Chapter 315: The Imperial Star Dimensional Laboratory!
Because he wanted to see the world today, Yang Ming got up early and waited for someone from the "mysterious" research institute to arrive.
Yang Ming actually had some premonition about where they were going today.
What is the most mysterious organization in the empire?
It is not the emperor's secret intelligence organization, nor is it the secret garrison inside the Skywrath Fortress, but rather several major research institutes that are allowed to be set up on the Imperial Star.
Among them, the "Dimension Upgrading Laboratory" whose name sounds very impressive, officially called the "Human Dimension Upgrading Feasibility Experiment Base", is the most fascinating.
Allowing humans to move from the current dimension to a higher dimension with this fragile body... This sounds extremely crazy.
Yang Ming has read several related papers.
The current human civilization is actually somewhat deformed. The human body today can only barely adapt to stellar civilization, that is, level two civilization, and is far from meeting the needs of the transition from level two civilization to level three civilization.
But it is with this fragile body that humans have spread their footprints to every corner of the Milky Way.
Scientists who are unaware of the truth find this incredible and attribute everything to the breakthrough in 'AI algorithm' that has led to the unbalanced explosive development of science and technology.
However, Yang Ming, who came into contact with the Faya civilization, knew that it was the Faya people who locked the human genes and provided guidance to the humans in the Milky Way in key areas such as jumps, cross-domain communications, and macroscopic quantum effects.
Under such circumstances, Yang Ming naturally became more curious about the Empire's dimensional laboratory.
Does this laboratory know anything about the Faya civilization?
Is this laboratory really as representative of the Empire's technological strength as it is portrayed outside?
Of course, what is more important is whether this laboratory will be detrimental to him as a quasi-ancient god.
Around eight o'clock in the morning of Emperor Star time, Yang Ming had breakfast, put on casual clothes, and started reading the Emperor Star Daily in the corner of the hotel lobby.
Service staff kept passing by.
A pile of snacks and drinks gradually appeared on the coffee table in front of Yang Ming.
When he came to his senses and turned around, he saw a group of young and sunny boys in uniform hiding in the corner and casting passionate glances at him.
In the past year, Yang Ming offended the great aristocracy, but established stronger prestige among the common people and the lesser aristocracy.
Yang Ming picked up a bottle of drink, raised it towards the corner, tilted his head back and took a big gulp.
Two hovercrafts slowly stopped outside the door, blocking the gate directly.
Several middle-aged men and women in white coats walked out of the vehicle, and an old man sat quietly in the car with no intention of getting out.
Yang Ming had sharp eyes and immediately recognized who the old man was.
The emperor's uncle, the imperial prince who appeared at the reception that ended the Council of Elders' forced abdication, and the head of the Dimensional Ascension Laboratory, Ino Sherman.
The middle-aged men and women came in with several medical bags and headed straight for Yang Ming.
"Lord Earl Hanton, we are researchers from the Imperial Dimensional Ascension Laboratory. Under the order of His Majesty, we invite you to visit the laboratory today."
Yang Ming was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Do I need to cooperate with you in the experiment? Do you want to do the inspection right now?"
"This is not an inspection," said an older man with a slightly higher hairline with a smile. "Although we would like to obtain experimental materials of your level, your political influence far exceeds your value as material. We all look forward to your further contribution to the empire."
Yang Ming nodded slowly and rolled up his sleeves.
These scientific researchers acted simultaneously, deftly attaching several soft-padded probes to Yang Ming and began to record some basic data.
"Mr. Earl, please wait a moment. We must enter your relevant biological information into the system to ensure that you will not be attacked by the institute's defense system."
"Hmm," Yang Ming was somewhat curious.
No one knows what level the defense system of this highest-level research institute in the empire can reach.
A few minutes later, after repeated confirmation by these researchers, they invited Yang Ming: "Please follow us."
Yang Ming followed slowly behind a few people and was invited to get on the hovercraft which was not luxurious but had outstanding protective performance.
