Interstellar Survival: Invasion

Chapter 9: Indescribable Fifth Dimension

Jupiter II's core seemed to exist in a state of chaos. The pressure at the core was massive, and unlike the complete darkness of the sea, the area around the core was a world of ash gray, which formed a clear contrast with the soundless sea. The moment I crossed the threshold of ash gray and darkness, the pressure around me instantly jumped to 1.5 million atmosphere.

My laser probe was unable to detect any of the core's structural makeup, but it was clear from my observation that the core was supposed to be constantly moving. In fact, the state in which the core existed had surpassed what our current technology could process in terms of form or makeup.

For a moment, I felt at a loss. Of course, it was perfectly normal for a rookie interstellar explorer like me to not know what to do in this situation. I started scanning the massive chaos sphere, trying to find an entrance. At that moment, my probe suddenly beeped. According to the data feedback, a massive object was heading toward me at high speed.

"What is it this time? Why is it so fast?" I cursed.

I hurriedly turned on the various weapons I had on me and prepared for the incoming danger. But according to the probe, the newcomer was actually about the same size as me. That revelation stunned me.

"Is that the team leader, perhaps?" I wondered.

Before I knew it, the newcomer arrived.

"Team Leader! Is that really you?" I grew excited. "You're still alive?"

Anyone who encountered a team member who was thought dead in such a situation would feel ecstatic. Due to the failure of our communication channel, I was the only one who heard me. However, with my laser probe, I was able to see Team Leader Chen Qiang's bright eyes. He nodded at me and placed both his hands on my shoulders.

Neither of us could hear the other, but the feeling of encountering a companion in such a hopeless situation was something no word could describe. In the world of interstellar explorers, this was basically a miracle.

I was so excited I couldn't keep still. The team leader gestured at me, but I couldn't understand him. When I looked at where he was pointing, I realized that he was telling me to activate my five-dimensional analyzer.

"Five-dimensional analyzer?" I wondered. "I did have the knowledge of quantum physics downloaded into my brain, but out in the physical world, what was the point of activating the five-dimensional analyzer?"

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Nevertheless, that was the team leader's command, and all I needed to do was follow it. I obeyed. The moment I turned the device on, a whole new world was unveiled before my eyes.

According to my downloaded knowledge, a five-dimensional space was defined as a space with five dimensions and was the basis of all existence in the universe. If interpreted physically, the five-dimensional space had more dimensions than the usual three spatial dimensions and the fourth dimension of time used in relativistic physics.

The five-dimensional space was an abstract concept frequently encountered in mathematics. How would one feel when an abstract concept turned into reality, presented before your eyes? I finally understood why I couldn't see the core with my naked eyes. That was because the naked eye was incapable of perceiving the fifth dimension.

Based on the five-dimensional analyzer's projection, the core was an ever-shifting thing, existing in the form of white light, its edges constantly changing between seven different colors.

Time and space of the entire Jupiter II were presented upon the core's different nodes. Even more astonishing was the fact that on each level of the core, a multitude of possibilities for an event was being played out. Every single second, countless changes could occur to every ice geyser on the surface.

This was a body of overlapped time, a multidimensional world where countless alternate realities existed at the same time. Even within a single reality, there were still countless variations for each event.

Different points in time, alternate universes, and space mingled together, constantly colliding against each other, branching into new timelines with each collision. Appearing, disappearing, again and again, a scene complicated beyond comprehension played out before me.

Simply put, imagine that countless dimensions surrounded you, and countless alternate versions of you surrounded you. All versions of you constantly walked in different directions, and when the different versions collided, a new reality would open up. Meanwhile, what the core displayed was something on an infinitely larger scale, depicting the space and time of the entirety of Jupiter II.

I felt myself going dizzy. I lowered my head to rest my overworked brain. A sight like this was complicated enough to hurt the brain of a Blueling. The people of Blue were still incapable of adapting to something of this level. Both my eyes and brain couldn't take it.

