"The Dauntless has finally passed the inspection and can assemble the space jump engine. Do you want to start the assembly?"
January 19, 2070, Titan, the main control room of the First Shipbuilding Plant.
As the second main person in charge of the space jump warship project, Li Chengzhe immediately turned around and said to Xu Lei after receiving the report from the outside staff: "Dean, everything is ready, we can start."
Today is the Laba Festival, a traditional festival of human civilization.
In such a special period of time, the assembly of the Dreadnought's hull and core space jump engine is also a test of their work over the past two years. To put it simply, whether this project can be brought to a successful conclusion depends on everything.
Final results today.
So much so that all the staff were tense at this moment.
Even if it is a small thing, it must be confirmed again and again to prevent emergencies.
In the past two years, the 500 million Galaxy Coins invested by Future Technology have basically been spent, and this has taken up a lot of the light of the Milky Way civilization. We are willing to cooperate with Future Technology at a lower price, otherwise the actual cost will be
I'm afraid there will be nearly 200 million more Galaxy coins, and the amount of resources invested can be imagined.
So they are not allowed to accept failure at all in this case.
Otherwise all the efforts will be in vain.
By then, even if technology becomes increasingly powerful in the future, consuming so much money will severely weaken our vitality.
Compared with others, Xu Lei always had a calm face, and he just nodded after hearing Li Chengzhe's words.
"Let's get started."
Obviously he didn't think anything unexpected would happen.
After all, what is being done now is only the assembly of the core engine and the ship body, and it is not the test of opening the wormhole space channel, so it is not too technically difficult.
As for naming this modified space jump battleship Dreadnought, it can be regarded as a disguised incentive, allowing human civilization to always cherish this vision and strive to create a real dreadnought ship in the future.
Just as Xu Lei expected, due to sufficient preparations in the early stage, the Dreadnought hull and the only space jump engine were fully inspected multiple times, and only after confirming that there were no problems did today's formal assembly and docking proceed. Therefore, the entire process was carried out
It went very smoothly.
When Xu Lei's instructions were transmitted to the ears of the staff outside through Li Chengzhe, they immediately saw a special-shaped and large engine being hoisted above the Dreadnought by a super-large mechanical body.
Then it slowly descends under the precise positioning of the laser.
Until the two are perfectly connected.
And at the same time, the Dreadnaught's brain also immediately analyzed the data of the engine to determine the fit of the engine to the hull.
Simulates the state of the hull when the engine is running.
Only if the data is within strict standards can it be ensured that when the Dreadnaught independently opens the wormhole space channel, there will be no channel collapse or even ship body collapse.
This is particularly important.
After all, if the passage collapses when the battleship passes through the wormhole space, there is a high probability that the objects inside will be torn into pieces and thrown into a completely unfamiliar and unknown star field.
This is not the result he wanted.
Although the source star civilization fire has inestimable value, he must get it, but he will not risk his own life. This is why he is willing to spend a lot of money and time to develop a space jump warship.
It is worth mentioning that in order to maximize the performance of the Dauntless, its core control brain is no worse than Star Pupil.
The only difference is that the brain on the Intrepid does not have self-awareness.
But even this can save Xu Lei a lot of worry. He can determine the danger in advance through calculation and take countermeasures on his own.
Who asked them to go to the area between the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy this time? For the first time in a completely unfamiliar star field, they must have high emergency handling capabilities.
About half an hour later, information from the Dreadnaught’s brain finally came from the main control room.
"Data analysis completed."
"The engine fit is 95% and meets the requirements."
Upon hearing these two sentences, which sounded similar to Xing Tong's, both Li Chengze and Xu Lei's expressions suddenly moved slightly, and they immediately took a few steps forward to carefully check the specific data transmitted on the screen.
It only took a few seconds to see Li Chengzhe take the lead to look back and say excitedly: "Great, Dean, we succeeded."
Although the compatibility between the space jump engine and the Dreadnought has not reached 100%, 95% is still within the normal range and does not affect the use of various functions. Therefore, what Li Chengzhe said is correct. They have indeed succeeded.
, although this is just the first step.
However, considering that there are more serious tasks waiting for them in the future, Xu Lei did not forget to pour cold water on Li Chengzhe: "It's just that the assembly was successful. It's a little early to celebrate now. The next step is the main event."
, for fear that Li Chengzhe would destroy the current cautious atmosphere and affect the subsequent opening of the Dreadnought's wormhole space channel for testing.
"Don't worry, Dean, I know it very well."
Faced with Xu Lei's roll call, Li Chengzhe was not affected at all and said not seriously with a smile on his face.
