After Lu Zhou obtained the data, he spent an entire day wrangling and analyzing the data. He wasn’t able to find any indication of a quark star.
“From the Calan Void Memory, we can infer that the advanced civilization that created the quark star, let’s call them the “Void” civilization, had mastered some kind of hyperspace technology, which allowed them to send matter and information at speeds faster than light.”
Lu Zhou closed his notebook and frowned. He spoke with a headache.
“But how is this possible?”
Traveling faster than light.
Even though this sounded easy, as seen in most science fiction movies, in reality, this was extremely difficult to achieve.
Unlike controllable fusion, which proved to be feasible by physicists decades ago, high-energy physicists couldn’t even imagine how to make objects move faster than the speed of light. It was impossible from every theoretical angle.
Theories regarding this could be traced to the end of the previous century.
In 1992, the famous scholar Professor Stephen Hawking proved using mathematical methods and general relativity, that if the bounded topological space structure changed, then a closed time-space curve could form.
Basically, due to general relativity, things like wormholes would violate the law of causality. (Interestingly enough, Einstein, the discoverer of the theory of relativity, supported wormhole theory and proposed that it is “a thin tube connecting space and time between distant areas of the universe.” This goes to show that even great minds can be wrong. After all, academia does not pander to authority, it merely seeks the truth.)
According to the Calanian Void Memory, their method of achieving faster than light navigation and communication was to use the gravitational forces between star systems. This meant that a natural hyperspace could be formed, allowing faster than light travel.
This was consistent with Einstein’s theories.
The specific physics principle behind this was not mentioned in the Void Memory. Lu Zhou had to make assumptions based on his knowledge and a small amount of information.
For example, a huge gravitational field can tear space to form a new dimension. Entering this dimension was how they achieved faster than light travel.
It was similar to playing checkers.
Even though the Calanian technology was advanced, the Calanians did not create a miracle; the miracle was the universe itself. At most, a group of smart people was able to apply their knowledge.
However, the “Void” civilization seemed different.
Lu Zhou understood why everyone in the parliament hall was panicking.
Not only did they create a quark star, but they also created their own hyperspace. This kind of technology was far beyond the Calanians’.
“… The problem is that, if the broadcast goes out to the entire universe at faster than light speed, surely it must be detectable on Earth?”
Maybe the broadcast had already ended?
Or maybe, like he initially had guessed, the Void memory regarding the Calanian Empire happened a long, long time ago.
Lu Zhou tapped his finger on the table. He shook his head and stuffed his notebook into his computer. He stood up, took out his phone, and called Wang Peng.
“Hello?”
“Send me to Jin University.”
“Roger that.”
…
A hundred thousand yuan of prize money.
This was a huge sum of money for a student.
Actually, not just for a student.
This was more than a year’s salary for the average worker in Jinling.
However, instead of thinking about this huge sum of money, Duan Siqi was more worried about something else.
His intuition told him that there were enormous business opportunities in the virtual reality space. He was just their first customer.
Even though he was just a lab rat doing this as a part-time job. Now that he had gotten a taste of the honey, he was unsatisfied.
Should I change my major?
He had this idea more than once.
In fact, in his spare time, he began to read books on programming, composition, and VR technology.
Even though learning these things took up a lot of his spare time. It made him unexpectedly happy.
Unlike mathematics, when he was learning these things, there wasn’t a roommate making him feel insecure. Even though learning these things did not help him do better in his exams, the accumulation of knowledge made him feel a sense of accomplishment.
One day, he was on his way to the library. Suddenly, someone stopped him and spoke to him.
“You’re… the player that passed the level?”
Duan Siqi stopped his steps and looked up.
When he saw the person in front of him, he was shocked.
The f*ck?
God Lu?!
This was like buying a bottle of water in a convenience store, only to run into Justin Bieber.
Actually, that probably would be more likely.
Even though Lu Zhou taught a number theory course at Jin Ling University, he had given less than a handful of lectures over the past year.
Duan Siqi was about to nod when he remembered his username. He suddenly felt embarrassed.
“It’s not what you think… I just randomly thought of that username, I’m not actually a fanboy—”
“It’s fine.” Lu Zhou waved his hand and said, “It doesn’t matter.”
Duan Siqi awkwardly nodded and spoke.
“Okay… Do you need anything from me?”
