I handed over to another world

In the underground strategic room of the association's headquarters, a holographic projection suspended the entire solar system above the conference table.

Chen Lin's finger crossed the orbit of Mars, and a red warning line lit up.

"According to the data provided by the Morning Star Community, the Devourer has crossed the Orion Arm."

Chen Lin's voice was particularly clear in the electromagnetically shielded conference room. "According to a conservative estimate, it will take at most six months to reach the Oort Cloud."

The projection switched to a three-dimensional star map. A wriggling dark red ball of light was devouring the star systems along the way. Vice President Li stared at the expanding threat mark, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table.

"We've only been building the Dyson sphere for seven years."

Vice President Li's voice was a little hoarse. "It took seven years to attract something like this?"

Zhang Fengwu, who was sitting at the other end of the conference table, suddenly laughed. The director of the Planetary Development Agency was rarely seen wearing a formal uniform today, with an engineering medal awarded by the Mars base pinned on his chest.

"Vice President Li, according to the Dark Forest Theory, we should have been discovered long ago."

He called up a set of data, "The key is the progress of the Harvester technology analysis—"

"Let's talk about defense first."

Chen Lin interrupted directly at this time, and the projection immediately switched to a map of the solar system defense network. "The existing orbital gun array cannot cover the Kuiper Belt, and the quantum shield generator at the Mars base is only 30% complete. Energy is not a problem, the main problem is that the construction efficiency is not enough."

In the holographic image, blue spots of light representing humanity's defense power were sparsely distributed on the inner side of the solar system, in stark contrast to the Devourer's route.

The air in the conference room seemed to freeze. Only the cooling system made a slight hum. No one spoke at this time.

“I propose to activate Section 7 of the Ark Act.”

A vice president suddenly said, "This is necessary for the survival of human civilization."

Several senior officials looked up at the same time. This bill allowed the president to concentrate all resources at the critical moment of the survival of civilization, and even temporarily suspend some civil rights clauses, in order to continue the development of human civilization by any means necessary.

Chen Lin and Vice President Li frowned even more tightly.

“It hasn’t reached that point yet.”

Vice President Li clearly expressed his opposition at this time, "The three Ark ships of the Spark Project have been completed by 80%, we can evacuate first--"

"And then?" Zhang Fengwu sneered, "Let the Devourer eat up the solar system like a snack?"

Zhang Fengwu also directly called up a blurry video. "According to the data sent by the Morning Star Community, the Devourers will track the energy characteristics of civilizations. The warp engines of the Ark ships are lights in their eyes. Lights in the dark universe - you should understand what this means, right?"

Amid the debate, Chen Lin noticed that Xu, an astronomer in the think tank, was quickly calculating something on the terminal. Soon the astrophysicist expressed his desire to speak, and after Chen Lin nodded, the conference room immediately fell silent.

"I have good news." Xu Ruolan's voice was calm, a scientist's unique voice. "Based on the analysis of the wave characteristics, the Devourer needs to rely on the folds of space to move."

She zoomed in on a few points on the star map. "If we can place enough gravity distorters at these locations, we can delay it for at least three months."

Zhang Fengwu immediately responded: "The Planetary Development Agency has ready-made deep space mining equipment that can be modified."

He looked at Chen Lin, "But we need the association's authorization to use the full production capacity of the Mars Industrial Cluster."

Vice President Li slammed the table: "That will delay a lot of things!"

“So we need to make a choice.”

Chen Lin's voice was not loud, but it made everyone quiet down. "Are we betting that the Ark Ship using the Ark Project can escape tracking, or are we betting that we can build a defense system that can deter the Devourer?"

He pulled up two plans, "Or... do both at the same time?"

The projection was split into two halves. On the left was the Ark ship that was being accelerated to completion, and on the right was the complex defense network surrounding the solar system.

Chen Lin's finger slid across the image on the right. "I have decided to grant the Planet Development Agency special authority, and Director Zhang will be fully responsible for a brand new plan."

There was a sound of inhalation in the conference room. This decision meant that the Planetary Development Agency would gain the power to allocate resources beyond a large number of departments, and could even temporarily requisition scientific research capabilities from other departments!

"President!"

Vice President Li said anxiously, "This violates Chapter 5 of the Association's Charter—"

"Citing Article 12 of the Crisis Response Act."

Chen Lin interrupted him calmly, "When a civilization is threatened with extinction, the president has the right to reorganize the administrative structure."

He looked around at the crowd and said, "Anyone who has objections can raise them now, but the decision will not change."

