Ou Zhanpeng paused, not understanding her intention, but followed her instruction and tried again.
Although the two had a slight conflict, they were both adults, and their relationship was purely professional, so they wouldn't dwell on petty matters endlessly. By this time, the issue had long been forgotten.
However, the experiment naturally yielded no results. Ou Zhanpeng looked at Yu Jia with confusion, his eyes full of questions.
Yu Jia was equally puzzled, "The intensity of the ray burst is decreasing very rapidly."
Everyone understood at once.
This place was too dangerous. If they couldn't leave, and the wormhole was being interfered with by the ray burst, then naturally, the wormhole would open once the intensity decreased.
"That means the decrease is not enough yet," Ou Zhanpeng reasoned calmly. "Record the intensity changes in detail!"
He had intended to say that they should try every time the intensity decreased by an order of magnitude, but he swallowed the words back.
It was better to wait patiently and speak when there was more certainty.
In the following days, the radiation intensity continued to decrease. Ou Zhanpeng tried twice more, but there was still no movement.
Gong Yiding organized his team to conduct research day and night. After all, he was a robot; at most, his CPU would overheat, but there was no concept of fatigue.
However, not only was the time too short, but this time they only had the Star Ark, not the Star Ark Base.
As everyone knew, the Star Ark Base was the main force for scientific research, while the Star Ark was just a warship. If it weren't for the special nature of this mission, perhaps Gong Yiding himself wouldn't have boarded, let alone other researchers.
Lack of equipment, insufficient personnel, and tight deadlines – the Star Ark encountered all unfavorable conditions. It would be a miracle if any results could be achieved.
Fortunately, Gong Yiding was experienced. After discovering the problem, he stopped the research to cut losses and switched to data collection. After a few days, various useful and useless data filled several hard drives.
Gong Yiding firmly believed that if humanity mastered space-locking technology in the future, the data collected today would play a crucial role!
Another piece of good news was that the red dwarf star's stellar activity was gradually calming down.
Ou Zhanpeng had always worried that this was the calm before the storm, but Yu Jia held a different opinion.
This was because humans had been observing red dwarf stars for a long time and had grasped some of their activity patterns.
Simply put, red dwarf stars liked to accumulate great power, like volcanoes silently building up energy, erupting suddenly when they exceeded a critical point.
This red dwarf star was no exception. Although its eruptions had an unclear relationship with ray bursts, overall, it was still due to the accumulation of sufficient energy within it, otherwise, it wouldn't have erupted so many times in succession.
The subsequent stable period was the resting time after the release of energy. Even if it wanted to erupt again, it was powerless to do so.
After hearing this, everyone felt that what she said was indeed very reasonable!
In the blink of an eye, seven days passed. The intensity of the ray burst showed a significant decrease. At least, the radiation intensity could be measured by the equipment on the ship.
Ou Zhanpeng tried again, and the wormhole finally opened, restoring contact with Earth. However, there was always irregular interference during communication.
It was evident that the interference was still severe.
Considering the influence of the ray burst, the Star Ark did not leave immediately. There were only a few days left anyway, and it would be safer to leave after the environment stabilized.
On the same day, contact between the warship and the satellites was restored to normal. However, half of the more than ten satellites deployed in advance were scrapped, and another quarter were severely damaged, with only three satellites still operational.
Ou Zhanpeng retrieved the data saved by the satellites and displayed the images captured by the special lenses on the main screen.
The image was not very clear, but it was barely possible to see a halo slowly separating from the star after Aldebaran's explosion, while the star itself showed no significant changes and quickly returned to normal.
The brief explosion was not the end, but the beginning of a complete rampage. However, having already learned a lesson, Ou Zhanpeng did not want to put the Star Ark in danger again.
Based on the various data obtained by the warship, Gong Yiding redesigned the satellite protection system and manufactured it using the ship's 3D printing equipment in the following days, followed by assembly and testing.
Another three days passed, and the radiation finally returned to normal levels, and communication with Earth became clear again.
Taking advantage of the period before the second ray burst, the Star Ark redeployed the satellites and then hastily departed.
The next time they would reach this place would be at least eight months later.
