Chapter 259: The Lifespan of The Waterdrop_1

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In Jiang Yu's view, a weak civilization like humanity had to pay a huge price to achieve its goals in the face of powerful enemies.

The hasty departure of the one hundred and twenty warships was to buy time for the eighty warships that had set out earlier.

And the early departure of the sixteen squadrons was to buy time for Zhang Beihai.

Only in this way could Zhang Beihai's escape be completely ensured.

For this purpose, Jiang Yu was willing to abandon his long-planned "Plan Nine".

In the original work, the Trisolarans easily subdued humanity with just a "Waterdrop".

Just because the Trisolarans didn't use their full strength then doesn't mean they won't now.

With Jiang Yu being such a significant variable, the Trisolarans couldn't be blindly optimistic enough to think that a single "Waterdrop" would be sufficient to suppress humanity fully.

Now, nine of the Trisolaran "Waterdrops" had been drawn out by Jiang Yu, leaving only one still on its original course toward the Solar System.

Jiang Yu estimated that this Waterdrop was probably kept in reserve, as support for Waterdrop Number One in three years.

After all, the main goal of the Trisolarans was to quickly gain control of the Solar System.

After leaving the front, Waterdrop Number One disappeared without a trace again.

Jiang Yu speculated that its target was still the Sun; with Jupiter's current position being far from the transit route between Uranus and Earth, it made no time to dally around Jupiter; it would be better to go and cut off Earth's interstellar broadcasting capabilities immediately.

Thinking this, Jiang Yu was somewhat perplexed as to why the "Waterdrops" didn't arrive in the Solar System all at once?

Moreover, when helping Zhang Beihai escape, he had used the "full fueling" trick. By the time the Trisolarans should have realized his plan while refueling the eighty warships at Jupiter City.

If they had accelerated the "Waterdrop" from that time, it should have been able to arrive a bit earlier.

So why did Waterdrop Number Two arrive so late, allowing Jiang Yu's plan to succeed?

Jiang Yu vaguely guessed some answers but couldn't be sure.

So he logged into the JK15 page and asked, "Why do the 'Waterdrops' arrive in the Solar System in batches?"

JK15 replied, "The answer to this question requires thirty million Deception Points; it has been detected that your Deception Points are insufficient."

Jiang Yu glanced at his own Deception Points, which had just topped twenty million. A small part of these points were unintentionally obtained from the officers and soldiers of the Asian Fleet while assisting Zhang Beihai's actions.

The majority came from the Trisolarans, who had been completely deceived by the actions of Jiang Yu and Zhang Beihai, contributing a large number of Deception Points to Jiang Yu before Zhang Beihai's escape.

Another part of the Deception Points was acquired in the days before the battle reports from the front arrived, including those from the Trisolarans and the citizens of the Solar System State.

Jiang Yu negotiated with JK15, "Is it possible to purchase on credit?"

JK15: "This service is not available at the moment."

Jiang Yu pondered for a moment, "Then I have no choice but to speculate again. The 'Waterdrops' have certain limitations, right? Therefore, they can only arrive in the Solar System in batches?"

JK15 said, "The answer to this question requires twenty million Deception Points. Would you like to pay?"

Jiang Yu frowned, obviously, his speculation had only touched on some of the facts; he was still missing two-thirds of the picture!

Seeing he had enough Deception Points, Jiang Yu immediately said, "Pay!"

JK15 responded, "Now deducting twenty million Deception Points from your account, your balance is 822 Deception Points."

"Your question is: Do 'Waterdrops' have limitations? And why do they arrive in batches?"

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"The answer is, yes!"

"The Waterdrop employs a matter-stream engine, which theoretically can operate continuously as long as there is any matter around the Waterdrop, unless it is in a perfect vacuum."

"However, the engine's output efficiency has a certain threshold, and if it exceeds this threshold, irreversible damage will be inflicted upon the Waterdrop."

"This is exactly why the Waterdrop came to the Solar System one after another!"

"Bonus information 1: It is predicted that Number One Waterdrop will completely lose power in 89 years, 6 months, and 3 days. Number Two Waterdrop is estimated to completely lose power in about 126 years and 5 months."

"The other seven Waterdrops will basically all lose power within approximately a century and a half."

"Currently, only one Waterdrop has not exceeded the output efficiency threshold! Its lifespan is predicted to be over six centuries!"

"Bonus information 2: The Waterdrop's manufacturing technology represents the cutting edge of Trisolaran technology at present."

"But it is only the most elementary application of the matter-stream engine, and many key technical issues have not been resolved, which is why the Waterdrop has a lifespan of only about eight centuries in a maintenance-free state."

It was clear now, Number One Waterdrop had risked self-damage to strike a blow at humanity's confidence and to prevent humanity from utilizing the 'Dark Forest Law'."

Number Two Waterdrop came to deal with Jiang Yu, who initially guessed that the Trisolarans must have planned to kill him, a Black Cuboid Person, to remove a future threat."

But when they learned of Zhang Beihai's plan and thus inferred Jiang Yu's escape plan, it was too late to accelerate Number Two Waterdrop."

After all, Number Two Waterdrop arrived a step too late and was unable to attack Jiang Yu, instead chasing after the dozen fleets that had been dispatched."

Furthermore, Jiang Yu discovered that whenever JK15's response contained "bonus information" or "bonus answer," it was always more than worth its weight in gold!

Then he proudly smiled, marveling that with his own efforts, he had managed to cause irreversible damage to eight Waterdrops.

But he soon lost his smile, the Waterdrop could operate for eight centuries!

The key was that it could work for such a long time without any maintenance!

If maintained properly, its service life would likely increase even further.

Yet humanity's most prized interstellar warships, if left unmaintained for half a century, would dare to break down for all to see.

Hence the spare parts Jiang Yu had given to Zhang Beihai were crucial; with some luck, they could extend an interstellar warship's service life by two centuries!

Comparing the two sides, Jiang Yu seemed to feel the weakness of human industrial power.

This weakness was like the contrast between counterfeit products from a small workshop and genuine brand-name goods.

Jiang Yu sighed, realizing that as a latecomer civilization, there was still a long way to go.

Thinking of this, he buoyed his spirit and continued to direct the rescue efforts and ordered the two colonies on Uranus to rescue the abandoned soldiers at all costs!

Jiang Yu had now become everyone's pillar of spirit, and he instructed Number Three to record his every move and broadcast it throughout Jupiter City.

As long as people saw that the Wallfacer was still working, they felt much more at ease.

Jupiter City cast off a third of its parts finally to escape the battlefield.

At the same time, it appeared that Number One Waterdrop would reach Jupiter Orbit in about ten more days, and Number Two Waterdrop had been observed pursuing the fleet of more than a dozen warships sent out by Jiang Yu.

With no more concerns for their lives, the sense of relief from surviving the calamity had just passed, and then everyone was engulfed by immense despair.

All the things that humanity had taken pride in were shattered by the tiny Waterdrop, and everyone finally understood the gap between themselves and the Trisolarans!

Everyone was thinking: What do we do next?