“Actually, nothing special. I just want to talk with you about the game… If you have time, I’d like to buy you a cup of coffee.”
“Of course.” Duan Siqi smiled and said, “What do you want to know?”
Oh my god.
This person is ten times more powerful than the university principal.
Even speaking to Lu Zhou would hugely benefit his career. There was no way he could let go of an opportunity to have coffee with him.
Lu Zhou looked at the student and smiled.
Even though he could see Duan Siqi trying to hide his nervousness, he saw right through the kid.
He spoke in an easy-going manner.
“I know a good cafe outside the school. Someone used to take me there when I was a student… Let’s go.”
When Lu Zhou turned around, Duan Siqi quickly followed him.
Along the way, the two chatted with each other. They only talked about the game. Duan Siqi did not expect this at all. On one hand, he didn’t expect Academician Lu to be so approachable, and on the other, he didn’t expect them to click so well.
Due to the gap in status and power, he nearly forgot that Lu Zhou was actually not that much older than him…
“What do you think about the game?”
“It’s too difficult. There are no checkpoints, and it takes dozens of attempts to pass. It’s borderline psychotic.”
Duan Siqi thought about what happened in the game and shuddered.
He played the drone part at least 20 times. The only reason he passed was that his timing was down to the second, and his position was perfect.
Lu Zhou nodded.
If this game wasn’t this difficult, he could have passed it himself. As opposed to forming a task force.
“What about the other aspects?”
Duan Siqi contemplated for a second and said, “I think the world can be expanded. I’m not interested in the ring world, I’m more interested in the other planets… I feel like if the world is expanded, like EVE Online, it will stand out more.”
Lu Zhou nodded.
“I’ll tell the product manager that… I’m more curious about your thoughts on the storyline.”
Duan Siqi said, “Storyline?”
“Yeah…” Lu Zhou nodded and said, “Aren’t you curious about the Oracle and the natural disaster?”
“I mean all games have something similar…” Duan Siqi scratched his head and said, “I was a little curious, but the story got cut off, it was a little annoying.”
Lu Zhou: “… Judging from what you know about the game, what do you think the natural disaster might be?”
“Maybe a disaster that sweeps the entire universe. An out-of-control AI? But I feel like that level of threat isn’t high enough… Sorry, I don’t have a good imagination. Can you tell me what happens?”
Lu Zhou looked at the curious student and smiled.
“Unfortunately, the storyline was written by an AI. The story is still being written; I don’t even know what happens next. You’ll just have to wait and see.”
“It’s still being written…” Duan Siqi said. He looked disappointed and said, “I suggest you change this game into an online game. Maybe expand the degree of freedom. The game should end when they reach the Empire building. When the alien scholar was captured, I thought I would have to rescue him, but then the game ended. I think there should be an open-world mode after the main storyline, right?”
Lu Zhou noticed something unusual. He frowned and spoke.
“It ended?”
“Yeah…” Duan Siqi looked at him and said, “Don’t you know?”
Lu Zhou: “… The player follows Captain Ince back to the military station and hands over his equipment. Did you not unlock the open world mode?”
“What station?” Duan Siqi was muddled. He looked at Lu Zhou and said, “Doesn’t the screen turn black?”
Lu Zhou: “You didn’t inherit Professor Lane’s assets?”
Duan Siqi: “…???”
Lu Zhou looked at the confused student and instantly realized what was going on.
When they arrived at the parliament hall building, Lu Zhou made a conscious effort to talk with Professor Lane. Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t have inherited Professor Lane’s assets.
Does this mean that the ending I saw is the true ending?
Lu Zhou had a weird look on his face.
And I’m the only one that saw it?
Does this mean I’m the better gamer?
Duan Siqi looked at Lu Zhou and nervously said, “Did I… not pass the game?”
Is he going to take back my bonus money?
Even though he wanted to ask this question, he decided not to.
When Lu Zhou heard this, he paused for a second and smiled.
“No, it’s fine, forget about it.”
Lu Zhou changed the conversation.
“I want to know what you want to experience next.”
When Duan Siqi heard this, his eyes lit up.
“How about the Matrix? It’s a science fiction classic! It’s perfect for virtual reality.”
“The Matrix? Sounds interesting,” Lu Zhou said, “I’ll tell the engineers at the institute…”
