Chapter 59: A "Package" of Three Different Ways to Die

"This... is this... loot?"

Looking at the blackish-red lump of flesh lying quietly not far away, still pulsing slightly, the first thought that popped into Lin Yuan's head was actually this.

Isn't this just like a "Legendary Grade Material" dropped after defeating a boss in a game?

His heart instantly grew heated.

The fear and loneliness from moments ago were significantly diluted by a primal impulse named "greed."

Anyway, he couldn't contact the Command Center right now, and he couldn't return yet.

Since he was idle anyway, why not... go over and take a look?

Once this thought arose, he could no longer suppress it.

He cautiously maneuvered the "ghost" and slowly approached that blackish-red "heart."

As he drew closer, he turned all his sensors up to their maximum settings.

"Pheromone scan... None."

"Vital signs scan... None."

"Energy reaction... Extremely weak, but... extremely restrained."

The scan results showed that this thing seemed... completely dead.

Only then did Lin Yuan feel slightly relieved.

He arrived in front of the "heart" and extended the nanocluster plasticity tool arm, which had already finished auto-repairing, to gently poke the lump of flesh.

It was soft and elastic, like a piece of high-quality beef brisket.

However, the sensation upon contact was bone-chillingly cold.

"It looks like it should be safe."

Lin Yuan muttered to himself, and then, without hesitation, he picked up the basketball-sized "trophy."

[Load: 499.7kg/500kg]

"Good, good, it's not overweight."

He placed this "Heart of the Stitched Monster" side-by-side with the previous deep blue star on the storage platform at the rear of the "ghost."

Then, he aimed the scanning probe at the "heart."

[Scanning...]

This time, the scan took an exceptionally long time.

The "ghost"'s scanning system seemed to be analyzing an extremely complex material structure it had never encountered before.

After a full five minutes, the system's notification tone finally rang out.

[Scan complete.]

[Target: A hybrid aberration of 'Void' and 'Flesh' — 'heart of chaos' (Sample)]

[Composition Analysis: 40% unknown high-dimensional spatial energy condensate, 60% gene-mutated cells from a 'giant beast skeleton'. The two substances are forcibly entangled in an unstable manner.]

[Energy Characteristics: This object contains massive, chaotic 'Void Energy' and 'Biological Energy'. The two energies are in a delicate state of equilibrium. Once the balance is broken, it will trigger a violent, uncontrollable energy annihilation reaction.]

[Special Attribute: The 'void crystal core' at its center is the primordial core of a 'Void Devourer'. It possesses the properties of warping space and devouring matter. It is a theoretical core material for manufacturing 'Spatial Weapons' or 'Spatial Engines'.]

[Warning! Warning! This item is extremely dangerous! Extremely unstable! It is strongly recommended that the host discard it immediately! Otherwise, during the process of return-trip materialization, there is a 99.99% probability that a spatial law conflict will trigger a... spatial collapse disaster capable of destroying the entire base!]

"Holy... shit!"

When he saw those last two lines of blood-red, flashing warnings, Lin Yuan was so scared he almost threw the thing away right then and there.

A 99.99% probability of triggering a spatial collapse?

Destroying the entire base?!

How was this a "Legendary Grade Material"?

This was basically a "timed nuclear bomb"!

No, it was even more terrifying than a nuke!

A nuke would at most level the base; this thing would directly erase the entire space!

"Throw it! I have to throw it!"

A layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on Lin Yuan's forehead.

He didn't want to spend all that effort scavenging only to have his hand slip on the way home, "formatting" himself, Chief Chen, Academician Wang, and the entire base along with it.

Then he would become the eternal sinner of human civilization.

He was just about to control the mechanical arm to toss this hot potato away.

But his gaze involuntarily fell back onto the description of the "Special Attribute."

"'void crystal core'... core material for manufacturing 'Spatial Weapons' or 'Spatial Engines'...?"

Lin Yuan's heart began to throb wildly again, betraying him.

Spatial weapons! Spatial engines!

These things sounded incredibly badass just from their names!

The technology of the "Eternal Flower" civilization was already impressive enough. But their engines were only "Curvature Gravity Engines," which essentially still utilized the laws of space itself.

Whereas this "void crystal core" could... warp space! Devour matter!

If he could use it to build an engine...

Would that mean future starships would no longer need "curvature navigation," but could instead just open a "hole" in space and "teleport" directly from Point A to Point B?

If he could use it to build a weapon...

Would it be possible to fire a single shot at an enemy fleet and "delete" the entire space they occupied?

