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[Warning! An abnormal peak has appeared in the energy fluctuation of the anomalous structure seal! It has been detected that it is attempting to decipher the seal's coding structure! Energy consumption rate has increased by 0.7%!] A sharp, whispering alarm sounded!
Almost simultaneously, the sealed core of the historical log area suddenly lit up with an ominous deep purple light. Although it was instantly suppressed by countless blue order runes, the fleeting malice made the temperature of the entire hall seem to drop by several degrees!
"What's going on?!" Lin Ye and Li Sha rushed towards the area at the same time, and the sentries immediately went into high alert, with the energy emitters on their arms lighting up again.
[Cause unknown! It's speculated to possess some kind of learning or evolutionary ability and is adapting to the sealed environment!] The whisper quickly analyzes: [Maintaining the seal's stability requires additional energy extraction! Current energy reserves have dropped to 18.9%!]
When it rains, it pours! And the bomb inside is still causing trouble!
"Can you reinforce the seal?" Lin Ye asked eagerly.
“We can try injecting more order computing power to temporarily strengthen the seal structure,” the Sentinel responded. “However, it requires an authorized user to guide the fragment power in cooperation, and the process may place a secondary burden on your consciousness.”
"Do it!" Lin Ye didn't hesitate at all, placing his hand on the query platform again. The familiar feeling of consciousness being pulled away came, though less severe than last time, but combined with his unhealed injuries, it still made his vision go black.
On the data level, he saw the purple core, bound by blue chains, struggling violently, with countless tiny purple codes gnawing at the runes of order like parasites. Lin Ye focused his will, drawing upon the power of the fragments, and combined it with the computing power injected by the Sentinel to create new shackles, reinforcing them layer by layer.
The process was brief but extremely mentally taxing. When the seal stabilized again and the purple light completely disappeared, Lin Ye was almost exhausted, his back soaked with cold sweat.
[The seal is temporarily stable, and the energy consumption rate is stabilizing at 0.5% higher than before.] reported in a whisper.
"It...it's getting stronger?" Lisa's voice was filled with fear.
"Or perhaps it's adapting," Lin Ye concluded with a grim expression. This virus was more troublesome than they had imagined. It was like a living thing, still finding ways to struggle even in its confined environment.
This sudden internal upheaval cast an even darker shadow over the already tense countdown. They not only had to find direction before external threats arrived, but also had to be constantly on guard against internal time bombs.
The remaining six hours felt incredibly long and agonizing.
Finally, as the clock struck the forty-eighth hour, the sensor on the sentry's head shone brightly, and a loud electronic voice echoed throughout the hall:
【Eden's coordinate positioning analysis complete! Path information has been loaded into the navigation core!】
Lin Ye and Li Sha jumped up from the ground almost simultaneously and rushed to the sentry.
"Found it? Where is it?" Lin Ye's voice trembled slightly.
The sentry waved his metal arm in the air, and a clear star map projection unfolded. Most of the star map was dark, except for a winding path that was highlighted, at the end of which was a galaxy marker emitting a soft white light.
"Based on historical log data and comparison with existing star maps, the target 'Eden' is located in the K-7 Lost Frontier region, on a terrestrial planet. This region has an extremely unstable spatial structure, with numerous gravitational anomalies and spacetime folds left over from ancient wars, making it inaccessible by conventional navigation."
The sentry pointed to that path.
"This is the only feasible safe route, but it requires traversing an ancient battlefield known as the 'Silent Graveyard.' The estimated journey, based on the normal warp speeds stored in this database, will take fifteen standard days."
“Fifteen days…” Li Sha murmured, “That long? Is it safe on the road?”
"Path safety assessment: low." The Sentinel's answer was blunt. "'Silent Graveyard' contains a large number of out-of-control automated defense systems, spatial traps, and... a high probability of encountering Void Predator swarms. In addition, this path is less than three light-years from the last marked area of activity of 'The Hunter,' posing a risk of interception."
On the star map, the area known as the "Silent Graveyard" was marked in an unsettling dark red, while another skull symbol, representing a threat, flashed not far along the path.
Hope is within reach, but the road to hope is fraught with thorns and deadly traps.
Lin Ye took a deep breath, his gaze fixed on the "Eden" mark emitting a white light. Fifteen days of perilous voyage, an unstable internal seal, potential pursuers... the road ahead was difficult, but they finally had a clear goal.
"Do we still have enough energy to initiate the leap and support us to get there?" Lin Ye asked the most crucial question.
The sentry's eyes flickered, offering a less than optimistic answer:
Calculations show that current energy resources, while maintaining basic survival, internal sealing, and minimal defense, can only sustain the voyage up to 70% of its distance. We lack sufficient energy to complete the final stage of the journey.
