Chapter 245: Long-Distance Energy Transmission and Simulated Reality

To achieve what Ella mentioned, some preparations were still necessary.

For instance, the energy supply.

Ella intended to use Xingcheng as the primary energy source, but after Yan Xia's calculations, it was found that Xingcheng had already consumed a significant portion of its energy during the defense against the Gais Rongguang. Therefore, energy transportation was still required.

This was a challenging task.

In the past, long-distance energy transportation was achieved using energy spaceships, which was more energy-efficient. These spaceships only needed an initial acceleration and would then fly to their destinations.

However, this method was slow.

Therefore, Yan Xia planned to modify the super-offset matter transfer device to transmit and receive energy.

The advantage of this approach was that it didn't require starting from scratch, saving time. Additionally, there was a receiving device at the other end of the Cosmic Silk Road.

The modification took about eight years.

Eight years later, a beam of light with a diameter of 140 kilometers shot into the depths of space.

On the other end of the Cosmic Silk Road, the receiving device was modified after twenty years and locked onto the coordinates, awaiting the energy transmission.

Meanwhile, another super-offset matter transfer device was preparing to receive the main components of the simulated universe.

This process took 278 years.

After that, it took thirteen years to assemble, eighteen years to transport to the designated location, and seven years to debug...

During this period, the key members of the Federation, including Dok, had already obtained the energy key of Xingcheng from the free faction of the Olive Branch Civilization. With this energy, they finally completed their task.

In reality, the beam carrying the Gais Rongguang had disappeared two hundred years ago.

At that time, they faced a brand new Xingcheng.

If it weren't for the free faction, which had not been influenced, constantly disrupting Xingcheng's internal affairs, two hundred years would have been more than enough for Xingcheng to prepare and launch an attack on the Cosmic Silk Road.

Fenny Li had contacted Chu in the second year and found that Chu had been completely influenced by the Gais Rongguang. It had lost its administrator privileges and become a member of the shared consciousness cluster.

Currently, Xingcheng had no administrator.

Fenny Li speculated that the Olive Branch Civilization might select a new administrator to take charge here.

Fortunately, the star cities within the Olive Branch Civilization were all located at great distances from each other. Even with the speed of the Olive Branch Civilization's spaceships, it would take more than five hundred years to travel from the nearest star city to Xingcheng.

They still had time.

"Are we ready?"

Fenny Li took a deep breath of oxygen to keep his mind clear.

"There are still 170 trillion lives in Xingcheng that have not been influenced, and they are waiting for us to activate the device."

170 trillion is a large number, but it is a small fraction of the billions of lives in Xingcheng. Over the years, these lives had barely survived, relying on their own willpower.

At first, the shared consciousness cluster would try to appease them. After realizing that these individuals couldn't be convinced, the cluster collectively decided to eliminate them.

In the past two hundred years, more than 10 trillion of these uninfluenced lives had perished, and some with less resolute willpower had merged into the shared consciousness cluster.

"We are ready."

They were ready to enter the simulated universe.

During this time, they had not been idle. Yan Xia had ordered them to engage in ideological learning. With the simulated universe about to be activated, they needed to assume different roles and guide the lives in the simulated Xingcheng.

After the preparations were complete, Fenny Li gave the command to activate the simulated universe.

In an instant, a pillar of light shot up from the spherical Xingcheng, striking a triangular device. After receiving the energy, the device transmitted it through three different energy emission ports to three other devices in three different directions.

Then, each of the three devices connected to two more devices, dispersing the energy further. Finally, after connecting to 190 devices, the entire region was covered, forming a polyhedron that enveloped Xingcheng.

As the polyhedron took shape, Xingcheng underwent a dramatic transformation.

The once steel-pillar city became a lush landscape of mountains, lakes, and grasslands.

A gentle breeze blew by, rustling the grass and trees, and rippling the lake's surface. The sound of the wind and the ripples grew faster, and time seemed to accelerate a hundredfold, a thousandfold, in this world.

When Fenny Li and the other federal officials and scholars arrived in this world, they realized that the passage of time was not an illusion.

They knew it was an illusion, but they couldn't sense anything that felt illusory.

In this world, even their thoughts became incredibly swift, and every cell and particle in their bodies moved at a terrifying speed. They had prepared for nearly three hundred years, but they still couldn't understand the principle behind it.

This world seemed to exist between reality and fantasy. In a virtual world, anything could happen, and no one would find it strange. But this was reality.

"Incredible!"

The feeling of accelerated thoughts lasted only for a moment as they gradually merged with this world. After that, they no longer perceived the acceleration of time.

With a thought, Fenny Li's body floated in mid-air, facing a particular direction. He spoke to the other officials and scholars, "Go in different directions."

"Our task is challenging."

"If it were ordinary lives, a long time might make them forget some things. But the lives of the Olive Branch Civilization have an almost eternal lifespan, so time means nothing to them."

"The only thing we can do is try to correct their thoughts."

Indeed, in such a highly advanced technological environment, the only thing they could do was influence the lives of the Olive Branch Civilization through words.

Their task was to repeat Yan Xia's experience, making the lives of the Olive Branch Civilization aware of the flaws of the Gais Rongguang and encouraging them to break free from its control.

Just thinking about it was daunting.

Moreover, due to the high energy consumption of the simulated universe, they only had ten years. Even if the simulated universe could accelerate time a thousandfold, they effectively had ten thousand years.

The only thing they could rely on was the authority granted to them by the simulated universe, which made them invincible in this space.

For example, Fenny Li could make himself fly with a single thought.

Sixty-two officials and scholars flew in different directions, contacting the lives of the Olive Branch Civilization that had been forcibly divided into groups by the simulated universe. Their task was akin to a dating sim game.

Some of the lives in the shared consciousness cluster would appear mediocre in this world, while those who acted differently would be rewarded and elevated in status, managing the lives that followed the prescribed thought patterns.

It emphasized that lives should not be content with mediocrity, forcing the shared consciousness cluster to change under this reward system.

The drawback of this approach was apparent: it couldn't be completed in a short time.

Hence, they had ten thousand years to exhaust their efforts.

This was a plan to destroy the Gais Rongguang. If successful, Yan Xia would use it in the war against the other Olive Branch Civilizations.