After all, he is also the main person in charge of several large shipyards in Titan Fortress, and he has a certain idea of what to do and what not to do.
Xu Lei also knew Li Chengzhe's usual behavior, so he only mentioned this and then didn't say much.
But soon Li Chengzhe seemed to have thought of something again, and couldn't help but ask: "By the way, Dean, when will we conduct the test of opening the wormhole space channel of the Intrepid, which is directly related to the success or failure of our project?"
Future Technology invested 500 million Galaxy coins to develop a space jump warship.
Therefore, the success of the project depends on whether the Dauntless, equipped with a space jump engine, can independently open the wormhole space channel based on the coordinates of the target star field.
If this test cannot be completed, the Dreadnaught will be worth less than an ordinary Star Destroyer.
After all, the Star Destroyer still has combat capabilities.
Unlike the Intrepid, in order to ensure the energy of the space jump engine, even the weapon system was cut off.
Xu Lei is well aware of Li Chengzhe's worries.
He knew very well that this test was inevitable, and it was better to complete it in one go than to find a new time.
If there is a problem, it is better to check and repair it in time.
But to be honest, Xu Lei was still quite uneasy. He was not completely sure about the Dreadnought's space jump engine, not even half of it.
Ultimately it comes down to the power engine.
According to the detailed introduction of the space jump engine in the Science and Technology Museum, it is one of the core components of the fourth-level civilization dreadnought. However, in order to exert its true space jump function, it must be supported by the energy of the dark matter power engine.
Currently, there are only a few antimatter engines powering the Intrepid, and there is indeed a big gap between the two.
But now that you have reached this step, you must give it a try no matter what, so that you can accumulate experience in advance.
Anyway, Xu Lei still has a trump card in his hand, which is the Blue Space number of the Civilization Administration Headquarters.
If the antimatter power engine alone cannot create a wormhole space passage, the only option is to go to the location of the galactic core in the center of the galaxy and ask the Director of the Civilization Administration Bureau for assistance.
I believe that with the help of Blue Space to transport energy, the space jump engine should be able to work effectively.
As his mind was running rapidly, a lot of thoughts flashed through Xu Lei's mind. After a while, he made a decision and immediately said to Li Chengzhe in a firm tone: "Let's make arrangements and prepare for the Fearless to leave the cabin and enter the orbit around Saturn.
Space, try to conduct a space jump test."
"It's the director."
"I'll do it right away."
After listening to Xu Lei's instructions word for word, Li Chengzhe became excited at a speed visible to the naked eye, and it was basically written all over his face.
When Xu Lei first came up with the space jump warship project, everyone had some doubts, thinking that this project was too advanced for human civilization.
But this does not affect everyone's expectations for it.
Especially after they actually participated in the research, they deeply realized their own insignificance and shortcomings. At first, they could not even understand how a warship could create a wormhole space passage in a short time and achieve shuttle navigation through space folding.
So everyone wants to see this scene with their own eyes and improve their horizons and scientific research level.
Now that he finally has such an opportunity, how can Lee Seung-cheol not be excited and excited? No matter how big the reaction is, it is all right.
At this time, Li Chengzhe once again showed what efficiency is, and everything was arranged in just two minutes.
As system prompts sounded in the main control room, the dome of the workshop of the First Shipbuilding Plant was slowly opened, and the anti-matter power engine of the Dauntless was put into operation. It was about to fly out of the eagle's nest of the shipyard and enter for the first time.
In the vast expanse of deep space.
"The dome is open."
"Intrepid successfully launched."
"Lifting off..."
Xu Lei stood in front of the console in the main control room, staring at the sleek and handsome figure on the screen, and began to feel nervous involuntarily.
It is worth mentioning that due to the high risk of space jump testing, if something goes wrong during the test, it may lead to accidents such as engine explosion and damage to the hull.
Even space force crew members with amorphous alloy mechanical bodies cannot guarantee their own safety.
Therefore, the Dauntless will be in an empty ship state during this test.
The whole process is taken care of by the control core brain.
And the test data will be transmitted to the main control room of the shipyard in real time to facilitate the next experiment to summarize experiences and lessons.
When the Dauntless completely broke away from the First Shipyard and reached the sky where it would not cause any impact, several anti-matter power engines at the bottom of the battleship suddenly increased their power, causing the Dauntless to rush into deep space and instantly disappear from sight.
Rely on instruments and equipment to continue monitoring and capturing.
Soon after arriving at the predetermined area, Zhinao also began to apply for permission from Xu Lei according to the process.
"The target location has been reached."
"Application for space jump test, do you want to start?"
