This was a logical paradox that Xiao Yu had already come into contact with and thought deeply about. In this paradox, the causal relationship was broken, because causality depends on the existence of time. In this scenario, did the ‘cause’ lead to the ‘effect,’ or did the ‘effect’ lead to the ‘cause’?

Based on this phenomenon of disordered causality, Xiao Yu had once conceived a shocking idea. Perhaps in the future, at the very least after reaching the level of a Level 7 Civilization, he could harness such logical paradoxes to create the legendary ‘logic weapon,’ a weapon that first defines the outcome and then retroactively organizes the cause.

If such a weapon truly existed, then destroying the Neutron War Star would be as simple as uttering a sentence. Xiao Yu would only need to issue a command like, “the Neutron War Star was destroyed.”

And then, the Neutron War Star would be destroyed, because the result would occur before the cause. Once the result had already been predetermined, no matter how bizarre the cause might be, some cause would inevitably happen to make the destruction of the Neutron War Star a reality.

In fact, if logic weapons truly existed, their applications wouldn’t be limited to warfare. They could be used in all aspects of life. For instance, if Xiao Yu wanted to resurrect all of humanity, then regardless of how bizarre the process might be, the result would ultimately be that all humans were revived.

“Perhaps… even a Level 7 Civilization wouldn’t be capable of wielding such a miraculous weapon. After all, this kind of weapon is too extraordinary. It should be something only the mythical all-powerful gods could comprehend. Right now, I don’t even know if Level 7 Civilizations truly exist, let alone a thing like this. I really can’t imagine how many more mysteries remain in this universe,” Xiao Yu thought with deep emotion.

The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know. That old saying, one which seemed to have come from a famous figure back in Earth’s era, was once again proving itself true to Xiao Yu at this moment.

The mysteries of the universe seemed endless, impossible to fully explore. Each time Xiao Yu found the answer to one question, more questions would hide behind that answer, waiting for him to continue the pursuit.

As scientific research advanced, science would become increasingly complex, and in the same process, Xiao Yu grew increasingly powerful.

He pulled his drifting thoughts back and continued pondering the words of the Specter.

“If logical paradoxes can occur, then the existence of a Specter whose total mass and total energy are zero… doesn’t seem so hard to accept.”

“And another point, the claim made previously by the Luka Civilization, that the Specter Race could devour the souls of intelligent lifeforms to strengthen themselves, that must be incorrect. The reason is simple, those intelligent beings didn’t have souls in the first place. Perhaps it was just a mistranslation. Their understanding of ‘soul’ and mine are not the same, we may be using the same word, but referring to different things.”

Having worked through that question, Xiao Yu set it aside for now and, full of hope, asked another.

“Then, could you help me check if there’s a soul belonging to one of my kind inside this escape pod? And if it does exist, would you be able to extract it, and place it back into this body?”

Xiao Yu had made up his mind, he was determined to resurrect this Earth girl. Now that he had such a rare opportunity, and had encountered a being from the Specter Race proficient in matters of the soul, he absolutely couldn’t let it go to waste.

But the result disappointed him. Only a moment later, the Specter gave its reply, “There is no soul inside this escape pod. Perhaps it has already dissipated. After all, a soul is not a Specter, it cannot stably exist in the universe.”

“I see…” Xiao Yu felt a wave of disappointment in his heart.

“Is she your… mate?” The Specter seemed unfamiliar with the term, pausing in thought before finally using the word “mate.”

“No,” Xiao Yu replied quietly, somewhat sorrowfully. “She’s just someone of my own kind… a very pitiful, pitiful fellow human.”

“It doesn’t matter,” the Specter said with a hearty laugh. “Once your technology becomes advanced enough, you might be able to create a soul for her from scratch. Her cognitive organs are still perfectly intact, and within them is stored a great deal of information. Based on that data, it might be possible.”

“I still can’t read the information stored in her brain,” Xiao Yu replied with a bitter smile. “She might possess knowledge far beyond my own. If I could revive her, I would’ve done it already.”

“Take your time. One day, you will,” the Specter consoled him. “There’s a mysterious connection between the body and the soul. Creating a soul from the body isn’t impossible, at least in theory, this method is entirely feasible.”

