Chapter 172: Prototype of Faster-Than-Light Travel

Xiao Yu sat silently, contemplating what methods the hidden observer might use.

“Leaving my fate to the unknown… that’s really not my style. But… I truly have no choice. I’m still too weak—completely powerless against such a disaster…”

Xiao Yu made his decision.

Facing the hundreds of Luka scientists gathered in the hall, Xiao Yu said, “I have decided to remain in the starry sky and rely on our own strength to survive this disaster. The previous discussion was very good—we’ll combine the two proposed strategies. First, find a star and hide behind it, and second, attempt to develop a warped-space energy shield. For now… we’ll stay within the Aquila IV star system. After the information storm passes, we’ll leave.”

Luka Three spoke up, “Master, based on certain unverified assumptions, I suggest that we head to the Aquila 2 star system and hide behind that white dwarf. Using a white dwarf as a shield is surely better than using a normal star. Of course, I have no proof that it would work better—this is merely a suggestion. The final decision must be made by you, Master.”

“The Aquila 2 star system is about 1.9 light-years away. If we accelerate at full speed, we can reach it within five years. Very well, let’s head for Aquila 2. Conveniently, there’s also a gas giant there where we can replenish fuel and supplies.”

Xiao Yu made his decision.

As the fleet gradually accelerated, Xiao Yu cast his gaze at the distant yellow dwarf star—the home of the Arrow Beasts.

He had no intention of regrouping with the Arrow Beasts; he didn’t have the ability to protect them. Rather than wasting fuel on a meaningless act, it was better to conserve resources.

During this time, Xiao Yu did not idle. Instead, he continued research on the Grand Unified Theory. The theoretical framework was already established, but there were still many details worth studying. Moreover, possessing the theory only pointed the way forward—it did not mean immediate application.

At this stage, two major scientific problems lay before Xiao Yu:

How to achieve faster-than-light travel based on the Grand Unified Theory.

How to find an energy source more efficient than nuclear fusion.

Sustained acceleration of starships, the nonstop operation of supercomputers, high-power energy shields—all these consumed enormous amounts of energy. To meet the growing energy demands, Xiao Yu had even filled half of Hebei’s mass with nuclear fusion fuel. Such a configuration was almost unimaginable for future interstellar voyages.

Both problems were still in their early research stages. Regarding faster-than-light travel, Xiao Yu already had a rough theoretical outline—it was just a matter of time and experiments. The second problem, however, was still vague in his mind.

In the specialized laboratory aboard the Hebei, Xiao Yu tirelessly pursued scientific research.

“Using gravity to warp space… In extremely small spaces, gravity warping requires extremely dense matter, such as white dwarf or neutron star material. But directly using such matter is unrealistic. Even if I could obtain it, adjusting the gravitational magnitude would be impossible. Thus… the only way is to use the Grand Unified Theory to convert energy into gravity.”

Xiao Yu thought to himself, closely observing the situation inside the vacuum experimental chamber.

There, a black sphere floated in the void. This was the gravity converter Xiao Yu had constructed under the guidance of the Grand Unified Theory.

This device could create intense gravitational fields within a tiny space.

Under Xiao Yu’s control, a small amount of energy was being injected. Through conversion, the energy transformed into gravity and radiated outward.

As the energy input increased, the gravitational strength also gradually rose.

“Hmm… already over ten times the gravitational pull of Earth per unit mass. Increase conversion power further,” Xiao Yu ordered, watching the values on the monitoring instruments.

The gravitational source produced by this converter could only influence very small spatial scales—similar to how a micro black hole, despite having a total mass smaller than an atom, could exert strong gravitational forces within only a few femtometers. Beyond even a centimeter, it became undetectable.

The gravitational source Xiao Yu had created exhibited similar properties.

Now, the gravitational strength was equivalent to the density of white dwarf matter. Yet, it could not affect even half a meter beyond itself.

Under such gravitational intensity, Xiao Yu keenly observed a faint spatial distortion around the gravity source. The distortion resembled the shimmering air above a fire.

Xiao Yu continued increasing the energy input, and the gravity source grew even stronger. However, no matter how strong it became, its effective range never exceeded a decimeter.

“Already reached the gravitational strength of neutron star material.”

The effect of this gravity source was akin to placing a cubic nanometer of neutron star material here. Because the total mass was minuscule, it couldn’t affect distant objects. Yet, due to its extreme density, it caused obvious spatial warping immediately nearby.

At this point, Xiao Yu deliberately weakened the gravitational field in one direction—and then, a startling phenomenon occurred.

The black sphere suddenly disappeared.

Its disappearance lasted only about one ten-billionth of a second. When it reappeared in Xiao Yu’s monitoring system, it had moved six decimeters.

It floated silently once again, showing no abnormal movements. But Xiao Yu noticed that the strong gravitational field surrounding it had vanished.

Xiao Yu’s heart surged with excitement. If his measurements were correct, then this experiment marked the first successful realization of faster-than-light travel under his own hands!

Even if it was only a distance of six decimeters, and only for a ten-billionth of a second.

Suppressing his excitement, Xiao Yu conducted another experiment.

“Was it due to energy exhaustion that it exited the faster-than-light state?”

Xiao Yu thought to himself. “If so, let’s increase the energy input… Hmm…”

Watching the situation unfold, Xiao Yu gave a bitter smile.

The faster-than-light phenomenon occurred again—this time, the black sphere traveled ten meters, bursting out of the vacuum chamber and leaving two small holes in the wall.

Yes, two strangely shaped holes—one crescent-shaped, the other irregular. But one thing was certain: neither hole was large enough for the sphere to physically pass through.

“What’s going on?” Xiao Yu wondered. “How could an object leave a hole smaller than its own size?”

It was as if a bullet one centimeter in diameter passed through a glass sheet but left a hole only 0.8 centimeters wide. How could something pass through a hole smaller than itself?

Xiao Yu conducted another experiment. Again, the black sphere left only a single small hole in the wall—smaller than its cross-sectional area.

After several experiments, Xiao Yu finally understood.

“I see now—matter exists through space. When the sphere touched the wall, the wall itself was affected by the warped space and deformed. That’s why this phenomenon occurred.”

Imagine space as an elastic sheet. Stretching, compressing, or wrinkling it would correspond to space being warped. Cutting a circle out of a wrinkled sheet, then flattening it, would result in a distorted, non-circular shape.

Similarly, stretching the sheet before cutting would cause any hole to shrink once it returned to flatness.

This explained the bizarre phenomenon.

Realizing this, Xiao Yu grew even more enthusiastic. Again and again, he ran experiments, trying to find the relationship between gravitational strength, travel speed, travel direction, and travel duration.

This was the prototype of faster-than-light travel.

Faster-than-light travel was no longer far from Xiao Yu’s grasp.

As experiments and research progressed intensely, time passed steadily. Xiao Yu’s fleet had already traveled about one light-year’s distance.

But at this moment, something unexpected appeared ahead.

It was as if an invisible giant mouth opened in space, swallowing Xiao Yu’s ships. Xiao Yu watched as the lead ships abruptly vanished without a trace.

In the visible light spectrum, infrared spectrum, ultraviolet spectrum—none of the ships could be detected. Yet, strangely, communications between them remained intact.

It was as if someone had suddenly cast an invisibility spell on those ships.

“What’s happening? What is that?” Xiao Yu stared in shock.

Another ship crossed the invisible boundary and disappeared.

Just then, Xiao Yu received a message.

“Little ones, you’ve flown into my body.”