Chapter 607 - 600: Permission
"A coffin?"
Zhou Yuanjue stared at the object connected to the end of the white chain, his mind making a few associations.
It was a perfectly square, white, box-like object. Its surface appeared completely smooth, with no protrusions or engravings.
The white chain plunged directly into this white box.
Besides this one, Zhou Yuanjue could also clearly see three other white chains extending from the box’s other three sides. They passed through the drilling shaft’s walls as if they were immaterial, stretching off to some unknown destination.
’So this is what the Celestial Chain is connected to?’
"A coffin?"
Hearing Zhou Yuanjue’s word, Gleb paused for a moment, then shook his head with a chuckle. "This is no coffin. According to our research, it’s most likely a box, perhaps one that contains some kind of secret."
THUD!!
After a slight tremor, the underground elevator reached the bottom. The tempered glass doors opened, and Gleb led Zhou Yuanjue out. They walked past a vast array of machinery and researchers to stand before the white, box-like object that seemed to be suspended in mid-air, its four chains extending in different directions. Zhou Yuanjue’s eyes narrowed slightly.
He released a sliver of his perception, but he couldn’t sense any physical presence. The massive object, nearly ten meters square, was right in front of him, yet all he perceived was a void. Even the surrounding magnetic field showed no abnormalities, as if the object truly existed in another dimension and what he was seeing was merely a projection, something akin to a mirage.
"What exactly is this? You’ve been studying it for so many years; you must have some conclusions."
Zhou Yuanjue asked Gleb.
"Without a doubt, this must be the creation of some intelligent life form, not something that formed out of thin air. Unlike the Celestial Chain, this white Square Box has a slight reaction for the brief moment an intelligent being touches it. It was during those moments that, after many attempts, we were able to briefly capture a portion of the Energy this thing released..."
"Based on our analysis of that Energy, if the massive power contained within this thing were to be released, I’m afraid this entire continent would sink into the sea."
"Some of our country’s most famous scholars are part of this secret project. Many of them speculate that the Energy it contains is likely ’dark matter’."
Gleb said softly.
"Dark matter?"
Zhou Yuanjue said.
"It’s a general term for certain energies we can’t detect. Of course, since we don’t understand it, the name is purely speculative. In the endless void, there is the material world we can observe and perceive, but there may also exist vast, ubiquitous energies that have a strange, parallel relationship with matter."
"If we could find a way to harness this Energy, it might allow our civilization to make a quantum leap. Some also believe that within that world of Energy, which we can neither touch nor observe, lies the true face of the universe and its ultimate Truth."
"Who knows? In the grand scheme of the universe, we humans are still too young, too insignificant. Many concepts and ideas become incredibly abstruse and complex when described with our languages and writing systems,"
Gleb said.
Zhou Yuanjue fell silent for a moment. Gleb was right; humanity was truly insignificant.
Even at his level of power, capable of walking on air, he still couldn’t leave the planet.
"You just said it has a slight reaction when an intelligent being touches it. What is that reaction?"
Zhou Yuanjue continued to ask.
"You’ve hit on the key point," Gleb said with a smile. "Initially, when an intelligent being got within ’touching’ range, our machines would detect a subtle change in the magnetic field. After analyzing it with a decoder, we believed it was most likely a piece of information, or perhaps some kind of language. However, we could never decipher it. That is, until one day, a Saint Awakening Level life form touched this big fellow. It was then we finally confirmed that the magnetic field was an information field tailored to the consciousness wavelength of intelligent life."
"This information field is completely imperceptible to ordinary humans. Only those who have reached a state like the Saint Awakening can vaguely capture it. As you should know, there are no fixed language systems when it comes to consciousness and Spirit. We can use our consciousness to auto-translate, converting the information contained within a magnetic field into words we can understand. So, from that point on, we understood the meaning of the subtle magnetic field it was emitting."
"Have you touched it yourself? What was the message?"
Zhou Yuanjue asked.
"I have touched it myself, and I received a subtle consciousness field that auto-translated in my mind..."
At this question, a strange look appeared on Gleb’s face. "Inferior life form. Insufficient permissions."
Hearing this, Zhou Yuanjue’s face showed a flicker of astonishment.
’Inferior life form...’
’Gleb’s current strength and realm could be said to be at the pinnacle of humanity, just a short distance from the Realm of Origin One. And yet, the feedback he received was "inferior life form"?’
"Haha, don’t be so surprised. This is precisely how we confirmed that it must be a creation from a higher civilization. However, we lack the ability to open it, nor can we determine what’s inside."
"This is a secret on Earth that not even the Celestial Demons know. Because we shared the Ya’an Empire’s relevant research Data, we have long had security measures in place to keep this from the Celestial Demons. Therefore, our cooperation with you to fight the Celestial Demons wasn’t a rash decision made by me and the higher-ups on a whim. Compared to these higher civilizations and life forms, the Celestial Demons probably don’t count as particularly advanced beings."
"Furthermore, through years of research and experiments, although we still can’t comprehend that power, we have made some progress and have a few tricks up our sleeve,"
Gleb said with a smile.
Zhou Yuanjue nodded. No wonder Gleb and the others had agreed to cooperate so readily after that test at the border. ’A matter of this magnitude is no child’s play,’ he thought. ’So their leadership has been hiding such a massive secret.’
"Then, your purpose in bringing me here is..."
Zhou Yuanjue asked.
"For one thing, it’s because of the news you brought. If the Celestial Demons were truly driven to Earth, and the High-level Life forms that pursued them are about to arrive, it would be an extinction-level event for humanity. In the face of our civilization’s potential annihilation, I believe we must cooperate wholeheartedly. Besides, your selflessness and magnanimity were also important factors that convinced us."
"We are very curious to know what would happen if a life form like you—one who has broken through the limits of Earth’s biology and reached another level—were to touch it,"
Gleb said.