111: Chapter 111 The New Life of the Starry Sea, The First Opening of the Heavenly Eye

A pale golden cocoon of light floated slowly in the depths of the "Reincarnation Pool of Myriad Worlds," like a star at the birth of the Universe.

Countless "pool waters" containing fragments of rules from different worlds nourished it, while the consciousness wrapped within—Lin Ye's final obsession—was slowly and firmly reshaping and stabilizing itself with "Guardian" as its core.

Lin Ye's consciousness "gazed" at the third option—that image of a vast, star-studded starry Universe.

A cold voice echoed in the depths of his consciousness:

"Selection confirmed. Coordinates: Milky Way, Orion Arm, Fringe Star Domain, Human Alliance colonial planet 'Azure Planet'."

"Carrier locked: Ling Ye (sixteen years old, of Eastern descent, student at the Colonial Academy, parents went missing three years ago during a deep space exploration mission, listed as MIA)."

"Reshaping program initiated..."

"Warning: Detected strong negative emotions (sadness, anger, self-destructive tendencies) remaining in the carrier's original 'consciousness imprint'. 'Guardian' obsession is overriding... Override successful. Personality base replacement complete."

"Warning: Detected foreign high-dimensional rule imprint—'Fiery Golden Eyes' Origin. Attempting to adapt to the new world's physical rules... Adaptation abnormal! This ability involves partial High-Dimensional Information Perception and conflicts with the underlying physical model of the new world."

"Initiating rule conversion protocol... Conversion successful. New ability defined: High-Dimensional Information Perception (Elementary). Manifests as information gathering, pattern recognition, logical deduction, and danger intuition far exceeding that of an ordinary person, and can passively receive 'high-dimensional information fragments' of specific frequency bands (manifesting as 'inspiration' or 'déjà vu' regarding specific objects, events, or environments). Specific performance and intensity are influenced by the carrier's brain development, Mental Energy, and environment."

"Beginning Fusion..."

The cocoon of light suddenly contracted, turning into a stream of data light, infinitesimal to the extreme, and shot towards that specific "water droplet" in the "Reincarnation Pool of Myriad Worlds" corresponding to "Interstellar Universe - Human Alliance - Azure Planet - Ling Ye," following a trajectory of Law that transcended distance.

Azure Planet, Seventh Colonial District, Dawn City Central Hospital.

Inside the intensive care unit, various life-support instruments emitted steady beeps. On the hospital bed, the black-haired youth remained unconscious, but his complexion was no longer as deathly pale as before, and his chest rose and fell in a regular rhythm.

Attending physician Chen Mo looked at the complex vital sign data and brainwave maps on the holographic screen, his brows furrowed, yet he carried a look of incredulous amazement.

"Brainwave activity has rapidly reorganized from diffuse low-amplitude waves to highly ordered α-β mixed waves, and even a small amount of rare γ peaks have appeared... This simply violates the basic Laws of neural remodeling. His brain is like... like it has been completely formatted and loaded with a brand new, more efficient operating System."

"Moreover, the recovery speed of his physical functions is shockingly fast; the cellular activity index far exceeds the baseline for an ordinary person. Is this really the same 'Ling Ye' who was long-term malnourished and whose psychological evaluation was on the verge of collapse due to the trauma of his parents' disappearance?"

The young nurse beside him looked at the handsome yet youthful face of the youth on the screen and whispered: "Perhaps his will to survive is particularly strong? After all, his parents are only 'missing'..."

Doctor Chen Mo shook his head without replying. In the vast star sea, being listed as MIA with no news for three years meant the probability of survival was infinitely close to zero. This was an unbearable blow even for an adult, let alone a child who was only thirteen at the time. Ling Ye's previous depression, his plummeting grades, and even this "accident" were likely all related to this.

But the current data would not lie. This youth was undergoing a miraculous transformation from the inside out.

Just then, Ling Ye's eyelashes on the hospital bed began to tremble violently.

"The patient is waking up!" the nurse whispered.

Doctor Chen Mo immediately stepped forward, preparing to conduct an initial post-waking assessment.

