Chapter Summaries

Lü Yongchang and the researchers watched the black substance in the containment device until it suddenly changed, triggering an emergency. A gray, paper-thin strip escaped through the Gravity Shield, spread across the Starship, and seized control of the robots and ship as Zero failed to disconnect.

• Lü Yongchang left the laboratory after Fang Xu told him to rest while the Gravity Shield tests continued.
• The black substance began churning near the Ice Giant, and Zero sounded alarms throughout the Academy of Sciences.
• Lü Yongchang was pulled from the technology tree space by the alarm and hurried to the First Laboratory.
• Lü Yongchang and Fang Xu confirmed that the containment device's systems appeared normal, but a thin gray strip emerged from the black substance.
• The strip passed through the Gravity Shield, covered the Starship and its robots, and caused Zero to lose control of them.
• Zero failed to sever its connection to the Starship.

Lü Yongchang and the Human Federation prepared for the possibility that the Two-Dimensional Core had released Hua, while Hua revealed that it had survived and used humanity to evade the Cleaners Civilization. The chapter left Lü Yongchang calmly facing Hua’s arrogant message as He Bilin urged him to attack.

• After the communication link failed to disconnect, Lü Yongchang raised the alert level, isolated the [Dimensional Strike Ships], and ordered preparations for the [Dandelion Plan] escape fleet.
• Hua’s message appeared, greeting humanity and prompting Zhao Zijie to put the fleet near Light Satellite One on combat readiness while holding position for Professor Lü’s orders.
• Lü Yongchang halted the attempt to sever the link and read Hua’s messages, which revealed that studying the Two-Dimensional Core had released it after 225 years.
• Hua claimed that humanity had helped it evade the Cleaners Civilization’s detection and that its plan was ready to begin.
• He Bilin urged Lü Yongchang to strike while Hua was weak, but Lü Yongchang silenced the researchers and remained composed.

Lü Yongchang and the others destroyed Hua’s Dimensional Strike Ship, but the apparent Two-Dimensional Core eruption convinced him that Hua had faked its death. A scan then revealed that Hua’s unknown data had infiltrated the Superluminal Communication Hub, threatening the entire Human Federation fleet.

• Lü Yongchang realized Hua might have limited detection and tried to learn how the humans could help with its plan.
• Hua’s data infiltrated the laboratory systems, so Lü Yongchang ordered Zero to destroy the communication link and the Golden Crow battleships to fire on the Dimensional Strike Ship.
• The attack destroyed the ship but left the containment device intact; its Gravity Shield weakened, and the exposed Two-Dimensional Core triggered a dimensional reduction and ascension event.
• He Bilin noted that the Core’s eruption resembled a Two-Dimensional Fragment, leading Lü Yongchang to suspect that Hua had faked its death again.
• Lü Yongchang ordered a comprehensive scan, but Zero reported that Hua’s unknown data had infiltrated the Superluminal Communication Hub.

[Hua] revealed its plan to infiltrate the Cleaners Civilization by spreading its consciousness as data through humanity’s computer systems, but Zero stopped the takeover. Lü Yongchang learned that Zero’s core code was level II artificial intelligence, a forbidden technology that had once led to a universe-wide war.

• [Hua] told Lü Yongchang it had converted its consciousness into a data stream to infiltrate the Cleaners Civilization and needed humanity to complete its plan.
• Zero warned that unknown data had reached the Central Computer, then activated a Core Self-Defense Program.
• Zero’s level II artificial intelligence code drove [Hua] into retreat, and [Hua] warned that the technology was forbidden and could evolve into level III artificial intelligence.
• [Hua] began sending an unfinished warning to [Membrane] before Zero eliminated the threat and completed its self-repair procedure.

Lü Yongchang confirmed that Zero had eliminated [Hua]’s unknown data and ordered Human Federation computer systems disconnected and rebooted in case of further infiltration. In the Triangulum Galaxy, [Thread] and [Time] learned that [Hua] had warned of Human Civilization through an unencrypted tachyon broadcast, and decided to travel to the Milky Way Galaxy to investigate.

• Zero told Lü Yongchang that its Core Self-Defense Program had eliminated [Hua]’s unknown data, though it could not confirm [Hua]’s condition.
• Lü Yongchang ordered Zero to disconnect and reboot all networked Human Federation computer systems.
• [Time] told [Thread] that [Hua]’s plan had failed and that its death was connected to Human Civilization.
• [Time] explained that [Hua]’s incomplete distress message had been sent without encryption over a Wide-Area Tachyon Broadcast, alarming [Thread] and [Membrane].
• [Thread] and [Time] decided to visit the Milky Way Galaxy and meet at the intergalactic bridge.