After an awkward silence, Xu Ruolan suddenly said, "I need the gravitational lens data from the Planetary Development Agency."

This was equivalent to publicly supporting Chen Lin's decision. Soon everyone else nodded, except Vice President Li, who had a gloomy face.

"Then let's vote."

Chen Lin called up the voting interface, "Please confirm if you agree to grant the Planetary Development Agency special authority to initiate a new defense plan."

Nine of the twelve hands were raised.

Chen Lin looked at Vice President Li: "Vice President Li?"

"I reserve my opinion," Vice President Li said firmly, "but I will obey the majority decision."

After the meeting, Chen Lin stayed alone in the strategy room.

He called up the holographic image of Neptune's journey, and the children's smiling faces were particularly bright in the starlight.

The terminal suddenly vibrated, indicating that Zhang Feng had no request for a private meeting.

"Come in."

Zhang Fengwu walked in quickly, holding an encrypted data tablet in his hand.

"President, some things are not suitable to be said in a meeting."

He activated the data pad, and a strange signal waveform jumped. "We found this when we were analyzing the Reaper technology."

Chen Lin frowned: "Like some kind of code?"

"More like... calling."

Zhang Fengwu lowered his voice, "We suspect that the Devourer did not act autonomously, but responded to some kind of hyperspace resonance emitted by the Dyson Sphere."

He pulled up another set of data. "Interestingly, the Dyson Sphere of the Morning Star Community has been built for four hundred years, but it has never attracted a Devourer."

Chen Lin suddenly understood his hint: "Are you saying that our Dyson sphere has some special frequency?"

"Or lack of some kind of shielding technology."

Zhang Fengwu nodded, "I have asked the team to focus on analyzing the technical blueprint provided by Morningstar. If we can find the differences..."

“What resources are needed?”

Chen Lin asked directly.

"Two things." Zhang Fengwu raised his finger. "First, I need to use the association's latest quantum computer array. Second, I need to recruit Xu Ruolan's gravitational wave research team."

Chen Lin thought for a moment and said, "Approved, but all findings must be synchronized to my personal terminal in real time. I want to know the research status at any time."

He paused for a moment, "Also, don't tell Vice President Li about this for now."

Zhang Feng smiled in confusion: "Is he still bothered by the issue of authority?" "He is doing things according to the rules."

Chen Lin shook his head. "But the charter did not foresee that we would face a threat from the center of the Milky Way."

When Zhang Fengwu left, Chen Lin connected to the quantum communication at home, and Lin Yun's holographic image soon appeared in front of the table, with the background being the scene of children playing in the garden.

"Is your vacation over so soon?"

Lin Yun teased, but his eyes were full of worry.

Chen Lin smiled bitterly: "The Devourer arrived faster than expected."

He briefly explained the defense plan, "I may not be able to go home in the next few days."

"Xiaoxiao will be disappointed." Lin Yun sighed, "She has collected information on more than twenty kinds of alien jellyfish and said she wants to show it to you."

Chen Lin's chest tightened, and he checked his schedule: "The day after tomorrow night, I will be back in two hours no matter what."

Suddenly something occurred to him, "Oh, by the way, replace the children's data terminals with the association's latest models, which have additional quantum encryption channels."

Lin Yun's expression turned serious: "Is the situation so bad?"

"Just a precaution..."

Chen Lin tried to make his tone lighter, but he couldn't hide the sharp gaze of his wife in the holographic image, "...We may need to evacuate Shangdu temporarily."

After the communication, Chen Lin summoned the security team, and within fifteen minutes, twelve elite agents were secretly sent to the vicinity of his home.

This is not routine protection, but an emergency evacuation reserve under the Ark Act.

……

Three days later, Mars Orbital Shipyard.

Chen Lin was floating in the observation cabin, in front of him was the ten-kilometer-long "Kunlun" Ark Starship. This starship, which embodied the highest technology of mankind, could carry five thousand passengers for intergalactic voyages and was the core of the Spark Project.

"The reactor began loading with antimatter fuel today."

The engineering director reported, “But the ecological circulation system will take another two weeks to debug.”

Chen Lin's eyes swept across the densely packed engineering robots on the ship: "Let's compress it to seven days. Time is running out."

Seeing the other party's surprised expression, he added, "Mobilize all the maintenance drones of Jupiter Industrial Station to provide support."

"That will delay the construction of the tourist platform in Jupiter's Fluorescent Sea..."

"Now, everything makes way for the Ark."