Ling Ye (Lin Ye) slowly opened his eyes.

At first, there was pure bewilderment, as if he had been asleep for ten thousand years, feeling unfamiliar with light, sound, and even his own existence. But this bewilderment lasted less than a second.

The next moment, those black eyes rapidly focused, and the bewilderment was replaced by a depth, calmness, and a trace of unspeakable vicissitudes and sharpness that far exceeded his age. He lay quietly, not looking around in panic or moaning like an ordinary patient, but slowly turning his eyeballs with minimal amplitude to observe his surroundings.

White ceiling, soft embedded lighting, the faint smell of disinfectant and fresh, recycled oxygen in the air. Above the side of his field of vision, several translucent holographic light screens were suspended, displaying curves, numbers, and symbols (vital sign monitoring) that he could not fully understand for the moment, but which were clearly structured and logical. A cold sensation came from his left arm, where some kind of flexible material was adhered to his skin, monitoring something. On his right, a human female (nurse) wearing a white uniform with an ID badge pinned to her chest, and a middle-aged male (doctor) wearing a dark blue uniform with a stern expression, were looking at him.

Language parsing in progress... Federal Common Language, standard Dawn City accent. Feedback automatically occurred in the depths of his consciousness.

Environmental analysis: Highly ordered medical facility, technological level... Preliminary judgment, approximately equivalent to a development path not taken by his original world (Heavenly Profound Realm), biased towards external application and precision control, individual energy development... extremely low. This was the instinctive analysis brought by the High-Dimensional Information Perception after the conversion of "Fiery Golden Eyes"; although limited by his current brainpower and knowledge reserves, the conclusion was vague, but the direction was correct.

Identity confirmation: Ling Ye. Sixteen years old. Parents... A vague memory fragment that did not belong to him but was genuinely connected to this body by blood, mixed with deep sadness, powerlessness, and a trace of resentment, surged into his heart, but was quickly suppressed, straightened out, and absorbed by his own more massive and resilient "Guardian" obsession and Reincarnation memories, turning into background information.

"Student Ling Ye, can you hear me? How do you feel? Is there anything uncomfortable?" Doctor Chen Mo asked in a steady, professional tone, while observing the youth's reaction.

Ling Ye's (hereinafter referred to as Ling Ye) gaze landed on the ID badge on the doctor's chest: Chen Mo, Attending Physician, Neurology Department, Dawn City Central Hospital. Information was instantly captured, understood, and stored.

"I can hear you." He spoke, his voice somewhat hoarse and dry from long disuse, but his tone was steady, unlike a youth who had just been pulled back from the brink of death and had experienced a major trauma. "I feel... weak. No particular discomfort."

He tried to move his fingers, then his arm. His body felt a distinct weakness and slight muscle soreness, but his joints moved smoothly without serious organic damage. This was better than the best-case scenario he had anticipated—the basic physical quality of this body seemed quite good, and the repair of the "Reincarnation Pool" had clearly played a role.

A flash of surprise crossed Doctor Chen Mo's eyes. This reaction was too calm. He signaled the nurse to record and continued to ask: "Do you remember what happened? How did you get injured?"

In Ling Ye's mind, the last memory fragments belonging to the original "Ling Ye" rolled up: field survival training organized by the Colonial Academy, on the edge of the territory of a "Crystal-Armored Beast" herd, which were relatively gentle in nature and native to Azure Planet. He had been distracted and made an operational error, was knocked away by a startled adult Crystal-Armored Beast, his sternum shattered, his head hit a rock... then darkness and intense pain.

"Academy field training, Crystal-Armored Beast, impact." He replied briefly, while calling upon the knowledge remaining in this body to confirm that the "Crystal-Armored Beast" was a local creature with a large body, covered in biological crystal armor with excellent energy resistance, but usually did not actively attack humans.

"It seems that cognition and memory are basically intact." Doctor Chen Mo nodded and tapped a few times on the light tablet recorder in his hand. "You were very lucky this time. Although the injury was very serious, the delivery to the hospital was timely, and the surgery was very successful. Even more fortunately, you showed amazing resilience. However, you have been in a coma for three days and still need further observation and rehabilitation. Also..."

