Breaking free from Earth and venturing into the starry sky—this is the dream, or perhaps the fantasy, of countless humans.
From ancient times to the present, humanity’s gaze upon the vast universe, its imagination and yearning, has never ceased... Yet according to current technology, leaving the Solar System for interstellar travel will require at least another century.
But Andrew Han—
—is likely the first known living being in history to step out of the Solar System.
Following his principle of transparency, he hinted at his destination when returning home... and paid the corresponding price: carrying Monica Zhang through drifting clouds, and spending a week in a haze with classmate Zhang Meng.
And then there was his mother, Linda Chen’s, endless worrying.
A mother worries when her child travels a thousand miles—let alone to stars over four thousand light-years away.
But for Earth, for his family and loved ones, and for the quietly budding dream of freedom within his heart, Andrew Han wanted to break through the Solar System and see this vast universe with his own eyes.
...
...
The Celestia Galaxy spans trillions of light-years, vast and boundless, filled with countless dazzling stars, nebulae, black holes, and cosmic dust forming magnificent celestial bodies—existing for ages, seemingly eternal.
The Celestia Galaxy is, in fact, the Milky Way.
The Milky Way has existed for untold ages and is slowly expanding—a natural property of most stellar systems.
The Milky Way holds an uncountable number of life forms.
There is the Human Race, as well as other life races: for example, the Metal-Eating Smartmouse Race, and the Quwu Race that relies on stellar light for nourishment.
Additionally, the Milky Way’s structure is that of a barred spiral galaxy, completely different from ordinary spiral galaxies... Viewed from extremely high or low space, the Milky Way appears as a bright disk, with spiral arms extending from its edges, orbiting the galactic center.
Each spiral arm is formed by countless stars.
The Solar System, which nurtures the blue planet Earth, is situated on one of these spiral arms.
......
The starry sky: dark and cold.
A state-of-the-art warp craft set out from blue Earth, bound for the White Bird Administrative Star of the Chenriver Empire.
The entire Green Mountain warp craft was cyan, somewhat reminiscent of the Red Flag LA Andrew Han once piloted. But its overall form was lighter and thinner, like a flat, plate-shaped cabin linked to four warp engines.
Vrrrm—
The warp engines glimmered with radiant light, propelling the Green Mountain steadily onward.
Vrrrm—
Space around the Green Mountain was already warped, colors swirling in dazzling patterns, impossible to make out. Even Starlight-tier beings could not perceive the hues outside the cabin.
"Master, stop staring out there."
Bailey waved his little paw. "This is extremely advanced spatial technology, refined and simplified through many iterations before it could be widely used."
In other words, the Chenriver Empire could manufacture warp craft, but they could not fully analyze the underlying warp technology.
"Mm."
Andrew nodded and kept gazing out the window.
His crystalline palm pressed against the transparent glass, feeling a faint coolness... The view outside was wholly distorted; no matter how he strained his eyes, he still could not see clearly.
After a long moment of contemplation, Andrew shook his head. "I just never imagined I'd have the chance for a true interstellar journey in this lifetime."
Interstellar travel...
It had always existed only in dreams and fantasies.
After all, the starry sky was so vast, distances measured in light-years—a unit of length, denoting the distance light travels in a straight line through cosmic vacuum in one year.
"Sigh."
Andrew let out a faint, melancholy sigh.
He wasn't sure why—perhaps because it was his first time so far from home—but his heart felt strangely hollow, tinged with a trace of loneliness and solitude.
Or perhaps there was another reason.