202: Chapter 202 Deeply Studying Lost Secrets, Gradually Peeking into Heavenly Manifestations

Ling Ye took the micro data storage card, wrapped in layers of waterproof bags, from his pocket. The card was only the size of a fingernail, and its interface was of a long-obsolete special specification, incompatible with any common device. Chen Yan had mentioned in his message that this was the "last copy" of the data, so a special interface was expected to prevent easy reading.

Fortunately, he hadn't come away empty-handed when searching the Warehouse earlier. Among the pile of electronic junk and broken instruments, he had salvaged several old-fashioned adapters and ribbon cables with various interfaces, as well as a damaged circuit board that appeared to be from an early mobile storage device. He had originally intended to keep them for modification tools, but now it seemed they might come in handy.

He immediately began to experiment. Using the data card, adapters, ribbon cables, and the usable interfaces on that damaged circuit board, combined with thin wires and solder he had salvaged from an old radio, and assisted by the fine motor skills brought by the Legacy knowledge, he began to attempt "grafting" and "jump-wiring" to create a temporary adapter interface for the data card, allowing it to connect to... the only "reading device" he might possibly possess—the internal circuitry of that crystal radio he had found in the engineering vehicle, with its own old LCD screen and physical buttons?

This sounded like a fantasy. But Ling Ye was not without a clue. The Legacy knowledge contained some crude principles regarding the "conversion of energy and information," as well as vague descriptions of a possible underlying mapping relationship between "Mental Energy" and "electronic signals." It was very likely that the data stored on Chen Yan's card was not just ordinary data, but also contained high-dimensional information fragments related to the "abyssal eye" or the "Star Gate," encoded with special energy frequencies. If he could convert it into an analog signal of a specific frequency that the radio circuit could handle, perhaps he could "hear" something, even if it were just rhythmic fragments within the noise?

This was an extremely bold, almost insane attempt. But he had to try.

Like the most precise watchmaker, he used the smallest tool on his multi-function military knife to carefully solder and connect. Sweat rolled down his forehead, but he was oblivious. Time slipped away in extreme focus.

After an unknown amount of time, a primitive "adapter," full of fly-wires and temporary connections, was born. One end was barely connected to the pins of the data card, while the other was connected to a reserved test point on the radio's audio amplifier circuit via a few capacitors and resistors (removed from the circuit board).

Whether it would succeed depended entirely on luck and intuition regarding energy frequencies.

He took a deep breath, inserted the data card into the "adapter," turned on the radio's power, turned the volume to the minimum, and pressed his ear against the speaker.

"Zzz..."

Just the usual static noise.

He slowly adjusted the frequency tuning knob of the radio, while simultaneously channeling a wisp of weak Mental Energy, mixed with a trace of the constant rhythm of the "Ancient Ring" mark, to carefully "touch" the data card.

"Hum..."

At a certain frequency point, the radio's static suddenly changed! It was no longer pure white noise, but had turned into a rhythmic, low-pitched humming sound, as if countless people were whispering in unison, interspersed with extremely sharp, short pulses that sounded like metal scraping!

"...sample... zero... spectrum... anomaly... unable to parse..."

"...star map... comparison... G-7 Node file... match rate... 0.0003%... but... exists..."

"...energy decay... half-life... unable to calculate... non-local physical constant..."

"...Warning! Detected... information feedback at the consciousness level... sample... appears to be... alive... is... observing... us..."

Intermittent, cold, emotionless electronically synthesized voices (likely early text-to-speech) came from the radio speaker, accompanied by noisy background data stream noise! Although fuzzy and intermittent, the information was clear! This was exactly the recorded analysis report or data dump left by Chen Yan!

Ling Ye's spirits lifted. He immediately focused all his attention, memorizing every word. He constantly fine-tuned the frequency, trying to obtain a clearer signal.

More fragments poured out:

"...comparing energy characteristics of runes unearthed from the 'Gatekeeper ruins' (see project 'the key' to the ancient star)... similarity increased to... 0.7%... critical frequency band overlap..."

"...'the key' hypothesis... may be a specific Mental Energy resonance frequency... requires dual resonance with the 'Star Gate' and 'sample zero'... theoretical model under construction..."