After hope came a more realistic despair. They found the road, only to discover that their "vehicle" didn't have enough fuel.
The initial excitement that had just begun to rise in the hall was instantly shattered by this cold reality.
Li Sha's face turned pale, and she looked at Lin Ye with helplessness in her eyes.
Lin Ye remained silent, his fingers unconsciously stroking the strange crystal in his pocket. The crystal emanated a faint warmth, as if responding to his touch.
Energy...they need more energy.
Chapter 540 Star Charts and Choices
"Potential area location analysis for 'Eden'...complete!"
The sentry's booming electronic voice was like a ray of dawn breaking through the gloom, instantly dispelling the weariness and anxiety that permeated Lin Ye and Li Sha's hearts. The two practically sprang to their feet and rushed to the central query platform, their eyes fixed on the slowly unfolding holographic projection.
"Where? The exact location!" Lin Ye's voice was hoarse from the long period of tension and anticipation; he could even hear his heart pounding wildly in his chest.
The sentinel did not answer immediately, but instead revealed the full details of the star map. A vast, fragmented, and desolate starscape unfolded before them—this was the "Shattered Graveyard" where they were. Countless planetary remnants, distorted energy flows, and all-consuming black hole gravitational wells dotted the landscape, creating a desolate picture of a cosmic graveyard.
In stark contrast to this vast expanse of dark red and ashen gray, at the edge of the star map, an area occupying about three to four percent of the total area is marked with a reassuring pale blue. This blue area is not empty, but rather dotted with dozens of points of light of varying sizes and brightness, like scattered diamonds on deep blue velvet, emitting a faint yet resolute glow.
“This blue area…is the possible location of ‘Eden’?” Lisa’s voice trembled with disbelief, her finger instinctively pointing to the blue area, a spark of hope rekindling in her eyes. Although this area appeared so small on the vast star map, against the backdrop of endless darkness, it was a guiding light.
“Correct,” the sentinel confirmed, its robotic arm pointing precisely to the blue area. “Based on the fitting calculations using the jump data fragments and historical environmental models, there’s a greater than 70% probability that ‘Eden’ exists within this area. These points of light within the area are calculated ‘potential spatial anchors’ with relatively stable spatial structures and mild energy background radiation. We believe that the entrance to ‘Eden,’ or Eden itself, is hidden within these anchors.”
Its robotic arm moved, highlighting a dozen or so bright spots that were significantly brighter than the surrounding ones: "These are high-priority anchor points, and database records show that they are more likely to have unnatural energy fluctuations or abnormal spatial curvature." Finally, its focus fell on the three brightest spots, "and these three points are the core candidate targets, with the highest probability of having artificial creations or large-scale ecological maintenance systems."
Lin Ye's gaze, like the most precise detector, firmly locked onto the three brightest points of light, frantically memorizing their relative positions and characteristics: the one in the upper left corner emitted a constant milky white halo, appearing calm and substantial; the one in the lower right corner had a faint, almost imperceptible golden luster, exuding a sense of mystery; the most peculiar was the one located slightly to the right of the center of the area, whose halo presented a slowly flowing, dreamlike seven-colored hue, as if containing some unknown rule.
"How far are we from there?" Lin Ye asked the most crucial question, his heart pounding in his chest.
The scale of the star map shifted rapidly, and a winding, zigzagging virtual route, carefully avoiding several large energy turbulence zones and gravitational traps, extended from their database location like a thin spiderweb, stubbornly connecting to that pale blue land of hope. At the end of the route, a cold, impersonal number appeared.
"Based on the maximum safe navigation speed that the database can currently maintain, it is estimated that it will take... standard time unit: 127 hours to reach the outer edge of the target area." The sentry reported the precise time.
More than five days! Almost six days!
This sudden change in timing was like a bucket of ice water, instantly extinguishing the enthusiasm that had just begun to rise between the two. Even operating at the lowest possible power level, their current energy reserves, including the necessary energy consumption to maintain the internal seal, could only last for a maximum of 70 hours! This didn't even include the terrifying energy consumption that would result from emergency acceleration, activation of the defense matrix, or tactical maneuvers should they encounter unforeseen circumstances along the way!
The energy gap is enormous and suffocating!
"Energy...we don't have enough energy!" The color drained from Li Sha's face instantly, her voice trembling with despair, "We...we can't even fly there..."
Lin Ye's heart sank to the bottom. Finding the coordinates of hope, only to be unable to reach it due to insufficient fuel, was a feeling more cruel and ironic than being lost in endless darkness.
