Another century has passed in the blink of an eye. During this century, the construction speed of the fleet has finally gradually increased. Combined with the number manufactured in the previous two centuries, three hundred years have passed in the JD3 Planetary System, and the number of Wind Master has increased to more than 20 million. It will definitely not be a problem to complete the remaining 30 million Wind Master in the next two centuries.
Hu Yu finally understood what it meant to have more people to get things done. The fleet's population had now reached 10 billion, and it was increasing by 2 billion every century. There were less than 200 million elderly people left in the fleet, and after being modified by gene drugs, their physical health was as strong and healthy as that of young people. The only difference was their appearance. Newborns could obtain gene drugs without contributing any contribution points, provided they reached adulthood.
With a population of 10 billion, aside from a few hundred million children and young people in education, the rest are the workforce. Everyone works hard for the development of the fleet and for their own survival in space. However, Hu Yu has also provided the people with a good enough environment and enough fleet contribution points. He has also arranged for a separate planet to manufacture various items for the people, including clothing, food, housing, transportation, and entertainment. All of these can be obtained by exchanging fleet contribution points. The only difference from the Earth era is that there is no longer a merchant profession in the fleet; all items are directly supplied by the fleet.
With people, many things can proceed smoothly. In order to deal with the defense of the Wind Star Civilization, Hu Yu brought back an old weapon from hundreds of years ago to the historical stage. This weapon can penetrate a 2-meter-thick steel plate at a speed of 2,000 meters per second. Now, launched through the electromagnetic rails of the fleet, the initial velocity can directly reach 50,000 meters per second. At the same time, the warhead has been improved to be suitable for the higher strength armor of today.
The Chong Element extracted from the insects fed by the Wind Star three hundred years ago quickly came in handy. This Chong Element was fused into the warhead of the armor-piercing projectile. The temperature could reach more than 20,000 degrees Celsius the moment it hit the enemy target, which could melt most metal materials. Even the current Wind Master, without activating their force field protection, could have their armor penetrated ten to twenty meters by this armor-piercing projectile, causing some damage to the Wind Master.
After multiple reconnaissances, Hu Yu confirmed that the Wind Star Civilization's space-based artillery and interstellar mines lacked warp drive capability and force field protection, making it feasible to attack them with this new type of armor-piercing projectile.
The more of these armor-piercing rounds, the better. They eliminate the need for a power system, tracking system, aiming system, and positioning system—everything is omitted, leaving only an alloy rod with some high-energy explosives embedded in the middle. If there's anything simpler than this, it's simply eating.
The Wind Star Civilization's defense perimeter spans a full light-year. If these space-based artillery batteries and interstellar mines are not cleared to create a path for the fleet to penetrate deeper, the fleet will be trapped within this three-dimensional defense network and annihilated one by one by the experienced Wind Star warships. Having a sufficient number of armor-piercing shells will greatly reduce the trouble for the fleet.
Just as Tree Man Ninety-Seven said, it is almost impossible for this kind of combat power to shake the Wind Star Civilization. Even if the Wind Star Civilization has no defensive perimeter, 50 million Wind Master would be like moths to a flame. In order to win this battle, we need to find other ways.
Three hundred years have passed, Academician Zeng and his group of physicists still haven't mastered the method to drive that Cepheid variable star. In recent years, the fleet's technology has made great progress. At least the speed of large ships like the Wind Master far exceeds that of the Stealth Killer, reaching a thousand times the speed of light. The even larger Deep Blue has reached 800 times the speed of light. Moving a planet the size of Earth can exceed 500 times the speed of light, and moving a star the size of the Sun can reach nearly 100 times the speed of light. This was unimaginable before.
Unfortunately, in the battle against the Sand Python Civilization, the entire Sand Python Fleet was reduced to elementary particles, and their technology to transport stars at 500 times the speed of light also disappeared into space along with the warships. This technology clearly belonged to the Small Star Sector Civilization that had instigated the Sand Python Civilization to attack humanity.
Cepheid variable stars are different from ordinary celestial bodies. They have extremely high density and are very strong at curving space. Although the Sun has a large mass, it is like an airplane on a runway that a strongman can pull. Cepheid variable stars, on the other hand, are like a car stuck in the mud. They have a much smaller mass than an airplane, but no matter how strong a strongman is, he cannot move them.
Academician Zeng and a group of scientists tried every possible method and performed countless calculations, but all to no avail. The energy of the Wind Master was too small, and its energy level could not reach the energy level of the Cepheid variable star. It was impossible to move the Cepheid variable star. In other words, the Cepheid variable star is like a large iron ball on a trampoline. If we want to move this iron ball, we need to place a heavier iron ball next to it, so that the trampoline goes deeper. The iron ball will naturally move towards the depth. Moving this heavier iron ball will move the iron ball representing the Cepheid variable star. This is the basic principle of moving celestial bodies.
Compared to the Wind Master, the Cepheid variable star is like a giant iron ball, while the Wind Master are like glass beads scattered on a spring bed. Only when such glass beads accumulate to a sufficient number can the giant iron ball be moved. Unfortunately, according to calculations by Academician Zeng and others, neither the Wind Star Civilization nor they themselves are far from having the number to move the Cepheid variable star.
"General, our current technology is still far from being able to drive Cepheid variable stars. This problem has been troubling us for 300 years. Over the years, Academician Liu Bo and I have tried all the possibilities, but we still have no answer. We believe that there is no shortcut to leveraging Cepheid variable stars; we can only rely on hard power." Academician Zeng found Hu Yu and said somewhat disheartenedly. This academician, whose age is fixed at 60, looked much older than his age.
"General, we have indeed done our best." The young, plump academician Liu Bo, who had grown up in the Tau Ceti era, also said with his head down. He is now a top figure in space physics, second only to Academician Zeng. They were exhausted after a problem had been troubling them for 300 years.
"Don't feel guilty. You've worked hard, and these past years have been tough on you. Perhaps I was too eager for quick results. It's indeed difficult for us to devour an established civilization."
"No, it's our incompetence. Our space physics department has over 20,000 people, and after 300 years we still haven't solved it. I've completely lost face."
"Please don't say that, academicians. How about this, you two take a month off, relax, and go out and see the world. Maybe you'll have some new inspiration. I know some things can't be achieved with time; a second of inspiration often surpasses a hundred years of painstaking thought. But, asking you to take a break is pointless. Academician Zeng, do you remember when we traveled through the Solar System during our Earth days?"
"I remember, how could I forget? Back then, you were just a junior commander, piloting your spaceship single-handedly, and you dared to jump nearly 20 astronomical units beyond the ecliptic plane."
"Two academicians, let's review this one more time today. It's been such a long, long time since I've gone out for a walk."