Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

[Earth], the door to Lü Yongchang's office was tightly closed.

As usual, Lü Yongchang locked himself in his office once again.

He needs to integrate the spacetime model and curvature model he has built, and thereby find the laws governing the interaction between spacetime waves in a curvature navigation state!

Once we find the patterns that generate spacetime waves and solve the equations about them, then human civilization can be said to have mastered warp drive technology—accurate prediction and calculation of spacetime waves can help humanity smooth out the waves on the surface of the ocean in the sky.

Clearly, this task is quite challenging.

It could even be described as exaggerated.

It's not just human civilization; many Type IV civilizations in the universe are stuck at this stage.

The spacetime wave equation and the Grand Unified Theory are the two biggest hurdles between Type IV and Type V civilizations in the universe!

At this moment, although Lü Yongchang possessed a thinking ability far exceeding that of ordinary individuals in a Level 4 civilization thanks to his quantumized brain, he found it difficult to solve the first hurdle to entering a Level 5 civilization in one go, due to his own level of civilization, or rather, due to his own limited knowledge.

Even he needs to constantly consider and try.

Of course, a large amount of experimental data is also needed to support this.

It is for this reason that, in the Kunpeng mobile laboratory a light-year away, the antimatter engine continuously outputs its immense energy at full power, and in the vacuum experimental chamber, bursts of sound can be heard all the time—the sound of materials shattering as the experimental subject enters warp drive mode, unable to withstand the spacetime tidal effect.

Each experiment generates a large amount of data.

This data was continuously fed into Lü Yongchang's office and presented to him one by one.

As a result, Lü Yongchang's office was covered by layers of stacked holographic projections.

In the ocean of azure data, he was like an insignificant speck of dust, quietly huddled in a corner, performing his calculations.

Time slips away, bit by bit.

Before him, as a more complete spacetime model gradually became clear, a set of equations concerning the development of human civilization also gradually emerged.

……

Three months have passed in the blink of an eye.

The tightly closed office door finally opened slowly again.

At the doorway, Fang Xu's face was filled with excitement and anticipation.

Through the slowly opening crack of the door, he could vaguely see layers upon layers of dense, deep blue holographic projections inside the room.

Each holographic projection displays bright white data and formulas that look like celestial script.

As the door gradually opened, these azure holographic projections slowly dissolved into light particles and dissipated into the air.

When the door was fully opened, the slightly dimmed office was left with only a huge holographic image.

A captivating picture was projected onto the screen.

Spacetime, under the influence of gravitational fields, is like wind rippling across the sea, creating rhythmic waves.

Fang Xu stared blankly at the waves in the holographic projection.

In his view, at this moment, the spacetime waves in the holographic projection seemed much more vibrant, no longer as rigid as before.

At the same time, the rhythm of time and space carries an indescribable beauty!

His gaze slowly shifted to the other side, where there were densely packed formulas and equations.

Under the control of zero, these equations also pulsate slightly with spacetime.

Before he could observe closely, a figure emerged from the depths of the room, attracting his attention while also blocking part of his view.

The figures gradually became clearer.

Disheveled hair, a withered face...

But none of this could obscure the bright, burning light in his eyes!

Fang Xu swallowed hard, his voice slightly hoarse as he asked, "Professor...?"

"Did it...work?"

Faced with Fang Xu's question, Lü Yongchang slowly stopped his somewhat unsteady steps, and a bright smile appeared on his lips.

He responded softly.

……

one year later.

The first prototype of the curvature engine has been successfully manufactured.

Considering that the prototype's power was still relatively small, it was installed on a small starship modified from the Xuan Nu fighter.

【Curvature One】

This is the code name of this small starship.

For safety reasons, the test flight location for Warp Drive One was also not near the fleet.

Relying on its antimatter engine, it "slowly" arrived at an open area 0.1 light-years away from the fleet.

Originally, Fang Xu's idea was that the test site for [Curvature One] should be located at least one light-year away.

However, Lü Yongchang believes that 0.1 light-years is safe enough.

Of course, the main reason is that it took too long to send Warp One a light-year away.

After the successful development of the warp engine prototype, Lü Yongchang didn't want to wait a moment longer!

Finally, after countless days and nights of anticipation, the first real warp drive experiment is about to begin!

Inside the laboratory.

"Professor, according to the experimental plan, [Warp One], carrying experimental animals such as mice and gorillas, will conduct a ten-minute warp voyage."

He Bilin meticulously reported to Lü Yongchang: "During this period, the starship's travel speed will reach 1.1 times the speed of light."

"A total of thirty probe-type starships were deployed along the pre-set route to conduct a comprehensive survey of the voyage."

"Do you have anything to add?"

1.1 times the speed of light, which is also the limit that the first-generation warp drive could achieve.

Of course, increasing the power of the warp drive will also increase the sailing speed.

However, the higher the speed of travel, the greater the requirement for the degree of spacetime curvature, and at the same time, the spacetime waves become increasingly difficult to control.

After rigorous calculations, Lü Yongchang came to a conclusion.

Based on the energy levels that humanity can currently control, the highest speed that a warp drive spacecraft can reach should be around ten times the speed of light.

In other words, ten times the speed of light should be the ceiling for a Type IV civilization.

Because civilizations in the universe develop in different paths and directions, their technology trees will also differ significantly.

Different civilizations have varying degrees of mastery over warp drives, resulting in vastly different starship speeds.

Therefore, based on the calculation results, Lü Yongchang classified curvature navigation into a simple category.

The basis for this division is, naturally, the degree of control over energy.

With a first-order curvature, starships travel at speeds between 1c and 10c, which is the level of human civilization at present.

(c refers to the speed of light; 10c is 10 times the speed of light.)

Second-order curvature, 10c-100c.

Third-degree curvature, 100c-1000c.

Fourth degree curvature, 1000c-10000c.

And so on.

According to his speculation, the Cleaner Civilization and the Pastoral Civilization have a very high probability of mastering Level 4 curvature technology, or even the more advanced Level 5 curvature!

"Professor?" He Bilin's voice interrupted his thoughts.

He snapped out of his reverie, pondered for a moment, and then a look of satisfaction appeared on his face: "The plan is very good."

"Let's proceed according to your plan."

"Okay!" He Bilin nodded excitedly.