A genius? I just love studying.

Chapter 342 This is not the end, but only the beginning

It did not directly create antimatter, but rather, like an extremely ingenious key, it gently turned the lock core, prying open the ground state of the quantum vacuum, causing those virtual particle pairs that should have annihilated to be stuck just before annihilation.

The positive particle was instantly pulled back and annihilated by the powerful spacetime curvature, while its antimatter partner was flung out of nothingness and gained a physical existence due to the slight asymmetry caused by the topological structure!
This process lasts for an extremely short time and produces a negligible amount of antimatter, but its principle has been revealed: by precisely manipulating specific spacetime topologies, antimatter can be stably and predictably extracted from the quantum vacuum!

Chen Hui suddenly stood up straight, a strange look appearing in his eyes.

He realized that he had stumbled upon something as revolutionary as the ripples in spacetime themselves.

He immediately pulled up the collision parameters, his fingers flying across the virtual interface, his voice filled with barely suppressed excitement.
"Reconfigure the collision energy and focus point, abandon the original spacetime ripple observation, and attempt to capture and confine antihydrogen atoms at a predetermined topological knot in the next collision window!"

The order is issued.

The super magnetic confinement system of the Chaos Ring has been adjusted into place, like an invisible giant hand, ready to scoop up the legendary mirror water from the source of the universe.

A new round of collisions has begun.

Energy surged, and in the core region of the detector, in a trap meticulously constructed by a powerful magnetic field, an antimatter particle born from spacetime itself, an antiproton, and a positron also produced from it, for the first time in human history, were extracted from the vacuum and successfully combined into a stable antihydrogen atom, which was then firmly bound by the magnetic field!

On the console screen, a unique signal pulsed steadily, announcing its presence.

[Duration of the antihydrogen atom stabilization constraint: 1.2 seconds...2.5 seconds...continues...]

Chen Hui stared quietly at the signal, his face devoid of any ecstatic expression, only displaying a profound and unfathomable calm.

He knew that at this very moment, human civilization had grasped a new key—a key to near-infinite energy, to interstellar travel, and even to the ultimate balance of the universe.

A burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted in the control room; everyone knew what this meant.

Before this, they might not have been able to deal with ALX, but now, with the ability to stably extract antimatter, they are capable of generating enough thrust to remove the sword of Damocles that is ALX from their heads.

Earth is completely safe now!
After gaining experience from this success and conducting several more experiments, Chen Hui mastered the method of antimatter extraction. He then handed the plan over to Jiang Tonggao and others, and once again immersed himself in his research.

Based on the information relayed back by the advance team, Chen Hui knew that his guess was correct. Behind ALX must be a civilization that had already set foot in space. This asteroid was just a test for them. Even if they mastered the antimatter extraction technology, Chen Hui did not believe that they could resist this civilization.

Only more powerful technology can make it feel more secure.

Everyone thought that deflecting ALX meant rebirth, but only he knew that the real crisis would arrive after they resolved the ALX crisis.

He must find a solution before then!
……

The solar system, a vast space once considered humanity's future territory, has now become an invisible arena of power struggles.

The asteroid named ALX, like a dark bullet imbued with an evil will, is cutting into the heart of the inner solar system along a meticulously calculated yet incredibly dangerous trajectory.

This was his 387th day of voyage in space, and he had finally entered the solar system completely.

Soon, near Mars' orbit, the thousands of micro-thrust engines attached to its rugged surface ignited simultaneously, their pale blue plasma tails outlining brief but intricate patterns of light against the dark backdrop of space.

This was not a violent push, but an exquisitely delicate touch.

This seemingly insignificant force, under the leverage of Mars' enormous gravitational field, was amplified and deflected, as if an invisible hand had gently tugged at the ALX's steering wheel at the last moment, causing it to deviate from its initial deadly trajectory toward Earth and embark on a more tortuous path that would determine the fate of both worlds.

What followed was a long wait and several more detailed revisions along the way.

