After this incident, Xiao Yu’s mind instead grew calmer, sweeping away all his negative emotions. Once again, Xiao Yu came to appreciate the preciousness of peaceful development time.

“This kind of peaceful development environment can disappear at any moment. A sword of Damocles is hanging above my head, ready to take my life at any time. I am struggling for my own survival. Under these circumstances, what right do I have to become anxious or to give up in despair?” With such thoughts, Xiao Yu gradually calmed himself.

The most direct consequence of his mental composure was that the scientific research tasks assigned to Xiao Yu were completed even more efficiently, and this increased efficiency in turn indirectly advanced the overall construction progress of the stellar weapon.

The Molian Civilization was once again astonished by Xiao Yu’s impressive construction capabilities and research efficiency. However, it was unlikely that they felt too excited about it. Xiao Yu remained their enemy. The strength of an enemy was nothing to celebrate.

With both sides harboring mutual concerns, time continued to pass bit by bit. At long last, construction of the stellar weapon reached the halfway point.

For a weapon whose construction had begun before all of the relevant technologies were fully mastered, the initial stage was always the most difficult, as the entire framework had yet to be finalized. Once half of the construction was completed and the general framework was established, subsequent construction tasks became relatively easier.

By now, twenty-five years had passed. There were twenty-five years remaining until the final moment. However, for safety’s sake, Xiao Yu still needed to leave at least a five-year buffer. In other words, Xiao Yu had only twenty years left.

During these twenty-plus years, with the cooperation of both civilizations, the stellar weapon had finally taken shape. Although Xiao Yu’s side had only played a supporting role in the construction of the stellar weapon, he still gained significant benefits. The development of various technologies had reached a level far beyond what it had been two decades ago.

“At this stage, the stellar weapon is ready for a test firing. The environment within a planet’s interior has certain similarities to the core of a star, both are high-temperature, high-pressure environments, and the material density is much higher than normal. Therefore, let’s conduct a test firing into the planet’s core…”

With this thought, Xiao Yu reported his plan to the Molian Civilization. His proposal was approved.

“Only through real tests can we discover our shortcomings and find directions for improvement in the future. This plan is sound. However, under current conditions, this test can only be conducted at a power level below one hundred million tons.”

“Of course. The stellar cannon is still incomplete; one hundred million tons is the firing limit,” Xiao Yu said. “There’s also another benefit to this test. By observing how the planet reacts to the stellar weapon’s attack, we can estimate what might happen if a cavity were to suddenly appear in a star’s core. I’ll provide you with all the test data afterward. Well then… first firing test, commencing now.”

Due to the special nature of tachyons, which do not react with low-density objects, the weapon did not have a fixed firing trajectory, unlike conventional firearms where a bullet can only travel forward through the barrel. The stellar weapon could fire in any direction, 360 degrees omnidirectionally. The tachyon torrent could be fired forward, backward, left, right, any direction was possible.

In other words, even though the stellar cannon’s barrel pointed toward the sky, it could still fire directly toward the planet’s core. All Xiao Yu had to do was adjust the firing parameters.

Upon receiving the command, the energy supply module, covering an area of 18.5 square kilometers, activated countless engines, generating a massive surge of energy that was transferred to the tachyon generation module. A vast amount of negative matter tachyons were produced, temporarily stored in the firing module, while the control module coordinated and regulated the entire process…

Following Xiao Yu’s final order, a tachyon torrent with a total mass of negative one hundred million tons was launched toward the planet’s core.

The tachyon torrents first passed through the stellar cannon itself. Since the materials composing the stellar cannon were relatively low in density, the tachyons passed through without obstruction. They then traveled through the thick layers of rock, continuing forward…

Until they encountered the high-density molten material at the planet’s core.

This planet was slightly larger in volume and mass than Earth, and its internal environment was also quite similar to Earth’s. Its core was composed of superheated, high-density magma. The density of this magma was sufficient for the tachyon torrent fired during the test to react with it. In that instant, at the planet’s core, one hundred million tons of mass vanished into thin air.

