Chapter 512: Photon Particle No.1_1

The news of the capture and destruction of a Sophon reached the New Continent Star System, and the threat of the Trisolarans immediately re-emerged before the people.

However, it didn't cause any panic, because since the Paradise crisis, everyone had been holding back a surge of anger, and if traces of the Trisolarans were found at this time, everyone was actually hoping for a fight with the Trisolarans.

No matter how advanced the Trisolarans' technology had developed, under the Dark Forest Strike, only one-thousandth of the Trisolarans escaped, while Humanity likely only suffered a one percent loss.

In terms of the size of the two civilizations, the Trisolarans now didn't have much hope for victory, unless they had made groundbreaking technological advances.

The upper echelons of the Solar System State did not immediately convene a meeting to discuss the Sophon matter.

Jiang Yu merely instructed the military to be ready to support Earth at all times, but if the Earth Corps were defeated in the first round of combat, then the matter of support would be meaningless.

Because the reinforcements would take more than twenty years to arrive at Earth, there was essentially no such thing as reinforcements in the current interstellar war.

If they could hold out until the reinforcements arrived, they would certainly manage; if they could not last until then, they would certainly fall.

The citizens of the Solar System State weren't too concerned about this event, as their main focus was on the Super Collider experiment. After the experiment ended, there would be time enough to discuss the matter.

Seizing this opportunity, Jiang Yu took handling the event as a test for the three remaining Wallfacer candidates.

On the morning of the 16th, Jiang Yu and others arrived early at the hall to watch the experiment unfold. The top leaders of the Solar System State would watch the experiment in its entirety via real-time communication technology.

The Super Collider had selected a Planetary System 5.5 light-years away as the object of the experiment.

This particular star was chosen because it was relatively bright, and its disappearance after the experiment would likely be noticed by many civilizations.

The civilizations that noticed it would likely assume the star had encountered a Dark Forest Strike, and the roamers of the universe, the Cleaners, would no longer pay attention to this Planetary System.

Even if the experiment failed and caused the star to flicker intensely, attracting the attention of the Cleaners, the presence of another Planetary System between the Experimental Planetary System and the New Continent Star System gave Humanity ample room to maneuver.

The experiment was still two hours away from starting, and researchers were providing detailed introductions to the experimental equipment: "Photon Particle No.1 is 12.3 astronomical units long!

"However, like the Huanri Particle Accelerator, Photon Particle No.1 consists of more than sixteen hundred accelerator rings, which are not connected, separated by tens of thousands to millions of kilometers."

"Unlike the Huanri Particle Accelerator, Photon Particle No.1's energy needs are all met by dark matter fuel, and these accelerator rings are not arranged around a star, but aligned in a straight line..."

Jiang Yu turned to the person beside him and said with a smile, "We have a long way to go before this technology can be applied in actual combat. Arranging the accelerator rings alone is said to take over three days; during that time, we could plow through all the planets in a star system with the Monster Cannon."

The three Wallfacer candidates sitting beside him nodded in unison, among them Vasily Belinsky said, "I've heard from the Academy of Sciences that the Dark Matter Detonator could be equipped on battleships within three years.

"At that time, we will gain another powerful weapon. I guess by the time the Dark Matter Detonators are close to obsolescence, the Super Particle Accelerators will also be ready for deployment."

Jiang Yu took a deep breath. In the second campaign, the Trisolarans had shaken the soul of the human world using a technology similar to the Dark Matter Detonator.

Despite winning the battle eventually, the power of that weapon had made a deep impression on the military's high-ranking officials such as Cao Yang and Cooper.

Now, Humanity's large space warships were finally about to be equipped with that kind of weapon!

Another candidate, Shi Mingwei, joked, "Belinsky truly cares most about weaponry."

Belinsky was taken aback for a moment before he giggled, "I've been a soldier for over a dozen years; this habit can't be changed. Back then, you were always in logistics and didn't appreciate the advantages of powerful weapons."

Seeing they were about to start an internal debate, Jiang Yu cleared his throat and asked, "What about the problem I gave you yesterday? How have you considered it?"

Belinsky, Shi Mingwei, and another candidate, Yun Tony, all sat up straight.

Of the sixteen Wallfacer candidates over eight years, continuous elimination left only the three of them. Though Jiang Yu's test seemed casual, they all understood that he might use it to eliminate one more candidate.

Belinsky was the first to respond, "I believe that our approach to the Trisolarans can't be solely defensive!

"According to estimates from the Strategic Department, it would have taken the Trisolarans almost half a century to settle down in the new star system.

"In such a short time, their technological and military strength could not have developed significantly, which presents us with an excellent opportunity for a preemptive strike!

"By sending that Sophon to Earth yesterday, the Trisolarans were clearly provoking us. I think we should deploy more probes to locate the Trisolarans, then deliver a devastating blow!

"All along, the Trisolarans have had a huge advantage in intelligence work by using Sophons, and we should do our utmost to reverse this situation.

"It shouldn't be just the Trisolarans that know Earth's location; we should know theirs as well!"

Jiang Yu nodded, without making any comments.

Shi Mingwei spoke next. Previously, he only had Shi Qiang's shrewdness and efficiency, but after spending more time with Jiang Yu and dealing with higher-level issues, his horizons had broadened.

He continued, "I think the priority is not to start a war, but to immediately adjust Earth's course.

"And deploy the mobile 'Catcher' System to search around Earth, destroying any other Sophons on contact, to keep Earth's location as Stealth as possible.

"Besides, this is a period of technological explosion for Humanity. Our priority should be ensuring that this period lasts as long as possible!

"So I think, at most, we should only conduct searches for the Trisolarans, avoiding any large-scale wars in the near future."

Jiang Yu merely nodded again without giving any feedback.

Finally, the experienced and cautious Yun Tony said, "First, I pondered why the Sophon appeared on Earth and not Blue Maiden Star.

"This is likely because Earth is easy to track, and because our travel to the New Continent Star System was via Star Accelerators, Sophons probably can't trace us.

"Otherwise, if the Trisolarans knew the location of Blue Maiden Star, then our location would have already been broadcast across the universe.

"As such, it is almost certain that the Trisolarans currently only know Earth's location and not that of the New Continent Star System.

"Given this, I also believe that we should focus on development at this time!"

After listening to the three individuals' thoughts, Jiang Yu took a few seconds to consider before saying, "Have any of you thought about the purpose behind the Trisolarans sending that Sophon to Earth?"