After the failures of the previous attempts, Xiao Yu now had fifteen years left. And to manufacture a Gravitational Bomb with ten times the current power would require at least two years.

The power of Gravitational Bombs, once they reached a certain threshold, became exponentially harder to increase, very much like hydrogen bombs. Nevertheless, Xiao Yu believed that this next attempt was still worthwhile.

If this attempt succeeded in breaking the Four-Dimensional Barrier, that would be ideal. Even if it failed, Xiao Yu would still obtain valuable data: namely, whether the gravitational strength of an artificially made Gravitational Bomb truly had a limit at the strength level of neutron star. If that limit did exist, Xiao Yu would gain a new direction for research, because if a limit existed, there had to be a reason behind it. And if that reason could be identified, it might well lead to another technological breakthrough.

“While we’re manufacturing the Gravitational Bomb, let’s continue discussions and research,” Xiao Yu said. “We need to list all potential methods within our current technological level that might impact the Four-Dimensional Barrier and assess their feasibility.”

Manufacturing the Gravitational Bomb didn’t require much computational power, so Xiao Yu issued this command to the Luka scientists while the bomb’s construction was underway.

“Master, I have a question,” said Luka Three, the most outstanding scientist among the Luka people. “My question is this: does the Four-Dimensional Shield truly have such formidable capabilities that we should dismiss every attack except Gravitational Bombs? My skepticism is based on a simple contradiction. First, aside from the white dwarf Alien Beast flesh and your unique existence, Master, I don’t believe we are fundamentally different from other Level 4 Civilizations in the universe. Here’s the contradiction: if we can find a way to break the Four-Dimensional Shield, then naturally other Level 4 Civilizations can too, which would prove that the shield’s performance isn’t actually that strong. Conversely, if the Four-Dimensional Shield’s performance is strong enough, then we have no way to break it, which would imply that Taihao is actually hostile toward us.”

“To summarize: my conclusion is that if Taihao is benevolent, then the Four-Dimensional Shield’s performance cannot be as formidable as we think. If the shield’s performance is indeed formidable, then Taihao must be malevolent.”

Luka Three’s point sparked deep contemplation among the Luka scientists, and the hall fell silent.

This viewpoint was also a revelation for Xiao Yu, who sank into thought.

After a moment, Luka Four (Wills), who ranked just below Luka Three, stood up and said, “I have some ideas that can add to Luka Three’s argument. My hypothesis is simple: I believe there is a scenario that reconciles these two seemingly contradictory viewpoints. That is, Taihao could be benevolent, and the Four-Dimensional Shield could indeed be extremely formidable. To reach this conclusion, we must consider aspects where our Master differs from other Level 4 Civilizations, such as Master’s extraordinary computational power and the white dwarf Alien Beast flesh.”

“I agree with both of these ideas,” said another elderly scientist, standing up. “At present, this indeed seems like our only viable path.”

“But it’s not just that,” Xiao Yu added, inspired by Luka Three and Luka Four’s insights.

“There’s another possibility that can reconcile the contradiction Luka Three pointed out. That is, the method to break the Four-Dimensional Shield could be something all Level 4 Civilizations are capable of mastering, but such technology might have inherent limitations preventing it from being used as a weapon in battle. In that case, it wouldn’t undermine the shield’s defensive performance,” Xiao Yu explained after a moment of thought.

Luka Three stood up again: “I agree with Master’s viewpoint. I believe we should combine all these hypotheses and prepare along two lines. The first line of preparation is to explore aspects where Master differs from other Level 4 Civilizations. The second is to investigate technologies that can be mastered by Level 4 Civilizations but cannot be used as offensive weapons.”

“Well said, Luka Three. You truly are my most capable assistant,” Xiao Yu praised, then concluded, “We have fifteen years left. If, after fifteen years, we still haven’t found a solution, then we’ll all die together. So during these fifteen years, let’s give it everything we’ve got and fight for survival.”

“The construction of the ultra-high-yield Gravitational Bomb will continue, but I don’t think we should pin too much hope on it. For now, let’s focus our efforts on the two hypotheses Luka Three mentioned. During this period, everyone should brainstorm and strive to break through the barrier, so we can regain our freedom and enjoy a bright future.”

