Rebirth of the Super Battleship-Chapter 113: A New Star

All surviving Luka individuals were placed in cryostasis by Xiao Yu. In this upheaval, several hundred Luka people perished as the black cells, mutated under the mental influence of the Beast Civilization creature, grew larger and eventually consumed their bodies. These bodies were entirely transformed into bizarre black spheres that roamed the ships.

Fortunately, these strange spheres were not particularly formidable in combat—only slightly faster, stronger, and sharper-toothed than normal beings. Against laser cannons, they posed no significant threat.

Most of these spheres were eliminated by Xiao Yu’s robots, while a small portion was captured for experimentation in hopes of discovering a cure for the afflicted Luka individuals.

Xiao Yu couldn’t sit idly by and allow the Luka people to die. The Luka people had made significant contributions to him, contributions Xiao Yu deeply valued. Losing such a vital ally was unacceptable to him.

“Rest well. Leave dealing with this Beast Civilization creature to me,” Xiao Yu sighed. “As long as I survive, I will find a way to save you.”

The angrier Xiao Yu became, the calmer his demeanor grew. He quietly observed the white dwarf, meticulously monitoring the creature’s movements.

“It seems this beast is tired,” Xiao Yu noted. Using advanced optical instruments and various other technologies, he saw that after several days of furious rampaging, the creature now lay motionless on the white dwarf, seemingly resting.

During its days of leaping and crashing against the white dwarf’s surface, the creature had created thousands of craters. However, these craters lasted only a few seconds before being erased by the white dwarf’s immense gravitational pull.

Now, the white dwarf’s surface was as smooth as ever, save for the chaotic stellar material from its companion star.

Xiao Yu gazed at the beast lying on the white dwarf, staring silently at the sky, and began to ponder.

“It has been imprisoned on this white dwarf for over 300,000 years. It’s unlikely to escape anytime soon. This gives me ample time to find a way to deal with it. During this period, my primary concern is its mind interference attacks.”

“With the pre-set multiple-choice program, I’m 80% confident I can resist its mental influence.”

“So… how can I destroy it?”

The creature, standing hundreds of kilometers tall with hands tens of kilometers wide, could leap tens of thousands of kilometers off the white dwarf. It could survive the hostile environment of the white dwarf’s surface and endure impacts at thousands of kilometers per second without a scratch. All these data points underscored its terrifying strength.

Xiao Yu began inventorying his arsenal.

“Gravitational bombs won’t work… hydrogen bombs won’t work… laser cannons won’t work… kinetic weapons are out of the question.”

Xiao Yu reluctantly realized that none of his current weapons could inflict even the slightest harm on the creature.

“From what I know, Level 4 Civilizations master the Grand Unified Theory and use various force field weapons for attack. Yet, force field weapons appear ineffective against it. By the standards of equivalent technological and Beast Civilization combat strengths, this beast must be at least a Level 5 Beast Civilization entity. Realistically, it’s likely higher.”

A Level 4 Civilization couldn’t harm it; a Level 5 Civilization might inflict minimal damage. At least a Level 6 Civilization would be needed to confront this beast effectively.

This conclusion left Xiao Yu feeling helpless.

“Does this mean I have to slowly develop my technology here until it’s advanced enough to kill it? Who knows how many years that might take?” Xiao Yu thought bitterly.

Xiao Yu had considered escaping, but for several reasons, he abandoned the idea.

The reason was simple: even now, at a distance of over one light-year from the creature, he could still be influenced by its mind control. Furthermore, as Luka Two had mentioned, a Level 4 Civilization fleet had once encountered its mental interference while merely passing through the Aquila Nebula. Their distance must have been far greater than one light-year.

Xiao Yu assessed the situation and concluded that the entire Aquila Nebula was unsafe. To escape safely, he would need to leave the nebula altogether. However, the nearest star system beyond the Aquila Nebula was fifty light-years away.

Fifty light-years! It would take Xiao Yu 1,500 years of travel time to reach it. If he were to spend that much time traveling, he might as well stay in the Aquila Nebula and work toward a solution to eliminate the creature.

