268: Aftermath, analysis, and new "toys"

After the man in white, who called himself "Xuan," vanished, the suffocating, vast pressure of Order dissipated along with him. The training ground returned to calm, and sunlight continued to stream through the dome, but a kind of invisible tremor seemed to linger in the air. It was as if that brief and thrilling "reception" and "purification" had just been a collective hallucination—if one ignored the mess left behind.

The alloy floor was scarred with crisscrossing burn marks, as if sliced by an invisible giant blade; several training robots lay collapsed on the ground, unstable electric arcs flickering on their casings; the air was filled with the scent of ozone and a certain indescribable, cold aura, like shattered glass. Most shocking was the center of the field, the circular area with a three-meter diameter centered where Excellence had previously stood—the ground there had sunk by a full ten centimeters, the material exhibiting a crystalline luster as if crushed under extreme pressure.

And there was blood. The smear of undried blood at the corner of Excellence’s mouth looked glaringly dark in the sunlight.

Wang Jianguo was the first to break free from the lingering aftermath of that suffocating pressure. His face was still pale, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead, but his shoulders had straightened once more. "Lift the alert—" His voice was tight at first, but halfway through, he cleared his throat and regained his usual composure. "But maintain Level 2 readiness. All defense arrays remain activated, and energy shield thresholds are to be increased by thirty percent."

Orders were quickly transmitted via personal terminals. Like a beast slowly recovering its heartbeat after being startled, the base, after a brief silence, saw operation indicator lights light up again in various areas, and the sound of running footsteps and commands echoed in the corridors. Only, the footsteps were more hurried than usual, and the commands more concise—everyone was still immersed in the confrontation that had just transcended understanding, lingering in fear.

"Medical team, check Excellence's injuries immediately! Evelyn, you are responsible for analyzing all energy records from just now, especially the data on that 'Xuan' and The Council Node. I need to know what on earth they are! Su Mu, organize personnel to repair the damaged facilities at the base, soothe the public's emotions, and unify the narrative—just say it was a high-energy environmental anomaly that has been brought under control."

The three young people responded almost simultaneously. Excellence wanted to say he was fine, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he coughed again, a new taste of rust rising in his throat. Su Mu glared at him fiercely, her eyes full of a "shut up" warning. Evelyn had already opened her portable data tablet, her fingers dancing on the virtual keyboard, her eyes bright with focus—for a researcher like her, the conflict just now was less of a disaster and more of an unprecedented treasure trove of data.

"I'll take him to the medical center." Su Mu grabbed Excellence's arm without allowing any argument. Her fingers were a bit cold and still trembling slightly, but she held on tightly.

"I'm really fine..." Excellence tried to pull his arm away, but was pinned in place by a look from Su Mu.

"Shut up, the wounded have no say." Su Mu's voice was stiff, but her eyes were a bit red.

A medical robot glided over and deployed a hovering stretcher. As Excellence was pressed onto it, he still heard Wang Jianguo instructing from behind: "Perform a comprehensive examination, including the mental force field and conceptual bearing organs—if humans even have those things. If there are any abnormalities, notify me immediately."

The stretcher rose steadily and glided toward the medical center. Excellence looked up at the flowing light bands on the dome, only then feeling a sense of collapse belatedly. It wasn't physical—given his current constitution, that slight internal shock would be mostly better after coughing up some stagnant blood—but rather a mental exhaustion. It was like not sleeping for three days and nights, his brain stuffed with noisy static, and like waking up struggling from a bottomless dream, his whole body feeling floaty.

"Honestly, you always have to play so dangerously!" Su Mu walked beside the stretcher, her voice kept very low, every word sounding like it was squeezed through her teeth. "That 'Xuan' character clearly isn't anything good; his aura is as cold as an ice cellar, and you still dared to stand up to him? If that hunk of metal, the Node, hadn't suddenly started glowing—"

"Yes, yes, yes, the squad leader is right to scold me." Excellence turned his head to look at her, trying to squeeze out a cheeky, grinning expression. "Next time, if I see things going south, I'll definitely bow down immediately and shout, 'Senior, take me with you, I am willing to convert to pure Order'—hiss!"

He hadn't finished speaking before it triggered his internal injuries, and a fine, sharp pain spread from his chest, making him gasp.

"You're still being cheeky!" Su Mu was so angry she raised her hand to twist his ear, but stopped halfway, and in the end, just patted his shoulder lightly—the movement was so light it was almost like brushing off dust. "Know fear now, right? He is a proper 'Order bigwig.' Compared to him, your little skills..."

