Jupiter wind

Through the telescope, Xiao Yu observed the chaotic fluctuations among the fragments resulting from Earth's explosion. Some smaller debris veered off course, hurtling towards the Sun, yet the larger pieces remained relatively close to their original trajectories. Xiao Yu breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that both the Sun and himself had narrowly escaped catastrophe.

High-energy radiation bursts are like this—immensely powerful, arriving swiftly and dissipating just as quickly.

Xiao Yu stayed hidden behind Mars, knowing that the radiation burst was only the first wave, with another to follow.

The next wave was the high-energy charged particle stream, commonly known as the solar wind. On Earth, auroras are created by the collision between these particles and the planet's magnetic field.

When a solar flare erupts, the intensity of these charged particles peaks, potentially disrupting satellite communications and even crippling power grids. A massive blackout in the United States during the 20th century was attributed to such a solar flare.

One needn't be a genius to deduce that this high-energy particle stream from Jupiter would be exponentially more devastating. Unlike the Sun's relatively stable emissions, who could fathom the chaos wrought by Jupiter's current state?

The speed of the particle stream is considerably slower than light, traveling at about four million kilometers per hour. This means it would reach Mars' orbit in approximately five days.

Xiao Yu's greatest concern was his dependence on electronic equipment for survival. Although he was safely hidden behind Mars, no one could predict the extent of Jupiter's winds' impact on him.

The first crisis had been averted, but curiosity consumed Xiao Yu. After much deliberation, he decided to squeeze out a bit more fuel to adjust his orbit and observe Jupiter.

Emerging from Mars' massive shadow, Xiao Yu aimed his astronomical telescope at Jupiter.

Observing Jupiter from Mars' orbit, one could see only a dot of light with the naked eye, devoid of any detail. However, Xiao Yu's ship was equipped with an optically optimized telescope, and being tens of millions of kilometers closer than Earth, the images he captured of Jupiter were as sharp as those from the Hubble telescope.

Xiao Yu was once again astounded.

The side of Jupiter facing the Sun had turned a deep red, as if it were bleeding. Countless violent cyclones ravaged the planet, even disrupting the orbits of its moons.

The impact had tilted Jupiter's axis of rotation by a full three degrees.

Xiao Yu observed this scene intently, activating all available observational equipment on his ship to gather as much data as possible. This information was invaluable and crucial for Xiao Yu's future technological advancements.

After an hour of observation, Xiao Yu suddenly realized a critical fact: "A nuclear fusion phenomenon has occurred at the impact site on Jupiter."

His heart tightened, and he immediately halted all non-essential data processing, focusing all computational power on analyzing this phenomenon.

Gradually, as he continued to observe Jupiter, Xiao Yu's previously incomplete theory began to take shape.

It was a theory about controlled nuclear fusion. The great forces of nature, in their unique way, had used the collision between the Moon and Jupiter to teach Xiao Yu a lesson, imparting knowledge on controlled nuclear fusion.

Dating back to Einstein's famous mass-energy equivalence formula, E=MC^2, humanity had long explored nuclear energy, with the hydrogen bomb being the most notable example. However, the hydrogen bomb represents uncontrolled nuclear fusion, useful as a weapon but not for anything else. To harness the immense power of nuclear energy, one must find a way to control nuclear fusion.

As a leading figure in the scientific community, Xiao Yu was well-versed in this field, yet even he hadn't cracked the code.

But now, thanks to nature, the greatest teacher, Xiao Yu felt that he might finally solve this problem.

The biggest challenge of controlled nuclear fusion lies in the lack of any material capable of containing a fusion reactor. During fusion, temperatures soar to tens of millions or even billions of degrees, far beyond the tolerance of any known substance.

Thus, humanity had proposed two methods: magnetic confinement and inertial confinement. These approaches use magnetic fields or inertia to contain the fusion reactor and stabilize its energy output. However, both methods were still in the theoretical stage.

Xiao Yu specialized in magnetic confinement.

Jupiter has an incredibly strong magnetic field. This field stabilized the fusion reactor at the impact site, containing its energy output.

It was the simplest and most efficient teaching method. It's like being handed a perfectly folded paper airplane without being allowed to disassemble it, making it difficult to figure out how it was made.

But if someone demonstrates how to fold the airplane, you might learn immediately.

