“Material transport…
that is indeed a problem,” he said thoughtfully, his fingers tapping lightly against the casing of the pocket watch.
“A one-way channel lacks sufficient stability, and maintaining bidirectional communication requires continuous energy support…” Dottore fell silent for a moment.
Then, as if something had occurred to him, he pulled a neatly folded sheet of paper from the inner pocket of his research coat.
The material was peculiar, resembling paper yet gleaming with a metallic sheen.
“This is the list of materials I require.” He handed the list to Victor.
“Most are minerals, special plant samples, and energy crystals that are either common or easily obtainable in your world.
My request is simple: regularly collect the resources listed on this sheet, package them, and place them within a ten-meter radius of this device.” Victor eagerly unfolded the list the moment he received it.
The sheet was filled with a long column of material names, chemical formulas, and required quantities, the handwriting as neat as printed text.
As Dottore had said, the items listed were mostly resources relatively common to K-127.
Several types of high-conductivity metal ingots with different properties, inert energy crystals of specific wavelength bands, several varieties of elementally-purified dust samples, and some locally unique, stable biocomposite base materials.
The requirements were clear and the quantities reasonable.
It looked more like raw materials intended for research and high-end manufacturing.
Victor quickly skimmed the list and exhaled in relief.
“These materials on the list really aren’t rare.
Given the stronghold’s current capabilities, regular collection won’t be difficult at all.” Dottore then pulled another object from the other side pocket of his research coat.
It was a palm-sized rhombus-shaped device, its surface traced with faint, flowing lines of deep blue light.
At its center was a recessed crystal slot.
“This is a fixed-point transmission device.
I call it the ‘Astral Bridge.'” Dottore placed the device gently onto the control table in the room.
As he explained, his fingertips tapped rapidly along the device’s edge, initiating the startup sequence.
The deep blue lines flowing across its surface began to pulse on and off in a steady rhythm.
“Its function is singular, but it is far more stable.
It is specifically designed to receive physical materials transmitted from designated coordinates.” Using the detector, he temporarily calculated and imported the spatial anchor data between the current world and Teyvat, specifically his main laboratory in Snezhnaya.
The deep blue sheen of the lines on the device’s surface flowed like water, then finally steadied, the surrounding patterns glowing with a stable, faint light.
“Good.
The receiving end and the spacetime coordinates have been synchronized.” He then handed the now-activated device to Old Jean, who had been staring at it with wide, eager eyes.
Old Jean accepted it with the utmost care.
It was cold to the touch, and he could barely feel its weight.
General Victor leaned in to observe the device closely, his brow furrowed.
“Is the material transfer safe?
I mean, could it trigger a spatial shock or…” “That has already been accounted for,” Dottore cut off his worries.
“The working principle of this device differs from the spatial jumps you are familiar with.
It temporarily converts the target material into an information stream, transmits it via the principles of quantum entanglement to the other end, and then reassembles and restores it.” Old Jean’s eyes lit up.
“Like…
remote transmission technology?
But we’ve attempted similar research before.
The error rate during material reassembly was as high as thirty-seven percent, and organic matter would…” “Your errors stem from the unstable nature of space,” Dottore pointed out with surgical precision.
“My technology circumvents that problem entirely.
However,” he deliberately emphasized his next words, “activating this device requires a sufficient supply of a specific energy source.” “What energy source?” General Victor immediately asked.
“If it needs support from the stronghold’s energy systems, we can regularly allocate a portion…” Dottore shook his head.
“To be precise, it requires the consumption of energy crystals of a specific frequency and quantity to serve as the ‘key.’ That is to say, you will need Starlight Crystal as the energy source.” Victor followed up.
“So how exactly is the device activated?
What conditions are required?” “Place Starlight Crystal that meets the quantitative requirement and is of the highest purity into this interface on the energy center.” Dottore gestured for Old Jean to take note of the recessed slot at the device’s center.
“Each time it is activated, it will automatically draw upon that energy.
Once the energy reaches the required level, it will open a miniature stable spatial channel between the two pre-anchored coordinate points, sustained for one hour.
The channel can only transmit non-living matter, and the total mass of a single transmission cannot exceed one hundred kilograms.” A sudden quiet fell over the control room.
Old Jean and General Victor exchanged a glance, their faces registering disbelief.
“It’s…
that simple?” Old Jean’s voice trembled slightly.
“Just Starlight Crystal?
Mister Dottore, you may not be aware, but in our world, although Starlight Crystal is precious, the Doomsday Bastion alone has over eighty thousand tons of it in its underground reserves!” General Victor added, “We’ve always only considered it a basic material for stabilizing space.
We never imagined it could be used for cross-world transmission!
If you need it, we can allocate five tons right now—no, ten tons!” Dottore raised a hand to stop them.
“Excess is utterly meaningless.
The device’s energy storage unit can only process a specific amount each time.
Anything more is simply wasted.
More importantly—” He turned and faced the two men directly, his tone turning deeply serious as he placed special emphasis on his next words.
“The Starlight Crystal must be transported as a separate, pure batch.
It must never be mixed together with other materials on the list, especially those that contain elemental energy or special active properties!
Remember this absolutely!” “Why?” Old Jean blurted out instinctively, then hurried to explain himself.
“I’m not questioning you; I only…
want to understand the principle from a scientific standpoint.
That way we can ensure our operations are absolutely standardized.” General Victor frowned.
“If it’s just to save space, we could…” “This is not a matter of space.
It is a matter of safety.” Dottore’s voice grew exceptionally grave.
Seeing the confusion in their eyes, he elaborated further.
“The spatiotemporal energy contained within Starlight Crystal is extremely unique and sensitive.
Its essence is that of a ‘spatiotemporal resonance body.’ During cross-world transmission, it will produce a subtle resonance with the energy field of the channel itself.
That resonance is the key to maintaining the channel’s stability.” Dottore’s voice turned somber.
“But if other substances or energy fields are mixed in at the same time, at the moment the channel opens, the different energies within the narrow subspace passage could trigger a violent resonance reaction.” Old Jean’s face paled.
“You mean…
it would explode?” “Worse than an explosion.
At the mild end, it could cause the channel to collapse and trigger an energy backflow or destroy the transported materials.
Though the scale would not be too large, it would be more than enough to annihilate the entire stronghold.
At the severe end, it could induce a localized spatial collapse, forcibly tearing open a permanent rift between this world and mine.
When that happens, it would no longer be this controlled leakage of void energy but a direct collision of two worlds!” General Victor and Old Jean both drew sharp breaths at the same time.
“I will personally oversee this and establish a dedicated materials coordination and transmission team.
We will strictly follow the operational procedures and ensure every material exchange is safe and accurate!” “As for the other materials, they can be transported in separate transmission batches.
The device has an independent material buffer unit capable of storing up to three batches of materials while awaiting pickup from the other end.
The batch of Starlight Crystal, however, is an exception.” Old Jean had already set down the device and was scribbling rapidly on a notepad.
“Then what about the transmission frequency?
How often should we activate the device?
We can’t just activate it at random, can we?” After a moment of consideration, Dottore reminded them, “I will send an activation signal when necessary.
The device has a built-in synchronized energy meter and status indicator.
There are two colors: orange represents instability, and green represents normal operation.”