The deep space monitoring network of Earth is like countless tense eyes, tracking that dark figure without daring to blink for a moment.

It swept past the silhouette of Mars, and its trajectory was repeatedly depicted, calculated, and verified on the ecliptic plane.

Zhao Kuo and his team worked tirelessly, their world consisting only of constantly updated data and supercomputers running complex models.

Finally, the decisive moment arrived.

In Earth's night sky, ALX is no longer just a point of light in a telescope; it has become a visible, moving star, and its brightness is increasing day by day.

At first, it looked like an ordinary evening star, but as it got closer, it became brighter and brighter, and on some nights, the sunlight it reflected could cast a faint, swaying, and unsettling shadow on the ground.

The lights around the world seemed to dim a little, and hundreds of millions of people took to the streets, rooftops, and open fields to look up at the sky.

There was no commotion, only an almost frozen silence.

Children were held tightly in their parents' arms, lovers held hands, and the elderly murmured prayers. A complex emotion, a mixture of extreme fear and faint hope, permeated the air.

At the command center of the Mountain Moving Project, a huge main screen displays a real-time simulation of the orbit of ALX and Earth.

Two lines, one representing death and the other life, are approaching at a breathtaking speed. The numbers are fluctuating wildly, and the alarm system is at its most sensitive state, but the expected collision alarm has not sounded.

The closest point has arrived.

From a space perspective, it is an incredibly magnificent and breathtaking sight.

Blue Star, like a sapphire set in black velvet, radiates a warm, life-giving light. Not far from it, a huge, dark, jagged, and menacing rock-ice mixture is gliding past at an astonishing speed.

Its shadow, like the black robe of death, briefly brushed across the lunar surface before sweeping toward the blue planet. It did not collide with it, but rather passed by at an extremely close distance, almost grazing the top of the atmosphere, whistling past.

Inside the space station in low Earth orbit, astronauts pressed themselves against the portholes, witnessing this unforgettable moment. The cratered surface of ALX, a record of the early history of the solar system, appeared exceptionally clear and stark under the sideways sunlight.

It moved silently, with an overwhelming size and presence, slowly passing through their field of vision, and at its closest, it seemed as if they could reach out and touch the cold rock.

The space station could even feel the faint but distinct disturbances caused by its immense gravity, and the station structure emitted a slight, teeth-grinding groan.

On Earth, this near-Earth object reached its brightest point in the night sky, even surpassing Venus at one point, becoming the second brightest object in the night sky after the moon.

It passed through the familiar constellations with an unquestionable, cold majesty, its light not warm, but with a metallic chill.

It did not stop or hesitate for a moment, like a cold judge who, after examining the defendant, ultimately chose to temporarily sheathe his blade.

Then, it started to move away!
The brightness gradually decreased, and the speed of movement seemed to slow down visually, but that's because it was heading towards deeper space.

It transformed from a terrifying false moon back into a bright star, then dimmed, and finally blended into the starry sky, becoming indistinguishable.

When the global monitoring network finally confirms that ALX's orbit has carried it away from the threat range of Earth, and that in its subsequent gravity slingshot sequence it will have another safe interaction with Venus, it will eventually be flung into the outer reaches of the solar system.

The global nerves that had been taut for nearly two years finally snapped and relaxed.

Death just brushed past me!

On the night ALX came closest to Earth, the streets were deserted, and everyone was glued to their screens. When the news of safety was confirmed and spread around the world through all emergency broadcast channels, television signals, and internet pushes, long-suppressed emotions erupted like a volcano.

In the city square, strangers embraced and wept, shouting, "We survived!"

Traffic was completely paralyzed, not because of congestion, but because drivers were excitedly honking their horns, creating a sea of ​​celebration.

In hotels and restaurants, all drinks were provided free of charge. People raised their glasses, drank heartily, sang, and danced, venting their near-collapsed nerves.

In the brightly lit home, family members embraced tightly, all the barriers created by the panic instantly melting away, leaving only the preciousness of what had been lost and found again.

