Chapter 101: Planetary Exploration

Words : 1471 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

In the control room of the Second Research Institute, hundreds of short, frail, large-headed Luka scientists sat attentively before a massive display screen. Their eyes were fixed on the new Village-Class spaceship being displayed. Currently, the Village-Class spaceship was docked in the interstellar shipyard, undergoing its final inspection under Xiao Yu’s watch. Dozens of robots scurried over the surface of the Village-Class spaceship, conducting their checks. After more than ten minutes of bustling activity, Xiao Yu received confirmation that everything was in working order. Suppressing his excitement, Xiao Yu issued the launch command. The spaceship’s rear engines erupted with a powerful thrust. After a brief warm-up, the flame intensity surged, and the strong reactive force propelled the spaceship out at lightning speed. “Three seconds into acceleration. The hull structure is intact, no deformation detected, and the pressure sensors show no signs of exceeding gravitational limits,” came the report. Receiving the update, Xiao Yu immediately issued a new command: “Continue accelerating.” “Thirty seconds into acceleration. The hull structure remains intact, no deformation detected, and the pressure sensors show no signs of exceeding gravitational limits.” “Continue.” Reports continued to flow in as Xiao Yu issued successive commands. Twenty minutes passed, then thirty. The speed of the Village-Class spaceship had reached 5,400 kilometers per second! This was nearly double Xiao Yu’s previous top speed. “1,800 seconds into acceleration. The hull structure remains intact, no deformation detected. Alert! Pressure sensors detect exceeding gravitational limits. Further acceleration may destroy the ship!” “Phew...” Xiao Yu exhaled lightly. “The limit is continuous acceleration for 2,400 seconds, reaching 7,200 kilometers per second. That’s already incredibly impressive.” “Stop acceleration and return,” Xiao Yu commanded. Immediately, the flames at the ship’s rear engines began to dim, eventually extinguishing. The spaceship adjusted its orientation and began reverse acceleration, gradually heading back toward the Aquila A base. Meanwhile, the Second Research Institute erupted into a sea of celebration. The hundreds of Luka scientists cheered loudly, hugging and congratulating one another on this monumental success. In this moment, Xiao Yu had a realization: “Perhaps collaborating with different species could accelerate technological progress. Due to differences in survival environments and lifestyles, what may be a blind spot for one civilization could be an obvious solution for another. At least, many ideas from Luka scientists have been enlightening even for me. This is worth experimenting with. If I encounter another Technological Civilization, I might consider capturing some of their scientists to collaborate on my behalf.” Having decided, Xiao Yu set his sights on future possibilities. At this point, the Village-Class spaceship had traveled millions of kilometers away. Returning to the base was less urgent. Xiao Yu piloted the spaceship to gradually decelerate, then reaccelerate toward Aquila A, taking five hours to bring it back. Once the new spaceship re-entered the shipyard, Xiao Yu immediately directed robots to conduct a thorough examination of the entire craft. The conclusion was that the new material had withstood immense gravitational stress during 40 minutes of continuous acceleration, with almost no deformation. The engine also endured prolonged high-power operation without overheating or damage. However, the round trip consumed all the available fuel on the spaceship. Suppressing his inner excitement and after forcing the Luka scientists to rest for three days, Xiao Yu announced the next research objective. With the challenge of material technology solved, the focus now shifted to finding more efficient ways to utilize fuel. Before the research began, Xiao Yu received a report from the Luka scientists. Through a video connection, an exceptionally elderly Luka scientist slowly spoke, “Honorable Messenger of God, under your leadership, we have overcome the challenges of material technology. However, you must know that the material we call Liquid Gold is extremely difficult to produce. Even if our manufacturing capabilities increased a hundredfold or a thousandfold, it would still be hard to meet the demand. During this time, we have conceived a new idea.” “That is, to search for naturally occurring Liquid Gold deposits in the universe. Have you noticed that the conditions under which we synthesize Liquid Gold are somewhat similar to certain cosmic environments? Specifically... the cores of stars.” “Of course, we cannot venture into stellar