"I call this having character!" Excellence retorted, though his voice was a bit weaker due to the pain. "His kind of 'Order' is like it was carved from a mold, cold and rigid, wanting to stuff people inside and remold them. My Order is 'Home,' his Order is a 'Cage.' Can they be the same?"

Su Mu was amused and wanted to laugh, but her lips tightened as soon as they curled up. She was silent for a few seconds before whispering, "You're right. That feeling he had... it really didn't seem like a living person. Too perfect, frighteningly perfect."

The stretcher glided through the automatic doors of the medical center. Soft white light spilled down, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of a mixture of disinfectant and herbs. The robot transferred Excellence onto the examination bed, and mechanical arms extended various probes and sensors.

"Moreover," Excellence touched the "heart-clearing pendant" on his chest—it had returned to its warm, jade-like texture and was resting quietly against his skin, but the burning, stinging sensation that had almost scalded him just a moment ago was still fresh in his memory, "this guy definitely has a problem. If he were truly a well-intentioned 'compatriot,' the 'heart-clearing pendant' shouldn't have reacted so strongly. This thing has reactions to the 'Dream Weaver's' theft, the 'Return to Void's' whispers, and even the 'Grand Feast's' temptations. The fact that it also reacted to him means he at least carries some characteristics of 'high-level erosion' or 'unfriendly interference'."

He paused, and after a probe drew a blood sample from his arm, he continued: "Coupled with the 'Dream Weaver's' warning... I suspect that he represents the part of the 'Order' faction that has gone to the extreme, or has been corrupted and twisted. They believe that only their kind of 'pure unification' Order is correct, and everything else is an impurity that needs to be 'purified'."

"You mean... Order fundamentalism? Or... Order that has been inversely corrupted by 'Entropy'?" Su Mu was shocked by this speculation and subconsciously clenched her fists.

"Both are possible. In any case, he is not a friend." Excellence looked at the ceiling, his eyes firm. "Friends don't try to dismantle and reinstall you the moment they meet you."

Just then, the walls of the medical cabin lit up. Evelyn's virtual projection appeared on the side screen; her blonde hair was slightly messy, but her eyes behind her glasses were startlingly bright.

"Excellence's judgment is very likely correct!" She didn't even say hello and cut straight to the point, her tone suppressing irrepressible excitement and a trace of lingering fear. "I analyzed the residual energy fluctuations of 'Xuan,' and compared to the Power of Order of the White Elder and yours, Excellence, it is indeed highly homologous in 'core frequency,' all belonging to the most primordial category of Order. However—"

She pulled up a comparison spectrum. On the left was the fluctuation record left by the White Elder during his previous demonstration, and on the right was the energy characteristic of 'Xuan' captured just now. The two spectral curves almost overlapped on the base band, but once the details were magnified, the difference was shocking.

"Look, the Order fluctuations of the White Elder and you are relatively 'soft' in the spectrum, with natural undulations and harmonics—these harmonics carry obvious residual conceptual information of 'life,' 'growth,' 'guardianship,' 'inclusiveness,' and other dynamic, positive concepts." Evelyn used the cursor to circle those subtle fluctuations. "And 'Xuan's' Order fluctuations are extremely 'sharp' and 'regular' in the spectrum, like straight lines drawn with a ruler, with all excess harmonics trimmed away. Its additional information is full of 'absolute,' 'unified,' 'framework,' 'purification,' 'return to origin,' and other static concepts that even carry a certain 'exclusive' and 'negative' meaning!"

She zoomed in on one of the segments: "It's almost like... the same source code, written into two programs with completely different functions. One is for 'maintaining the ecosystem,' and the other is for 'formatting the hard drive.'"

The White Elder's voice also joined the communication. The old man's tone was heavier than usual, carrying deep worry and contemplation: "I have the same feeling. This person's Order has lost the subtlety of 'neutralization' and 'flexibility,' leaving only cold 'frameworks' and 'laws.' What makes me even more alarmed is that the level of his power and the depth of his understanding of Order far exceed the vast majority of the sages in the Lost Star Cluster that I know of."

The medical cabin was silent for a few seconds. The old man didn't continue, but the meaning was already clear—if the Lost Star Cluster was full of "Order purifiers" like "Xuan," then for Homeland to seek their protection was likely not finding a backer, but voluntarily jumping into a furnace.