Nature had just folded the paper airplane of controlled nuclear fusion right before Xiao Yu's eyes.

Had Xiao Yu still possessed eyes, they would have glowed red with excitement. Had he still breathed, his breaths would have been quick and shallow.

No one understood the significance of controlled nuclear fusion more than Xiao Yu.

With controlled nuclear fusion, interstellar travel becomes a possibility, and energy constraints on technological advancement are lifted.

"My dream of space exploration finally has hope!" Xiao Yu felt an overwhelming urge to weep.

Xiao Yu continued observing for five days, gathering as much data on controlled nuclear fusion as possible. Then, just before the expected high-energy particle stream arrived, he retreated back behind Mars. With this data, overcoming the challenge of controlled nuclear fusion was now just a matter of time.

"Build a massive space fleet! Leave the solar system and conquer the galaxy!" Xiao Yu's mind roared with excitement.

Five hours after Xiao Yu had taken refuge behind Mars, the high-energy particle stream finally reached Mars' orbit. The results were catastrophic, as expected.

Despite Mars acting as a massive shield, Jupiter's winds caused half of Xiao Yu's ship's equipment to fail instantly, and the central computer's processing power plummeted to thirty percent of its peak capacity.

The particle stream also possessed a powerful stripping ability, and Mars' negligible magnetic field offered virtually no protection. In an instant, Mars' murky atmosphere was almost completely stripped away, exposing the planet's surface, where lava flows raged, directly to the vacuum of space.

Under the relentless onslaught of Jupiter's winds, Mars transformed into a colossal comet, trailing a long tail towards the Sun, with countless meteors enveloping Xiao Yu's tiny spaceship.

"Damn it! Are you freaking kidding me?" Xiao Yu cursed in shock as he witnessed the scene.

The central computer, now operating at only thirty percent capacity, was pushed to its limits, while the engines and radar systems ran at full power, consuming energy at a rate that made Xiao Yu's heart bleed.

In the pitch-black void, Xiao Yu deftly maneuvered his small ship, dodging the meteors that hurtled towards him.

"I've just obtained the most crucial technology for controlled nuclear fusion, with a bright future awaiting me. How can I die now?"

This conviction carried Xiao Yu through the three days of Jupiter's winds' wrath. When he finally caught his breath and conducted a thorough inspection of his ship, a bitter realization washed over him.

"The damage is far too severe..." Xiao Yu sighed in resignation.

The winds had dissipated, and Mars' cometary tail began to fade, though this process would likely take a long time. Xiao Yu even speculated about the final outcome: the material in Mars' tail would eventually fall back into orbit, forming a ring around the planet.

Mars was on its way to becoming the first solid planet in the solar system with rings.

Turning his gaze back to Earth's orbit, Xiao Yu noticed that the largest fragments hadn't been blown towards the Sun by Jupiter's winds. This was a good sign because had that happened, the Sun's convective zone might have been breached, causing solar material to erupt and unleashing an overwhelming solar wind that would sweep across the entire solar system. In such a scenario, Xiao Yu couldn't imagine any path to survival.

The prelude to this catastrophe, which began with Earth's explosion and peaked with the Moon's collision with Jupiter, had passed. At least, Jupiter's influence on the outer world had waned, though the slow and profound impact on the entire solar system would continue.

The disaster's most significant effects were on the inner rocky planets. The three gas giants beyond Jupiter—Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune—remained largely unaffected. The object of Xiao Yu's greatest concern, Titan, had luckily avoided any major changes, as it had been on the far side of Saturn during the collision.

Now, Xiao Yu faced a grave problem: his small ship was running out of fuel.

Not only that, the ship itself was in a terrible state, riddled with holes, and several modules had experienced electrical shorts. To prevent further damage, Xiao Yu had to shut off power to those modules temporarily. The storage bay had been breached, and all the spare parts and materials had been lost. A large chunk of the ship's hull had also been torn away. Fortunately, the navigation system and gyroscope were still operational; otherwise, Xiao Yu would have been hopelessly lost in the vastness of space.

"Am I really going to be stranded in Mars' orbit until I run out of energy and die?" Xiao Yu lamented.

Unlimited energy awaited Xiao Yu on Titan! If only he could reach it, he would have more power than he could ever use, even if he wanted to blow up a planet.

Xiao Yu began to think frantically about how to escape Mars' orbit and reach Titan.