256: Chapter 256 The Focus of the Interstellar Era?

As Lin Yuan's words fell, the General Control Room fell into a brief silence.

No one responded; even the sound of breathing was barely audible.

Several veteran experts, who were usually influential in their respective fields, looked at each other. Their shriveled lips quivered, but they couldn't utter a single syllable.

A spaceship.

These words represented a leap that was simply too vast.

One moment, everyone's thoughts were still revolving around Near Space, still excited that the Xuan Nu Fighter Jet could crush global air defense systems.

But the next moment, Lin Yuan had directly yanked their thoughts out of the atmosphere and hurled them into the deep, infinite reaches of the universe.

This violent leap in dimensions caused everyone present to experience a momentary mental block.

Seeing everyone's stunned reaction, Lin Yuan couldn't help but chuckle.

"Seniors, there's no need to be so surprised."

He turned slightly and pointed toward the vast starry background on the large screen.

"The underlying logic behind many settings in science fiction movies actually has a scientific basis."

"As human civilization develops into the future, with successive breakthroughs in basic sciences such as energy, materials, and propulsion, our journey will surely be the sea of stars."

"It will certainly not be limited to this single planet beneath our feet."

"Therefore, the emergence of spaceships isn't a question of 'if', but a question of 'when'."

Hearing Lin Yuan's matter-of-fact explanation, Shen Changhe was the first to snap back to his senses.

The veteran Chief Engineer shook his head and laughed, his smile tinged with a bit of teasing.

"Academician Lin, oh Academician Lin, you make it sound so simple."

He waved his hand, his tone incredibly frank.

"We all understand the logic that humanity's future lies in the stars."

"But just now, we weren't surprised by the concept of a spaceship itself at all."

Lin Yuan arched an eyebrow, feigning confusion:

"Oh?"

Shen Changhe's lips twitched as he said, half-jokingly and half-seriously:

"We were shocked because the person saying it is you, Academician Lin!"

He raised his hand, pointing at the Xuan Nu Fighter Jet on the large screen, and then at Lin Yuan.

"Look at your past achievements."

"Photolithography Machine, Room-temperature Superconductivity, Controlled Nuclear Fusion, Aerospace Fighter..."

"Which one of those didn't you mention offhandedly, only for it to become a reality shortly after?!"

"As long as you're the one who brings it up, it all ends up coming true, and at a terrifying speed."

"So, now that you've suddenly brought up spaceships in front of us—"

"I reckon all my old colleagues here have the same thought spinning in their heads."

His eyes were burning, and his voice dropped half a pitch, revealing an uncontrollable fervor.

"Is this Interstellar Era... coming soon?"

The surrounding veteran experts all nodded as if their inner thoughts had been laid bare.

The look they gave Lin Yuan carried a nearly blind, fervent trust.

That trust didn't come out of nowhere.

It was forged by miracles that repeatedly crushed the world's understanding!

Lin Yuan looked at their expressions, shook his head slightly, and smiled.

"Seniors, please calm down."

"The Interstellar Era is still a long way off for us."

"One must eat one bite at a time; you can't take steps that are too large."

"After all, we haven't even finished exploring the Blue Planet beneath our feet."

He looked at them and continued.

"Don't forget: the sea of stars."

"Besides the stars, there is also the sea."

Hearing this, everyone's expressions froze slightly.

The sea.

The deep sea, which covers seventy-one percent of the Blue Planet's surface, with its terrifying water pressure and complex geology, is indeed a forbidden zone that humanity has yet to fully conquer.

Lin Yuan withdrew his gaze and looked back at everyone, his tone becoming a bit more serious.

"Furthermore."

"Just as the 'White Emperor' ultimately requires a human pilot."

"The key to the Interstellar Era has never been about how large the spaceship is built, how powerful its firepower is, or how advanced its engines are."

Lin Yuan raised an index finger and tapped lightly.

"The key lies in the people."

The General Control Room suddenly became quiet.

Everyone pricked up their ears, not even daring to breathe loudly, staring fixedly at Lin Yuan.

"The scale of the universe is measured in light-years."

"In deep space, there are lethal high-energy cosmic rays, extremely harsh zero-gravity environments, and long voyage cycles that can easily last years or even decades."

Lin Yuan's voice dropped, each word precisely hitting the pain points of scientific research.

"And the human body is too fragile."

"Our short hundred-year lifespans and our physiological functions, which are heavily dependent on oxygen and gravity, simply cannot overcome the limitations of the cosmic scale."

"Without a body capable of adapting to the deep space environment, without a lifespan capable of supporting long voyages..."

"Then, no matter how perfect a spaceship we build, it will only be an iron shell carrying corpses."

These words landed heavily.

Everyone present felt as if their hearts had been struck by a heavy hammer.

They were naturally aware of how terrifying the devastation of deep space is to carbon-based organisms.

Astronauts who spend just a few months in low Earth orbit need to be carried out of the capsule on stretchers when they return to the ground.

Let alone true interstellar voyages.

However, after a brief moment of deep thought, the anticipation on everyone's faces did not fade.

On the contrary, that fervent emotion became even more intense.

Countless eyes looked at Lin Yuan with burning intensity.

If anyone else had brought up these unsolvable problems, they would have despaired.

But now, it was Lin Yuan posing these questions!

With Lin Yuan around, is there no hope of solving these problems?

Just as everyone's minds were in turmoil.

Yang Tongan, who had been standing to the side with half-closed eyes and without speaking, spoke up at the right moment.

"Alright, the Interstellar Era is still far off; let's not think too much about it for now."

Yang Tongan cleanly interrupted everyone's reverie and then quickly pulled the topic back to the business at hand.

"Let's talk about the present first."

"The Xuan Nu Fighter Jet up in the sky—what are the plans for its follow-up?"

"The test flight data has been collected. Should we have it return and land directly, or proceed to the next step of live-fire testing for the weapon system?"

Hearing Elder Yang's question, Lin Yuan turned to look at the large screen.

He smiled and spoke in an extremely casual tone.

"Return? No need to return!"

"As for the weapon system testing, there's no rush for that right now."

Yang Tongan was slightly startled, his eyebrows arching.

"Not returning?"

"Does this mean..."

Lin Yuan's gaze fixed on the Xuan Nu Fighter Jet.

"Just let it stay there."

"It's a good chance to test its ultimate stability performance in extreme environments."

Lin Yuan shrugged and said matter-of-factly.

"Anyway, with Controlled Nuclear Fusion as its energy source, it doesn't need to worry about refueling like traditional fighter jets."

"Staying in the sky for half a year or even a year shouldn't be much of a problem."