315: "Civilization Heritage Agreement" and Unreliable Guides

"Civilization Legacy Protocol."

These five words echoed repeatedly in Wen Youyi's mind. He stood outside the observation window of Isolation Chamber No. 7, staring at the dark golden egg inside, his brows furrowed.

If this egg really was some kind of "Civilization Legacy device," its value would be completely different—no longer a ticking time bomb that might attract trouble, but a mobile treasure trove of knowledge.

But the problem was... whose Legacy was it? And who was it left for?

"Captain, Captain Raymond has replied." Wang Wu's voice came through the communicator, interrupting Wen Youyi's thoughts.

Wen Youyi turned and walked towards the bridge: "What does he say?"

"He said he does know a guide who claims to have entered the 'Stardust Graveyard,' but..." Wang Wu's tone was a bit strange, "That guy... is a bit special."

"How special?"

"Captain Raymond described him like this: 'An old geezer who loves to brag when he's drunk and pretends to be profound when he's sober. He claims to have been an archaeologist for some advanced civilization, but then his civilization was wiped out by the 'Star Devourers,' and he became a drifter in the starry sky. His skills are okay, his mind is hit-or-miss, and his asking price is ridiculously high.'"

Wen Youyi couldn't help but smile: "Sounds like... quite a character."

"Raymond also said that if we really want to hire him, he can bring the person to meet at an abandoned communications station on the outskirts of the 'Shattered Star Belt.' But he warned us that eight out of ten sentences out of that old man's mouth are lies, and the remaining two are half-truths, so we should be careful."

"Understood." Wen Youyi returned to the bridge, "Arrange for the 'Hidden Dragon' to go and pick him up. Be careful, don't reveal the specific location of the 'hope'."

"Understood."

After dealing with the guide's matter, Wen Youyi turned his attention back to the egg.

"Senior Brother Zhang, are the latest scan results for that egg out?"

Senior Brother Zhang was staring at the data on the screen and pushed up his glasses: "They are, but... it's very strange."

"How so?"

"Its internal energy structure is extremely complex, with multi-layered nested defenses. The outermost layer is bio-mechanical energy similar to the 'Star Devourers,' but the further in you go, the 'purer' the energy signature becomes. In the end, we even detected... traces of an energy signature similar to the 'Star People'."

Wen Youyi's heart skipped a beat: "The 'Star People'?"

"Only similar, not exactly the same." Senior Brother Zhang pulled up a comparison chart, "Look, this is the standard energy spectrum of the 'Star People' provided by Aila, and this is the energy characteristic of the deep regions inside the egg—the similarity is 72%, but some key frequency bands are missing or mutated."

"Like... 'Star People' technology that has been modified?" Senior Brother Li interjected.

"Or... imitated by a civilization that absorbed 'Star People' technology," Senior Brother Zhang speculated.

Wen Youyi thought for a moment: "Can we determine the specific content of the 'Civilization Legacy Protocol' it is sending? Besides those repeated sentences, is there any more detailed information?"

Wang Wu pulled up the signal decoding record: "The signal is encrypted using a very ancient encoding method. We have decrypted a part of it, but the core content still requires a key to unlock."

"A key?"

"Yes, judging from the signal structure, this egg requires some kind of 'identity verification' to fully activate. If it is forced open without the correct key, it might trigger a self-destruct program."

Wen Youyi touched the star key in his pocket—since this thing was a creation of the 'Star People,' could it be the key?

But he didn't dare to try it easily. What if it wasn't? What if the egg exploded?

"Continue monitoring for now, do not make direct contact." Wen Youyi made a decision, "Let's wait until Aila wakes up; she knows more about 'Star People' technology."

Just as he was speaking, news came from the medical area: Aila had woken up.

Wen Youyi immediately rushed over.

In the medical pod, Aila was already sitting up. Her face was still a bit pale, but her indigo eyes had regained their luster. Mu Wanqing was giving her a check-up.

"How do you feel?" Wen Youyi asked.

"Like I was trampled by ten thousand star rhinoceroses, and then got up and ran a marathon." Aila used a rather vivid metaphor, "But it's fine, I won't die."

