141: Chapter 141 Powerful Dimensional Reduction Attack: The Frenzied Heart of a 100,000-Ton Behemoth

8:30 PM, the study of the new home.

On the rosewood desk, the screen of the military-grade encrypted terminal was lit.

Su Che leaned back against the wide chair, his fingers tapping on the armrest.

In his mind, the notification sound from the blue-white panel had just faded when new characters began to refresh frantically.

"Ding! The second stage of the Nantianmen Project—Interstellar Strategic Expansion, has officially begun."

"Detected that the host has established the initial framework for the 'luan bird: Ultimate Edition.'"

"The 10,000-ton verification version is merely a low-Earth orbit platform; the 100,000-ton Solar System version of the luan bird aerospace carrier is the true interstellar base."

"Main R&D mission triggered!"

"Mission Name: A 100,000-ton behemoth needs a violent heart!"

"Mission Content: The 100,000-ton carrier cannot lift off at full load using existing propulsion. Please develop an improved adaptive engine control module to achieve a fivefold leap in single-unit thrust and 72-unit distributed coordination, breaking through the shallow potential bottleneck of basic propulsion!"

"Mission Reward: 30,000 skill points, unlock multi-engine distributed collaborative propulsion scheduling algorithms, aerospace full-domain variable cycle millisecond-seamless adaptation technology, large-tonnage thrust full-domain precision vector control technology, extreme condition propulsion self-fault-tolerance self-healing compensation control technology, Controlled Nuclear Fusion energy efficient coupling conversion technology, exchange cost 18,000."

"Current cumulative skill points of the host: 79,400. Do you wish to exchange?"

...

Su Che stared at the panel.

30,000 points reward, 18,000 exchange fee.

100,000 tons, a cluster of 72 engines.

This was no longer building an aircraft; this was building an asteroid capable of rampaging through the Solar System.

"Exchange."

"Ding! 18,000 skill points consumed, core technology for the improved adaptive engine control module has been exchanged."

"Current cumulative skill points of the host: 61,400."

A massive stream of data instantly flooded his consciousness space.

Multi-engine collaborative algorithms, millisecond-level variable cycle adaptation, Controlled Nuclear Fusion energy coupling.

Each technology, if broken down, would be enough for existing aerospace propulsion experts on Earth to study for a lifetime.

The panel did not disappear; immediately after, a second prompt popped up.

"System Prompt: Detected that the host has exchanged core technology, but matching auxiliary technologies/blueprints/plans have not yet been exchanged."

"Includes: Engine cluster control module master diagram, multi-machine load balancing algorithm library, aerospace cross-domain mode switching adaptation plan, propulsion fault self-healing isolation program design."

"Total exchange points: 5,000."

"Current cumulative skill points of the host: 61,400. Do you wish to exchange?"

Su Che did not hesitate.

"Exchange all."

"Ding! 5,000 skill points consumed."

"Current cumulative skill points of the host: 56,400."

The blueprints and plans unfolded in his mind.

Su Che closed his eyes and digested them for a full two minutes.

Single-unit thrust increased fivefold directly.

This meant that while the original 36 engines could lift the 10,000-ton platform, the 72 improved versions could forcibly lift the 100,000-ton steel behemoth out of the atmosphere.

He opened his eyes and pulled the keyboard over.

He created a new document and named it "luan bird 100,000-Ton Class: Propulsion Modification List."

His fingers flew across the keyboard.

High-order computing circuit boards for control units, full-domain propulsion sensor arrays, 3-nanometer quantum chip driver adaptation modules, specialized simulation tooling for multi-engine joint debugging.

Materials and equipment were listed one by one.

The study door was pushed open.

Lin Waner walked in carrying a white porcelain stew bowl.

She had changed into home clothes, her hair tied loosely behind her head.

"The kitchen just stewed some tremella and lotus seed soup." Lin Waner placed the stew bowl on the corner of the rosewood desk. "The housekeeper said you didn't eat much tonight."

Su Che stopped his fingers from tapping on the keyboard.

He picked up the stew bowl and stirred it twice with a spoon.

"Are you adapting to the courtyard?" Su Che took a sip.

"It's too big." Lin Waner sat down on the chair opposite him. "I just went for a walk in the backyard and almost got lost. The guards standing watch outside have changed three shifts, and I didn't even dare to speak loudly."

