Humanity had spent decades researching controlled nuclear fusion technology. While they hadn’t yet broken through its technical limitations, the massive accumulation of research data over the years provided Xiao Yu with invaluable references.
Particularly during the Jupiter-Moon Collision, the phenona that occurred on Jupiter taught Xiao Yu a critical lesson.
Building on this foundation, combined with the powerful computational capabilities of the photon computer, Xiao Yu finally achieved a significant technological breakthrough.
In the controlled nuclear fusion research lab at Base Two, there was a massive glass chamber crisscrossed with various wires. These wires generated a specific magnetic field. Suspended within this magnetic field, at the center of the glass chamber, was a brilliantly radiant light point, hovering in midair. It continuously emitted imnse light and heat, so intense it couldn’t be directly observed.
The process of nuclear fusion was underway, as deuterium and tritium fused into helium. In this transformation, a portion of their mass was converted into energy.
Xiao Yu allocated 10% of his computational power to monitor this process, rapidly performing a myriad of calculations.
As he reviewed the experintal data, Xiao Yu couldn’t help but feel an intense surge of excitent. He had waited far too long for this mont.
Using chemical fuel for interstellar travel was impractical due to its low energy efficiency. To reach the Proxima Centauri star system from the Solar System using chemical fuel, Xiao Yu estimated he would need a kiloter-long spacecraft, with over 90% of its volu filled with fuel, just to barely make the trip.
Controlled nuclear fusion was the key to unlocking the door to interstellar travel. Without it, Xiao Yu would forever be confined to the Solar System, unable to escape its bounds.
“Alright, let’s start building the next-generation fusion-powered spacecraft!”
Xiao Yu launched a new plan to construct a revolutionary spacecraft. Every aspect of the ship—from its propulsion system to its structural materials and control systems—would utilize the latest technologies.
Everything he had built up to this point had been in service of this goal.
Massive special steel slting furnaces continuously produced streams of dark red molten steel. Once cooled, the molten steel would solidify into ingots for processing. But before cooling, Xiao Yu added an extra step.
This step involved subjecting the molten steel to five minutes of radiation from Specin One.
Experints had shown that when tals were in a high-temperature liquid state, minimal radiation from Specin One could achieve maximal performance enhancents. Thus, the unfortunate Specin One was relocated to this facility, serving as an unwitting laborer.
This five-minute radiation treatnt enhanced the special steel’s performance to over three tis its original levels.
In addition, Xiao Yu incorporated the black insect carcasses into the steel during the slting process. This significantly improved the steel’s insulation and radiation resistance.
Xiao Yu spared no effort to produce the highest quality materials. After processing in the equipnt manufacturing facility, these materials were transford into components for a groundbreaking, epoch-defining spacecraft.
In the massive assembly hall of the main base, components from hundreds of manufacturing facilities were brought together. Hundreds of robots worked tirelessly, assembling intricate components piece by piece. It took six full months of labor to complete the spacecraft.
This spacecraft was a disc-shaped vessel with a diater of 20 ters and a height of about five ters. It featured a fusion-powered engine, the latest photon computer control system, and the finest steel materials Xiao Yu could produce. This ship was the culmination of Xiao Yu’s effort and ingenuity—the most advanced spacecraft he could build with his current technology.
To construct this ship, Specin One’s radiation intensity was reduced to 30% of its maximum capacity, with 70% consud during the process. Nearly 200 tons of black insect carcasses were used, accounting for 30% of the current reserves.
Despite the enormous costs, Xiao Yu believed it was worth it. Even if Specin One’s radiation was depleted, he could capture another from Jupiter. As for the black insect carcasses, he was even less concerned. Over the past months, Xiao Yu had discovered the insects in at least a thousand larger lakes on Titan. Their estimated biomass reached several million tons—enough to build an entire fleet.
Today marked the spacecraft’s maiden flight.
Xiao Yu paused most construction projects and allocated 40% of his photon computer’s computational power to oversee the event. This 40% was equivalent to the total processing power of all supercomputers on Earth combined.
“I must ensure nothing goes wrong,” Xiao Yu thought silently. “You carry the hope of my interstellar ambitions. I’ll na you Hope.”