After summing up the meeting, Xiao Yu announced its adjournment. The group of Luka scientists dispersed to carry out their research. Meanwhile, following the suggestion of the Supreme Social Administrator, Luka Two, Xiao Yu also drafted a questionnaire, which was distributed to all Luka citizens in an effort to tap into the collective intelligence of Luka society to break through their current predicament.

Of course, this questionnaire was carefully disguised. Xiao Yu concealed his true intentions beneath layers of wordplay, so he had no concerns that any Luka citizen would figure out his real aim.

The questionnaire was distributed throughout the New Homeland and The Paradise. Every Luka individual with self-awareness was required to complete one, even two-year-old Luka toddlers who had just begun their basic education were mandated to participate.

Xiao Yu paid special attention to these toddlers’ questionnaires. Although they had no scientific knowledge and no fully developed logical thinking, it was precisely because of this that their minds were unrestrained and capable of imagining things that adults wouldn’t think of.

Xiao Yu hoped that the answers from these toddlers might spark some inspiration.

The reason he valued these young Luka citizens so much was that Xiao Yu vaguely felt he might have fallen into a mental trap. It was very possible that Taihao was benevolent, the Four-Dimensional Barrier was indeed formidable, and yet there still existed a way for him to break it. The method that reconciled these contradictions might be hidden somewhere in the corners of his mind, but despite his desperate search, he just couldn’t uncover it.

Another two years passed, and the radius of the Four-Dimensional Shield shrank by another 100 million kilometers. As a result, the speed of temperature increase within the shielded area accelerated further.

Just an hour earlier, Xiao Yu had completed the second Gravitational Bomb detonation experiment. The results were as expected, another failure. Aside from once again pulling a bulge out of the Four-Dimensional Barrier, there was no other effect.

Through this explosion, Xiao Yu confirmed one of his earlier suspicions: the gravitational limit of the Gravitational Bomb really was at a neutron star’s strength. Even though this explosion’s bomb had ten times the yield, the experiment showed that the tenfold increase only expanded the destructive range tenfold, it did not enhance the gravitational strength.

Xiao Yu suspected this might be due to subtle differences between gravity generated by energy conversion and gravity generated by actual mass. Once he could fully understand this difference, his grasp of the microscopic world and fundamental physics would deepen once again. But right now, he simply didn’t have the mental bandwidth to tackle that problem.

“Only thirteen years left until death arrives… and just eight years until I run out of fuel and am forced to start dismantling my ships for resources, only eight years left,” Xiao Yu thought silently.

During this time, the Luka people proposed all sorts of ideas, many and varied, but most were immediately dismissed by Xiao Yu. Some suggestions were downright laughable. Among the questionnaires, Xiao Yu even received answers like: “Pray to the Great God, and the Great God will protect us,” and, “What is the Four-Dimensional Barrier? Can we eat it?”

The most bizarre answer came from a kindergartener, who wrote, “Our science teacher is so fierce. I think they are the most powerful monster in the universe. If we send them to the Four-Dimensional Barrier and have them yell, ‘Get out of the way or I’ll smack your hand!’ the barrier will obediently go away.”

But among the countless quirky responses, there were also many quite reasonable answers. One in particular caught Xiao Yu’s attention.

It was from an unknown Luka citizen, who wrote, “I think we should try the large particle collider again. By using ultra-high-energy particles to smash into the Four-Dimensional Barrier, maybe we can make it shatter into pieces, just like the droplet did during the First Holy War.”

To test this idea, Xiao Yu, while continuing the construction of the ultra-high-yield Gravitational Bomb and other research, allocated some computational power and spent five months adjusting the large particle collider’s trajectory to carry out a collision experiment. But the result was disappointing once again.

The Four-Dimensional Barrier still sat there, completely unaffected, utterly ignoring Xiao Yu’s attack.

Seeing this indestructible, impenetrable barrier, Xiao Yu felt immense anxiety and helplessness.

“Am I really going to die here, orbiting this red giant, becoming its funeral offering? How could it end like this? How is that even possible?”

Countless attempts, countless failures, Xiao Yu’s mindset could no longer remain calm. Many times, he considered giving up, but at the last moment, his powerful rationality always managed to suppress these self-destructive thoughts.