Special materials research base

With a full thrust, the speed of *Hope* soared to 400 kilometers per second, consuming a fifth of its conventional fuel reserves. Yet, Xiaoyu felt a wave of relief, for they had managed to escape.

The systems aboard *Hope* engaged, automatically capturing the wood spirits clinging to its hull. Meanwhile, a spark of curiosity ignited within Xiaoyu.

"Why did these wood spirits actively attack me? How are they so much stronger than ordinary ones?"

Several questions swirled in Xiaoyu's mind.

Suddenly, something unusual caught his attention.

Xiaoyu had divided the captured wood spirits into over twenty batches, each stored in a specialized, high-radiation-resistant container. The strange occurrence was centered on the box containing the mutated wood spirits.

Inside that box, alongside the dozen or so mutated spirits, were hundreds of ordinary ones previously captured.

Through the observation instruments, Xiaoyu clearly saw that the mutated wood spirits exhibited an abnormal aggressiveness, ferociously tearing into the ordinary ones and devouring them piece by piece. Simultaneously, the radiation levels of the mutated spirits surged.

"This is… this is…" Xiaoyu's heart wavered with uncertainty.

Soon, the dozen mutated wood spirits had consumed all the ordinary ones, and then, they turned on each other in a brutal battle of survival.

An hour passed before the fighting ceased, leaving just one wood spirit remaining in the box. Its strength had increased to an astonishing 250 times that of an ordinary wood spirit.

Xiaoyu's thoughts raced, and he commanded *Hope* to open a small aperture in the box containing the surviving spirit. Instantly, the wood spirit shot towards the opening at lightning speed. Fortunately, the system reacted even faster, sealing the gap just before its escape.

"It possesses more than just instinct; it has developed rudimentary intelligence!" Xiaoyu was utterly stunned. "No wonder I was attacked! That strongest wood spirit must have gained a similar level of basic intelligence, which is why it launched an attack on me!"

"Devouring, evolving… so that's how it is! But it seems only certain special wood spirits have this capability. The initial group I captured, even though they merged into one entity, showed no signs of intelligence." Xiaoyu pondered silently. "This complicates things. With the vastness of Jupiter, who knows how many wood spirits have evolved intelligence? Capturing them won't be so easy from now on."

"But luckily, *Hope* managed to escape this time. As for the future, I'll deal with it when the time comes." Xiaoyu shook his head, ending his thoughts on the matter.

Over two weeks later, *Hope* successfully returned to Titan and was immediately assigned to a slew of tasks—collecting nuclear fusion fuel, transporting materials across the stars, repairing damaged satellites—so much so that it was overwhelmed with work for the next six months before finally having some respite.

On Titan, everything was progressing in an orderly manner. Beneath the existing ninety-three bases, Xiaoyu had constructed a new high-energy physics research institute, initiating research into theoretical physics.

The importance of theoretical physics is indisputable. Humanity's progress to this point has relied heavily on the two major theories established nearly a century ago—relativity and quantum theory. Even Xiaoyu's current achievements are built on these theories. Without new research in theoretical physics, Xiaoyu would soon find himself at a loss for how to proceed.

For the next step in theoretical research, Xiaoyu focused on the direction of "space." Quantum theory describes the microscopic particles, relativity describes the macroscopic world and unites matter and energy. Given the current foundation of physics, the next development in the field might very well be in the realm of "space."

However, theoretical research is a meticulous endeavor, and Xiaoyu had no intention of producing results in a short period.

In addition to the high-energy physics institute, Xiaoyu also built another base dedicated to researching various special materials. Although research on the black insect corpses and wood spirits had begun earlier, the initial phase was limited by computational capacity, preventing large-scale research. Now, with the construction of *Dawn* nearing completion, Xiaoyu finally had the energy to delve into this research fully.

The other ninety-three bases continued to operate smoothly, producing vast quantities of materials at every moment for Xiaoyu's construction needs. The construction of the *Dawn*, a "Town-class" spacecraft, was nearing its end, and Xiaoyu had already begun drafting designs for an even larger "County-class" spacecraft.

However, Xiaoyu's reserves of titanium and zirconium were nearly depleted. Until the Earth meteorite arrived, he wouldn't be able to construct any new spacecraft.

