Chapter 636: Twin Brothers

Pei Yurong huddled in a corner of the laboratory, surrounded by blood.

Li Banfeng squatted close to her and asked, "I have a set of coordinates here, which is supposedly your base for developing controlled magnetic storm weapons. Could you tell me the coordinates again?"

Pei Yurong recited the coordinates. Li Banfeng then asked, "How do you usually transport experimental materials to the offshore base?"

"By boat."

"Do you remember the boat's license plate number?"

"I really don't remember that. I'm not involved in those operations!"

"But you must know how many boats there are, right?"

"Yes, there are six in total."

The coordinates and number of boats she provided matched exactly what Gu Hao had said. Li Banfeng opened his pocket watch and had Meng De verify the information again; the result remained unchanged.

"When do you plan to deploy your controlled magnetic storm weapons?"

"Once we accumulate enough energy, we will launch an attack the day after tomorrow."

Li Banfeng frowned and asked, "That soon?"

"Yes, it's the Demon Lord's command. The Demon Lord will attack Huanguo the day after tomorrow, and Yuezhou is his first stop."

"Why specifically target Yuezhou?"

"Because Yuezhou is right next to San Tou Cha, which is Demon Lord Chernobog's 'grasping point'."

"What's a 'grasping point'?"

Pei Yurong recited a passage from the Hundred Demon Workshop's scripture for Li Banfeng: "The great Demon Lord Chernobog extended his right arm beyond his domain, firmly grasping the soil leading to the land of the humble. The land of the humble yearned for the Demon Lord's guidance and teachings, yet the Demon Lord faced betrayal and desecration in his own home. He did not abandon the common people of the humble land; even amidst the fierce battle, he clung tightly to this untamed territory. Some parasites climbed onto the Demon Lord's arm, attempting to claim his flesh and blood for themselves. The enraged Demon Lord, after defeating the traitors, will eradicate all these pests..."

Li Banfeng listened carefully to every word Pei Yurong spoke, considering whether he should get a translator for her. What she had just uttered sounded like a complete myth to Li Banfeng. However, upon closer thought, this myth felt a bit unusual. Li Banfeng couldn't pinpoint why, but he felt it was profoundly connected to some knowledge he had encountered before.

Pei Yurong couldn't clarify much more. She found a book of doctrine among the scattered corpses and handed it to Li Banfeng. He skimmed through it; the content was very obscure, and whether due to poor translation or not, most of the book was unintelligible. Could anyone help Li Banfeng understand it?

"I heard Gu Hao say that you also have a Ravshan here, an envoy sent by the Demon Lord."

"Yes, a large part of our operations are directed by him! He also provided us with many technologies!" A glimmer of hope appeared in Pei Yurong's eyes; if Li Qi identified the Demon Lord's envoy as the mastermind, she might have a chance to survive.

Li Banfeng was indeed very interested in this Ravshan. "Where is he now?"

"He's still in Yuezhou! He's lecturing in our community hall."

Li Banfeng smiled. "So you have another community hall? Can you take me there?"

"Yes!" Pei Yurong was very cooperative.

Li Banfeng stood up and sent a message to Chen Changrui.

At the meeting, Chen Changrui's veins throbbed. He had been in the meeting for over three hours, and still, there was no consensus on the nature of the Hundred Demon Workshop organization.

"Comrade Changrui, we'd like to hear your opinion."

Chen Changrui didn't know what to say. He had stated his opinion countless times: immediately dispatch combat personnel to destroy the magnetic storm weapon research base. But since his superiors had asked, Chen Changrui had to respond. Just as he was about to speak, his phone vibrated twice in his pocket.

Chen Changrui picked up his phone and glanced at it, a move that drew dissatisfaction from many.

"Comrade Changrui, how can you bring your phone to such an important meeting? What kind of attitude is that?"

Chen Changrui looked up, not addressing the attitude question, as he had a more urgent matter to report. "Director Li Qi has confirmed the enemy's attack time: the day after tomorrow."

"Don't talk about the day yet, first explain your attitude... What did you just say about an attack?"

Chen Changrui explained, "According to the Hundred Demon Workshop, it's the Demon Lord's attack. Based on our deductions, it's an attack by the third planet of Dark Star. Their target is Yuezhou, likely to open the exit to San Tou Cha."

The meeting room fell silent instantly.

Ten minutes later, the meeting concluded. A special operations team was immediately dispatched to destroy the magnetic storm weapon research base. The Dark Star Bureau would lead efforts to apprehend all relevant members of the Hundred Demon Workshop, and an urgent notice was issued to the Border Defense Department to prepare for war.