Social media was instantly flooded with hashtags such as #WeSurvived, #ThankYouScientists, and #LongLiveBlueStar.

Countless people uploaded videos of the ALX streaking across the night sky, accompanied by excited and trembling voice narration.

Inside the command center of the Mountain Moving Project, the deathly silence was broken the moment the final track confirmation data turned green and a huge "Safe" sign occupied the main screen.

There were no cheers, only a few suppressed sobs, as if they were finally able to catch their breath, followed by thunderous applause that lasted for several minutes.

Engineers, scientists, and military officers embraced each other, many slumped in their chairs, tears streaming silently down their faces—a release after nearly two years of extreme pressure bearing the weight of civilization's fate.

Official public celebrations were limited.

They quickly crowned the entire scientific team and all participants with the title of savior. As the proposer of the gravity sequence of the Mountain Moving Project, Chen Hui was undoubtedly once again in the spotlight. Everyone discovered that this genius mathematician seemed to have become a pillar of the Blue Star civilization.

The public celebrated wildly, but the official attitude was extremely solemn. The more they learned about ALX, the more certain they became that it was not a natural planet that had accidentally flown into the solar system.

An internal order has been issued, characterizing this incident as the first unfriendly probe by a foreign civilization, and elevating the construction of a deep space monitoring and defense system to an absolute core national policy for the next fifty years.

At the bottom of the victorious champagne glass lies a deeper vigilance towards the profound depths of space.

Mr. Qian, who was extremely busy, also came to the command center. When the dust settled, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The crisis at ALX was resolved more than a year ago when Chen Hui discovered the method for extracting antimatter. They had already sent people to install antimatter bombs near the Blue Star side of ALX. If Chen Hui's gravity slingshot sequence plan fails, the antimatter bombs can be detonated.

A full kilogram of antimatter, if detonated, could, even if not destroy ALX, certainly alter its trajectory.

The energy efficiency of matter-antimatter annihilation can be close to 100%. Even the most advanced nuclear fusion hydrogen bomb has an energy conversion efficiency of less than 2%, not to mention ordinary chemical bombs, such as TNT, which have an energy conversion efficiency of less than one ten-thousandth.

The explosion of one kilogram of antimatter bomb can produce energy equivalent to the explosion of 4300 million tons of TNT, and its power is even enough to cause a devastating blow to Earth.

Fortunately, this backup plan was never used in the end. It's always good to have more trump cards up your sleeve when dealing with the next civilization.

With a soft sigh, Qian Lao stepped out of the command center, boarded the spacecraft, and flew towards Tiangong-3, where Chen Hui's current laboratory was located.

During the past year or so, after completing the verification of the Grand Unified Theory, Chen Hui spent all his time researching barrier systems, except for occasionally using chaotic rings to verify some conjectures.

In Chen Hui's view, although antimatter bombs are powerful, they are too bulky. He believes that a civilization capable of manipulating asteroids like ALX without leaving a trace would probably not give them the opportunity to hit it with an antimatter bomb.

To ensure the safety of Earth and the solar system, they need a more robust defense system.

Chen Hui's design is theoretically flawless.

He wants to use a series of giant devices called Law Nodes in the outer reaches of the solar system to collectively generate a stable, unified field that will locally increase the fine structure constant.

The fine structure constant (α) determines the strength of the electromagnetic force. A significant increase in the value of α means a surge in the electromagnetic force between the atomic nucleus and electrons, causing atomic orbitals to collapse, electrons to be pulled towards the atomic nucleus, all chemical bonds in the substance to break down, and the structure of the atom itself to be unable to be maintained.

In other words, if the barrier system succeeds, any entity that breaks in will have its constituent matter disintegrate from the most basic level. If it so chooses, no matter will be able to enter the solar system, and they will have an incredibly secure haven.

They can develop peacefully within the solar system, and after decades or centuries, when the Blue Star civilization has fully digested the basic theories, it will have the power to choose whether to continue living in the solar system or venture into space.

(End of this chapter)