Rebirth of the Super Battleship-Chapter 40: Gravitational Lensing

The method to destroy the enemy’s probe was simple. It used the same launch system designed for interstellar missiles, but instead of interstellar warheads, conventional high-explosive ammunition was used. For such small targets, using hydrogen bombs would have been wasteful.

After calculating the trajectory, Xiao Yu aimed at the device and launched the ammunition.

Seventy seconds later, the high-explosive ammunition traveled several thousand kilometers and collided head-on with the alien civilization’s probe. Then, the pre-set detonation mechanism activated. The ammunition exploded in mid-air, bursting into a ball of fire. The probe, on the other hand, spun like a kite with its string cut, disappearing who knows where.

Time was running out. Although this probe did not detect Xiao Yu, he could not ensure that the next one wouldn’t spot him before he noticed it. It felt like a sword hanging over his head, ready to drop at any moment.

This constant state of looming danger was unsettling.

In the dark cosmos, both civilizations were trying to locate the other first. Whoever found the other first would gain a significant advantage, increasing their chances of victory in the subsequent clash of civilizations by at least 30%.

The situation was far from optimistic.

The enemy had already devised an effective method, but Xiao Yu had yet to find his own solution.

Releasing probes to randomly wander in space, a method the enemy used, was not feasible for Xiao Yu. The reason was simple: to achieve effective signal coverage over such a vast search area would require an unthinkable number of probes. The enemy had a planet of their own and could use it as a material base to produce an unlimited number of probes. In contrast, Xiao Yu only had a fleet, with limited resources that couldn’t compete with theirs.

Xiao Yu had to find another way to confront the enemy. Otherwise, he would have to rely on luck to avoid being discovered. But could luck hold out for a year, ten years, fifty years, or a hundred?

It was still thousands of years before reaching the Tianyuan IV system. Furthermore, there was no guarantee that upon arriving at Tianyuan IV, he would be able to defeat the enemy.

Xiao Yu continued his calculations under Chen Mo’s watchful gaze, suppressing his feelings of despair and working patiently.

He had no idea how many times he had failed or how much time had passed. All he knew was that during this period, he had managed to destroy at least ten more enemy probes.

Gradually, a light of realization gleamed in Xiao Yu’s eyes.

He had thought of a solution. This solution had already passed forty thousand testing obstacles he had set up, proving its feasibility. Furthermore, unlike the enemy’s method, which involved an element of luck, Xiao Yu’s plan only required time to inevitably locate the enemy.

Just as the enemy’s method of deploying countless probes was something Xiao Yu couldn’t adopt, his new method was something the enemy couldn’t use either.

That method was gravitational lensing.

The concept of gravitational lensing was first proposed and predicted by the greatest scientist in human history, Einstein. Simply put, gravitational lensing refers to the phenomenon where light from a star passing near a massive celestial body is bent by its gravitational field, making it appear as though the star’s position has slightly shifted.

Xiao Yu knew that the alien civilization’s planet had a greater mass than Earth. It could be certain that gravitational lensing would also occur around this planet.

However, on a cosmic scale, the mass of this planet was still too small, making the gravitational lensing effect minimal. This meant that highly precise instruments would be required to observe which direction the gravitational lensing phenomenon was occurring.

The next steps were simple. As long as Xiao Yu could observe where gravitational lensing occurred, he could calculate the enemy’s position through a series of precise computations.

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This was why Xiao Yu’s method could work while the enemy’s could not. Although Xiao Yu’s fleet had a total mass of tens of millions of tons, compared to a planet, it was insignificant, like an ant. Observing gravitational lensing caused by a planet was already so difficult, let alone detecting gravitational lensing from Xiao Yu’s fleet.

At least, Xiao Yu estimated that while a civilization thousands of years ahead of him in technology might be able to achieve it, this alien civilization clearly did not have that capability.

The position of the original stars in the sky had already been recorded in Xiao Yu’s Chronicles of Heroes Across the Cosmos. Their shifted positions could now be observed. All Xiao Yu needed to do was reobserve all the visible stars in the entire celestial sphere and compare them to the data in the Chronicles of Heroes Across the Cosmos to determine where starlight had been displaced.

Although simple in theory, the task was far from easy. It required extremely precise observation instruments and an immense amount of data processing.

Xiao Yu spent six months preparing for this endeavor.