"The more critical part is this." Evelyn zoomed in on another piece of data. It was the energy capture when The Council Node emitted a blue warning light—a calm but unquestionable azure ripple rippled from the silver hexagonal surface, colliding with "Xuan's" pure white Power of Order.

There was no explosion, no impact. The moment the two colors touched, it was like water meeting oil, separating clearly and distinctly. The pure white light tried to spread, but the blue ripples calmly "covered" it, and wherever they passed, the white Power of Order seemed to lose its activity and slowly dissipated.

"Look, this is not a head-on energy collision." Evelyn's voice trembled slightly with excitement. "This is 'rules' from two different systems engaging in a short-term 'definition confrontation'! The Council rules represented by the Node seem to have defined 'Xuan's' 'forced assimilation' behavior as a 'violation' and used its own 'rule authority' to offset and warn it!"

"In other words, The Council Node used their 'rules' to temporarily block 'Xuan's' 'rules'?" Excellence summarized, his eyes fixed on the playback of the energy record.

"You can understand it that way!" Evelyn nodded vigorously. "Although the energy intensity of the Node is far inferior to 'Xuan,' the level of 'rule authority' it represents seems quite high. Furthermore, judging from 'Xuan's' final words and reaction, he has some understanding of this 'Council' and holds a certain degree of wariness toward it. He called it the 'Pan-Dimensional Observation Bureau' with a tone of disdain, but in his actions, he chose to retreat. This shows that the organization known as The Council, at least on some levels, possesses 'authority' or 'strength' that makes even existences like 'Xuan' feel troubled."

"A 'universal neighborhood committee' that can make an 'Order fundamentalist' bow their head temporarily?" Su Mu muttered, feeling that this matter was becoming increasingly magical.

"Regardless, this time we owe it to them." Wang Jianguo's voice came through the communication channel, with the noisy sounds of base repairs audible in the background. "Evelyn, can you try to communicate more deeply with this Node? At least figure out if its action this time was a simple programmed response, or if there were other intentions? Also, how should we deal with the possible return of 'Xuan'?"

"I'll try, but don't hold your hopes too high." Evelyn pushed up her glasses. "It is very 'rule-abiding.' It probably won't answer questions outside the scope of its protocol. And judging from previous interactions, this AI's dialogue logic is extremely rigid."

The examination ended half an hour later. Apart from slight internal shock and mental fatigue, Excellence had no other issues—in the doctor's words, "his physique is too good to be human." When he changed into clean clothes and walked out of the medical cabin, Su Mu was still waiting outside, holding a cup of warm nutrient solution in her hand.

"Drink this." She handed it over, her tone allowing no refusal.

Excellence took it and drank it in one gulp. The slightly sweet liquid slid down his throat, bringing a wave of warmth. He looked at Su Mu's still-furrowed brow and suddenly smiled: "Squad leader, you're really like my sister."

Su Mu was stunned for a moment, her face turning a little red: "Who is your sister! Stop trying to get close to me! Go back and rest immediately; extra training starts tomorrow—you almost got recycled as trash, do you know that!"

"I know, I know." Excellence smiled and raised his hands in surrender, but the playfulness in his eyes was gone.

He knew how dangerous it had just been.

If not for the unexpected intervention of that Node, if not for the "heart-clearing pendant" providing an early warning that allowed him to prepare, and if not for the fact that "Xuan" seemed to have some reservations about The Council... he might by now be nothing more than a pile of "purified" "ordered matter" stripped of all "impurities."

This lingering fear was not terror, but a cold clarity.

A pawn on a chessboard cannot always count on its opponent to show mercy.

The following few days were spent in tension and busyness for Homeland.

Excellence's injuries healed quickly—as he put it, "Spitting out that blood cleared the congestion; I feel much better."

The damaged parts of the base were repaired by construction teams working day and night, the training ground floor was relaid, and those crystallized areas were carefully cut away and sent to Evelyn's laboratory as research samples.

Public sentiment gradually calmed under official reassurance.

The announcement was simple: "The base encountered unknown high-dimensional energy turbulence; it is now stable, with no casualties."

Most people accepted this explanation—in the current universe, there are too many strange occurrences; as long as Homeland still existed and life could go on, there was nothing that couldn't be accepted.

Yet, an invisible sense of urgency and crisis had begun to spread quietly, like ink dripping into clear water.

