22: The Power of Fusion

While Lei Wen was busy with his factory, he hadn't forgotten the other pieces on his chessboard.

Through the invisible hand of Paradox Technology, he sent bloated and complex "replicas"—identical to the production line within Leidian Special Steel Co., Ltd.—to three other designated agents in Europe, America, and Africa: the Siemens Group, General Electric, and the Albert Group.

These production lines, wrapped in countless layers of commercial contracts and technology transfer agreements, descended upon these top industrial giants of Earth like "imperial edicts" from the future.

Accompanying them was the omnipresent online technical guidance from white flower, conducted through encrypted networks.

Initially, the top engineers of these old-school industrial empires felt quite disdainful about needing guidance from a "mentor" that existed only on the network.

They were authorities in their respective fields, figures standing at the pinnacle of human industrial civilization.

But when they successfully manufactured the first piece of perfect 【el-3 composite target material】 from that complex production line for the first time, following the blueprints and operation manuals provided by white flower that overturned all their existing knowledge, all pride and skepticism were crushed in front of that metal, which shimmered with an incredible luster.

"My God! Under the microscope, its molecular structure looks like a cathedral built by the hands of gods," the head of the Siemens Materials Laboratory wrote in a report to the board of directors.

"We tried to cut it with the highest-power plasma cutter, and the result was that our cutter nozzle melted, while its surface didn't even have a single scratch left on it," the chief engineer of General Electric reported with awe in his voice during a secret meeting at The Pentagon.

Under the unquestionable and highly urgent supreme directives of their respective countries, these industrial giants ramped up their efforts with unprecedented efficiency.

Huge production lines ran day and night, and pieces of EL-3 steel containing the power of the future, along with rolls of room-temperature superconductors that looked like black silk, were produced continuously and then quickly flowed into the core industrial and social sectors of the world.

A silent revolution led by new materials suddenly erupted globally with an unstoppable momentum.

November 3, 2026, China, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, a secret underground experimental base.

Behind thick alloy walls capable of withstanding a nuclear explosion, a device with a diameter of only five meters, shaped like a metal heart wrapped in countless silver-white pipelines and superconducting coils, stood quietly in the center of the experimental platform.

It was the No. 1 prototype of the 【controllable cold fusion reactor】—Candle Dragon-1.

In the control room, Academician Chen Haikang, Professor Liu Zhaodong, and hundreds of top scientists and engineers from China and the United States were holding their breath, staring at the data stream in front of them.

With the two key materials provided by Paradox Technology, the "heavenly book" blueprints from the guide had finally become an engineering miracle that could be realized.

"... Injecting deuterium-tritium mixed fuel."

"... Gravitational field confinement coils activated, energy injection at 10%... 30%... 70%..."

"... The temperature at the center of the reaction chamber has reached 10 million degrees... 30 million degrees... 80 million degrees!"

"... Ignition!"

Following the chief engineer's order, a powerful gravitational field generated by the superconducting coils instantly compressed that small mass of thin fuel at the center of the Star Candle reaction chamber to the density of a stellar core.

No violent explosion, no dazzling flash.

On the main screen, the curve representing energy output instantly soared crazily at a near-vertical angle!

Stable. Continuous. Pure.

A stream of almost endless energy poured out continuously from that small "artificial sun."

The control room was first deathly silent, then erupted into thunderous cheers and applause.

Countless white-haired scientists were moved to tears, hugging each other tightly, celebrating this great moment that would go down in human history.

Humanity had finally mastered the power of the stars in a sustainable and controllable way.

Just over ten days later, on November 15, an almost identical scene played out at Area 51 in Nevada, on the other side of the ocean.

Their prototype, "Prometheus," also successfully ignited.

The US government immediately announced this news to the world in a high-profile manner and prepared to apply this revolutionary new reactor to their latest heavy-lift launch vehicle, named "Artemis."

The realization of fusion energy was like a key, instantly opening the door for humanity to deep space.

What limited humanity's steps was no longer energy, but merely imagination.

Advances in materials science also brought about disruptive changes.

Traditional chemical fuel rocket engines were essentially disposable consumables that generated thrust through violent chemical reactions.

But now, when 【el-3 composite target material】, a material with super high-temperature and corrosion resistance, was applied to the combustion chambers and nozzles of rocket engines, the lifespan of rocket engines was extended from a few minutes to tens of thousands of hours.

It was no longer a disposable firework, but a truly reusable engine that could be started repeatedly and used for a long time.

A brand new concept emerged simultaneously in the minds of aerospace engineers in both China and the United States.

Since there was almost unlimited energy (fusion reactor) and long-term usable engines (Hall thrusters), why continue to use those clumsy, disposable rockets that required discarding boosters stage by stage?

It was time to build a real "starship."

December 2026, Wenchang, Hainan, International Joint Space Command Center.

Under the framework of the dome accord, this launch site, which once belonged only to China, had now become a super base filled with an atmosphere of international cooperation.

The best brains from both China and the United States gathered here.

A meeting concerning the future of humanity was being held here.

