Chapter 66: Andromeda Galaxy

To outsiders, the duration of the Space Jump appeared to be an instant. The spaceship vanished from one location and reappeared at another with almost no passage of time.

However, for those undergoing the Space Jump journey, it was a completely different experience. They left the familiar Four Space-time Dimensions and entered the Subspace, a realm composed of other dimensions.

At this moment, everyone had returned to the Main Control Room. Under such extreme circumstances, no one could possibly feel at ease sleeping in their room.

In the Subspace, the various fundamental particles that made up their bodies began to exhibit their characteristics in another dimension.

Of course, the spaceship was equipped with protection mechanisms to prevent passengers from suffering extreme conditions like particle disintegration, but some minor changes still occurred.

For example, Lin Lei and Yan Siyu’s Protective Force Fields were no longer completely transparent. Instead, they became a semi-transparent field-like substance emitting lights of different colors.

Lin Lei’s was sea-blue, while Yan Siyu’s was a brilliant purple.

Xiao Boru, Li Yi, and Li Dasong also emitted corresponding halos, just like Lin Lei, and they were all blue.

“This is the spectral light of the planet. Through this, their origin can be seen at a glance. Ao Star is purple, and now it appears that Earth is blue,” Yan Siyu explained regarding this phenomenon.

Of course, these were merely surface changes. There were deeper changes that biological organisms could hardly perceive directly, but they could not hide from the System in Lin Lei’s mind.

“Please note, Host. You are currently in a special Subspace constructed by Energy Dimensions 1, 3, 5, and 7. It differs slightly from the Subspace entered during normal Space Jumps.”

Hearing this, Lin Lei broke out in a cold sweat. Problems could not occur here. If they did, the result would be the collapse of all his fundamental particles. Even someone as overpowered as him could not withstand that.

“System, analyze the differences!”

“Analyzing… Analysis complete! In the current Subspace, the 7th Energy Dimension, which acts as the Time Dimension, has uncertainty. The flow of time will differ for different individuals.”

“Do you mean some people will age while others get younger? What about the speed of the flow?” He didn’t want anyone returning to infancy or dying of old age instantly. That would be too terrifying.

“The flow rate also varies by person. The System has established a time protection field around the Host. There is no need to worry.”

“…” Well, he wasn’t worried about himself; he was worried about his companions!

Lin Lei looked at the appearances of everyone on the spaceship, hoping that no unacceptable changes would occur. But heaven did not accord with human wishes, and the changes still happened.

First, Old Xiao Boru’s hair began to turn black. His skin, once sagging, became tight, and his complexion became ruddy. This was a good thing, but wasn’t the change happening too fast? Damn Space Jump, why weren’t they there yet!

Next was Li Yi. He aged, his beard grew, and he looked much more mature, resembling a thirty-year-old man. However, his rate of change was far slower than Old Xiao’s.

As for Yan Siyu and Li Dasong, no obvious changes occurred, which relieved Lin Lei. He simultaneously prayed for this damn Subspace journey to end soon. Old Xiao Boru was already turning into a refined man in his thirties. If it continued like this, wouldn’t he shrink back into his mother’s womb?

Others on the spaceship also noticed these changes. They stared in dumbfounded shock at Old Xiao, watching him grow younger and then younger still at a speed visible to the naked eye…

Just then, distorted starlight appeared outside the spaceship’s string window. The Space Jump had ended!

Immediately after it ended, the System sent a data stream to Lin Lei.

“Detected that the fine-structure constant of the current environment has changed. The current value is 1/138, which is small. The resulting changes will be more stable elements, stronger life forms within them, easier understanding of Universe Energy Dimensions, but more difficult exploration of the Universe’s surface Rules.”

“System, what constant changed? Was it the speed of light in a vacuum or something else? How does it affect us?”

“The Planck constant and the speed of light in a vacuum both increased slightly. However, higher intelligence organisms possess the ability for Rule self-consistency and will not undergo obvious state changes.”

“That’s good. System, tell us where we are now?”

“The edge of the Andromeda Galaxy, another giant spiral galaxy in the Local Group, 2.2 million Light Years from the Galaxy.”

“Alright, this Space Jump went quite far!” Lin Lei was speechless.

At this moment, Old Xiao had turned into a child under the age of nine. His face was rosy and tender, leaving everyone speechless. Li Yi, meanwhile, was covered in facial hair, looking like a vigorous man in his mid-thirties.

Xiao Boru looked at his small hands and feet, then pinched his own face. Suddenly, he began dancing with joy: “Is this the reverse flow of time in the Subspace? I succeeded. My theoretical prediction reached this situation. It was determined by that extremely unstable constant. Haha, I succeeded!”

He felt no panic about his current bizarre situation at all. Instead, he felt immense joy because it proved his theory was correct!

Ignoring the loose, floor-dragging clothes he was wearing, he ran back to his room with clattering steps to perform theoretical calculations.

The most depressed person present was Li Yi. With a bitter, bearded face, he sighed deeply: “Over ten years of my life, gone without a trace. They can’t play with us like this.”

Lin Lei and Yan Siyu looked at each other and sighed together. No one had expected this situation, nor could they find a way to solve it. Li Yi truly had lived over ten extra years in vain.

Li Dasong stepped forward and patted Li Yi on the shoulder, saying, “A real man, why worry! You look much more mature now than before. Hmm, you have more of a masculine aura.”

“Really?” Li Yi turned his gaze to the others, seeking confirmation.