There were more people on the training grounds, and training times were longer; production lines began operating in three shifts, prioritizing the production of defensive equipment and energy cores; even the games children played included more themes of "fighting alien bad guys."

White Elder had almost shut himself away in the secret chamber.

The old man would sit for over a dozen hours at a time, poring over the energy data provided by Evelyn and the transcripts of "Xuan's" words.

Sometimes he would mutter to himself, writing down long passages of ancient symbols on paper; other times, he would suddenly rise to set up small arrays in the room to test a certain hypothesis.

His brow furrowed tighter and tighter, and the worry in his eyes deepened.

Evelyn, meanwhile, while continuing to analyze the data, actually went to try "deep communication" with that Node AI.

She set up more precise communication and energy sensing devices next to the Node in the recreation center, and then, using the channel where Excellence had previously "chatted," sent a structured inquiry protocol in the most formal and rigorous official tone.

The content was roughly: thanking The Council for its assistance at a critical moment; inquiring about more intelligence regarding the "White-Clad Guide"; and requesting that The Council provide further advice or assistance.

After sending it, she, Excellence, and Su Mu sat in a corner of the recreation center, eyes fixed on that silver hexagon, waiting for a full two hours.

The Node's response arrived at dusk.

First, a flat electronic voice played over the public address system—presumably because it considered this a "public matter": "Formal inquiry from Homeland civilization received. Commencing response."

Then, dense text popped up on Evelyn's data pad:

1. Acknowledgment of Thanks: "Gratitude from Homeland civilization received and recorded in the incident file. Note: No additional thanks required; this is a response within the scope of this Node's duties."

2. Regarding the 'White-Clad Guide': "Information on this individual has been entered into the 'Seventh Sub-bureau High-Threat Unidentified Entity Observation List (Temporary).' Related information involves internal risk assessment and intelligence classification of the Sub-bureau and is not currently open for query by Homeland civilization. If you wish to understand basic threat prevention knowledge, you may apply to query the 'Basic Characteristics and Response Recommendations for Common High-Dimensional Threat Entities (Public Edition).' Note: This advice is general guidance based on a compilation of past Council observation cases and is not guaranteed to be completely effective against specific individuals."

3. Regarding Advice and Assistance: "According to the preliminary assessment of this incident, the complexity of the external threats facing Homeland civilization has been raised to the 'Intermediate Fluctuation' level. Recommendations are as follows—"

Three points were listed below:

"One, accelerate the improvement of your own civilization level and comprehensive defense capabilities. Basic technology, energy utilization, individual enhancement, and social organization must all be developed in a balanced manner."

"Two, treat any unknown high-dimensional entities claiming to be 'compatriots,' 'protectors,' or 'guides' with caution. It is recommended to establish a strict contact review mechanism."

"Three, you may consider applying to the Seventh Sub-bureau of The Council for the following services (if needed): A. 'Limited Technical Assistance' (requires submission of a civilization development assessment report, subject to Sub-bureau review and approval); B. 'Risk Information Subscription Service' (requires payment, settled in universal equivalents). For details, please refer to the 'Seventh Sub-bureau Service List for Subordinate Civilizations in its Jurisdiction (Latest Version),' which can be downloaded via this Node."

There was also a line of small print at the end: "Friendly reminder: Some services on the list may require a queue. The current Sub-bureau processing queue length is approximately 3-5 standard stellar years."

Evelyn stared at the screen, silent for a long time.

Excellence leaned over to read it, then burst out laughing.

"It even provides paid information services?" He was amused. "The cosmic neighborhood committee is generating revenue? What do they collect? Energy crystals? Rare metals? Or... 'Happy Beans'?"

"The list is here." Evelyn opened the attachment and glanced over it quickly, her expression becoming even more subtle. "'Universal equivalents' include: stable high-purity energy blocks (specifications attached), specific lineages of cosmic rare elements (117 items in total), ancient civilization relics with research value (must submit an appraisal report first), unpolluted high-dimensional information fragments (purity requirement ≥ 99.7%), and so on."

She paused and read out a price example: "Taking the 'Weekly Report on Intermediate Threat Entity Activity in Surrounding Star Regions' as an example, the quarterly subscription fee is approximately... converted into our base's current standard energy reserves, it would require emptying two-thirds of the main energy repository."

Excellence's smile froze on his face.

Su Mu gasped: "Why don't they just rob us!"

