182: The first "diplomatic" response with metal

The discovery of "living" metal brought the exploration of the Starry Sky Debris into a new phase. Wen Youyi named it "Flowing Silver," which both described its form and carried a touch of sci-fi feel.

Senior Brother Zhang and Ying devoted all their energy to analyzing the mental fluctuations of the "Flowing Silver." This thing's thought patterns were extremely primitive and chaotic, filled with instinctual signals like "hunger," "defense," and "devour," resembling a mass of Chaos energy possessing a collective consciousness.

"Direct communication is too difficult." Senior Brother Zhang rubbed his throbbing temples. "Their 'language' simply lacks concepts like 'friendliness' or 'communication'."

"Perhaps we shouldn't attempt to 'dialogue'." Ying proposed a different perspective. "We could try sending a signal that they cannot understand, but which can attract 'attention' and cause 'confusion.' It's like throwing a stone into water; we don't expect the fish to understand, but as long as the fish notices the stone and realizes it poses no threat, perhaps it won't attack."

This line of thinking made Wen Youyi's eyes light up.

"That makes sense! We aren't looking to become friends; securing a 'non-aggression' pact first will do!"

Combining techniques regarding energy resonance from ancient knowledge, he designed a special "greeting"—a Star Power fluctuation that was extremely complex, constantly cycling and changing, yet carried no aggressive or alluring energy itself. This fluctuation was like an unbreakable Morse code; its purpose was not to convey information, but to demonstrate "existence" and "harmlessness."

A few days later, the passage opened again.

This time, the mission was executed by the repaired and upgraded "explorer 3" and the "explorer 4," which was built specifically for this mission. "explorer 4" had no collection functions; its entire body was used to carry powerful energy shields and the special "greeting" transmission device.

The two Puppets cautiously approached the area where they had encountered the "Flowing Silver" last time. When they were still a few hundred meters from the target, "explorer 4" stopped and activated the transmission device.

A burst of intangible, formless Star Power fluctuation with a unique rhythm spread out like ripples, enveloping the floating debris ahead.

At first, there was no reaction. The debris remained deathly still.

But after a few dozen breaths, a change occurred.

The surface of the small piece of debris that had previously attacked "explorer 3" rippled like water again. But this time, it didn't extend tentacles; instead, it slowly... changed its own shape!

It was imitating!

Its silver-gray surface began to twist and deform, attempting to replicate a certain complex geometric structure contained within the "greeting" fluctuation! Although the imitation was crooked, like a clumsy copy, this was undoubtedly a huge Breakthrough!

It had noticed! And it had produced a "response"!

"It's a success! It received the signal and is trying to understand!" Senior Brother Zhang whispered excitedly inside the Shelter.

What was even more pleasantly surprising was that several other small pieces of debris nearby also produced similar reactions. The fluctuations on their surfaces connected with each other, as if sharing information and collectively "learning" this strange fluctuation.

They showed no aggression; it was more like a group of curious, naive metallic lifeforms observing a "strange thing" they had never seen before.

"explorer 4" continued to transmit the "greeting." The "Flowing Silver" became increasingly proficient at their imitation, even beginning to attempt combining new, more complex structures.

This silent "diplomacy" lasted for nearly the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, until the stability period of the passage was about to end.

"explorer 4" stopped transmitting the signal and slowly retreated.

After the signal disappeared, those "Flowing Silver" seemed somewhat "bewildered." They writhed and shifted in place for a moment before finally slowly returning to the form of debris and falling back into silence.

But Wen Youyi knew that some things had already changed.

This contact did not result in any substantive "linguistic" communication, but they had successfully conveyed a message to these primitive intelligent metals: We exist, we are different, but we (for now) have no malice.

"This is a milestone!" Wen Youyi concluded. "We have found a possibility for peaceful coexistence (at least temporarily) with the 'Flowing Silver.' Next, we can try to establish a small, 'recognized' outpost near them!"

He seemed to already see that in the future, these "Flowing Silver" with infinite potential might not only become a source of Materials for them, but could even become peculiar allies in their fight against the "Creation Heavenly Court"... or rather, special "tools."

The development of the Starry Sky Debris had an increasingly bright outlook.

However, just as Wen Youyi was focused on building his "back garden," inside the Qingxuan Sect, the Black Sha Elder and those three "Scavengers," who had been toyed with countless times, finally lost their patience and were preparing to take more extreme and reckless actions.

A storm was quietly brewing.

(End of Chapter)