Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

The edge region of the Enrogete central galaxy.

Under the dim light, a solid planet with a dark gray surface quietly orbited in its own orbit.

This is the outermost planet in the Enroget Central Gon star system.

Nori – that's the name the Enroget civilization gave it.

Its core had long since cooled down.

At this moment, it was like a long-dead corpse being dragged along by the gravity of the main star.

In the vast universe, there are many planets like it.

If we use the core temperature of a planet as the standard for judging life on a planet, then this vast universe is probably a huge, chilling "morgue".

As an iron planet rich in various mineral resources, its fate would normally be to be mined by nearby civilizations and used to create various technological artifacts.

But it was lucky.

Located in the Enrogett Central Star System, it is protected by the Enrogett Alliance's interstellar resource extraction laws.

It is precisely because of this that it has steadily accompanied this civilization as it has grown from weak to strong.

The spacecraft that passed by it gradually evolved from probes less than a meter long to massive starships thousands of meters long.

The light from the main star traveled a long distance, making its way to this remote corner, bringing a fleeting warmth to this cold world.

One million kilometers away.

A massive warship, nine thousand meters long, slowly emerged from the darkness.

The powerful radiation generated by the antimatter engine swept rapidly around it like a wave, leaving traces on the dust on its surface.

Unlike usual.

The massive warship did not pass by it, but hovered silently in this cold, dark universe.

……

In a spacetime beyond the reach of conventional instruments, tachyons traveling faster than the speed of light transmit messages.

"The operating power of the ship's antimatter reactors is being increased!"

"50%!"

"60%!"

"..."

"The antimatter reactor is now operating at full power! First test complete; output power has reached the threshold!"

"Space weapon, first test activation experiment, commence!"

As the final message appeared, the massive amount of energy generated by the antimatter reactor converged in the pipes and rushed directly toward a huge device fixed in the core area of ​​the flagship.

The intricate network of pipes laid haphazardly on the smooth, flat surface of the hemispherical device evoked a strong sense of incongruity.

This feeling is as absurd as a car having its engine removed and a few horses put in front to pull it.

Anyone who sees this scene, even without much scientific literacy, will have the same thought: it seems that the smooth-surfaced hemispherical device does not belong to this seemingly advanced warship.

With the influx of a large amount of energy, this long-dormant, unknown device finally awoke from its slumber.

Using a principle unknown to the Enrogett Alliance, it transformed this enormous energy into an unknown force field, which was then transmitted through its two antenna-like devices.

Each antenna has a diameter of eighty meters and a length of over five thousand meters.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a pillar of heaven.

These two antennas run across the ship's hull, from the central core area of ​​the flagship, directly to the bow of the flagship, and extend to the outside of the flagship.

The flagship, which was originally well-proportioned, now looks like it has grown two straight tendrils, appearing extremely incongruous.

outside world.

As energy gradually flows in, the power of the unknown device also gradually increases.

Suddenly, an extremely deep darkness appeared in the vacuum between the two antennas.

Like a black hole.

Even with bright searchlights covering the Enrogett flagship, the darkness remained.

A few seconds later.

That patch of darkness stretched out rapidly, like a thin thread.

Like a neat crack on glass, the black line extended rapidly to both sides.

0.1 seconds later, its length had reached 10 kilometers!

This is even longer than the Enrogete flagship!

Swish!

The thin black line broke free from the constraints of the two antennas and shot straight forward.

The moment it completely left the antenna region, it suddenly disappeared from the Enroget civilization's high-precision observation device—it vanished from the visible universe!

……

A piercing alarm then blared within the Enrogett flagship.

"Space weapon test run successful!"

"Spatial rift successfully generated!"

"The spatial rift is 10 kilometers long!"

"..."

The cacophony of reports echoed within the flagship and simultaneously reached the command center on the home planet.

The elderly scientist stared solemnly at the screen in front of him.

"It...disappeared?" The alliance leader stared blankly at the screen, asking in a low voice, "Did the experiment fail?"

"No."

The old scientist slowly shook his head: "Its flight speed has exceeded the speed of light."

"It is no longer visible to the naked eye."

"Only a spacetime fluctuation detector can detect its location."

"Warp state?" A hint of doubt appeared in the leader's eyes. "Can it also enter warp state?"

The elderly scientist shook his head again, saying meaningfully, "The so-called curvature state is nothing more than making the space in which the starship is located move."

"It is part of space itself, so how can it be said to have curvature?"

The leader paused for a moment, then understood.

It hurriedly asked again, "Then where is it now?!"

The old scientist was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "The launch angle was slightly off; it has already left the Enroget Central Gonna system."

"According to observational data, its flight speed exceeds 800c."

These alarming figures sent a chill down the leader's spine.

That's a speed that a Level 5 civilization could never achieve.

"That……"

The old scientist seemed to know what the leader was going to ask, and continued to shake his head: "Don't worry, it won't have much of an impact."

"Based on the information we have gathered from the ruins, the space itself possesses a strong self-repairing ability."

"This involves a trade-off between the two."

"When the spatial rift spreads to a certain extent, it will naturally dissipate into the universe."

"According to our estimates, the maximum length of this spatial rift is approximately 100,000 kilometers."

"Considering the energy we provide for it, its existence time will not be very long, probably only about a minute."

"And what about its power?" the leader pressed. "Just how powerful is this spatial rift?"

"Could it damage that planetary warship?"

The old scientist chuckled softly: "Then we'll have to wait and see the results of the second experiment."

As it spoke, its expression turned solemn, and it issued the command in a deep voice.

"Adjust the launch parameters immediately."

"Target: Noli Star."

"Space weapon, second test run, now commencing."