Rebirth of the Super Battleship

Xiao Yu’s flagship was now the Shanghai, as the central computer aboard the Beijing had been critically damaged by the droplet’s logic lock attack. Xiao Yu had no plans to repair the Beijing’s central computer, instead intending to equip it with the newly developed ternary computer once it was ready.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yu continued to analyze the opposing civilization’s technological level and military strategies.

After extensive calculations, Xiao Yu hypothesized that the distinction between Level 2 and Level 3 civilizations was likely the development of shield technology. Shield technology had already entered Xiao Yu’s theoretical framework, and he was confident that it could be realized within 30 years. This proximity suggested that shields were no longer out of reach for him. A deeper understanding of high-energy photons was the key to creating an initial energy shield.

Of course, practical application would still require solving numerous challenges, including energy systems, stabilization mechanisms, and material engineering.

The droplet’s logs classified Xiao Yu’s civilization as a Level 2 pinnacle civilization, underscoring the importance of shield technology.

“Shield technology, in simple terms, involves using a strong magnetic field to constrain high-energy photons, forming a protective layer around the ship. Within this field, the shield’s temperature could reach billions of degrees, vaporizing any nearby matter and deflecting energy attacks. This means high-rate-of-fire autocannons would become ineffective against shields, as physical projectiles carry insufficient energy. My ships’ weapon systems will require significant upgrades.”

To address this, Xiao Yu conducted extensive research, developing a new type of weapon. Based on high-rate-of-fire autocannons, these weapons incorporated ultra-miniature nuclear warheads that detonated upon nearing enemy ships, releasing temperatures of over a billion degrees within a few cubic decimeters. These munitions were inexpensive and, according to Xiao Yu’s projections, highly effective at depleting enemy shields.

The nuclear rounds were adopted as standard weapons, to be widely deployed. In addition, Xiao Yu developed mid-range weapons centered on high-yield hydrogen bombs and high-energy laser cannons. These would serve as the primary tools for destroying enemy ships during interstellar warfare.

For advanced weaponry, Xiao Yu refined the energy weapons he had obtained from the Moluton Civilization. Significant enhancements increased their explosive power and firing speed. Xiao Yu also developed smaller energy weapons to equip all Village-Class and Town-Class ships.

The system featured massive solar sails spanning thousands of square meters, harnessing stellar energy to power a high-energy beam weapon. During battle, the solar sails converted their energy into powerful beams that targeted enemy ships, directly causing damage.

Although the solar sail weapon’s power and maneuverability were lower than other systems, its advantages lay in its autonomy, sheer numbers, and lack of reliance on external energy sources. Xiao Yu produced hundreds of thousands of these weapons, deploying them in orbits within 10 million kilometers of Tianyuan IV. During trials, the solar sail weapons achieved a striking range of 200 million kilometers. Thus, any Luka Civilization fleet breaking through the Tianyuan B defenses would first face this barrage.

Under the immense pressure of survival, Xiao Yu’s construction pace reached extraordinary levels.

One year after the droplet incident, Xiao Yu completed a new City-Class spaceship. Naming it Xingtai after his hometown, the ship boasted firepower and defenses comparable to, if not exceeding, those of the Beijing and its sister ships. This achievement was a testament to Xiao Yu’s technological advancements during the year.

Meanwhile, the Tianyuan IV particle collider was fully repaired and conducting intensive collision experiments. While these experiments wouldn’t yield immediate technological breakthroughs, the data collected would underpin Xiao Yu’s scientific endeavors for thousands of years should he be forced to flee the system.

Xiao Yu was preparing comprehensively and meticulously. Every aspect of these preparations was geared toward achieving victory against the Luka Civilization in the impending war.

Research on the droplet’s hull material had been progressing intensively for two years. Although Xiao Yu still hadn’t unlocked the material’s specific parameters, he had made a breakthrough in its application.

He discovered that firing fragments of the material using energy cannons could produce ten times the power of a conventional energy cannon. With around 1,000 fragments of the droplet’s shell available, this weapon could be used up to 1,000 times.