Chen Changrui breathed a sigh of relief. Before the war began, they had finally activated the necessary response procedures. This wasn't to blame the superiors for mishandling. Chen Changrui had been to Prouzhou and knew the difference between Prouzhou and the outer states. The outer states had their own procedures, but once the correct protocols were initiated, based on past military engagements, there would be no issues with the subsequent response.

The next day, problems arose. First, the special operations team's work did not go smoothly. They located the offshore base in international waters and dispatched 170 high-performance drones to execute the mission. However, these 170 drones failed to complete the mission. The offshore base activated a magnetic storm weapon, disrupting all drone communications within a twenty-nautical-mile radius. Without communication capabilities, the drones could not acquire positioning data or interact with the control center. They could only rely on their onboard automatic control systems to perform simple data processing and bomb the offshore base. The special operations team termed this "automatic combat in basic mode." It proved to be highly ineffective, and all 170 drones were lost.

The magnetic storm weapon caused immense shock among the high command. They convened an emergency meeting to discuss the next course of action. Strategy one: launch long-range missiles. The enemy's offshore base had a defense system and interception capabilities. Missiles without communication could only rely on inertial guidance, making the chance of hitting the target under interception extremely low. Strategy two: deploy unmanned submarines. Without communication systems, unmanned submarines would have to rely solely on sonar. Without human intervention, a direct confrontation with the offshore base's defense system using basic combat mode would likely result in losses as severe as those of the drones. Strategy three: deploy warships.

A wry chuckle echoed through the meeting room: "How are warships supposed to fight without communication capabilities? Go in with naval cannons and fight to the death? How is that different from naval battles in the Age of Discovery?"

Someone sighed, "To this day, our reliance on communication systems is astonishingly deep."

Another person added, "Yes, it's not just us. If communication systems fail, our offense and defense might regress to the World War II era, or even worse."

Time was running out, and the meeting quickly reached a conclusion. Warships were to be deployed, controlled by onboard personnel, to destroy the magnetic storm base.

The Dark Star Bureau's efforts also faced setbacks. Chen Changrui was arresting members of the Hundred Demon Workshop everywhere, but the arrest efficiency was extremely low. Each time he went to a Hundred Demon Workshop stronghold, he mostly found only corpses.

Late at night, Chen Changrui returned to the Dark Star Bureau building. He intended to organize intelligence and get some rest, but he noticed Li Qi's office light was on. Director Li was back! Chen Changrui's face lit up with joy. He walked to the door but didn't rush inside. He heard sounds from inside the office.

Click!Click!

Li Qi was making repeated calls, but no one answered. Chen Changrui was a "Peeper Cultivator" with extremely sensitive hearing. He heard a phone ringing elsewhere in the office building. Following the sound, he found Shen Jingye's office. Li Qi had been calling Shen Jingye.

Many people suspected Li Qi had mental issues, including Chen Changrui. He always believed that Li Qi was Li Banfeng, and Li Banfeng indeed had mental health problems. He was having an episode; it was best not to bother him at this moment. Chen Changrui turned to leave, but the phone kept ringing. The incessant ringing felt like a needle pricking Chen Changrui's heart.

Chen Changrui entered Shen Jingye's office and picked up the phone. On the other end of the line, Li Qi's voice was very excited: "Xiao Shen, come to my office!"

Worried that Li Qi might be in danger, Chen Changrui quickly went to Li Qi's office. Upon entering, he saw that Li Qi wasn't there. Where had he gone? On his desk were three human heads. The first was a blond, blue-eyed man, who was on Chen Changrui's wanted list as the Demon Lord's envoy from the Hundred Demon Workshop. The second was a woman, also on the wanted list, the leader of the Hundred Demon Workshop, Pei Yurong. The third was a man; there was no need to check the list for him. It was Du Wenming; Chen Changrui would recognize him even if he were just ashes. With these three heads, the primary work of the Dark Star Bureau seemed to be complete.

"Forest flowers withered, even hearts buried, when spring swallows return another day, where will the body be?"

The needle reached the end of the record. Chen Changrui moved it back and played it again. He walked out of the office, and just as he closed the door, he faintly heard a sigh: "Beautiful singing, truly beautiful."

The next day, good news arrived from the sea. After an intense battle, six warships, operating without communication capabilities, successfully breached the magnetic storm weapon base. The base was equipped with a self-destruct system. After being breached, it exploded within a short time, destroying all equipment and killing most of the personnel inside. The reason for estimating that most personnel were killed was that no one knew the exact number of people inside the base. If any specialists had escaped, it would mean that controlled magnetic storm technology was still in their hands.

