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

Days passed by like this.

The crash course on black holes was more effective than anyone expected.

Among the first batch of trainees, Fang Yan, Li Changying, and Zhao Zheng successively completed their transfer training.

These three individuals were already highly talented and had strong enough perseverance, so their success was not surprising.

The fourth person to successfully switch to a different major was Su Li.

Her situation is rather unique.

Although she followed the route of meticulous star analysis, her research direction was more theoretical, and her practical experience was not as rich as Fang Yan's.

But her comprehension is exceptionally high.

She could remember almost every theoretical detail that Lin Tian explained after hearing it only once.

After taking notes, they can apply what they've learned to other situations and come up with new ideas that even Lin Tian hadn't thought of.

On one occasion, she came to Lin Tian with a set of data that she had derived herself.

Lin Tian stared at it for a full five minutes before looking up and saying, "Your math skills are much stronger than I imagined."

Su Li beamed with joy at his praise and immediately offered to treat Lin Tian to dinner.

As for whether she had eaten the meal or not, Lu Xuejian didn't know.

But she noticed that when Su Li came back that afternoon, she was practically skipping.

Lu Xuejian herself was not far behind.

She was one of the people with the most solid foundation in the entire crash course, and her understanding of gravitational fields far surpassed that of ordinary people.

Although the process of switching to the black hole route was difficult, she gritted her teeth and persevered.

The night she successfully completed her transition, she stayed in the observation chamber for a very long time.

Watching her blue giant star undergo gravitational collapse, transforming into a miniature black hole emitting a dim glow in the boundless void, tears finally streamed down her face.

She was finally one step closer to Lin Tian.

The successive successful transfers of several people to the repair shop inevitably caused quite a stir.

Chen Wang was so happy he almost jumped for joy. He wrote a report to the government that very night, saying that the first phase of the black hole crash course had been exceeded and requesting additional funding.

The progress of the others is also very encouraging.

Although not all have completed the transition, most have already touched the threshold of the black hole route, and the rest is just a matter of time.

During this time, the relationship between Lin Tian and Lu Xuejian also grew stronger day by day.

Every time Lu Xuejian saw Lin Tian, ​​she would subconsciously soften her tone.

She herself probably didn't notice this change much, but it was very obvious to others.

Su Li was the first one to discover it.

She is very good at observing others, especially everyone around Lin Tian.

Once, Lu Xuejian gave Lin Tian a box of pastries, saying that she made them herself. Lin Tian didn't stand on ceremony and ate two pieces in front of her.

Lu Xuejian watched him eat, her smile impossible to hide.

Su Li watched from the sidelines, marveling at the sight.

After Lu Xuejian left, she immediately sidled up to Lin Tian and said with a grin, "Lin Tian, ​​your secretary is quite considerate. She even makes her own snacks. Someone like me who only knows how to fight for food in the cafeteria, am I not very competitive?"

Lin Tian glanced at her: "What kind of competitiveness?"

"What do you think?" Su Li blinked, her big, bright eyes gleaming with mischief. "Lu Xuejian likes you, everyone in the research institute can see that, right? Do you think I, as her junior, should try to compete with her for you?"

Lin Tian put down the pastries in his hand: "When did you become my junior sister?"

"I don't care. Although I'm older than you in terms of age, you're a teacher now, so you're more senior than me! So let's stick to our own roles. I'll call you teacher, and you'll call me junior sister!" Su Li said, counting on her fingers with conviction.

"What kind of twisted logic is that?" Lin Tian was speechless.

Seeing that he didn't respond, Su Li wasn't discouraged; instead, she became even bolder: "Seriously, Lin Tian, ​​if you wanted to have a harem, I'd help you set it up! Look, you already have the aloof and elegant type like Lu Xuejian by your side. Don't you need someone lively and cute like me?"

"Go help Professor Zhou organize the data," Lin Tian said without looking up.

"Professor Zhou's data isn't urgent!" Su Li plopped down next to him. "Let me calculate for you first what type of person you're lacking—the gentle and considerate type? Lu Xuejian seems quite gentle towards you, but it's definitely an act. She certainly wasn't like this in school..."

Lin Tian couldn't help but glance at her.

"Are you this free all the time?"

"I'm not free! But even when you're busy, you should still care about the people around you." Su Li smiled like a little fox who had just stolen a chicken. "After all, you're the apple of our Black Hole Research Institute's eye. Your marriage is a matter of life and death for the entire institute!"

Lin Tian was too lazy to argue with her, so he stuffed the last piece of pastry into his mouth, got up, and left.

