Chapter 195: Nuclear Reactor
Chapter 195: Nuclear Reactor
The civilization that launched the satellite into space had also reached the stage of controlled nuclear fusion in its development of energy and propulsion.
Its technological level was indeed ahead of Caelum’s.
Fortunately, the gap was not enormous.
With one more major advance, that civilization might enter the age of interstellar colonization.
As for its first colony, Aquora was the obvious choice.
Why else would it send a satellite here?
Among all the planets in this system, Aquora possessed the richest water reserves and the most suitable environment for life.
Where else would they colonize?
After reading the report, Caelum felt a powerful sense of danger.
Using the satellite’s travel time as a reference, together with the increasing distance between Farstar and Aquora caused by their orbital movement around the sun, the scholars completed their calculations.
If a fleet from Farstar wanted to reach Aquora, the journey would take at least ten years.
In other words, Aquora had no less than ten years to develop.
If Aquora failed to master controlled nuclear fusion within that time, it could only wait to be crushed like a primitive civilization by the Farstar fleet.
It would be no different from how Caelum had crushed the expeditionary army.
Of course, this was a conservative estimate.
In reality, Farstar might not even send a fleet ten years from now.
Anything was possible.
Caelum chose to plan for the worst and most dangerous outcome.
No one knew whether Farstar truly possessed a fleet.
Nor did anyone know whether its civilization coveted Aquora.
Caelum had no way to determine any of that.
Even so, he disliked leaving his survival in another’s hands.
Whether Farstar held hostile intentions or not, he would prepare for war.
The universe was an enormous hunting ground.
Entrusting the future and survival of one’s civilization to uncertain mercy, while waiting for another civilization to arrive with peaceful intentions, was utter stupidity.
At least, if Caelum possessed an overwhelming technological advantage, he would choose the path that brought the greatest benefit.
He would not act as some messenger of peace.
This was the world of War and Conquest.
Without the resolve to become a hunter, one could only become prey.
That was the cruel nature of civilization.
Even a peaceful civilization needed enough strength to defend its peace.
Otherwise, its peace was nothing more than a joke.
Whether the opponent was another player faction or a civilization native to the game world made no difference.
Within ten years, Caelum intended to see whether he could strike Farstar first.
The threat from Farstar was drawing closer.
A profound sense of crisis swept through the federation.
Caelum had originally planned to continue developing steadily for some time.
The federation was too large to spread industrial production across its entire territory with ease.
But plans could not keep pace with change.
Since the threat from Farstar had become urgent, he had no choice but to revise his strategy.
Development in the other regions of the federation would slow for the time being.
Most available resources would instead be concentrated in one place.
Everything would be devoted to advancing the industry and technology of the Newhaven region.
It would become the most advanced scientific and industrial center in the federation.
The first priority was pushing the technology tree forward.
Caelum spoke.
"Expand enrollment at every academy. Center all efforts on Newhaven and concentrate the resources of the entire federation into developing this region."
"Increase the size of every research team and begin attacking the technical obstacles in each project as quickly as possible."
"Within ten years, I want the entire Newhaven region to enter a fully developed information age."
"Understood, Leader!"
After the meeting, the entire federation began operating at high speed according to Caelum’s plan.
Resources from across the eastern continent flowed continuously toward Newhaven.
The academies expanded.
Research groups were established one after another.
Factories rose from the ground in rapid succession.
The efficiency was astonishing.
The scale of coordination was immense.
The autonomous regions of the federation watched with growing fear.
The more deeply they came into contact with Newhaven’s technology and institutions, the more alarmed they became.
Once this terrifying giant began moving at full strength, any faction or individual that dared obstruct its development would be crushed without mercy.
The war on the western continent continued.
Yet everyone in the federation knew it was a war they could not lose.
The chance of any serious accident was almost nonexistent.
On the western continent, a new recruit company stood in perfect formation before the flag of the Steel Federation.
Ivy stood among them.
She raised her right fist and struck it against the left side of her chest.
Her eyes shone with resolve.
She swore loyalty to the federation and the Leader.
From that moment onward, she became a soldier of the federation.
"Loyal to the Federation!"
"Loyal to the Leader!"
Because Ivy surrendered early and provided the Federal Army with large amounts of useful intelligence, she received an exceptional promotion.
She became a squad captain within the new recruit company.
Comments streamed through her livestream.
"She looks incredible!"
"So cool!"
"Why does the atmosphere feel completely different now?"
After completing the oath, Ivy spoke eagerly to her viewers.
"The technology tree is advancing so quickly that I really want to see how far this civilization can go."
"Everyone, war correspondent Ivy will bring you the entire story."
"Maybe we are about to witness the birth of a magnificent epic."
Time passed quietly.
Three months later, the nuclear testing base was finally completed.
As a project of the highest secrecy, only a tiny number of people, including certain council members, knew of its existence.
Even most council members did not understand the full scope of the plan.
They only knew that Caelum was researching nuclear energy.
They did not know this project might allow the civilization of Aquora to achieve Ascension.
Everything within dozens of kilometers of the testing base had been declared a restricted zone.
Large numbers of soldiers and armed units guarded it both openly and in secret.
No one could force their way inside.
Within the base, Caelum stood outside the reactor.
He wore a radiation protection suit and looked at the boric acid pool before him.
A faint blue glow shimmered beneath the water.
His expression remained calm and unmoving.
Inside the control room, every worker carefully monitored the data.
They repeatedly checked the safety of the reactor facilities.
"Boric acid water ready."
"Control rods functioning normally."
"Nuclear fuel ready."
"All parameters within required limits."
"..."
The fuel rods contained uranium for fission.
They had been placed beneath the boric acid water, which could effectively absorb radiation released by the reactor.
This ensured the safety of the surrounding area.
Whenever they needed to slow or stop the fission process, the control rods could be inserted.
They would absorb large numbers of neutrons from the chain reaction and bring the fission process to a halt.
With so many layers of protection, Caelum should theoretically be safe.
"Leader, everything is ready."
"Good."
Caelum signaled them to begin.
Then he activated the technology tree.
[Energy and Nuclear Fission Accelerated Production]
The uranium inside the reactor immediately underwent fission and released an immense amount of energy.
[Energy and Nuclear Fission Production Complete]