The crisis at sea was resolved, but the crisis on land continued. Liao Zihui was leading the Innocent Army, deploying full defenses. Yuezhou was under full city lockdown and prepared for battle. According to the superiors' predictions, the destruction of the magnetic storm weapon base should have halted the Demon Lord's attack plan. However, they dared not lower their guard, as no one wanted to experience an unprepared war.

After a week, no war occurred. The earlier prediction was correct: with the magnetic storm base destroyed, the enemy's war plans were temporarily shelved. Yuezhou ended its city-wide lockdown, and normal order resumed. However, war preparations were not relaxed, as no one could be certain if the Demon Lord would build another magnetic storm base, or if he would initiate war through other means.

Gao Yina kept asking about Li Qi's whereabouts. She hoped Li Qi would activate his "balancer" ability and prevent the war through other means. Chen Changrui was also searching for Li Qi, but Li Qi was not in the outer states. Li Qi made a trip to Iron Gate Fort, where he found Dr. Kang Zhenchang to treat Zhong Er's injuries. Dr. Kang Zhenchang's medical skills were indeed remarkable, and Zhong Er showed significant improvement.

With all urgent matters handled, Li Banfeng went to Yuezhou University's library to look up information. He had obtained a large amount of technical data on magnetic storm weapons from the Demon Lord's envoy. His wife was very interested, but some fundamental knowledge of magnetics was still lacking.

Li Banfeng knew nothing about magnetics, and finding relevant books wasn't easy. After searching for a long time in the library, he saw a notice on an LED screen: Professor Xie Jinning, an expert in magnetics, would hold an academic seminar today...

Xie Jinning?

Li Banfeng looked at the book in his hand. This collection of papers contained three articles on magnetics, all authored by Xie Jinning. This was a luminary in magnetics, so Li Banfeng quickly headed to the academic lecture hall.

Only upon arriving at the lecture hall entrance did Li Banfeng realize he hadn't read the entire notice on the LED screen earlier. The notice stated that Xie Jinning's academic seminar scheduled for today was postponed until next month. Professor Zhao Zhihong, an astronomy professor, would be giving the lecture in Xie Jinning's place today. In fact, even next month, Xie Jinning might not be able to give the lecture. He was one of the few magnetics experts in the country and had already been reassigned to war preparations.

Who was this Zhao Zhihong? Li Banfeng felt the name sounded familiar, as if he had encountered it somewhere before. No faculty or students from the electromagnetics field attended the lecture, but a few from astronomy did. The lecture hadn't started yet, and they were all discussing at the entrance.

"Why are you here for Professor Zhao's lecture?"

"Aren't you here too?"

"I wanted to broaden my knowledge. Everyone says his lectures are particularly interesting."

"Oh, they're very interesting indeed. Haven't you seen those clickbait accounts he runs? Many platforms have blacklisted him."

Hearing that this person was so unusual, Li Banfeng also entered the lecture hall, curious to see how interesting he truly was. There were only a few dozen people sparsely seated in the lecture hall. Li Banfeng found a seat in the back row.

Zhao Zhihong was a man in his early forties, dressed in a suit with a tie, his hair meticulously combed. Judging solely by his appearance, the professor took this lecture very seriously. He opened his presentation slides and began by discussing the theory of the Sun's revolution.

"As everyone here knows, our Sun revolves around the center of the Milky Way galaxy at a speed of 250 kilometers per second, with an orbital period of approximately 220 million years..."

Li Banfeng listened with great interest, but the astronomy students grew a bit impatient. This was basic knowledge for them, and furthermore, they weren't there to learn.

When discussing the Sun's orbit, Zhao Zhihong stood at the center of the podium, his tone growing much more serious. "Since my undergraduate days, I've been researching astronomy for over twenty years. From the first time I encountered data related to the Sun's revolution, I developed a profound fascination with this academic field."

Laughter rippled through the audience. Li Banfeng didn't find anything humorous about it.

A student behind him chuckled, "Here we go, he's about to start."

Zhao Zhihong listed a set of data on the screen: the Sun's orbital radius around the Milky Way. Li Banfeng still saw nothing funny, but the surrounding astronomy students kept laughing.

Zhao Zhihong provided a simple analysis of the data: "Our Sun rotates around the center of the Milky Way on an elliptical orbit. It's more accurate to call it a perfect circle rather than an ellipse, because the eccentricity is extremely small. Yet, on such a regularly shaped orbit, the Sun sometimes exhibits irregular motion. What causes this? Has anyone thought about this problem?"

