Chapter 198 Lin Sen's Leisure Time_1

While the other Wallfacers were busy, Lin Sen found himself with some spare time.

Lin Sen still preferred to stay with Shi Qiang and Shi Xiaoming, and did not immediately go to the Wallfacer Headquarters.

It would take nearly half a year for the Super Particle Accelerator Spaceships to travel from the Kuiper Belt to the Jupiter Orbit.

This period was a rare moment of leisure for Lin Sen; they even encountered an old friend, Ding Yi, having invited him over.

Ding Yi had awakened two years ago and was now over fifty years old, choosing to teach at the Physics Department of Peking University. His primary concern was still the breakthroughs humanity was making in fundamental theory.

In the original timeline, Ding Yi was already in his seventies when he went into hibernation, plus the seven years he spent teaching, he was nearly eighty by the time of the Doomsday Battle.

The current Ding Yi, enticed by Lin Sen's promise to show him the world behind Sophon, chose to hibernate after failing to find a way to conduct high-energy particle experiments without Sophon's interference, and he awoke during the time of the Doomsday Battle.

Upon awakening, Ding Yi was truly astonished by the achievements humanity had attained, but as he learned more about cutting-edge theory, he realized that the latest physical theories of humanity were all understandable to him. There had been considerable progress from 200 years before, but no breakthrough developments.

The greatest advancement for humanity was in materials science and applied science, the frontier theories of which would likely be incomprehensible to Wang Miao and Zhuang Yu, like reading arcane script.

For any person from the Common Era who ended up in this era, the biggest problem wasn't how to adapt to this world, but being caught in a vortex of insecurity and suspicion.

They worried that their words might offend this era, and were filled with doubts about many aspects of it, fearing that the people of this time would see them as relics of the past.

The same went for Ding Yi, who, even after a gap of 200 years, was able to teach cutting-edge physics at the most prestigious university of the time, which made him deeply skeptical of this era.

Yet, he feared that this skepticism would draw unwanted attention, scared that his views might be regarded as those of an ancient person propagating their "imperial mandates and social hierarchies."

Seeing Ding Yi, Lin Sen was suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of inexplicable sorrow. With all the changes in the world, he felt a surge of emotion as he recalled the days when he inspired Ding Yi.

After embracing each other, Ding Yi, Lin Sen, and Shi Qiang exchanged their experiences, and the conversation shifted to the topic of confrontation with Trisolaris.

Ding Yi was the first to speak, "Mr. Lin Sen, you promised me back then that you would take me to see the world behind Sophon."

Lin Sen replied with excitement, "I've always remembered, and here we are in this era. This era will open the door to Sophon."

Shi Qiang said, "Lin, my brother, you seem to have always been confident about fighting Trisolaris. Aren't you worried that the Trisolaran Soothsayer Imprint might be a super 'radiation source,' as conjectured online, potent enough to kill everyone in the Solar System?"

Lin Sen smiled and said, "Yes, that's why humanity has built many detectors, monitoring all regions of the Solar System around the clock, and we can attack from a super long distance, the 'radiation source' won't be able to get close to us."

Shi Qiang felt that he still needed to say something, even though it might offend Lin Sen, whom he greatly respected:

"Lin, my brother, aren't you being a little too optimistic? The super long-distance attacks of humanity might not be effective at all."

"What do you mean?"

Shi Qiang continued, "I may not be clear about physics and space theory, but I come from a military background and typically analyze based on the strengths and weaknesses of both sides. The enemy's strength may not lie in the Whirlwind Stomp, but rather in Sophon's instant communication.

"Let's take 10 astronomical units as an example; it would take our laser beams over an hour just to reach the target. This means that for such an attack to be effective, the enemy must be traveling along a fixed speed and route, and unaware of our attack.

"This mode of warfare can only be used for surprise attacks, but it's impossible to mount a surprise attack against Trisolaris.

"By the time our attack is launched, Sophon's instant communication can notify them to take evasive maneuvers.

"Would such an attack have any effect then?"

Lin Sen said, "You make a very good point, but you're not entirely right. Modern space theory is the collective research of numerous top scholars, and they wouldn't make such a basic mistake. It's not that we have to invent super long-distance weapons, but rather, the performance of such weapons dictates it.

"The effective range of an attack doesn't just indicate the range; it also represents the power of the attack. The power is even greater at close distances. To enhance the power of laser weapons, we can only increase the laser energy and reduce its divergence. This can be described with just the one indicator of effective range.

"Just like the top speed of warships, it's a theoretical value of the ship's survivability; it's impractical to use this speed in reality.

"Trisolarans have Sophon, and long-distance attacks indeed won't work, but that's our most powerful weapon, and we have no other choice. The Whirlwind Stomp might be strong, it might even release some unknown lethal radiation, or attack us with death rays or something.

