Chapter 677: Two Questions

Xiao Yu had previously run simulations on dense stellar bodies such as white dwarfs or neutron stars colliding with ordinary stars. The conclusion was that in such collisions, the star would be destroyed, while the dense body would generally be unaffected. The corpse of the Micron Civilization undoubtedly also belongs to the category of dense stellar bodies. It is only that its form of existence is a bit peculiar, which is why Xiao Yu felt a trace of concern.

It was already too late to stop it. Xiao Yu suppressed the slight unease in his heart and collected all the small spacecraft with weaker defenses into the small universe, leaving only one Planet-Class warship and several Continent-Class warships here to carefully observe the situation ahead.

Before the Micron Civilization’s corpse reached that star, the star had already been affected by its immense gravity. The star’s shape changed from an approximately round sphere to an ellipsoid, with the smaller end facing the rapidly approaching Micron’s corpse. It was being stretched and flattened by the Micron’s powerful gravity. At that moment, the Micron’s corpse plunged headfirst into the star and vanished from sight.

A star’s diameter can reach the order of a million kilometers. In front of it, the Micron’s corpse would not even count as a sesame seed. Yet such a tiny thing possessed a mass no less than that of the star. The Micron’s current cruising speed was a little over ten thousand kilometers per second, which meant it would take more than one hundred seconds for it to pass completely through the star and burst out from the other side.

A star is unquestionably formidable. Xiao Yu, who had advanced to a Level 6 Civilization, understood this best. Although Xiao Yu could easily destroy a star, that was by means of a clever method. Under normal circumstances, Xiao Yu’s most advanced technological creation, the hydrogen-atomic polymer material, could not even remain on a star’s surface for long, much less enter its interior. The environment inside a star is even harsher, with the core temperature reaching tens of millions of degrees Celsius. At such terrifying temperatures, no object known to Xiao Yu could exist.

Yet, under the Specter companion’s control, the Micron Civilization’s corpse plunged straight in like this. Although test models had long told Xiao Yu that collisions of dense bodies with stars like this were not dangerous, he still felt apprehensive.

The Micron’s corpse had disappeared from sight and entered the star’s interior, while the star itself still maintained surface-level stability. In Xiao Yu’s observations, aside from a slight increase in luminosity and various radiations, there was basically no change. But Xiao Yu knew that the most violent changes were occurring inside the star. The calm on the outside existed only because the internal disturbances had not yet propagated outward.

Xiao Yu quietly calculated the time and silently waited for the moment when the Micron’s corpse would reappear.

Two minutes passed. Under Xiao Yu’s gaze, on the far side of the star, a body that still maintained a nearly perfect spherical shape suddenly appeared and swiftly shot into space. Behind it came a fierce ejection of stellar matter. Xiao Yu knew that the Micron’s corpse had pierced the star’s multilayered internal structure. Under immense pressure, the star’s interior matter would, like a fountain, spray out along this opening, ejecting a vast quantity of matter into space.

It was like an oversized flame-jetter.

“Hahahahaha. Hahahahahahaha!” Signals representing the Specter companion’s exuberant mood spread wantonly through this region of space. The Specter companion was entirely unharmed, and Xiao Yu let out a slight breath of relief.

The Micron Civilization’s corpse had successfully passed through the star without so much as a scratch. As for that star behind the Micron, aside from its current mass ejection, it still maintained basic stability. But Xiao Yu knew these super-sized pyrotechnic jets were merely a prelude. The most violent changes were yet to come. Xiao Yu knew that a terrifying surge of energy sufficient to destroy the entire star was rampaging within it.

What followed did not surprise Xiao Yu. He saw that after the Micron’s corpse had flown several million kilometers, drastic changes finally occurred on the star. In almost an instant, the star changed form. Its brightness surged by tens of thousands of times, and the transformation began from the side where the Micron’s corpse had entered. A violent explosion commenced.

The explosion had begun. This meant the star-destroying energy had spread from the interior to encompass the entire star. The Micron’s powerful gravity, combined with its extreme mass and impact velocity, had completely destroyed the star’s overall structure. The ensuing violent energy backlash would blow the star apart completely.

The star exploded. The mechanism of this explosion was different from a supernova, but its power could rival or even surpass a supernova explosion. For in this kind of explosion, it would leave behind no remnants such as a white dwarf or a neutron star. This explosion resembled a pair-instability supernova; the entire star would be destroyed, leaving nothing behind.

