This question made Xiao Yu pause for a moment. In fact, he had never really considered it before.
Civilizations are marked by Energy Shield technology, Level 4 civilizations by the Grand Unified Theory, and Level 5 civilizations by Antimatter Technology. In other words, the idea was to modify the negative matter cannon to the point that even a Level 3 civilization could produce it. Then, if such a civilization used this nerfed version of the negative matter cannon, could it achieve a single shot capable of severely damaging a Level 4 civilization’s flagship-class warship, rendering it inoperable?
Flagship-class warships of Level 4 civilizations are generally at the Province-Class level. It’s practically impossible for a Level 4 civilization to possess Nation-Class warships.
This question triggered deep contemplation in Xiao Yu. After a while, he shook his head. “No. I can’t do that. If we devoted all our research resources to this direction and spent decades, we might be able to come up with a way for a Level 3 civilization to produce a negative matter cannon. But I couldn’t guarantee its power. At most, I could ensure that the Level 3 civilization could remain undefeated against other civilizations of the same level by relying on the negative matter cannon. But when facing a Level 4 civilization, I wouldn’t be confident. After all, Level 4 civilizations use gravitational bombs and material disintegration beams, which a Level 3 civilization fundamentally cannot defend against.”
“Very well.” Luka Three nodded and continued, “We must remember, the Trolor Civilization is just an ordinary Level 6 civilization. And judging from the developmental trajectory from Level 1 to Level 5, I don’t believe a Level 6 civilization would suddenly make such a massive leap.”
“Therefore, I believe that within this small universe, the power of Space One has actually been exaggerated. Its true destructive capability is not as great as it appears. I think this is a very reasonable conclusion.” Luka Three summarized. “Just look, from a single shot alone, the spatial rift created by Space One nearly cleaved that dwarf planet in half. That level of power is simply terrifying.”
Through the omnipresent probes in the small universe, Xiao Yu once again looked toward the dwarf planet.
Even now, the planet had yet to settle. Violent earthquakes continued to occur on its surface. Xiao Yu knew this was due to the rupture of its originally solid rock structure. Under intense geological activity, magma had even emerged from deep within, something rarely seen, spewing out along the cracks to form volcanoes.
“Then why is it that within this small universe, the power of Space One is amplified?” Another scientist asked almost reflexively.
“The reason is simple, the stability of space.” Luka Three stood up and explained. “Initially, I wasn’t sure about this hypothesis, but the master’s observational data made it far more plausible. We already know that entropy increases in this small universe at a rate countless times faster than in the large universe. I believe this is also due to the instability of space.”“We’re all familiar with the attack mechanism of space weapons, they create ruptures on the spatial level, tearing space apart and, in doing so, also ripping apart matter that exists attached to space. Space weapons act only upon space, they don’t directly impact matter. So we can draw a very straightforward conclusion, the less stable the space, the more powerful a space weapon becomes, like in this small universe. The more stable the space, the weaker the space weapon’s effect, like in our large universe.”
“That’s a very reasonable conclusion.” At this point, Xiao Yu couldn’t help but somewhat regretfully acknowledge the theory. If the hypothesis was correct, it meant that the power of Space One wasn’t inherently as overwhelming as it now appeared. Its current might was merely the result of this small universe’s limited size and unstable spatial structure.
“But… Space One is still the most powerful weapon I have at this stage. Let’s not forget, if a Level 3 civilization or a Level 4 civilization could use a nerfed version of the negative matter cannon, they would absolutely be able to dominate any civilization of the same level. I am a Level 5 civilization, and I’ve obtained technological artifacts from a Level 6 civilization, there’s no reason I shouldn’t be able to gain the ability to crush other Level 5 civilizations.” Thinking this, Xiao Yu felt a bit of comfort in his heart. No matter what, the gains from this venture were enormous, worth the risk he had taken to come here.
“But even if that hypothesis is correct, what does it have to do with our earlier deductions?” Senya asked in confusion.
Luka Three cast it a brief glance and said, “In our earlier assumptions, this small universe periodically passes through our large universe during its orbit, causing short-term overlaps between the two. Then the method to confirm that assumption is very simple. Through mathematical calculation, we can determine the time of overlap between the two universes. When the overlap occurs, we fire Space One again. By observing whether Space One’s power decreases, we can reach a conclusion, can’t we?”
