A genius? I just love studying.

Chapter 348 Glow
"They created a confrontational local field, but the field itself is the biggest weakness."

Instead of strengthening the alpha field to confront it head-on, Chen Hui issued an unexpected command: "Command all nodes in the target area to instantly reduce the alpha value to zero!"

It's not an enhancement, it's an instant reversal!

The next moment, the rule probe of the Web Weaver civilization had reached the second barrier and rushed into it. With Chen Hui's command, the rule probe, which was struggling to maintain the bubble in the normal rule zone and fiercely resisting the external high alpha environment, suddenly lost all external pressure.

It's like someone pushing a door with all their might, thinking it's locked, only to have the door suddenly disappear.

The result is that the person exerting the force loses control.

The precisely balanced offset field upon which the regular probe depends for survival is instantly overloaded and out of control due to drastic changes in the external environment!
Inside, billions of phase cancellers burst one after another in the unsuitable vacuum, and the thin layer of normal zone bubbles, like a punctured soap bubble, vanished completely with a pop.

Without protection, the remaining probe body was instantly exposed to the newly recovered high-alpha environment. It couldn't even last a tenth of a second before silently turning into nothingness, just like countless predecessors before it.

On the star map, the glaring red area finally subsided and returned to a stable gold color.

Inside the command center, the gasps of survivors rose and fell.

But there was no joy on Chen Hui's face.

He stared at the data trajectory where the rule probe finally disappeared, his brows furrowing slightly.

“They’ve found their way.” He turned to Lin Hao, who was still in shock, and all the core team members, and said in a deep and clear voice, “We held on this time because they didn’t understand the true depth of the rules; they just took shortcuts. But next time, they might do better.”

“Our time is running out.” His gaze was fixed on the distance, as if piercing through layers of space to meet the eyes of that distant and resilient hostile civilization.

After dealing with the counterattack from the Web-Weaver civilization, Chen Hui immediately ended his vacation and recalled the laboratory staff to begin tackling the problem of deconstructing radiation.

With experience from the Law Node, there are no major technical difficulties in deconstructing rays, but sending deconstructing rays to galaxies tens of light-years away is still quite challenging for Earth at present.

The safety mechanism of the deconstruction rays also gave Chen Hui a headache. If the deconstruction rays were not contained and allowed to cause a chain reaction, they would eventually spread to the solar system and even the entire universe.

With the protection of the barrier system, the solar system can naturally escape disaster, but what worries Chen Hui more is that there are obviously more than just Blue Star and the Web Weaver civilization that attacked them in the universe. If the deconstruction rays spread to the star systems of other more advanced civilizations, this would probably be regarded as an act of attack.

At that point, the fortifications might not be able to withstand their wrath.

Of course, if things really get to the point of no return, Chen Hui won't hesitate. At worst, he'll destroy the Webweaver civilization first. As for how to stop the chain reaction of the deconstruction rays, he can study that later.

The deconstruction rays spread at only the speed of light, and it would take decades to spread to Earth, let alone the entire universe. Chen Hui still has plenty of time.

Therefore, the most urgent task is to solve the problem of structural ray emission.

Chen Hui naturally thought of the warp drive.

As we all know, no object can travel faster than the speed of light.

The so-called warp drive is a device that alters the spacetime structure before and after a spacecraft. The spacecraft is relatively stationary inside the warp bubble, but it is propelled forward at faster-than-light speeds by the deformation of spacetime itself. Since the spacecraft does not accelerate in its local space, it cleverly bypasses the speed of light limit.

Imagine that the spaceship isn't flying through space, but rather within a warp bubble formed by a special energy field. This bubble compresses the space in front of the spaceship while stretching the space behind it, much like the spaceship is a surfer in an ocean of spacetime. The surfer itself doesn't move much on the surfboard, but is propelled forward at high speed by the waves.

The Webweaver civilization used this technology in its attack on the Blue Star civilization. The faster-than-light particle streams they launched were able to travel tens of light-years to the solar system in a short time through the warp drive.

Originally, the research on warp engines by the Blue Star civilization was still in its infancy, but with the template of faster-than-light particle flow, the demo plan for warp engines has been put on the agenda.

Chen Hui still remembers that many years ago, people used to mock China for not being good at going from 0 to 1, only at making 1 into 100. Now, China is far ahead in science and technology, and going from 0 to 1 has also become a strength.

However, they did not abandon their original profession. As far as Chen Hui knows, a laboratory has already completed a curvature engine at the nanoscale.