The Star Ark did not return to Earth but crossed the radiation belt, which was eight light-months long, and headed towards Aldebaran!
The result was that before the jump, it was a bright red giant, but after the jump, it had become a barely visible small bright spot.
Ou Zhanpeng felt that Aldebaran had reached this state, and there was no need for further observation. However, Yu Jia did not think so.
"This is a rare opportunity. We must not only gather data on ray bursts but also obtain firsthand information on supernova explosions. If we miss this, there may never be a similar opportunity in the future," Yu Jia said with a heavy tone, as if carrying a great burden.
As a layman, Ou Zhanpeng couldn't see the use of such observation: "Just tell me, what is the ultimate goal?"
Yu Jia immediately replied, "By detailed observation, we can gather firsthand data and record the detailed changes before and after the supernova explosion. If we can obtain sufficient and accurate information, we can predict the state of red giant stars in advance. This will have very important reference significance for the safety of Earth itself and for the safety of interstellar migration."
"Alright, then I understand," Ou Zhanpeng said. "How about observing once every light-month?"
Yu Jia hesitated for a moment and reluctantly nodded, "Let's plan for now, and we can adjust it according to the specific situation at the time."
Since the expert said so, Ou Zhanpeng naturally cooperated fully and began the monotonous voyage of jumping one light-month at a time.
The journey of seventeen light-years, which was previously completed in a single jump, now required more than 200 repeated jumps. The thought alone made one's scalp tingle.
Although the Star Ark was powerful, it did not have so many reserves and could only return to Earth periodically to replenish fuel and supplies.
Gong Yiding took the opportunity to send the acquired data back to the base and arranged for personnel to analyze it carefully, but he himself did not stay, instead returning to the Star Ark to continue the journey.
Fortunately, the observation time for each segment was not long, otherwise, it would have been unbearable.
Ou Zhanpeng had undertaken so many interstellar missions, but this one was the most monotonous and boring. His greatest pastime every day was the battle reports from the front lines.
Every time he saw news of the fleet conquering cities and territories and conquering another interstellar civilization, Ou Zhanpeng would sigh with emotion: the Star Ark should have been a part of it. Why was such a boring mission assigned to the Star Ark?
Not only Captain Ou but the entire ship's crew eagerly awaited the battle reports from the front. The soldiers were generally interested in strange aliens, oddly shaped alien warships, and unimaginable alien architecture.
However, these things were usually not part of the main body of the battle report but were communicated to the entire army as attachments.
The purpose of doing so was, well, so that if they encountered similar aliens and alien warships again, they could immediately determine whether they were friend or foe, whether to open fire immediately or find a way to communicate.
It was strange, but so far, humanity had encountered dozens of alien civilizations. Although the appearance of each race was different, no race deviated from the human form.
More specifically, they were all oddities with one head, two hands, two feet, three arms, and four legs, which were unheard of.
Not only humans had not seen them, but other alien civilizations had not seen them either.
In response, biologists had already provided an answer: the environment of each planet was different, so the intelligent races produced on different planets had different appearances.
But as for why they were humanoid, it could only be explained by natural laws.
For a time, students from the biology departments of various higher learning institutions particularly enjoyed writing papers on this topic. It was said that a research result emerged stating that the upright humanoid structure was most suitable for intelligent races.
The general idea was that liberating hands allowed for the creation and use of tools, influencing the evolution of the brain and ultimately leading to intelligent races.
In short, if you didn't evolve into this form, you couldn't join the ranks of intelligent civilization.
Ou Zhanpeng really wanted to know if the emergence of intelligent queens among the Zerg would break this pattern. However, the brain-eating fish on Earth had long been cleared out by humans, and all research related to the Zerg had been taken over by humans.
And human researchers could never grant intelligence to the Zerg.
Want to be the creator god of the Zerg?
Don't joke. Even if there were unreliable researchers hidden within the research team, the rigorous research system would minimize the occurrence of accidents.
As for the Zerg already placed on other planets... Heh, insects have survived on Earth for over four hundred million years, and arthropod groups like chelicerates can be traced back more than 570 million years!