The car door opened, and the thin-faced old man raised his hand and pushed his glasses, stretched out his right hand to Yang Ming, and introduced himself in a hoarse voice.
"Ino Sherman, head of the Ascending Dimension Research Institute, is ordered by His Majesty to be your guide and adviser today."
Yang Ming stepped forward and shook hands lightly with the old man.
He could understand the word 'guide', but what the hell was 'admonisher'?
…
To Yang Ming's surprise, the road to the research institute was not far.
The hovercraft entered the corner of the palace module. Yang Ming followed the taciturn Prince Ino and entered a luxuriously decorated elevator room.
Prince Ino finally spoke again:
"Take a seat. The elevator will run for a while. We will pass through the core of the Imperial Star and head to the other side of the Imperial Star."
"Yeah," Yang Ming chose a seat in the corner. He didn't intend to get too close to the prince, but as soon as he sat down, Prince Ino came over and sat on the sofa on the right side of Yang Ming, and fastened his seat belt slowly.
Several researchers gathered in the opposite corner, discussing in low voices some topics that Yang Ming could not understand.
The elevator began to run smoothly.
Yang Ming heard a sound similar to that of a spaceship engine, and multiple protective shields appeared on the outer layer of the elevator.
"Don't worry," Prince Ino said slowly, "The core of the Imperial Star is an energy module. Although the mass of the Imperial Star itself creates strong pressure in the core, we have installed a lot of equipment to make this pressure become part of the energy source."
Yang Ming nodded and took the initiative to find a topic.
He smiled and asked, "My Lord, does the Imperial Star need to consume huge amounts of energy on a daily basis?"
"You can call me the director, not my title. The title has no meaning, and the same goes for so-called honor and political system."
Prince Ino crossed his legs and continued speaking in his signature hoarse voice:
"Most of the energy on the Imperial Star is used as a reserve, not for daily consumption. We have the most advanced energy storage medium. If this medium is used in the military field, the Empire's fleet will establish a greater advantage over other countries.
“But that’s meaningless. The empire’s territory can no longer be expanded effectively. The core of civilization is always culture and humanity’s ridiculous sense of belonging.
"Our conquests were merely a show of force."
Yang Ming didn't quite know how to respond.
Director Ino seemed a little sleepy and leaned back on the sofa with his eyes closed.
Apparently, they hadn't found a topic that interested each other yet.
The speed of the elevator gradually increased to the point where a simulated gravity field was needed to offset the body's load.
"Mr. Ghost..."
An uncle researcher walked over cautiously, holding a metal plate similar to a notebook in his hand, and gave Yang Ming a slightly embarrassed smile.
"Can you please sign an autograph for me? My son is a big fan of yours."
Yang Ming nodded with a smile and drew the nickname White Ghost and his real name on the metal plate.
"Our director is actually a very nice person," the researcher whispered, "Don't be nervous. We haven't received any orders to conduct research on you."
"Thanks."
The researcher seemed to be afraid that Yang Ming would worry, and continued: "You are the hero of the empire. I mean, you are the most dazzling star in the empire in the past few hundred years. The top leaders of the empire care most about public opinion and public sentiment. It can be said that you are absolutely safe in the current empire."
Yang Ming nodded with a smile.
He hadn't thought much about it before!
Now people are beginning to worry that this is a trap set by the old emperor.
On the Imperial Star, you can't run away whenever you want, it's really too passive.
The elevator ran smoothly for more than half an hour. When Yang Ming was drowsy, Director Ino finally spoke again: "We're here."
Yang Ming immediately perked up.
Director Ino looked at Yang Ming and asked softly, "Didn't you see the star core array?"
"I just fell asleep."
"That's a shame," Ino said with a sigh, "That is the most perfect interpretation of the application of anti-gravity technology by our current human civilization. We have successfully made Emperor Star lose his position in the universe."
Yang Ming: …
It's as if he is very interested in these things.
The elevator door slowly opened, revealing an empty metal floor outside.
There is no simulated scenery in the low 'sky'. At an altitude of about 1,300 meters, there is a layer of 'rusty' metal plates, on which neatly arranged equilateral triangles and diamond patterns can be seen.
