All along, Su Chen had always thought that the term "Milky Way" in the Milky Way System was just a decorative phrase. He had never imagined that there might actually be a Milky Way within the Milky Way System.
Imagine, a river that spanned the entire cosmos, cutting straight through a galaxy. What a magnificent sight that must be?
Perhaps Earth's designation of this place as the Milky Way System had reasons deeper than he knew. There might be more profound motivations hidden beneath the surface.
"What does the Milky Way look like, exactly?" Su Chen couldn't help but ask.
"According to what they say, the Milky Way is indeed a river, but this river exists in the vast expanse of the Universe, not on the surface of any planet. No one knows the exact length of the Milky Way, but it varies in width. At its narrowest points, it's about five light-years wide, and at its widest, it stretches for hundreds of light-years."
Su Chen was astonished. Even the narrowest point of a river was five light-years wide, which was roughly the distance from Earth to Lakestar.
"Originally, the Milky Way remained unchanged for countless years. However, just a few decades ago, the Imperial Star of the Rota Empire noticed some activity within the Milky Way," Yuri paused briefly, "The Milky Way was overflowing."
Su Chen couldn't fathom what it would look like for the Milky Way to overflow. It was unimaginable; even if Earth were submerged by the Milky Way, it wouldn't create a ripple.
"When the Milky Way began to exhibit anomalies, people like them sensed trouble and left Imperial Star. Many similar individuals did the same. They don't know how many people managed to escape in the end. According to them, after arriving on this remote planet, all contact with Imperial Star was lost."
"So, are they of no use to us?" Su Chen felt disappointed that this lead to understanding the Rota Empire had suddenly vanished.
Even if he knew about the Rota Empire's previous strength, it wouldn't be of much use now.
There was one strange question, though. If the Imperial Star of the Rota Empire had experienced problems several decades ago, why didn't the surrounding planets receive any news?
If Yan Yun Star had known about it early, the entire planet would have descended into chaos, and it would have been impossible to wait calmly for the Ghost Clan's appearance.
In the end, Su Chen could only attribute it to the distance being too great, combined with the suddenness of the events, which prevented Imperial Star from contacting the surrounding planets.
However, this might have turned the center of the Rota Empire into a disaster zone.
"For me, this is a good thing. Without the assistance of the Rota Empire, most planets are not a match for me."
Su Chen had learned a lot about the Rota Empire from Yao Yifei, knowing that even within the Empire, Small Galaxy-level experts were considered formidable, and Large Galaxy-level individuals were akin to regional lords. The entire Rota Empire didn't have many Large Galaxy-level experts; most of the strong individuals on planets were Small Galaxy-level.
"Commander, how should we deal with these people?" Yuri continued to inquire.
"You decide for yourself, and gather more information about the Rota Empire while you're at it."
After severing contact with Yuri, Su Chen once again contacted Yuan Yizhong, "What was the relationship between the Qiluo Civilization and the Rota Empire when Qiluo Civilization rose to power?"
Su Chen was quite curious about this. A civilization that had almost reached the pinnacle of humanity's hierarchy was situated within an empire. How did the two entities manage their relationship?
In terms of power, Qiluo Civilization was undoubtedly stronger than Rota Empire.
However, Yuan Yizhong's response left him puzzled, "Rota Empire? Initially, the Empire that controlled the Milky Way System was called Risong, and it was a part of Qiluo Civilization. Rota Empire should have appeared later."
Su Chen's expression turned rather peculiar. He hadn't expected that Qiluo Civilization had already controlled the Empire within the Milky Way System, and that Empire was not Rota Empire during that time.
"What do you know about this Empire?" Su Chen felt that, regardless of the Empire, there shouldn't be much difference, and he might obtain some information from Yuan Yizhong.
"Commander, I was just a low-ranking researcher before, so I don't know much about the Empire. However, I do know one thing: every Empire has a trump card to suppress other Empires, and this trump card can unleash power close to the Constellation level!" Yuan Yizhong's voice was very solemn.
Su Chen's heart skipped a beat. Unleashing power close to the Constellation level was terrifying.
While he hadn't witnessed the might of a Constellation-level expert, he had encountered Large Galaxy-level individuals, and they were already beyond his ability to contend with. So, the terror of Constellation-level power was beyond imagination.
"No wonder an Empire can suppress an entire star system. It turns out they have such a formidable trump card."
Su Chen had asked Les before about the immense power of Constellation-level experts. To them, destroying a planet only required the flick of a finger, and obliterating a star system was just a matter of time.
The strength of Constellation-level experts was unfathomable, bordering on god-like in the eyes of Regular Humans. For instance, traveling from the center of an Empire to the edge of a star system would take them hardly any time at all, as their speed far exceeded that of light.
Going from Large Galaxy to Constellation-level marked a qualitative leap, and even power close to the Constellation level was something a Large Galaxy-level individual could not contend with.
Now the question arose: how was the Risong Empire wiped out, allowing subsequent Empires to rise and eventually become the current Rota Empire?
If he remembered correctly, Yao Yifei had mentioned that Rota Empire had only existed for tens of thousands of years, which paled in comparison to Empires with histories in the millions or even tens of millions of years. Rota Empire was like a child among them.
Su Chen had been curious about other star system Empires, but unfortunately, information in this regard was quite sealed off, and not even Yao Yifei knew.
"What else can you tell me?"
"Another thing is that, apart from the central region, each vassal state manages its own affairs. They only report issues they can't resolve on their own. The strength of each vassal state is at the Large Galaxy level, but I'm not sure about the specific tiers."
Su Chen asked a few more questions, and Yuan Yizhong shared all the information he knew.
After severing contact, Su Chen fell into contemplation. He realized that his understanding of Rota Empire was still too limited, and the secret behind the rapid fall of Qiluo Civilization remained unknown, even to Yuan Yizhong.
"It's no use thinking too much. As long as I have enough strength, even if a Large Galaxy-level expert appears, I can still take them down."
With that thought, Su Chen promptly turned on his computer and happily started playing a game. (To be continued...)
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