"Is there a faster route? Even if it's riskier!" Lin Ye pressed on relentlessly, his fists clenching unconsciously.
“There are three alternative routes.” The sentry displayed the new routes. One route cuts almost straight through several energy turbulence zones marked as high-risk, reducing the time to 90 hours, but the crimson danger level next to it is as high as 87%; another route takes a longer detour, passing through several small debris zones marked with historical resource signals, but it takes more than 150 hours; the last route is mostly submerged in unexplored dark areas, the time is unknown, and the risk level is a glaring “extremely lethal”.
Every path comes with a near-fatal cost.
"So, with our current energy resources, plus the 'junk' we might find along the way, how long can it last?" Lin Ye changed his perspective, making the question more realistic and cruel.
The sentry's eyes flashed rapidly as he performed complex calculations: "Based on the most energy-efficient route, combined with a pessimistic assessment of the resource survival rate in the wreckage area using historical data, the maximum range is approximately 92 standard hours. Result: Unable to reach any core candidate anchor points, only able to enter the outermost zone of the target area."
In 92 hours, they can only reach the edge of the blue zone. This means they may have to conduct an even more dangerous and risky wilderness survival-style resource search in an unknown and potentially equally perilous area, otherwise they will still run out of energy and become a lonely grave in the universe.
Staying means certain death, while leaving means possible death on the way or being trapped at the gate of your destination.
A suffocating, oppressive atmosphere once again enveloped the entire control room. The newly ignited flame of hope was ruthlessly extinguished by this cold reality.
Lin Ye closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down. His brain worked at an unprecedented speed, analyzing the pros and cons of each option. Force his way into the high-risk zone? Given the current state of the database, it would likely collapse halfway there. Take a detour? The energy deficit was insurmountable. Explore the unknown? That was no different from blindly jumping off a cliff.
All avenues for survival seemed to be blocked.
No, there's another way! A path that seems like a dead end, but might actually hold a glimmer of hope!
He suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife, and swept over the sentry and Li Sha, saying decisively, "Go to the outer perimeter!"
“But energy…” Li Sha retorted almost instinctively, her face full of worry.
"We'll find a way to solve the energy problem on the way!" Lin Ye's tone left no room for doubt, carrying a do-or-die determination. "Staying here means we're just waiting to die! Relying on those high-risk routes is no different from suicide! But once we enter the outer perimeter of the target area, at least we're closer to 'Eden'! That's a calculated high-probability zone with a relatively stable spatial environment, and the chances of finding usable resources there are definitely greater than in this desolate wasteland we're in now!"
He pointed to the edge of the blue area on the star map, raising his voice slightly: "Even if we can't penetrate the core area for the time being, we can find relatively safe small wrecks on the edge and establish temporary outposts! Then, like we did before, we can take the initiative and search for all possible energy and resources! This is much more promising than us being trapped in this database that's about to run out of fuel, waiting for a slim chance of rescue or for the enemy to come knocking!"
Take the initiative and live by the flames! This is the survival philosophy he forged in blood and fire as he struggled to survive in the wasteland and the starry sky.
Li Sha looked into the familiar yet resolute light in Lin Ye's eyes—a fierce determination that would never give up even in dire straits. She took a deep breath, forcefully wiped her face, and suppressed the hesitation and helplessness in her eyes. She nodded heavily, "Okay! I'll listen to you! Let's give it our all!"
The sentinel's sensor lights flashed steadily as it conducted its final assessment: "Logic core recalculation: The plan is basically feasible, and the risk assessment is at the upper limit of the acceptable range. It is recommended to choose the route through the 'KS-734 wreckage group'. Historical records show that a small automated energy transfer station once existed in this area. Although it is old and the signal is weak, there is a theoretical probability of finding trace amounts of replenishment."
"It's settled then!" Lin Ye made the final decision and immediately began assigning tasks. "Sentinel, start warming up all the working engines immediately, and thoroughly check the thrusters and navigation system. We need to leave here as quickly as possible! Li Sha, inventory and pack all the supplies you can take, especially those engineering protective suits, the weapons you modified, and any unfamiliar but potentially useful materials and crystals. Don't forget anything!"
"Understood! I'll go right now!" Li Sha immediately turned around and rushed towards the supplies storage area.
"Command confirmed. Database remote navigation preparation program initiated. Self-check and warm-up estimated completion time: 1 standard hour." The Sentinel's mechanical arm retracted, and its massive body turned to the control panel, beginning to execute complex commands.