This thought was like a demon in his mind, frantically tempting him.

Throw it?

Or not?

Lin Yuan was caught in a fierce internal struggle.

Reason told him this thing was too dangerous and absolutely could not be kept.

But the gambling streak in his bones was screaming frantically:

"What are you afraid of?! The greater the risk, the greater the reward!"

"So what if there's a 99.99% explosion rate? Doesn't that leave a 0.01% safety rate?!"

"What if... what if the system has a way to handle it safely?"

Lin Yuan remembered the first time he absorbed ashilya's soul.

Back then, the system had also issued a blood-red warning.

It said he might be "overwritten" or "assimilated."

And the result?

Didn't the system eventually jump out, activate that high-and-mighty "Purification" program, and deal with that alien fairy's soul so thoroughly that it turned into a safe and harmless "USB drive"?

This proved that the system had "contingency plans" for these high-risk items!

The reason it issued a warning might just be a "disclaimer"!

It was to remind him, the "user," that there were risks involved and he would be responsible for the consequences!

"Right! It must be that!"

The more Lin Yuan thought about it, the more it made sense.

He felt like he had already grasped the "disposition" of this damn system.

It was like a black-hearted game developer, saying "This boss is very hard to beat, watch your life," while actually just trying to trick you into spending money on stronger gear!

"System!" Lin Yuan asked tentatively in his mind, "Is there really no way to bring this thing back safely?"

[...]

The system fell silent.

Just like last time, it seemed to need complex calculations when facing a question that was "outside the syllabus."

A few seconds later, a new line of text appeared in Lin Yuan's mind.

[Strong will from host detected.]

[Searching for high-level disposal protocols...]

[Search complete.]

[Option 1: 'Energy Neutralization'. Before the return trip, find a pure 'Life Energy Source' of equal intensity to counter and annihilate the 'heart of chaos'. Success rate: 12%. Consequence of failure: Triggers a larger-scale spatial collapse.]

[Option 2: 'Protocol Seal'. Consume 10,000 Authority Points to purchase the 'Type 7 Dangerous Goods Sealing Protocol'. This can temporarily seal the 'heart of chaos' within an independent sub-space, isolating its spatial law connection with the primary universe. After returning, it must be placed in a higher-level 'Absolute Zero Magnetic Field Prison' within 72 hours, or the seal will fail.]

[Option 3: 'Core Extraction'. Warning! This operation is extremely dangerous! It requires the host to project their mental power directly into the interior of the 'heart of chaos' and manually 'pluck out' the 'void crystal core' at the equilibrium point of the two energies! Success rate: Less than 0.001%. Consequence of failure: The host's consciousness will be instantly devoured and assimilated by Void Energy, disappearing completely.]

Looking at these three so-called "solutions," Lin Yuan's face turned green.

You call these solutions?!

This is basically a "combo meal" of three different ways to die!

Option 1, a 12% success rate? Besides, where was he supposed to find an "equal intensity life energy source"?

Option 2 seemed the most reliable. But... ten thousand Authority Points?!

He had worked so hard, racking his brain and risking his life for three months, and had only saved up 1,500 Authority Points in total. Now, to build the "ghost," his balance had been reset to zero.

Where was he going to scrape together ten thousand points? Was he supposed to go on a robbery spree?

As for Option 3...

Manually... "plucking out" the crystal core?

A success rate lower than 0.001%?

Lin Yuan had no doubt that if he dared to do that, he would turn into a pile of cosmic dust the very next second.

"Damn it, all that excitement for nothing."

Lin Yuan grumbled, preparing to give up entirely.

However, just as he was about to throw away this "time bomb."

His gaze unintentionally swept across the "ghost"'s storage platform.

He saw the blackish-red "heart of chaos" and the blue-tinted "deep blue star" sitting side-by-side.

One was an extremely chaotic, violent hybrid of Void and Flesh.

The other was an extremely pure, stable crystallization of biological energy.

One was the ultimate of negative energy.

One was the essence of positive energy.

Wait...

Something in Lin Yuan's brain suddenly clicked into place.

He recalled the description of Option 1.

"Find a pure 'Life Energy Source' of equal intensity to counter and annihilate the 'heart of chaos'..."

His eyes fixed deathly on that "deep blue star."

Wasn't this thing... a pure "Life Energy Source"?

Although its size wasn't proportional to the "heart of chaos."

Its purity was terrifyingly high!

If...

If he put these two things together and let them... "perish together"?

This crazy thought was like a bolt of lightning, cleaving through the fog in Lin Yuan's mind!