Rebirth of the Super Battleship

Chapter 438: The Second Neutron War Star!

Xiao Yu actually did not hold much hope that Luka Four would find a cure for this disease. The reason was simple, among those ruined ships he had seen before, many were clearly creations of Level 6 civilizations. If even the beings of Level 6 civilizations had all died, then what ability did he have to find a way to counter this disease?

Another reason was that Xiao Yu himself had a profound foundation in the life sciences. He knew that this disease originated at the atomic level, while his current life sciences knowledge only reached as far as the genetic level. Genetic defects, such as congenital diseases, Xiao Yu could easily cure. But genes were built from molecules and atoms. That deeper level, below genes, was still beyond his reach.

In the virtual conference room, Luka Four had already left early, leading the scientists of the Life Sciences Institute under the Central Research Academy of Science to seek a solution. The scientists who remained in Virtual Conference Room One all wore grim expressions, as though a giant stone weighed upon their hearts.

Xiao Yu’s exploration continued. Tens of thousands of robots had scattered, entering deeper into the base of the silicon-based lifeforms. Xiao Yu saw countless broken devices, but unfortunately, after hundreds of millions of years of erosion, they had been completely destroyed. Even the absence of air on this planet had not been enough to preserve them intact.

So far, Xiao Yu had explored an area of over one hundred square kilometers. Yet it was clear that what he had seen was still only the tip of the iceberg.

This was without a doubt an incomparably grand complex of structures.

“What did this silicon-based civilization build such a massive base for?” Xiao Yu wondered silently, his gaze turning once more toward the neutron star.

In the visible light spectrum, this neutron star was completely invisible, for there was not enough surrounding gas to react with its radiation and emit visible light. But in other, non-visible wavelengths, Xiao Yu could clearly perceive its existence.

It still maintained its slow, unhurried rotation.

“Hmm? Something doesn’t seem right.” Xiao Yu suddenly noticed something.“This neutron star’s rotation period, during this revolution, sped up by about one hundred and twenty billionths of a second compared to the previous one. Its rotation speed is increasing? In other words, in the past, its rotation was even slower than it is now?”

This was a critical discovery. If its rotational speed was accelerating over time, did that not mean that in the distant past it had rotated more slowly, perhaps even… had no rotation at all?

Xiao Yu confirmed his speculation. In the remote past, the neutron star’s rotation must have been slower than it is now, possibly even completely motionless.

Could a non-rotating stellar body naturally form in the universe? Current theoretical systems told Xiao Yu such a thing was impossible. Therefore, it must have been artificially caused.

Couple this with the massive space bases in planetary orbit, the enormous complexes on the planet’s surface, and even the strange constructions on the white dwarf, structures that looked suspiciously like planetary engines…

Gradually, an astonishing hypothesis surfaced in Xiao Yu’s mind.

“This silicon-based civilization must have used some method, most likely gravitational interference. Perhaps this white dwarf was never naturally formed here at all. Perhaps even these two planets had been transported later. These two planets served as resource bases, the white dwarf served as a braking mechanism. Materials were mined from the planets, planetary engines were constructed on the white dwarf, and through gravitational disturbance from the white dwarf, they forced the neutron star to stop rotating…”

A magnificent vision unfolded in Xiao Yu’s mind.

This place was not originally a dangerous region. It was just an ordinary, unremarkable place, except that it had a neutron star. Then, this silicon-based civilization, using technological power far beyond Xiao Yu’s understanding or imagination, transported a white dwarf along with two planets from distant space to this location. Thus began a magnificent era of construction. The civilization first built bases on the two planets, then extended them to the white dwarf itself, even building planetary engines of unimaginable power, driving the white dwarf along a calculated orbit. This deliberately arranged orbit served as a braking mechanism, dragging the natural neutron star until its rotation slowly came to a stop…

Xiao Yu felt a chill run through his whole body, his mind nearly losing control. He could not imagine how vast, how magnificent, such a project must have been.

