Everyone's playing Red Giant? I, Black Hole, devour everything!

The communication was quickly established.

"Mr. President, is it urgent that you're calling so late?" Old Chen's voice was as calm as ever.

"Mr. Chen," the president said without beating around the bush, "I just received a report from Dr. Brian... some speculations about the nature of the cosmic struggle."

Old Chen's brow twitched slightly.

"Please speak."

The president no longer hid anything.

He recounted Brian's report.

He spoke very slowly, as if afraid of missing something or that the other person might not have understood.

During this process, he suddenly realized what he was doing.

He shared the most crucial intelligence analysis results from the United States with his biggest rival of decades.

But he had no other choice.

After listening, Old Chen remained silent for a long time.

The president waited about ten seconds, then couldn't help but speak up: "Mr. Chen, what's your opinion?"

Mr. Chen did not answer his question directly.

"Mr. President," Elder Chen said slowly, "since you have taken the initiative to share the results, then in response, I should also share some of the information that the Great Xia Kingdom possesses with your country to a limited extent."

The president's pupils contracted slightly.

Elder Chen continued, "The Great Xia Kingdom has already accumulated a considerable amount of information regarding what you've mentioned."

"What I can tell you is that Dr. Brian's speculation is basically correct."

The president's hand tightened slightly as he gripped the communicator.

"However," Old Chen changed the subject, "the selection rehearsal is not the end of the world. The experience of the Zhar people has proven that civilization is not entirely without room for resistance in the face of selection."

"They survived multiple rounds of elimination not by luck, but by wormhole technology."

"The Great Xia Kingdom is currently concentrating all its efforts on promoting the experimental verification of the wormhole theory."

"If the wormhole experiment succeeds, human civilization will have the possibility of surviving the great elimination."

"Mr. President, we have many differences, and our two countries have indeed had many unpleasant experiences."

"But when faced with a crisis that could threaten the survival of all human civilization, the Great Xia Kingdom and the Beacon Kingdom should stand together."

The president remained silent for a long time.

He had been a politician for decades and had heard countless high-sounding diplomatic rhetoric.

He can tell which words are sincere and which are insincere.

Old Chen's words belong to the former category.

"Mr. Chen," the president finally spoke, "I will seriously consider what you have said."

Old Chen nodded slightly: "Mr. President, this selection process is not something that the Great Xia Kingdom alone can handle, nor is it something that the United States alone can handle."

"Our scientists, observers, and strategists need to shift their gaze from each other's star sectors to look at that unknown entity hanging deep within the galactic center."

"That is our real enemy."

The call lasted for nearly an hour.

No one knows what these two elderly men, who stood at the pinnacle of power on Earth, discussed or how much they exchanged.

After hanging up, the president summoned his aide: "Notify Congress."

The adjutant paused, then asked, "Mr. President, what is the notification?"

"Double the funding for the New Manhattan Project, and expedite the research and development of the black hole route! We can't wait any longer."

The adjutant opened his mouth, as if to say something.

But seeing the determination in the president's eyes, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Yes, Mr. President."

……

Great Xia Kingdom, Black Hole Research Institute.

After returning from the military meeting, Lin Tian immediately went into the observation cabin.

Although the deterrence patrols have ended, his work is far from over.

However, not long after, an encrypted communication came in.

The sender was Su Li.

"Lin Tian!" Su Li's voice came from the other end of the communication.

"What's wrong?" Lin Tian asked.

"I—I—" Su Li's voice trembled slightly.

When has Su Li ever stuttered?

A premonition suddenly welled up in Lin Tian's heart.

"My mass has exceeded one million times the mass of the sun!"

There was a moment of silence on the channel.

Then, Su Li's voice burst forth like a flood that had broken its banks.

"I just used two 10 billion-year acceleration cards in the super dark matter halo!"

"I originally just wanted to add a little more basic mass, but as I was swallowing it, I suddenly felt the gravitational field of the entire dark matter halo tremble—and then I saw it!"

"The event horizon is expanding outward at an unprecedented rate!"

"The temperature of the accretion disk soared to levels I've never seen before!"

"The energy output of the bipolar jets has also increased nearly tenfold!"

"Lin Tian—I've evolved!"

Her voice choked with emotion as she spoke.

This girl always says, "I want to become a quasar."

She always had a smiling face when she said this, making it hard to tell whether she was joking or serious.

But Lin Tian knew that she was always serious.

Those sleepless nights spent in the observation chamber...

Those training exercises that pushed the precision of the gravitational field to eight decimal places again and again...

Those who resolutely charged to the front lines on the battlefield...

She was never playing around.

"Su Li, you did it." Lin Tian's voice softened slightly.

……

When the news reached the Black Hole Research Institute, Chen Wang was the first to jump up.

"Teacher Chen, what's wrong?" the secretary asked in a panic.

"Su Li has broken through! A million times the mass of the Sun! A quasar!" Chen Wang practically shouted. "Our Great Xia Kingdom has its second quasar!"

The secretary was stunned.

Then, the entire Black Hole Research Institute was in an uproar.

Professor Zhou Haiming, tears streaming down his face, exclaimed: "Excellent! Excellent! There are successors! There are truly successors!"

He had waited for this day for far too long.

More than 30 years ago, when he was a young researcher, the Zhimi Star Route was considered a dead end by everyone.

No one believed this road could be successful, and no one was willing to invest a single penny in it.

He and a few old colleagues relied on scraps of money squeezed from other project funding to explore the path forward little by little.

More than 30 years have passed, and some of those old colleagues have retired, while others have passed away.

But he's still here.

He lived to see this day.

not only that.

He lived to see the birth of the second quasar.

"Professor Zhou, please stop crying." Su Li's voice came through the communication channel, with a hint of embarrassment and a hint of pride. "If you keep crying, the data board will be ruined by your tears."

Zhou Haiming was amused by her and burst into laughter through his tears.

Professor Chen's congratulatory telegram was also sent to the Black Hole Research Institute on the same day.

The congratulatory telegram was very concise, containing only four characters.

"The future is bright!"