Outside the door was a long track, and a double-carriage train had been waiting for them for a long time.
Yang Ming followed Director Ino into the train and headed towards the gray 'horizon' in the distance.
He looked back and saw that the elevator had slowly risen and filled the metal plates. The entire space was like a prison with no entrance or exit.
In the far distance behind is also a gray horizon.
"Tree stumps" appeared on both sides of the train tracks.
Yang Ming took a closer look and found that they were all firepower devices similar to naval guns. From sparse to dense, they were spread across the metal field near and far, and the number was simply impossible to count.
Yang Ming sighed: "The security factor of this place is probably enough to destroy a fleet directly."
Director Ino said in his hoarse voice: "This is part of the inner defense system of the Imperial Star. The real security is in the front, which is a firepower network covering the entire area. The Imperial Star can output energy beams three times the power of a standard stellar cannon both externally and internally through this defense system."
Internal output.
The corner of Yang Ming's mouth twitched slightly.
He asked directly: "Director, where are we now?"
"This is at the back of the palace, about 2,600 meters from the surface."
Director Ino explained: "Don't worry, if you want to leave here, you can just fly up and tear these alloys apart. Their strength is about the same as the hull of a dreadnought, but they just look a bit intimidating."
Yang Ming nodded calmly.
The material strength is about the same as that of a dreadnought...
In other words, the Empire used the technology of building dreadnoughts to create such a large-scale research institute "outer shell"...
Even if you have money, you don’t have to be so wasteful!
Who the hell can make it to the Emperor Star?
Some huge artillery positions and shield generators began to appear on both sides of the train. The gray horizon in front also began to rise continuously, rising like a high wall, and gradually turned into a horizontal low mountain range.
A metal wall about six or seven hundred meters high appeared in front of them, and the train maintained a subsonic speed and crashed directly into it.
Yang Ming took a closer look and saw the neatly arranged array of weapons on the wall, which made his palms sweat a little.
Dozens of rays intertwined with each other, weaving seven or eight consecutive light curtains in front. When the train passed through the light curtains, the living things inside were also being scanned.
——The biometric information of Yang Ming was entered before, probably to facilitate his passage here.
"Director Ino," Yang Ming suddenly asked, "Are all the weapon systems here fully automatic?"
"Yes," Ino asked with interest, "Do you think of some issues related to the Omnic Rebellion?"
Yang Ming: What I’m thinking of is your ancestor’s little friend, the mechanical thinking body born from the omnic Twilight.
He nodded and wondered, "Everywhere on the Imperial Star, people are used to replace intelligent machines, and semi-automatic machines are used as much as possible. Isn't it to avoid intelligent machine crises?"
"You mean near the palace, right?"
Ino smiled and shook his head:
“First, it was just self-deception, giving some psychological comfort to the emperor living in the palace.
“Secondly, if you want to control these weapons synchronously and harness this level of energy, ordinary supercomputers can barely do it, but the process of humans issuing step-by-step instructions will make the entire system extremely inefficient.
"You should have come into contact with the Empire's national defense system. This is its territory."
Yang Ming smiled and said, "The empire's entire defense system... Oh, this is the dimensional laboratory?"
The train has passed through one side of the high wall and entered the interior of this thousand-meter-high giant "building".
A gentle light came in from the window.
A small city that seemed to exist only in fantasy movies appeared before Yang Ming's eyes.
A huge silver-white sphere was floating in the air, moving on its own according to some rules. Hemispherical buildings were displayed on the mercury-colored ground. The rainbow bridges crisscrossing in the air seemed to be beam-traction vehicles that allowed humans to stand on them and float forward on their own.
"Welcome to visit our institute," Director Ino smiled with narrowed eyes, "You are a rare guest, please follow me."
The train stopped, and Yang Ming followed Director Ino and stepped onto a rainbow bridge.
He did not step on anything substantial, yet was able to float steadily, with a gentle force holding his body in place from all directions.
Several researchers followed them.
