130 The Ruins.
The beehive-like research station hung high on the flat wall. As the vertical hatch opened, a swarm of robots, like early bees foraging for nectar, rushed out and flew straight towards the lower end of the colossal pillar.
The Starship did not leave midway. When it received the order, it had just finished scanning the pillar and located the entrance.
The entire Starship team was very interested in the internal structure of the pillar, but they had to abandon the idea of entering it due to an emergency order from headquarters.
The subsequent research work was naturally handed over to the research station, and the robots were replaced with domestically produced ones.
The research station couldn't keep the force field robots, as no one could operate them after they left the Starship. The researchers, no matter how covetous, could only envy.
However, robots manufactured by humans were not as versatile as force field robots. Their continuous flight time and energy consumption were astonishingly high, and their failure rate was much higher than that of force field robots. They had to be inspected every two days.
The most important reason for this situation was that this batch of robots applied the latest anti-gravity technology, but this technology was not yet perfect, leading to many problems.
The military did not want to do this either, but this planet had no atmosphere. Apart from anti-gravity, only jet engines with their own oxidizers could be used. Those consumed a lot of fuel, and every drop had to be transported from Earth, making the cost prohibitively high for the research station.
The military also had another plan, which was to build a batch of traction beam emitters on the inner walls of the ruins, using index beams to control the position and height of the robots.
However, the ruins were too vast, requiring at least several thousand emitters to ensure that the robots could freely reach every location.
Comparing oneself to others makes one despondent, and comparing goods makes one throw them away. From any angle, anti-gravity robots were more cost-effective.
Despite the minor flaws, overall, it was right to use them.
After half a month of trial use, the new robots' performance was relatively stable, and the research team decided to enter the pillar today.
Swarms of robots flew to the base of the pillar and found the entrance, which was only a few meters square.
Contrary to expectations, this entrance had no hatch but was sealed by an invisible force field.
The force field not only isolated the high temperature outside but also kept out toxic gases, yet it did not hinder the robots' entry and exit!
Humans had been researching force fields for decades, but they had always been of the hard-collision, defensive type. This kind of isolation-type protective force field was not even present on the Starship.
With everything ready, the first two robots moved forward slowly, entering the force field. The situation inside the pillar was immediately displayed to the research team.
As more robots entered, they soon mapped out the space within the pillar.
Surprisingly, the inside of the pillar was only as large as half a football field, much smaller than expected. No high-tech equipment was found, just an ordinary space.
Was it that the more advanced, the simpler? Or was there another space inside the pillar?
Just as the research team was in heated debate, the robots that had entered the pillar triggered something. The ring at the very bottom of the pillar suddenly emitted a faint glow.
Under the light emitted by the lava, this inconspicuous change was not noticed by anyone.
A moment later, the second ring structure lit up, followed by the ninth, the fourteenth... Not every ring structure could be lit, and the intervals between climbing each layer were different. Generally, the higher it went, the faster the lighting speed.
By the time the research team finally noticed something was wrong, one-third of the pillar had lit up.
Instantly, it was so quiet in the research station that a pin drop could be heard.
No one knew what this change represented, but activating an alien ruin with unknown functions, anyone could tell that the situation was not good!
The station chief made a decisive decision to evacuate immediately. Everyone quickly entered the escape pod located at the very top of the research station, which blasted off and detached from the ruins, then rushed into space.
As the escape pod broke free of the gravitational pull, the long-dormant ruins suddenly opened, revealing an enormous cannon mouth with an astonishing diameter.
The next second, a bright pillar of light shot out, piercing the star dozens of astronomical units away!
Everyone was stunned by this scene. Was it going to explode again?
Researchers were also human. Witnessing this scene, everyone felt extremely uneasy, collectively foreseeing the imminent crisis.
However, as researchers, they also yearned to witness firsthand how the giant pillar left by the aliens turned a perfectly fine star into a booming supernova.
