Rebirth of the Super Battleship

Chapter 799: Fire Meteor

In the small universe, within the Solar System, on the surface of Mars, Xiao Yu was still sitting side by side with Zhang Shengya on the mountaintop. In the pitch black sky, the vast scene of war was still unfolding.

But Xiao Yu knew that this night was anything but peaceful. Right beneath his feet, inside this immense mountain, a massive construction project was underway. Endless devices and supplies were being transported into the hollowed out interior of the mountain and rapidly installed. To speed up the progress, Xiao Yu had even deployed weapon grade equipment. This enormous construction had begun the moment the Microscopic Civilization appeared. By now, it had already been going on for more than two hours.

Xiao Yu’s immense construction capability was fully on display here. Yet no matter how large the project was beneath the surface, not a trace of it could be seen from the outside. The Arrow Beasts were still sleeping in their respective places, all manner of unknown little insects were still chirping, the stars were scattered across the sky, and the cool night was as gentle as water.

This was their final time together. After this, they would part. The two of them might be separated by billions of light years and perhaps would never meet again for all eternity. Xiao Yu did not want to break the mood here. Yet to guard against the unexpected, these construction efforts were also absolutely necessary. So he had no choice but to choose this hidden form of construction.

At this moment, in the space laboratory, the Neutron War Star was still rotating at high speed. Its volume had clearly grown, so its rotational speed was constantly decreasing. However, if one calculated by the distance a point on its equator traveled in a given time, its rotational speed had not actually slowed.

Ring after ring of spatial ripples spread outward like water waves. Each ring of spatial ripple represented the conversion of at least tens of billions or hundreds of billions of tons of mass into space.

Xiao Yu knew that from this moment on, the Neutron War Star had already suffered irreversible damage. At least at the technological level of a Level 6 Civilization, this damage was impossible to repair. That damage was still deepening. In half an hour, it would completely destroy the Neutron War Star.

If a neutron star kept losing mass, what would it eventually become? According to common reasoning, it ought to become a white dwarf. But in reality, that was not the case. Once a neutron star’s mass dropped below a certain threshold, its own gravity would no longer be sufficient to maintain such an ultra compact structure. It would undergo catastrophic expansion. During that expansion process, the instantaneous explosive power would exceed the limit at which the star could maintain its own equilibrium. So it would shatter completely. It would have no opportunity to smoothly transition into a white dwarf.

The same question could be asked in reverse, if a white dwarf kept gaining mass, what would it become? By common reasoning, it ought to become a neutron star. But that was only under idealized conditions, and such a process was unlikely to occur in the real universe. Once a white dwarf’s mass accumulated past a certain limit, the extreme conditions would trigger uncontrolled nuclear fusion, resulting in a nova explosion. When its mass accumulated up to the Chandrasekhar limit and was about to reach the critical mass for a neutron star, it still could not smoothly become a neutron star. It would undergo another, even more violent kind of explosion, a Type Ia supernova, ultimately blasting itself to pieces.

A white dwarf smoothly becoming a neutron star, or a neutron star smoothly becoming a white dwarf, existed only in theory. Xiao Yu had never once observed such an event in the real universe.Clearly, if things continued as they were, the Neutron War Star’s fate would be the same. It would explode violently, releasing an energy outburst no less than that of a supernova, completely destroying the space laboratory, while annihilating itself as well. The space laboratory had been designed as a single use device from the start.

The intense battle with the Microscopic Civilization was still ongoing. But from the way things were, the Microscopic Civilization had virtually no chance of achieving its goal. Perhaps it might ultimately claim victory, yet the destruction of the Neutron War Star was already a foregone conclusion.

From the very beginning, Xiao Yu had made up his mind. Since the Neutron War Star could not become his, it had to be destroyed. His enmity with the Sweepers Civilization was far too deep, so the Sweepers Civilization had to be eradicated. No matter what bargaining chips anyone offered, it would not change this outcome, unless those who came possessed the power to threaten his life.

Back when he defeated the Guardian Civilization, the Microscopic Civilization had possessed the power to threaten his life, so Xiao Yu chose to compromise. Now, however, the Microscopic Civilization no longer had the ability to threaten his life, so Xiao Yu chose to persevere to the end.