Suddenly, a thought surfaced in my mind, If all possibilities of Jupiter II are being depicted here, then both of us must be in there as well. And if there are countless alternatives to our fate, it is inevitable that there must be at least one where we are able to escape. If we can find it, we will be able to find our path out of here!

Yes! That must be the case! That idea took root in my mind. But how should I find the alternate realities of myself and Chen Qiang from this five-dimensional space? The analyzer is only capable of visualizing this space, but it can't search through it. There must be a way to search for what I need.

When I glanced at Chen Qiang, I found that he was recording the core's data with his analyzer. Truly worthy of being the team leader. He was much more dedicated to his job than I was. I was only busy thinking of escape while Chen Qiang was actually recording all possible timelines of Jupiter II as depicted by the five-dimensional core, attempting to uncover the secrets of the moon we're on.

Suddenly, Chen Qiang waved at me, gesturing at me to approach him. And when I went over and followed the team leader's hand, I saw a scene of the north pole's geyser spurting an unending stream of red, icy liquid onto the surface. And when I paid more attention to where the team leader was pointing, I saw a massive storm.

Suddenly, I recalled what Xiaoming told us earlier. A storm was slowly approaching our drilling site from the north pole. The storm would arrive in about a hundred minutes. Using that as the benchmark, we could search the five-dimensional space for our initial location. From there, we could search for our current situation and the way out of this mess. Also, using the storm as a footnote in time, we could even search for Old Du and Zhang Bao'er.

"I'm such a genius!" I looked at Chen Qiang in excitement and started wildly gesturing at him.

He nodded and patted my shoulder, gesturing that he had the same idea as well.

Fine. In any case, I'm still a genius to reach the same conclusion as the team leader! I comforted myself.

Chen Qiang gestured for me to start scanning the five-dimensional space from different directions. He would be in charge of the upper and left portions, while I would be in charge of the bottom and right portions. We would communicate through our flashlights upon any discovery. Feeling myself going dizzy once again, I checked my energy supply. I had 20 hours left. After about 40 minutes of great perseverance, I found a timeline containing Old Du.

"Found it!" I roared in excitement.

Then, I saw countless alternate Old Dus. In the majority of the timelines, I saw a massive beast coming out of the storm. Shrouded in storm, lightning, and snow, it was akin to a fabled dragon god. It madly attacked Old Du as he alone resisted at the geyser, seemingly trying to lower the mechanical probe into the hole before it closed.

"Old Du is truly a brother," I muttered as a warm current swirled in my heart. "He will be my brother for life!"

From the various timelines, I saw countless possibilities. Old Du was sent flying, Old Du was skewered, Old Du was trampled upon, and even one with Old Du running away.

"There must be one where I'm there!" I told myself.

I immediately signaled Team Leader Chen Qiang. He rushed over, and from his gaze, I could feel that he had already found his answer. When he looked at the image sent to his helmet, he gestured at me to stay calm. That gesture did manage to loosen my taut nerves.

After another gesture by the team leader, he started scanning the deeper part of the five-dimensional space with our analyzers. After a few minutes, the team leader suddenly pulled at me. When I looked at where he was pointing, I saw myself.

I saw myself dropping into Jupiter II's interior upon the collapse of the geyser. In that timeline, I spent a long time searching for a way out to no avail. I observed the other alternate timelines, but I couldn't find one where I managed to find a way out.

I even saw Team Leader Chen Qiang's timeline. He had fallen into a tube-tunnel even deeper than the one I was in. He alone fought three massive creatures, and he had eventually noticed the explosion I set off with my warhead. Only then did he start trying to move toward me.

Still, it was pointless to look at the timeline of someone else. I continued looking at my own timelines. I saw myself battling the creature, and it turned out that in most of the timelines, I was the one to perish. Truly, my successful escape was all thanks to my genius improvisation.

While I was feeling proud of myself, Chen Qiang pulled at me again, reminding me to stop looking at myself and focus on the task at hand. I hurriedly looked at where the captain was looking, and an astonishing scene was revealed before my eyes.