escape procedures immediately kicked in and the Hope turned around and ran regardless.
At this moment, Hope's great resistance to overload and its manoeuvrability were on display. Almost instantly, it climbed from relative standstill to a speed of two kilometres per second, and still rising! Just as it fled, the five laser cannons continued to fire, doing their best to halt the speed at which the mass of Jupiter spirits was catching up.
Hawke's heart and mind were tense, and he was not at all sure that the Hope could escape.
The seconds ticked by. The Jupiter Spirits were chasing the Hope at a constant speed, while the Hope was accelerating. After thirty seconds of chasing and fleeing, the Jupiter Spirit in the lead caught up with the Hope and clung to its shell.
"Fortunately, fortunately it's only a Jupiter Spirit of seven times normal strength, I can still carry it." Hawk mused silently as he continued to watch the Hope closely.
Another Jupiter Spirit caught up with the Hope. Meanwhile, Hope's speed continued to climb, and forty seconds passed, and Hope's speed, climbed to eighty kilometres per second!
At this moment, Hawke was sweating profusely. A speed of eighty kilometres per second was enough to escape the Jupiter Spirits' pursuit.
Looking at the ten or so Jupiter spirits clinging to the shell of the Hope, Hawke laughed bitterly in his heart.