Chapter 4: Distress Signal
“Not the sa at all.” Lin Zhichen reclined lazily in his chair, complaining, “I thought the Federation’s virtual technology was so advanced that it could realistically replicate human sensory experiences. Turns out it’s all used for close-range interactions, completely useless for learning about ship operations!”
“It’s not that exaggerated, right? At least you can get a feel for the atmosphere of space battles.” Another person projected into the room.
Wu Tianyi, with a calm deanor and mature personality, was known for his steady and thodical approach to commanding starship battles, excelling at turning small victories into major wins.
“You’ll know if you try it. Where’s Ah Ke? Still in the virtual classroom?” Lin Zhichen asked.
“I’m here, big brother.” Lin Ke’s tall and slender figure appeared, his expression gloomy, giving off an unapproachable vibe. However, those who knew him well understood that he was warm-hearted beneath his cold exterior.
Lin Zhichen: “The exams are coming up, right? How’s the preparation going?”
“I’ve already finished the exams. I got a B rating, Ah Ke got a B, but Da Peng’s army assessnt got an A, ranking him among the top in Earth’s army cadets,” Wu Tianyi replied.
“Well done, Da Peng!” Lin Zhichen praised. “I rember that those who get an A- or above are usually recruited by the Federation, right?”
“I turned it down. I want to follow you, big brother!” Wei Peng said with a goofy smile. “According to the regulations, I’ll be granted a small military transport ship and a fully organized regint of clone soldiers!”
In the interstellar era, the governnt’s control over society reached unprecedented levels. Given the increasingly deteriorating living conditions and to foster a spirit of initiative among the populace, the Federation opened up one-star army recruitnt permissions to its citizens.
There was no need to worry about an overflow of weapons like in so free countries on Earth. The level of governnt control in the interstellar era was beyond ordinary imagination. In the event of a potential war outbreak, all military forces within planetary surface areas would be temporarily reclaid and placed under the command and control of the planetary ground defense forces.
If even the ground defense forces found it challenging, there was always the core of the defense forces—the interstellar fleet.
In this era, the difficulty of rebellion was unimaginable. Those capable of successfully rebelling wouldn’t be hindered by a re army.
“Tianyi, it’s a pity. If you continued studying for a while longer, you might have had a chance to get an A rating,” Lin Zhichen said with so regret.
“I know my own talents. Without your help, big brother, I would have struggled to even get a B rating,” Wu Tianyi shook his head. “Continuing to study would be pointless. It’s better to graduate quickly and join you.”
“Don’t worry. I just finished a battle and got a frigate blueprint. Maybe when I return, you’ll all have your own ships,” Lin Zhichen encouraged.
“What? Big brother, you’ve already finished your first battle?” Lin Ke was surprised. “Big brother, send the battle video. I want to study it.”
“Sure,” Lin Zhichen agreed casually. “Find a place on Earth to train the NPC crew mbers. I’ll contact you when I get back.”
He quickly ended the communication, packaged the previous battle information, and sent it, continuing to command the ship as it navigated through the asteroid belt.
He found that this near-real combat practice significantly accelerated skill growth. He had not reached the advanced level by graduation, but now he was close to advancing to expert.
Freely traversing the starry sky, the asteroid belt was like algae floating at the bottom of a river, and the frigate was like a nimble fish, freely swimming through the cosmos.
During this monotonous voyage, both Lin Zhichen’s captain profession and the ship professions of the other NPC crew mbers visibly improved.
This aimless search was very tedious. If it weren’t for the visibly increasing skill bars, Lin Zhichen would have almost decided to stop and surf the internet.
“Awakening will happen in the next couple of days.” After finishing another ditation session, he looked at the nearly complete progress bar on the panel and felt a sense of anticipation.
Psionics and ordinary people belonged to completely different tiers, with extraordinary powers creating an insurmountable gap.
To say nothing of other aspects, just look at the famous generals and marshals of the Federation—none of them were ordinary people. They were all evolved beings.
Unlike the proclaid equality on Earth, the Federation governnt in the interstellar era was starkly hierarchical, with clear distinctions between commoners, citizens, and noble citizens, each with distinct rights and powers.
Commoners had the right to vote, but only citizens had the right to be elected and the opportunity to beco lower and middle-level governnt officials.
Noble citizens were the highest tier in Federation society. Only at this level could one beco a planetary governor or even run for Federation president as a senator.
Leaving NPCs aside, natural persons could initially obtain commoner rights. To gain citizenship, one had to either accumulate enough contributions or complete an evolution—becoming a Psionic, a gene evolver, or a chanically modified cyborg, all of which were viable paths.
Psionics relied on talent, a gift from the heavens, sothing ordinary people could only envy. In the new universe, there was no place for traditional cultivators, so no one knew that ancient cultivation thods could also awaken Psionic abilities.
Gene evolvers were most likely to achieve life transcendence on the battlefield. Unless one was a reckless madman or a fearless warrior, it required countless battles to stimulate oneself and the consumption of large amounts of genetic drugs to succeed.
The place with the most such individuals was the Federation Army, widely known as the cannon fodder camp.
Cyborgs, on the other hand, abandoned their human identity, leaving only their brains imrsed in nutrient fluid, commonly known as “canning.” They lost all emotions and could only rely on precise sensors for perception, sothing not everyone could accept.
Therefore, despite having three paths, less than 20% of the entire Federation population could obtain full citizenship. Among them, most gained citizenship through exceptional technical skills, earning wealth through their work.
Another crucial point was that only citizens could order starships from the Federation’s shipyards. Even the most basic engineering ships or transport ship captains had to be Federation citizens.
People like Lin Zhichen and his companions, having completed professional training, graduated directly into the citizen class, starting at a higher level than others.
Of course, the difficulty of studying for a profession like a captain was incomparable to other professions. It could only be said that Lin Zhichen’s talent was sufficiently strong.
“Captain, we have a situation!” The radar observer’s voice echoed in the command cabin, and the atmosphere inside the ship imdiately beca tense.
“What situation?” Lin Zhichen quickly stepped behind the radar operator and looked at the radar screen.
“It’s an ergency communication! Our ship has received a distress signal!” the radar observer alerted.
“Distance and enemy information!” he asked succinctly.
“The target is 3 light-seconds away from our ship, in the 7 o’clock sector,” the radar observer quickly reported. “The distress target is a Seagull-class Frigate I, and the enemies are five pirate raiding boats!”
“No wonder they need to flee. Send a communication request!” Lin Zhichen ordered.
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