It was a matter that had been decided in advance, so Xu Lei naturally would not regret it temporarily. After receiving the application, he gave the final instructions with Li Chengzhe looking forward to it.
"start."
Although there were only two very brief words, it made every staff member who paid attention to this scene extremely excited and excited. Everyone hoped that the final test would be successful.
I don’t want my two years of hard work to go to waste.
That is to say, due to various considerations, the test of the Dauntless was not made public on the Galaxy Live.
Otherwise, Li Chengzhe and others are not the only ones who are nervous right now.
"Instruction received completed."
"Start the space jump engine."
"The energy load has reached the highest critical value."
"Opening the wormhole..."
As the smart brain's prompt sounded simultaneously, everyone immediately saw clearly that energy began to gather at the head of the Dauntless, and finally shot out a special energy ray.
Then, under the monitoring of the space observation equipment in the second safe defense ring of the solar system, it was clearly seen that the space in the area where the energy rays arrived had significant fluctuations, and it was about to successfully open the wormhole space channel.
Considering the insufficient energy of the power engine, the target star field coordinates set for this test are only near the Pioneer star.
It is only a few light years away from the solar system.
To some extent, the difficulty can be said to have plummeted.
After all, as the saying goes, one bite cannot make you fat. For the first space jump test of the Intrepid, stability must be the priority.
As long as the wormhole space channel can be successfully opened, it will be a huge success.
At least it proves that the anti-matter power engine can replace the dark matter power engine, so there is no need to trouble the Civilization Administration headquarters.
According to relevant information records in the Science and Technology Museum, the special space energy rays emitted by the Dauntless will gradually form a hollow cylinder, and the diameter will continue to grow until the ship can pass through it smoothly. Once the warship is completely submerged in the wormhole, it will represent a test
of success.
Unfortunately, imagination is beautiful, but reality is cruel.
As time gradually passed, the space energy rays emitted by the Intrepid remained unchanged.
It gives people a feeling of powerlessness.
Seeing this situation, Xu Lei, who was experienced in theory, immediately realized that it was impossible to complete the space jump with the energy of the antimatter power engine alone.
If you continue to persist, not only will it be ineffective, but it may also cause permanent damage to the space jump engine.
You must know that the value of the Intrepid is not high, and the most important thing is the space jump engine. If there is any problem with the engine, not only will all subsequent work not be possible, even the test with the Blue Space will not be carried out.
This is the real heavy loss.
With his thoughts stuck here, Xu Lei dared to hesitate and quickly ordered to Zhinao: "Stop the test immediately. The Fearless is temporarily parked in the second defense ring."
"Command received, space jump test has been terminated."
Although the brain on the Fearless has almost the same strength as Xingtong, it does not have self-awareness after all. Faced with Xu Lei, who has the highest authority, he naturally has to execute orders unconditionally. The moment he receives the order, he stops sending energy to the space jump engine.
The transmission caused the space energy ray to disappear in an instant.
The entire space looked no different from before, and it was calm again.
Seeing this, Xu Lei finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the space jump engine is intact, it is not considered a failure.
After all, he had already anticipated this outcome.
"Substituting this method is really not feasible. It seems that we can only place our hope on the Blue Space at the Civilization Administration Headquarters." Xu Lei sighed and thought silently in his heart, considering when to go to the Administration Bureau.
Headquarters.
Compared with Xu Lei's calmness, Li Chengzhe, who was also in the main control room, found it a little difficult to accept.
After seeing that the space jump test was actively stopped, the person's face looked very dull, obviously he had not accepted this fact.
After being stunned for a moment, he finally came back to his senses. He immediately turned to look at Xu Lei and asked, "Dean, did our space jump test fail like this?"
If it were another project, Li Chengzhe would not have such a big reaction even if it failed. After all, scientific research is never smooth sailing, and occasional failures are normal.
But it is different for the space jump battleship project.
Not to mention that they, the top scientists in the solar system, have spent two years, and their investment of 500 million Galaxy coins alone is not allowed to fail.
More importantly, Xu Lei was personally responsible for executing this project.
According to various past experiences, under normal circumstances, as long as it is a project handled by Xu Lei, there is almost no failure.
It is precisely because of this that miracles have been created one after another.
Now that the previous tradition has suddenly been broken, it is normal for it to be a little hard to accept for a while.
And he is not the only one who has the same idea.
Xu Lei could understand Li Chengzhe's mood, but now that the facts were in front of him, he had no choice but to tell the truth: "It was indeed a failure. The antimatter power engine on the Fearless could not provide enough energy for the space jump, but this failure is not
Within my expectations.”
Li Chengzhe is not a vase.
