Rebirth of the Super Battleship
Chapter 166: The Information Storm

Xiao Yu quickly recorded the positions, orbits, and velocities of all the stars at the time this anomalous phenomenon occurred. He then compared the data to the previous instance of the same phenomenon, trying to uncover any correlations.

But the result was disappointing. Aside from a slight increase in the distance between Star A and Star B in the First Group—showing a tendency to drift toward the Second Group—there was nothing unusual.

“Perhaps it’s due to insufficient data collection. If I gather more data, I should be able to find a connection.” With this thought, Xiao Yu didn’t dwell on the failure.

“Let’s launch some satellites… Observing from up close might yield better results.” Xiao Yu operated his construction robots and built several satellites inside the Hebei, then launched them toward the various stars.

These satellites would enter orbits around the stars, monitoring real-time data such as luminosity, orbital trajectory, velocity, and force analysis.

Time passed slowly. In the blink of an eye, Xiao Yu had been here for a full year. During this time, he observed the same strange phenomenon twenty times. Yet no matter how much he analyzed and collected data, he could not determine a pattern to these anomalies. The formation mechanisms and processes remained entirely unknown.

Still, Xiao Yu did make a bit of progress.

“Based on the observational data, it can be concluded that the stars themselves did not actually move during these phenomena. In other words, the phenomenon is merely an illusion. But since my instruments didn’t malfunction, there’s only one possible explanation—the starlight was deflected by some unknown force before it reached my sensors.”

The deflection of light wasn’t rare. For example, this often occurred around massive celestial bodies in a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing.

Back when he was facing the Moluton Civilization, Xiao Yu had used gravitational lensing to detect the traces of the Moluton planet, ultimately leading to its destruction.

But another question surfaced.

“If this phenomenon happens so frequently, could there really be that many strong gravitational sources within the Aquila IV star system? But if so, why can’t I detect any influence on the surrounding celestial bodies? Or… perhaps these strong gravitational sources don’t exist at all, and the phenomenon is caused by some unknown process based on the Grand Unified Theory?”

“I’ll increase the number of detectors.” Xiao Yu made a decision. “If one of these light-deflecting regions happens to appear right next to a detector, I might get a chance to observe its structure and study how it works up close.”

Thus, Xiao Yu produced more detectors and launched them.

Since he couldn’t predict where such a region would appear, his only option was to scatter the detectors widely, casting a wide net and increasing the odds of an encounter through sheer quantity.

This required an enormous amount of material resources. Fortunately, the preparatory work on his base had already paid off. Xiao Yu had discovered sufficient mineral veins on the planet and constructed enough underground bases to support this level of consumption.

Over the course of a year, Xiao Yu manufactured tens of millions of satellites and hurled them into the vastness of space. Though the number was huge, when dispersed across this expansive region, they still seemed few.

Time continued to tick by. Just after Xiao Yu completed a round of material transportation, he once again observed that strange stellar displacement phenomenon.

These anomalies seemed to follow no pattern at all. During the entire year in which Xiao Yu had mass-produced and launched satellites, he had not seen the phenomenon even once—until now.

“Hmm… this time it lasted about one-nineteenth of a second, and it happened to Star D. The satellite orbiting Star D didn’t observe any anomalies…”

“Then let’s check the observations from the other satellites.” Xiao Yu pulled up the data from all tens of millions of satellites at the exact moment of the stellar displacement.

“Mm… a total of over three thousand satellites also recorded this displacement. At the moment it happened, they were roughly along a straight line between Star D and this planet. Satellites in other positions observed nothing. This result… basically confirms that these anomalous displacements are caused by gravitational lensing.”

Xiao Yu pondered, “If that’s the case… does it mean that similar phenomena are happening elsewhere as well, beyond my view? Is it possible that a similar event occurred, but the deflected light happened to pass in another direction, missing my sensors entirely, so I didn’t detect it?”