The problem was that no one had anticipated such an accident beforehand. The escape pod only had the ability to fly out of the planet, not to traverse interstellar space.
They could only send out distress signals and wait for rescue from the front-line fleet.
Since they couldn't leave, they might as well focus on their respective duties.
Everyone calmed down and meticulously recorded all the changes. At this time, the escape pod could still receive signals from the robots. Through the camera, it could be seen that the ground, which was originally filled with rolling lava, darkened at a visible speed, and soon became completely black.
If the planet were sliced open with a knife, one could see the "roots" of the giant pillar extending deep underground absorbing the energy of the lava in large quantities. Wherever the roots touched, all the lava dimmed and solidified in a very short period.
A moment later, the pillar of light pierced the star like a spear.
At first, the star did not show any obvious changes, but after a while, the stellar material around the pillar of light gradually churned, like the sea surface under a storm, surging violently.
The rolling waves spread rapidly, and soon, a huge bright spot formed on the surface of the star.
The star's mass was much larger than Earth's. Any seemingly insignificant ripple, if placed on Earth, could accommodate half of the Himalayas. Those giant waves were even more so. If the moon were placed inside, it would be like putting a small boat on the sea!
In just half a day, the raging storm fully covered the star. The star's brightness increased exponentially, and the emitted light turned bluish-white, like a blue dwarf star—its fusion rate and amplitude increased significantly, or rather, this star was burning its remaining life, and in no time, it would become a red giant!
Through precise observation, the research team calculated that the star had only a decade or so left to live.
However, the pillar of light was still ongoing, and the reaction speed of the stellar material was still increasing, meaning its lifespan was constantly shortening!
In just a few days, it was reduced to within ten years!
At this rate, it would enter the red giant phase in half a month at the most!
Fortunately, this half-month gave the research team enough buffer time. Otherwise, everyone would have died without knowing how, and there would have been no opportunity to record such precious stellar evolution data!
Yes, it was data.
Although this evolutionary speed was abnormal, the pillar of light only accelerated or catalyzed the star's evolution, rather than destroying the star in one go or using other more violent means.
Therefore, the research team felt like they were watching a super-fast stellar aging, and every piece of data was consistent with slowly evolving stars!
So, was there any reason not to record it?
When the rescue warship arrived, the star was about to enter the red giant phase. Some members of the team, unwilling to risk their lives, wanted to witness it firsthand, causing the rescuers to curse profusely.
They say madness leads to achievement, and today they had seen it. People were risking their lives to observe the sun!
But the warship's mission was to take away the research team. Without completing the mission, they could not leave. How could the captain allow his soldiers to take risks with these research fanatics?
He directly ordered the soldiers to escort the researchers onto the warship. As long as the warship left, the mission would be completed.
However, before the warship could depart, the pillar of light, which had lasted for more than half a month, suddenly disappeared. The star's state slowly stabilized at the stage of entering the red giant.
Although the reason was unclear, the researchers unanimously believed that it was because the pillar had detonated a supernova once, draining most of the planet's energy. The remaining energy within the star body could not support another detonation, hence the anticlimactic situation.
A disaster was finally averted, and the soldiers were elated. However, every member of the research team looked dejected, making the soldiers wonder: were these people crazy, only happy if they blew up a star?
But then again, if they could personally blow up a star, wouldn't it be recorded in human history?
This was the same as leaving a name in history!
No wonder these scientific madmen were all hyped up!
When the news reached headquarters, the three leaders simultaneously wiped cold sweat and immediately ordered all research stations not to enter the pillar internally without authorization, including robots and various detectors.
Furthermore, the research that was in full swing was also significantly restricted. Any alien ruins discovered near the solar system, even if found, were not to be researched. Instead, teams were to be assembled to find ways to destroy them. Only pillars far from the solar system, or those where the star had already exploded, could be researched, ensuring the safety of Earth to the maximum extent.