“Hm?” Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu felt a flash of insight in his mind. Senya also stood frozen in place, speechless.
Luka Two’s eyes were full of pride, all worry on its face vanishing. After Luka Three finished speaking, its expression turned to one of deep satisfaction.
‘Such an outstanding talent belongs to our Luka Civilization!’ Xiao Yu believed that every Luka scientist present was thinking exactly the same thing.
The meeting room fell silent. Three seconds later, thunderous applause erupted. All the scientists, following the etiquette standards Xiao Yu had set, clapped their hands vigorously to cheer for Luka Three. Senya deeply bowed to Luka Three in a show of respect, his face filled with genuine admiration.
“Lord Three, you truly are the most outstanding scientist in the Science and Technology Division. I’ve realized that there’s still a huge gap between you and me. I will take you as my role model, work harder to improve my scientific knowledge, and contribute more to the master’s technological advancements. Please accept my respect.” Senya said respectfully.
Upon hearing Senya’s words, a faint smile appeared on Luka Three’s face. It gave a slight nod with a gentle look in its eyes but said nothing, simply offering an encouraging glance to Senya.
Xiao Yu knew that after this event, Luka Three had once again solidified its position as the undisputed top authority in the Science and Technology Division.
“Senya’s challenge failed, but it also succeeded. It has left a deep enough impression on the master. In fact, possessing the strength to even challenge Luka Three is already an exceptional achievement. Most of us don’t even have the qualifications to pose such a challenge.”
“Indeed. What we can do is merely conduct research in related fields under Lord Three’s leadership. I’ve never been able to figure it out, why, under the same conditions and the same environment, Lord Three can achieve such greatness.”
Low murmurs began to echo in the meeting room.
‘Luka Three truly lives up to its name. This method is indeed feasible. Actually, the approach isn’t overly complicated, but the logical shifts involved and the comprehensive application of specialized knowledge are profoundly deep. Without a supremely intelligent mind and a wealth of expertise, one simply couldn’t come up with such a method. It’s like magic, before the secret is revealed, everyone is lost in fog, unable to grasp what’s going on. But after the revelation, it all seems simple. At this moment, Luka Three is that outstanding magician.’ Xiao Yu thought with admiration.
“Luka Three, well done. I’ve decided we’ll verify our hypothesis using your method. According to our calculations, we’ll fire Space One again at the moment when the small universe and the large universe overlap, and use that to test our theory.” Xiao Yu said. “At present, based on mathematical calculations, our small universe is less than three billion kilometers away from the large universe. If both our assumptions and calculations are correct, the next overlap will occur two and a half days from now, and the overlap will last approximately fifteen minutes.”
What exactly would happen during the overlap of two three-dimensional spaces, Xiao Yu wasn’t sure. But based on current conditions and logical deduction, Xiao Yu believed that probably nothing would happen.
The reason was simple, Xiao Yu had been here for over a year. According to the calculated orbit of the small universe around the large universe, at least ten such overlaps should have occurred by now. Yet during those overlaps, he had not observed anything unusual in the small universe.
Of course, this could also mean that the overlap of the two three-dimensional worlds never actually occurred, and that the previous hypotheses of himself, Luka Three, and Senya were all incorrect. What was truly happening remained unknown to Xiao Yu, everything would be confirmed through the experiment two and a half days later.
According to his own interpretation, Xiao Yu had some guesses. That is, the overlap of three-dimensional worlds might not be the same as what he normally understood as an ‘overlap.’ Four-Dimensional space is a technology not even fully mastered by Level 6 civilizations, let alone at his current technological level.
Over the next two-plus days, Xiao Yu and the scientists conducted discussions on other topics. However, due to the lack of solid observational data to support their theories, the discussions produced little of substance. With no other choice, Xiao Yu announced an adjournment, allowing the scientists to rest for a while. Once the experimental results were in, they would resume discussions on how to escape from here.
And just like that, two and a half days passed in a flash. In another half hour, it would be time for the mathematically calculated overlap of the universes.