“Really!” The three of them nodded in unison.

“Then let’s go with it. I’ll go to my room to clean up this beard. Actually, I also feel my voice has become more mature and deep. It has a very masculine charm.”

Li Yi still had the mindset of a youth. Three years in the Ecological Sphere had, at least on the surface, not brought him any major changes. He was still the same as when he was at Yangguan Middle School, which made Lin Lei smile slightly.

“Master Control Brain, scan the star map and confirm our position!” This was Yan Siyu’s voice. She needed to confirm the spaceship’s location.

“The spaceship is in a completely unknown star sector. Star map comparison is impossible!” The spaceship’s gentle and clear voice responded quickly, but the result was disappointing.

“Lei, have the spaceship project the currently scanned star map as a holographic image. Perhaps I can find some clues.” Yan Siyu placed her fair hand by her lips, her delicate brows furrowing as she fell into thought.

The star map was projected quickly. Yan Siyu looked at it carefully. Of course, Lin Lei already knew the current star sector, but he would not say it for now, because it was too bizarre.

“This star map feels somewhat familiar, but I can’t recall it. I remember seeing it somewhere, but the angle is different from now!”

Yan Siyu looked for a long time but couldn’t figure out anything.

Li Dasong’s gaze moved back and forth between Lin Lei and Yan Siyu. He didn’t care where they were at all. What puzzled him was how these two had gotten together. Moreover, they both looked profound and seemed to know a vast amount.

Just as everyone was frowning in distress, Xiao Boru, who had become a little boy, ran out of his room. He hadn’t changed his clothes. The extra sleeves and pant legs were just casually rolled up, looking a bit sloppy.

As soon as he arrived in the Main Control Room, he panted heavily: “I calculated it. Based on the body changes of me and Li Yi, the distance of the Four Space-time Dimensions crossed during this Space Jump is approximately between 2 and 2.5 million Light Years. We are definitely out of the Galaxy now.”

Saying this, he paused, caught his breath, and continued: “Also, I looked at the distribution of star systems around the Galaxy. I believe the star system we are most likely in can only be the Andromeda Galaxy, a large spiral galaxy similar in size to the Galaxy!”

“Are you sure?” Lin Lei was truly shocked this time. He knew Xiao Boru was telling the truth. In this case, his theory was likely the completely correct Unified Field Theory! Because he had successfully used this theory to make a prediction.

“I am ninety percent sure. You know, beyond this distance, the Andromeda Galaxy is the only large star system.”

Xiao Boru’s eyes held strong confidence. Furthermore, he did not doubt the jump distance he had calculated at all. The only thing he was uncertain about was whether they were currently in the Andromeda Galaxy!

“Master Control Brain, use the Andromeda Galaxy as the base position and re-perform star map comparison!”

Before Lin Lei could finish giving the order, Yan Siyu spoke to confirm: “Lei, no need. He is telling the truth. Look at this star, Lorren R Star. Its absolute magnitude is -4.6, a very bright star. We have indeed reached the Andromeda Galaxy.”

At this moment, the spaceship’s comparison results also came out.

“The spaceship’s location has been determined. It is located in the outer rim of the Andromeda Galaxy, approximately 70,000 Light Years from the center. Due to insufficient specific data, a flight route cannot be formulated.”

Now, the people on the spaceship really looked at Xiao Boru with new respect. This former elderly man had an incredibly wise mind. Even Yan Siyu had to admire him.

Xiao Boru completely ignored the reactions of the crowd. This time he came to Lin Lei to obtain access rights to the spaceship’s spectral scanning system: “Lin Lei, I found this star system has some anomalies. It seems the fine-structure constant has a slight difference from our Galaxy. But I need more observation data. Look…”

“No problem! I will have the Master Control Brain fully cooperate with your observations!” What else could Lin Lei say now? This was a treasure. His head almost contained the entire Universe. It could even rival the System in Lin Lei’s mind.

With the support of the hardware conditions Lin Lei currently possessed, the explosive power that could be unleashed was incredibly terrifying.

As soon as Xiao Boru received Lin Lei’s authorization, he immediately returned to his room, not lingering for a moment.

Li Yi hurriedly followed. He was itching with curiosity now. He also had an extraordinary sensitivity to mathematics. Seeing such an expert nearby, how could he pass up this great opportunity to seek advice!

Only three people remained in the Main Control Room. Li Dasong scratched his head and finally voiced the doubt in his heart: “Leizi, you got together with Yan Siyu after all. I used to think she was a monster. Turns out you’re not normal either!”

Lin Lei was somewhat speechless and was about to explain, but Yan Siyu got in first: “What monster? Li Dasong, speak clearly.”

Her face flushed with redness because of Li Dasong’s words. She was deeply afraid that Lin Lei would deny it, so she hurriedly asked urgently, leaving no room for Lin Lei to speak and deny it.

Li Dasong was still dazzled by Yan Siyu’s beautiful appearance. He stared blankly for a long time before returning to his senses. However, his expression was like he had seen a ghost. He hurriedly waved his hands and said, “N… nothing. I didn’t say you were a monster. Just kidding.”

Oh my god, with that appearance, if not a monster, then in ancient times, she would certainly be a beautiful disaster like Bao Si of the Zhou Dynasty or Daji of the Shang Dynasty. She was a nation-toppling beauty; that was a must. Li Dasong couldn’t handle it, covered his face, and retreated.