265: Growing pains and the horrors of "imprints"

The successful birth of the 'Crouching Dragon' ship spirit immersed the entire 'hope' base in the joy and busyness of 'late-in-life parenthood.'

This little silver fellow (though it was thirty zhang long, everyone saw it as a little guy) quickly displayed a vigorous curiosity and... a bit of 'mischief.'

It especially liked to 'watch.' The two faint blue spots on the bow (nicknamed 'dragon eye' by everyone) spun around all day, full of interest in everything at the base.

When Senior Brother Li tuned the equipment, it wanted to 'watch'; when Mu Wanqing tended to the Spirit Medicine, it wanted to 'watch'; when Zhao Iron Pillar led people in practicing battle formations, it 'watched' even more intently, occasionally sending out an 'excited' fluctuation, seemingly finding those movements 'very interesting.'

It also especially liked to 'ask.' Through Xiao Wu and Wen Youyi, its questions came one after another, simple and direct.

[What is that spinning bright circle (referring to the energy stabilizer) for?]

[Why does that person (referring to Wang Wu) keep the little bugs (fluorescent bugs) in a transparent box?]

[When Iron Pillar... the big guy... swings that big thing (heavy sword), the energy flow is so messy, but it looks good.]

['Home'... what is it like outside? You talk about 'Starry Sky'... can I 'see' it?]

Xiao Wu felt like he was becoming a full-time preschool teacher. Every day, he not only had to answer 'one hundred thousand whys' but also had to translate complex concepts into simple metaphors that 'Flowing Silver' and the ship spirit could understand, often leaving him flushed with frustration.

'Just tell it the energy stabilizer is 'to make the energy queue up and not run around'! The fluorescent bugs are 'little snacks that glow' but we can't eat them! The Starry Sky is... just a place that's super big, super dark, but has many shiny 'big energy balls' and 'broken stones'!' Zhao Iron Pillar occasionally couldn't help but interject, using his set of rough but vivid metaphors, and the effect was surprisingly good; 'Crouching Dragon' could often understand quickly.

Besides its vigorous thirst for knowledge, 'Crouching Dragon' was also quickly learning how to control its own body. Under the guidance of Senior Brother Zhang and others, it began trying to fine-tune the patterns on the ship's surface to optimize stealth effects, learning to control the 'muscle fiber bundles' to make small posture adjustments, and practicing receiving and processing external information through the 'sensing array.'

The learning process was also full of incidents.

Once, while practicing 'stealth coating fine-tuning,' 'Crouching Dragon' might have been too eager to show off and made one side of the ship body too 'absorbent' of energy and fluctuations. As a result, that half of the ship looked like a large chunk had vanished into thin air, scaring several nearby team members into thinking the starship had been gnawed by some invisible monster, almost triggering an alarm.

Another time, while practicing posture adjustments, it tried to imitate a cool turning move Zhao Iron Pillar made while practicing swordplay. The force wasn't controlled well, and the thirty-zhang-long ship body performed a clumsy 'dragon tail whip' in the dock, almost sweeping away the nearby scaffolding and a pile of equipment, scaring Senior Brother Li out of his wits, who rolled and scrambled away while clutching critical instruments.

'Steady! Steady! You are a starship! Not a loach! No need to learn those flashy moves!' Wen Youyi was both annoyed and amused as he comforted 'Crouching Dragon,' which was sending out frustrated fluctuations as if it had 'done something wrong.'

The little guy learned quickly and corrected its mistakes just as fast. That visible growth speed filled everyone involved in 'raising it' with a sense of accomplishment.

However, just as 'Crouching Dragon's' growth was getting on track and everyone was gradually adapting to this 'raising a child' routine, an unexpected crisis arrived quietly.

This day, Wen Youyi was following the plan, trying to guide 'Crouching Dragon' in a deeper 'self-check,' with the goal of letting the ship spirit consciousness become more familiar with the status of each of its modules and trying to build a more refined internal sensing network. This process required 'Crouching Dragon' to sink its consciousness deep into the ship body, almost like 'internal vision.'

At first, everything went smoothly; 'Crouching Dragon's' consciousness fluctuations were stable, feeding back status information from all over the ship body.

But suddenly, when the consciousness scanned the core area of the ship body, near the key node connected to the key and the star core, the fluctuation transmitted by 'Crouching Dragon' trembled violently, and then became chaotic and sharp!

[Pain! ... Strange ... Entanglement ... Uncomfortable! ... Black ... lines? ... Biting me?]

The immature consciousness was full of pain, confusion, and a hint of fear.

At the same time, the crystal key that had been floating calmly on the console erupted with blinding light without warning! The star map inside the key spun crazily, projecting a chaotic light and shadow, while simultaneously transmitting strong warnings and rejection to Wen Youyi!

'What's going on?!' Wen Youyi's heart shook violently, and he immediately cut off the deep self-check connection with 'Crouching Dragon.'

'Crouching Dragon's' ship body vibrated violently, the faint blue 'dragon eye' light dimmed, and it transmitted a weak and aggrieved fluctuation: [There... is a bad thing... it hates me... and hates the key too...]

