Chapter 165: Breaking the Light Barrier
by xennovel505 times the speed of light.
Even after experiencing this firsthand,
most of the people on the bridge still couldn’t shake the feeling they were dreaming.
It just seemed impossible.
Yes, it really was that unbelievable.
According to records left in that Alien Civilization Cube, a level four civilization is marked by technology like energy shields and warp engines. But for level five…
It’s all about space technology and true intergalactic travel.
After all, warp drive has its limits. The max one-time jump according to theory is only 18.8 light-years.
Within the Milky Way, that’s manageable, but if you want to reach another galaxy—not even counting the satellite galaxies—you’re looking at distances measured in millions of light-years.
And that’s just between galaxies in the same cluster, like the Triangulum or Andromeda galaxies.
Don’t even think about reaching galaxies from entirely different clusters.
Simply put, you can’t cross galaxies just using warp drive. Even reaching the Milky Way’s satellite galaxies is impossible this way.
Because…
The space between galaxies is a region others call the Death Void.
You can think of galaxies as continents while everything in between is a vast ocean. As for the universe…
Well, to paint a clearer picture, think of it as 99.9999…
Alright, I don’t know exactly how many nines come after that, but you get the idea—it’s basically all ocean with just a few scattered bits of land.
And not just any ocean. These regions are filled with chaotic space, full of unpredictable and bizarre spatial phenomena. Any ship that enters is almost certainly doomed.
So…
Don’t expect to use warp drive jump after jump and eventually reach galaxies millions of light-years away.
That’s why, when a civilization reaches level five and starts delving into space technology, mastering intergalactic travel becomes just as important.
Generally, there are two paths to this.
One is the space gate route, building point-to-point portals for rapid interstellar travel.
The advantage is, once you cross the threshold into space technology, you can reach this stage quickly. But the downside is it only allows travel between fixed points and requires building gates at the destination—not exactly convenient.
The other path is the hyperspace route.
By targeting a quantum window, you force open an entrance into hyperspace from the void and travel inside it.
Inside hyperspace, the speed of light doesn’t apply.
When you reach your destination, you open a quantum window again to exit hyperspace.
The upside is, you’re free to go anywhere you want—no limits at all.
The downside? This approach is much harder to develop and build. And on top of that…
Over the same distance, it’s actually slower than using space gates.
So both paths have pros and cons. Most civilizations at level five want to pursue both, but actually managing to succeed in both at that stage…
That’s exceedingly rare.
“If only the entire Federation Fleet could be outfitted with hyperspace engines.”
Andrei was the one who said it, but…
“You’re hoping for too much. The only reason we managed to build even one hyperspace engine is because…”
“The biggest hurdle—the hyperspace engine’s core component—we happened to already have. Even with all the technical data, optimistically, building a second one… that’ll take at least another hundred years.”
“Realistically, it’s still more practical in the short term to focus on developing warp tech.”
Lu Bo chimed in.
And that’s the cold, hard truth.
You can’t just build something because you have all the blueprints.
Take the degenerate matter with a density hundreds of times greater than that of electron degenerate matter—it’s simply beyond current human manufacturing.
Not to mention, that unknown civilization even managed to precisely shape this degenerate matter with intricate internal structures.
Even knowing how it’s done doesn’t mean humanity today…
Has any hope of replicating it.
It’s like dropping a set of modern industrial blueprints in the lap of people from 2,000 years ago and expecting them to build a jet engine.
Could they?
Maybe it’s not quite that extreme, but it’s not far off.
Until you solve each stage step-by-step, handing over the final answer doesn’t really mean anything.
Of course, there’s one thing Lu Bo left unsaid…
His outlook was the common consensus—before the Gene Enhancer was made available to everyone.
But after that, things got much less predictable.
There’s no doubt the timeline will shorten, but exactly how much shorter? At this stage, there’s no way to judge.
One thing is certain: ever since the Federation Fleet and the scientific community started using Gene Enhancers a few years back, the speed of every research project has shot up.
Take the hyperspace engine as an example—it was finished seven years ahead of schedule.
The Gene Enhancer didn’t just kick off a new era of evolution; it sparked another technological explosion for humanity.
“Lin Yu, all the data’s recorded. Ready for the next test.”
“0.22 light-years? If I did the math right, that’s about 3.82 hours, isn’t it?”
“Honestly, with a brain like yours, you should be in research… what a waste otherwise.”
Lu Bo let out a sigh.
He could work it out in his head too, but he’d at least need a second or two.
But Lin Yu…
He could calculate it in a flash, making it seem almost effortless.
“Bai Jun, set course for the space trade city at Alpha Centauri.”
“Yes, Commander. Inputting the coordinates now…”
——
It had already been over a year since the battle at Okka.
Before that fight, the King’s Army’s Royal Guard had already mobilized in full…
Now, battles on the outskirts of the inner circle had completely erupted.
Taking advantage of Tuoba’s absence, the Royal Guard managed to capture three star systems in the past year and destroyed seven border clans’ fleets—about 1,800 warships.
They reopened the crucial inner corridor that had once been cut off.
And gained far more strategic mobility.
This wasn’t good news for Tuoba’s forces. They had no choice but to call off their encirclement and regroup in a single star system.
It would still be a while before Tuoba could arrive, and scattered as they were, the border clans couldn’t stand up to the Royal Guard’s focused assaults.
Not even the stargates could help.
The numbers just weren’t in their favor.
A border clan fleet usually only had two to three hundred warships. The really big clans might have close to five hundred, but never more than that.
So even if two or three clans teamed up and relied on stargates for defense…
They still couldn’t fend off attacks from tens of thousands of enemy ships.
So, huddling together was their only shot.
But now, coming together like this… might it be…
A little too late?