Rebirth of the Super Battleship
Chapter 184: The Pig Farm and the Research Institute

At the very start of the large-scale research, Xiao Yu had already made clear task assignments: he handed over the elemental decay research project to the Luka scientists, while he focused on advancing technologies related to Faster-than-Light Travel.

Ten years after these research projects began, Xiao Yu received this experimental report.

“…As detailed above, we believe we have found a method for elemental decay technology that is ready to move into large-scale application.”

The report was signed by Luka scientist Wills, who was also the lead scientist on this experiment. Below that, many other Luka scientists had added their names to the report. Notably, Luka Three’s name appeared prominently in the second position.

“This experiment was made possible thanks to the assistance of many fellow scientists. The esteemed Luka Three contributed valuable insights on exotic radiation, and another prominent scientist, Enai, provided significant input on decay theory. Many other scientists also participated in this experiment, their names are listed as follows…”

This report was 800 pages long, with hundreds of thousands of words. It detailed every step of the experiment and the related experimental data, complete with corresponding video recordings of the procedures. Every piece of data was precise, well-founded, and convincing.

Xiao Yu gave this document a very high evaluation.

However, there were still some subtle flaws within it.

Xiao Yu sharply noticed a particular data point.

“After converting with the mass-energy equation, we found a slight discrepancy in the experiment. For instance, after the experiment concluded, calculations indicated that the remaining mass of the test material should have been 520 grams. However, through precise measurements, we found that the remaining mass was not exactly 520 grams but 520.005 grams. This extra 0.005 grams of mass is currently unexplained. We suspect it may be due to instrumental precision limits causing measurement error.”

“Unexplained mass gain…” Xiao Yu silently pondered, recalling some of his past experiments.

Back in the Tianyuan IV star system and the Aquila One system, during particle collision tests, Xiao Yu had already noticed this issue. In those experiments, he observed that after collisions, the total mass of the particles involved showed an extremely slight increase. He had never been able to explain this phenomenon, and now, unexpectedly, the same phenomenon had appeared in the elemental decay experiment.

After receiving the experimental report, Xiao Yu immediately recreated the experiment in the laboratory aboard the Hebei, using the data from the report as a guide.

The experimental process was identical to what was detailed in the Luka scientists’ report. During this experiment, Xiao Yu also detected a very slight mass increase.

In this test, Xiao Yu even managed to calculate the relationship between the increased mass, the mass of the experimental object, and the energy intensity.

Overall, at this experimental intensity, every kilogram of material, after undergoing elemental decay, showed a total mass increase of about one ten-thousandth.

Since the phenomenon could be repeated, and the mass increase followed a discernible pattern, it could essentially be ruled out as mere measurement error.

A rigorous and standardized scientific experiment should adhere to one core principle: it must be reproducible. If a peculiar phenomenon occurs only once and cannot be replicated in subsequent experiments, scientists should look first for instrumental malfunction, experimental error, or other such causes, rather than hastily publishing papers claiming a major discovery.

For instance, something similar had happened back in Earth’s era. A certain physics research institute announced that it had discovered faster-than-light particles. In one experiment, they reported that a particular particle reached the finish line dozens of nanoseconds ahead of a photon. This report caused a huge uproar. Countless other research institutes and scientists repeated the experiment, but none of them could reproduce the result. In the end, in a rather dramatic twist, after a thorough investigation, the staff at that institute found that the appearance of faster-than-light particles had actually been caused by a mechanical fault, after an engineer tightened a fiber optic connector, the faster-than-light phenomenon disappeared.

Xiao Yu himself had experienced that incident while on Earth. At his own research institute, he had repeated the experiment fifty times and never once observed any faster-than-light particles. After obtaining solid data, Xiao Yu publicly ridiculed the head of that institute, even going so far as to mock, “Did you hand over your research institute to a pig farm? Was this experiment operated by a bunch of pigs?”

The insult enraged the institute’s director, who not only cut all ties with Xiao Yu’s research institute but nearly showed up at Xiao Yu’s home, ready to challenge him in person.

