Rebirth of the Super Battleship

Chapter 791: The Most Magnificent Confession

The sudden disappearance of those microscopic particles that were currently participating in the super particle acceleration experiment was not in itself anything strange. Before this final particle, the Higgs boson, vanished, thousands of other microscopic particles had already disappeared. However, their disappearance had merely been a conversion into energy, simply a change of mode of existence. This time, though, the disappearance of the Higgs boson was utterly complete. It had not transformed into energy, nor into anything that Xiao Yu could observe. It had just vanished, completely.

This was an event that violated the law of conservation of mass and energy, and in a sense, it also violated the law of entropy increase. The current Rules of the universe, the ‘Way’ of the universe, had temporarily failed within the accelerator.

“Did they disappear from this universe because their speed reached or exceeded the speed of light?” Xiao Yu muttered to himself in thought. Looked at from another angle, this seemed reasonable.

The Rules of the universe restrict the motion speed of all entities with mass, preventing them from reaching or exceeding the speed of light. However, when the speed of light suddenly slowed by five hundred and twenty-one micrometers, the speeds of these microscopic particles might have already reached or surpassed the speed of light. They had violated the principles of the universe, and thus disappeared from this universe.

But where did they go? Outside the universe, or to another universe?

Xiao Yu knew that speaking of ‘outside the universe’ or ‘another universe’ was extremely absurd. The universe is the aggregate of all space and all time. Above and below, past and future, everything and anything, all are within the universe. The universe is everything. Anything that any intelligent being can conceive of is all within the universe. If that is the case, how could there be such things as outside the universe or another universe? Yet if there is no outside of the universe and no other universe, where did those microscopic particles go?

The disappearance of the microscopic particles forced Xiao Yu to temporarily halt this experiment. The anger of the Guardian of the Way was still ongoing, and that other strange consciousness was still clearly perceived by Xiao Yu. The difference was that this latter consciousness brought with it a sense of familiarity and warmth.

The two consciousnesses seemed to have some sort of clash, or perhaps nothing happened at all. At any rate, in the very instant when the speed of light was altered, the microscopic particles vanished, and the Guardian of the Way released its fury, the two consciousnesses disappeared together from Xiao Yu’s perception. The speed of light returned once more to normal. The dark, silent universe remained dark and silent. The long, slender super particle accelerator still floated quietly in the void.

Nothing seemed to have happened, yet it also felt as if something important had already taken place.

The microscopic particles were gone, and Xiao Yu’s experiment had come to an end. Xiao Yu had already obtained a vast amount of research data. But this research data was not complete. After a rough estimate, Xiao Yu arrived at a conclusion.In this experiment, he had acquired at least eighty percent of the data he needed. With this research data, he would, within at most two thousand years, completely master the space energy formula and thereby become a Level 7 Civilization. He had succeeded. Yet he had not fully succeeded. The space energy formula he should have been able to master immediately had now been postponed to two thousand years later.

“That is all right. Two thousand years. I can afford to wait.” Xiao Yu murmured. “Besides, even if I have not yet mastered the space energy formula, the gate to a Level 7 Civilization has already opened a crack for me. After some period of research, I will already be able to manufacture certain weapons that fall under the domain of a Level 7 Civilization. I think I have already found a way to destroy the Neutron War Star…”

“Time to depart. Set course for the return trip, back to the Ursa Major Dwarf Galaxy. Then back to the Milky Way Galaxy to complete my final task. After that, it will be time to voyage beyond the galaxy and search for Chen Mo’s trail…”

The super particle acceleration experiment did not seem to have caused any severe impact on cosmic space. The Small Magellanic Cloud showed no abnormalities; it continued to move along its trajectory as usual.

Xiao Yu’s enormous fleet had already departed, setting off on the journey back to the Ursa Major Dwarf Galaxy. During this period, Xiao Yu would digest the experimental data he had obtained and carry out research on Level 7 Civilization weapons.

Outside his busy scientific work, Xiao Yu’s thoughts were drifting constantly. The feeling brought to him by that second consciousness that had appeared during the super particle acceleration experiment lingered in his heart. It was a very familiar feeling. A person’s name had already surfaced in Xiao Yu’s mind, but he did not dare to be certain.

