'Blizzard Zero… System prompt… Arrived at scheduled… Currently in autopilot mode.'
Zachary Chase vaguely felt as if there was a sound ringing in his ears.
'Blizzard Zero starship intelligent… Blizzard Zero has… navigation status, arrived at scheduled… in autopilot mode.'
The sound gradually grew louder, and memories seemed to return to his body at that moment.
'Blizzard Zero starship intelligent system prompt: Blizzard Zero has exited warp navigation status and arrived at the scheduled location; currently in autopilot mode.'
Zachary suddenly opened his eyes, gasping for air as he watched the transparent hatch slowly open.
The lighting on the Bridge had been restored, and familiar figures had already begun to direct the Bridge's recovery work.
"All personnel on the Bridge, return to your posts within one minute and check the starship's data. All personnel on the starship, return to your posts within three minutes, ready for duty."
Vice Captain Charlotte continuously issued orders, with Wendy Chase assisting her.
Zachary subconsciously took two steps forward, only to find his legs felt weak. If he hadn't grabbed the nearby handrail, he would have almost fallen to the ground.
"Captain, you've awakened. Our starship has successfully arrived at the outer perimeter of the North Star Galaxy's Star Gate. All starship indicators are normal, and it has returned to normal navigation status." Vice Captain Charlotte saw Zachary and immediately reported the current situation.
"You all woke up earlier than me?" Zachary looked at them in surprise.
Wendy looked at Zachary's trembling legs and chuckled, saying, "We woke up one minute before you. I told you your physique isn't good enough. I've told you before, exercise more. Don't think that piloting a starship is just mental work. You need to know that navigating in space requires both wisdom and physical development!"
Zachary ignored Wendy's teasing. He asked Charlotte, "How long have we been in hibernation?"
"Thirty-two minutes," Vice Captain Charlotte replied.
Thirty-two minutes… This made Zachary feel as if a very, very long time had passed. Don't think that not much distance was covered in these thirty minutes. If this voyage hadn't used a warp engine, the speed of a conventional engine alone might have taken nearly one hundred days! The development of warp engine technology led civilization toward interstellar voyaging. It is a disruptive technology just like Star Gate technology!
Suddenly, Zachary felt unwell in his stomach and instinctively vomited forward.
Vice Captain Charlotte seemed prepared, as a hovering trash can appeared in front of Zachary.
"Ugh… Ugh…" Zachary vomited for a while before finally recovering. He then realized how painful warp navigation was.
"This is your first time using a military hibernation pod, right? When you traveled between the Little Dragon Star System and the academy before, you used a travel hibernation pod, which has a recovery phase to allow your body to adapt. But military hibernation pods are not so comfortable. When you reach your fourth year, you'll have practice in this area. Most people vomit their first time." Wendy explained from the side, but the smile on her face clearly showed she was showing off her better physique compared to Zachary.
Zachary ignored Wendy. He staggered to his captain's chair and surveyed the Bridge. He was the last to wake up. Everyone else's hibernation pods had already sunk beneath the Bridge floor, and Zachary's hibernation pod was only now beginning to descend.
"Request Star Gate passage, destination Arctic Fox Galaxy · Star Gate," Zachary instructed.
"Application has been sent. A reply will be received within ten minutes," Vice Captain Charlotte replied.
It didn't take ten minutes; within a few minutes, the Blizzard Zero received clearance, but this was after Zachary paid a Star Gate usage fee.
The Blizzard Zero navigated according to the route sent by the North Star · Star Gate management department. Soon, Zachary saw rows of starships waiting to pass through the Star Gate, as well as starships crossing the Star Gate to arrive in the North Star Galaxy.
Of course, none of that was important. Zachary's eyes were drawn to the massive Star Gate.
Although he had studied Star Gate knowledge in academy courses and seen pictures, and he also had memories of it himself, this was the first time he had seen it so immersively.
The North Star Star Gate's design resembled three interconnected temple gates, with blue, red, and golden halos emanating from the center of each of the three gates, like a tri-colored lake.
As he gazed at this Star Gate, information about it flooded Zachary's mind. The North Star · Star Gate uses a T3 level Three Divine Gate-class Star Gate, which is a T3 level Star Gate independently developed by the Star Glory Empire. Over seventy percent of the Star Gate network within the Star Glory Empire is composed of this type of Star Gate.
"Captain, it's our turn." Vice Captain Charlotte's voice pulled Zachary back from the magnificent Star Gate scene before him.
"Mm." Zachary took a deep breath, his hand unconsciously tightening its grip on the armrest beside the captain's chair.
Using a Star Gate for a Star Gate jump does not require entering deep space mode. The reasons for this are very complex, and only interstellar scientists can explain them. Ordinary people only need to understand this principle. And the whole process is very fast—truly very fast.
Zachary only felt a blur before his eyes, the surrounding scenery disappeared, his pupils seemed to see a colorful world, then his vision began to recover, and the dark, vast universe reappeared before him.
This feeling was much better than the previous warp navigation. It made sense—after all, he had paid for this.
The star coins an ordinary person earns in a lifetime are not enough for a T1 starship to make a short-distance Star Gate jump.
Zachary glanced at the time; only less than thirty seconds had passed.
This was the power of the Star Gate! It greatly reduced the distance between galaxies.
However, Star Gates also have limitations. The maximum number of starships that can be transported per hour has an upper limit, and the specific limit will depend on the starship's type. Assuming one hour can send ten thousand T1 starships, then for T2 starships, only one thousand can be sent, and for T3 starships, only one hundred can be sent. That's roughly the idea. The higher the level of the starship, the higher the cost of using the Star Gate.
"We have arrived in the Arctic Fox Galaxy, at the location of the Star Gate. After we leave the Star Gate's range, we will re-enter warp navigation status, and are expected to arrive at Arctic Fox Starport in approximately one hour." Vice Captain Charlotte began to explain the next steps.
Wendy leaned close to Zachary's ear: "You really just got lucky. I didn't expect there to be such a talented person with command abilities among the half-orc slaves. This Charlotte is more professional than many fifth-year students I know."
Zachary chuckled inwardly. She hadn't seen Charlotte's true abilities yet.
"Proceed to Arctic Fox Starport," Zachary issued the navigation order.