"...Senior Researcher Chen Qinghe... submitted private report... mentioned family heirloom black ring (serial number 'bone ring')... exhibits weak harmonic reaction with 'sample zero'... applied to use 'bone ring' for control experiment... rejected by the board of directors... reason: asset preservation..."

"...seven days before the accident... deep-layer sensors detected a sharp increase in 'sample zero' energy activity... suspected response to a specific 'call' or 'disturbance' from the outside... source analysis points to... above the mining area... Oak Street area?..."

"...last record: moment the drill contacted the 'sample zero' crystal... energy burst... all instruments overloaded... 'bone ring' black ring detected strong resonance... visually observed... dual rings phantom... Senior Researcher Chen Qinghe claims... to see a 'gate'..."

The information stopped abruptly. The data stream seemed to be interrupted here; it might be that the memory card was damaged, or perhaps the record ended there.

Ling Ye slowly turned off the radio and pulled out the data card; his fingers were slightly white from gripping it too tightly for a long time. His heart was pounding in his chest.

The harvest was huge!

Chen Yan's data not only scientifically confirmed the energy connection between the "abyssal eye" (sample zero) and the "Star Gate" ruins, and proposed the bold hypothesis that "the key" was a "specific Mental Energy resonance frequency," but also revealed several key pieces of information:

The "abyssal eye" had reacted to a "specific call or disturbance" in the Oak Street area before the accident! What did this point to? Was it the fluctuation of the "Ancient Ring" mark? Or something else related to "the key" (like Sun Li's abnormality?)?

Deep Space Frontier Capital had long had a project regarding the "Gatekeeper ruins" and "the key" to the ancient star! They were not ignorant of the "Star Gate"!

Senior Researcher Chen Qinghe had wanted to experiment with the xuanyuan ring, but was rejected by the company's upper management on the grounds of "asset preservation." Was the company's attitude towards the "bone ring" one of protection? Or did they have other plans?

At the moment of the accident, the "bone ring" resonated strongly, and Senior Researcher Chen Qinghe saw the "dual rings phantom" and a "gate." This matched the descriptions in his notes and last words.

Ling Ye carefully put the data card away. Although this "adapter" and reading method were crude, they proved feasibility. There might be more uninterpreted deep information inside the data card, which would require more precise equipment or more Advanced "Mental Energy" techniques to extract.

Next, he opened Senior Researcher Chen Qinghe's notes again, especially the part containing his last words. This time, combined with the information in Chen Yan's data, as well as his own experience of obtaining the xuanyuan ring and coming into contact with the power of the "abyssal eye," he had a brand-new understanding.

The "gaze of 'it'," "cognitive distortion," and "whispers" that Senior Researcher Chen Qinghe repeatedly mentioned in his notes were very likely the unconscious erosion and synchronization attempts of the "abyssal eye," acting as an "information lifeform" or "reality virus," on the consciousness of those who came into contact with it. As a Senior Researcher, Senior Researcher Chen Qinghe had the deepest contact and was the most affected; the confusion and delirious ramblings in his later notes were exactly the manifestations of being eroded. But relying on the weak harmonic power of the xuanyuan ring and a certain trait of the descendants of the "Gatekeeper," he resisted complete assimilation to a certain extent and left behind valuable records.

His speculations that "the water behind Deep Space Frontier Capital is very deep," that "they seemed to know early on that there was something down here," and that it was "related to the legends of the 'Star Gate' and the 'Gatekeeper'" were mutually corroborated by the "the key" to the ancient star project mentioned in Chen Yan's data. This company was by no means just an ordinary mining giant; its tentacles had long reached into ancient secrets.

And that sentence, "They seem to want to use the 'information rewriting' ability of the 'abyssal eye' to 'screen' or 'purify' all of humanity," combined with the identification and control of "sensitives" shown by the "Cleaning" party (the partner of "Blue Watch") during the incident, and the coldness of not hesitating to use the "Meltdown" protocol, a huge, cold, and chilling "Purification" plan seemed to be vaguely emerging.