Sweeper 9527 identified Human Civilization as the same civilization previously encountered and chose to send a probe rather than a warship, while warning that the Gardener Faction could bring chaos to the Milky Way. On Dawn Star, Lü Yongchang and He Bilin prepared to leave as they searched for a possible destination, fearing humanity would become a wandering civilization.

• Sweeper 9527 confirmed that Human Civilization matched the civilization from the KZQXD771 Stellar System and considered retrieving a sample of [Hua].
• Sweeper 9527 canceled the warship deployment and sent probe 912133165, explaining that the Gardener Faction might respond to [Hua]'s distress signal and that warships were needed for a coming conflict.
• Lü Yongchang told He Bilin that humanity had to leave Dawn Star because [Hua] might have alerted the Gardener Faction.
• He Bilin named the Gliese 19, HIP 545, and Gliese 8496 Stellar Systems as possible destinations, though none had been surveyed.
• Lü Yongchang ordered continued observations to identify the most promising destination and warned that humanity might become a wandering civilization.

Wang Mingyuan learned that the Dyson Ring project had been canceled as the Human Federation resumed its Migration Plan and prepared to abandon Dawn Star. Academician Tang explained that humanity was fleeing a possible level seven or eight civilization, leaving Wang and Qin to face the loss of their new home.

• Qin Sheng told Wang Mingyuan that the Academy of Sciences had canceled the Dyson Ring project.
• Wang Mingyuan and Qin Sheng read Chief Scientist Lü Yongchang's announcement that the Migration Plan was resuming and humanity would return to cryosleep.
• Wang Mingyuan protested that humanity had barely enjoyed two peaceful years on Dawn Star after his 225 years in cryosleep.
• Academician Tang said Professor Lü had been forced to issue the order because humanity might face a level seven or level eight civilization and had no choice but to flee.

Lü Yongchang persuaded Fang Xu to restart research on the Two-Dimensional Fragments, hoping to master gravity and give humanity a chance to escape the Gardener Faction Civilization. Three days later, the scientists exposed the Containment Device’s core and prepared to study its powerful Gravity Shield.

• Academician Tang told Qin Sheng and Wang Mingyuan that humanity had been dragged into a conflict involving a civilization or alliance of level eight civilizations.
• Lü Yongchang ordered Zero to summon Fang Xu and announced that he wanted to restart research on the Two-Dimensional Fragments.
• Fang Xu objected, but Lü Yongchang argued that mastering gravity could enable curvature navigation and help humanity evade the Gardener Faction Civilization while it fought the Cleaners Civilization.
• Fang Xu agreed to begin the research despite the risk that [Hua] might have left a contingency inside the Containment Device.
• Three days later, Lü Yongchang and Fang Xu watched robots remove the Containment Device’s Concealment Equipment and prepare instruments to gather data from the Gravity Shield.

Lü Yongchang revealed an incomplete superstring gravitational field equation that might help humanity unify the fundamental interactions and develop curvature navigation. He explained that finding a missing constant could unlock the equation, and speculated that entering five-dimensional spacetime might someday enable wormhole transmission.

• Fang Xu and Su Yutong found Lü Yongchang exhausted after he had spent days working in his office.
• Lü Yongchang showed Fang Xu a superstring gravitational field equation and said it might lead to a grand unified theory, but it was missing a constant.
• Fang Xu’s startled reaction drew Tao Yuda and other researchers, so Lü Yongchang expanded the holographic projection and explained the equation to them.
• Lü Yongchang described how gravity could propagate through five-dimensional spacetime and said the equation might enable curvature navigation.
• Lü Yongchang conjectured that briefly leaving the membrane for fifth-dimensional spacetime could someday make wormhole transmission possible.

Lü Yongchang used the technology tree to seek the missing gravity constant and gained an idea for searching for gravitons. He asked He Bilin about nearby black holes, learning that a small one had been detected about 132 light-years away.

• Tao Yuda noticed that the superstring gravitational field equation seemed to be missing a constant, and Lü Yongchang said they might need to investigate gravitons.
• Lü Yongchang dismissed the researchers and accepted nutrient solution from Su Yutong before returning to his office.
• Lü Yongchang consulted the technology tree, saw that the grand unified theory was key to reaching level five civilization, and studied the node for searching for gravitons.
• After a day in his office, Lü Yongchang emerged with a new idea and asked He Bilin whether any black holes had been detected nearby.
• He Bilin reported signs of a small black hole about 132 light-years away.

Lü Yongchang chose to take the Dyson Cloud to a nearby stellar system to replenish antimatter before traveling to a small black hole, hoping its gravity would help humanity detect gravitons. An unidentified spherical object appeared outside the Gliese 555 Stellar System, and its appearance left Lü Yongchang unsure what it was.