Fleeing wasn’t feasible, and coexistence was out of the question. After all, “How could I tolerate someone snoring beside my bed?”

Moreover, this wasn’t mere snoring—this colossal beast posed a constant threat. Guarding against it indefinitely was unsustainable, as the saying goes, “You can’t guard against a thief every single day.”

The situation had reached an impasse.

“With my current level of technology, it’s impossible to destroy it. That leaves seeking external aid… but here, no intelligent being can help me. The only viable option is to seek assistance from the natural environment,” Xiao Yu thought.

When the phrase “natural environment” flashed through his mind, it was as if a bolt of lightning had struck him. His spirit stirred.

“I’ve found a way!”

Data on the Aquila Two Binary System began flowing through Xiao Yu’s mind again.

“This binary system consists of two stars—a white dwarf and a red dwarf—separated by ten million kilometers. The red dwarf supplies 17 million tons of material per second to the white dwarf. Based on calculations, this white dwarf is expected to undergo a nova explosion within the next thousand years.”

“Nova explosion! Nova explosion!”

A nova explosion is an astronomical phenomenon in which the brightness of a celestial object dramatically increases.

In the universe, stars frequently experience sudden surges in brightness, increasing by tens of thousands to billions of times in a short period. Such events are collectively known as nova explosions, with supernova explosions being a more extreme variant.

For instance, during the Song Dynasty in China, ancient astronomers observed a supernova explosion. The resulting light source in the sky was so bright that it rivaled the full moon at night.

That famous supernova explosion was caused by a star thousands of light-years from Earth reaching the end of its life cycle and undergoing a massive explosion. After ejecting immense amounts of material, the star became a neutron star. This event created the famous Crab Nebula.

The power of that explosion was so intense that its light, traveling across thousands of light-years, illuminated Earth’s night sky.

In the case of the Aquila Two Binary System, the white dwarf would experience an ordinary nova explosion.

White dwarfs are remnants of low- to medium-mass stars that have reached the end of their life cycles. Their nuclear fusion has ceased, and they radiate energy from residual heat.

Ordinary nova explosions occur exclusively on white dwarfs. freewebnoveℓ.com

In a binary system, if a white dwarf is close enough to its companion star, it will continuously accrete material from the companion. As the white dwarf’s mass increases, so does its pressure and temperature. When the conditions reach a critical threshold, the accumulated stellar material will trigger a new round of nuclear fusion—an extraordinarily violent one.

In that moment, the white dwarf will release an immense burst of energy, ejecting significant amounts of material. Its luminosity will increase tens of thousands to millions of times in an instant. The energy released will be unimaginably intense.

With this knowledge, Xiao Yu began formulating a plan.

“Perhaps I can use a nova explosion to destroy this Beast Civilization creature! Compared to a nova explosion, even hydrogen bombs weighing tens of trillions of tons are insignificant. Gravitational bombs are a joke! This white dwarf is nearing its critical point and is almost ready to explode!”

“But… there’s a question. Will the nova explosion be enough to kill the creature? Nova explosions are periodic, and I don’t know how long it has been trapped on this white dwarf or whether it has already survived previous explosions.”

Nova explosions are cyclical, but the intervals between them are irregular. They might occur every few decades or every few million years. Generally, the more massive the white dwarf, the shorter the interval between explosions.

“No matter what, it’s worth a try. During its attempts to lure me, its impatience was evident. Perhaps it has already endured multiple nova explosions, each causing it some harm. It might sense it cannot evade this upcoming explosion, which would explain its urgency.”

“It’s worth trying. If it fails, I’ll escape immediately! Even if it takes thousands of years, I’ll find another star system to develop in.”

Xiao Yu made up his mind.

With his decision made, Xiao Yu turned to another question.

The white dwarf was estimated to need another thousand years before its next explosion. Clearly, Xiao Yu neither wanted nor could afford to wait that long.

This meant he would need to employ his own methods to trigger the nova explosion ahead of schedule.

Surveying the resources in the Aquila One and Aquila Two Binary Systems, Xiao Yu began to devise a plan.