He paused, looking at Ling Ye's calm, waveless eyes: "Regarding your parents, someone from the Academy and the Community Service Center will come to communicate with you. The most important thing for you now is to nourish your body. If you have any psychological or emotional problems, you can seek help at any time, understand?"

Parents... MIA... Deep space exploration mission "Star Gate Echo" went missing...

These pieces of information could not stir up too many ripples in Ling Ye's heart. To him, it felt more like the tragedy of the "original owner of this body." His "attachments" were in the distant Heavenly Profound Realm, which he did not know how to return to, and with his fellow disciples of the Lingyun Sword Sect whose lives and deaths were uncertain. But he was "Ling Ye" now, and these social relationships were a part of his life that he had to face.

"Understood, thank you, Doctor." Ling Ye nodded, his expression management impeccable, carrying a slight fatigue consistent with his age and a heaviness consistent with his experience, yet without signs of collapse.

This restraint made Doctor Chen Mo even more convinced that some kind of deep-seated change must have occurred in this youth. Perhaps, extreme trauma could really give birth to resilience far exceeding that of ordinary people? He did not ask any more questions, instructed the nurse to take good care of him, and left the ward.

Over the next few days, Ling Ye cooperated with all examinations and rehabilitation treatments. He was taciturn, but not unsociable; he simply devoted the vast majority of his energy to "learning" and "observing."

Through the interactive walls in the ward (he could access basic information query permissions), through the occasional conversations of the nurses, and through the information brought by the Academy counselor and community workers who came to visit, he thirstily absorbed basic common knowledge about this "Human Alliance," "Azure Planet," "Dawn City," and even the entire interstellar era.

This was a vast interstellar civilization Alliance that spanned hundreds of light-years, contained thousands of colonial planets, originated from the home planet Earth, and was formed after experiencing the Great Spaceflight Era, the AI revolution, and several interstellar wars. The technology tree was mainly focused on energy (antimatter, zero-point energy), Materials, spaceflight, artificial intelligence, and bioengineering. Individual power was mainly reflected in knowledge, skills, and the control of cutting-edge equipment (such as mechas, starships, and power armor). Although there were some rumors about "Psionic" and "gene-optimized warriors," they were not mainstream and were strictly controlled.

And the Azure Planet where he was located was a gentle terrestrial planet located in a relatively fringe Star Domain of the Alliance, known for its rich rare crystal mineral deposits and unique ecological environment. Dawn City was one of its main colonial cities.

He, Ling Ye, was a student in the intermediate department (equivalent to high school) of the Third Colonial Academy in Dawn City, majoring in "Basic Starship Maintenance and Logistics"—a very ordinary, and even somewhat "blue-collar" major choice, which was clearly related to the state of the original body after the family changes.

His parents, Ling Zhendong and Su Qinglan, were both researchers at the "Deep Space Exploration Research Institute" under the Federal Academy of Sciences. Three years ago, they participated in a top-secret deep space exploration mission codenamed "Star Gate Echo," with the destination being an unknown star System near an anomalous space region outside the Alliance's territory. When the mission fleet was about to arrive at the target star System, it lost all contact with the home planet. The search was fruitless, and it was eventually listed as MIA. This matter had attracted small-scale attention at the time, but as time passed, it had gradually faded from the public eye, leaving Ling Ye with only a pension that was not generous but enough to support him in completing his basic education, as well as an apartment left by his parents located in a community on the edge of the colonial city.

After understanding this basic information, Ling Ye focused more of his attention on himself.

He discovered that the converted "High-Dimensional Information Perception" ability, although unable to directly "see" Spiritual Qi, Opportunity, or flaws in Cultivation Technique like "Fiery Golden Eyes," still exhibited many miraculous aspects.