The theme of the meeting was singular: in order to cope with the unknown threat approaching from 13 light-years away, the two countries decided to shelve their differences and do their utmost to jointly design and build the first true interstellar warship in human history.

"It can no longer be called a 'spaceship' or a 'rocket'," Academician Chen Haikang stood in front of a huge holographic model, his expression solemn. "It must be a 'warship'. A 'starship' that can represent the will of our entire civilization and carry all our hopes."

The holographic image of Dr. Alice Thorne nodded beside him, adding: "Its design goal cannot just be to fly to Mars; it must have the ability to survive and fight independently in deep space for a long time, and to deal with all unknown situations. It will be our first mobile space fortress and the first sharp sword that Human Civilization extends into the universe."

After weeks of intense discussion and collision of ideas, the blueprint for this starship, which carried the joint will of the two major powers, gradually became clear.

It would be named—voyager.

Its main energy source would be two parallel miniaturized fusion reactors, and its main propulsion system would be an array of twenty-four high-power Hall thrusters. Although the maximum speed was only 0.24% of the speed of light, it was enough to reach Mars in a few months.

Its hull structure would be made entirely of 【el-3 composite target material】 and various new composite materials, enough to withstand the impact of micro-meteorites and high-intensity cosmic radiation.

It would carry an ecological circulation system that could support 10 crew members for long-term survival.

It even had preliminary plans for weapon systems—electromagnetic railguns and missiles equipped with small fusion warheads.

Although these weapons might be like children's toys in a real interstellar war, this represented an attitude, a determination.

voyager would be a symbol of Human Civilization, from an infant in a Cradle to the first time it tried to pick up a weapon and stand up.

Its construction was set as the highest priority project on this planet.

Countless resources and talents began to converge on Wenchang, Hainan, and Cape Canaveral in the United States.

Earth civilization was crazily climbing the technology tree at an unprecedented speed, making final preparations for the unknown fleet that was about to arrive.

Just as this magnificent space plan was being carried out in full swing on Earth, that true Far Star Fleet had already crossed the long road of several light-years.

The bridge of the flagship rathia remained as tranquil as it had been for eons.

It had been nearly a year of Earth time since the brief conflict with the Tigaden people.

The fleet had already sailed to the halfway point of the entire journey.

Commander Talon was closing his eyes to rest, his consciousness immersed in the tactical data stream connected to the flagship's AI, analyzing the massive amount of information downloaded from the database of the Tigaden flagship, Star Traveler.

The history, technology, culture, language... everything of that tenacious insect race had been thoroughly analyzed, becoming the first detailed "map" for the Faleim People to understand this strange universe.

Suddenly, a non-preset alarm sound awakened Talon from his deep thoughts.

"Commander," the voice of sensor operator Kyle rang out, carrying a hint of confusion, "our high-precision gravitational wave detector has just captured an extremely faint, yet structurally unusually regular, signal."

"The signal source?" Talon opened his eyes.

"It is from behind us, approximately three light-years away," Kyle marked the signal source on the Star Map, "the signal is very faint, more like... an echo left in conventional space by some kind of high-dimensional energy."

"An echo left in conventional space by high-dimensional energy..." Talon repeated these words, a flash of gravity crossing his azure pupils.

This description itself was full of contradictions and unknowns.

Fluctuations of high-dimensional energy usually only occur in the embers of the Big Bang, the event horizons of black holes, or... the psychic powers from high-dimensional existences revered by those idealistic civilizations.

And an "echo" meant that an event had already occurred, and what they had captured were merely the residual ripples spanning across space-time and dimensions.

"Does the signal have periodicity?" Talon asked.

"Yes, Commander," Kyle immediately pulled up the data model, "although extremely faint, it presents a very regular decay cycle, though most natural collapses would also form this characteristic."

Talon was silent for a moment, then made a decision.

"Connect the communication with the home planet," he ordered, "package all our detection data and analysis models and send them to the Central Research Center; I need to know if the deep space monitoring station of Faleimland has also captured the same echo."

Talon's intuition told him that the importance of this unknown ghost from behind might be no less than that of the galaxy ahead, which was their final destination.

The communications officer immediately executed the order.

Faster-than-light communication based on quantum entanglement, quantum tunneling, and high-dimensional space theory was one of the core technologies of the Faleim Civilization.

It ignored distance and the limitations of the speed of light.

As long as the communication devices at both ends were in the same universe, information could be transmitted in an instant.

Almost within the next minute after Talon gave the order, the reply from the Faleimland System was already clearly projected onto the main screen of the bridge.

The reply did not come from the Research Center or the Central Council, but directly from Consul Price himself, which was sufficient proof of the importance the home planet attached to this matter.

