Chapter 514: The Power of Photons_1

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As the accelerated particle passed through the one thousand six hundred and sixth acceleration ring, the immense energy that the previous rings had poured into it had already caused it to completely escape the experimenter's control.

Therefore, as the particle traversed the one thousand six hundred and seventh acceleration ring, the ring poured all its energy into the particle at that instant, and it was shattered into more than a dozen segments by the particle's shock wave.

All the subsequent acceleration rings inevitably faced destruction at the hands of the particle.

By the time it passed through the last acceleration ring, the particle had reached 99.6% of the speed of light, which was the anticipated speed; the particle observed by humanity on two occasions was probably traveling at this velocity.

Once it surpassed 99% of the speed of light, every additional 0.1% of acceleration became incredibly difficult, so the scientific academy set the speed target for the particle to be above 99.5% of the speed of light.

The moment the particle broke free from the last acceleration ring, the research personnel who presided over the launch on site erupted into cheers!

It was a success!

At that moment, humanity also acquired Dark Forest strike capability!

From the vantage point at the edge of the Experimental Planetary System, the particle resembled a faint firefly, swiftly flying toward a star that spread light and warmth in the dark universe.

The staff gradually stopped cheering, many shedding tears as they gazed upon that star.

Could the star sense that its end was near?

Many experienced an illusion, as if the star were a kind old grandfather, always offering them a warm, kindly smile.

Yet, they had just pulled the trigger on him.

Whether it was the personnel on site or those watching the live broadcast, the initial cheers turned into silence.

Humanity had succeeded, but should they rejoice at possessing greater destructive power?

Jiang Yu sensed the emotional shift of those around him, but he said nothing.

This kind of emotion was inevitable, it proved the benevolent aspect of humanity still existed; Jiang Yu very much wanted to preserve this side of humanity.

If they did not preserve it now, when the time came in the future for humanity to express its goodwill, they would find themselves with nothing to express.

That would be a tragedy for the entire civilization.

For now, let everyone fully immerse themselves in such emotions. Only by feeling their own destructive power can they learn to cherish peace and civilization.

Although Jiang Yu would not verbally stop these emotions, as a Wallfacer, he would also ensure that when it came time to use Photon Particle No.1 to attack other civilizations, humanity must not hesitate.

According to the plan, within three days the Supreme Council would pass the related bill, declaring humanity's use of Photon Particle No.1 to eliminate other civilizations as legitimate self-defense, and neither the decision-makers nor the implementors would ever bear any legal responsibility.

Gradually, everyone's thoughts returned to the experiment at hand.

To maintain a safe distance, "Photon Particle No.1" was ten astronomical units away from the experimental star.

It would take the particle more than eighty minutes to hit the star.

As the distance to the star grew nearer, everyone held their breath.

The particle, in its high-speed motion, had acquired immense energy and relative mass.

After the star was struck by the particle, a huge fissure appeared in its photosphere and convection zone, with a diameter exceeding forty-eight thousand kilometers, large enough to accommodate four Earths side by side.

A bright spot of extreme luminosity appeared on the star's surface, like the gate of a furnace; intense radiation from deep within the star burst through the fissure, passing through the photosphere, the convection zone, and the chromosphere, shining directly onto two nearby Earth-like planets.

In the hemisphere under the bright spot, all the water on the surface was instantly vaporized, and any microorganisms that might have existed were immediately charred.

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Then, material from within the star erupted through the fissures, forming a 48,000-kilometer-thick fountain of flames.

The ejected stellar material, with temperatures reaching tens of millions of degrees Celsius, partly fell back onto the surface of the star under the effects of gravity, while another part achieved escape velocity, shooting into space.

From a distance, the surface of the star seemed to have sprouted a brilliant tree of fire.

About two hours later, the ejected material had traveled a distance of 0.3 astronomical units, and the treetop of the fire tree intersected with the orbit of the nearest Earth-like planet.

This was another object of the experiment, to observe the damage a stellar explosion could inflict on a planet.

Therefore, the position where Photon Particle No.1 pierced the star was calculated precisely; the unlucky Earth-like planet soon made contact with the treetop of the fire tree, and then traveled through the ejected material for over twenty minutes.

During this time, the planet might as well have been operating within the sun, with the ejected material still having a high temperature of several tens of thousands of degrees Celsius even after cooling in space.

When the planet emerged from the band of ejected material, it was glowing a dim red, its surface had entirely melted, and oceans of magma covered everything.

Trailing behind the planet was a white trail, which was the water vapor that had evaporated.

Latterly, the trail was dispersed by the solar wind, and the planet became a comet draped in white flowing hair.

For that planet, the disaster had only just begun.

The band of ejected material created tremendous resistance, reducing the speed of the planet as it passed through it; its orbit decayed slightly.

The fire tree, like claws extended from the star, pulled the planet down repeatedly, and approximately after five passes through the band of ejected material, the planet would fall into the stellar surface.

Fortunately, the days of the star were numbered, otherwise the planet would have vanished from the cosmos.

At this moment, the star seemed to become extremely agitated, as if wishing to destroy the one who had wounded it deeply, during its last moments.

Regrettably, that goal would never be achieved, because the person who had orchestrated it all was always far away.

Soon, due to the loss of pressure from the ejected material, the internal nuclear fusion of the star temporarily weakened, causing the star to dim rapidly, until only a vague outline could be seen.

As the fusion extinguished, the internal radiation pressure could no longer support the star's outer shell, the star began to collapse, and the dimming shell made contact and compressed the core, triggering the final cataclysmic explosion.

In the great hall of Blue Maiden Star, Jiang Yu led the applause, and others came back to their senses and joined in.

Jiang Yu rose and said, "The first phase of the Shadow project is successfully completed, I declare the Experimental Planetary System is henceforth renamed the Shadow Star System!

"All departments must follow up in a timely manner, carrying out the second-phase tasks."

Next was the immigration to the Experimental Planetary System, work that had already begun, with the first group of immigrants selected based on their loyalty to the Solar System State, having been through significant events, and possessing a certain resilience.

Additionally, the development of Photon Particle was a public project, but the Shadow project was only semi-public.

From this point on, the Shadow Star System would not appear in any civilian star charts, because with the lesson learned from Paradise, the location of Shadow Star System would remain confidential to the vast majority of humanity.

The stellar eruption in the Shadow Star System would continue for a while, but once it subsided, the area would become relatively safe, positioned outside the "Spotlight."

The first group of immigrants had embarked over three years ago, and it would be more than two years before they reached the Shadow Star System.

By that time, the entire Planetary System would be filled with hydrogen and helium, making the collection and use of these resources very convenient.

Although humanity had begun transitioning to dark matter energy sources, nuclear engines would still play a significant role for a long time to come.

After all, nuclear fuel was too easy to come by, and with vast cosmic reserves, they could be used without restraint.