Within that moment, a void of over three million cubic meters appeared inside the planet. The magma that originally occupied this space simply ceased to exist.

The pressure at the planet’s core was extremely high, due to the immense gravitational compression from the planet itself. When this void suddenly formed within it, a violent collapse of matter was inevitable. Enormous amounts of material crashed downward, instantly filling the cavity. This process was not smooth; the intense pressure caused the material to collapse at extremely high speed, and their collisions led to further rebounds…

It was a chain reaction.

Through hundreds of thousands of sensors installed across the planet, Xiao Yu closely monitored its reactions. These sensors, scattered across various locations, constantly transmitted data on pressure, temperature, shockwaves, and more, allowing Xiao Yu to conduct comprehensive analyses.

The conclusion was that this single shot triggered a massive earthquake across the entire planet. The tremor was so strong it could be detected globally, with a peak magnitude reaching level 11. A massive canyon over a thousand kilometers long appeared near the planet’s equator, a mountain elsewhere vanished completely, and a new large lake formed in another region.

Accompanying these dramatic geological events were even more intense global volcanic eruptions. Xiao Yu observed that after the stellar weapon’s attack, volcanic activity across the planet increased by at least fifteen percent on average.

This was the immense power of the stellar weapon. Once fully completed, it would unleash a strike on the star itself with 1,500 times the power of this current test.

But with such enormous power came the stellar weapon’s astonishing destruction rate. Xiao Yu observed that at the moment of firing, over a million components were damaged due to the overwhelming energy load.

Xiao Yu compiled all the data and sent it to the Molian Civilization. The Molian Civilization would take the lead in addressing these issues, with Xiao Yu assisting, as both civilizations sought solutions together.

Xiao Yu once again threw himself into massive data calculations and intensive scientific experiments.

One month later, Xiao Yu received a response from the Molian Civilization.

“Regretfully, we must inform you that the problems exposed during this test are currently beyond our ability to resolve. The issue lies in material technology. According to our calculations, only a Level 6 Civilization can possess materials strong enough to withstand such immense energy. We cannot solve this at our current level.”

Xiao Yu paused for a moment and asked, “Only a Level 6 Civilization? In fact, we don’t need materials that strong. This stellar cannon is single-use. It only needs to fire once, that one shot will determine our survival or extinction. So we can manufacture some disposable components. Even if they’re destroyed after a single firing, it doesn’t matter.”

“No, it’s not that simple. If the material technology is insufficient, the components may not even survive a single firing. They could explode and fail during the launch itself. That is unacceptable.”

“Then… what should we do?” Xiao Yu asked.

“Use the flesh and tissue you obtained from the Level 6 Alien Beast. Use this material to significantly enhance your structural strength. Only then might it be possible to actually build the stellar cannon.”

Xiao Yu fell silent.

At present, Xiao Yu had less than two hundred million tons of the flesh harvested from the white dwarf Alien Beast remaining. In the face of the stellar cannon’s massive scale, two hundred million tons was barely a drop in the bucket. Even if used only on critical parts and high-energy-load components, it would still completely exhaust his remaining Alien Beast materials.

Xiao Yu didn’t know whether the Molian Civilization was withholding anything, whether they truly had no alternatives and simply wanted him to sacrifice the Alien Beast flesh. But Xiao Yu had no other choice and could only agree.

“Very well, I accept your proposal. I will contribute all of the Alien Beast flesh to the construction of this stellar cannon. This is the key weapon that could save both of our civilizations. Any sacrifice for it is worthwhile. But in return, I hope the Molian Civilization can also make some sacrifices. In order to accelerate research progress even further, I ask that you disclose more of your technologies to us so that I may take on a portion of the research work for your civilization.”

“Your request is reasonable. We agree. Then… it’s settled.”

“Agreed. This concerns the survival of our civilizations. Even with our full efforts, we still do not have absolute confidence in success, so I hope neither side will hold anything back.”

“Yes, you are correct. The Molian Civilization will give its all, holding nothing back.”

After the communication was cut, a massive amount of scientific data was transmitted. Under these new circumstances, the construction progress of the stellar cannon accelerated once again.