Dawn Star.
Earth calendar year 2451.
Human civilization, immersed in antimatter experiments, is naturally unaware of what is happening at the center of the Milky Way.
It took a full year, under the leadership of Lü Yongchang, for the Chinese Academy of Sciences to successfully establish a series of theories about antimatter.
With the theoretical foundation laid, the next step is naturally practical application.
Lu Yongchang had long coveted the antimatter engine and antimatter weapons in the technology tree.
But there is still a huge problem standing between them.
The problem of creating antimatter.
Given the current manufacturing efficiency of laboratories, it is simply impossible for human civilization to utilize antimatter on a large scale.
There are two main reasons.
On the one hand, the consumption of producing antimatter using particle accelerators is too enormous, making it a losing proposition.
On the other hand, the production of antimatter is too low.
Compared to Earth's time, humans are indeed producing antimatter at an incredibly fast pace—it only takes a week to obtain one microgram of antihydrogen atoms.
However, this manufacturing speed, comparable to a snail's pace, is clearly insufficient for humanity, which has already reached a level three civilization.
Therefore, a new solution for antimatter manufacturing is urgently needed!
The research focus of everyone within the Academy of Sciences also shifted here.
However, this technology, located on the dividing line between Type III and Type IV civilizations, is clearly not so easy to conquer.
...
After several setbacks.
Lu Yongchang sat solemnly in his office, pursing his lips as he looked at the holographic image in front of him.
The holographic image displays a dense array of experimental data.
"Professor, the experiment has failed."
Zero's electronic synthesized voice came from a nearby speaker.
Lu Yongchang's face did not show much emotion; he simply nodded slightly.
He's gotten tired of hearing that phrase lately.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences proposed many methods for manufacturing antihydrogen atoms, but without exception, none of them met Lü Yongchang's expectations.
"Professor, Academician Tao Yuda is here to visit."
The synthesized voice sounded again.
"Let him in."
Lu Yongchang took a deep breath and, after rousing himself, said...
The next moment, the office door opened, and Tao Yuda, with dark circles under his eyes, stood excitedly in the doorway.
Seeing Tao Yuda's expression, Lü Yongchang's originally calm emotions began to fluctuate slightly.
Could it be... that he has a new manufacturing idea?
Thinking of this, a faint hope appeared in Lü Yongchang's eyes as he looked at Tao Yuda.
"Professor, I have an idea!"
Sure enough, Tao Yuda excitedly stepped into the office and shouted loudly.
Lü Yongchang's heart skipped a few beats.
He suppressed his excitement, sat up straight in his chair, and pointed to the seat in front of his desk.
"Please sit down."
"Tell me slowly."
Tao Yuda nodded hurriedly, pulled out a chair in a flurry, and sat down opposite Lü Yongchang.
Then, he raised his wrist, turned on his watch, and summoned a small holographic projection.
Under Tao Yuda's operation, the content of the small holographic projection was quickly synchronized in front of Lü Yongchang.
Feasibility Report on Antimatter Collection Devices
"collect?"
Lu Yongchang's expression froze, and he subconsciously asked a question in return.
Why does it feel like... it's not quite what he expected?
Tao Yuda cleared his throat: "Professor, although the universe is made of matter, there are still many antiprotons and antielectrons mixed in with cosmic rays and wandering in interstellar space in a vacuum environment."
"Since the efficiency of artificially creating antimatter is too low, we can completely change our approach."
"To build a large number of antimatter collection devices to collect antimatter in the universe."
Looking at the plan in the holographic projection, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
How should he evaluate this report...?
It's feasible, but not very common.
Although there are many antiprotons and antielectrons in the universe, they are extremely rare.
If collection is only carried out near Dawn, the results of several years would not even be comparable to the output of a large particle accelerator running at full power for a month.
but!
That's a business with no initial investment.
Given enough time and enough collection devices, humanity will eventually be able to collect enough antimatter for use in the universe.
"Isn't this... this just like collecting scraps?"
Lu Yongchang asked instinctively, "Who in a civilized society would collect trash?"
Tao Yuda's lips twitched: "..."
"How can this be called scavenging?"
"How can something at the third level of civilization be described as scavenging?"
Tao Yuda's voice grew softer and softer, as he mumbled obscure terms like antimatter collection array and star system detection array.
"Alright, alright." Lü Yongchang shook his head with a wry smile. "Let's not discuss this plan for now."
"What humanity needs right now is a solution that can stably and efficiently produce antimatter."
"We don't have that much time to collect antimatter floating in space."
Despite saying that, he still kept this option in his backup plan.
It can serve as a probe around star systems and also collect antimatter from interstellar space...
Most importantly, it doesn't consume much energy.
A triple win.
Earning resources is nothing to be ashamed of.
...
After seeing Tao Yuda off, Lü Yongchang took another deep breath.
"Zero, close the door. Unless there are unforeseen circumstances, no one is allowed to enter."
Having learned from his previous experience, Lü Yongchang added a precondition to his order.
After all, he can't always rely on zero-based underlying logic code, can he?
As soon as he finished speaking, the office door slowly closed.
After confirming everything, Lü Yongchang leaned back in his comfortable chair and slowly closed his eyes.
Now that things have come to this, he has no choice but to seek help from the technology tree space.
With a thought, my consciousness entered that familiar space.
A fluorescent green background and a tech tree gleaming with bright white light.
Unlike last time, after completing the construction of various antimatter theories, the previously barren first half of the technology tree now appears full.
Lü Yongchang looked up.
One white cursor after another appeared in his eyes, but none of them caught his attention.
A few seconds later.
His gaze lingered on the top of the third-level technology tree.
It was a dim cursor with a brightness level of 50%.
[Anti-materials quality production solution]
Looking at the clear text on the cursor, Lü Yongchang's consciousness became much more serious.
Without any hesitation, he focused his attention directly on the dim cursor.
A feeling of dizziness arises spontaneously.
What follows is a sense of clarity that is almost transcendent.
Various theories related to antimatter were integrated into Lü Yongchang's mind, and some of the original difficulties were quickly resolved.
As time passed, a solution slowly emerged in his mind.
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