Chapter Sixty-Seven: Warship Testing and Psychological Assault

That day was a holiday, and Wang Jing happened to attend the orbital ceremony for a space battleship, jointly developed by the United Government of the Wandering Earth dimension and the Prime Dimension United Government.

The ceremony took place at the Okinawa base in the Wandering Earth dimension, Japan. Wang Jing gazed at the transformed aircraft carrier floating on the water and asked, "You must have modified the original carrier directly, right?"

"That's correct. This is only an experimental vessel, meant to verify the feasibility of the technology. To ensure it could enter space smoothly, we used the excess heat from the star engine to melt a vast area of the sea," Zhang Beihai explained.

As Wang Jing was speaking, the Celestial Nemesis unfurled four energy pillars over the sea. Blue columns of light converged at a single point, and a portal to space appeared on the water's surface.

Soon, Moos’s voice came through Wang Jing’s earpiece, "Space Battleship 001 main engine ignition!"

With Moos’s announcement, a dazzling blue flame erupted from the stern of the carrier.

"You installed heavy fusion reactors?" Wang Jing exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, two small heavy fusion reactors. They can propel the battleship to the third cosmic velocity."

While they spoke, the battleship’s bow entered the portal, followed by the body and finally the stern. Wang Jing was curious about the seawater that accompanied the battleship—how would it appear in space?

But the footage from satellites already positioned in orbit showed no seawater or ice at all.

Puzzled, Wang Jing turned to Zhang Beihai, "Why didn’t the ocean go through as well?"

Zhang Beihai smiled, "Because the energy pillars were adjusted—only objects encased in metal can pass through, while any liquid outside the metal is kept out."

"Energy pillars can do that?" Wang Jing exclaimed.

"They’re capable of much more, not just this. Some functions even the Celestial Nemesis doesn’t fully understand," Zhang Beihai replied.

Moos’s voice sounded again, "Battleship 001 has successfully entered its designated orbit. Main gun bay doors opening, preparing for live ammunition firing!"

As Moos spoke, the bottom and flight deck of the battleship split open, revealing four elongated electromagnetic gun barrels, all aimed at a massive asteroid in the Kuiper Belt.

"Electromagnetic guns charging: 3... 2... 1... Fire!"

After a brief three-second charge, four prototype shells, each 300 millimeters in diameter, shot out at sixty times the speed of sound. There was no spark, no vibration, nothing unusual—it was as if nothing at all had happened.

Yet, the data displayed on the screen revealed that the battleship had shifted ten meters to the left after firing.

Einstein’s theory of relativity states that if you exert a force on an object, it will exert an equal force back on you.

With the adjustment of the small rocket thrusters on the hull, the battleship returned to its original position.

Then came a long wait. Over forty minutes later, the space telescope observed the four electromagnetic shells striking the asteroid, shattering a corner into fragments and scattering massive debris. The main meteorite’s angular momentum and orbit were shifted dozens of degrees.

"It doesn’t seem all that powerful," Wang Jing said, disappointed as he watched the asteroid on screen.

"That asteroid is about the size of New York," Zhang Beihai replied quietly.

Hearing this, Wang Jing was stunned—a single volley could destroy an entire city block if the asteroid was as large as New York.

"The test firing met the expected standards. Next, proceeding to full power forward acceleration," Moos announced.

Before Wang Jing could react, he saw on screen the battleship’s two heavy fusion thrusters at the stern erupting into long blue flames. Wang Jing looked up at the sky; even with the brightness of the planetary engines, he could still see a shining star moving rapidly across the heavens.

When Wang Jing returned his gaze to the screen, the view had shifted to the battleship's interior. The display was split into two panels. On the left, experimental animals—pigs, ducks, dogs, chickens, and sheep—were immersed in a solution. On the right, the scene was a blur of raw flesh; all the animals had been crushed into a mass of blood and tissue, even the hardest bones flattened by the immense inertia of acceleration, white lines streaked through the carnage like thick brushstrokes on a bloody canvas.

Wang Jing immediately realized what the liquid in the left panel was, but still asked, "What is that liquid?"

"That’s deep-sea acceleration fluid. It’s used to counteract the immense acceleration generated by full-power forward flight. The right panel shows what happens without it," Zhang Beihai explained solemnly.

"How long does it take to inject deep-sea acceleration fluid?" Wang Jing asked.

"About fifteen seconds to fill the entire ship," Zhang Beihai replied.

Wang Jing shook his head. "No, that’s too slow. If an emergency happens, fifteen seconds is more than enough time for the enemy to destroy us. The injection speed must be reduced to under five seconds!"

Even though Zhang Beihai didn’t know why Wang Jing was so concerned about the injection speed, he nodded gravely. "I’ll inform the engineers."

Soon, the battleship swept past Jupiter, using its gravity for acceleration, speeding away from Earth’s dimension.

"How far can the battleship travel on reserve fuel?" Wang Jing suddenly asked.

"If the fuel tanks are completely filled and all crew survive, the ship could travel at most about one light-year. Beyond that, the fuel would be depleted and unable to sustain the internal ecosystem."

"But that’s just a rough theoretical estimate. Without spare parts, the battleship’s life support system probably couldn’t last even 150 years, let alone a journey of one light-year. In 150 years, you’d barely make it out the door before dying."

"Don’t be so pessimistic. Isn’t there hibernation technology?"

"If everyone enters hibernation, life support doesn’t need to be considered."

"It’s not as simple as you think. Over time, the likelihood of equipment failure rises dramatically, especially with highly sensitive components like chips."

"As time increases, entropy in a closed space inevitably tends toward disorder. It's unavoidable, and our current technology can't reverse entropy—we can only slow its progression."

"In other words, given the current technological level, the final fate of those aboard the ship is disintegration. That’s the conclusion dictated by existing conditions." Zhang Beihai’s eyes were deep, like a black hole, as if they could swallow everything.

His gaze startled Wang Jing, sending an uncontrollable chill straight to his brain.

Meanwhile, in the Prime Dimension, everyone who witnessed this scene felt a palpable discomfort, a creeping fear of the universe—some even developed deep-space anxiety as a result.

Unaware, Zhang Beihai had launched a psychological assault on another world, and the results were extraordinary.