Chapter 311: Morning Enlightenment! The Einstein Ring! Vacuum Decay!
Li Ang had always made a habit of drawing from the lottery before officially activating the Stargate and unlocking a new multiverse. He had a gut feeling that he could somehow exploit a bug in the system—uncovering clues from the prize pool that could give him an edge.
For instance, the Manticore Virus he drew last time turned out to be a game-changer in the Pacific Rim universe, playing a critical role in eliminating the Precursors and helping his mega-corporation wipe out that entire species.
Who's to say this next draw wouldn't yield another key item to clear the level?
Just as Li Ang was about to open the lottery interface, Secretary-General Lucy suddenly sent him a new email. When he clicked on it, he found two pieces of very good news.
The first good news: with the combined efforts of a vast number of intelligent-type AIs, Pathfinder AIs, and multiple Transcendent AIs, the Science Nexus Division had finally succeeded in developing the Antimatter Cloud Barrier.
This weapon, was one of the top-tier defensive weapons of an advanced civilization—a true strategic-grade defense system.
The Antimatter Cloud Barrier worked like a deadly minefield scattered across three-dimensional space. Any fleet that passed through and touched the antimatter would instantly trigger an annihilation reaction.
Without sufficiently advanced shielding, the fleet would be instantly consumed by the antimatter clouds.
Even if the fleet was equipped with shielding, without a dedicated antimatter shield, its armor systems would overload in no time, forcing a retreat from the forbidden zone.
In the context of interstellar warfare, this was considered a high-level defensive weapon—one of the tech milestones Li Ang had yearned for over the past decade.
Now that the Science Division had successfully developed it, it meant the main universe's defense lines were about to become much more secure and impenetrable.
The second piece of good news: the Sentinel Array in the main universe had gone online. And shortly after activation, it intercepted intel from an alien fleet!
The Pandora System, four light-years away, had received another alien civilization. After nearly half a century of silence, the mega-corporation's cosmic fishing program was finally entering its second season.
According to data eavesdropped by the Sentinel Array, this alien fleet was of considerable scale, and their engine tech had reached sub-light speed levels.
Clearly, this was a civilization with solid foundations—its own manufacturing zones and a well-established base infrastructure. Compared to the last group, a vagabond civilization, these newcomers were on an entirely different level.
But even so, compared to the current mega-corporation, the gap was still enormous. At this point, across most of the Milky Way in the main universe, the corporation was a dominant hegemonic power.
However, its expansion within the main universe had been conservative, limited mostly to the Solar System and a few hundred neighboring systems. After all, this was Li Ang's final fallback base.
In alternate universes, Li Ang could expand without restraint, rapidly establishing and developing the Universal Trade Ring. But in the main universe, he had to tread carefully.
As The Three-Body Problem taught, the Dark Forest principle applied to every universe. Li Ang needed to ensure his corporation always had a contingency plan for resurgence, and that made safety paramount.
"An alien civilization at Level 2.6…"
Reading the civilization level report from the Exploration Division, Li Ang nodded thoughtfully. A decent catch—but swallowing it whole might be too wasteful.
Better to stick with the usual plan: try diplomacy first, and if that fails, go for total annihilation.
The last civilization the corporation caught on Pandora was far too weak—offering no real cooperation value. Their fate was extermination.
Whether a civilization or an individual, if it was too weak and utterly worthless, it would be discarded like trash.
Being used wasn't the worst fate. The worst was not even being worth using.
Li Ang selected Universal Trade members based on their civilization level as well.
Higher-level civilizations got top-tier cooperation deals and even received a few Halo Arrays as welcome gifts.
> [I've assigned Alex, Goro Takemura, and Agent K to lead an investigation team to the Pandora System, overseeing the new phase of the cosmic fishing operation.]
Seeing K's name in Lucy's email, Li Ang was reminded of the replicant agent from Blade Runner.
Ryan Gosling's face from the film flashed through his mind. Agent K had become something of a legend in the corporation's Investigation Division.
Many criminal and intelligence cases had his name attached. Alex likely brought him along on this fishing mission to set the stage for a future promotion.
> [Approved.]
After replying to Lucy, Li Ang turned his attention back to the lottery interface.
While this draw wouldn't unlock any new megastructures, the good news was he had received a chance to spin the Level 11 Prize Pool!
Previously, Li Ang had genuinely thought Level 10 was the highest tier possible. But with the appearance of a Level 11 draw, new horizons opened before him.
Even if it didn't guarantee world-breaking loot, he was sure the items from this pool would be anything but ordinary.
"If I get Dyna Ultraman or Zero Ultraman… now that would be insane!"
Li Ang chuckled, then tapped the draw button. As long as the spin didn't go wildly off-track, even getting Level 9-tier loot would still be acceptable.
