A few hours later.

The hour hand of the holographic clock on the wall points to the number 3.

As night deepened, fewer and fewer researchers remained in the laboratory.

Lu Yongchang stood motionless in front of the giant holographic projection, his eyes fixed on the black mass in the center of the image.

It remains unmoved in the face of all kinds of ever-evolving observation and detection methods used by humankind.

During the past few hours of testing, it simply hovered quietly in the core area of ​​the restraint device, silently "watching" the pointless actions of the "ants" around it.

"How arrogant..."

Lu Yongchang's lips moved slightly as he murmured to himself.

Yes, that is arrogance.

This arrogant statement refers not only to the black substance located in the core area, but also to the seventh-dimensional being who calls himself "Painting"!

It makes no attempt to conceal its core area within the restraint devices, openly exposing it to humans.

It's as if it's convinced that humans cannot and dare not disassemble this device!

In fact,

It was indeed correct.

As it predicted, human civilization is indeed unable, and even less willing, to dismantle this unknown constraint.

Even the surrounding gravity shields couldn't be broken!

Lu Yongchang clenched his back teeth hard, a sense of frustration slowly welling up from the depths of his heart.

Human civilization is still too weak.

"Yongchang, rest first."

Fang Xu's voice rang out in the quiet laboratory: "The test results for the gravity shield will take quite some time to come out."

Lü Yongchang nodded and stared at the holographic projection for a while longer.

Then, he sighed softly and turned to walk towards the laboratory door.

With the departure of Lü Yongchang and Fang Xu, the already empty laboratory became even more desolate.

Gradually, the lights in the laboratory went out one by one, leaving only the giant holographic projection and a few lights from some experimental equipment.

...

Near the ice giant.

Inside the small starship surrounded by a dozen or so planetary-level [Golden Crow] battleships, robots under Zero's control diligently continued their various tasks.

suddenly.

A sudden change occurred.

Within the core area of ​​the restraint device, the previously calm black matter began to churn.

This scene quickly caught Zero's attention.

Almost at the same moment, a piercing alarm sounded throughout the Academy of Sciences.

...

Lu Yongchang lay on the bed and slowly closed his eyes.

He plans to go to the technology tree space again.

Perhaps, with the "overclocking" ability brought by the technology tree space, he will be able to capture some inspiration about gravity and dark matter.

A slight movement of consciousness.

When he came to his senses again, he was already in the familiar fluorescent green space.

As always, the fluorescent green space was incredibly tranquil, and a technology tree outlined in bright white lines slowly appeared before his eyes.

The tree of the science tree had sparse leaves, and a thick fog shrouded its top, obscuring Lü Yongchang's view.

"Beep! Beep! Beep!"

A piercing alarm sounded from infinity, growing louder and louder, abruptly pulling him out of the tech tree space.

Lü Yongchang suddenly opened his eyes.

The once dark room was now as bright as day, with a holographic projection flashing red light appearing above the bed.

"Professor, the restraint device is malfunctioning."

Accompanied by the electronically synthesized sound of zero, real-time observation images quickly appeared in the holographic projection.

Upon seeing the black substance whose surface was constantly fluctuating and exuding a dangerous aura, Lü Yongchang's somewhat bewildered expression instantly vanished.

He rolled out of bed and hastily put on the clothes hanging at the head of the bed.

"Zero, notify everyone to assemble at the First Laboratory immediately!"

...

First Laboratory.

Before Lü Yongchang even entered the laboratory, he heard Fang Xu's stern questioning voice.

"Is there a problem with the restraints?" Fang Xu asked with a grim face. "Who was the last person to leave the lab?"

"Academician Fang, it's me," a researcher said anxiously. "When I left, the restraint device showed no abnormalities!"

"You can check the operation log; we followed the procedures exactly."

Fang Xu's voice did not continue; clearly, he was checking the operation log.

Lü Yongchang stepped forward, and the slightly ajar laboratory door quickly opened.

"Yongchang?"

Hearing the strange noise from the door, Fang Xu, who was checking the operation records, quickly turned around, greeted Lü Yongchang, and then reported urgently, "According to the operation records, the abnormality should not be caused by human factors."

Lu Yongchang nodded slightly, quickly went to the holographic projection, and looked up to check the various real-time parameters on the screen.

"The gravity shield shows no abnormalities."

"The fusion reactor's output power is also normal."

With just one glance, Lü Yongchang's brows furrowed deeply: "Even the strong magnetic field didn't cause any problems..."

Based on various data, the current restraint devices are no different from those used a few hours ago.

But to the naked eye, it is clearly not the case.

suddenly.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the black substance returned to calm once more.

Before everyone could breathe a sigh of relief, another strange phenomenon occurred.

A thin gray line slowly emerged from the black substance.

Calling it a thin thread wouldn't be accurate.

To the naked eye, it looks more like a very narrow strip of paper.

It is long and wide, but not tall.

Looking at this "familiar" scene, Lü Yongchang felt a chill run down his spine.

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