Chapter 280: The Black Line and "Surface" at Ultra-Small Dimensions

"???"

Kunpeng, having been penetrated, had calculated its imminent demise but was astonished to find that the ray that pierced it caused no harm whatsoever.

It quickly assessed that the energy level of this ray was exceedingly high, surpassing even that of neutrinos, allowing it to pass through the battleship itself.

Just as Kunpeng was about to resume its calculations, it suddenly sensed severe malfunctions occurring in its systems, with various failures manifesting throughout the ship.

Initially, these malfunctions were minimal, but as time progressed, they escalated rapidly.

It activated internal cameras and discovered that a portion of the material within the ship was being consumed.

Switching to external cameras, it observed a pure black line appearing along the trajectory from which the ray had come.

This black line emitted no light; in fact, light could not reflect off it at all.

Kunpeng immediately concluded that this was a black hole.

However, unlike the typical spherical black holes known, this was a linear black hole.

Olive Branch Civilization had clearly created this ray using fractal geometry, which had surpassed gamma rays. What in the universe could exceed gamma rays?

A black hole.

Thus, this ray itself was essentially at a mass level infinitely close to that of a black hole.

This infinity approached 99.99999999999999%, representing a true infinitude—it possessed both characteristics of a ray and those of a black hole.

As it raced through space, it left behind a trail of darkness.

Kunpeng instantly named it—the Black Line.

The Black Line itself functioned as a black hole, exhibiting similar properties by continuously absorbing surrounding matter and growing larger.

Kunpeng observed that the Black Line in space was gradually thinning and then vanishing while the one inside the battleship continued to absorb material and grow thicker.

It attempted to move away from this Black Line.

However, there was no escape; the gravitational pull of the Black Line was far too powerful.

"Calculating required energy to escape..."

"Kunpeng is now completely locked by the Black Line's gravitational influence and cannot move..."

"Attempting hull separation..."

"The hull is expected to retain only 3.4%."

"Initiate separation!"

The materials used in Kunpeng's construction were primarily sourced from Olive Branch Civilization; these materials possessed properties akin to LEGO bricks. It began disassembling itself and utilized energy generated from explosions of certain materials to propel some parts away from the influence of the Black Line.

Given how thin the Black Line was, completely locking down a ship comparable in size to a planet remained unfeasible. 

However, under such extreme conditions, controlling an entire ship like Kunpeng relied heavily on its internal planetary mass. The large mass within Kunpeng combined with the Black Line's pull intensified its gravitational effects; otherwise, Kunpeng might have been able to escape by as much as 20%.

Yet such an escape would be futile since critical components like computational systems and weaponry sustained damage; any remaining combat capabilities were severely weakened.

Although repairs could be attempted through mini-factories, this would require considerable time—virtually impossible during active combat conditions.

Nonetheless, Kunpeng's goal for separation was not survival but rather to relay combat information back to the federation.

After completing these actions, it began summoning all warships for an unhesitating charge toward Olive Branch Civilization's fleet. At this point, it had no tactical plans left; its best strategy was direct engagement.

...

"Kunpeng has completed its mission," Ella relayed the information back to Yan Xia.

Completing the mission implied ceasing further tasks. 

Yan Xia felt this occurred sooner than he had anticipated; he believed Kunpeng should have been able to hold out for at least another 50 years.

"Is Olive Branch Civilization deploying unknown weapons?" 

Ella nodded in response. 

"It's not entirely unknown; we've studied geometric weapons before. As a more advanced civilization, it's certain that Olive Branch possesses such capabilities."

"The weapon that destroyed Kunpeng is a fractal geometric weapon; here's a simulated image."

Ella had already completed simulations of fractal geometric weapons. Yan Xia examined them closely several times before frowning and saying, "We are indeed lagging behind in this regard."

"Measurement serves as a standard for assessing a civilization's technological depth. While we may not be able to measure lengths between quarks and strings directly, we should not lack calculations regarding these lengths."

"Let's have federation scholars discuss this matter further. Provide some funding support and promote public discourse so that the entire federation takes this seriously."

Yan Xia rubbed his temples in frustration.

Wars between cosmic civilizations often unfold like this—sometimes enemies will exploit your weaknesses.

When facing Silk Civilization previously, it was the federation that capitalized on their vulnerabilities. 

Now it was Olive Branch Civilization exploiting the federation's shortcomings.

"If Olive Branch Civilization possesses weapons of such caliber, it indicates their exploration into sub-quark dimensions is far more profound than ours."

"I wonder if what is referred to as green light might also represent pathways existing at ultra-small dimensions. What kind of physical properties might arise from such dimensions? We know nothing about them."

"Green light—photons are unique particles or rather all fundamental particles are quite special."

"We know zero-dimensional and three-dimensional constructs are points, lines, surfaces, and volumes; if we consider strings as lines and fundamental particles as volumes—where does 'surface' fit in?"

"Folding surfaces might create conduits; green light in some contexts within Olive Branch Civilization signifies passageways—could it be that green light constitutes pathways formed by surfaces existing within those dimensions?"

Yan Xia suddenly connected green light with this concept. Searching for something unknown at macroscopic scales proves exceedingly difficult because all known entities have already been extensively explored. If something truly exists beyond our knowledge, it indicates that current federation technology has yet to touch upon such realms.

In such circumstances exploring blindly like headless flies merely wastes resources; Yan Xia's hypothesis provided new avenues for investigating green light—indeed worth exploring further.

His idea was undeniably innovative; even Ella couldn't help but praise him.

"Yan Xia, you truly are a genius."

"We know strings are inherently one-dimensional while fundamental particles exist in three dimensions—we haven't explored two-dimensional aspects yet. If this intervening gap represents two-dimensional spacetime logic indeed holds."

"I will need to research this area further."

"If successful, we may draw closer to Olive Branch Civilization."

This proximity signified survival in future conflicts ahead.

After all, Olive Branch Civilization would undoubtedly launch another attack against the federation following Kunpeng's current situation—and likely sooner rather than later.