Back on Ipsilon, Domingo began to run a recruitment program for his own attack force. The last mission had cost him too many good men, and he needed to replenish his soldier count before he could start accepting new missions.
While Domingo was busy with his own business, Jiang Fei headed to the training room for a training session before Ottogackt returned to pick him up.
With thirty times Chrono-acceleration, Jiang Fei could train for a month while only a day passed out in the real world. In one month’s time, Jiang Fei’s physical strength was completely restored. However, the Core of Will was barely replenished.
In his previous use of the 10th Dimension, Jiang Fei had drained so much power from the Core of Will that it practically reached zero. Hence, before the core could recover, Jiang Fei was unable to use the power of the 10th Dimension as well as Omnisurge. That limited Jiang Fei to his current state of power with a combat level of 120,000. His domain ability was sealed, and he would lose to anyone else who had a higher combat level than 120,000.
“Please, leave me in peace,” Jiang Fei prayed hard. The longer he was left alone, the more power he could recover.
Two months passed for Jiang Fei, but it was only two days for Domingo. Due to his work, Domingo had left Jiang Fei unattended for two days, granting him close to two months alone to recuperate. Yet, in that time, the Core of Will recovered so little power that it was still not feasible to use Omnisurge; it was a cost too much to bear for dragging a planet-sized Ultralisk into the 10th Dimension.
“Captain, I bring good tidings!” said 0541 while Jiang Fei was sitting on the ground crossed-legged and meditating peacefully.
“What is it?” asked Jiang Fei, a little annoyed. He was a little sour because he was forced to meditate for two months, not doing anything other than focusing on recovering his energy.
“The result of the tests have returned. I finally know what that object is! Try and guess what it is,” said 0541 like an excited kid who had just picked up a mystery box.
“How would I know? An orange? A ball of white chocolate?” Jiang Fei murmured.
“Funny. Back to the topic, the object is just… Well, you were extremely lucky to have picked it up!”
“You are still beating around the bush. Get to the point!”
“Haha! That’s because the object is just too valuable!”
“How so?”
“It’s so valuable that no monetary value can be placed on it!”
Jiang Fei uncrossed his legs and stood up. 0541 had successfully piqued his interest.
“What is it? How can I use it?”
“Alright, it is a hyper-compress of a black hole, the power source of the black hole’s unparalleled gravity field! If an oyster were a black hole, then this point of singularity would be the pearl!” said 0541.
“Interesting,” said Jiang Fei as he withdrew the white pulsating ball and examined it in his palm.
“How could such a thing be valuable?” said Jiang Fei.
“It is rare as it is valuable. This Blackhole Core is so strong that nothing in the entire universe, known or unknown, can contain it! This core will only appear in the world after a black hole turns into a white hole and evaporates completely.”
“Mhm,” Jiang Fei hummed nonchalantly.
“The condition for a white hole to form from a black hole is extremely specific. The quantity and energy that a black hole needs to absorb are so huge that an entire civilization could never provide them! Plus, no one can know just how much the black hole needs to absorb before it evaporates via Hawking Radiation! To think that you managed to collect such a rarity!” 0541 barked.
“So? What’s the use of such a valuable treasure?” said Jiang Fei. If this object was from a white hole, it should be powerful.”
“I have no idea.”
“Come again?” Jiang Fei said.
“So far, I have no idea how it can be used.”
“So, you just wasted my time to explain its origins, not knowing how to use it?”
“Well… when you put it that way…”
Jiang Fei sighed. He did not know how to feel about the orb now since even 0541 did not know how to use it. He was not sure about its value as well!
“It’s true that I do not know how to use it right now. However, this is one of the scientific breakthroughs that scientists on planet Namek have tried to discover. It is hypothesized that a Black Hole Core can be used as a source for a perpetual energy generator. That’s why a consensus was reached to create an artificial black hole on Namek. The experiment was a failure and Namek was destroyed,” said 0541 without repeating what Jiang Fei already knew.
“Oof, so much for science,” Jiang Fei scoffed. Even though he felt no sympathy for the scientists of Namek, he did understand the reason for their actions. Even on Earth, power and energy had always been an issue. The same problem was shared with basically every other species throughout the universe. As long as a civilization thrived on technological advancement, it would always need energy. Its people may be able to travel faster than light, make time flow slower or faster, or manipulate space and time even, but power would always be a problem. Power, or unlimited power to be exact, had always been the final goal for any civilization.
The theory of a perpetual energy source and the existence of a Black Hole Core were constant topics of discussion amongst advanced scientists throughout the universe. However, even with various formulas and theories about the black hole, no one could predict how a black hole could become a white hole. Worst of all, not many had actually witnessed the event of a white hole spewing out matter and energy. While it was possible on paper, none had actually recorded such events.
Due to the fact that its existence was only a theory, no one could properly analyze its properties. 0541, with his logical thinking, could only shake his head when asked about the use of a Black Hole Core, but to be fair, no knew the answer.
“Do whatever you can with it and make haste!” said Jiang Fei.
“Aye, Captain.”
As he received his order, 0541 became quiet. Planned experiments to test the properties of a Black Hole Core would take up every possible processing power 0541 had. It was, after all, the Black Hole Core that every scientific mind coveted.
“Perpetual energy…” Jiang Fei murmured. The object may have been small and plain, but if 0541 was right, Jiang Fei might have actually stumbled across the greatest source of power in the universe.
To be honest, Jiang Fei did not mind if the Black Hole Core could not be a source of perpetual energy as long as it could provide him enough energy. With it, he could at least replenish the Core of Will quickly and restore his domain. Perhaps when he obtained his own ship, he could use the Black Hole Core as a source of power!
When his mind drifted to thoughts on the Core of Will, Jiang Fei felt a sudden chill throughout his body. Right then, he was exposed, vulnerable even. He was already afraid even when he had Omnisurge, and now, without it, how weak was he, then? Without Omnisurge, Jiang Fei could literally do nothing…
