While the whole world reveled in the media footage of the ill-fated Teizene Reconnaissance Ship being blasted to smithereens by a barrage of gunfire, Bai Zhongqi harbored his own worries.
Currently, His Excellency the Chancellor was in Ruyi City, with the Secretary-General of the Star Alliance Government, Xiang Fei, the Commander of the Universe Army, Xu Lanzhou, and the senior researcher of the Star Alliance Scientific Research Institute, Linyin, standing before him.
"Your Majesty, we have completed the wreckage collection of the Teizene Reconnaissance Ship. Though severely damaged, with most of the ship destroyed, we managed to salvage some useful items and are attempting to gather important intelligence from them," Linyin said to Bai Zhongqi.
Bai Zhongqi nodded slightly.
Unlike him, Xiang Fei wasn't as composed, saying, "Wasn't the Teizene civilization only capable of Warp 8 travel? How come there suddenly appeared a ship with second-tier warp capability? If this ship was bought from the Borke Civilization, is it possible they have purchased more second-tier warp engines from the Borke, and maybe even enough to fit on large warships?"
Xu Lanzhou said with a stern face, "Any civilization treats universe navigation technology as a precious treasure, let alone second-tier warp, a technology pointing to the high level civilizations of the Galaxy. There is no notable relationship between the Borke and Teizene civilizations beyond simple trade. I doubt that they would sell engines for equipping warships with second-tier warp capability. Even for the Reconnaissance Ship, the Teizene might have already paid a hefty price, and the Borke would surely have safeguards in place to prevent them from mastering the technology onboard the ship."
Although Xu Lanzhou's comments were purely speculative, Bai Zhongqi found her views quite persuasive. The Borke Civilization ranked far above the Teizene; even the tyrannical Teizene wouldn't dare cross them. Bai Zhongqi wasn't surprised that the Teizene managed to obtain Warp 8 engines from the Borke; he had done this himself in games. As for a lone Reconnaissance Ship, the Borke probably didn't consider it anything special, posing no significant threat to themselves, and may have built it with non-mainstream technology, such that studying the ship wouldn't reveal the direction of Borke's own technology.
At this moment, Bai Zhongqi spoke, "We cannot let our guard down against a Teizene invasion. They have obtained first-hand intelligence on Earth, gaining some understanding of Earth's defense systems. Therefore, we must make the necessary adjustments and strengthen our orbital defenses around Earth."
In truth, Earth was already excessively armed, with tens of thousands of weapon platforms in orbit, some of which were even affecting the travel of spaceships.
"Furthermore, we need to bolster our defenses not just within the Interstellar Cloud but also beyond it, establishing deterrent forces to provide us with more preparation time for our defenses."
Xu Lanzhou suggested, "However, even though there is only one way into the Sirius Galaxy through the Interstellar Cloud, there are many starting points from outside the Interstellar Cloud toward the Sirius Galaxy. This could mean we might need to build an early warning defense system around the entire periphery of the space fault within the Interstellar Cloud."
Bai Zhongqi understood the subtext: constructing such an early warning defense system around the Danlu Interstellar Cloud, spanning over thirty light-years in diameter, would be a massive undertaking. Though Bai Zhongqi could place a few detectors in each Star Region, even so, the area he would need to cover was far too large and prone to vulnerabilities.
"This is something we have to do. Although we are unclear on the effectiveness, even the slightest function would help immensely in this war. We have previously explored Star Regions over a thousand light-years away, yet we are not as familiar with the areas close to the Interstellar Cloud, so getting a better understanding of the surroundings would be beneficial."
After ending this brief meeting, Bai Zhongqi returned to Wuyagong. But not long after his return, Linyin contacted him again.
"Your Majesty, we have made a significant discovery," Linyin said, her face glowing with excitement.
Bai Zhongqi was curious, "What exactly have you found?"
Linyin said with some pride, "We separated a device from that Borke spaceship and determined that it was the ship's engine. Despite the extensive damage to the ship, miraculously, this engine was only about ten percent damaged. Its core parts were damaged, but the overall structure is still intact."
Upon hearing this, Bai Zhongqi sat up straight on the sofa, asking with a blend of nervousness and eagerness, "Well, can you analyze this engine?"
Linyin nodded vigorously, "For a civilization like the Teizene, at level 17, the engine's structure is excessively complex, but for us on Iridium Star, with our extensive research into second-tier warp engines, studying this engine isn't too challenging."
Bai Zhongqi smiled, "You called me directly; does it mean you've already achieved some results?"
"Not quite yet, but our approach is correct. The engine built by the Borke is a very distinctive type of engine; it's not just a simple warp engine, but a composite one. It can not only perform second-tier warp travel but is also connected to the photon sails on the ship, allowing for short-range rapid movement."
Bai Zhongqi was astounded, "The solar sail power is actually connected to the second-tier warp engine? How is that possible, when the technologies are completely different in principle?"
Indeed, the difference between solar sails and warp is more than just a matter of approach; solar sails are conventional technology that sails on the surface of space, and no matter how fast, they can't exceed the speed of light. Warp, on the other hand, iron out space to achieve faster-than-light travel, with entirely different principles.
"This was also a surprise to our technicians, but we found traces of Star Energy in this engine, and I boldly hypothesize that the engine's capability for both second-tier warp travel and high-speed photon sail travel is due to the direct utilization of Star Energy. We have recorded the traces of Star Energy and should be able to replicate how the Star Energy operates within this engine," Linyin explained.
Bai Zhongqi got excited, "If we can really replicate this engine, then we could regain the capability to manufacture second-tier warp engines."
Then, Linyin continued, "That's correct, but it's a technology that is especially unprofitable for ordinary interstellar civilizations. When we opened the engine casing, we discovered a dead Lizard Person inside. If I'm not mistaken, this Lizard Person was a Teizene Star Warrior, and this engine uses Star Warriors as the actual energy source, meaning each engine requires entombing a Star Warrior within this massive machine!"