“This hypothesis is highly plausible.” Xiao Yu reached a conclusion, then began analyzing all the satellite data more closely.

This time, the check yielded new clues. He found that over five hundred satellites in region A17 detected a displacement of Star E at a specific moment—yet neither Xiao Yu nor satellites in other locations observed anything unusual with Star E.

On another occasion, thirteen satellites in region H14 detected a displacement in Star C. Again, Xiao Yu and the rest of the satellites noticed nothing.

Because stellar displacements only involve very small movements and last for extremely brief durations, it would’ve been easy to overlook them if Xiao Yu hadn’t carefully examined the data.

With these findings, Xiao Yu’s suspicion became even more certain.

“For now… all I can do is wait for one of these light-bending zones to appear near a satellite. That’ll be my chance to observe it. To increase the chances, I need to build even more satellites.”

Xiao Yu made his decision.

Each satellite was equipped with highly sensitive gravity detection instruments. If a strong gravitational source capable of bending light appeared nearby, it would certainly be detected.

And so, time slipped away amidst patient waiting. During this period, Xiao Yu encountered an unexpected development.

For some unknown reason, he noticed a sudden improvement in the mutated Luka people aboard the New Homeland and The Paradise. Inside their bodies, the cells that had mutated into black spheres were gradually reverting—transforming back into normal cells.

This phenomenon intrigued Xiao Yu. He conducted extensive research on the comatose Luka individuals but found no answers. In the end, he could only chalk it up to a stroke of luck for the Luka people.

After this discovery, Xiao Yu awakened several thousand healthy, non-mutated Luka individuals and informed them of the news. They were overjoyed and attributed the result to the blessings of the Great God and to Xiao Yu himself—believing him to be a divine emissary with miraculous powers.

Xiao Yu found their reaction amusing but didn’t object. Anything that increased the Luka people’s loyalty was welcome.

The recovery process for the Luka people lasted a month. After that, tens of thousands of Luka were fully healed and awakened from stasis. Luka society resumed normal operations. Several thousand Luka scientists, after a brief period of training, fully grasped Xiao Yu’s recent technological advancements and returned to their research work.

“Hopefully, these Luka scientists can help me break through the bottleneck of the Grand Unified Theory,” Xiao Yu thought.

After launching another batch of roughly Twenty Million satellites into space, the moment Xiao Yu had been waiting for finally arrived.

One satellite, orbiting close to Star B, suddenly detected a powerful gravitational source nearby. Within less than one ten-thousandth of a second, it began an in-depth observation of the region—capturing large numbers of images and collecting a wealth of data, all transmitted back to Xiao Yu.

Less than one ten-thousandth of a second after the satellite detected the gravitational source, over a hundred other satellites subsequently observed a displacement of Star B.

Xiao Yu’s hypothesis was finally confirmed.

He immediately began studying the data gathered during the observation.

Massive amounts of comparisons, modeling, hypotheses, and verification completely consumed Xiao Yu’s mind.

Just as he finished a modeling session and began validating one of his hypotheses, a sudden message entered his mind—its origin unknown.

“Thirteen thousand six hundred and forty-third deep-space broadcast. Milky Way Galaxy.”

“If you’re receiving this message, it means you’ve already achieved at least basic interstellar navigation capabilities. The following intelligence may be critical to your survival. Please analyze it carefully.”

“An expeditionary probe has detected an upcoming information storm that will sweep across the Milky Way. The explosion source is located in the Andromeda Galaxy. It is expected to reach the Milky Way in thirty years. Your situation may become extremely dangerous. This message includes a simple manufacturing guide for superluminal communication equipment. Please import this data into your central computer. The program will begin the production process automatically. Then, establish communication with us so we can pinpoint your coordinates. Designated personnel will then escort you to a safe zone.”

“I repeat—your situation may become extremely dangerous! Very dangerous!”

“Broadcasted by: Guardian Alliance Headquarters.”