236: This mission is insane! But we have no other choice!

When the blueprint of the "Two-Dimensional Foil"—filled with an eerie mathematical beauty yet exuding a suffocating aura of death—floated silently above the dome of the "expedition" bridge, the entire world seemed to fall into a standstill.

That was not an ordinary mechanical drawing, nor was it some complex energy circuit.

It looked more like a crystal-clear "piece of paper," with countless lines and symbols flowing across it that would make anyone dizzy at a single glance. It appeared so harmless, so fragile, as if it could be punctured with a gentle poke.

But everyone present, even "Super Soldier" who knew nothing about physics, felt a shudder originating from the depths of their genes at that moment!

That was the instinctive fear of a low-dimensional life form facing the laws of Higher Dimensions!

"Commander Lu..." Su Qingying's voice trembled as she stared fixedly at the blueprint, her face as pale as a sheet of paper. "Do—do you really know what this thing is?"

"This is not a weapon in the conventional sense at all! This is tampering with physical constants! This is forcibly extracting the dimension of 'thickness' from three-dimensional space!"

"Once it is activated, the entire space will collapse into two dimensions like a waterfall! All matter, all life, and all civilizations will be instantly flattened into a painting without thickness!"

"And this collapse will never stop! It will spread infinitely in the universe like a virus until the entire universe is turned into two dimensions!"

By the end, Su Qingying was almost screaming!

As a top physicist, she knew all too well what this meant. This was not just killing; this was destroying the foundation of the universe! This was the authority only possessed by gods and the madness only possessed by demons!

"That's right." Lu Chen turned around, looking at the terrified crowd, his face devoid of any madness, instead calm as a stagnant pool of water.

"This is the 'Dimensionality Reduction Strike'."

"This is the broom the 'cleaner' uses to clear away cosmic trash. It is also the mop we will use to clean them up."

"But..." "Super Soldier" swallowed hard. Although he didn't quite understand those profound physical terms, he understood the four words "spread infinitely."

"Commander Lu, if we use this thing, won't we be finished along with them? Once this thing is thrown out, can it even be retrieved?"

"It cannot be retrieved," Lu Chen said calmly. "Once the encapsulation of the 'Two-Dimensional Foil' is released, an irreversible process of dimensionality reduction begins. It's like water splashed out; it can never be put back into the basin."

"Then aren't we committing suicide?!" A Super Soldier couldn't help but shout.

"Suicide?" Lu Chen laughed, a trace of cold mockery in his smile.

"If we don't do this, are we supposed to wait to be devoured clean by that 'Star Devourer'?"

He reached out and tapped heavily on the holographic star map, switching the screen back to the terrifying black hole hive at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy.

"Look at them! They possess fleets numbering in the hundreds of millions, nano-swarms capable of devouring stars, and super-technology that utilizes the energy of black holes!"

"And what about us?" "We only have this one ship, one hundred 'Super Soldiers' who have just finished evolving, and that group of 'giant babies' on Earth who are still arguing over a little bit of resources!"

"Conventional warfare? Even if we develop for another thousand years, we won't be able to defeat them!"

"The only chance of winning is to flip the table!"

"Since we can't beat them, then nobody gets to play! Smash the chessboard! Change the rules! Let all their proud fleets and indestructible defenses turn into waste paper!"

Lu Chen's voice gradually rose, carrying a madness and determination that made one's blood boil!

"This is the law of the dark forest!" "If you are not strong enough, then you must be ruthless enough! Ruthless enough to make everyone afraid, ruthless enough to dare to bury yourself along with them!"

Dead silence. The bridge fell into a deathly silence once again. Everyone was stunned by Lu Chen's insane remarks.

That's right, did they have any other choice? Facing that terrifying hunter who had already aimed its guns at the Solar System, what else could they do besides perish together?

"But..." heavenly craft, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, her voice carrying a trace of imperceptible fluctuation.

【Master, according to my calculations, even if we want to use the Two-Dimensional Foil for a strike, we first need to reach the center of the Milky Way Galaxy.】

【That is a distance of 26,000 light-years.】 【Even at our current speed of ten times the speed of light, a one-way trip would take 2,600 years.】 【By the time we arrive, Earth will likely have long since become a pasture for the 'Star Devourer'.】

This question was like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone's heads. That's right, distance! This was also a chasm lying before them!