Unfortunately, this level of engine is still far from realizing Chen Hui's vision.

To compress spacetime, a high-intensity gravitational field must be generated, which requires enormous energy—so much so that even the annihilation of matter and antimatter would be insufficient. This is a problem that Earth's civilization has yet to overcome.

Late at night, the core computing cluster of the Tiangong-3 laboratory had been running at full power for several weeks.

The air was thick with the smell of ozone and anxiety.

On the holographic screen, traditional models of curvature-driven energy relentlessly reveal a despairing reality: the energy requirements are unsolvable.

According to Einstein's field equations, the energy-momentum tensor required to generate a gravitational field sufficient to significantly compress the space in front of the field is an astronomical figure.

The model shows that even if the entire mass of Jupiter were converted into energy, it would only sustain a tiny curvature bubble for a few nanoseconds, let alone propel a transmitter carrying deconstruction rays for interstellar travel.

"Professor, the efficiency of matter-antimatter annihilation is already the limit of mass-energy conversion... but according to calculations, to power the disintegration ray emitter, we would need an antimatter reserve exceeding the mass of the entire asteroid belt..."

Lin Hao reported in a dry voice, his eyes filled with confusion.

Chen Hui stood before the massive data stream, silent as a statue.

His brain was like the core of a supernova, performing frantic calculations under extremely high pressure. Paths based on traditional gravity manipulation were established, only to be ruthlessly disproven by even larger datasets.

“Pushing…compressing…expanding…we have been trying to fight against and shape spacetime…” he thought to himself, “but spacetime is the most basic fabric of the universe. Fighting against it is fighting against the inertia of the entire universe. How can this not consume infinite energy?”

He felt as if he were leading the entire civilization, pushing with all his might against an invisible wall that was of almost infinite mass.

Exhausted, yet unable to move an inch.

"But how did they do it?"

Chen Hui thought of that superluminal particle stream. The annihilation of matter and antimatter was the most energy-efficient method he could think of. Could the Web Weaver civilization have an even stronger way of obtaining energy?

"Retrieve the video and data of the faster-than-light particle stream."

Chen Hui looked at Lin Hao with a determined gaze, confident that he could solve this problem.

He watched over and over again the scene of superluminal particle streams coming from deep space, crashing into the barrier, and finally disappearing without a trace.

Unfortunately, with the current detection technology of Earth's civilization, there is no way to discover the deepest secrets of this superluminal particle stream. Chen Hui's repeated viewings were all in vain.

He is now like a child who has obtained the Dragon-Slaying Saber, possessing the most powerful weapon in the universe, yet unable to wield it.

Suddenly, Chen Hui saw the monitoring data stream of the barrier system at the edge of the screen.

He discovered that at the instant the barrier system came into contact with the superluminal particle stream, microscopic gravitational ripples were generated in the surrounding spacetime. These ripples were so weak that they were almost undetectable, but their very existence revealed a deeper fact: spacetime is not a rigid steel plate, but a dynamic, living structure full of microscopic fluctuations and elasticity!

As if struck by lightning, all the problems were instantly solved.

Traditional curvature drive is like trying to force a bulldozer through a viscous asphalt lake; the resistance is enormous, and the energy consumed is enough to bring the bulldozer to a standstill.

But what he needs is a surfboard. A surfer doesn't try to push the entire ocean aside; he simply finds the slope naturally formed by the waves and gracefully merges into the potential energy of the waves, gliding by the power of the waves themselves.

To use warp drive, he doesn't need to compress spacetime at all; instead, he creates a local, self-consistent spacetime phase. Within this phase bubble, the laws of physics appear identical to those of the external universe, but in reality, they are in a subtle state of decoupling.

This bubble itself can slide naturally down the gravitational potential energy gradient of a higher dimension of the universe, just like a surfer riding a wave. Its speed is only limited by the phase separation that the spacecraft can create, rather than the traditional light speed barrier.

It's not about brute force, but a clever phase shift. It requires far less energy than conventionally thought because it's not fighting against the universe, but utilizing the universe's inherent topography.

Does a natural, gliding potential gradient exist in the universe?

This is obvious; the gravitational field itself is one!
It's not just the gravity of planets; the large-scale structure of the universe, the dark matter halo, and even the minute anisotropies contained in the cosmic microwave background radiation all constitute a complex and vast gravitational topography of the universe.

Chen Hui chuckled to himself.