When he focused his gaze on something with a complex structure, such as the medical instruments in the ward, although he could not understand the specific principles, he could vaguely "feel" the key nodes of its energy flow, the weak points of its structure, and even a certain "rhythm" of its operation. When he read those popular science texts or simple charts, his understanding speed far exceeded that of ordinary people; he almost never forgot what he had seen, and could quickly extract the core logic. His ability to capture details of the surrounding environment was also shockingly strong; the different badges when nurses changed shifts, the subtle changes in the rhythm of the doctor's footsteps during rounds, the different types of hovercars flying past the window... all could be recorded, classified, and analyzed by his brain in an instant.

More importantly, when he calmed his mind, he would occasionally "capture" some fleeting, groundless "information" or "feelings."

For example, when he looked at a vintage metal bracelet worn on the wrist of the young nurse named Leah, he would inexplicably feel that a certain position on the inside of the bracelet was "very important," as if something was engraved on it. Later, during a dressing change, he caught a glimpse of it by accident, and there was indeed a line of tiny, severely worn inscriptions on the inside, which was some kind of blessing from the Old Federal era. Nurse Leah herself had long forgotten this detail.

Or, for example, when the attending physician Chen Mo was doing rounds one time, holding a printed paper report (which was rare in this era), Ling Ye's gaze swept over an inconspicuous, seemingly stained spot on the edge of the report, but his heart moved slightly, feeling that the shape of the stain vaguely pointed to a data point about "abnormal synaptic discharge" at the end of the report. Later he learned that it was the tiny abnormality of that data point that caused Chen Mo to pay special attention to his recovery.

These "inspirations" or "déjà vu" had no pattern, sometimes strong and sometimes weak, but Ling Ye understood that this was likely the manifestation of "High-Dimensional Information Perception" under the rules of the current world—passively receiving scattered fragments that might be related to "key information" or "potential Karma." Although far less active, powerful, and goal-oriented than "Fiery Golden Eyes," it was still an extremely valuable ability, especially in this completely strange world that was centered on information.

He needed to master this ability as soon as possible and understand its trigger conditions and patterns. At the same time, he needed power even more—the power to protect himself in this world and to explore the way home and the truth.

Cultivation Technique for immortality? Spiritual Qi in this world was almost non-existent; cultivating the "Great Sun Golden Flame Technique" directly was simply courting death. But in his mind, he not only had Cultivation Technique for immortality, but also vague insights into the "Reincarnation" Law obtained during the Reincarnation trial, and many methods for tempering will and using Divine Soul from the "Gatekeeper" Legacy! Many of these did not rely directly on Spiritual Qi, but acted on the spirit, consciousness, and understanding of the rules!

Perhaps, he could start from the most basic meditation, visualization, and mental condensation, trying to improve brain activity and Mental Energy, which could not only enhance "High-Dimensional Information Perception" but also lay a foundation for possible future Mental Energy applications or the search for alternative energy.

And there was the body itself. The original owner had neglected exercise due to depression, so his Physique was average. However, after the repair in the "Reincarnation Pool," his foundation had been optimized. He needed a set of physical techniques suitable for this world that didn't rely on Spiritual Qi to strengthen his Physique, improve his reaction time, and enhance his survival skills. Within the Lingyun Sword Sect's basic sword techniques and movement arts, there were some skills purely for tempering the body and coordinating force; perhaps they could be modified for use.

Just as Ling Ye was silently planning his future, secretly attempting the most basic breathing methods and seated meditation in his hospital room, the day for his discharge arrived.

His recovery speed was so fast that the medical team was astonished once again; all his indicators had reached the standard for discharge. The academy counselor helped him complete the paperwork, while staff from the community service center applied for follow-up psychological support appointments for him (which he politely declined for the time being) and returned his parents' apartment keys, Personal Terminal, and other items to him.

Standing at the hospital entrance, Ling Ye (wearing a set of plain gray casual clothes provided by the community) looked up, and for the first time, truly "saw" this unfamiliar city.

Towering, streamlined silver-gray buildings shone under the sunlight, and countless hovercars shuttled in an orderly fashion along invisible aerial lanes. Massive holographic billboards flowed across the surfaces of the buildings, playing promotional videos for interstellar travel, demonstrations of the latest mecha models, or product advertisements from some interstellar corporation. In the distance, the vast arc-shaped outline of the city's energy shield generator was faintly visible, and further away was the sky unique to the Azure Planet, shimmering with a faint violet hue.