"Who said we had to fly there?" Lu Chen turned his head to look at heavenly craft's virtual pretty face, and the corners of his mouth curled into a mysterious smile once again.

"heavenly craft, have you forgotten the reward I mentioned just now?" "Unlock the 'Higher Dimensions' technology tree!" "Since we are going to play with Dimensionality Reduction Strike, why can't we play with dimension travel first?"

"Di—dimension travel?!" heavenly craft's processor seemed to lag for a moment again.

"That's right." Lu Chen snapped his fingers, his eyes flashing with the light of wisdom.

"Since the path in three-dimensional space is too far, then we will take the path in four-dimensional space!" "Just like on a piece of paper, the straight line between two points is the shortest. But what if we fold the paper?" "The two points, wouldn't they overlap?" "This is space folding!" "Which is what is known as—a Wormhole!"

Boom!!! This was another super concept capable of subverting cognition! Everyone's eyes lit up instantly! Wormhole! Space jump! If that was the case, then distance would no longer be a problem!

"But creating a Wormhole requires huge amounts of energy and also requires extremely precise spatial coordinate positioning," Su Qingying said, though excited, her rationality made her raise a question, "Can our current technology achieve this?"

"It couldn't be done before." Lu Chen looked at her, the light in his eyes brighter than the stars. "But now, we have the 'Dragon Bone' alloy for the hull, the 'god of fire' nuclear fusion for energy, and 'heavenly craft' for navigation." "More importantly," he pointed to his own brain. "We have the full set of 'dimension engine' blueprints provided by the system." "We can do it!"

He turned around abruptly, facing everyone on the bridge, his voice resonant and powerful, like the beating of war drums! "Everyone!" "I know this mission is crazy, and one could even say it's a nine-deaths-and-one-life situation!" "We have to go deep into the enemy's hinterland, dance on the edge of a black hole, and personally release a demon that can destroy the world!" "But, we have no other choice!" "Because behind us is Earth! It is our home! It is those billions of compatriots who are still sleeping!" "If we shrink back, if we wait at home." "Then all that awaits us is destruction!"

"Now, tell me!" "Are you willing to wait for death in despair like lambs waiting to be slaughtered?" "Or are you willing to follow me and be that..." "Crazy gambler?!" "To gamble on the future of our human civilization!"

"Gamble!" "Gamble!" "Gamble!" Without any hesitation, without any delay! One hundred Super Soldiers roared in unison! The sound was like thunder exploding, shaking the entire bridge! In their eyes, there was no more fear, only a determination called "facing death without fear"! As long as they could protect their home, as long as they could carve out a glimmer of survival for human civilization! Even if it meant selling their souls to the devil, they were willing!

"Good!" Lu Chen laughed loudly, his laughter full of heroic spirit! "Since everyone has gone crazy, then let's go crazy together!" "heavenly craft!"

【Present, Master!】 "Immediately start the 'dimension engine' manufacturing program! I want to transform this 'expedition' into a ghost ship capable of traversing dimensions in the shortest possible time!" "Also," his gaze fell on the "Two-Dimensional Foil" blueprint that exuded an aura of death, a flash of ruthlessness in his eyes. "Start analyzing the manufacturing process of the 'Two-Dimensional Foil'." "Since we are giving a gift, we will give a big one." "I want to see if that so-called immortal 'Star Devourer', after being flattened into a painting," "can still get up and bite people!"

【Yes! Master!】 heavenly craft's voice was full of unprecedented excitement and fighting spirit! The entire "expedition" instantly entered that crazy "overdrive" mode again! All machines were roaring, and all personnel were running! An ultimate expedition that bet the fate of all humanity was being prepared in full swing!

At this moment, Su Qingying, standing in front of the porthole, looked at the young man's back, who was facing away from the crowd as if he were carrying the entire universe alone. A trace of deep heartache and unprecedented determination flashed in her eyes. She slowly walked behind Lu Chen, reached out, and held his hand gently yet with immense firmness. Feeling the warmth from his palm, Lu Chen was slightly stunned and turned his head. "Qingying?" "Lu Chen." Su Qingying looked into his eyes, the corners of her mouth curling into an extremely gentle smile. "No matter where you are going, no matter what you are going to do." "Even if it is going to hell, even if it is to blow up the entire universe." "Remember," "You must take me with you." "Because," she stood on tiptoe and whispered in his ear: "If this world is truly going to be destroyed." "I hope," "The last image I see, is you."