280: Chapter 280 Furnace Resonance

The orange-red, warm energy vortex of the "Geocentric Furnace," like the heart of a sleeping giant beast, pulsed slowly and rhythmically in the center of the cavern, emitting a soothing and stable pulsation.

Old Shi stood beside the medical pod, but his gaze could not move away from that massive energy source.

On his wrist, the dark silver, partially purified "Metal Point" scar was transmitting a series of clear, warm, and "longing" palpitations.

It was as if it were not a foreign object embedded in his skin, but a tiny seed resonating with the distant "Geocentric Furnace," longing to return to "The Mother" or absorb "nutrients."

The "interface" was calling, or rather, the "Geocentric Furnace" was calling the "interface."

Ling Ye was slowly repairing in the medical pod, but time waits for no one. They needed energy, needed to accelerate recovery, and needed information.

Approaching such a massive energy source, even with gentle "Order" energy, was like a child approaching a furnace for Old Shi's body, which had just undergone the "Purification Furnace" and was still extremely fragile.

A slight carelessness could lead to being assimilated or annihilated by the energy, or triggering the uncontrollable "Purification" protocol again.

"Must... try." Old Shi said to himself. He had no other choice.

Ling Ye had not yet awakened, and he was the only one currently able to move and interact with this "Order" ruin.

Moreover, the "interface" inside him that had just been purified seemed to be the "medium" capable of safely contacting and guiding the "Geocentric Furnace" energy.

He took a deep breath, feeling the Soul-soothing energy field emitted by the "Geocentric Furnace," and walked step by step toward the edge of the massive circular pit.

Underfoot, the dark silver metal floor was covered with fine dust, emitting a slight rustling sound when stepped on.

In the air, the faint sulfur smell mixed with the unique, ozone-like fresh scent of "Order" energy became even more intense.

As he approached, the warm energy fluctuation, like an invisible warm current, began to wash over and permeate his weary body, bringing a strange sense of comfort, as if soaking in a hot spring, temporarily alleviating his pain.

But Old Shi dared not lower his guard. He stopped at the edge of the pit and looked down.

Deep in the "Geocentric Furnace," the orange-red energy vortex was not completely calm.

One could see energy like viscous, glowing liquid, in slow rotation, forming tiny, constantly appearing and disappearing energy eddies and light spots, emitting a profound, ancient, and seemingly primordial, most basic, and most "Orderly" Law power from when the Universe was born.

In the center of the vortex, faintly, there seemed to be a more condensed, brighter, pale gold, irregular light cluster, like a "seed" or "core," slowly floating and sinking.

Old Shi's gaze fell on the complex, giant mechanical structures on the edge of the pit, which looked like a combination of multi-layered gears and energy arrays.

Although these structures were covered in dust, most seemed to be intact, connected to the energy vortex below via countless energy conduits.

At some key nodes, he saw grooves or connection ports similar in shape to the "interface" on his wrist, but more complex.

That was it. These ports were for maintenance personnel or dedicated "interface" units to connect, debug, or draw "Geocentric Furnace" energy.

He observed carefully and found a connection port that was relatively low, appeared the least damaged, and was closest to him.

Next to the port, there was also a small, dim operation panel engraved with ancient symbols.

He took a deep breath, slowly raised his right hand, and aligned the dark silver scar on his wrist—the "Metal Point"—with the groove of the connection port.

"Hum..."

The moment the "Metal Point" approached the port, a clear, intense energy traction, like magnets attracting each other, came from the port!

At the same time, the "Metal Point" on his wrist erupted with an unprecedented, gentle yet bright light, creating a perfect resonance with his heartbeat and the pulsation of the "Geocentric Furnace" below!

Old Shi did not hesitate anymore and gently pressed his wrist onto it.

"Click."

A crisp sound of connection. The "Metal Point" embedded perfectly into the port groove, fitting seamlessly.

In an instant— "Boom!!!"

Not a physical explosion, but a silent roar on the level of pure energy and Soul!

A massive, pure, warm, yet irresistible torrent of orange-red energy, carrying the absolute will of "Order," like a burst river, surged crazily from the connection port, along the "Metal Point," into Old Shi's right hand, rushing toward his meridians, surging into his limbs and bones, and even into the depths of his Soul!

"Ugh ah—!!"

Old Shi let out a short cry of pain, his body stiffening suddenly, as if struck by high-voltage current!

But unlike the peeling and cutting pain of the "Purification Furnace," what this "Geocentric Furnace" energy brought was a more domineering and more "essential" impact that filled, repaired, and nourished, while simultaneously performing a certain "definition" and "assimilation"!

He felt as if he had turned into a dry sponge, thrown into a warm ocean full of life energy, absorbing and expanding crazily!

The originally depleted and chaotic energy within his body, under the impact of this torrent, was forcibly smoothed, replenished, and even began to slowly reshape and optimize according to some "Order" template!

The severe pain from his injuries quickly subsided, the sense of weakness retreated like a tide, replaced by an unprecedented, full, and illusory sense of possessing infinite power!

But along with the recovery of strength, a cold, non-human, vast flow of information and "Law" imprints, like the will of the "Geocentric Furnace" itself, also surged into his consciousness!

He "saw" the massive, crisscrossing "Order" energy network beneath this land, like the Bloodline of the planet, with the "Geocentric Furnace" being one of its key nodes.