"You'll get used to it." Su Che put down the spoon. "This is home from now on."

Lin Waner looked at him.

"Are you getting busy again?" She glanced at the dense list on the screen.

"Yeah." Su Che nodded. "The verification version is done; now I have to build the official version."

"Bigger than the previous one?"

"Ten times bigger."

Lin Waner did not ask further.

She stood up and pushed the half-finished stew bowl towards Su Che.

"Drink it all and go to sleep early. Tomorrow I'll have the kitchen make you some pork ribs."

She turned and walked out of the study, closing the door.

Su Che finished the remaining half bowl of tremella soup.

He picked up the encrypted terminal on the desk and dialed Qin Lan's number.

The call connected, and there was a faint ticking of electronic instruments in the background.

"Consultant Su, I am in the front courtyard monitoring room." Qin Lan's voice was efficient.

"At 7:00 AM tomorrow, prepare a car to go to Pangu Laboratory."

Su Che looked at the list on the screen. "Also, send this material list to the Military Science Commission Logistics Department. Have them prepare it before dawn and send it directly to the B2 level of Pangu Laboratory."

He pressed the send button.

"Understood." Qin Lan replied. "Do you need to notify the various academician working groups?"

"Notify Academician Li Zhengyang." Su Che tapped his fingers on the desk.

"Tell him to bring all members of the propulsion group to a meeting at the B2 level at 8:00 AM tomorrow. Tell him that all previous engine parameters are void; we are starting over."

The call ended.

...

The next morning, at 7:00 sharp.

A bulletproof Hongqi SUV drove out of the Third Ring courtyard house.

Two police cars led the way, with Ministry of State Security special agents fully armed.

It was the travel standard for top-tier national scholars, with green lights all the way, heading straight to the western suburbs of the capital.

Ten minutes before eight, Su Che walked into the B2 level of Pangu Laboratory.

In the 2,000-square-meter underground space, the 252-meter verification version skeleton was gone; it was hanging in low-Earth orbit.

In the center of the hall was a massive simulation tooling for multi-engine joint debugging.

Academician Li Zhengyang was already waiting by the console with the fourteen core researchers of the propulsion group.

The old academician held his signature thermos cup, looking very energetic.

"Chief Engineer Su." Academician Li Zhengyang stepped forward. "You called us here early in the morning and said all parameters are void. What new situation has arisen?"

Su Che walked to the console and connected his tactical tablet to the main screen.

"The thrust of the verification version is no longer enough." Su Che pulled up the blueprints he had organized last night.

On the main screen, an extremely complex master diagram of the engine cluster control module appeared.

"A 100,000-ton platform." Su Che turned to look at everyone.

"A distributed layout of 72 adaptive variable-cycle engines, requiring a fivefold increase in single-unit thrust based on the existing foundation, with total energy conversion efficiency optimized simultaneously."

The hall was silent for a moment.

Several young researchers gasped.

Academician Li Zhengyang's hand, which was unscrewing the thermos, paused.

"Increase it fivefold?" Academician Li Zhengyang stared at the screen. "The existing material tolerance and combustion chamber pressure are already approaching their limits. If we force a fivefold increase, the engine will explode."

"That's why we need to change the control logic." Su Che swiped on the tablet.

The screen switched to the Controlled Nuclear Fusion energy efficient coupling conversion technology module.

"We won't touch the main mechanical structure; we will change the energy source." Su Che pointed at the screen. "We will couple the energy from the onboard Controlled Nuclear Fusion reactor directly into the plasma jet of the combustion chamber through high-order computing circuit boards and 3-nanometer quantum chip driver modules."

"For 72 engines, there cannot be a millisecond-level thrust difference." He pulled up the multi-machine load balancing algorithm library.

"Aerospace full-domain variable cycle must be seamlessly adapted. If any one of them fails, the extreme condition propulsion self-fault-tolerance self-healing compensation control technology will isolate the faulty engine within 0.01 seconds and distribute the load evenly among the remaining 71."

Academician Li Zhengyang put on his reading glasses and leaned close to the screen.

He watched for a full five minutes.

He placed his thermos on the table.

