Chapter 301: Activate

The newest model of Energy Shield, which had taken the entire civilization’s scientific might centuries to develop, finally had its moment to shine!

In those centuries, the entire civilization’s educational focus had shifted for this one strategic goal. All other disciplines were neglected to varying degrees, and nearly all talent was funneled into fields related to the Energy Shield. A population of over one hundred billion, hundreds of millions of researchers pouring their life’s blood into the work—all for this: the Variable Energy Shield!

So much effort, so high a price—what was it all for?

It was all for this! To make a difference at this most critical juncture!

As long as they could block the humans’ Force Field Weapon, their fleet could return to defend their territory and quickly rebuild their industrial systems. Then, victory would still be theirs!

Facing this pivotal moment, not only Haimo Lan but all the high officials of their civilization aboard the Honor Spaceship were gritting their teeth, fists clenched tight.

Planet Two, ground control base.

Within the numerous biological Supercomputing Bases that had long been completed, 3.5 billion smart cockpits and 3.5 billion Clones were all in position.

Each biological Supercomputing Base covered one square kilometer and stood 50 stories high, capable of housing ten million smart cockpits and Clones. Li Qingsong had built a staggering 350 of these megastructures!

One after another, Clones from every direction—from factories, mines, and laboratories—converged on the biological Supercomputing Bases like rivers flowing into the sea. Without any guidance, they each found the seat that belonged to them.

The first thing each Clone did upon sitting in their smart cockpit was to precisely insert the nearby IV needle into the carotid artery in their neck, connect various devices, and then lie back quietly to wait.

Li Qingsong’s consciousness link would then instantly disconnect from them and connect to another Clone, repeating the process.

Now, at the biological Supercomputing Bases, all preparations were complete.

In space, beyond the one billion components required to activate the Unified Force Field, Li Qingsong had never slacked on their production and accumulation over the long years. As a result, the number of these components now stood at a full 1.6 billion.

1.6 billion components, all manufactured to the highest standards using the most advanced technology, were now positioned behind the battlefield, networked together in a location the enemy fleet absolutely could not reach.

Looking at the components, as vast as a sea of stars, a thought surfaced in Li Qingsong’s mind.

‘All these years, and this is all I managed to accumulate. Now, it’s all going to be used up in an instant…’

With that fleeting thought, Li Qingsong calmly issued the command.

In that instant, all the battlefield data collected from every manned and Unmanned Warship, every satellite, every Cannon Platform, and even every Missile and artillery shell, surged like a flood toward the Quantum Supercomputers and biological supercomputers.

But even before this, the IV lines connected to the Clones’ carotid arteries had already opened. A specially designed chemical solution created by Li Qingsong had been infused into the Clones’ circulatory systems, where it quickly broke through the blood-brain barrier to act upon their brains.

In that moment, every Clone’s brain began to operate with an unprecedented, frenzied intensity.

In that moment, Li Qingsong severed his connection to all other Clones.

Whether they were in the combat control base, on the spaceship assembly line, in the nuclear fusion plant, or in the Interstellar Mine production workshop—whether their post was critical or not, Li Qingsong disconnected from them all. He then extended every one of his consciousness links to the slightly more than 3.5 billion Clones in the biological Supercomputing Bases.

Data surged in like a tidal wave. In that instant, both the Quantum Supercomputers and the biological supercomputers simultaneously entered a state of maximum overload.

This state lasted only a few seconds before the entire calculation was complete. Then, in 350 biological Supercomputing Bases, the faces of over 3.5 billion Clones contorted in agony at the exact same time.

Fluids of all kinds streamed from every orifice of their bodies. And their hearts had stopped beating.

In space, a total of 1.6 billion components activated simultaneously, pushing themselves into an overloaded state. The next moment, they all violently exploded at almost the same instant.

Centuries of Li Qingsong’s hard work and accumulation turned to dust in a single moment.

The X and Y Bosons, generated by this overload and explosion, were created in that instant and shot toward the battlefield at near light speed.

They carried a wondrous power called the “Unified Force,” constantly breaking symmetry, constantly decaying, and through their interaction with matter, forcibly unleashing the energy from between quarks.

Instantly, a few unprotected pieces of warship debris exploded violently.

At the very instant the X and Y Bosons reached the battlefield, the Energy Shield generators on the Harville-Mechanical Calamity Alliance warships surged to power levels far beyond normal. The next moment, the pale yellow shields covering their hulls abruptly turned a brilliant blue, stubbornly blocking the external force—or weakening it, or neutralizing it—doing anything to keep it from affecting the physical ship within.

At that moment, the hearts of Haimo Lan and all the other high officials of the civilization leaped into their throats.

In that moment, people were so tense they even forgot to breathe.

Conference Room One was silent. Everyone’s gaze was drawn to the main screen like iron filings to a magnet, unable to look away for even a second.

That unique human Force Field Weapon had been activated. Its duration would not exceed four seconds.

Their own Variable Energy Shield had also activated automatically, with a duration of about ten seconds.

One second, two seconds…

Across the starry expanse, one brilliant blue “star” after another remained as stable as ever.

‘It worked. It worked! Just as we predicted, a higher-intensity Energy Shield can block this effect, and our Variable Energy Shield can indeed reach that required intensity!’

Watching the shields turn brilliant blue one by one, Li Qingsong felt no tension at all. Instead, he smiled calmly.

‘3.5 billion Clones, 1.6 billion components, centuries of my accumulated efforts…’

‘You think a mere Energy Shield can stop all that?’

The next moment, in the vastness of space, those brilliant blue stars went out one by one. In their place, points of light as bright as actual stars began to flare.

The endless chain of explosions, caused by the triggering of the Strong Core Force, had begun.