Within two years, he cooperated with Xu Lei in the research and development of the space jump warship, and learned a lot of advanced technical knowledge from it.
Therefore, after learning the reason for the failure from Xu Lei, he quickly thought of remedial measures and said tentatively: "Dean, if we mobilize Star Destroyers to provide energy for the Dreadnought, will this be able to meet the demand?
"
"This won't work."
After listening to Li Chengzhe's proposal, Xu Lei shook his head and explained: "What a space jump requires is a qualitative change in energy, and it has nothing to do with the amount."
What he said is not wrong. After all, antimatter power engines are the product of level three civilizations. No matter how many there are, they cannot help the technology of level four civilizations.
On the contrary, relying on violent and forced transportation in this way, the entire battleship is at risk of exploding.
Of course, Xu Lei also understood that Li Chengzhe was thinking about the Fearless and did not want to see everyone's hard work go to waste, so in order to reassure him, Xu Lei then added: "In addition, you don't have to worry too much. I have already dealt with this issue.
Once we have a solution, we will go to the Civilization Management Bureau headquarters for help."
"Then let's go together?"
"This time I am going to the Civilization Administration headquarters. If everything goes well, I will take the Intrepid to go to the outer reaches of the Milky Way. I'm afraid it will take a lot of time, so you should stay in the solar system first."
"I see."
Seeing that his proposal was rejected, Li Chengzhe was a little disappointed, but he still chose to accept it.
Xu Lei saw everything in Li Chengzhe's expression. Although he knew that the other party wanted to witness the realization of the Dauntless space jump with his own eyes, fortunately, there would be many opportunities in the future.
Mainly, after he drives the Fearless to the Civilization Administration headquarters, once he successfully achieves a space jump with the help of the Blue Space's energy, he will go directly to the specific location of the Source Star Civilization's spark.
There is definitely no way to bring Li Chengzhe and others.
First of all, this trip is his own private matter. In addition to not knowing how much time it will take, the risk is also extremely high.
As the top scientists in the solar system, Li Chengzhe and others' main mission is to help the development of human civilization and continuously improve the level of science and technology.
If time is wasted in the outer reaches of the Milky Way or something happens, it will undoubtedly be a huge loss to the entire solar system. Xu Lei does not want to affect the development of human civilization because of himself.
But the current problem is that in the past two years, the super intelligent brain model who is the director of the Civilization Administration has never contacted him again. I don’t know how the calculation of the specific location of the source star civilization fire has been done, and how long it will take to get it.
result.
Xu Lei still needs to make careful calculations about this matter.
Once you think about this clearly, things will be easier to deal with later on.
As long as the Dreadnaught continues to be anchored at the second security defense ring, the psychological work of other project personnel will be left to Li Chengzhe.
Try to avoid psychological burden and loss of previous confidence and momentum.
Since the space jump warship project carried out by Future Technology has not been announced to the outside world from beginning to end, leaving it open to speculation and discussion by various civilizations in the galaxy, the results of this test do not need to be announced. Anyway, for a major project, the research on two
A year is already considered a very short time.
Therefore, even if the information is blocked for a few more years, the outside world will not doubt it.
It is worth mentioning that after the Dauntless space jump test was completed, Xu Lei returned to Earth Star Longhu Manor.
After careful consideration, we finally decided to drive the Intrepid to the Silver Core first, and then discuss the follow-up matters after arriving at the Blue Space.
In this way, even if the specific location of the source star civilization fire has not yet been calculated, he can wait there for a while. Anyway, the development of the solar system is on the right track, and nothing will happen even without him.
So after spending another Spring Festival with his family with peace of mind, Xu Lei drove his light-speed warp spaceship Golden Crow to the second security defense ring, and all the people and spaceships entered the Fearless.
Then start the Intrepid and first pass through the secondary star gate of the Earth star to reach the near-Earth star closest to the galactic core.
As for the rest of the journey, it can only rely on the anti-matter power engine of the Intrepid to sail. Although it is slower than the last time it was led by Uma, it does not waste too much time.
Anyway, he had to wait for the model to calculate the specific coordinates of the source star civilization's fire, so there was nothing wrong with deliberately slowing down.
In addition, although he was only one person on this trip, the Dreadnought was still equipped with many small frigates and tens of thousands of space combat intelligent robots newly developed by Future Technology, which could slightly make up for the shortcomings of the Dreadnought's lack of combat effectiveness.
.
In this way, if there is an emergency, there will be ways to mediate.
In this way, after sailing for seven or eight months, Xu Lei finally came to the Silver Core again and saw the Blue Space, the headquarters of the Civilization Administration...