One Reaper after another was destroyed. Thanks to proper planning, the Reaper quickly stretched the battle line to a distance of 50,000 kilometers from the neutron star, where the magnetic field instruments were already in operation, and the neutron star's matter was being converted into energy bit by bit.
Unlike the transformation of stars, when stellar matter is converted into pure energy, the volume of the star shrinks, but the energy is well preserved.
After the matter of a neutron star is converted into pure energy, the energy will continue to be compressed by the gravity of the neutron star. Compressing energy, like increasing energy density, will cause the energy sphere to exceed the critical point, break through to the fourth dimension, and disappear into three-dimensional space.
Magnetic field lines continuously sweep across the surface of the neutron star, causing it to shrink at a visible rate, much like a piece of fruit being peeled, its volume decreasing in concentric circles.
Finally, the neutron star's own gravity became insufficient to maintain its structure, and it began to expand rapidly from about 20 kilometers in diameter to 2 million kilometers. The matter at the farthest point had become gaseous, but the area 50,000 kilometers from the center remained solid. The Reaper and the insect swarm were embedded in the suddenly appearing matter and were completely unable to move. Even after the neutron star expanded, the matter was still quite dense, and no matter how strong the insects were, they could not dig through the matter tens of thousands of kilometers away in a short time.
After the neutron star expanded, it immediately underwent beta decay. Countless electrons were released from the neutrons, and powerful electric currents began to flow through the matter. Violent explosions echoed throughout the expanding neutron star. Some neutrons had already penetrated the insect's bio-armor and entered its body before decaying, where they decayed.
This situation is extremely terrifying, like a person whose entire body is covered in tumors. Even though the insects are special, they are still living organisms, and they all die before the neutron star can undergo a second explosion.
A dozen minutes later, the expanding neutron star exploded a second time, this time transforming it directly into a fundamental particle state. Its explosion was like lighting a beacon in the dark universe, and its energy would have spread throughout the entire galaxy had it not been for the obstruction of this Matter River.
This time, the fleet finally detected traces of spatial fluctuations. In the vast universe, the explosion of a sub-star would be like a towering wave in the ocean, but here it was like a small pebble thrown into a pond. The academicians still had many questions about this space, but they couldn't settle down to study it properly for the time being.
Most of the insects that died during the neutron multiplication process have disappeared. Without the support of energy, their armor has become much weaker. There are still hundreds of thousands of beetles that were unable to catch up with the Reaper and have survived by chance. But at this moment, they are all running around haphazardly to other parts of the Matter River, as if they have been greatly frightened.
The Reaper was completely unaffected by neutron multiplication. Protected by the Reversed State and anti-gravity, the Reaper only suffered a strong shockwave from the explosion. If it had been any closer to the explosion's epicenter, the Reaper might have been devastated.
The energy surge continued its advance, impacting the matter within the Matter River along its path. Given the abundance of the Matter River, this energy surge could not propagate outwards, and ultimately it could not become a beacon for the entire galaxy. It could only illuminate an area within one or two light-years, where everything else was submerged, obscuring its brilliance.
" Zhuge Xiong, we're safe." Chen Peng said with a sigh of relief.
"You're celebrating too soon. Before the neutron star exploded, we received a message from Bee sent six months ago: Li Shun's fleet had reached our location where we entered the Matter River, and it seemed they were preparing to enter the Matter River to capture us. Communication has been cut off, all information has been wiped clean, and we don't know their exact location."
"That Li Shun, of all times, he had to come to the Matter River. Once we get out of here, we'll have the general search the entire river system for Li Shun, tear him apart, and skin him alive!"
"I had the same thought. That Laozi doesn't appreciate the general's kindness in sparing their people's lives, and instead repeatedly attacks us. He's utterly ruthless and insane!"
The two men exchanged insults with Li Shun, while simultaneously devising a battle plan and an escape plan. The fleet's energy orbs were being replenished nearby, something the fleet desperately needed. Resources were abundant here, and the energy orbs were virtually inexhaustible for the fleet. Li Shun, meanwhile, was furious.
"Useless! A bunch of useless trash! 20 million red beetles couldn't even handle a fleet of 50,000 or 60,000, and were even wiped out! It's outrageous!"
"Your Majesty, Hu Yu and his forces are indeed too difficult to deal with. Their audacity in venturing deep into the Insect Zone with only 100,000 warships is truly admirable."
" Wei Kaiyuan, do you have any other plans? This time I must capture them and force them to join us. I just regret that I was too arrogant at the beginning, and with the old man keeping a close eye on us, now that they have grown stronger, our chances are even fewer."
With Li Shun was Wei Kaiyuan, one of the two people Hu Yu had rescued from near the Mu Star Civilization. The old man was now Li Shun's right-hand man. If Hu Yu saw this scene, he would definitely regret it. The person he had saved was now turning against him.
However, Wei Kaiyuan Wei Kaiyuan did not think so. On the contrary, he felt that everything was reasonable and that he felt it from the bottom of his heart. As for the life-saving grace, he had long since put it aside.
"Sir, although they have counterattacked and killed the Red Beetles, they must be exhausted by now. If we take advantage of their momentum and break in, we will definitely be able to capture them."
"No, our warships are no match for them. Their strange armor can easily withstand our space attacks. If we enter the Matter River now, all we can use are laser weapons and antimatter, while they can't. If we go in, we'll only be beaten."
"Your Majesty, if all else fails, summon the king of this region. He can certainly handle Hu Yu's fleet."
"Don't mention that beast. It won't come. None of this has anything to do with it. We've already sacrificed so much. If we call that beast here now, we'll be wiped out. Besides, it's afraid of this area. It absolutely won't come unless we pay a huge sum."
"Your Excellency, we explored two danger zones without finding anything. Now there's only one left. Hu Yu's fleet will definitely discover its special features. If they seize the opportunity and get that defense system, we'll suffer a huge loss."
"There's no need to worry about that. Even the Great Star Region Civilization didn't get anything after going in. We're just here to take a look. It's wishful thinking for Hu Yu and his group to think they can get anything."
"Your Majesty, I am powerless here. Our fleet's conventional sailing speed is not as fast as theirs, and we cannot use space attacks. It is indeed difficult to capture them in the Matter River. However, we can still send out a portion of our fleet to put some pressure on them. Perhaps we can even force them into a danger zone and make them never come out!" Wei Kaiyuan came up with a vicious plan.