Chen Lin said firmly, and he turned to Vice President Li who was accompanying him, "Vice President Li, you will be responsible for supervising the final test of the Ark. The passenger list will be as planned, but two hundred more scientists will be added."

Vice President Li frowned and asked, "Which group's quota is being taken up?"

"Let's take a look at people like us."

Chen Lin said calmly, "Reduce the original 300 people to 100."

This decision meant that less than one-third of the association's senior executives would be able to board the Ark. Vice President Li's expression changed, but in the end he just nodded and took note.

On the return shuttle, Chen Lin received an urgent communication from Zhang Fengwu. The holographic image of the Director of the Planetary Development Agency looked extremely excited: "President, we found it! The Dyson Sphere of the Morning Star Community has a secondary quantum field generator, just like... like adding a sunshade to a lighthouse!"

Chen Lin understood immediately: "So our Dyson sphere glows in the universe like a naked light bulb?"

“That’s basically it!”

Zhang Fengwu pulled up the technical drawings. "The good news is that we can add this shielding device to the Dyson Sphere within three months. The bad news is..." He hesitated for a moment, "We need to temporarily shut down 70% of the Dyson Sphere's energy collection function."

This means that the solar system will face an energy crisis, and Chen Lin does not know how long this will last. He quickly calculates the impact: industrial capacity declines, difficulties in maintaining the ecosystem, delays in the construction of the Ark ship...

"Let's do it," he finally decided. "Prioritize the safety of civilization."

Night had fallen when the shuttle landed at Xanadu Spaceport.

Chen Lin should have gone straight back to the association's headquarters, but he asked the driver to turn in the direction of home - he had promised Xiaoxiao that he would look at the information about jellyfish.

When the hovercraft landed in the garden, Chen Lin was surprised to find that the house was brightly lit.

When he opened the door, he was even more surprised to see Vice President Li and Zhang Fengwu sitting in the living room. The holographic projection in front of them showed some complex device design drawings.

"Dad!" Xiaoxiao rushed over and hugged his legs, "Uncle Li and Uncle Zhang are teaching me how to make stars!"

Lin Yun came out of the kitchen, holding a tea tray in his hand: "They said that if there is an important discovery, it must be reported in person."

She lowered her voice and said, "I suggest we talk in the study."

In the study, Zhang Fengwu couldn't wait to call up a new hologram: "President, we found that there are more amazing things hidden in the Reaper technology."

A ring-shaped structure emerged in the image. "This is some kind of hyperspace beacon, but it's not used to summon the Devourer..."

“It’s for control.”

Vice President Li continued with a complicated expression, "In theory, if we can replicate this device, we might be able to manipulate the Devourer to change its course."

Chen Lin looked at the two men in shock. Vice President Li and Zhang Fengwu had always disagreed with each other, but now they stood in front of him together and proposed a crazy plan.

"What is the price?" Chen Lin asked directly.

Zhang Fengwu and Vice President Li exchanged glances.

"The Ark ship's main engine needs to be dismantled."

Vice President Li said, "That is the only quantum twister that can generate enough energy."

"And the success rate is no more than 30%,"

Zhang Fengwu added, "But if successful, we can not only save the solar system, but also obtain a weapon to fight against advanced civilizations."

Chen Lin frowned. He really didn't expect things to develop so quickly. The current situation had even exceeded his expectations. If it was based on what the two people said, there would actually be no big problem with what happened next.

"What stage has the Ark Ship reached now?"

"According to yesterday's data report, 12% of the ship's construction has been completed."

As soon as Zhang Fengwu finished speaking, he heard Chen Lin say to him, "Then continue to build the Ark according to the specifications of a military starship, and transfer the main engine originally equipped for the Ark to the Development Agency. This is the arrangement for the time being. The specific details still need to be collected at the meeting."

"Tomorrow I will send a special team to the Development Agency to investigate the situation, Director Zhang,"

Chen Lin's words immediately alerted Zhang Feng, and he quickly stepped forward and said, "President Chen."

"Have these two plans of yours been approved by a professional team?"

“We have only conducted internal simulations of cutting-edge data at the UNDP, and some specific details have not yet been clarified, but the general direction is correct.”

Chen Lin glanced at Zhang Fengwu meaningfully, and then said, "Vice President Li, come with me. I have something to discuss with you."

Zhang Fengwu did not move aside. He didn't know what Chen Lin meant, but the series of arrangements just now agreed with their suggestions.

For a moment, he was a little unsure. (End of this chapter)