> [Your 10-draw result from the Level 11 Prize Pool: – Einstein Ring (Golden Legend · Morning Enlightenment · Law-grade Weapon)
– Blacklight Virus (Prototype, Gentek Corporation)
– Pandora-Class Anti-Ship Psionic Cannon (Xiling Empire, Xiling Apostles)
– City Folding Technology (BJ Fold)
– 2nd-Gen Sentinel Robot (X-Men, Trask Industries)
– Type-92 Magnesium-Ion Assault Vehicle (Godzilla vs. Biollante, Japan Special Defense Force)
– 10 tons of Adamantium Alloy (Marvel Universe, Dr. MacLain)…]
"The Einstein Ring from Morning Enlightenment?!"
The moment he saw the golden legend hadn't been a dud—and was in fact the Einstein Ring—Li Ang, despite his experience with countless high-stakes scenarios, was momentarily stunned.
Strictly speaking, the Einstein Ring wasn't some basic superweapon that could obliterate a planet in one shot—it was a law-grade weapon capable of annihilating entire stellar systems with a single use!
It was originally a piece of experimental tech developed by humans in Morning Enlightenment under a series of miraculous circumstances—not something guaranteed to work every time.
But if it did work, it could collapse the entire universe.
"This might actually be my ticket to transcendence!"
Joy surged through Li Ang's chest.
The so-called Einstein Ring was, in essence, a particle accelerator—but not an ordinary one. A single loop around the equator was enough to unleash cosmic-level energy.
When running at full power, it could accelerate particles to 10²⁰ electron volts—approaching the energy of the Big Bang itself.
Activating it could easily trigger a vacuum decay.
Vacuum decay theory posits that what we perceive as vacuum is only a false vacuum, filled with ephemeral ghostlike virtual particles—appearing and vanishing in instants.
In essence, the vacuum of space is a boiling quantum ocean. Virtual particles and real particles contribute to a certain vacuum energy level.
Virtual particles have lower energy than real ones and exist in an unstable state.
But when particles are smashed together at ultra-high energy, a new kind of vacuum state may emerge.
One where the energy is even lower—lower than both real and virtual particles—reaching what's called a "true vacuum."
This true vacuum may start as small as an atom, but once formed, it induces higher-energy vacuums to collapse into lower-energy ones, assimilating everything into its stable state.
That's what is known as vacuum decay!
Once triggered, it expands in all directions at nearly light speed. Every neutron and proton within range will decay.
In effect, vacuum decay resembles a dimensional collapse, like the 2D foil weapon in The Three-Body Problem.
But unlike the 2D foil—which merely flattens 3D space into 2D (and can even be reverse-engineered by some advanced civilizations to survive as flat beings)—vacuum decay pulls high-energy vacuums into low-energy states, permanently disabling all forms of high-energy activity.
That means no more laser cannons, no more planet-killing beams. When neutrons and protons are decaying en masse, all life ceases to exist.
At that point, the universe would need a complete reset—another Big Bang. A full wipe and reboot.
In simpler terms, once activated, the Einstein Ring could destroy Earth in 0.03 seconds.
It would wipe out the Solar System in five hours, destroy the nearest star system in four years, and reduce the entire galaxy to ruins in 100,000 years—dragging the whole universe into irreversible collapse.
A universe that could have lasted a trillion years might now collapse in mere millions—or even tens of millions.
And if Li Ang deployed multiple Einstein Rings across different star systems and triggered them all at once?
The universal reboot might be completed in just a few years, or even months.
With enough deployments, his mega-corporation could annihilate a universe in no time flat.
---
"This Einstein Equatorial Accelerator's particle impact trigger has a 100% activation rate? It's literally a one-button reboot!"
After reading the explanation on the system panel, Li Ang now had a much clearer understanding of this Level 11 Law-grade weapon.
A fan-favorite episode among Paradox players!
You see, most particle accelerator impacts aren't guaranteed to succeed—it's all a matter of luck.
In the original So Shall I Hear the Dao, the Risk Control Civilization, a species that represents the pinnacle of cosmic advancement, came to Earth specifically to extinguish the yet-unignited spark of vacuum decay.
But the Einstein Equatorial Accelerator was humanity's key experimental tool in completing the Grand Unified Theory of physics. Without it, the truth would remain out of reach.
However, the Risk Controllers, deities in their own right, refused to allow humanity access to such truth—because the price of obtaining the Grand Unified Theory was simply too high!
In fact, even before the So Shall I Hear the Dao universe was born, an advanced civilization had already used particle impact experiments to uncover the Grand Unified Theory and unraveled all the secrets of the cosmos.
But what followed was inevitable destruction brought on by vacuum decay. Knowing their end was near, they transmitted the truth via gravitational waves in a desperate bid to preserve it.
Eventually, the universe rebooted. As one of the first species to arise in the new cosmos, the Risk Controllers were the chosen ones who stumbled upon this cache of data.
With their predecessors' "endgame walkthrough" in hand, the Risk Controllers attained enlightenment overnight, ascending to become the sole gods of the So Shall I Hear the Dao universe.