The brief rest period was over, replaced by more intense and efficient preparations. Everyone knew that the journey ahead would be a brutal test, a race against time and a gamble with fate. But this time, their eyes were no longer filled with confusion; instead, they had a clear direction, even if that path was fraught with thorns.
An hour flew by in the midst of the busy activity. Accompanied by a series of deep, powerful hums, like the heart of a behemoth awakening, the entire database began to vibrate slightly and continuously. The images transmitted from the external monitors showed that on the database's massive outer shell, some of the thruster nozzles that were not completely damaged lit up one by one, spewing out eerie blue plasma tail flames. This propelled the ancient behemoth slowly away from the metal ruins that had lain dormant for countless years, like a giant whale awakening from the deep sea, adjusting its posture and resolutely setting sail towards that distant, pale blue light of hope on the star map.
Outside the observation window, fragmented remnants of stars streaked past at breakneck speed, cold and lifeless, just as they had seen when they first arrived.
Inside the database, Lin Ye stood alone before the largest observation window, gazing at the boundless darkness ahead and the pale blue dot of light that, though precisely marked on the navigation star map, still seemed impossibly distant. His right hand unconsciously rose, tightly gripping the fragment of the "Key of Creation" hidden beneath his clothing; the icy touch seemed to carry a faint, elusive warmth.
“The Ark Protocol… Fragment collection… ‘Eden’…” he murmured to himself, his eyes sharp and deep. “No matter what secrets and conspiracies you are hiding behind, I will live on, go to the end, and uncover all the answers with my own hands.”
Just then, the whispered voice resounded in his mind without warning, carrying with it a strange message he had just deciphered:
[WARNING: During deep cleaning and data fragment reconstruction of the historical log backup area... an encrypted log fragment related to the 'Artisan-IV' engineering module was discovered... This fragment was severely damaged and overwritten multiple times, making it extremely difficult to repair...]
Lin Ye's brows furrowed suddenly: "The Craftsman Engineering Cabin? That iron lump that only knows how to make transactions? What happened to it?" An ominous premonition rose in his heart.
The whispering voice carried the noise characteristic of an unstable data stream:
The log fragments are extremely incomplete... Preliminary analysis reveals the following closely related keywords: 'collaborative work agreement', 'emergency evacuation order', 'disagreement on the implementation of the Ark Protocol', '...judged as betrayal'...
Collaborative operation agreement? Emergency evacuation order? Disagreements over the implementation of the Ark Protocol? ...Betrayal?!
These words, put together, struck Lin Ye's heart like a heavy hammer. That engineering module, seemingly governed only by cold logic and equivalent exchanges, actually had such a complex past behind it? Disagreements? Betrayal? What did it all point to?
Lin Ye sensed that the route ahead was not only fraught with unknown dangers, but also seemed to be shrouded in an even thicker and more eerie fog.
Chapter 541 Internal and external troubles
The sentry's booming electronic voice still echoed in the hall: "['Eden' coordinate positioning analysis complete! Path information loaded into the navigation core!]"
The glimmer of hope had barely appeared when, before Lin Ye could even examine the winding path on the star map, the whispered alarm pierced his mind like an ice pick once more.
[Warning! The energy fluctuation of the abnormal structure's seal has increased dramatically! It has exceeded the critical threshold! It is attempting to breach the seal!]
Before the words were even finished, the core of the historical log backup area, which had been sealed by countless blue order runes, suddenly erupted with a dazzling deep purple light! It was no longer the fleeting, eerie glow of before, but a powerful, continuous pulsation, like a heartbeat! Buzz—!
An invisible yet malevolent and chaotic mental shockwave spread outwards from the sealing point!
"Ah!" Li Sha was closest to the source, and although she wasn't the direct target, she was still hit by the lingering mental shockwave. She immediately felt dizzy and nauseous, and the tools in her hand fell to the ground with a clatter.
Lin Ye was the first to be hit; his brain felt like it had been struck by a hammer, and the spirit that had just been lifted by finding "Eden" instantly collapsed. His vision went black, his body swayed, and he almost fell over. He pressed his throbbing temples tightly, letting out a suppressed groan.
"Sentinel!" Lin Ye shouted hoarsely, enduring the excruciating pain.
"High-intensity abnormal energy overflow detected! Defense system overload! Energy demand to maintain the seal has surged! Current energy reserves: 18.2%, and continuing to decline rapidly!" The Sentinel's electronic voice carried a distinctly urgent buzzing sound. Its massive body instantly turned towards the historical log area, the energy transmitters on its arms operating at full power. Blinding blue-white energy streams blasted into the churning purple light like high-pressure water jets, attempting to forcefully suppress it in conjunction with the internal data locks.