“First, I must determine what exactly happened at that time.” Xiao Yu thought silently. “Obviously, when I was conducting the super particle acceleration experiment, I alarmed the Guardian of the Way, or rather, the invigilator. I did not pass the invigilator’s judgment, so this attempt to break through to Level 7 Civilization should have failed. Originally, it would have branded me with the label of a Taihao, and I would have forever lost the qualification to advance to a Level 7 Civilization. Yet at that moment, a second powerful existence, one that could rival the invigilator, appeared. It briefly changed the speed of light…”

“The second consciousness appeared to rescue me, that much is beyond doubt. But what is the connection between changing the speed of light and rescuing me? Why did the invigilator suddenly disappear after the speed of light was altered?”

A possibility faintly surfaced in Xiao Yu’s mind, that of an attack on the laws of physics themselves. The laws of physics are the cornerstones that construct the universe; they are also the cornerstones that shape any object in the universe, including living beings. If the laws of physics are altered, the universe will unquestionably be destroyed. This was a weapon that ranked even above the ‘causal weapon’ Xiao Yu had speculated about.

Modern physical theory is so rigorous that even a tiny change in a numerical value can cause the entire framework to collapse. Especially with a constant as crucial as the speed of light, its alteration was all the more unimaginable.

“Perhaps the change in the speed of light occurred only within a limited region around my location, and was not universal. Otherwise, both this consciousness and the invigilator would undoubtedly possess the power to destroy the entire universe, which is far too unbelievable.”

In fact, destroying the current universe is very simple; altering a single physical law would suffice. The reason this change in the speed of light did not destroy the entire universe, Xiao Yu guessed, had two aspects. One was that it was only a local alteration, and the unknown existence that triggered the event did not have the ability to change the speed of light across the whole universe. The second was because of interference from other forces.

“The invigilator also belongs to the category of lifeforms. Its own existence is still governed by physical laws. Furthermore, it has another duty, which is to protect the laws of the universe from being altered. Now, this second consciousness altered the speed of light, which can be regarded as a provocation to the invigilator, or as using this kind of law-based attack to strike at the invigilator.” Xiao Yu pondered silently. “It might also be an attempt to intimidate the invigilator, to threaten it into abandoning the attempt to erase me.”

“These are the only possibilities.” Xiao Yu sighed inwardly. “Chen Mo, was that you? Was it you who appeared once again and saved me? You are becoming more and more mysterious. Why did you appear on Earth back then, and why did you come to have those stories with me? I know that some time ago, you once won a major victory in your battle against the invigilator, but that did not seem to be a decisive victory. Afterwards, the invigilator appeared to awaken once more, while you disappeared without a trace. I have reason to believe that in your struggle with the invigilator, you once again ended up at a disadvantage. Yet this time, to clash head-on with the invigilator so openly and directly, can you really bear the consequences of this?”

Whether Chen Mo could bear it or not, Chen Mo had already done it. Xiao Yu recalled the information that the microscopic civilization had once given him, “Rebels are not necessarily Level 9 Civilizations, but every Level 9 Civilization is certainly a rebel. When a Level 8 Civilization chooses rebellion and succeeds, it becomes a Level 9 Civilization.”

“Chen Mo, you should be an important member of the Rebel Alliance, right? I wonder, in your eyes, what position I occupy. Am I your lover, or your tool, or your chess piece? Why have you been helping me all along?”

He had already become inescapably entangled in the confrontation between the Rebel Alliance and the invigilator. Taking this as a premise, everything he had encountered, including the extinction of humanity and the explosion of Earth, was shrouded with a layer of mystery. The smell of conspiracy in this matter was so strong that Xiao Yu could not help but begin to suspect Chen Mo as a person.

“I love you, but I do not know whether you love me or not.” Xiao Yu thought quietly. “Why did you approach me? Was it only because of love, or did you have some other purpose?”

At that moment, Xiao Yu’s heart suddenly stirred. A number flashed into his mind, five hundred and twenty-one.

Previously, the speed of light had been reduced by five hundred and twenty-one micrometers. The number five hundred and twenty-one had a special meaning in the hearts of the young people of the Earth era. At that time, Xiao Yu, who was also a young man, naturally knew this.

Chen Mo had been young at that time as well. She would certainly have known it too.

Five hundred and twenty-one, ‘five-two-one,’ was a homophone for ‘I love you.’

Xiao Yu felt as if his heart were melting in an instant.

What a magnificent thing this was, to use the cornerstone of the universe, its most immutable constant, as the vehicle for expressing love. In the struggle against the invigilator, Chen Mo had used this method both to rescue Xiao Yu and to convey her feelings to him.

In an instant, all the dark thoughts in Xiao Yu’s heart vanished like smoke.

“All right, I love you too.” Xiao Yu murmured.