Through the information encoded in those gravitational waves, they not only learned the ultimate secrets of the universe, but also understood the horrific natural law of vacuum decay.
And they figured—since they'd already become divine, then whether to protect the universe or to maintain their monopoly on supremacy, no other civilization could be allowed to toy with particle collisions.
So the Risk Controllers began a grand cosmic patrol, carefully selecting which civilizations to observe.
Their criteria? The more often a civilization looked up at the stars, the higher the priority for surveillance—and as it happened, humanity made it to the top of that list.
Curiosity is one of the core driving forces behind a civilization's progress. Staring at the stars inevitably leads to the desire to explore them.
Judging from the extreme caution the Risk Controllers showed toward other civilizations approaching universal truths, you could imagine just how terrifying the law of vacuum decay must be!
Once it starts, it's a terminal cancer for the universe—there's nothing to be done but lie down and await death.
"This thing is amazing."
Li Ang sighed from the heart.
To the average person, the Einstein Equatorial Accelerator is a terrifying weapon—one they'd hesitate to use even if they managed to draw it. Because once activated, it's basically mutual assured destruction.
To ordinary folks, this weapon is best used only as a strategic threat. But in Li Ang's hands, it's a divine shortcut to clearing difficult scenarios!
Whenever he encountered a particularly high-difficulty multiverse that couldn't be conquered, this device could reboot everything with a single press.
Once the decayed universe collapsed and reassembled itself, and the cycle of the Big Bang began anew, then Universal Megacorp would emerge as the sole "god" of that universe.
The only downside? No loot. Everything would be reset. The rebooted universe would contain nothing but basic matter.
With that thought, Li Ang felt he had truly earned his title as Paradox's top player. While other players might only wipe out a single nation or planet, he could destroy an entire universe!
"Hopefully I won't ever need to use this thing."
Li Ang chuckled softly. Unless a multiverse scenario was excessively unfair, he was determined not to use it.
After all, rebooting a universe came at too high a cost—not out of some saintly compassion, but simply because the payoff wasn't worth it.
Universal Megacorp wasn't lacking in territory. What Li Ang truly valued were the tech points and resources from other universes.
With that, he moved past the Einstein Equatorial Accelerator and looked at the other multiverse items he had drawn.
This time's haul was quite interesting—like the Blacklight Virus from Prototype, the Psionic Cannon, and City Folding technology.
The Blacklight Virus allowed its host to assimilate the tissues and genetic information of various lifeforms and absorb them for personal use.
Boosting physical capabilities, self-healing, and regenerative abilities were just the basics!
Put simply, those infected with the Blacklight Virus could transform at will to adapt to various combat environments.
In Li Ang's plan, he could cultivate a specialized Blacklight Squad—experts in stealth, assassination, and espionage.
"This virus is basically Lovecraftian…"
Li Ang laughed. Absorbing other organisms to acquire their abilities—if this were a cultivation world, he'd definitely be called the 'Ancestor of Devourers.'
Swallow some ancient beasts, consume a few sect disciples, and you instantly inherit their powers—classic villainous demonic cultivation!
Next, Li Ang examined the Psionic Cannon from The Legend of the Sun Knight.
This heavy ship-mounted weapon packed immense power, capable of devastating battleships and interstellar fortresses—putting it on par with a hardlight cannon.
"Not bad. Better than nothing."
Then his gaze landed on the third item that interested him the most—City Folding technology, aside from the Einstein Accelerator and Blacklight Virus.
As the name implies, City Folding allows a city to fold and invert itself. The tech provides tremendous structural resilience, overcoming gravitational forces and acceleration during the folding process.
It's reminiscent of the multi-dimensional cities from Interstellar or the folding cities in Inception—that's the kind of aesthetic.
This tech doesn't have much practical use, but as a pure visual flex, it's quite stunning. Sometimes, beautiful junk exists just to be admired.
Then there was the second-generation Sentinel Robot from X-Men—capable of flight, opponent scanning and analysis, and adapting in real time to counter enemy techniques.
A natural "Jeet Kune Do" master, fully leveled-up. Perfect as a security robot for Megacorp.
As for the Magnesium Ray Tank built for fighting Godzilla—it could fire a 5 million-volt magnesium beam, but if even that struggled against Godzilla, it wasn't exactly useful here.
Adamantium was interesting, but with only ten tons available, it wasn't enough to create anything major.
Li Ang decided to forge a batch of adamantium weapons—swords and blades—as rewards for high-ranking officers.
"Looks like Universal Megacorp can handcraft a squad of Wolverines."
He glanced at the Blacklight Virus's regenerative traits and combined it with the adamantium claws—wasn't that basically Wolverine?
Given Megacorp's vast industrial scale, mass-producing a Wolverine Special Forces unit was entirely feasible.
Imagine an army of Wolverines, or Alex Mercers (the Prototype protagonist). Just picturing it was absolutely wild.
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