The air was fresh but carried a hint of the characteristic scent of industrial creations. People came and went, individuals of various skin tones and hair colors in diverse styles of clothing hurried past. Occasionally, one could see non-human entities that were clearly not of human form but behaved with decorum, or "cyborgs" with parts of their bodies mechanically enhanced.

This was a vibrant, orderly, yet completely unfamiliar steel jungle.

"Student Ling Ye, this is your temporary transport card. It has some pre-loaded credit points, which you can use to take the public hover-bus home. The address has already been entered into your Personal Terminal. Go back, get some good rest, and attend the academy's rehabilitation assessment on time. If you have any difficulties, feel free to contact the academy or the community at any time." The counselor was a kind-faced middle-aged woman who patted his shoulder and handed him a card.

"Thank you, Teacher Wang." Ling Ye took the card and the Personal Terminal. The terminal was a thin, paper-like wristband device, an important tool for him to understand this world and obtain information.

Following the terminal's navigation, he boarded a streamlined public hover-bus. The bus started silently and glided smoothly into the aerial traffic. Ling Ye sat by the window, quietly observing the city scenery flashing past, while simultaneously diverting a portion of his mind to familiarize himself with the basic operations of the Personal Terminal.

His "home" was located on the edge of the Seventh Colonial District, in an old community named "Oak Street." The buildings here were noticeably shorter and more modest in style; the streets were relatively quiet, and the plants in the green belts were the Azure Planet's native "Blue Oaks," with large, silver-blue leaves.

Number 44, a five-story apartment building. His home was on the top floor, a small suite with an attic.

Opening the door with the key, a smell of stagnant air, mixed with dust and the faint scent of old items, rushed to meet him. The room wasn't large, but it had once been decorated very warmly. On the living room wall hung a holographic photo frame, freezing the smiles of a "family of three" against the backgrounds of different planets—it was the younger Ling Zhendong and Su Qinglan, and little Ling Ye, who looked only seven or eight years old with a brilliant smile. The sofa was covered with a dust sheet, the bookshelves were stuffed with paper books and data storage disks (quite nostalgic in this era), and in the corner stood an old model household robot, currently in sleep mode.

Ling Ye walked around the room in silence. The bedroom, the small study, the bathroom, the kitchen. Everything remained as it was before the original owner left; there was even unfinished homework spread out on the desk, and a pen had rolled onto the floor.

The memories and emotions belonging to "Ling Ye" stirred again, carrying a sense of sorrow and emptiness. Ling Ye (Lin Ye) did not deliberately suppress them but quietly felt and experienced them, letting these emotions slowly settle and become a part of his "new life." From now on, he was Ling Ye, a youth carrying the memories and destinies of both.

He drew the living room curtains, letting the violet-hued daylight from outside shine in. He activated the household robot to perform basic Cleaning. Then, he sat down at the desk and turned on the slightly bulky, old-fashioned personal computer (left behind by his parents, which seemed to have some research purposes).

The computer booted up and required a password. Ling Ye tried entering a few combinations of birthdays and anniversaries from the original owner's memories, but they were incorrect. He pondered for a moment, his gaze sweeping across the bookshelf, and it landed on an inconspicuous metal ornament engraved with complex star map patterns on the shelf behind his parents' photo.

His High-Dimensional Information Perception stirred slightly.

He picked up the ornament; it was heavy in his hand, not as simple as a mere decoration. He carefully examined the star map on it; it was not any known Federation star map. The lines ran in strange patterns, and some nodes were specially bolded. He tried entering the coordinates of the few bolded nodes in the star map into the password box in a certain Order.

Beep. A soft sound rang out, the screen lit up, and he entered the desktop.

The password was correct.

The desktop was very clean, containing only a few standard System icons and some strangely named folders, such as "Observation Log - Encrypted," "Star Gate Theoretical Hypothesis - Incomplete," and "Letter to A-Ye - Draft."

