240: Beacon Breakthrough and the First Cry of "StarNet"

The 'Star Hub' project had become the undisputed core of 'Bedrock Base'.

The technical research team practically lived in the laboratory, working day and night to conduct careful tests and analyses on the crystal key.

Wen Youyi devoted most of his energy to it; he was not only the project leader but also the only 'interface' capable of communicating deeply with the key without any obstruction.

Although progress was slow, every step was solid.

The first problem to be overcome was the stability of energy output.

Through the joint efforts of Senior Brother Li and Senior Brother Zhang, they designed a complex energy buffering and guiding device, much like building dams and canals for a raging river, making the energy guided from the key controllable, stable, and safely usable for experiments and various equipment.

Next, the team led by Ying found fragments related to 'beacon' manufacturing technology within the vast, misty information database inside the key.

This beacon was not a physical key, but rather a special energy imprint generator capable of a unique resonance with the master key.

Its core was a rare energy-conducting metal known as 'star pattern gold', combined with a specific sequence of Star Power runes.

'star pattern gold... it's recorded in the database as a material commonly used by ancient civilizations for high-precision energy conduction. We found some in the Starry Sky Debris before, but the quantity is very small.' Senior Brother Zhang looked at the data, his brows furrowing slightly.

'Even if the quantity is small, we must try!' Wen Youyi said decisively.

'Use the Materials in stock first to try and create the first experimental beacon! We need to verify the feasibility of the theory!'

Senior Brother Li immediately took the Materials and threw himself into the production of the beacon.

The process was extremely precise, requiring control over Star Power at a microscopic level.

Even those meritorious 'Flowing Silver' were invited to help, using their magical liquid metal properties to assist in completing some extremely delicate rune engraving work.

A few days later, a prototype beacon, only the size of a fingernail, dark silver all over, and covered with hair-thin Star Patterns on its surface, was carefully placed on the experimental table.

Next came the most exciting moment—the remote connection test!

The test location was chosen as the two furthest areas within the base: the Control Center (where the master key was located) and the observation station located at the other end of the base, near the ecological zone.

The straight-line distance exceeded five miles, and it was separated by thick metal rock layers and various energy shielding facilities, sufficient to simulate long-distance and complex environments.

Wen Youyi stood in the Control Center, holding the crystal key, his expression solemn.

Senior Brother Zhang, Ying, Senior Brother Li, and others were all holding their breath, surrounding him, nervously watching the situation at the observation station on the other end through an observation array, where Wang Wu was responsible for guarding that small prototype beacon.

'Start injecting energy, initiate the resonance program.' Wen Youyi said in a deep voice, beginning to guide the energy within the key, following the parsed sequence, and attempting to establish a connection with the beacon in the distance.

The key vibrated slightly, the flow of the galaxy inside accelerated, emitting a soft yet powerful fluctuation.

The energy readings in the Control Center soared instantly!

On the observation station side, Wang Wu stared intently at the beacon in his hand.

At first, the beacon showed no reaction.

After a few breaths, the Star Patterns on the surface of the beacon suddenly lit up one by one, emitting a faint starlight that originated from the same source as the master key!

'It's reacting!' Wang Wu shouted excitedly.

On the Control Center side, Wen Youyi could clearly 'feel' an extremely subtle, yet undeniably real 'line' penetrate through layers of obstacles and connect to the faint point of light in the distance!

'Attempt to transmit information!' Wen Youyi concentrated, and through this newly established connection, sent an extremely simple mental message to the beacon—'Starfire'.

Almost at the same time the message was sent, on the observation station side, the light of the beacon in Wang Wu's hand flickered slightly, and a clear thought resonated directly in his mind: 'Starfire'!

It succeeded!

Information transmission succeeded!

Almost no delay!

'It succeeded! We succeeded!' Wang Wu's excited shouts came from the observation station, and the Control Center also instantly erupted with long-suppressed cheers!

Senior Brother Zhang excitedly recorded the data: 'The connection is stable, the information transmission is lossless, and the energy consumption... is lower than expected!'

This was undoubtedly a milestone Breakthrough!

However, before they could rejoice for too long, Wen Youyi decided to proceed to the next, and most important, test—energy transmission!

He carefully controlled the energy flow, attempting to transmit a trace of extremely weak Star Power through this connection to the location of the beacon.

This time, the situation changed.

When the energy began to transmit, that originally stable 'connection line' instantly became bright and 'heavy'!

The key's energy consumption readings began to climb sharply!

The lights in the Control Center even flickered slightly, clearly indicating that the main power source had been slightly affected!

On the observation station side, the moment the prototype beacon received this trace of weak energy, it suddenly burst into blinding light, and then—

'Pop!'

With a slight popping sound, a few tiny cracks appeared on the surface of the beacon, the light quickly dimmed, and the connection was severed!

The first energy transmission test, failed!

The beacon was damaged by overload!

The joy that had just risen in everyone was dampened like a bucket of cold water.

'It seems that energy transmission has extremely high requirements for the material and structure of the beacon. Our existing 'star pattern gold' is not pure enough, or the rune structure needs further optimization.' Senior Brother Li inspected the damaged beacon and analyzed.

Wen Youyi, however, was not too disappointed; instead, he smiled: 'It doesn't matter! The success of information transmission has already proven that this path is feasible! We can solve the problem of energy transmission slowly! At least for now, we already possess the ability for cross-distance, secure, instant communication!'

He looked at the key in his hand, which was still glowing brilliantly, his eyes filled with hope.

'From today on, we, 'Starfire', possess our own 'starnet'!'

Although this 'starnet' currently only has one master node and one child node, and transmitting energy still blows up equipment, this is undoubtedly a huge leap from 0 to 1!

With this foundation, in the future, covering the Qinglan Mountain Range with signals, covering more distant worlds, and even connecting to the 'Return to Ruins' deep in the starry sky, will all become possible!

The journey of 'Starfire' will surely enter a brand new era because of the appearance of the 'starnet'!

(End of chapter)