"So, what incredible, earth-shattering discovery have you made?"
Fang Xu's eyes twitched repeatedly as he asked Lü Yongchang, word by word.
Lu Yongchang chuckled and reached out to pull over a holographic image.
With just a few strokes, he sketched a simple spacetime model on it.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have overlooked an important issue."
"When the warp drive is activated, a large number of particles will be drawn into the gravitational field in front of the starship under the influence of two opposing gravitational fields."
As he spoke, Lü Yongchang forcefully pointed his index finger at an area in the projection.
"Ultimately, these particles will all converge in front of the curvature bubble."
"As the warp drive time increases, the number of particles will continue to accumulate."
"At the same time, during warp drive, the energy they contain will continue to accumulate!"
"Wait!" He Bilin interrupted Lü Yongchang, frowning. "Where does their energy come from?"
"A warp drive?"
“Yes.” Lü Yongchang nodded in affirmation of He Bilin’s words. “I just checked the energy consumption of [Curvature One] after it entered curvature state and found that it was slightly higher than I had estimated.”
"At first I thought it was an error."
"Now it seems that this was not an error, but rather these particles were the culprits."
"This is equivalent to the additional resistance that a curvature bubble needs to overcome as it moves forward."
He Bilin nodded thoughtfully.
"I think I understand."
"When a starship exits warp drive, it can still maintain warp drive for a short period of time because the particles are much smaller and less massive than the starship."
"At this time, because the particles are still in a warp drive state, they cannot be observed by ordinary observation instruments."
"Moreover, it contains a large amount of energy, and once it encounters an object that blocks its progress, it will..."
He Bilin suddenly opened his palm: "Bang!"
"To us, it looks like we've been attacked by some kind of mysterious force!"
"But...Professor, how can we verify this?"
Lu Yongchang smiled and pointed to the huge holographic projection in front of him: "Let's do the math."
"The interval between Warp Drive I exiting warp drive mode and the observation starship being attacked was 3.13 seconds."
"Then take into account the distance between the two."
"This gives us the speed of the attacking object: 1.1c!"
Upon hearing this, He Bilin quickly lowered his head and checked the calculation.
"It really is!" He exclaimed in a low voice, somewhat surprised, as he looked at the result in the holographic projection.
Lü Yongchang chuckled: "Therefore, before conducting curvature navigation, we need to ensure the safety of the waterway."
"The consequences of any macroscopic obstruction in the waterway could be catastrophic."
Fang Xu, who was standing nearby, added, "That means that warp drive is strictly prohibited in planetary systems where interstellar matter is relatively abundant."
"certainly."
After a moment's thought, Lü Yongchang said, "We need to be extra careful not only within star systems, but also between star systems."
"After all, we do not yet have the corresponding means of faster-than-light observation."
"professor."
From afar, Tao Yuda's voice came: "I have an idea."
"Do you think this characteristic of warp drives could be used to create weapons?"
Lu Yongchang was silent for a while, then nodded and shook his head.
"Yes, but it seems... it doesn't make much of a difference."
"Before attacking, it needs to accelerate over a long distance to accumulate energy."
"In actual combat, it would be more efficient to use a warp drive to launch antimatter bombs."
“Weapons against low-level civilizations,” Tao Yuda said softly. “If we want to absorb them as a subordinate civilization, the warp drive feature should be a good weapon.”
"Professor, think back to our initial reaction."
“At the time, the Lator civilization did not use such methods against us,” Tao Yuda shrugged. “Of course, the range of their flagship was not enough to trigger this effect.”
"But if..."
"Professor, what do you think will happen?"
"At the very least, morale within the civilization will become a huge problem!"
Lu Yongchang's expression changed slightly.
After a moment's thought, he nodded: "In that case, I'll entrust this research task to you."
Then, he turned to look at the elderly man with graying hair standing not far away.
"Academician Cao Liangcai".
"You'll be in charge of modifying the existing starships."
...
After leaving the laboratory, Lü Yongchang, with the help of the robotic arm, boarded the robotic arm-type robot that had been waiting at the door.
The robot carried him and sped towards Lü Yongchang's office.
rear.
He Bilin watched the robot's departing figure with envy.
"Xiao He, what happened to the robot you applied for?"
As Fang Xu walked out of the laboratory, he asked in surprise.
“…Academician Fang, my application was not approved.” He Bilin looked at Fang Xu with a complicated expression as he climbed onto the back of another robot.
"Oh, sorry, I forgot."
Fang Xu smiled and raised an eyebrow at He Bilin: "Keep it up, produce a few more big projects, and I'll approve your application."
He Bilin: "..."
...
Back in his office, Lü Yongchang quickly sat down at his seat.
"Zero, close the door!"
As soon as he finished speaking, his consciousness sank deep into the depths of his mind.
Technology Tree Space.
Against the mottled background, the technology tree, outlined with pearly white lines, stands out vividly.
Looking at the incredibly bright cursor, Lü Yongchang breathed a sigh of relief.
Warp drive technology has passed the "verification" in the tech tree.
A pale white line flowed from the cursor, extending upwards along the dim path.
[Basic Gravity Shield]
Grand Unified Theory
These are the last two technologies for a Level 4 civilization to advance to Level 5.
Looking at the fog at the very top of the technology tree, Lü Yongchang steadied himself and focused his attention on one of the dim cursors.
P.S.: Extra chapter tomorrow morning!
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