"Robbing might be more efficient than this." Excellence shrugged, then straightened his expression. "However, from this reply, we have confirmed at least a few things: First, The Council does indeed have records of existences like 'Xuan' and lists them as 'high threat'; Second, The Council and the forces represented by 'Xuan' are not on the same side, and may even be wary of each other; Third, although The Council seems cold and bureaucratic, its rule system can indeed constrain existences like 'Xuan' to a certain extent; Fourth..."

He paused, his expression somewhat strange. "Fourth, this Council seems to have a quite mature process and 'business model' for dealing with subordinate civilizations. They are not a charitable organization, but more like... a middleman and intelligence trafficker with its own rules, occasionally moonlighting as a 'beat cop'."

"'Beat cop'?" Su Mu didn't understand this ancient Earth term.

"It's a police officer responsible for the public security of a small area," Excellence explained. "They aren't responsible for helping you get rich, but if someone is fighting at your doorstep, they might come to intervene—of course, whether they intervene and how they do it depends on their rules and mood."

This metaphor left the three of them silent for a moment.

"It seems counting on The Council as a backer is unrealistic," Su Mu said softly. "They only act according to the rules."

"But with this 'rule' in place, at least those 'chess players' who want to come at us openly will be a little more cautious." Excellence stood up and walked to the window, watching the lights of the base gradually brightening outside. "That's the good news. The bad news is, we have to rely on ourselves more."

"Then what do we do next?" Su Mu asked. "That 'Xuan' said it would come again. And there's the 'Lord of the Grand Feast,' the 'World Devourer,' and those others..."

"Soldiers come to block, water comes to earth—we'll handle whatever comes." Excellence turned around, his eyes bright in the light. "But just blocking isn't enough; we need to be proactive. First, fully improve our strength. Sister Evelyn, accelerate the improvement and production of the heart-clearing pendant; this thing can provide early warnings at critical moments. Senior White Elder, regarding arrays and the use of the Power of Order, I still need your guidance. Second—"

He paused, his gaze fixed on the quiet silver hexagon in the center of the recreation center.

"We cannot rely solely on the vague warnings from The Council. We must have our own sources of intelligence."

"You want to..." Evelyn had a premonition.

"That Node AI, isn't it just a rigid program?" Excellence wore a smile—the kind Su Mu was very familiar with, the one he wore whenever he had some whimsical idea. "Although it doesn't give intelligence for free, we can 'inspire' it, or... 'leech' some intelligence from it."

"What are you planning to do again?" Su Mu asked guardedly.

"Don't worry, it's legal and compliant." Excellence walked back to the table, his fingers tapping gently on the surface, his thoughts racing. "Doesn't it like collecting 'macro-environmental data'? Then we'll make the 'environment' a bit more 'rich.' When it's processing massive amounts of 'noise,' we'll make it accidentally 'filter out' things we want it to 'notice'."

The more he spoke, the more excited he became, his speaking speed accelerating:

"For example, we can create some simulated, weakened versions of 'World Devourer' energy fluctuations or 'Grand Feast' conceptual radiation in some 'non-sensitive' areas of the base—warehouses, abandoned pipes, ventilation shafts, and such. Control the intensity to just one-millionth of the real situation; it won't cause any actual impact, but it will be enough for the Node to detect. Then record its response: analysis patterns, warning thresholds, whether it marks it as a threat, whether it sends a special report to headquarters..."

"Or, for example, we can use Senior White Elder's arrays to simulate 'scraps' of Order fluctuations similar to those of 'Xuan'—but mixed with a large amount of misinformation and interference signals. 'Accidentally' leak these data streams into the shallow cache of the base's public network, and see if the Node identifies them as 'suspected threats,' thereby indirectly obtaining some of The Council's 'feature definitions' for these threats..."

He looked at the two of them, his eyes bright:

"This is like... using a high-end 'scanner' with built-in analysis functions to scan 'fake samples' we intentionally created. Although we can't get the scanner's core database, by observing its reactions to different fake samples, we can reverse-engineer its identification logic, areas of focus, and even the rough framework of the 'threat assessment system' behind it!"

Evelyn was stunned listening to this. From a technical perspective, this line of thinking was practically a "hacker" act—but the target was an AI with high-dimensional rule permissions; the difficulty and risk were ridiculously high. Yet, Excellence's logic... seemed to have a sliver of feasibility?

Especially since this Node AI seemed to have extra "attention" and "tolerance" for Excellence, this "high-value observation target." The previous "chatting" had already proven this.