"But it's still matter, and it still has to follow the most basic physical laws. The best approach is to ensure that we can output the strongest energy.

"It may not be the best solution, but without knowing what the enemy is, it's the only solution.

"We don't need to consider whether we can hit it, we need to boost our attack power to the max first, and leave the rest to the battlefield commanders."

In fact, what Lin Sen had revealed was quite telling: the theory of Human Warships was originally inspired by Lin Sen's guidelines for warship design, which, to some extent, were actually more suitable for human internal conflicts.

But Lin Sen understood Whirlwind Stomp, and if the attack's energy didn't reach, everything else was meaningless.

Shi Qiang: "Indeed, since we don't know what a powerless Whirlwind Stomp is, our only choice is to indefinitely strengthen our own offensive capabilities. This kind of warship design theory is indeed the most correct. I had thought too simply."

Ding Yi smiled and said, "Da Shi, what do you think the Trisolaran Soothsayer Imprint is here to do?"

Shi Qiang chuckled: "I don't understand physics, but I understand human nature.

"By my intuition, since they sent the Soothsayer Imprint over, it must be capable of achieving its goal. What then, is its goal?

"Combine the two things the Trisolarans have done: Kill Logic; prevent human escape.

"That's their purpose, and their purpose has never changed."

Hearing this, Ding Yi became somewhat anxious, "Killing a few people shouldn't be a problem, but to prevent human escape, it would need to destroy all of humanity's current warships, that's impossible, right?

"What exactly is coming our way?"

Shi Qiang: "I don't know what it is, but as someone who doesn't understand physics, I might see things more clearly than you. I only look at what it aims to do.

"From what I know about the Trisolarans, their way of thinking is just so simple and direct, yet decisive."

Lin Sen: "You're absolutely right, and that's also what worries me.

"But humanity has gathered all its forces for two centuries; I don't believe the Trisolarans can easily destroy all of our space theories.

"If it were really possible, why didn't they send the Soothsayer Imprint over as soon as they got our message? It would have arrived in the Solar System 50 years ago.

"They wouldn't be much stronger than us. If the Sophon blockade were lifted, it's possible that in a few decades we could reach the technological level of Trisolaran civilization.

"Sometimes I feel that the Sophon blockade is not entirely bad for us, allowing our technology to steep for 200 more years.

"Continuously digging inward for potential, exploring those areas that were once overlooked, and pioneering many new technological paths, this is also a rare treasure and foundation.

"Without the Sophon blockade, it would have been impossible for human beings to turn back and study these material application technologies at a high-tech level, but who knows how this research will impact the future? 'A blessing in disguise,' as they say.

"Solidifying the foundation, perhaps when the Sophon blockade is lifted in the future, we will soar even higher."

Shi Qiang said with a smile, "Young Lin, it looks like you have quite an optimistic belief in the ultimate victory of this war."

Lin Sen took a deep breath and spoke in a low voice, "I can reveal some inside information to you.

"Actually, the result of the direct confrontation in this war is not the most important. The real key lies in Logic.

"But I do not wish to see the moment Logic takes action, because that will mean all of humanity's space forces have been absolutely depleted.

"Our two hundred years of efforts and struggles would vanish like smoke.

"It's all right to say these things out loud; the Trisolarans know this too. Their primary target is Logic; we must ensure Logic's safety."

Shi Qiang and Ding Yi's expressions turned solemn, and Shi Xiaoming, standing by, also sensed the tense atmosphere in the air.

Shi Qiang exhaled deeply and said seriously, "It seems I won't be able to relax..."

The atmosphere at the site suddenly became very heavy, and Can Head, the robot nearby, seemed to remember something and chimed in:

"So the most likely outcome of this war is that humanity fails on the battlefield, losing all of its space forces, but Mr. Logic will make the Trisolarans dare not attack us again.

"After witnessing the power of the Trisolarans, are there a lot of people scared of the Trisolarans excavating graves? Then my and Da Shi's Deep Space Company might be back in business, launching those remains out again..."

In an instant, the previously serious atmosphere was disrupted, cursing the machine felt wrong, doing nothing felt even more wrong, it was unexpectedly awkward.

Shi Xiaoming stepped forward and scolded Can Head: "We are discussing the critical matters of human life and death, who's thinking about running a Deep Space Company? Do you still want to earn money off the dead for a third time?"

Can Head: "What I'm saying is about matters of human life and death too!"

With these words, the scene turned even more awkward...

PS: Lin Sen's leisureliness is actually just a facade, meant to deceive the Trisolarans into believing that he has placed all his hopes on humanity's space forces and Logic.

The announcement of Logic's importance on the eve of battle is also necessary. Shi Qiang's vision is the most unique; he can spot details others overlook, ensuring that at the outset of the battle, the Soothsayer Imprint won't immediately obliterate Logic.

As for Can Head, that was unexpected.