“Neutron War Star… Neutron War Star… the silicon-based civilization’s Neutron War Star…” The term surfaced in Xiao Yu’s mind, spinning endlessly and refusing to leave.

“This is the second Neutron War Star? Very likely so. Stopping the neutron star’s rotation was perhaps only preparation for the next stage of construction. Unfortunately, they failed. Before their project could be completed, they all died for some unknown reason, turning into these statues.”

Suddenly, another possibility struck Xiao Yu.

“This was the silicon-based civilization’s Neutron War Star. And judging from the fact that every carbon-based lifeform entering these ruins has died, perhaps this Neutron War Star was specifically created to kill carbon-based beings. In that case… this strange disease is most likely related to this neutron star. Perhaps this is one of the killing methods of this unfinished Neutron War Star?”

Xiao Yu’s heart surged violently, almost beyond control. Almost instinctively, he affirmed his own speculation. Connecting all the clues and discoveries together, he reached this conclusion, and from it, made another deduction.

“This… this may well be the Guardian Civilization’s ultimate goal! They too want a Neutron War Star, to resist the Sweepers!” At that moment, Xiao Yu felt a sudden flash of clarity.

Though Xiao Yu had never personally experienced the Neutron War Star’s might, its long string of glorious battle records was enough to paint a picture.

The half Fourth-Dimensional Taihao, the Guardians, the Micron Civilization, the previous generation of the Specter Race, the Trolor Civilization, which of them was not a name that once resounded across the stars? Yet all of them perished, or were defeated.

Even tens of millions of years ago, the Guardian Civilization had been evenly matched with the Sweepers. The two great civilizations clashed for untold ages, neither able to overcome the other. But then, the Neutron War Star appeared out of nowhere, shattering the deadlock in one stroke. It gave the Sweepers absolute dominance for tens of millions of years, suppressing the Guardian Civilization so hard they could hardly breathe, forcing them onto the path of rallying other civilizations.

Xiao Yu could almost picture the burning desire the Guardian Civilization must have for a Neutron War Star.

“But where does their confidence come from?”

This, Xiao Yu could not understand. He did not know why they were so sure that, by driving him into the ruins of the silicon-based civilization, they could obtain a Neutron War Star through his hand. Especially, how could they know that this half-finished Neutron War Star would not harm him?

Xiao Yu did not know. He could not figure it out. But he knew the answer likely lay within this vast silicon-based civilization base. If he kept exploring, he would find it.

“Then let’s see. I want to know where exactly you get this confidence. To think you can obtain a Neutron War Star through me, how could it be so easy? Do I really look like someone so agreeable?” Xiao Yu thought fiercely, though in his heart he could not suppress a trace of unease.

“What role does the Taihao Civilization play in all this? I can almost be sure that the Guardians did not pursue me from the very beginning. It was only more than a decade after I escaped that they began to target me. Most likely, it was the Taihao Civilization that delayed them. Then, when the Neutron War Star emerges, will the Taihao Civilization really have no claim at all? After all, the Neutron War Star is such a terrifyingly powerful existence.”

These two great civilizations were hiding behind the scenes, undoubtedly already engaged in a shadowy contest. And Xiao Yu was the pawn between them. The situation was perilous, one misstep, and he would be crushed. It was a terrible feeling, being manipulated like a chess piece, and far from pleasant.

The exploration continued. Xiao Yu dispatched another fifty thousand robots to join the expedition. The area under exploration expanded continuously, yet the base seemed endless. No matter how far Xiao Yu went, he still found no sign of an end.

In his mind, the map representing the base’s terrain expanded and expanded, growing ever larger, as though it would never end.

And just then, Luka Four’s report arrived in Xiao Yu’s mind.

“Master, I’m sorry. I have no way to counter this disease. I am completely at a loss. I don’t know what to do. During this time, the number of cases has skyrocketed to four hundred thousand, and more than a thousand have already died. The number of infections is still rising rapidly. The situation… has already reached the worst point…”