He had long known that spacetime was dynamic, and even the Law Node was developed based on this, but he fell into a blind spot in his thinking when designing the curvature engine.

Tiangong-3 laboratory
"Initiate the Glow Prototype, seventy-ninth full-parameter simulation." Chen Hui's voice rang out in the quiet laboratory, so calm that not a ripple could be heard.

This is the seventy-ninth time.

In the previous 78 attempts, either energy overflow caused the model to collapse, or phase instability caused the simulated spacetime bubble to burst into digital dust the instant it formed.

Hope is like a candle flickering in the wind, growing weaker with each passing moment.

The team members had sunken eyes and their faces were filled with exhaustion and almost numb persistence. They believed in Chen Hui, but the laws of the universe seemed to be an insurmountable wall.

At the holographic projection center, a complex engine model composed of countless rays of light was illuminated, and the readings representing energy began to climb at a heart-pounding speed.

"Energy injected at 10%... Field begins to generate."

"Energy injection of 30%... spacetime curvature shows the expected disturbance."

“Energy injection 50%... Local phase shift detected... Unstable, fluctuation value exceeds threshold 7%!” The monitor’s voice trembled with despair.

It's here again! I always fail here!

Everyone's heart sank.

"Hold on, continue." Chen Hui's command remained concise.

He noticed something different about the data scrolling like a waterfall on the screen.

Sure enough, the next moment, a miracle happened.

The phase shift curve on the screen, which had been violently shaking and on the verge of collapse, seemed to be gently smoothed out by an invisible hand. It not only stabilized but also began to maintain itself at a harmonious and graceful frequency.

The spacetime grid surrounding the engine model is no longer a grotesque, violently distorted shape, but rather resembles the surface of water after a pebble has been thrown in, rippling out in neat, smooth concentric circles, enveloping the model in an elegant slipstream bubble.

"Eighty percent energy injection, slip bubble formation, stability 99.99%!"

"Energy injection at 100%, all parameters within the green range, Glow prototype operating normally!"

Only the faint hum of the machines and the heavy breathing of people remained in the laboratory.

Everyone stared intently at the screen, unable to believe what they were seeing.

They successfully created a stable slip bubble!
But this is not the final victory.

"Start displacement simulation," Chen Hui ordered.

The next second, the light spot representing the Glow Engine moved against the simulated cosmic background.

Instead of spewing out a tail flame like a traditional engine, it glided out, moving silently with a counterintuitive, almost eerie fluidity.

The speed readings began to jump rapidly.

One percent of the speed of light.

One-tenth the speed of light.

Light speed!
1.5 times the speed of light!
3 times the speed of light!
10 times the speed of light!
The numbers were still skyrocketing, while the energy consumption reading remained at an alarmingly low level. The curve representing energy output was as calm as a straight line, forming an absurd and shocking contrast with the almost vertically soaring curve representing speed next to it.

The energy consumed is only 0.0001% of the theoretical value of traditional curvature drive.

Dead silence.

A deeper silence than any previous failure.

People stood with their mouths agape and their eyes wide open, as if they had forgotten to breathe.

Their brains couldn't process the sight before them that defied all their common sense about physics. This wasn't just a technological breakthrough; it was almost... a miracle.

“It…it’s a success…” A faint, tearful voice came from the corner, breaking the frozen moment.

Like a dam breaking, a huge wave of sound instantly engulfed the entire laboratory!

"We made it!!!"

"Faster than light speed! It's faster than light speed!"

"My God...we did it! We really did it!"

The young scientists threw down their data boards, embraced each other wildly, jumped and laughed, and tears streamed down their faces.

An elderly professor with gray hair slumped in his chair, covering his face with his hands, his shoulders shaking violently, sobbing uncontrollably.

Lin Hao rushed to Chen Hui, wanting to say something, but he just patted Chen Hui's shoulder hard and over and over again, his red eyes filled with ecstasy and disbelief.

The entire laboratory turned into a sea of ​​cheers and tears.

The long-suppressed pressure, the shadow of countless failures, and the fear of the unknown were all released in a deafening burst of ecstasy at this moment.

Chen Hui stood there, enduring Lin Hao's excited pats, and looking at his colleagues who were in the midst of a celebration, a clear smile, tinged with indescribable satisfaction and exhaustion, finally slowly appeared on his face, which was always as calm as a deep pool.

They have been under immense pressure these days, facing the destructive crisis brought about by the Web-Weaver civilization.

But now, dawn has broken.

(End of this chapter)