Chapter 608 - 601: Fire Seed
"You want me to touch it?"
Zhou Yuanjue looked at the white Square Box suspended in the void, connected by chains, and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Yes. In a way, having broken through the sphere’s limitations, your life form is on a different level from ours. Our own level of existence prevents us from gaining the proper authorization. Perhaps you will be different."
"Telling you this top-secret information was a decision made after repeated discussions among my country’s high command. We believe you’re trustworthy. We are well aware of the undercurrents moving beneath this seemingly peaceful world. Humanity may be facing a great crisis of survival. You aren’t the only ones on this planet with a sense of duty and responsibility. We people of Beisha Country are the same."
Gleb said with a smile.
"Aren’t you worried that the secrets hidden within this Square Box could also endanger the world?"
Zhou Yuanjue asked.
"Of course, we can’t rule out that possibility. But compared to a crisis, we’re more inclined to believe it’s a ’gift’ or perhaps a form of ’guidance.’ This Square Box didn’t just appear out of thin air; it must have been left for us by an extraterrestrial civilization. No one knows how many years it’s been buried beneath the Earth’s surface. Theoretically, if the beings who left this behind had malicious intent, the entire planet would have fallen long ago. We would have stood no chance of resisting."
Gleb said.
’If beings with such power truly held ill will toward Earth, the planet would have been destroyed long ago,’ Zhou Yuanjue thought. ’And even in the worst-case scenario, if they are hostile, Earth’s current power is nowhere near enough to resist anyway. It’s better to try and make contact, to understand, and use that to rapidly advance our own civilization and power.’
"Alright then, I’ll give it a try."
Zhou Yuanjue nodded, looked at the white Square Box, and began to slowly walk toward it.
"All personnel, prepare!"
Seeing Zhou Yuanjue make his move, Gleb’s expression immediately grew solemn. He spoke to the surrounding staff in a low, serious voice.
In truth, he wasn’t entirely confident, but things had reached a point where making contact sooner rather than later might be for the best.
After all, the Celestial Demon Ancestor seemed ready to cast aside all reservations and do something drastic. Over the past few days, they had started receiving some rather ominous intelligence. The entire Starry Sky Country seemed to be undergoing strange and terrifying changes. Some of their moles planted within the Starry Sky Country had openly defected. Messages sent back from a few strong-willed agents suggested that an invisible voice in the skies above the Starry Sky Country was brainwashing the entire populace.
And according to intelligence from Donghua, the reason for the Celestial Demon’s urgent changes was that an even more terrifying existence might be in pursuit from behind them.
The world might seem peaceful now, but the very next moment, it could be plunged into a crisis of annihilation.
Humanity’s power, in the end, was simply too weak.
In an instant, all the staff sprang into action. They began operating the various instruments around them, preparing to meticulously record every reaction and all data from Zhou Yuanjue’s contact with the Square Box.
TAP! TAP! TAP!
Everyone held their breath. Only the sound of Zhou Yuanjue’s footsteps echoed slowly through the subterranean world.
Beads of sweat had already formed on the foreheads of some of the bald, elderly researchers, their eyes revealing a mixture of anticipation and worry.
Nearly twenty years of research might finally bear fruit, and the secrets hidden in the Square Box might be revealed. But no one knew what that would mean for humanity and the world.
TAP!
Finally, Zhou Yuanjue stopped just a stone’s throw from the Square Box. The box, which looked so solid, was clear and real in his eyes, yet strangely, he still couldn’t feel any trace of its existence.
’What kind of secrets are hidden inside this Square Box?’
Zhou Yuanjue slowly extended his hand, reaching for the pure white Square Box.
Everyone watched this scene without blinking, knowing it might be a landmark moment in human history.
The strongest individual humanity had produced, one who had achieved a leap in the very essence of life, was about to make first contact with an extraterrestrial civilization.
Finally, Zhou Yuanjue’s outstretched palm overlapped with the white Square Box.
There was no sensation of touch. His palm seemed to pass right through the Square Box, making no "contact" whatsoever.
But in that instant, Zhou Yuanjue had a peculiar feeling.
He could feel a subtle, unseen power acting on his palm. It felt as if his entire being was being scanned by that power.
And aside from this intuitive-like perception, he had no other way of detecting this power.
It was as if a God were observing the mortal world, while mortals remained completely unaware of the God’s existence.
"We’ve got a signal!"
Just then, one of the surrounding staff members cried out in surprise.
"It’s a different signal frequency!! It’s nothing like the previous ones!! It’s much longer—a longer signal frequency means it contains more information!"
"Just as we thought! Contact from a new sapient life form that has surpassed Earth’s biosphere unlocks different authorization levels!"
"It worked! But... did it really work? What kind of information is he receiving?"
"..."
A momentary clamor erupted among the staff before they fell silent once more.
Theoretically, this kind of information frequency was impossible to translate into any existing human writing system. It could only be translated and perceived through a Spirit magnetic field. Only the person involved would know what content this information frequency was transmitting.
And at that moment, as the information’s magnetic field was translated by his own Spirit magnetic field, a voice rang out in Zhou Yuanjue’s mind: ’Material world @#¥@...!’
However, the initial sound was a segment of unknown gibberish. Zhou Yuanjue couldn’t tell what it was, but his intuition told him it was likely some kind of coordinate-like message. It was just that, limited by a different civilizational framework and level of knowledge, his brain and Spirit were unable to fully translate this part of the information frequency.
Fortunately, this coordinate-like information quickly passed, and his brain was finally able to clearly translate the information that followed.
’Life essence analysis complete. Candidate confirmed...’
’Partial project authorization unlocked. Current project name...’
’Fire Seed...’
After that, segments of the information’s magnetic field began to flow into Zhou Yuanjue’s mind.
And at that moment, the others outside watched in astonishment as the white Square Box, which had seemed eternally unchanging, actually began to transform.