Countless data points were collected and fed into the central computer. After computation, the results were compared with the original data from the Chronicles of Heroes Across the Cosmos. Star by star, Xiao Yu eliminated possibilities.

Each eliminated star proved there was no trace of the enemy in that direction. Gradually, Xiao Yu’s search radius narrowed.

From a full 360-degree search of the celestial sphere, in three months, Xiao Yu had reduced the range to less than half—a 160-degree sector.

The next star to be measured was a star in the constellation Canis Major, known to humanity as “Junshi One.”

Junshi One was 500 light-years away from the Sun. Previously, humanity lacked detailed data on this star. However, during the compilation of the Chronicles of Heroes Across the Cosmos, Xiao Yu had conducted measurements, collecting data on its mass, volume, spectral type, and more.

Reobserving Junshi One, Xiao Yu began analyzing its data and comparing it to the original.

“Hmm?” During the comparison, Xiao Yu noticed an extremely minute discrepancy.

After accounting for errors caused by his own positional movement, he found that Junshi One’s position had shifted slightly from its original location—its right ascension and declination showed a deviation of about 0.0000019 degrees.

Xiao Yu immediately captured this information and conducted a second verification.

The results came quickly, confirming the same conclusion. Junshi One had indeed undergone a minute, unexplained displacement.

After ruling out all other possibilities, the only explanation left was that the alien planet was hidden somewhere between Xiao Yu’s position and Junshi One.

Xiao Yu’s heart raced with excitement. He immediately used Junshi One as the center point and measured several nearby stars in the celestial sphere. The results indicated that several stars near Junshi One had also experienced varying degrees of displacement.

“Got you at last!” Xiao Yu muttered, his excitement barely contained.

With this data, Xiao Yu took only 30 seconds to calculate the alien planet’s exact location.

It was situated in the direction of Canis Major, approximately 32 million kilometers away from Xiao Yu.

“Since you’re sending probes to find me, let me return the favor with some hydrogen bombs… Just wait and see!” Xiao Yu immediately prepared for launch, firing a large-yield hydrogen bomb toward the calculated position. It was expected to reach the target in three months and then detonate.

After searching for over a year, Xiao Yu had finally found the enemy. The anger he had suppressed for so long erupted, and he was eager to see the hydrogen bomb’s explosion and vent his frustrations.

Still, Xiao Yu’s actions were controlled by reason. Ten days after the first hydrogen bomb was launched, Xiao Yu launched a second batch—this time, 20 hydrogen bombs.

Then, after a five-day pause, Xiao Yu launched a third batch of 12 hydrogen bombs.

Xiao Yu intentionally varied the timing and quantity of his launches to prevent the enemy from organizing effective interception strategies. This strategy would turn them into a “startled bird,” perpetually fearing an attack and living under the constant shadow of a hydrogen bomb strike. After all, they would never know when the next bomb might arrive.

“Enjoy this feast of hydrogen bombs, you bastards!” Xiao Yu thought with venom.

Over three months, Xiao Yu launched approximately 300 hydrogen bombs. Even if only 30 detonated successfully, the resulting radiation damage to the planet would be catastrophic.

Xiao Yu even calculated the impact: if an equivalent number of hydrogen bombs exploded on Earth, the resulting radiation would lead to widespread cancer, birth defects, and other calamities, reducing humanity’s population from 7 billion to less than 100 million within a century.

This would essentially spell the end of a civilization. While Xiao Yu didn’t know the physiological structure or radiation resistance of the aliens, their panicked response to the previous hydrogen bomb strikes suggested they feared them greatly.

“Let them explode!” Xiao Yu’s eyes glinted as the predicted detonation time arrived. He anxiously watched the calculated location of the alien planet.

In the distance, a faint burst of light flashed—brief but noticeable. Its brightness was weaker than some dim and distant stars, but considering the alien planet was 32 million kilometers away, the fact that Xiao Yu could observe its light at all spoke volumes about the explosion’s intensity.

Xiao Yu was ecstatic as he conducted measurements.

The results confirmed that the flash of light was from the first hydrogen bomb he had launched!

Under the illumination of the explosion, Xiao Yu also detected faint reflections of light from the alien planet.

This confirmed that everything had unfolded just as Xiao Yu had predicted. Their planet was indeed in that location.