Zhao Zhihong highlighted several key data points in red and looked at the dozens of people in the audience with expectant eyes. Everyone remained silent, collectively awaiting his answer. Zhao Zhihong explained with conviction, "Because the Sun has a twin brother!"

A burst of laughter erupted from the audience. Li Banfeng suddenly remembered who this person was.

The laughter did not dampen Professor Zhao's enthusiasm. He continued, "This idea might seem outlandish to some of you, but this twin brother does indeed exist. It all begins on the day the Sun was born."

Li Banfeng had read similar articles on the subway. At the time, he first read about the famous sprinter Qiao Yuesheng, then the renowned singer Chu Zikai, and the third article he saw was about the Sun's twin brother. Since all three articles began by discussing their "birth day," Li Banfeng hadn't finished reading them carefully. He never imagined that the source of that particular article would be a university professor.

Professor Zhao continued explaining, "As is well known, our Sun was born 4.6 billion years ago. At that time, it was still a relatively loose nebula. Under the influence of its own gravity, the solar nebula began to slowly collapse, with matter gathering towards the center. The temperature and pressure in the central region continuously increased. When they reached a certain point, hydrogen nuclei underwent nuclear fusion, radiating energy outward and balancing the inward gravitational pull, thus forming the Sun. But has anyone considered: given the vastness of the nebula that formed the Sun, was its density uniform? Some might argue it was simply a coincidence that the nebula forming our star was so evenly distributed! What I want to tell you is that while such coincidences do occur, their probability is incredibly low. The solar nebula was not as uniform as one might imagine. During its collapse, it formed several clumps of varying sizes. These clumps merged through collisions, forming two larger proto-stars: one was our Sun, and the other was the Sun's twin brother. So, one might ask, were these two twin brothers truly identical? Through extensive data collection and simulation experiments, I found that there were considerable differences between the two. Our Sun is slightly smaller and very stable. Its twin brother, however, was significantly larger and unstable. Approximately 4.2 billion years ago, or 400 million years after their birth, the Sun's twin brother experienced an explosion. Please note, this was not a supernova explosion as we understand it; the companion star's mass did not meet the conditions for a supernova. It was more like a balloon that didn't explode directly, but instead slowly deflated."

Another wave of laughter came from the audience; this analogy struck the astronomy students as rather amusing.

"Did you hear that? He's talking about balloons now."

"A deflated balloon, a classic from Professor Zhao."

"I seriously doubt if he even studied astronomy."

"Didn't someone say yesterday? Apparently, he sold balloons at a park in his spare time."

Professor Zhao continued his serious explanation: "During this 'deflation' process, the companion star lost a vast amount of matter and energy, simultaneously forming a powerful shockwave. Under the influence of this shockwave, the companion star rapidly moved away from the Sun, forming a relatively stable binary star system only when they were 3.1 light-years apart."

"3.1 light-years?" A student finally couldn't help but ask, "Professor, do you mean this companion star is closer than Proxima Centauri?"

"Yes!" Professor Zhao answered with full confidence.

"We can observe Proxima Centauri, so why can't we see this companion star?"

"As I just mentioned, during the explosion, the companion star lost a large amount of matter and energy, leaving it in a certain unstable state. This prevents us from observing it with existing scientific technology."

Another student asked, "Why can't it be observed? Did this companion star explode into a black hole?"

This wasn't a question; it was clearly an attempt to provoke. Professor Zhao explained, "As I've already stated, this explosive process was not a supernova explosion as we understand it, nor did it meet the conditions for forming a black hole."

"If the companion star cannot be observed, how do you know about this so-called companion star explosion? What is your basis for this?"

Zhao Zhihong was indeed conducting research; he wasn't fabricating stories. He cited numerous examples and particularly emphasized the effects of the companion star's explosive process: "This explosion stripped Mercury of its crust, destroyed Venus's ecological environment, and caused some planets to break free from the Sun's control and be carried away by the companion star."

A student chuckled, "Are you suggesting our solar system is orbiting another star system?"

Zhao Zhihong candidly replied, "This situation genuinely exists in binary star systems. Both stars in a binary system can have their own planetary systems."

"Have you observed another star system then?" The student was clearly trying to bait Zhao Zhihong into making more incredible claims.

Zhao Zhihong indeed fell for it. "Observing exoplanets in the universe is extremely difficult, but we have made some progress in our latest research. Several 'rogue planets' we initially identified are actually orbiting the same center of mass, and the location of that center of mass is our companion star!"