Director Ino also became talkative and began to introduce to Yang Ming the layout of the place and the experimental projects being carried out in those buildings.
Yang Ming's curiosity and thirst for knowledge began to burn. Although some of the questions made Director Ino laugh, he was a soldier of the empire and a handsome warrior, and no one would care about his lack of scientific literacy.
They entered the largest hemispherical building, which had an extremely complex structure and precision instruments closely arranged.
"Perhaps we should get to today's topic," Director Ino said, "Come here, we are going to Observation Deck No. 1. In order to show you the dimensionality-raising experiment, we have specially adjusted the time of this experiment."
Dimensional experiment...
Yang Ming smiled and nodded, but several questions popped up in his mind.
Is Director Ino too nice to me?
He followed Director Ino through a jungle of various instruments and arrived at Observation Deck No. 1.
Hundreds of researchers in white coats were busy everywhere and did not pay attention to the arrival of Director Ino and Yang Ming.
Yang Ming was brought to a narrow window. Looking out, he could see a huge cavity with a figure suspended in the middle of the cavity, his body pulled into a "big" shape by the traction beam.
This is a super reformer. On the day when the Great Elder forced the emperor to abdicate, he once stood in front of Yang Ming, leaving some impression on Yang Ming.
"Let's get started."
Director Ino said softly.
The roar of giant machines moving could be heard everywhere, and several cracks seemed to appear above the cavity, and a gentle light shone on the figure.
Director Ino said: "This experimental subject is a consumable. His own strength is far from the absolute value, so the purpose of today's experiment is to collect data and explore the critical point."
"Yeah," Yang Ming nodded. Before he could express his opinion, a beam of energy shone down from above and wrapped up the super-modifier.
A researcher calmly reported from the side:
Begin energy injection.
Energy levels 443, 446, 449... The experimental subject is dissociating... Energy level 450...
"We won't get any valuable information this way," Director Ino sighed, "Our most proud experimental subject can already withstand 3420 energy injections... Let's adjust the energy level to 1200. Don't waste time."
Several researchers immediately began to operate.
Yang Ming's eyelids twitched slightly, and a purple lightning illuminated the cavity and hit the super-modifier on the head.
A purple shock wave suddenly erupted, the super-modified one raised his head and let out a silent scream, and his body suddenly exploded into puffs of purple smoke.
“Tsk.”
Director Ino shook his head slightly: "Poor quality sample."
Yang Ming: …
"Okay, let's get to the point and complete the task assigned by His Majesty."
Yinuo turned and looked at Yang Ming, revealing a gentle smile, and his eyes became brighter.
"Did you see that, young man? The experimental subject just now."
Yang Ming nodded: "This is a bit cruel."
"Yes, it is cruel, but if humans want to expand the boundaries of scientific research, they must abandon these emotions," Ino said calmly, "The Empire is evil, for most human individuals."
Yang Ming was really at a loss for words.
Director Ino smiled and said:
“The purpose of letting you come to visit is to tell you this very simple truth.
“Individuals are powerless. Even if they are super-modified, ancient god-modified, or anything else, they are just ants when facing a powerful political system.
“If you want to advance further into the center of power in the empire, establish a family, and leave your name in the history of the empire, you must abandon your previous ideas and see yourself as a commander rather than a soldier.
"You have already stood against the imperial aristocracy. You have a strong reputation, excellent character, enough ambition, and the icing on the cake, personal force.
“The Sherman family has decided to train you as the guardian of the empire for the next hundred years.
"The cells you want are already stored with me. Now you have two choices: accept the cells or reject them.
“After you make your choice, I will take you in two directions. One direction is to become a super soldier of the empire, and you can continue your glory. But ten or twenty years later, when you have completed your mission, you will eventually be captured here.
"One direction is the power of the empire. The emperor's most beloved daughter and my favorite grandniece have been waiting in front for a long time.
“Honor is the most ridiculous and empty thing, but you may need it very much.
"Carrying the fate of his home planet, Forerunner No. 1 continues to struggle in the Empire's camp."