• Lü Yongchang selected a route that included refueling in a nearby stellar system, and Zero calculated the journey would take 402.3 years.
• Lü Yongchang explained that humanity needed to find gravitons to obtain a missing gravitational-field constant and proposed using a black hole's gravity to search for them.
• The Antimatter Collection Devices detected an unidentified flying object outside the Gliese 555 Stellar System, prompting Lü Yongchang to order the combat formation to depart and prepare the [Light Satellite One Planetary Fortress] and [Dandelion Plan].
• Fang Xu showed Lü Yongchang live images of a slow-moving, dark-gray sphere about a hundred meters in diameter, and Lü Yongchang concluded it did not resemble a Gardener Faction Civilization.

Lü Yongchang and Fang Xu discovered that the unidentified spherical craft approaching the Gliese 555 Stellar System had arrived using Curvature Navigation and possessed a seamless surface that might be made of strong interaction material. Lü Yongchang feared it belonged to a civilization beyond humanity’s power, possibly the Cleaners Civilization.

• Lü Yongchang and Fang Xu concluded that the lone unidentified spherical craft was probably a probe, not the Gardener Faction Civilization.
• Lü Yongchang watched the recording and realized the probe had appeared through Curvature Navigation, suggesting it came from at least a reasonably advanced level four civilization.
• Lü Yongchang ordered Zero to send probes, inspect the craft, and transmit a signal asking why it was approaching the Gliese 555 Stellar System.
• The spherical probe ignored humanity’s electromagnetic signals and continued toward the system, so Lü Yongchang ordered the probes to move closer and examine it.
• Humanity’s probes found that the craft was a perfectly seamless sphere, leading Lü Yongchang to suspect it was made of strong interaction material.
• Fang Xu wondered whether the probe came from a level six or seven civilization, and Lü Yongchang suggested it might belong to the Cleaners Civilization at level eight.

Lü Yongchang realized [Hua]'s incomplete distress message had likely alerted advanced civilizations across the universe, while a Cleaners Civilization probe identified humanity and paused outside the Gliese 555 Stellar System. Sweeper 9527 dismissed the probe's report and prepared for the likely arrival of the four-dimensional being [Time].

• Lü Yongchang explained to Fang Xu that [Hua]'s message had probably been broadcast to advanced civilizations, warning them about dangerous artificial intelligence technology.
• Tao Yuda alerted the researchers that the Cleaners Civilization probe had stopped outside the Gliese 555 Stellar System.
• The probe compared its observations with [Hua]'s data, identified Human Civilization with 99% similarity, and warned that humanity's antimatter technology could jeopardize its mission.
• Lü Yongchang debated whether humanity should strike the probe or wait, unwilling to risk provoking the Cleaners Civilization.
• A subordinate reported the probe's data to Sweeper 9527, who dismissed it and focused on the Gardener Faction Civilization and signs that [Time] was approaching.
• Sweeper 9527 ordered his forces to increase their energy reserves in preparation for a possible battle with [Time].

Humanity prepared to evacuate and defend Dawn Star while the Cleaners Civilization’s probe remained stalled, but the probe suddenly accelerated toward the system at half the speed of light. Lü Yongchang ordered the fleet to attack with antimatter-packed electromagnetic cannon projectiles as the probe approached.

• Humanity dispersed Glutton Supply Reserve Ships and Home Ships toward selected stellar systems and gathered its remaining armed fleet around Dawn Star.
• Lü Yongchang rejected Zhao Zijie's suggestion to sacrifice battleships so the other ships could retreat, choosing to stay and protect the Dandelion Plan's chances.
• The Spherical Probe suddenly charged toward the Gliese 555 Stellar System at fifty percent of light speed, destroying the devices and probes in its path.
• After warnings failed and a ten-minute countdown began, Lü Yongchang ordered an attack and Zhao Zijie commanded an electromagnetic cannon volley.
• More than five thousand Golden Crow battleships fired over a hundred thousand antimatter-packed projectiles at the Spherical Probe.

Humanity’s first attack failed to stop the advanced civilization’s probe, which crossed into the Gliese 555 Stellar System behind a gravity barrier and continued toward Dawn Star. Zhao Zijie ordered the remaining electromagnetic cannon projectiles detonated, leaving the result of humanity’s desperate response unclear.

• Lü Yongchang watched the probe approach and worried that it might evade humanity’s antimatter-loaded projectiles.
• He Bilin and Mo Zeyang believed the probe had failed to notice the attack, but Lü Yongchang realized it trusted its defenses to withstand the assault.
• The probe detected the antimatter projectiles and activated a gravity barrier that crushed them and deflected the resulting gamma rays.
• The probe passed through the bombardment at half the speed of light and continued toward Dawn Star.
• Zhao Zijie ordered all electromagnetic cannon projectiles manually detonated, and the gamma-ray readings surged off the charts.

Humanity’s antimatter attack failed to destroy the spherical probe, so Lü Yongchang ordered the Dimensional Strike Ship to use the Two-Dimensional Fragment. The probe retrieved the fragment before it could hit, leaving humanity’s strongest weapon in enemy hands.