Su Li called out from behind, "Lin Tian, ​​are the snacks delicious?"

Lin Tian paused for a moment, but didn't turn around: "It's alright."

"I'll bring you some tomorrow too, I guarantee it'll taste better than Lu Xuejian's!"

After she shouted those words, she laughed at herself.

The researchers nearby were already used to this little tyrant's behavior. They exchanged glances and shook their heads with wry smiles.

This guy, even though he's already twenty-four, is smarter than most of the people here.

But her personality was even more unruly than that of Lu Xuejian at eighteen.

However, upon closer reflection, it's not surprising.

Su Li was a genius from a young age, skipping grades all the way up. She graduated with a doctorate at the age of 23 and became a professor at the Black Hole Research Institute at the age of 24.

While her peers were still struggling in school, she had already stood on the nation's top scientific research platform.

This upbringing shaped her into a unique personality – intelligent, confident, and free-spirited, doing whatever she likes and not caring what others think.

As for Lu Xuejian?

Su Li actually quite liked this girl.

Despite his young age, he has weathered many storms, but he never easily shows weakness in front of others.

Moreover, her feelings for Lin Tian were genuine, something Su Li could tell at a glance.

However, as much as she liked him, Su Li never said that she was joking about stealing a man.

Her greatest strength is that she keeps her word.

……

Besides the crash course in black holes and his romantic entanglements, Lin Tian had another matter he had to face—military orders from the state.

That day, Chen Wang came to see him with an official document, his expression much more serious than usual.

"Lin Tian, ​​from today onwards, your identity is not just that of the head of the Black Hole Research Institute."

He opened the file and placed it in front of Lin Tian.

"This is an official appointment letter issued by the military headquarters—you are now the deputy commander of the Ninth Legion of the Great Xia National Defense Army, with the rank of colonel. During the space war, you have the right to accept military deployment based on the situation on the front lines, and to participate in or even directly command the war."

Lin Tian picked up the appointment letter and read it over.

Deputy Commander of the Ninth Army Corps, with the rank of Colonel.

This is no empty title.

The Great Xia Kingdom has a total of nine legions, each responsible for managing tens of thousands of observers. The legion commanders are usually colonels to senior colonels and have independent battlefield command authority.

Giving him the position of deputy commander, even if it's just a temporary post, means that the country has placed him at the core of the entire national defense strategy.

"This was a unanimous decision by the military's top brass." Chen Wang paused, then continued, "Once the Cosmic War begins, the battlefield will span an extremely vast area, and the battle situation will be ever-changing. We need a powerhouse of your caliber to oversee key moments."

"I understand." Lin Tian nodded without saying anything more.

He knew, of course, that the country had placed great trust in him by giving him this appointment.

He was a boy who had just turned eighteen, with no military experience and hadn't even officially graduated from university, yet he was parachuted into the position of colonel and deputy commander.

Even considering his status as the pioneer of the black hole route, this is an unprecedented and exceptional promotion.

Since the country trusts him, he doesn't mind taking on this responsibility.

……

Time passed slowly.

One after another, the students in the Black Hole Crash Course completed their transfer studies.

Lin Tian himself was not idle either.

He further increased the mass of the primordial quasar to thirteen million times the mass of the Sun, and pushed the spacetime curvature to level twenty-six.

The three-month countdown slowly passed amidst this hectic schedule.

Finally, the last day arrived.

On this day, everyone in the black hole crash course arrived at the research institute and waited by the observation chamber.

Ready to enter the cosmic battle at any time.

When the countdown of the universe's will reached zero, the whole world fell silent for a moment.

It was a pitch-black announcement.

It was as black as iron, with a faint crimson glow at the edges of the characters.

Attention all observers! Attention all observers!

The intergalactic war has officially begun!

[The War Charter for Space Conquest is officially in effect!]

[Charter Contents:]

[First: All safe zones and sector barriers have been removed. Any sector and any coordinate can become a battlefield!]

[Second: New player protection has been removed!]

[Third: A nation's overall strength score fluctuates in real-time, calculated on a national basis. Each enemy observer absorbed increases the nation's score; each observer lost decreases the score!]

[Fourth: The will of the universe will randomly deploy "strategic resource points"—including ultra-dense dark matter halos, coordinates of ancient ruins, and rare attribute point veins!]

[Fifth: The war lasts for five years. After five years, the top five nations in terms of overall score will retain their permanent seats on the Security Council. Those ranked sixth and below will be permanently relegated, and all cosmic resources will be divided among the victorious nations.]

During the war, the will of the universe will no longer restrict any means of attack!