Ling Ye's heart beat slightly faster. He felt that he might have touched the... edge of the mystery surrounding this body's parents' disappearance.

He didn't immediately click on those obviously encrypted or incomplete files but first checked the System logs and browsing history. Soon, he discovered that the computer had a non-standard signal reception and decoding software installed. The last valid connection record was from the night before his parents departed three years ago, and the receiving source was an encrypted signal relay station codenamed "Deep Space Beacon-7."

And just yesterday, this software seemed to have automatically attempted a connection, but it failed. The log indicated: "Target signal source unresponsive or invalid."

After his parents disappeared, this computer was still automatically trying to contact a signal source? Was it a pre-set program, or...

Ling Ye clicked on the "Letter to A-Ye - Draft." Inside was a letter half-written by his mother, Su Qinglan. Between the lines, it was filled with anticipation for the upcoming mission, apologies for not being able to accompany her son, and... a trace of imperceptible worry.

"A-Ye, this mission is very special. The place we are going may hide the true secret regarding the 'Star Gate,' and might even touch upon some... fundamental Laws of the Universe. Dad and Mom are both very excited, but we also know the risks involved. If... I mean if we are gone for much longer than expected this time, don't be afraid, be strong. On the third shelf of the bookshelf on the left side of the study, behind that thick 'Interstellar Plant Guide,' there is a small gift Dad and Mom left for you, which is also... a key. I hope you never need to use it, but... remember that it is there."

The letter ended abruptly there.

Ling Ye immediately stood up and walked to the third shelf of the bookshelf on the left side of the study. Indeed, there was an "Interstellar Plant Guide" as thick as a brick. He pulled out the guide, revealing a hidden compartment behind it. Inside the compartment, there was no safe or complex device as he had imagined, only a black, flat box, the size of a palm, neither metal nor wood, with a warm texture to the touch.

The surface of the box was smooth as a mirror, without any gaps or buttons. But when Ling Ye's fingers touched it, the surface of the box suddenly lit up with fine, silver-blue rays of light. These rays quickly moved and combined, eventually forming two complex, intersecting, and rotating three-dimensional runes!

The moment he saw these two runes, Ling Ye was struck as if by lightning, his pupils constricting sharply!

The structure and charm of these runes were surprisingly five or six parts similar to the star runes that occasionally surfaced on the "Ancient Ring" on his left hand, and the engraved patterns representing water veins on the "bone ring" on his right hand, deep in his memories! Although the specific details and combinations were different, that "feeling" of containing some kind of power of Law, transcending ordinary technological creations, was exactly the same!

This was not a technological product of the Human Federation! At least not mainstream technology!

The "Star Gate Echo" mission his parents participated in, the secret of the "Star Gate" they were looking for... could it be related to the "Ancient Ring," the "bone ring," his inexplicable Transmigration, and the "Reincarnation Star Gate"...?!

Just as a storm was raging in his heart, the black box seemed to have completed a "scan" or "authentication," and the lid slid open silently.

Inside the box, there were no files, data disks, or strange items as he had expected.

There was only a crystal chip, the size of a fingernail, thin as a cicada's wing, and semi-transparent pale gold.

The chip lay quietly on the black velvet lining, with tiny specks of light seemingly flowing slowly inside, as if it were alive.

And Ling Ye's High-Dimensional Information Perception, the moment it touched the chip, was like a lake surface into which a boulder had been thrown, fluctuating violently! A complex stream of information, intense and mixed with "danger," "Opportunity," "unknown," "call," and a trace of indescribable "familiarity," assaulted his consciousness!

This chip was definitely not simple!

At the same time, on his left wrist, where there had been nothing, a faint sensation of heat—so weak it was almost imperceptible—suddenly came from beneath his skin! It was as if something that had been sleeping was... awakened by this chip?

Ling Ye slowly reached out, his fingers trembling slightly, and picked up the pale gold chip.

The moment his fingertips touched the chip—

Hum!

The chip suddenly erupted with a soft yet highly penetrating pale gold light! The light did not scatter but turned into a thin stream, following the skin of his fingers and instantly merging into his body!