Over the following five years, Xiao Yu’s fleet expanded significantly. In addition to the original four City-Class ships, six new ones were constructed, bringing the total to ten. The precious fragments were evenly distributed among them, with each ship equipped with 100 fragments.

The fleet was strategically stationed.

Tianyuan A and Tianyuan B interstellar fortresses were each equipped with two City-Class ships: Xingtai, Handan, Tangshan, and Langfang.

Asteroid belt defenses included the City-Class ship Baoding.

Tianyuan A headquarters was fortified with five City-Class ships, including the original four (Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, and Beijing) and the newly constructed Shijiazhuang.

These ten City-Class ships constituted Xiao Yu’s most formidable combat force.

Significant upgrades were also completed for the interstellar fortresses at Tianyuan B and Tianyuan C. Before the droplet incident, there were eight armed satellites. Now, their number had increased to 14, with six at Tianyuan C and eight at Tianyuan B. Additionally, numerous space-based turrets were installed in their orbits, dramatically enhancing the fortresses’ overall combat strength.

The development of ternary computers was another critical achievement. Xiao Yu successfully built ten ternary supercomputers, each installed aboard a City-Class ship. These computers boosted Xiao Yu’s computational capacity tenfold, greatly improving his fleet management capabilities. Although Xiao Yu could reside on only one ship at a time, having ten equipped ships provided him with multiple fallback options in case of destruction. If one City-Class ship were lost, Xiao Yu could transfer to another, avoiding total annihilation.

Preparations continued over five years, during which Xiao Yu’s fleet and defenses grew exponentially. However, time was running out.

After deploying 130,000 solar sail weapons, one of Xiao Yu’s monitoring satellites detected an unusual fluctuation.

At a distance of 15 billion kilometers from Tianyuan IV, an oddly shaped ship suddenly appeared. This ship, roughly 1,300 meters long, was slightly larger than Xiao Yu’s City-Class ships.

The ship had an irregular shape and was entirely dark green. Upon its arrival, it didn’t accelerate but began defensive maneuvers around a single point in space. From that point, additional ships started to emerge.

One by one, then ten, then a hundred… until a total of 7,000 ships appeared.

These ships varied in size. The largest exceeded the size of City-Class ships, while the smallest were smaller than Village-Class ships. Among them, five were identified as flagship-sized vessels, which Xiao Yu deduced were likely the Luka Civilization’s flagships.

After all 7,000 ships emerged, they began accelerating toward Tianyuan IV. Xiao Yu observed their surfaces glow with a dark green light, forming a shield-like barrier enveloping each vessel. Shortly afterward, Xiao Yu lost all visual data of the fleet.

“They destroyed my satellite,” Xiao Yu realized.

Although he could no longer see the fleet, Xiao Yu used the locations of the destroyed satellites to track its position.

“They’re approaching at a speed of 2,300 kilometers per second. Estimated arrival at Tianyuan C’s orbit in two months. This will be my first battlefield.”

“There’s no doubt they possess shield technology. The question is, what other weapons beyond my imagination do they have? Based on my projections, high-energy laser weapons and advanced energy weapons are on the same technological tier as shields, so they likely have both. As for matter-annihilation or proton-neutron decay weapons, they probably don’t have those yet. This means their ships have three to ten times the average combat power of mine.”

“No wonder they’re a Level 3 civilization. Their ships, of similar size and mass, are so much stronger than mine,” Xiao Yu thought, astonished by his calculations.

“But! They only have 7,000 ships, while I have 100,000! My fleet outnumbers theirs by a factor of twenty! Coupled with the interstellar fortresses at Tianyuan B and Tianyuan C, the solar sail weapons, and the asteroid belt defenses, I stand a significant chance of victory!”

“Trying to capture me and enslave me? Dream on!” Xiao Yu growled, as he began preparing every ship and defense system in the Tianyuan IV system for battle.

The great war was imminent!