Chapter 453: Caring for Juniors_1

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Vasily and Bai Ice were invited to a research spaceship carrying two-dimensional foil. When the airlock doors on both sides opened, the two were stunned.

Before their eyes appeared several robots with an industrial aesthetic.

They were tall, with beautifully crafted shells. Some exposed parts, like accessories, added to the richness of their mechanical beauty.

The lead robot said, "Welcome to your arrival."

Its voice was magnetic, and indeed it was the same "person" that had communicated with Vasily and others many times.

Bai Ice then realized why the other party said they were different; more than different, they were two entirely different concepts!

It took a few seconds before Vasily asked, "Has the intelligence of Solar System State's robots advanced to the point where they can talk back to senior officers like me?"

The lead robot smiled and said, "Let me introduce myself, my name is Kent."

Bai Ice had almost figured it out. "Kent Edward?"

This Kent Edward was the famous student of Yang Dong, currently the Vice President of the Solar System State Academy of Sciences, with distinguished contributions to string theory.

"Yes," Kent smiled and said, "I believe you've guessed it. Because this mission is very dangerous, we've resorted to using robot avatars.

"I myself am currently in Science City. Even if the sealed experiment fails, we will have enough time to react, and I won't be harmed by the Dark Forest."

Vasily sighed in relief, "I see."

The expressions and movements of the robots were so natural that it made Vasily quite uncomfortable.

This discomfort might stem from a sense of crisis hidden in his genes, after all, these metal lumps are more efficient than humans and perfect in many aspects.

Kent gestured them to follow, and as Bai Ice walked forward, he asked, "Is there no signal delay, given the distance from Science City?"

"No," Kent replied offhand. "We have long since popularized real-time communication technology throughout the cosmos. It's just that we haven't made significant breakthroughs in string theory, or else we would have been able to create Sophon!"

He glanced sideways at Bai Ice, "Professor Bai, your research in string theory over the years has given us many insights. Though you've never been to the Solar System State, you have a prestigious reputation at the Solar System State Academy of Sciences."

As they spoke, they arrived at a small observation room where a person stood with his back to them, staring intently at the screen of the observation room, unidentifiable to Vasily and Bai Ice.

In the screen, just like before, the two-dimensional foil floated in a laboratory backdropped with various instruments, exuding an indescribable sense of mystery.

Kent whispered, "Wallfacer, they have arrived."

Vasily and Bai Ice opened their mouths in surprise — the man turned around, and it was indeed Wallfacer Jiang Yu!

Jiang Yu smiled at Bai Ice, "I didn't expect to meet a disciple of Ding Yi."

Bai Ice quickly regained composure, "Wallfacer, hello, my teacher used to mention you often when he was alive."

Jiang Yu smiled, "He must have had his stories about me behind my back."

"Not at all, he always admired you."

Jiang Yu shook his head in disbelief, then changed the subject, "Back then, I didn't stop Ding Yi from contacting 'The Waterdrop', and I often felt regretful upon reflection.

"You can't follow in Ding Yi's footsteps. Understand the situation and then return to your own ship and head back immediately.

"I will speak to Neptune to have them wait for you."

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Before Bai Ice had a chance to ask what was exactly going on, Jiang Yu nodded with a smile and said, "We'll meet again in the New Continent Star System."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Yu's figure disappeared, which of course was also a holographic image.

Unlike Ding Yi, Bai Ice was considered a junior to Jiang Yu, so Jiang Yu addressed him directly in a commanding tone and did not intend to give Bai Ice an opportunity to argue.

After Jiang Yu left, Kent smiled and said, "This is the Wallfacer's care for you, just do as he said."

Vasily said, "The Solar System State seems to be brewing a major action, can you tell us the details of the action?"

"I'm sorry," Kent said, "I'm not yet authorized to disclose that information, but you will soon learn the specifics of the operation."

He paused and pointed at the two-dimensional foil on the screen, "Let's get back to the matter at hand. What you should do now is to inform your Federal Government of the definite news of the Dark Forest Strike as soon as possible.

"The conversation we are about to have will involve many key pieces of intelligence, and neither I personally nor the Solar System State will require any form of compensation from you. This is humanitarian aid to the Solar System Federation, as you are still in the dark."

Vasily and Bai Ice were both somewhat stunned. Wasn't it about cooperation? How had it turned into aid all of a sudden?

However, neither of them raised any objection to Kent's wording, since they indeed had no clue about the current situation.

Kent smiled and asked, "Do you know why we call it two-dimensional foil?"

Vasily immediately shook his head, but Bai Ice looked grave.

"Professor Bai has already made some guesses, hasn't he?" Kent asked with certainty in his voice.

Vasily looked at Bai Ice, annoyed that he was the only one who knew nothing!

Bai Ice cleared his throat and countered, "Is the universe really so dark?"

"It may be even darker than we can imagine," Kent said solemnly. "We have received definite intelligence that the photons, which we thought were a cosmological constant, had been tampered with by a God-level Civilization.

"The altered photons make it easier for life forms to detect their presence, thus leading to the evolution of a visual system that is very much alike across different species.

"It must be said, this is an extremely inefficient sensory system. With such a system, we can never truly observe the universe as it is.

"Even blinding ourselves would be useless because the moment Earth's lifeforms capable of detecting light appeared at the cellular level, we had already been struck by a Dark Forest Strike from a God-level Civilization!"

Vasily's mouth hung open; this was something he had never considered.

But Bai Ice coldly said, "The Sharpshooter Hypothesis!"

Kent merely smiled slightly, not confirming or denying but instead saying, "Do you now believe in the existence of two-dimensional foil?"

Bai Ice replied, "Yes!"

Vasily was still confused, "What exactly is that thing?"

"It's something that could turn our universe into two-dimensions," Bai Ice explained.

Vasily's mouth fell open again in shock: "How... how did they manage to do that?"

Over the years, the Solar System Federation had long put the intelligence regarding Dimensional Reduction Strikes behind them, and even someone on the verge of the upper echelon like Vasily had no knowledge of this long-forgotten intelligence.

Kent said with a smile, "We too are curious about the manufacturing principles of the two-dimensional fragment. Before the two-dimensional foil entered the Kuiper Belt, we had already conducted an examination and carried out many studies.

"We thought we were well-prepared with relevant intelligence obtained in advance, enough to barely cope with this Dark Forest Strike. But in the face of two-dimensional foil, we are as ignorant as primary school children."