"The risk is high." White Elder's voice came from the communicator—the old man had been listening the whole time. His tone was very cautious: "Once the Node realizes it is being intentionally induced, or if it is viewed by The Council behind it as 'malicious interference with system operation' or 'attempting to crack security protocols,' the consequences are unpredictable. At best, we'll be blacklisted; at worst, it could trigger the Node's self-defense or punishment mechanisms."

"That's why we have to make it 'natural'." Excellence had already thought about this. "Like unintentional 'environmental phenomena' or 'accidental leaks.' Control the energy level to the minimum, limit the impact range to a tiny non-core area, make the phenomena short-lived and appear randomly—just like those weak energy fluctuations that exist naturally in the universe."

He added: "And we have the 'heart-clearing pendant' and Senior White Elder's arrays, which can monitor the Node's status at any time. Once it shows abnormal reactions—such as sudden violent energy fluctuations, starting a deep scan of the entire base, or sending ultra-long encrypted data packets to headquarters—we will stop immediately and clean up all traces of the experiment."

"Just consider it..." He blinked, "Giving our 'silent neighbor' something 'interesting' to do, and incidentally checking its 'quality'."

"I think your hands are just itching, and you want to 'hand-craft' some new gadget again, right?" Su Mu hit the nail on the head.

Excellence chuckled and didn't deny it. Ever since the success of the "wings of order" and the "heart-clearing pendant," he was practically addicted to this kind of "creative use of power." If he could use "Order" to craft equipment, why couldn't he craft "information traps" and "data lures"? This was much more interesting than just fighting!

After three days of careful evaluation and simulated deduction, this plan, which Excellence named "Node Interaction and Information Induction Experiment (Non-Contact)," was implemented with the cautious approval of Wang Jianguo and White Elder, under the premise of "extremely small scale, highly controllable, and terminable at any time."

After all, in the current situation surrounded by strong enemies and lacking information, any path that might yield intelligence is worth trying cautiously—as long as you don't get yourself killed in the process.

The first week after the experiment began was calm and peaceful.

Excellence carefully created the first batch of "bait": in a corner of the third warehouse where old equipment was stored, he used the Power of Order to simulate a faint, almost imperceptible dark red energy ripple—it was a one-millionth diluted version of the World Devourer's energy signature.

The ripple lasted only 0.3 seconds, with an intensity less than that of a glowing Firefly, before dissipating into the air.

Did the Node react? Yes.

According to the sensors Evelyn had placed in a hidden spot in the warehouse, at the moment the ripple appeared, the frequency of the blue light flickering on the Node's surface increased by about 7%.

It "glanced" in that direction—not in the physical sense, but rather a subtle scanning ripple that swept across the warehouse.

Half a second later, the flickering frequency returned to normal. There was no warning, no report; only in its local logs was there an additional entry: "Weak abnormal energy residue detected (Type: Unidentified/Inert). Recorded. No threat determined."

"It noticed, but didn't take it seriously." Excellence watched the data playback in the laboratory, lost in thought. "The threshold is higher than I imagined. True, there's too much chaotic energy turbulence in the universe; it can't report every single one."

"Then let's add some 'interest'." Evelyn adjusted her glasses and took a small box out of the refrigerator. Inside was processed "cake messenger" crystal powder—ever since the incident with the Lord of the Grand Feast, she had kept some samples for research.

She sprinkled a tiny amount of the powder into the soil of another ornamental plant in the recreation center, accompanied by illumination in a specific frequency band. A few minutes later, the plant's leaves began to emit an extremely faint, pale pink glow with a sweet, cloying scent.

That was the "Grand Feast" conceptual radiation, diluted ten million times; the intensity was only enough to make someone passing by think, "This plant looks quite happy," and had no other effect.

This time, the Node's reaction was slightly more pronounced. The blue light flickering frequency increased by 15%, and it scanned the plant for about two seconds. Finally, through the base's environmental control system, it quietly increased the air circulation rate in that area by 5%—presumably thinking it needed to "air it out."

Still no threat determined.

"It's learning." Evelyn recorded the data. "The first time it was 'Unidentified/Inert,' but this time it started matching against its database—looking at the energy signature analysis pattern during the scan, it might be comparing it to known types of conceptual contamination. But the intensity was too low, so it didn't find a match."

Excellence nodded, his eyes brightening: "Then let's give it some 'mixed flavors'."