He "heard" the echoes of countless ancient, cold instructions and protocols, regarding energy distribution, facility maintenance, intrusion Purification, supreme mission...

He "perceived" the most basic Law fragments contained within that pale gold "core" deep in the "Geocentric Furnace," regarding "Star Gate stability," "space anchoring," and "Order diffusion"...

He even vaguely "touched" the existence connected to this "Geocentric Furnace" network, in the distant northeast—the blurry outline of the Seventh Star Gate, which was even more massive, colder, but also more "incomplete," and radiated ominous fluctuations!

And around the Star Gate, the dark shadow, like maggots on bones, constantly eroding and twisting "Order," full of endless chaos and hunger—the source of "abyssal eye" pollution!

Information surged like a tide, impacting Old Shi's fragile spirit.

He felt like a lone boat in a storm, likely to be completely swallowed and assimilated by this vast, non-human will and torrent of information at any time, becoming a cold "interface" carrier that only knew how to execute "Order" protocols, losing his self.

"No... I am not... a tool..." In the depths of his consciousness, he let out a silent, weak scream, using all his will to desperately hold onto the last glimmer of "self" in his mind, resisting that ubiquitous, cold "Order" assimilation.

Just then, a golden, higher-Order energy, also from the depths of the "Geocentric Furnace" energy torrent, but weaker, more "gentle," and even carrying a hint of indescribable "sadness" and "Guardian" meaning, seemed to sense his struggle and actively separated, like a mother's arms, gently surrounding and protecting his self-consciousness that was on the verge of collapse.

Was it the homologous energy of the "the key" beacon left by Ling Ye's parents?

Was it the last trace of imprint and emotional residue regarding the "Chief Engineer" couple recorded by the "Geocentric Furnace" during its long operation?

This special energy, like a stabilizing needle, steadied Old Shi's mind.

At the same time, the "interface" on his wrist seemed to have undergone some changes due to the intervention of this "Guardian" energy.

It was no longer just passively absorbing and transmitting energy, but began to actively and selectively filter and guide that massive "Geocentric Furnace" energy flow.

Most of the energy was directed toward the repair and strengthening of his body.

A portion of the energy was stored into the "interface" itself, making its light more solid, with more complex energy circuits faintly lit and repaired inside.

A small portion of the purest and gentlest energy, guided by the "interface" and supported by that "Guardian" energy, flowed back into the "Geocentric Furnace"'s own energy network through the connection port, and along some preset, almost forgotten ancient maintenance line pointing to the medical pod, flowed to Ling Ye, who was soaking in the life-sustaining fluid!

"Buzz... Medical unit detected high-purity Order energy injection... Initiating deep repair protocol..."

The screen of the medical pod lit up suddenly, and various data began to jump rapidly!

The gentle orange-red energy light, through the life-sustaining fluid, enveloped Ling Ye's entire body.

The wound on his chest began to accelerate healing and regeneration at a speed visible to the naked eye!

His pale face also regained a hint of color.

More importantly, the silent "the key" beacon imprint in the depths of his consciousness seemed to be further activated and lit up under the nourishment of this homologous energy and the slight stimulation of the "Geocentric Furnace" will, emitting clearer and more stable fluctuations.

"Dual Keys" resonance was passively and preliminarily established at this moment through the "Geocentric Furnace," this massive energy relay and amplifier!

Old Shi's body, under the wash of energy, had basically healed its wounds, recovered more than 50% of his physical strength, and even felt more full of power than before the injury.

But his spirit felt extremely exhausted due to the confrontation with the "Geocentric Furnace" will and the information impact just now, and... a hint of indescribable, cold "sense of alienation."

He could feel that his connection with this "Order" ruin had deepened.

That "interface" seemed to have truly become a part of his body, or even... a part of his "self."

His perception and ability to use "Order" energy had greatly improved.

But at the same time, some cold, non-human "Law" imprint belonging to the "Court of World Purification" also seemed to have been quietly engraved in the depths of his Soul.

He slowly moved his wrist away from the connection port.

The connection was broken, and the surging torrent of energy stopped abruptly. But the abundant power in his body, as well as the energy stored in the "interface," still existed.

The "Geocentric Furnace" continued to rotate slowly, as if nothing had happened.

Old Shi stepped back a few steps, leaned against a cold metal base, breathing heavily, calming his agitated mind.

He looked toward the medical pod.

Inside the pod, Ling Ye still had his eyes closed, but his breath was steady and powerful, the wound on his chest had basically healed, leaving only a faint pink new scar.

The look of pain on his face was gone, as if he had just fallen into a deep slumber.

The medical pod screen showed that his vital signs had returned to the "stable" green zone, the injury repair progress had reached 65%, and was still slowly rising.

Success. Using the "Geocentric Furnace" energy, he not only quickly repaired himself but also greatly accelerated Ling Ye's recovery, and even passively established a preliminary "Dual Keys" resonance.

But in Old Shi's heart, there was not much joy. Only a complex emotion mixed with a sense of power, a sense of alienation, and deep worry about the future.

He lowered his head, looking at the dark silver scar on his wrist that was emitting a soft, stable orange-red light.

It was no longer just a scar, but a truly activated "interface" deeply bound to the "Order" ruin, containing vast energy and information.

And in the northeast direction, that blurry and terrifying scene where the "Star Gate" and "abyssal eye" were intertwined was also deeply imprinted in the depths of his mind.