During the long wait, the day of *Dawn*'s test flight finally arrived.

The *Dawn* was several times larger than *Hope*, and accordingly, it was much heavier. However, *Dawn* was equipped with the latest "Fusion Type-II" engine developed by Xiaoyu, providing it with much greater power.

With the command to take off, the *Dawn*'s tail emitted streams of pale blue flames, lifting a vast plume of smoke from the ground. Through the billowing smoke, the sci-fi spectacle of the *Dawn* began its ascent.

The *Dawn*'s ascent was not swift; it was significantly slower than *Hope*, taking over ten minutes to exit Titan's atmosphere.

Xiaoyu immediately began testing its performance.

Under Xiaoyu's command, the *Dawn* executed various high-difficulty maneuvers in space—abrupt stops after high-speed flight, rapid rotations, firing laser cannons while in motion, and more. After several hours of intense testing, Xiaoyu had gathered all the data he needed.

"Everything matches expectations; it's quite satisfactory. The maximum acceleration reached 1.5 kilometers per second, the maximum load tolerance hit 170 times Earth's gravity, and with conventional fuel, the maximum speed reached 1,500 kilometers per second. Very good, very good."

Reviewing the experimental data, Xiaoyu nodded in satisfaction.

While *Dawn*'s maneuverability wasn't on par with *Hope*, its endurance, firepower, resilience, and top speed with conventional fuel all far exceeded *Hope*'s. The loss in maneuverability was inevitable; everyone knows that the larger something is, the less agile it becomes.

In Xiaoyu's plan, if an interstellar war were to break out, a ship like the *Dawn* would serve as the flagship of a small fleet, responsible for firepower suppression and covering the advance of allies. Close combat would be left to "Village-class" ships like *Hope* or even smaller vessels.

Xiaoyu piloted the *Dawn* with pride, swaggering through the Saturn system, with an attitude that said, "Anyone who dares challenge me will get a beating."

Ahead, a meteorite about twenty meters in diameter appeared. Xiaoyu's mind raced: "Perfect, I'll use it to test *Dawn*'s weapon power and hull strength."

He issued the attack command, and immediately, the *Dawn*'s instruments began scanning the meteorite. In a fraction of a millisecond, it had determined the meteorite's speed, position, trajectory, center of gravity, density, and other data. The targeting system locked on, the hatch at the ship's bottom opened, and the launch rack extended, revealing a space missile armed with a high-yield strategic hydrogen bomb.

This meteorite, leisurely orbiting Saturn, had no idea that, due to a single whim, it was about to face utter annihilation.

"Fire!" Xiaoyu commanded. Instantly, the mechanical arm released the missile, and a stream of fire erupted from its tail as it roared forward.

Unlike the common cylindrical shape of Earth missiles, this one was spherical. On Earth, the cylindrical body with a conical tip minimizes air resistance, speeding up the missile. But Xiaoyu had different concerns. With his level of technology, the main challenge wasn't air resistance but the tearing force exerted on the missile's body by extreme acceleration. A spherical shape best distributes this force evenly, preventing the missile from being torn apart.

This valuable insight came from thousands of experiments conducted by Xiaoyu.

In an instant, the spherical missile accelerated to nearly 2,000 kilometers per second, and in just fifteen seconds, it reached the meteorite.

Moments before impact, the hydrogen bomb detonated. In a flash of brilliant light and intense heat, the meteorite, weighing thousands of tons, was vaporized into nothingness.

A tenth of a second later, the powerful radiation and heatwave reached *Dawn*. Yet, the ship remained unmoved. The high-strength hull of *Dawn* withstood the intense radiation and heat without a scratch.

"The power is quite impressive," Xiaoyu thought, full of joy.

Over the next few hours, Xiaoyu tested the laser cannons and high-speed machine guns. That day, the meteorites around *Dawn* were truly unlucky. A meteorite could be quietly orbiting in peace, but in the next moment, a powerful laser would vaporize it, or a barrage of high-speed bullets would smash it to pieces.

"Due to the *Dawn*'s size, the laser cannon's power is maxed out at this level. However, when the larger 'County-class' ship is built, the laser cannon's power can be further enhanced. With so many weapons, I won't be afraid even if I encounter some hostile aliens."

Xiaoyu mused with delight.