Back when Xiao Yu was still on Earth, he had always been sharp-tongued, harsh, and merciless, never sparing anyone’s feelings. After leaving Earth, he had occasionally reflected that, when he had issued the warning that Earth was about to explode and very few people had responded, it was probably related to this very personality. After all, he had offended almost every other scientist.

Over the years, after everything he had experienced since leaving Earth, Xiao Yu’s temperament had changed significantly. Sometimes, he would think of that research institute director he had once mocked as a pig and even feel a hint of guilt. Sometimes, he would recall Chen Mo and feel a bit remorseful about how harshly he had treated her back then, showing no leniency toward a young woman.

When dealing with other benevolent civilizations, such as the Luka people, the Arrow Beast Civilization, or even the Taihao Civilization, Xiao Yu had also begun trying to adopt a more measured and even-handed approach.

Pulling his thoughts back from those distant memories, Xiao Yu continued reviewing the data from his latest experiment.

Since this mysterious mass gain phenomenon could be consistently reproduced, it was essentially proven to be reliable. However, Xiao Yu still had no way to explain it, he had no idea where this mass was coming from.

Xiao Yu had a hunch that, once he found a theoretical framework that could perfectly explain this phenomenon and confirmed it through experimental verification, he would be on the verge of his next technological breakthrough.

“Perhaps this is the key to advancing to a Level 5 Civilization, or even Level 6,” Xiao Yu thought.

After this technological breakthrough, elemental decay technology was no longer far from entering large-scale application. Xiao Yu immediately spent a month building the first elemental decay engine.

This engine had incredibly powerful performance, not just in terms of energy output. It could use any material as fuel, no matter where it sat on the periodic table. From the lightest hydrogen element to the heaviest element 139, everything could be thrown into the engine as fuel.

No matter what fuel was used, after the first reaction inside this engine, it would decay into hydrogen. The hydrogen would then be collected and stored. Xiao Yu was now preparing to develop an upgraded elemental decay engine. This upgraded engine would allow for continuous recycling of fuel: after the raw material decayed into hydrogen, it would be sent into a secondary reaction chamber for nuclear fusion, where it would be fused into helium. The helium would then be fed back into the first reaction chamber, and the cycle would continue.

The result of this cycle would be that the engine could fully convert mass into energy for Xiao Yu to use.

“With this energy breakthrough, mastering Faster-than-Light Travel is no longer far off,” Xiao Yu thought joyfully. After the strictest validation and experiments confirmed the report’s accuracy and feasibility, Xiao Yu convened all the Luka people for a grand celebration.

On the streets of the New Homeland, tables were once again filled with a wide array of food and drink. Schools and factories were all closed, and every Luka citizen took to the streets to celebrate. On the giant electronic screen at the center of the city, a live broadcast was showing the awards ceremony taking place in the grand hall of the Paradise.

Xiao Yu’s holographic figure stood on the stage, smiling as he delivered an inspiring speech. Then, Luka scientist Wills, his face beaming with excitement, stepped onto the stage to receive the trophy from Luka Two, the Supreme Social Administrator, and the certificate of honor from Luka Three, the Supreme Science Officer. The ceremony reached its climax when Xiao Yu announced that he was bestowing the title of Luka Four upon Wills.

Wills was overwhelmed with emotion, his face streaked with tears of joy. He first prostrated himself on the ground to express loyalty and reverence to Xiao Yu, then stood before the cameras, raising the trophy and honor certificate high, waving them again and again.

After the awards ceremony came a grand banquet. All the scientists participated, with countless exquisite dishes and drinks served by robotic assistants for the Luka people to enjoy.

While the Luka people celebrated on a grand scale, Xiao Yu had quietly turned off the 3D holographic projector and withdrawn his attention. Within this star system, the ever-watchful surveillance satellites had just reported something to Xiao Yu.

At the edge of the barrier, some objects had suddenly appeared.

Preliminary observations indicated that these objects were just ordinary chunks of meteorite, but that wasn’t the important part.

In Xiao Yu’s understanding, this four-dimensional barrier was supposed to completely isolate this star system from the outside universe, making any material exchange impossible.

However, the arrival of these ordinary meteorite fragments proved Xiao Yu wrong. He now had to find a new explanation to account for the arrival of these external materials.

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