Chapter 194: Dawn of the Zero-Point Era

A whole month passed.

During that time, Lin Yun ran ten separate experiments extracting vacuum zero-point energy.

She successfully produced ten thousand sets of Zero-Point Modules.

But what does that really mean?

To put it simply, the Federation now has what it takes to build ten thousand Zhulong-class warships.

Or, say you just take a hundred of those modules—that alone would let every human in the Solar System forget about energy shortages for a thousand years.

Vacuum zero-point energy truly is that outrageous.

And from this moment on, humanity is stepping into an era of plug-and-play energy.

After all, each Zero-Point Module is basically like a battery. As long as there’s a compatible conversion base…

You just slide it in place, push it down, and you’re good to go.

Think of it as a massive, incredibly advanced power cell.

All in all, a single charging system can support the production of 120,000 Zero-Point Modules per year.

If that’s not enough, you can just build another system. No problem at all.

In fact, the Federation’s leadership immediately ordered a second set.

But not because they thought production wasn’t keeping up—honestly, that’s already more than humanity will ever need.

They’re building a backup just in case.

If the first setup fails or something unexpected happens, the second one can kick in right away and prevent any production shutdown.

Lin Yun left those logistics to others—she didn’t bother herself with it.

She had other plans.

She submitted proposals to the Federation for two brand-new projects that she wanted to run at the same time.

The higher-ups were caught completely off guard.

One was a warp technology project.

The other was for light transmission technology.

As for warp technology, the Federation had actually been looking into it for a while, spearheaded by the North American Research Institute.

Although cracking this tech always seemed to be ‘fifty years away,’ they did make incremental progress every year.

Why was Lin Yun dabbling with that instead of diving straight into hyperspace technology? The reason was simple.

When it came to this technology, it wasn’t about theory or a lack of expertise.

After all, the technical cube left behind by that unknown civilization already contained the full blueprints.

They knew exactly how to build it, but current human capability couldn’t pull it off. The problem?

It all came down to materials.

The core components needed degenerate matter, and the bare minimum required density was a hundred times that of electron-degenerate matter.

Right now, humanity just isn’t able to manufacture such substances—let alone engrave ultra-complex structures inside that material.

And yet, faster-than-light travel was desperately needed. Relying on the interstellar current was just too slow and inconvenient.

What about the Houyi?

Sure, it’s equipped with a hyperspace engine, but what can one warship really achieve on its own?

That’s why warp technology became humanity’s top priority—second only to finding new energy sources.

Now, as for the light transmission project…

That one really made the Federation’s leadership panic.

Because honestly, for most people, light transmission was about as plausible as time travel.

But Lin Yun had already accomplished so much—artificially synthesizing X Particles, developing the Gene Enhancer, quantum bombs, Zero-Point Modules, and vacuum zero-point energy extraction.

Every single project she’s touched has propelled humanity forward by leaps and bounds.

Under those circumstances, even though the North American Institute was already on the warp project and nobody believed light transmission was possible,

the leaders weren’t willing to risk upsetting her. So they greenlit both proposals anyway.

What’s a few hundred more personnel and enough resources to build a thousand Seawolf-class ships?

Given her past achievements, letting Lin Yun run another project felt like the least they could do.

Honestly, her value to the Federation dwarfed all those resources a hundred times over.

After a quick internal discussion, the Federation leadership gave the green light immediately.

They even pulled a few people off the warp project at the North American Institute and transferred them to the Far East First Research Institute to support Lin Yun.

Of course, the warp project’s director over there raised a fuss for days.

But unsurprisingly, it didn’t change anything.

——

Year 245 of the Federation.

Desolate Star Region.

Right now, Lin Yu was leading four fleets. Half the Sixth Fleet stayed at Proxima, while the rest—across dozens of warships—were surging forward.

In just eleven months, they’d leveled the entire front, seized over twenty star systems, and coordinated with both the Ziyang Empire and Xitoris Kingdom, forming a triumphant three-pronged push.

“What? They want me to go back to Earth’s sphere for an upgrade?”

“Lin Yun’s request?”

“Alright, I’ll handle things here and head out right away!”

As the overall commander, suddenly leaving the front lines feels a bit wrong, doesn’t it?

Normally, yeah—it’d be a terrible idea!

But honestly, with the way things stand, it’s not an issue at all.

There weren’t any Alliance fleets at the contact line to begin with, and even if the enemy’s civilizations managed to cobble together their own forces, they all just retreated instead of standing and fighting.

They knew full well sending their fleets to the contact zone now would be suicide.

So instead, they fell back to regroup with the larger Alliance force, planning to counterattack together later.

Which means…

Whether Lin Yu was personally present now didn’t make much difference.

There were no real battles left—just a relentless land grab.

So, for the Sixth Fleet, Lin Yu handed command over to George and told him to keep pushing ahead, snatching every territory they could.

And honestly, it’d been years since he last saw his daughter.

With the hyperspace engine, the trip back to Earth’s sphere would only take a little over a month.

Plus, if this upgrade didn’t have some kind of surprise in store, Fleet Headquarters probably wouldn’t have let him leave in the first place.

He couldn’t help but wonder what amazing thing his precious daughter had whipped up after the quantum bomb. Lin Yu was genuinely excited.

At the same time, he reached out to Mu Qingxue at Proxima to ask if she wanted to take some time off and join him to see Lin Yun on Earth.

Of course she agreed.

She also asked if Lin Feng could come along.

After all, the whole family hadn’t gathered in years. This trip would include both parents, Lin Feng, and Lin Yun.

Actually, Mu Xingchen could join too, couldn’t he?

It was a rare chance—why not bring everyone together?

Lin Yu obviously had no objections.

All it took was arranging for Lin Feng to get some leave.

And this time, Lin Yu decided to bring Su He along as well.

It was about time to settle Lin Feng and Su He’s engagement. If possible, he figured they could even handle the ceremony during their trip to Earth.

——

Three days later.

“Commander, Adjutant George’s shuttle has just taken off.”

“Understood. Bai Jun, fire up the hyperspace engine. Set course for Proxima Centauri V.”

“Yes, Commander!”

He made a quick adjustment to the ship’s nose, then the hyperspace engine roared to life. The massive Houyi slid seamlessly through the quantum gateway, vanishing into hyperspace.

Gone without a trace.