Chapter 230: A Leap Beyond Light: The Federation’s Bold Frontier

Though neutron-degenerate matter is still a distant goal,

boosting density to ten thousand times that of electron-degenerate matter is already an outrageous breakthrough.

And it was achieved using the most challenging of the three known methods.

By harnessing the intense, localized pressure of antimatter annihilation, this feat was finally accomplished—a process Lin Yun dubbed Antimatter-catalyzed Compression.

The beauty of this method lies in the fact that while creating ultra-dense degenerate materials, their structure can be shaped and imprinted at the same time.

No need to process the material further after it’s created.

This skips an almost impossible step.

With the test vessel finished, the first trial began.

Starting in the Solar System and ending at Proxima, the journey spanned 4.22 light years.

Can you guess how long it took?

27 minutes and 51 seconds!

That’s right—in under half an hour, it traveled 4.22 light years.

Calculations reveal the next-generation hyperspace engine reached 80,000 times the speed of light.

If you figure out the flight time from Earth to the Large Magellanic Cloud at that pace, it’s about 744 days—just over two years and two weeks.

The travel time is still quite long, but now well within the realm of possibility.

News of this breakthrough rocked the high command of the Federation.

That’s right—the Federation now has the capability to reach the satellite galaxies of the Milky Way and establish subsidiary civilizations.

With this, the Federation will stand unshakable even against the cluster of level-four civilizations in the galaxy.

There’s just one question left…

Are there also level-four civilizations within those satellite galaxies?

But either way, there’s nothing stopping us from exploring.

According to Lin Yun’s report, while the new hyperspace engine has been successfully built, the Antimatter-catalyzed Compression technique is still limited to laboratory-scale production and can’t be mass produced yet.

As such, output of second-generation hyperspace engines will be restricted by this bottleneck.

Even if every lab gives it their all, yearly output is unlikely to exceed three hundred engines.

And this limitation isn’t something that can be solved anytime soon.

In other words, for a long stretch ahead, only around 300 second-gen hyperspace engines can be produced each year—mass deployment just isn’t possible.

But this isn’t a problem. The Federation doesn’t need a massive rollout—just a small contingent will do. In a few years, a combined fleet for exploration and small-scale emigration is all that’s required.

With this in mind, the leadership quickly met to discuss plans.

The plan was finalized in short order.

The Federation will spend the next five years assembling a 1,500-ship fleet.

That includes 100 battleships, 1,200 giant transport ships, and 200 emigrant vessels.

The target was set as well.

One of the Milky Way’s satellite galaxies—the Large Magellanic Cloud—163,000 light years away. Total journey estimated at 744 days.

As for the personnel…

After a round of high-level deliberations, Lin Yu once again found himself unwillingly volunteered for the post.

Mu Qingxue will be going too.

The two will serve as before—Lin Yu as fleet commander and head of military operations, Mu Qingxue as chief administrator.

She’ll handle emigration and construction of the new home upon arrival.

That said, the leadership still sought Lin Yu’s own opinion—after all…

The man is currently a warzone commander commanding a hundred thousand Federation warships. Assigning him to head the exploration fleet is almost like stripping him of his military power.

So Lin Yu’s response held a lot of weight.

If he refused, the Federation Fleet wouldn’t press it. Someone else would simply be chosen.

But if he agreed, the Federation Fleet would compensate him with the rank of admiral, and officially appoint him supreme commander of all military forces the Federation establishes in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

At first, Lin Yu’s command might shrink from a hundred thousand warships to just one hundred.

But over time, if the Large Magellanic Cloud prospers, it could be named a subsidiary civilization, granting Lin Yu extraordinary autonomy.

On the other hand, if he stays in the Milky Way and keeps commanding the Barrens War Zone,

he certainly keeps plenty of power, but under current conditions, breaking through any further would be all but impossible for decades.

So after a lot of consideration—and checking in with his wife Mu Qingxue—

Lin Yu agreed!

Without hesitation, the Federation Fleet’s top three called him straight to the Moon.

There, Lin Yu was formally promoted in a ceremony broadcast across the entire Federation.

It’s worth noting—Lin Yu’s popularity in the Federation is immense.

He’s become a household name.

By rank, he’s the warzone commander of one of the Federation’s two great warzones, a real general commanding one hundred thousand warships.

By achievements—he was the Federation Fleet’s greatest hero during the three-year war, and in every conflict since, he’s been either the driving force or the mind behind key strategies.

For someone like him to be promoted to admiral,

no one in the military or among the people had any objections.

In fact, most thought he should’ve received this honor long ago.

——

Promotion to admiral complete, Lin Yu wasted no time kicking off preparations.

Whether transferring his duties in the war zone or organizing the exploration and emigrant fleet, there was still a mountain of work ahead.

Meanwhile, at Lin Yu’s suggestion, command of the Barrens War Zone was handed over to Major General Ye Lingwei.

Ye Lingwei herself couldn’t help but joke…

Back when Mu Qingxue left, she ended up inheriting the fleet commander’s seat.

Now, with Lin Yu leaving, she’s picked up another promotion—now warzone commander.

But Lin Yu didn’t recommend Ye Lingwei just because they’re on good terms or because she and Mu Qingxue are best friends.

No, it’s because—

Ye Lingwei’s abilities truly are outstanding.

When it comes to fleet command, out of the whole Federation Fleet, Lin Yu says he’s second—no one dares claim first.

Even the legendary trio—the current three leaders of the Federation Fleet—can’t compare.

If Mu Qingxue hadn’t left the fleet, LIN Yu’s second-in-command would have surely been her.

Unfortunately, to stay with Lin Yu, Mu Qingxue resolutely left the military for politics.

While there’s still a gap between Ye Lingwei and Mu Qingxue, no one can deny—now that Mu Qingxue isn’t there, Ye Lingwei’s the strongest first-line commander after Lin Yu.

In Lin Yu’s eyes, she’s even better than Blair Fairchild.

Who’s Blair?

Once the Second Fleet’s commander, now head of the Yars War Zone, long hailed as the Federation’s most capable commander second only to Lin Yu.

But Lin Yu knows—the only reason Ye Lingwei didn’t surpass Blair back then was her lack of seniority and rank.

Otherwise…

Ye Lingwei would have been the obvious choice.

As for the Barrens War Zone…

With her in charge, Lin Yu can rest easy.