CHAPTER 376: CHAPTER 375: SPIRITUAL LEADER

This issue is relatively easy to resolve.

The Flame Nebula is almost entirely Hydrogen, and naturally, Constant Star Lu Chen would not want to miss out on it.

After all, the situation is no longer what it used to be. In the past, they might have bypassed resources that were too far afield in their hurry to travel, thinking that there would be plenty ahead anyway.

But now that the Universe has suddenly ceased expanding, all civilizations have simultaneously entered a period of frantic plundering amidst this grave crisis, leading to a sharp decrease in interstellar material in the Universe. The fact that the Wandering Star System has traveled for so long with hardly any increase in mass is testament to this. Therefore, the Wandering Alliance can no longer adopt the previous strategy of ignoring some resources on the periphery but must strive to secure as much as possible.

This is because the Wandering Alliance must prepare for the worst-case scenario, where there might not be natural resources available in the future and resources might only be obtained through combat. Every bit of material now becomes key to enhancing the strength of the Wandering Alliance, especially those pertaining to the combat power of Constant Star Lu Chen, which will be considered paramount to the Wandering Alliance!

Furthermore, there is another significant point, which is that the Wandering Alliance is actually not too far from the Flame Nebula.

Only about 30,000 light-years away.

Such a distance might have once been considered vast to the Wandering Alliance of the past, but for today’s Level 4 Civilization Wandering Alliance, this distance is negligible.

This is the change that comes with technological advancement.

Therefore, Constant Star Lu Chen has always stressed the importance of liberating one’s mind. Because technological progress might have already been made without your realization, strategies and ideas from the past might become outdated. At this point, it’s necessary to free oneself from the old fixed mindsets, reassess the new situation, and make new decisions.

It can be said that throughout the Wandering Alliance’s journey, Constant Star Lu Chen has been a rational pioneer, leading the entire Alliance forward like a true spiritual leader. And with every societal transformation brought about by scientific progress, he has provided a vivid practical education to all, teaching them what it means to liberate their thinking and the significance of doing so, thus deepening their faith in Constant Star Lu Chen. Especially during the war with the Electromagnetic Civilization, every member of the Wandering Alliance could clearly see that because of the short-sightedness of the Electromagnetic Civilization’s leader, their scientific development was lopsided, ultimately limiting their potential. The primary reason for their defeat against the Wandering Alliance ultimately boiled down to the difference in leadership quality.

Every member of the Wandering Alliance feels proud to have such an excellent leader!!

It is out of this relentless admiration that almost no one opposes the decisions made by Constant Star Lu Chen.

This time is no exception; when Constant Star Lu Chen decided to plunder the Flame Nebula, all members of the Wandering Alliance supported this decision, advancing or retreating together.

However, this is decidedly not child’s play, and they can’t just rush in blindly. So, the responsible Constant Star Lu Chen asked the scientists to calculate a reasonable plan, to divert as little as possible from their course. In simple terms, they aimed to plunder the Flame Nebula by taking the shortest route and in the least amount of time.

After careful discussions and calculations by the scientists at the Wandering Base, a plan was finally proposed.

The scientists discovered that the Flame Nebula does not move very fast, which means they could easily pull it using Gravity. Taking this into consideration, the scientists’ plan was to adjust the Wandering Star System’s route into a gradual arc, while allowing Constant Star Lu Chen to use maximum Gravity Strength to lock onto the Flame Nebula, slowly drawing it closer. This way, the Wandering Star System wouldn’t have to fly all the way to the Flame Nebula’s position. Instead, by changing the locations of both, they would meet in a middle point, thereby completing the plundering process.

To put it vividly: imagine a crescent-shaped flight path, with the Flame Nebula’s position on the outer arc. Originally, the Wandering Star System would’ve needed to travel to the outer arc to gather the Flame Nebula, but with this plan, the Wandering Star System follows the inner arc while Constant Star Lu Chen pulls the Flame Nebula along the outer arc through Gravity, allowing both to converge at the tip of the crescent moon shape, thus reducing the journey by nearly 10,000 light-years.

Of course, although this plan seems simple, the conditions required are quite complex. If the mass of either object is less than one million Constant Star Masses, it would be impossible to carry out. Because Gravity is related to mass—the greater the mass, the stronger the Gravity Strength, which can propagate farther. Given the 30,000 light-year distance between the Wandering Star System and the Flame Nebula, solely relying on Gravity particles released by Constant Star Lu Chen might not reach that far before dissipating. Consequently, the Flame Nebula’s mass must exceed one million Constant Star Masses. Then, the Gravity particles released by the Flame Nebula would also be extremely strong, allowing the particles from both to swap mid-journey and establish mutual gravitational interaction.

This is why the gravity formula requires two objects to calculate. It uses a field state for the calculation (note that Gravity value and Gravity Strength are different concepts).

Moreover, the greater the mass of celestial bodies, the farther the distance of their gravitational interaction can be stretched. This isn’t the work of one side alone, but rather, a manifestation of cooperation between the two.

Take, for instance, the Galaxy Nebula and the Andromeda Nebula; because both have a sufficient mass, even being several million light-years apart, they can establish gravitational interaction due to the strong energy of their Gravity particles.

Here’s another clear example: in the past, the Earth’s Gravity bonded it with the Moon and the Sun, even though they were hundreds of thousands of kilometers away, proving that Earth’s Gravity particles can reach beyond outer space. So why can humans escape Earth’s Gravity?

The fundamental reason lies in mass. Larger mass bodies release stronger Gravity particle energy, and at a similar wavelength, it’s easier to establish a Gravity Field, which is the macroscopic gravitational interaction. This proves that gravitational interactions work bilaterally. If there’s only one object or if one’s mass is too small, then no matter how strong the gravity, it won’t be manifest. This is the rule of Gravity among the Four Basic Forces. Additionally, this refutes the claim that macroscopic Gravity is merely a pure distortion of spacetime. Otherwise, humans situated within the inclined space between Earth and Moon would not be able to escape Earth’s Gravity if they had not left that area.

Back to the main point.

Constant Star Lu Chen, following this plan, has been controlling the Wandering Star System to fly in an arc while using Gravity to pull the Flame Nebula.

Initially, everything went smoothly. Under the influence of Gravity, the Flame Nebula began to change its trajectory towards the direction calculated by the scientists. However, after the Wandering Star System had traveled nearly 10,000 light-years in an arc, they suddenly discovered a problem with the Flame Nebula.