"This algorithm..." Academician Li Zhengyang's voice tightened. "It blends Controlled Nuclear Fusion and traditional aerospace propulsion into a single whole. This is not just a thrust increase; this is a dimensional reduction strike on propulsion modes."

"Can it be done?" Su Che asked.

"Yes!" Academician Li Zhengyang turned his head sharply and looked at the fourteen researchers behind him. "The blueprints and algorithms are all here. If we can't build it, we'll all resign!"

"The materials have arrived." Su Che pointed to the unloading area at the back of the B2 level.

Several hydraulic forklifts were transporting crates of full-domain propulsion sensor arrays and high-order circuit boards inside.

"The modification of the first prototype must be completed today." Su Che pulled over a swivel chair and sat down. "Before 12:00 tonight, we will put it on the tooling for a full-power ignition test."

For the rest of the time, the propulsion group was like a machine wound up to the limit.

Su Che sat in front of the main console, the Yiren AI Core running at full power, calculating the stress data of every modification node in real-time.

At 4:00 PM, the first set of 3-nanometer quantum chip driver adaptation modules was installed.

At 9:00 PM, the Controlled Nuclear Fusion energy coupling interface welding was completed.

At 11:30 PM.

An improved adaptive engine that had finished modification was fixed onto the test tooling.

Thick pipelines connected it to the micro-Controlled Nuclear Fusion reactor in the back.

Academician Li Zhengyang stood behind the explosion-proof glass, holding a walkie-talkie.

"Attention, all units." Academician Li Zhengyang's voice was resonant. "Full-domain propulsion sensor array self-check."

"Sensors normal."

"Quantum chip driver module online."

"Controlled Nuclear Fusion coupling interface pressure stable."

Su Che sat in front of the control console, his fingers resting on the red ignition button.

"Ignition." Su Che pressed the button.

The engine on the tooling emitted a low rumble.

There was no deafening, tearing sound; the full-domain active noise reduction module suppressed high-frequency noise to the limit.

The tail nozzle spewed out a blinding, deep blue plasma flame.

The flame was 30 meters long, and the core temperature was so high that it caused severe refraction and distortion of the surrounding air.

The thrust data on the main screen began to skyrocket.

100 tons.

300 tons.

450 tons.

The numbers broke through the limits of the original model and were still climbing.

Academician Li Zhengyang stared fixedly at the screen.

Finally, the thrust reading stabilized at 5.2 times the original peak.

"Stable operation." A researcher shouted, "Combustion chamber wall temperature is within the safety threshold! Controlled Nuclear Fusion energy coupling rate reached 98%!"

Suppressed cheers erupted behind the explosion-proof glass.

Academician Li Zhengyang let out a long breath, picked up his thermos, and took a big gulp of water.

"It's a success."

Su Che looked at the data on the screen.

Single-unit thrust met the standard.

But this was only the first step.

He pulled the keyboard over and entered the first set of measured parameters into the background program for the 72-unit cluster collaborative scheduling.

"Academician Li." Su Che spoke.

The cheers stopped, and everyone looked at him.

"This is just a single engine." Su Che pressed the enter key. "For the next two weeks, I want to see 72 identical engines, and they must complete millisecond-level synchronization tests on the linked tooling."

"No problem!" Academician Li Zhengyang answered loudly. "If we can't get it done within two weeks, I'll stake my head on it!"

Su Che nodded.

He stood up and picked up the hoodie draped over the back of the chair.

"That's it for tonight. Leave two people on duty to monitor the data, and everyone else go back to sleep."

Su Che walked out.

Qin Lan was already waiting outside the door, the bulletproof Hongqi car parked at the exit of the underground garage.

...

At 1:00 AM, Su Che returned to the Third Ring courtyard house.

The courtyard was quiet.

The light in the study was still on.

Su Che pushed the door open and went in; Lin Waner had fallen asleep on the rosewood desk.

She was still holding a pen, and next to her was an open cookbook.

Su Che walked over and draped the hoodie over her.

He glanced at the cookbook on the desk.

The open page read: Ten Ways to Cook Braised Pork Ribs.

Su Che reached out and dimmed the desk lamp.

The 100,000-ton behemoth's heart had already begun to beat.

The moment it truly opened its eyes, flew out of the atmosphere, and faced those things in deep space... was one step closer.