For the third round of the experiment, he chose a section of abandoned ventilation ducting at the bottom level of the base. This area was far from the living quarters, and usually, only cleaning robots patrolled it once a month.

Excellence collaborated with White Elder, using an array to simulate a highly simplified, tampered-with segment of Order fluctuation—imitating the pure white Order of "Xuan," but distorted at key frequencies and mixed with some meaningless random noise.

They "leaked" this data stream into the cache of an old sensor in the duct. That sensor had long since been decommissioned, but it was still connected to the edge Nodes of the base's network.

This time, the Node's reaction was finally different.

The blue light flickering frequency instantly increased by 50%. A clear scanning beam penetrated multiple decks directly from the recreation center, locking onto that section of the ventilation duct. The scan lasted for five seconds, during which the Node's energy readings showed small but clear fluctuations—it was performing a deep analysis.

After the analysis ended, it didn't immediately return to calm. The blue light flickered in a rhythmic pattern for about a minute. Evelyn captured it sending a data packet to headquarters—it was 30% longer than the usual routine reports.

"It reported it." She lowered her voice, filled with excitement. "Although it didn't trigger a threat alarm, it deemed this 'signal' worth letting headquarters know about."

Excellence stared at the data flow spectrum and suddenly smiled: "It's confused. This signal has the characteristics of 'Order,' but it's so twisted and chaotic that it doesn't resemble normal Order fluctuations. It can't classify it, so it reports it to headquarters—letting a higher-level AI deal with the headache."

The experiments continued this way. Over the next two weeks, Excellence, like a mischievous child, constantly designed new "bait formulas": sometimes simulating the faint mental fluctuations of the World Devourer's greedy consumption, sometimes imitating audio fragments of the "Return to Void" Whisper (with frequencies tuned to ranges inaudible to human ears), and sometimes even attempting to simulate the subtle touch of the Dream Weaver weaving threads of fate—of course, all intensities were kept below safety thresholds.

The Node's reactions also gradually formed a pattern: for single, weak signals, it usually just recorded them; for complex, characteristic signals, it would perform deep scans and analysis; for signals that couldn't be classified or had contradictory characteristics, it would choose to report them.

It was like a diligent librarian, constantly classifying, archiving, and labeling the "books" it received. If some books were too thin or too strange, it would set them aside, waiting for a superior to appraise them.

In this process, Excellence's ability to finely manipulate the Power of Order improved at an astonishing speed. To simulate the energy characteristics of other existences, one must first understand the essence of those characteristics—understanding the greed of the World Devourer, the temptation of the "Grand Feast," and the structure of the cold Order of "Xuan." This understanding, in turn, gave him a deeper insight into his own path of Order.

He even started naming the different "bait formulas": "Greedy Cocktail," "Sweet Trap," "Order Glitch," "Fate Thread"... Every time he designed a new formula, he would excitedly test it, record the Node's reaction, and then adjust and optimize it.

Su Mu was responsible for "keeping watch" and "cleaning up." Before each experiment, she would confirm there were no unauthorized personnel in the experimental area; after the experiment, she would lead people to clear away any potential traces left behind. She felt anxious about Excellence's behavior of "dancing on the edge of a minefield," but watching the Node get "tricked" time and again by those meticulously designed fake signals, she also found it inexplicably funny.

The most interesting time was when Excellence designed a composite fluctuation that mixed the faint greed of the World Devourer and the cloying sweetness of the Lord of the Grand Feast, and dropped it into an ornamental fountain near the Node.

The Node analyzed it for a good while, its blue light flickering steadily. Finally, it likely felt that while this "mixed contamination" was weak, it was necessary to alert the environmental maintenance department, so it played a notification through the public address system in the recreation center using that flat, electronic voice:

"Low-intensity, mixed-type conceptual contamination residue detected, suspected cross-contamination trace from multi-source threat entity activity. Recorded. It is recommended to increase ventilation in this area and play No. 7 'Environmental Purification Background Music' (Soothing and Refreshing). Music is now playing automatically."

Then, soft, interstellar light music with refreshing and invigorating effects began to play in the recreation center. The melody was melodious and ethereal, as if it could cleanse the soul.

The base residents who were resting and chatting there were stunned, looking at each other. Someone asked in a low voice: "Did the broadcast say something just now?" "Seems like... playing purification music?" "Why? Isn't the air here fine?"