“Xiao Yu, stop. We can agree to increase the value of our offered terms tenfold. You can obtain detailed star charts for a radius of ten million light years, learn the secrets of all kinds of different civilizations and their usual areas of activity. We can even tell you certain information about a Level 8 Civilization, or tell you some things regarding the Rebel Alliance. So long as you spare the Neutron War Star and the Sweepers Civilization. You should know that even if we cannot save the Neutron War Star, we still have the ability to hound you in the future and cause you enormous trouble. It is not worth it for a single Sweepers Civilization.”

At this time, Xiao Yu received a message from the Microscopic Civilization.

“No. Compared with my feelings, it is very much worth it. They killed my comrades. They laid out the board and schemed against me in the shadows for several million years. If I do not wipe out the Sweepers Civilization, my heart will never be at peace. Microscopic Civilization, there is no need to say more. Saying more is pointless. Let us speak with our abilities instead.” Xiao Yu said calmly.

“Rely on our abilities, is it? Very well, very well.” After sending one more message, the Microscopic Civilization fell silent again. At the same time, innumerable microscopic ships suddenly gathered together once more. They flew out from the space shield, flew out from inside different warships, flew out from every corner of the void, and finally merged into a shimmering, multicolored ribbon that drifted gently through space.

Their motion was extremely fast. Before Xiao Yu could get a clear look at them, they had already disappeared. In the next instant, they had arrived at the edge of Xiao Yu’s small universe. They were attempting to invade Xiao Yu’s small universe.

The small universe, which the Sweepers Civilization had spent immense effort and a tremendous price trying and failing to breach, now seemed almost like a mere display in front of the Microscopic Civilization. The small universe was still a small universe, but its diameter was more than one light year. It was still far too large. There was no way Xiao Yu could protect every part of it.

At the instant the Microscopic Civilization began their invasion of the small universe, Xiao Yu sent out his order.

“Arrow Beasts, no matter what you are doing right now, I order you to come to my side within one minute. There is a powerful enemy invading. You will be in danger.”

In a single moment, whether it was day or night, whether they had been playing or sleeping, all the Arrow Beasts took flight simultaneously. Like rockets, they rushed toward Xiao Yu at inconceivable speeds, gathering at the foot of the mountain where he stood.

Xiao Yu was still on the mountaintop. At this time, he had already stood up, his head tilted back as he gazed at the sky. A point of light appeared in the sky, very small at first, but expanding in the blink of an eye. It was not large, but radiated an extremely bright glow, dragging a long tail behind it like a fire meteor. It was streaking straight toward Zhang Shengya.

“So you want to take hostages and force me to spare the Neutron War Star. How could I possibly not have prepared for that in advance?” Xiao Yu smiled faintly and shook his head.

The fire meteor came hurtling in. As it crossed the sky, the massive war image vanished in an instant and shattered like glass. Without slowing in the slightest, it continued its mad rush forward. It was already very close to the mountain now. The light it shed was so bright that Xiao Yu, Zhang Shengya, and everything else on the summit cast long shadows. Yet Xiao Yu did not move.

When the distance between it and Xiao Yu shrank to less than one hundred meters, a protective shield that glowed faintly red suddenly lit up. As if it had slammed into a wall, the fire meteor formed by the Microscopic Civilization came to an abrupt halt, while faint ripples spread out across the surface of the vast shield.

The Microscopic Civilization launched a second collision, but again, it failed. It did not attempt a third collision. Instead, it suddenly dispersed, vanishing like an extinguished candle flame. At the same time, it broke apart into hundreds of billions of tiny units that once again burrowed into the space shield.

“You cannot break the space laboratory. You cannot break the Solar. And you cannot break this shield either. The power and strength of this shield may be inferior to those of the space laboratory and the Solar, but the area it has to protect is very small. A smaller area means greater power per unit area. Two hours of construction work is more than enough for me to finish building this.”

Ripples and flashes of light appeared across the space shield. Seen from here, those ripples and flashes looked as if they were appearing in the sky itself. For a moment, the stars shone in profusion, a scene of breathtaking beauty.

“Aya, do not be afraid. As long as I am here, no one can hurt you.” Xiao Yu said softly.

At the same time, another set of instruments began to activate. Since Xiao Yu had anticipated that the Microscopic Civilization would invade the small universe and take hostages to coerce him, how could he not have made other arrangements as well, turning their plan back on them so they would suffer a secret loss?

“This is the second time you have opposed me. How could I possibly let you leave without leaving something behind?” Xiao Yu thought calmly.