“Alright. Thank you for your help.” Setting that matter aside, Xiao Yu suddenly remembered something else and asked, “This is an escape pod from the Taihao Civilization. It may contain many secrets. Could you help me open it, without damaging it?”

The Specter’s response was straightforward. “I can. But it would cost me fifteen years of my lifespan. Are you sure you want to do this? I don’t mind, after all, I’ve already lived tens of millions of years. Dying a bit earlier or later makes no difference to me.”

Xiao Yu froze for a moment and replied with a hint of helplessness, “Better not. I’ll figure out a way to open it myself later. Right now, every year of development time is incredibly precious to me. Losing even one would be a tremendous setback.”

“Do you have any other questions?”

“Yes.” Xiao Yu hesitated, then asked, “Do you have any knowledge of computer technology? I’ve hit a bottleneck…”

At his current stage of development, Xiao Yu’s computer technology had indeed reached a bottleneck. Although he could still gain some improvements by researching a new architecture or patching the current one, those were purely technical enhancements. In terms of theoretical development, he had no idea what the next step should be.

“Computer technology… I don’t know much about it,” the Specter said. “But I can tell you about a computer architecture I encountered from a Level 6 Civilization. Their computer systems didn’t seem to use fixed physical components.”

“No fixed physical components? What do you mean?” Xiao Yu asked, confused.

“I’m not entirely clear on the details either, but they appeared to generate components using light. That type of computer had only a single energy core, and its computational and memory units were all formed through interwoven beams of light,” the Specter explained, describing what it had seen. “That’s all I know. After all, I’m a Specter. My main civilization was similar to an Alien Beast Civilization, we don’t rely on technological development.”

At that moment, Xiao Yu suddenly remembered something from long ago, back in the Tianyuan IV star system, when he had shattered one of the Guardian Alliance’s droplet-shaped probes.

When he destroyed that droplet probe, he had seen its internal structure, a strange interwoven mass of light with a chip at its core. But shortly after the probe was destroyed, the light construct dissipated, leaving behind only a single chip that Xiao Yu couldn’t analyze.

“Could that be the computer model of a Level 6 Civilization? A structure using intangible light as computer components?” In that instant, Xiao Yu felt a rush of clarity, like a new door had just opened in front of him.

“No, light is probably just the surface appearance. Its inner workings likely involve the latest in quantum tech, spatial science, and energy systems. Who knows how powerful such a computer might be…”

Imagining that legendary computer architecture, Xiao Yu couldn’t help but feel a sense of longing in his heart.

“Thank you for the guidance, Senior Specter,” Xiao Yu said respectfully. “Soon, I’ll dispatch a specially modified ship to your location to conduct a detailed analysis of your mysteries.”

“Mm. At this stage, don’t expect to decipher those secrets yet. Just collect data. Leave the analysis for later. I’m going to rest now. If you need me, just call.”

“Alright. Thank you.”

After severing the connection with the Specter, Xiao Yu once again turned his attention back to the massive negative matter cannon in planetary orbit.

Thanks to the experience from building the first cannon, construction of this one was progressing much faster. It had already taken shape, and the first test fire was expected to take place in just three months.

In the Central Research Academy of Science, nearly ten thousand scientists were still hard at work. Every moment, vast amounts of experimental data were being funneled to Xiao Yu. After initial analysis, he would return the data for the scientists to conduct further interpretation and study.

Overall, these ten thousand scientists saved Xiao Yu approximately 30% of his total computing power. More importantly, the increase in scientific personnel helped avoid cognitive blind spots. And the ‘clash of ideas’ between scientists of different races significantly accelerated the advancement of Xiao Yu’s technology.

As time passed, a newly constructed specialized probe was finally completed and sent into an orbit near the star. Xiao Yu would control it personally, landing it on the star’s surface on the side shrouded by the Specter, to conduct a full-scale analysis. At the same time, he would gain a rare opportunity for ultra-close observation of a star.

In the vast and boundless interstellar space, thousands of specialized probes slowly approached this strange and mysterious star, following their designated orbits.