CHAPTER 516: CHAPTER 515: EXPERIMENTAL SAMPLE?

Many years ago.

When Black Hole Lu Chen had just embarked on the journey in the Wandering Universe.

He once casually set a seemingly scientific series of upgrade stages for himself.

These stages were, respectively, meteorite, Star Stone, asteroid, Planet, Constant Star, star system, nebula.

Although it now appears that these stages are not entirely scientifically reasonable, because both star systems and nebulae require the collaborative cooperation of the entire life community, especially since the structure of nebulae is quite extraordinary; if considering evolution from the perspective of a single Celestial Civilization, it might be more sensible for the stages following Constant Star to be White Dwarf Star, neutron star, Quark Star, and Black Hole, with star systems and nebulae belonging to the upgrade path and stages of life communities.

Nevertheless, this precisely proves that knowledge always evolves with scientific progress, and is not immutable.

There is no such thing as permanently correct science; the laws of science itself are continuously refined and overthrow previous scientific theories.

Previously when Black Hole Lu Chen was merely a meteorite, his understanding of the Universe was not very deep, let alone knowing about the existence of life communities; with limited knowledge in such circumstances, the randomly defined upgrade realms certainly had some minor issues, but from the results, this overall direction is generally correct.

At least today, Black Hole Lu Chen and biological civilization of the Wandering Alliance have evolved into the Wandering Nebula!

Whether from the viewpoint of a single Celestial Civilization or from that of a life community, Black Hole Lu Chen and the Wandering Alliance have evolved to the ultimate stage.

As for what lies beyond this ultimate phase, that is the truth that the Wandering Alliance needs to explore; it is believed that this is also the scientific truth that all civilizations in the Universe want to clarify.

After the Wandering Nebula fully evolved, the Wandering Alliance embarked on the journey of wandering once again.

Their goal has always remained the same, always aiming for the Cosmic Center.

Under high-speed flight, the massive Wandering Nebula also rotates rapidly. At the tail of the nebula or the tail of a spiral arm, there emerges slender tails of stardust, appearing like a rapidly spinning fireworks spinner; however, since the Wandering Nebula is constructed by gravity relationships as it flies through the Universe, it does not seem as rigid as a fireworks spinner, giving it an impression of elegance and flexibility.

Inside the Wandering Nebula, there are three thousand small star systems, five thousand Constant Stars, and countless pieces of interstellar and meteoritic material neatly revolving around Black Hole Lu Chen at the very center, forming a three-layer structural area unique to nebulae. The first layer, the nebula heart, which is Black Hole Lu Chen at the core; the second, the nebula core, refers to the central region of the nebula enriched with a large number of Constant Stars, slightly thicker and brighter in appearance, with a diameter of about twenty thousand light-years; the third, the nebula disk, refers to the disk-shaped region outside the nebula core, made up of numerous star systems, celestial bodies, and materials that revolve around the nebula core, forming a thinner disk-like spinning structure, known as the nebula disk, with a diameter of about one hundred and ten thousand light-years.

Overall, the diameter of the Wandering Nebula is one hundred and thirty thousand light-years.

Although it still does not match the Galaxy Nebula in terms of the number of Constant Stars and star systems, its diameter is relatively close to that of the Galaxy Nebula.

However, from a cosmic perspective, one will notice that the Wandering Nebula and the Galaxy Nebula are somewhat different; the Galaxy Nebula is a Barred Spiral Nebula, with the core part being a huge spinning bar formed by countless Constant Stars, whereas the Wandering Nebula is a whirlpool nebula. The Constant Stars in its nebula core are distributed more uniformly, acting like the rollers in a pulley, serving to further bind and rotate the nebula disk during the high-speed spinning process, restraining gravity waves and material splatter.

...

"It’s quite unexpected. Thinking back to when we first met, you were just a Small Constant Star, and now we have evolved into a massive nebula!"

During high-speed flight, Green Star gazed at the grandeur of the Wandering Nebula and suddenly felt inspired.

Wandering couldn’t help but respond, "Green Star, what are you talking about? When I first met Lu Chen, he was just a meteorite. Now thinking back, things have truly changed with time!"

"Exactly, it feels incredible. So many civilizations have perished during evolution, yet a tiny meteorite managed to last until the end. I suddenly feel that maybe we really can find the ultimate cosmic truth," sighed Green Star.

"Rest assured, this is our common goal. I believe that as long as we work together, we can overcome any difficulties in the future!" Black Hole Lu Chen declared.

"Lu Chen, Green Star, do you think we could be like the Metal Civilization, merely experimental samples of some fifth-level civilization, and that only because of each other’s protection we were able to evolve smoothly to our current stage?" Upon hearing Green Star’s words, Wandering suddenly came up with this astonishing idea.

"Can our evolution really be considered smooth?"

Black Hole Lu Chen recalls the hardships along the way and can’t help but question the notion of it being smooth.

At the moment, however, no one cares anymore about whether the process was smooth or not; everyone inevitably starts to wonder if they are experimental subjects of an Advanced Civilization?

Previously, they never worried about such things.

But now, the reality of the Metal Civilization is right before their eyes, everyone is bound to be somewhat worried.

After a moment of silence, Green Star said, "I was born a long time ago and basically haven’t changed form. I shouldn’t be an experimental sample. However, if there were an experimental sample like me, I guess those Advanced Civilizations would be furious!"

Wandering immediately continued, "Then that means I’m not either, because I was discovered by Lu Chen and given life. Following that were a series of changes that granted me an independent life. From an evolutionary perspective, though it went smoothly and I was lucky, I lack the essential factors of an experimental sample."

After Green Star and Wandering denied the notion, both instinctively looked towards Black Hole Lu Chen.

Just the thought of a tiny meteorite turning into a black hole and becoming the leader of the entire alliance is a miracle of miracles and fits more with the notion of being an experimental sample.

Feeling what Wandering and Green Star implied, Black Hole Lu Chen immediately said, "Are you kidding? My evolution has been tough, not smooth at all, and no power has shown signs of aiding me. All this way, it’s all been due to my own wit and bravery, otherwise, I would have been devoured by black holes long ago."

Although somewhat self-flattering, his words were substantially true.

Then, Black Hole Lu Chen continued, "However, I have indeed considered this question when I first received the Dimension Field Theory from the Double Star Civilization. Because I died early in space, yet suddenly regained consciousness, becoming a very special celestial life, this transformation from biological life to Celestial Civilization is both magical and indeed could possibly make me an experimental sample!"

"However, I think we need not worry unduly. Let’s just do our parts and tackle problems as they come. Though we’ve become a fifth-level civilization, there’s still much scientific research and cosmic truths that need to be explored!" At last, Black Hole Lu Chen put an end to the discussion.

In fact, Black Hole Lu Chen is very open about this.

He has already died once; whether or not he is an experimental sample doesn’t matter and won’t change the path he will follow in the future. As the saying goes, a hero does not inquire about origins; one should act with virtue and uphold justice.