cores. However, the cores of giant gas planets share some similarities with stellar cores. Therefore, Liquid Gold deposits might also exist at the cores of gas giants. Additionally, during the late evolutionary stages of stars, supernova explosions might eject Liquid Gold from their cores into space. Thus, we suggest exploring these two locations. If we can find Liquid Gold deposits there, we could resolve the issue of insufficient production.” Xiao Yu’s eyes lit up as he began to ponder. “If that’s the case, then it’s plausible that Liquid Gold deposits might exist in the cores of gas giants and cosmic dust clouds... However, I lack the capability to reach a planet’s core. But... planets might have convection currents, meaning materials from the core could be brought closer to the surface. Aquila A has a radius of 60,000 kilometers. My spaceship can dive about 5,000 kilometers deep. This plan is worth a try.” Xiao Yu made his decision and instructed, “This is an excellent idea. I will dispatch a ship to explore the interior of Aquila A. For now, let’s focus on researching fuel efficiency.” “With pleasure, my lord,” the elderly Luka scientist said, bowing deeply. Over the following period, Xiao Yu once again witnessed the Luka scientists’ extreme dedication. This time, they went even further—all of them worked continuously for 90 hours without rest. Even Xiao Yu couldn’t help but marvel, “The fervor of religious devotion can truly reach such an extent?” It wasn’t until one Luka scientist collapsed from exhaustion that Xiao Yu forcibly ordered them all to rest. Even then, dozens of Luka scientists protested loudly, refusing to leave their workstations. This time, Xiao Yu showed no mercy, administering Luka-specific sedatives and dragging them away to rest. By this point, Xiao Yu’s prepared Prospecting-Type 1 spaceship was complete. This specially modified craft could withstand pressures up to 100,000 atmospheres, enabling it to dive beyond 5,000 kilometers beneath the surface of Aquila A. Within the gas giant, Xiao Yu could replenish fuel at any time, giving the spaceship extraordinary endurance. However, while the fuel issue was resolved, the fatigue of the spaceship’s hull remained a concern. Each prospecting mission could not exceed 50 hours. With everything ready, the Prospecting-Type 1 spaceship entered the interior of Aquila A. There was no clear boundary between Aquila A and the interstellar medium. Xiao Yu defined the point where the internal pressure equaled one atmosphere as the boundary. At this boundary, dense gases blocked all external light. It was a world dominated by violent winds and endless lightning. Amidst the storms and thunder, Xiao Yu piloted the spaceship, slowly descending. Fortunately, Xiao Yu employed quantum entanglement communication technology. Otherwise, in such an environment, all radio communications would be completely blocked. The deeper the spaceship traveled into the planet, the higher the temperature rose. At a depth of 10 kilometers below the boundary, Xiao Yu observed a remarkable phenomenon. Inside Aquila A, it was raining. Due to the planet’s frigid outer surface, hydrogen, helium, and other gases condensed into liquid form. With increased density, these liquids fell through the dense atmosphere toward the interior, creating the unique rainfall phenomenon Xiao Yu observed. The dense droplets struck the spaceship’s hull with a continuous pitter-patter. Moments later, the heat of the planet’s interior vaporized these droplets back into gas, which then floated outward. This cyclical process formed a distinctive internal circulation system within the planet. At this point, Xiao Yu had descended to a depth of 20 kilometers, or 20,000 meters. Here, the pressure reached 500 times Earth’s atmospheric pressure. This made Xiao Yu uneasy. His initial estimates seemed off—the pressure at depths beyond 5,000 kilometers might exceed 100,000 times Earth’s atmospheric pressure. Despite the concern, Xiao Yu pressed on, diving deeper and deeper. By now, he had reached a depth of 200 kilometers below the boundary. The gas density here had reached an extreme level. Due to the rising temperature, the gas density surpassed that of water, yet it remained in a gaseous state. Xiao Yu had to operate the spaceship’s engines at 30% power just to maintain stability. This place was absolute darkness. No visible light could penetrate the 200 kilometers of dense gas. In this void of light, Xiao Yu’s spaceship navigated the gaseous ocean like a tiny fish. Suddenly, with a thunderous roar, a bolt of lightning tore through the heavens, illuminating hundreds of kilometers of space. In the brief illumination of the lightning, Xiao Yu witnessed a miraculous scene.

Chapter 101: Planetary Exploration

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