"Ah!" Ling Ye let out a muffled groan, feeling a massive, icy yet burning "torrent" filled with infinite information rushing rapidly along his arm toward his brain!

His vision went black, and countless broken, rapidly flashing images, symbols, formulas, star coordinates, images of strange creatures, blueprints of magnificent interstellar architecture, as well as countless whispers and hisses that he could not understand, seemingly from antiquity... flooded into his mind frantically!

A violent headache struck, as if his skull were about to explode!

Ling Ye gritted his teeth tightly, relying on the tenacious will tempered in the Reincarnation trials to desperately maintain his consciousness, attempting to capture and understand the information within this torrent.

In a trance, he "saw" some relatively clear fragments:

A huge "gate" that seemed to be twisted and made of pure starlight stood in the boundless, dark Void Realm...

Near the gate, countless wrecks of warships floated, some human, others bizarre, never-before-seen alien creations...

A low, magnificent, non-human consciousness echoed in the star space: "...Reincarnation... endless... channel... intersecting... key... must... be recovered..."

Finally, there was a high-definition image, as if it were a recorded video:

A medium-sized scientific research vessel bearing the emblems of the Federation Academy of Sciences and the Deep Space Exploration Institute (the hull number was blurred, but the model matched the known models of the "Star Gate Echo" mission fleet) was floating quietly in an eerie space of absolute darkness, without a single star. The research vessel appeared intact, but all its lights were extinguished, showing no signs of life.

And directly in front of the research vessel, in that absolute darkness, the outline of something slowly "emerged"—

It was a colossal, indescribable creature, or rather existence, that seemed to be composed of countless writhing shadows and cold metal. Part of it seemed embedded in the darkness, while another part stretched out. A tentacle-like limb, as thick as a small starship and covered in suckers and pale white eyeballs, was gently—as if petting a pet—wrapping around the silent Federation research vessel...

The image ended abruptly there.

The torrent of information receded.

The pale gold chip in Ling Ye's hand turned into countless specks of light and dissipated into the air.

Ling Ye stumbled backward, hitting the bookshelf, and barely managed to steady himself. His face was pale, his forehead covered in cold sweat, his temples throbbed, and his brain felt as if a whole galaxy's library had been stuffed into it, aching until it felt like it would split.

But he firmly remembered that final image, remembered that indescribable, terrifying existence that was wrapping around the research vessel.

That was not any known interstellar civilization creature.

The aura emitted by that thing... that pure coldness, deathly silence, and indifference and desire to devour "existence" itself... actually had a chilling similarity to the Laws of death and termination belonging to the "Nine Nether Realm" that he had felt when facing the projection of Demon Lord Yinming in front of the "Nine Nether Demon-Suppressing Platform"!

The disappearance of the "Star Gate Echo" mission... his parents' MIA... this strange chip... the resonance of the "Ancient Ring" and the "bone ring"...

And that terrifying existence hidden in the absolute darkness...

All the clues, like scattered stars, began to be connected by an invisible thread.

Ling Ye panted, holding onto the bookshelf, his gaze once again cast toward the violet-hued, seemingly calm sea of the Azure Planet's sky outside the window.

The Demonic Tribulation... perhaps it had never been far away.

And this "Reincarnation" chess game that swept across the heavens seemed to be even larger, and even more... dangerous, than he had imagined.

He looked down at his empty left wrist. The faint sensation of heat had disappeared, as if it had never appeared.

But he knew, some things were already different.

After the violent fluctuation, his High-Dimensional Information Perception seemed to have undergone some changes, becoming more acute and seemingly having a stronger ability to capture certain specific types of "information"—especially those related to "starry skies," "anomalies," and "unknown civilizations."

And in his mind, besides those complex and chaotic information fragments that needed to be sorted out, there was one more thing—a set of incomplete, yet structurally extremely exquisite and complex... star maps, or rather, coordinate pointing algorithms.

The final target pointed to by this algorithm seemed to be the eerie space of absolute darkness where the Federation research vessel was located in that terrifying image.

Or rather, the "gate" hidden deep in the darkness.