The "pollution" of the "abyssal eye" was the erosion of reality rules. The "screening" of the "Purification Net" was the elimination of "unstable factors" and "the polluted." And Deep Space Frontier Capital... seemed to be seeking to control or utilize this power of the "abyssal eye" to achieve some goal? Between the three, there existed a complex relationship of both antagonism and possible secret collusion.

Ling Ye felt a chill. What he was facing was not just the "abyssal eye," a disaster from ancient times, but also a tangled modern conspiracy network composed of powerful capital, secret organizations, and researchers who might have been eroded.

And he himself, carrying the "Ancient Ring" mark, holding the xuanyuan ring, was not only related to "the key" but also a target of "Purification," and possibly a "special sample" that some forces wanted to control or study.

His situation was even more perilous than he had imagined.

But at the same time, his bargaining chips were also increasing. The "dual rings" had initially returned to their place, he had gained entry into the Legacy knowledge, obtained key intelligence, and had a Warehouse full of weapons and supplies. More importantly, he had a clear goal:

Search for the whereabouts of the complete "Ancient Ring" (clues to the descendants of the "Witch of Starfall").

Improve control over the "dual rings" to deal with the "abyssal eye" and other "anomalies" he might encounter.

Investigate the true intentions and plans of Deep Space Frontier Capital and the "Blue Watch / Cleaning" party.

Under the premise of self-preservation, protect innocents (Wang Hao, Sun Li, etc.) as much as possible, and explore ways to end the threat of the "abyssal eye" (clues to the "Departure" in the "Frozen Wasteland"?)

Finally, uncover the truth about the "Star Gate" and his own Transmigration and Reincarnation.

The road ahead was long and arduous. But at least, he was no longer lost.

He closed the notebook and looked at the glimmer of light high up in the Warehouse. It was already daytime outside; the city was licking its wounds, while the conspiracy was still growing in the dark.

He needed more power, more information, and also... an opportunity to return to that chaotic and dangerous surface world.

Just as he was deep in thought, the crystal radio, which had been kept at a low volume for monitoring emergency broadcasts, suddenly broadcast a new message in a hurried tone, completely different from the previous formulaic broadcasts:

"Emergency interruption! Repeat, emergency interruption!"

"The military and the joint control department have just confirmed that a new, abnormally strong energy gathering and life reaction signal has been detected underground in the original 'Seventh Storage Area,' about five kilometers southeast of the Old Factory District! Preliminary judgment is that it is of the same source as the 'pollution source' in the Old Factory District, but the manifestation form is different, and there is a suspected highly ordered 'core individual'!"

"This area has been designated as a new 'high-risk restricted zone' (code name: 'Dark Nest'). All units are strictly prohibited from approaching! Repeat, strictly prohibited from approaching!"

"At the same time, the control department has issued a highest-priority missing person notice: looking for any individuals who have come into contact with special ancient artifacts (especially rings, seals, etc.) before or after the accident, or who have shown abnormal Mental Energy perception or energy manipulation abilities. Those who provide effective clues will receive major rewards and security guarantees. Relevant characteristics have been issued to all checkpoints and resettlement points."

"Once again, emphasize that the 'Purification' operation aims to protect the majority. Please citizens actively cooperate and report anomalies."

A new "Dark Nest"? A highly ordered "core individual"? Was it a new variant of the "abyssal eye" derivative? Or... had something related to "the key" appeared?

And that "missing person notice," targeting "special ancient artifacts" and "individuals with abnormal abilities," was almost tailor-made for him! This was the "Cleaning" party increasing the intensity of the search! They were not only casting a net on the surface but even starting to use broadcasts to offer public rewards!

The crisis was closing in step by step.

Ling Ye's eyes suddenly became sharp. He could no longer wait.

The appearance of the "Dark Nest" meant that the threat of the "abyssal eye" was evolving and spreading.

The public reward meant that his activities on the surface would be more difficult.

He had to take action immediately. According to the original plan, prioritize recovering his strength, and then...

It was time to go see the vicinity of the "Dark Nest." Perhaps there was the information he needed, or a challenge he had to face.

And the first step to returning to the surface was to explore the shaft of the generator room.

He stood up, stretched his muscles, and adjusted his state to the best. Then, he began to organize all the equipment and supplies that must be carried.

The days of lurking underground were over.

The road to the Star Gate began with... returning to the human world.