The Hope weighed approximately 3,000 tons, a spacecraft Xiao Yu classified as a “Village-Class” vessel. In his planned hierarchy, ships exceeding 10,000 tons would be designated “Town-Class,” with increasing classifications like “County-Class,” “City-Class,” “Province-Class,” and “Nation-Class” corresponding to their size.
Under Xiao Yu’s ticulous monitoring, the Hope emitted a pale blue fla from its base, slowly lifting off the ground.
Unlike traditional spacecraft, the Hope required no rocket to reach interstellar space. Its powerful and efficient propulsion system provided sufficient and sustained thrust for direct takeoff. Furthermore, its advanced materials and structural design ensured that it could withstand planetary gravity and atmospheric drag without adhering to conventional aerodynamics or risking disintegration during high-speed maneuvers.
Ten seconds later, the Hope reached an altitude of 3,000 ters. The intense friction caused its hull to glow faintly red, with an estimated surface temperature exceeding 800°C. Yet Xiao Yu was unconcerned. The spacecraft’s hull, composed of special steel infused with black insect carcasses, easily withstood this heat.
The spacecraft’s speed increased steadily. Within one minute, the Hope reached an altitude of 100 kiloters, entering Titan’s orbital trajectory, but it continued to accelerate.
At this point, communication between Xiao Yu and the Hope relied entirely on the twelve War God satellites previously launched.
Xiao Yu maneuvered the Hope out of Titan’s orbit and perford an abrupt deceleration in open space, reducing its velocity from 3 kiloters per second to near zero.
“Overload resistance test… passed.”
On Earth, gravity exerts an acceleration of 9.8 m/s². This ans that on a spacecraft accelerating at this rate, the perceived gravity would mimic Earth’s. If the spacecraft were to accelerate at 19.6 m/s², the perceived gravity would double.
This phenonon is referred to as “overload.” Trained elite pilots can withstand up to ten tis Earth’s gravity, or an acceleration of 98 m/s². Beyond this threshold, the human body suffers irreparable damage or death.
Spacecraft structures also have a maximum overload limit. Conventional large aircraft can endure up to 20 tis Earth’s gravity; exceeding this limit would cause the structure to be torn apart by inertial and aerodynamic forces.
Before Earth’s destruction, human-built spacecraft could withstand overloads of 30 to 40 tis Earth’s gravity, equivalent to a maximum acceleration of 400 m/s². Beyond this limit, spacecraft would succumb to inertial forces.
Xiao Yu’s recent test revealed that his spacecraft could endure a staggering overload of 230 tis Earth’s gravity, translating to a maximum acceleration of 2,200 m/s².
This ant the Hope could accelerate from a standstill to 2,000 ters per second in just one second or decelerate from 2,000 ters per second to a halt just as quickly.
Such extraordinary maneuverability, combined with Xiao Yu’s unparalleled computational capabilities, rendered the Hope nearly invincible. Even if thousands of guns fired simultaneously at the ship, Xiao Yu could pilot the Hope to evade every shot within seconds.
After completing the overload resistance test, Xiao Yu initiated another trial.
“Conventional fuel storage test: maximum operating speed.”
In space travel, fuel is consud only during acceleration, deceleration, or course adjustnts. During steady flight, montum carries the craft without fuel expenditure.
The fastest spacecraft built by humanity using chemical or fission propulsion was Voyager 1, which reached a velocity of approximately 18 kiloters per second relative to the Sun. Its speed was constrained by the limited fuel available. Xiao Yu, by contrast, had reached 60 kiloters per second before arriving at Titan, thanks to supplental fuel supplies.
Now, Xiao Yu aid to determine the maximum speed the Hope could achieve with its standard fuel reserves.
The Hope’s rear propulsion system unleashed a powerful burst of blue fla, accelerating at a terrifying rate, growing faster and faster.
“Conventional fuel storage test: maximum operating speed… 300 kiloters per second! With standard fuel reserves, the Hope can perform at least six such acceleration and deceleration cycles! If deceleration is disregarded and the engine operates at maximum power continuously, the spacecraft could reach 1,000 kiloters per second before exhausting its fuel!”
This data left Xiao Yu deeply astonished.
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