Chapter 9

Xiao Yu shut down most of the instruments, covered the most important ones that couldn't be turned off, such as the central computer, with high-isolation radiation protection materials, and then operated the laser gun, randomly aiming at one of the radiation sources and began firing.

The shooting lasted for thirty seconds. This radiation source, while dodging and pausing, pulled away from the main group by nearly two thousand kilometers. Then, Xiao Yu changed the target and aimed at another radiation source, repeating the process.

Under Xiao Yu's conscious control, one by one, the radiation sources left the main group, each separated by a certain distance, and the radiation intensity decreased to varying degrees. In just a few short minutes, Xiao Yu had consumed over a hundred tons of fuel, causing him great pain.

But the consumption of these fuels was worth it, because in such a situation, Xiao Yu no longer had to worry about the radiation sources swarming him.

When Xiao Yu finished all the preparations, the nearest radiation source was less than three thousand kilometers away from him. According to estimates, it would take no more than thirty seconds for Xiao Yu to meet the vanguard radiation source.

Xiao Yu began to wait quietly for the moment of encounter.

Under the influence of inertia, the spacecraft quickly moved forward. Ahead, hundreds of powerful radiation sources were rapidly approaching Xiao Yu. At the moment of contact, this strange radiation source, like a leech encountering fresh flesh, clung to the outer shell of Xiao Yu's spacecraft, desperately trying to squeeze in.

The temperature of the spacecraft's outer shell instantly rose to two hundred degrees Celsius and continued to increase.

Xiao Yu gritted his teeth. Just as the next radiation source was about to approach, he opened a gap in the spacecraft's outer shell.

The gap was precisely aligned with the metal box Xiao Yu had prepared earlier.

This metal box, two decimeters thick, was made of high-strength radiation-resistant and heat-resistant materials, except for the side in contact with the spacecraft's outer shell.

If we only consider radiation resistance and heat resistance, this box was hundreds of times better than the spacecraft's outer shell.

Thus, the radiation source, suddenly finding an outlet, rushed in with a cheer, but was then blocked by the even stronger barrier of the metal box, unable to advance any further.

One radiation source was confined in the box. Then came the next.

Everything went as expected, and this radiation source was also successfully locked in the box.

Although these radiation sources exhibited some characteristics of life, they seemed to lack intelligence and acted purely on instinct. At least, they couldn't distinguish whether what was ahead was a trap.

It was precisely because they lacked intelligence that Xiao Yu's plan worked.

Gradually, all the radiation sources entered the box. Sensing that the temperature of the spacecraft's outer shell was rapidly decreasing and the radiation intensity was rapidly diminishing, Xiao Yu breathed a sigh of relief and reopened the instruments he had turned off.

The radiation source capture plan was successful.

At this point, Xiao Yu was already 600,000 kilometers away from Jupiter.

Xiao Yu felt a great relief, operating the spacecraft to quickly leave Jupiter while manipulating the instruments to begin analyzing these strange radiation sources that exhibited some characteristics of life.

At this moment, these radiation sources were densely packed on the inner walls of the metal box, unwilling to leave for a moment, as if something outside the box was attracting them.

"From the previous phenomena, it can be basically determined that they have instincts similar to living beings. Intelligence? They probably don't have it, otherwise, they wouldn't be so foolish. So, let's assume they are living beings. But what on my spacecraft is attracting them?"

Xiao Yu thought quietly, "Before the destruction of Earth, humans launched several Jupiter probes, but none of them encountered such strange beings. This means that these beings emerged recently, probably after the collision of Jupiter and its moon."

Xiao Yu slowly analyzed, with clues flashing through his mind.

"What is it that Jupiter doesn't have but my spacecraft does? It must be something that attracts them, making them swarm towards me like a group of bloodthirsty leeches."

Xiao Yu confirmed this hypothesis.

"Regardless, let's keep them for now. Once we establish a stable base on Titan, we'll analyze these guys."

Finally, he had overcome this major crisis, and Xiao Yu felt a sense of relief, as well as a deeper understanding of a truth.

The universe is boundless, and even in a small solar system, there are so many incomprehensible existences. In the face of the great nature, it is best to maintain reverence.