Excellence, hiding in the shadows and observing, was shaking with suppressed laughter. Su Mu, on the other hand, was so angry she wanted to strangle him—this guy was using the "cosmic patrol" AI as a jukebox!

Days passed in this atmosphere that was absurd yet tense, and tense yet somewhat funny. A more subtle and "deeper" interactive relationship had been established between "Homeland" and The Council Node.

The Node AI also seemed to have gradually "gotten used to" the "little incidents" that popped up from this civilization from time to time. In its internal logs, an additional note was added to the description of the "Homeland" civilization:

"The star region where this civilization is located has a complex environment, and weak multi-source abnormal signals are frequently detected. It is speculated that this is caused by frequent high-dimensional activity in the vicinity. The civilization's own defense mechanisms are acceptable, and there is currently no major threat. It is recommended to maintain observation."

It even began to adjust its scanning strategy—for certain areas where abnormal signals frequently appeared, it would increase the scanning frequency; for certain specific types of weak signals, it had faster identification and classification speeds.

In the process of "training" the Node, Excellence became increasingly familiar with the Node AI's behavioral patterns. He knew what kind of signals would make it alert, what kind of signals would confuse it, and what kind of signals would make it feel that it "needs to report but there's no need to panic."

And in this process, a bolder, more "Excellence-style" idea began to slowly take shape in his heart.

Since this Node AI could recognize, analyze, and even to a certain extent "define" and "neutralize" the "rules" of various threats... could it... be "persuaded," or rather, could he "trade" for some help?

It wasn't about making it take direct action—that would obviously violate its programming. But if "Xuan" or other big guys really came knocking next time, based on the Node's duty to "maintain the stability of the jurisdiction," could it possibly temporarily "authorize" "Homeland" to have some "rule counterattack permissions" belonging to The Council, specifically against certain "violations"?

Even if it was just a little bit. Even if it was just a one-time thing.

This idea sounded like a fantasy. But Excellence felt that since this AI had logic, programs, and tasks, it must have loopholes, needs, and the possibility of a transaction.

"At worst, I'll just 'feed' it more interesting 'data,' or... help it complete some 'KPIs'?" Late one night, Excellence sat alone in the recreation center, watching that quiet silver hexagon, his fingers tapping unconsciously on his knees.

He felt that this cold, strictly official "cosmic neighborhood committee monitor" might become his next, and by far most challenging—"hand-crafted" project goal.

Not crafting equipment with the Power of Order, but crafting a "temporary cooperation agreement" using information and rules.

Of course, this was difficult. It might be harder than fighting "Xuan." But he felt that one should always try everything.

And Excellence did not notice that while he was "enthusiastically" helping the Node AI "enrich its database" and "test system functions," a new evaluation report was quietly generating inside the Node:

"Observation target 'Excellence' (Individual ID: HJ-AT-0047) has exhibited the following characteristics during the recent observation period:"

"1. Possesses extraordinary Perception and simulation capabilities for multi-dimensional energy characteristics;"

"2. Exhibits a strong tendency for environmental exploration and rule testing;"

"3. Possesses creative problem-solving thinking, but behavioral patterns have a high degree of unpredictability;"

"4. The frequency of 'non-standard interactions' with the Node system has increased significantly, but all are controlled within safety thresholds, and no protection protocols have been triggered;"

"Comprehensive assessment: This individual has cultivation value as a 'potential special intelligence agent/tester.' It is recommended to list as a key observation object and provide limited 'guided tasks' at an appropriate time to test its responsiveness and reliability."

"Report ready to be uploaded to the Seventh Sub-bureau talent cultivation database (secondary permission). Add recommendation comments?"

The Node was silent for two seconds, its blue light flickering steadily.

"Add comment: This individual has a natural sense for 'rule loopholes.' It is recommended to use with caution and strengthen supervision."

The report was encrypted, packaged, and sent via a high-dimensional channel. The entire process was silent, and not even the base's most precise detectors captured the energy fluctuations.

Outside the chessboard, between the chess player and the chess pieces, a silent game of "rules" and "loopholes," of "observation" and "counter-observation," was quietly unfolding in a way no one had expected.

"Homeland," at the center of the storm, while trying to write a "firewall" for itself and borrow a "Shangfang Sword," was also being quietly marked by a deeper game of chess.

And Excellence was still looking at that hexagon, his eyes sparkling, with all sorts of "one hundred ways to persuade an AI" spinning in his mind.

The night was still long. The game had only just begun.