Earth has only existed for 4.5 billion years. For one-ninth of its existence, insects have survived. Regardless of species or population, the numbers are immense and uncountable.
But in such a long period of five hundred million years, have insects evolved into intelligent beings?
The emergence of intelligent beings might have a great degree of randomness. Over the vast expanse of time, countless species have appeared, evolving from simple to complex, from oceans to land, but how many have ultimately evolved into intelligent beings?
Therefore, whether a species can possess intelligence depends on its own developmental potential, rather than simply accumulating numbers.
The Zerg that humans currently control are indeed much larger in size than previous insects, and their physical structures are more complex, allowing them to adapt to more harsh environments.
But in essence, they are still low-level insects. Perhaps after countless long years, one branch will eventually gain intelligence and become a lucky one in the entire Zerg family.
But in the foreseeable future, the Zerg will not receive the favor of the god of luck.
This kind of view gave rise to another research direction, namely the theory of humanoid supremacy.
There were many similar things, some based on science, some purely fabricated to attract attention, and some were ambiguous and confusing.
Regarding this, Ou Zhanpeng's only thought was that they were bored to death and had nothing better to do.
It was fine for those who were genuinely conducting research, but what was the point for those who were shouting nonsense without anything to do? With that time, couldn't they do something serious?
In summary, the war effort in the front was smooth, while the Star Ark's mission was long and arduous.
In contrast, it was inevitable to feel unbalanced and have some minor grievances.
The Star Ark advanced at a rate of four observation points per day. In the blink of an eye, it had been over a month, and the warship was not far from Aldebaran.
During this period, Aldebaran experienced two more helium flashes, causing a sudden increase in brightness.
However, such minor accidents did not constitute spatial disasters. The Star Ark's shield merely flickered slightly and withstood them.
When the Star Ark arrived near Aldebaran, it also discovered a planet that was gradually flying away.
Its surface was already scorched, and it was covered with scars left by the supernova explosion.
"Where will it fly to?" Ou Zhanpeng asked.
A supernova explosion was not only the end of a star but also the doom of a planet. This surviving planet was becoming a lonely rogue planet, silently traversing interstellar space for hundreds of millions of years.
Perhaps one day, it would be captured by the gravity of another star, enter the embrace of another star, and become a member of another star system.
But before that, its only companions would be darkness and loneliness.
Yu Jia thought for a moment before saying, "Looking at the direction, it should be crossing the arm space and entering the Sagittarius Arm."
As she spoke, her gaze had already fallen on Aldebaran.
For this star, the supernova explosion had occurred more than a decade ago. The star that had once illuminated the sky had now become a white dwarf star with a diameter of more than two thousand kilometers.
It was small but very bright. When viewed from a distance, it didn't seem so, but when approached, one could discover that the small bright spot ahead was the most dazzling existence in the sky.
However, its explosion had been so powerful that all the celestial bodies orbiting it had been pushed away by the explosion. Now, only that small spot remained, like a widowed elder whose descendants had been forced to leave.
One might say that a supernova explosion is one of the wonders of the universe. However, stars, while novel at first glance, were nothing special after seeing enough of them. No one took it seriously; it was purely for entertainment.
However, the longer the observation time, the more unpleasant Yu Jia's expression became, leaving everyone inexplicably wondering what was wrong with her again.
Ou Zhanpeng coughed lightly and asked, "Dr. Yu, are you alright?"
Yu Jia shook her head, "I'm fine, but this white dwarf star is not right!"
Huh? What did that mean?
Everyone was baffled. Ou Zhanpeng continued to press, "Where is it not right?"
"Its diameter is too small!" Yu Jia said. "We always believed that Aldebaran's mass was 1.16 times that of the Sun, only slightly larger than the Sun, not reaching the minimum mass of 1.38 times. It should not have evolved into a supernova."
"But it is a supernova!" Ou Zhanpeng asked confusedly.
"Perhaps its mass was overestimated, but the white dwarf star left behind by the explosion should not be so small. I think it's possible that some external factor caused Aldebaran's explosion, such as a collision with another star or another massive celestial body, but there are no clues now!"