Fortunately, special situations like the dual-star system of 130 were very rare. Most pillars completed their historical mission by detonating stars.
Further research found that the metal used to construct the pillars was extraordinary, possessing mechanical strength far beyond human comprehension.
This discovery immediately attracted the high attention of the military. Even the first reaction of the top brass was to establish new industrial bases on planets with pillars and use alien metals to manufacture warships.
However, this was currently just an idea. After all, those metals had already been smelted into shape. Even if the composition was exactly the same, remelting would not achieve the original strength.
Of course, as long as the decrease was not too significant, the military could completely accept it.
Subsequently, corresponding research was fully launched... Although the situation facing humanity was severe, the real threat had not yet directly appeared, so life had to continue.
Not long after, the front-line fleet sent the latest news. The warships investigating the supernovae ventured over a hundred light-years into enemy territory and found that the stars there were normal, with no new supernovae discovered.
The straight-line distance from Aldebaran to the fleet's current location was about three hundred light-years!
Humanity's doubts were not yet answered when the front-line fleet sent new news: there were no more supernovae in front, but there were on the sides!
Upon receiving the notification from headquarters, Ou Zhanpeng marked all known supernovae on the star chart and then zoomed out. He immediately made a new discovery: the detonated supernovae had formed a dead zone with a width of over three hundred light-years between the solar system and the star clusters near Orion's Arm.
Ou Zhanpeng stood up abruptly: "Their goal is not to eliminate the star beasts, but to create a buffer zone... The star beasts have limited flying distance, it must be that their flying distance is limited!"
Gong Yiding stared at the star chart, his expression extremely solemn: "We're in trouble!"
Ling Xiao curiously peered around: "What's wrong, what's wrong?"
Gong Yiding pointed at the star chart: "The solar system is right on the edge of the buffer zone!"
Hearing him say that, everyone also realized that the situation was not right.
From the star chart, the solar system was located on an inconspicuous protrusion, a position where it would be better if it exploded, but it didn't seem to matter much if it didn't.
However, everyone turned their heads towards the gas giant in unison, their gazes seeming to penetrate the clouds and fall upon the colossal pillar hidden deep within the planet!
"It's hard to say what will happen to the solar system now, but this place is definitely within the detonation range!" Ou Zhanpeng was completely distraught. "Elder Gong, if Civilization A detonates 667, how will Earth be affected?"
"It's impossible for it to be completely unaffected, but according to the information we have, the power of 667's explosion will definitely not be as strong as a real supernova. Earth will definitely be affected, but there will not be a full-scale biological extinction... At most, it will be on the same level as the extinction of the dinosaurs."
Ou Zhanpeng immediately pictured a scene of Earth's vast scorched earth and desolation.
He knew very well what preparations had been made above and knew that most of the population could survive. However, the radiation storm was only part of the disaster. The subsequent climate change and how to revive Earth were the issues humanity needed to face.
There was one more crucial point: all of this was based on the fact that there was no detonation point closer to Earth than 667. If there were closer supernovae, Earth would inevitably be doomed.
Thinking of this, Ou Zhanpeng sighed softly: "Now it all depends on whether Civilization A shows up."
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
Although the Starship was ordered to wait here, everyone still had a hurdle in their hearts: when the pillar was activated, did Civilization A need to personally appear!
If remote activation was sufficient, the Starship would have no chance to meet the other party, let alone communicate or dissuade them.
Ling Xiao grinned wryly: "If only we could teleport Earth away! We could move to another star system and live our peaceful little lives, letting other civilizations fight it out themselves!"
Although the words were crude, they resonated with many people.
Ou Zhanpeng had another idea: "Elder Gong, if the Prophet and Civilization A are truly on the same level, the base should have some means to contact them directly, right?"
Gong Yiding shook his head: "Even if it does, it's not something we can grasp now."
"Can't we think of a way?" Ou Zhanpeng asked. "For example, reading the Prophet's mind!"