Chapter 1

Vast and lifeless, cold and lonely, the deep space is boundless and eternal, shrouded in darkness.

The twinkling stars in the cosmos are merely insignificant embellishments in this vast universe.

In this dark and cold universe, amidst the star-studded sky, a Kryptonian space exploration vessel, 160 meters long and 50 meters high, with a surface pitted and damaged, is drifting alone in the vastness of space. The vessel is adorned with the emblem of the Kryptonian Institute of Technology.

Inside the vessel.

In the life nutrition chamber.

The dark and cold life nutrition chamber suddenly lit up silently, illuminating the entire single-person chamber with bright light.

The entire life nutrition chamber contains only one cryogenic pod.

‘Sss...’

The cryogenic pod emitted a sound, and the lid opened automatically. A burst of cold mist instantly emerged from the pod, spreading throughout the life nutrition chamber.

Amidst the cold mist, a projection beam shot out from the wall, projecting the image of a middle-aged man with a wise gaze and a calm expression.

"The spaceship has consumed too much crystal energy while passing through the asteroid belt. Has it reached the point where it needs to awaken a life form to decide the final course of the journey...?"

The middle-aged man's wise gaze was filled with complexity.

No intelligent system of any spaceship can replace the life form inside to make the final decision on the journey.

Sometimes, a sudden spark of inspiration from a life form can find a way out of a desperate situation better than an intelligent system.

At the last moment, whether it be life or death, Kryptonians have the right to decide their final fate. This is the final decision-making power guaranteed by the Kryptonian Life Council for the personnel on board the spaceship.

Amidst the cold mist.

Hailt suddenly opened his eyes, lying in the cryogenic pod. Even though the pod had already warmed up, he still felt the coldness on his skin. The cold air seeped into every pore, bringing a chill, while the beating of his heart and the flow of blood throughout his body provided warmth beneath his skin.

He moved his fingers slightly, his eyes focusing from the initial daze. He took a deep breath of the cold air into his lungs, the icy breath traveling down his throat and into his lungs, making him feel his existence and the strength in his body, which gathered from deep within his bones, and his muscles regained their power.

Hailt supported himself with his strong hands and sat up.

"Success."

He had a handsome and gentle face, with a warm smile. His long black hair reached down to his shoulders, and his focused pupils were deep like black holes, exuding a calm and confident demeanor. He looked at the projection outside the cold mist.

"Father, is that you?"

Hailt got out of the cryogenic pod, his tall and muscular figure emerging from the cold mist. His skin was tightly adhered to his muscular lines, forming a perfect male physique.

With a look of joy and confusion, he asked, "Father, you woke me up now. Did we succeed?"

Jor-El's already complex gaze became even more complex as he saw Hailt emerge from the mist. His face showed a hint of unspoken sadness, and he managed a smile. "Hailt, perhaps you should go to the control room and take a look."

"Hmm?"

Hailt's surface showed only a slight hint of confusion, but deep down, he knew this was the worst-case scenario he had anticipated.

However, Hailt felt no disappointment, for leaving Krypton was already the start of the best journey.

He ignored Jor-El's projection, feeling the cold on his skin as he stepped out of the mist and walked straight to the control room. During this short journey, Hailt continued to chat with Jor-El, reminiscing about the various research projects they had conducted together when Jor-El was his mentor at the university, the bizarre landscapes of Krypton, the bruises from training with Zod, the shared smile after being caught speeding with Kara, and the delicious food made by his adoptive mother, Lara.

The time spent on Krypton's surface was a fulfilling period he had never experienced in his previous life.

Jor-El's projection appeared intermittently as Hailt walked, and every time he heard Hailt reminisce about the time on Krypton and their time together, he remained silent.

The control room was quite simple, with only a main control console and a few steel seats nearby. The surrounding environment was used to project a 360-degree view of the external space.

The existence of the intelligent system meant that the commander only needed to issue commands to complete everything.

In this space exploration vessel, there was only Hailt and his adoptive father, Jor-El, whose partial consciousness had been implanted into the ship at the time of its launch.

Hailt entered the control room and saw the 360-degree projection of the starry sky, which did not match his memory. His eyebrows twitched.

He had been in cryogenic sleep for some time and had given the order to proceed towards the yellow sun's star system under the condition of safety.

Hailt's gaze swept over the projection of the starry sky in the control room. Clearly, Dawn had not found the yellow sun and had not followed the predetermined coordinates, deviating to a point where Earth could not be locked onto.

"Dawn, report the current status of the spaceship."

Hailt issued the command.

A series of projection data and dynamic projections showing the damaged parts of the spaceship appeared before Hailt.

The Dawn intelligent system provided a timely explanation.

"Crystal core engine energy remaining: 3%..."

"Energy shield failed..."

"Internal radiation barrier activated..."

"Outer hull damage rate: 64%, using engineering machinery to remove damaged outer layers and reinforce the inner layers."

"Estimated drift duration: 18 years..."

"Please set the drift destination..."

Drifting aimlessly...

Hailt sighed inwardly. Indeed, my good father has acted against me.

"Open the navigation log."

As expected, the navigation log was blank.

Hailt's face remained expressionless as he sat on the steel seat, his hands resting on the armrests, his fingers interlocked on his nose, his eyes deep and resolute.

He sat silently on the steel seat amidst the brilliant starry sky.

If he could, he really didn't want to come to this point.

The projection beam shot out in the control room, and Jor-El's image appeared, looking at Hailt sitting on the steel seat with a guilty and pained expression.

"Hailt..."

"Father, why did you do this? In just two years, you used up 97% of the crystal core engine's energy, changed the original navigation route, and let the spaceship drift aimlessly, leading to my premature awakening by Dawn's calculations."

Hailt's tone no longer carried the joy of seeing his father.

Since it has come to this, he was willing to inflict any subtle pain on Jor-El.

"Enough, Hailt. There's no need to question or act pretentiously, causing this part of my consciousness to feel guilty and uneasy. When I initially copied this part of my consciousness onto the ship, it was a difficult decision, and I found it hard to believe you would be such a person. But since this part of my consciousness is here, it means that no matter how much my emotions fluctuate, it won't change the resolve I made at the time."

Jor-El's guilty and pained expression paused.

Leaving his son in the vast, lifeless, cold, and lonely deep space was not an easy thing for him to bear.

"I don't understand. Weren't our goals the same? Weren't we both dedicated to saving Krypton?"

Hailt's tone was firm and resolute.

Before Jor-El secretly proposed to copy part of his consciousness onto the Dawn exploration ship, they had always been a model father and son.

Jor-El, the most respected scientist on Krypton, and his son, Hailt-El, who was passionate about Krypton, easy-going, kind, generous, open-minded, steady, intelligent, upright, just, broad-minded, positive, handsome, strong, honest, tolerant, sincere, enthusiastic, resolute, brave, decisive, and wise, had always been the most celebrated pair at the Kryptonian Academy of Sciences.

All scientists believed that the bright future of Krypton was in the hands of this father and son.

Now... my father has betrayed me!

He has exiled me to drift in the vastness of space.

A faint sense of regret flashed through Hailt's mind.