"Is there life on the companion star's planets?"

"I believe so. I think we have already had some level of communication with the life forms on the companion star."

"3.1 light-years, Professor. How do you think we communicate with them?"

"Through certain special spatial channels..."

"Professor, are you saying aliens have landed on Earth?"

The hall erupted in prolonged laughter. Zhao Zhihong gave an awkward smile and stopped answering questions so readily. He had experienced such situations many times and knew that these people weren't interested in academics; they were there to treat his lecture as a comedic performance. Nevertheless, he persisted and completed his lecture. From beginning to end, he stood tall and spoke with a strong, clear voice.

After the lecture, Zhao Zhihong returned to his office. He wasn't bothered by the mockery during the presentation; he was used to it.

Li Banfeng knocked and entered the office. He walked to Professor Zhao's side, pulled up a chair, and sat down. "Professor, may I copy your presentation slides?"

Zhao Zhihong looked at Li Banfeng. "Which college are you from?"

"I'm from the College of Science."

"I'm sorry, some content in my slides is not suitable for public disclosure."

If it's already in slides, why isn't it suitable for public disclosure? This was clearly an excuse. Zhao Zhihong didn't want Li Banfeng to copy the slides because he didn't trust this student of unknown origin. He didn't want this student to use certain media to mock his research findings again; he had experienced too much of that.

Li Banfeng looked at Zhao Zhihong and said in a serious tone, "I'll pay."

Zhao Zhihong grew annoyed. "This isn't about money. Speaking to me in that tone is disrespectful to academia!"

Li Banfeng took out twenty thousand in cash and handed it to Zhao Zhihong.

Zhao Zhihong's veins bulged. He glared at Li Banfeng. "What is the meaning of this?"

"A service fee. Professors should be paid for their lectures."

"Even if a service fee is due, it must follow normal financial procedures!"

"I'll complete the procedures later. I can sign a contract with you. My purpose in doing this is to sincerely ask you for professional knowledge."

"Your attitude is improper!" Professor Zhao sternly criticized Li Banfeng, then took the money.

Li Banfeng copied the slides. "May I ask you a few questions?"

"Of course." Professor Zhao was no longer as angry.

"First question: Do you believe the basis for the companion star's existence is the variation in the Sun's orbit?"

"Yes, the irregular fluctuations in the Sun's orbit are caused by the irregular gravitational changes of the companion star."

"Second question: If the companion star cannot be observed, could it be explained as having evolved into a black dwarf due to rapid energy loss?"

"That's highly possible, but to be precise, the companion star isn't a pure black dwarf yet. Pure black dwarfs take too long to form, and our companion star still exhibits periodic energy radiation, even energy bursts."

"The companion star's system is 3.1 light-years away from ours. This distance is immense. If there is communication between the two systems, what channels facilitate it?"

"I believe the most probable communication channel is a wormhole."

"What is the internal space of a wormhole like?"

Zhao Zhihong was silent for a moment, then said, "Actually, there was another professor who conducted more in-depth research on wormholes before me."

The professor he was referring to was likely Yu Yaoming.

Li Banfeng said, "I'd like to hear about your research findings."

"To what extent have you grasped the fundamental knowledge of astrophysics?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "I don't have much of a foundation."

Professor Zhao pursed his lips, thinking about how to explain it to Li Banfeng in a simple, understandable way. "Many people believe that the internal space of a wormhole is extremely narrow, allowing only elementary particles to pass through. In my opinion, this idea is incorrect. I need to use a balloon as an analogy."

He really liked balloons. He took a balloon from his desk drawer. "I'm going to inflate it."

Li Banfeng looked around. "Uh, please don't inflate it yet. A general explanation will suffice."

*Puff! Puff!*

The professor inflated the balloon and said to Li Banfeng, "The nozzle part of a balloon is very narrow. If it's sealed tightly, even elementary particles would struggle to pass through. However, the internal space of the balloon isn't narrow. It could be a giant helium balloon, or an even larger airship, or even as vast as a planet."

"If it's as vast as a planet, could life emerge inside?"

"That's a possibility. However, influenced by the unique environment inside a wormhole, life might exhibit varying degrees of mutation, and the internal space itself could undergo different levels of differentiation."

He then inflated a giraffe-shaped balloon, pointed to the giraffe's head, and then to its belly. "This is spatial differentiation."

Li Banfeng imagined the environment inside the wormhole. He seemed remarkably familiar with that environment. Perhaps that place was called Prouzhou.