The star had been completely annihilated. After some time, the vast energy of the explosion reached the few large ships Xiao Yu had left in the visible universe. Although the multi-layer shield system withstood the blast, the ships’ internal energy consumption reached a truly terrifying level. Meanwhile, the prime culprit behind these earthshaking changes, the Micron Civilization’s corpse under the Specter companion’s control, continued to roam leisurely through the star system.

Aside from its surface temperature rising slightly, the Micron Civilization’s corpse suffered no damage whatsoever.

“This is the might of a controllable neutron star-like stellar body. Destroying a star is as easy as turning a hand. Even my most powerful Planet-Class warship is crushed before it. Only an existence this formidable has any chance of dealing with the Neutron War Star.”

Watching the various powers of the Micron’s corpse, Xiao Yu’s heart surged, and he could not calm himself.

“I finally understand why the Sweepers Civilization can rely on a single Neutron War Star to dominate the entire Milky Way Galaxy for tens of millions of years. The power of a controllable neutron star-like dense stellar body is simply too great. Even if it had no conventional offensive methods, so what? Ramming alone is enough. There is no one, no spaceship that can withstand it.”

The Micron Civilization’s corpse began to slow down. Amid radiation intense enough to destroy any Level 5 Civilization ship and amid the sky-full ejection of matter, the Specter companion activated the Micron’s gravitational shielding system and maneuvered it to quietly hover before Xiao Yu’s Planet-Class warship.

“Enter the small universe.” Xiao Yu said. “It is time to return to the Milky Way Galaxy. It is time to exterminate the Sweepers Civilization.”

“Of course, we should go back.” The Specter companion said. “However, during the period I have been controlling the Micron Civilization’s corpse, I discovered a problem. If we cannot solve this problem, we will be in great trouble.”

“What problem?” Xiao Yu asked with some curiosity.

The Specter companion fell silent for a moment before saying, “Do you know what structure the Micron Civilization’s corpse actually has? Is it a neutron star or a white dwarf?”

“I do not know that.” Xiao Yu said. “A white dwarf cannot be this small, and a neutron star cannot be this large. There is only one explanation. It is an existence between a white dwarf and a neutron star. But in my current theoretical framework, there is no possibility for such a body to exist. However, there is no need to rush to investigate this. On the return journey, we will have plenty of time to study its structure.”

“Mm, I understand.” The Specter companion said. “Besides that, there are two more matters. First, I feel that I can dismantle the Micron Civilization’s corpse as if disassembling a machine. At the same time, I also sense that many technologies of utmost importance to us, such as the space fold and four-dimensional jump we have witnessed, can be obtained through research after we dismantle the Micron Civilization’s corpse. These technologies can only be acquired after disassembling the Micron’s corpse. If we keep it intact, we have no way to perform technological analysis. But I also feel that although I can dismantle the Micron’s corpse, I do not have the ability to reassemble it.”

“Mm?” Xiao Yu’s heart tightened slightly. Four-dimensional jump technology and space fold technology were undoubtedly what Xiao Yu greatly desired. Moreover, from what the Specter companion said, the technologies contained within the Micron Civilization’s corpse were not limited to just these two.

“To put it simply, if we dismantle the Micron Civilization’s corpse, the conventional technologies we can obtain may even push our conventional tech level beyond that of the Guardian Civilization.” The Specter companion said.

The Micron Civilization’s corpse was undoubtedly very important, but those technologies were equally tempting to Xiao Yu. Yet, in choosing between the two, Xiao Yu knew what to do. The Micron Civilization’s corpse was the only trump card against the Neutron War Star, whereas to rely on conventional technology to contend with the Neutron War Star would require at least reaching the level of a Level 7 Civilization. Therefore, though it was truly a pity, Xiao Yu still chose to preserve the Micron Civilization’s corpse and save it for confronting the Neutron War Star in the future.

“Those technologies we can obtain later through our own research, but there is only one Micron Civilization’s corpse. Once dismantled, it will be gone. It is our hope against the Sweepers Civilization. Therefore, I choose to temporarily give up acquiring those technologies and preserve the Micron Civilization’s corpse.” Xiao Yu said. “Then, what is the second problem you discovered?”