【To: Commander of the Far Star Fleet, Councilor Talon. The data you sent has been received. The deep space monitoring station of Faleimland also independently detected the same anomalous high-dimensional energy echo at the same coordinates shortly after your departure. According to our preliminary analysis, this signal source highly matches the characteristics of a large-scale 'spatial topological structure reshaping' event, and its energy magnitude even exceeds the peak when our empire built its largest stargate. After confirming this anomaly, we immediately launched a Ghost-class faster-than-light probe from the home planet to the coordinates for close-range reconnaissance. The probe arrived at the outer edge of the target galaxy three standard days ago and has transmitted the first batch of precious data.】

The Ghost-class probe was the most cutting-edge unmanned reconnaissance equipment recently designed and developed by the Faleim Civilization; its Warp Drive had been specially optimized and it was small in size with a single function, so its maximum speed could reach forty times the speed of light, eight times that of the Far Star Fleet.

This meant that the home planet had seen the situation in that galaxy earlier than they had.

Consul Price's message continued to display on the screen.

【According to the material spectrum and gravitational lensing analysis transmitted back by the probe, we are 92% certain that there are extremely rich reserves of morse crystal on a moon of the fourth gas giant in that galaxy.】

"morse crystal!" When this term appeared on the screen, an irrepressible exclamation erupted throughout the entire bridge.

Even the usually calm Talon's pupils contracted sharply.

morse crystal is an extremely important strategic resource within the Faleim Civilization.

It is a type of extremely rare special crystal capable of producing stable resonance with space-time bubbles at the atomic level.

It is also the most core and irreplaceable material for building 【stargate】.

And a stargate is a cosmic miracle that can instantly connect two distant galaxies and establish permanent wormhole routes.

Without morse crystal, the so-called stargate would just be an unstable energy vortex that could collapse at any moment.

Possessing it, a civilization could truly own a "superhighway" spanning the galaxy, and could consolidate its vast empire into an efficient whole.

Now that they had lost the entire empire and all stargate networks, the value of a rich morse crystal deposit was not even less than finding a galaxy full of Gaia planets.

It was not just wealth; it represented the hope of rising again.

【The data from the Ghost probe also shows that there are no active, high-level civilization energy signals within that galaxy. We speculate that the event that triggered the high-dimensional energy echo might have been a catastrophic accident of an ancient artificial wormhole project; the accident destroyed the civilization that once existed there, but exposed the morse crystal deep within the planet's core. It is now an ownerless treasure trove.】

【Therefore, the Central Council now issues a highest-priority order to the Far Star Fleet: 1. The Far Star Fleet must immediately abort the original mission to the 'Guide Galaxy', change course, and head to the anomalous galaxy at full speed (coordinates attached). 2. Upon arrival, immediately conduct a comprehensive safety assessment of the galaxy. Confirm that there are no potential civilization threats within the galaxy, and ascertain the specific reserves and mining difficulty of the morse crystal deposits. 3. If the evaluation result is 'safe' and 'high value', the fleet must establish a temporary alert zone on-site and transmit a confirmation signal back to the home planet. At that time, the Central Council will immediately dispatch the first batch of engineering fleets carrying mobile stargate construction platforms to build a permanent mining and transport base.】

【Councilor Talon, we know better than anyone the importance of the 'Guide Galaxy'. But rebuilding our stargate network is the first cornerstone of our civilization's revival. Only with a stable stargate network can we project our power to every corner of the galaxy again. This mission carries both risks and opportunities. The future of our civilization is once again left to your judgment. ——Consul Price】

The order was clear, explicit, and full of unquestionable authority, while also granting the frontline commander the final power of judgment.

Talon finished reading the Consul's entire message quietly, the light of reason flashing in his azure eyes.

He immediately understood the strategic intent of the Central Council.

Heading to the guide Galaxy was to seek the origin of their civilization, to find that mysterious "the guide". This was an ultimate mission full of unknowns and variables concerning the faith and future of their civilization.

While heading to this anomalous galaxy to mine morse crystal was a pragmatic task that could immediately enhance the hard power of their civilization, concerning the reality of survival and development.

After losing the entire empire, the Faleim Civilization was like a top-tier master who had lost all martial arts.

What they needed most now was not to search for illusory "martial arts manuals", but to first cleanse their marrow and recast their bones step by step.

And the stargate was the key for them to reopen all the meridians of their body.

"Commander?" Communications officer Kyle asked softly, pulling Talon back from his deep thoughts.

Talon raised his head, his gaze sweeping over every officer on the bridge waiting for his order.

His voice returned to its consistent calmness and decisiveness.

"Order received; our mission needs to be changed."

He turned to the helmsman responsible for navigation.

"Input the new coordinates and recalculate the warp navigation vector."

"Yes, Commander!"

"Order all ships in the fleet," he continued to command, "increase engine power to 95% of the safety limit; we must reach the target galaxy at top speed."

"Yes!"

As one order after another was quickly transmitted, the massive hull of the rathia began a graceful and precise turn, wrapped in a warp bubble.

Behind it, the remaining nine escort ships, like the most loyal guards, followed the flagship and adjusted their course without the slightest deviation.

Ten warships, like silver arrows, traced a huge arc in the boundless darkness, deflected an angle toward the direction they had come from, and pointed toward another brand-new, mysterious galaxy full of unknowns and opportunities.

(PS: Two and a half years is indeed too short, so let's extend it by a few more years.)