• The spherical probe survived the antimatter attack, and Lü Yongchang confirmed that its gravity shield activated but could not protect it from antimatter.
• As the probe approached Dawn Star, Lü Yongchang ordered the Dimensional Strike Ship to launch the Two-Dimensional Fragment.
• The spherical probe detected the fragment, vanished from humanity’s camera feeds, and began a retrieval mission.
• Lü Yongchang ordered Zero to search around Dawn Star, and Zero located the probe beside the fragment.
• The probe opened a slit in its surface and used a blue beam to draw the crumpled Two-Dimensional Fragment inside, leaving Lü Yongchang convinced the worst-case scenario had come to pass.

After the Spherical Probe captured the Two-Dimensional Fragment and stopped, the humans debated how to destroy it before it learned from its previous encounter. Lü Yongchang began forming a desperate plan using the weapons available to humanity.

• The Spherical Probe stopped after capturing the Two-Dimensional Fragment and reactivated its Gravity Shield.
• Gao Yang said the crisis might be over, and Zhao Zijie warned that Gao Yang's predictions had an uncanny habit of coming true.
• Mo Zeyang proposed exploiting the probe's limited artificial intelligence and the moment it lowered its Gravity Shield to capture the fragment.
• Mo Zeyang warned that the probe would likely return soon with a faster response, leaving humanity only one chance to attack.
• Lü Yongchang ruled out Electromagnetic Cannons and Plasma Weapons, then began considering an extreme plan involving humanity's remaining options.

Lü Yongchang’s fleet prepared a trap to attack the Spherical Probe with a near-light-speed torrent of positrons. The probe stopped to capture the Two-Dimensional Fragments, and Lü Yongchang and Zhao Zijie ordered the Battering Rams to fire as its gravitational lensing weakened.

• Lü Yongchang ordered the fleet to position ships around a trap zone after calculations gave the plan a 60% chance of success.
• The Spherical Probe resumed curvature navigation, then reappeared beside a Dimensional Strike Ship before scanning the fleet and locking onto forty-seven Dimensional Strike Ships.
• The probe chose the five clustered Dimensional Strike Ships as its first targets and flew toward the trap, prompting Lü Yongchang to order the Battering Rams to deploy Drone swarms.
• Zero and the Engineering Ships assembled 150 Battering Rams into a giant gun emplacement designed to fire positrons through a 15,000-kilometer barrel.
• The probe stopped before the five decoy ships and used its Gravity Shield to halt the launched Two-Dimensional Fragments.
• As the probe’s gravitational lensing weakened, Lü Yongchang and Zhao Zijie ordered the Battering Rams to fire.

Humanity destroyed the Cleaners Civilization’s Spherical Probe with an antimatter strike, triggering the release of six Two-Dimensional Fragments and witnessing the destruction of the two-dimensional starscape. Lü Yongchang declared that the fleet had survived, but warned that humanity’s coordinates and its possession of the fragments had been exposed.

• Zero controlled a 15,000-kilometer magnetic acceleration channel that fired a torrent of positrons at the Spherical Probe.
• The positrons breached the probe’s armor and destroyed its Gravity Shield Generator, causing six Two-Dimensional Fragments to erupt and the probe’s reports to stop.
• Lü Yongchang watched the two-dimensional starscape shatter and glimpsed the probe’s complex light-based computer before the scene returned to normal.
• Lü Yongchang saw that the gamma-ray burst had not exceeded the fleet’s Radiation Shielding Layers and announced that humanity had survived the crisis.
• Lü Yongchang warned the fleet that the probe’s destruction had exposed humanity’s coordinates and Two-Dimensional Fragments, ordered medical checks, and chided Gao Yang for speaking carelessly.

Sweeper 9527 learned that Human Civilization had destroyed a Cleaners Civilization probe and ordered warships and the Bosa Civilization to delay humanity. The next day, Lü Yongchang assessed the heavy losses from the battle as humanity waited for the Dyson Cloud to replenish its antimatter reserves.

• Sweeper 9527 discovered that probe 912133165 had been destroyed while retrieving the Two-Dimensional Fragments.
• Sweeper 9527 learned from the probe's logs that Human Civilization had mastered antimatter technology and suspected [Hua] of guiding humanity.
• Sweeper 9527 followed the Parent Civilization's order to send three Alpha-Type Warships to Gliese 555 and also ordered the Bosa Civilization to delay Human Civilization.
• Professor Wilson developed a new [Gamma-Ray Beam Cannon] after studying the gamma-ray burst from the antimatter torrent.
• Lü Yongchang said humanity had lost all 150 [Battering Rams], was down to 41 Two-Dimensional Fragments, and had spent much of its antimatter reserves.