Senior Brother Li and the others also discovered the abnormality, and multiple indicators on the console sounded alarms.

'Unknown interference in the core energy node! The nature of the fluctuation... unrecognizable! It carries strong... negative adhesiveness!'

'key energy output is chaotic! It is resisting some kind of erosion!'

'Crouching Dragon' ship spirit consciousness stability is dropping! Showing slight self-doubt and fear tendencies!

Wen Youyi's face turned ashen; he instantly thought of a term—Reapers mark!

That was it! Some of 'Crouching Dragon's' ship Materials were collected from Starry Sky Debris, and this debris was likely contaminated during the ancient war between the 'Star People' and the 'Reapers' (Creation Heavenly Court or their ilk)! On some Materials, perhaps there remained extremely weak, hard-to-detect 'marks'!

Usually, these marks were dormant and harmless, but when 'Crouching Dragon' gave birth to its own ship spirit consciousness, and this consciousness touched the core deeply under the guidance of the key, these dormant 'marks' seemed to have been activated! They instinctively rejected the 'Star People' Legacy (the key) and tried to erode and contaminate the newborn ship spirit consciousness!

'Immediately isolate the 'Crouching Dragon' core area! Initiate the highest-level purification protocol! Use the plan we prepared before!' Wen Youyi ordered sternly.

The entire base instantly entered an emergency state. Senior Brother Li and Senior Brother Zhang scrambled to activate the 'Energy Purification Array' and 'Star Pattern Firewall' that had been designed long ago but which they hoped would never be needed. Mu Wanqing led people to prepare the highest purity 'spirit purifying pill' energy, ready to support at any time.

Xiao Wu desperately transmitted comforting and encouraging thoughts to 'Crouching Dragon' through the key: [Don't be afraid! It's a bad thing! We are helping you drive it away! Hold on!]

Inside 'Crouching Dragon's' ship body, silver light paths were entangled with a few extremely faint, yet abnormally stubborn, grayish-black thread-like energies. The light of the key was like a sharp sword, constantly cutting and dispersing those grayish-black energies, while the power of the 'Purification Array' also permeated in, cooperating with the resistance of 'Crouching Dragon's' own consciousness.

This was a silent war taking place at the microscopic level.

'Crouching Dragon's' consciousness struggled in pain, but the thoughts it transmitted became increasingly firm: [Hate... these black lines... This is my body... Get out!]

With the support of the key and everyone, the pure Star Power belonging to the 'Star People' Legacy combined with the ship spirit's own ignorant but tenacious life will, and began to push back and purify those grayish-black 'marks' bit by bit.

The process lasted for nearly an hour.

When the last trace of grayish-black energy completely dissipated under the silver brilliance of the key, 'Crouching Dragon's' ship body shook violently, and all light paths lit up again, purer and more solid than before. The faint blue 'dragon eye' also regained its luster, even brighter than before.

[Okay... bad thing... is gone...] 'Crouching Dragon' transmitted a tired but relaxed, even slightly proud thought, [key... doesn't hate me anymore...]

Wen Youyi let out a long sigh of relief, his back already soaked with cold sweat. He looked at the key; the key's light had also returned to stability, transmitting the message 'purification confirmed complete.'

The crisis was resolved, but everyone's hearts were heavy.

'Sure enough... the 'mark' really exists, and it's hidden all around us.' Wang Wu's voice was dry, 'This time 'Crouching Dragon' was lucky; the residue on the material was minimal and was discovered in time. If 'hope' also used contaminated Materials, or if the 'mark' exists in other forms...'

'Not just Materials,' Mu Wanqing frowned, 'What about us? We come from a world that was ranched by the 'Creation Heavenly Court'; could our Souls, spiritual power, and even thought patterns also carry some kind of 'mark' that we can't perceive?'

This question caused the temperature in the control room to plummet.

If even they themselves might carry the 'mark,' then their so-called hiding, fleeing, and returning home, weren't they exposed to the enemy's gaze from the very beginning?

Wen Youyi was silent for a long time, looking at 'Crouching Dragon,' which had just experienced a 'purification baptism' and was 'watching' them with reliance and curiosity, then looking at the warm key in his hand.

'Regardless, we now know about the existence and threat of the 'mark'.' His voice became firm again, 'This encounter with 'Crouching Dragon' is a warning, but also an opportunity. It proves that the key and our power can resist and even purify the 'mark'.'

'Next, our top priority, besides continuing to build and nurture, is to develop more reliable 'mark' detection and purification technology. Not just for the starship, but for ourselves as well.'

He swept his gaze over everyone: 'This road is destined to be full of thorns. But at least, our 'child' took the first blow for us and also illuminated the first trap hidden in the dark.'

'Crouching Dragon' seemed to understand, transmitting a firm and warm fluctuation: [Not afraid... together... hit bad things!]

Looking at this starship that had just experienced hardship yet appeared even more spirited, the haze in everyone's hearts was dispelled quite a bit.

Yes, they were not fighting alone. They had each other, these newborn partners, and the fire left behind by the 'Star People'.

No matter how dangerous the road ahead was, they now had the courage to cut through thorns and... more than one pair of eyes.