At the same time, Xiao Yu realized that he was no longer the only living being in the solar system. At least, there were over a hundred suspected living beings in the box on his spacecraft.

While assessing the damage caused by this encounter, Xiao Yu slowly accelerated the spacecraft. Suddenly, he noticed something unusual.

"Hmm?" Xiao Yu, somewhat puzzled, aimed the detection equipment at the box and was amazed by the feedback data.

The original hundreds of chaotic radiation sources had disappeared, replaced by a single radiation source hundreds of times more powerful than the individual ones!

These radiation sources had merged into one.

Fortunately, even after merging, its total radiation intensity was not greater than when they were scattered, and it seemed to have slightly decreased. So the box could still confine it.

However, Xiao Yu noticed another peculiar change.

The metal material of the box seemed to have changed under the influence of this strange radiation source.

Xiao Yu's heart tightened, and he immediately began analyzing the box.

It seemed... its density had increased slightly, the molecular arrangement was more compact, and the temperature on the outside of the box was gradually decreasing, as was the detectable radiation. This indicated that the box was isolating more heat and radiation inside. This suggested that the metal material of the box, due to some specific reasons, had improved in heat insulation and radiation resistance.

Xiao Yu's spirits lifted, and he immediately operated the robot to cut a piece of material from the outer wall of the box and took it to the laboratory for analysis.

The test results came out quickly. The results showed that in this short period, the heat insulation and radiation resistance of the metal materials composing the box had increased by fifty and forty-five percentage points, respectively! At the same time, their flexibility and impact resistance had also made a significant leap.

"I didn't expect these strange things to be treasures," Xiao Yu exclaimed in amazement. The wonders of the universe once again brought him great shock.

Previously, there were two main reasons that constrained Xiao Yu from embarking on true interstellar travel: power and material technology. The power issue had a solution in sight; once the controlled nuclear fusion barrier was broken, the power issue would be perfectly resolved. Now, material technology also showed signs of a solution!

Although only a glimpse of hope was seen, it was far from a complete solution, but at least there was hope. It could be said that if Xiao Yu couldn't solve the material technology problem, he would always be in a situation where a small meteorite could end his life. It was unimaginable to embark on interstellar travel that could last hundreds or thousands of years in such a state.

Moreover, if the material technology problem wasn't solved, Xiao Yu's spacecraft would always remain small and could never land directly on a planet. Otherwise, the gravity of the planet would tear the entire spacecraft apart, and even if it landed on a planet, Xiao Yu would never be able to take off again.

This was the constraint of material technology. Now that there was hope for solving it, how could Xiao Yu not be excited?

"As the saying goes, there is always a gain for every loss. Now, my interstellar travel plan is very promising," Xiao Yu thought excitedly. "Just wait until I land on Titan, establish a large-scale base, develop all new technologies, and then develop a new generation of interstellar spacecraft to set out for Tianyuan Si!"

At the same time, Xiao Yu began to consider whether to return to Jupiter and try to capture more of these strange radiation sources. After all, with the characteristic of enhancing material performance, the value of these radiation sources was enormous.

Just as he was considering this, Xiao Yu suddenly observed a radiation source cluster hundreds of times more powerful than the previous hundreds of radiation sources, and they were showing a blue shift!

A blue shift indicated that they were approaching Xiao Yu. At this point, Xiao Yu's speed relative to the Sun was already sixty kilometers per second, and relative to Jupiter, it was seventy kilometers per second. According to calculations, the speed of this radiation source cluster relative to Jupiter was at least eighty kilometers per second!

There were at least tens of thousands of individual radiation sources! Such intensity, no matter how Xiao Yu planned or prevented, would be of no use. If these radiation sources caught up with him, Xiao Yu would be immediately melted and turned into a space meteorite wandering in the vast universe forever.

Xiao Yu was terrified and immediately put aside the plan to return to Jupiter and capture more radiation sources, accelerating again and fleeing toward Saturn.

Watching the blue shift gradually disappear and confirming that he had escaped the pursuit of these strange Jupiter beings, Xiao Yu calmed down and thought resentfully, "Since I have already captured some radiation sources, once I reach Titan and develop controlled nuclear fusion technology, and break through the material technology constraint, I will definitely come back and capture all of you!"

"I will definitely come back!"