Wen Youyi smiled: "We know what you did before you passed out. Thanks."

"It was my duty." Aila said calmly, "How is the ship now?"

Wen Youyi reported the situation briefly, focusing on the egg and the "Civilization Legacy Protocol."

After listening, Aila pondered for a moment: "I need to see that egg in person."

"You need to rest now."

"My brain still works." Aila said as she was about to get out of bed, but was pressed back down by Mu Wanqing.

Mu Wanqing glared at her: "You two are the same! One just woke up and wants to run to the bridge, the other takes medicine and insists on pushing through! Neither of you takes your own body seriously, right?"

Wen Youyi and Aila looked at each other, both feeling a bit awkward.

In the end, Mu Wanqing compromised: "You can go, but only via remote connection, you can't go to the scene. And you can only look for an hour; once the time is up, you must come back and rest!"

"Deal." Wen Youyi agreed readily.

Soon, Aila connected to the monitoring System of Isolation Chamber No. 7 through the medical pod's terminal.

When she saw the dark golden egg, Aila's pupils constricted visibly.

"This pattern... I've seen it."

"Where?"

"In the database of the 'Green Scale'." Aila pulled up some blurry image records, "About three hundred years ago, a Sky Patrol expedition team found a similar device in the ruins of a civilization destroyed by the 'Star Devourers.' At the time, they thought it was a trophy of the 'Star Devourers,' but after analysis, it was discovered that it was actually a 'Civilization Spark' left behind by that civilization before its destruction."

"Civilization Spark?"

"It's about backing up the core knowledge, history, technology, and even the genes or consciousness of some outstanding individuals of a civilization, sealing them in a device that can be preserved for a long time, hoping that one day it will be discovered and inherited by other civilizations." Aila explained, "This is not uncommon in the Sea of Stars; many civilizations do this when facing catastrophe."

She paused: "But this egg... is a bit special. Its outer layer does have traces of modification by the 'Star Devourers,' but the core still retains the characteristics of the original civilization. This suggests that it might have been forcibly stripped away after being captured by the 'Star Devourers'—or, it escaped on its own."

"Can it escape on its own?" Wen Youyi found it unbelievable.

"If the intelligence of this 'Civilization Spark' is high enough, it is possible." Aila stared at the pulsating patterns on the screen, "The 'Civilization Legacy Protocol' it is sending is very likely looking for a suitable recipient. But the problem is... why does it use frequency bands similar to the 'Star Devourers'?"

This question left everyone deep in thought.

Just then, news came from Wang Wu: "Boss, the 'Hidden Dragon' has picked up the guide and is returning."

"Good, take him to Meeting Room No. 3, I'll be there right away."

Wen Youyi was about to leave, but Aila stopped him: "I'm going too. I'm... a bit interested in this guide."

"Your body..."

"Remote connection will do." Aila pointed to the communication System of the medical pod, "Let me hear what this so-called 'archaeologist' actually knows."

Wen Youyi thought about it and agreed.

Half an hour later, Meeting Room No. 3.

When Wen Youyi pushed the door open, he saw... a very "star drifter" old man.

He looked to be about seventy years old (estimated by human standards), with gray hair that was as messy as a bird's nest, stubble, and wearing a patched dark brown robe with suspicious stains on it. What was most striking were his eyes—one eye was normal brown, while the other was a mechanical prosthetic eye, with the red lens rotating slightly.

The old man was unceremoniously eating the fruit platter prepared on the coffee table in the meeting room, with juice splashing everywhere. Seeing Wen Youyi come in, he raised his eyelids, glanced at him, and continued eating.

"How should I address you, sir?" Wen Youyi sat down opposite him.

"Just call me Old K." The old man said indistinctly, his mouth stuffed with fruit, "You are the owners of... that very powerful silver-white ship that Raymond mentioned?"

"You could say that." Wen Youyi nodded, "I heard you are very familiar with the 'Stardust Graveyard'?"

Old K finally stopped chewing and stared at Wen Youyi with his heterochromatic eyes: "Why, want to go to that hellhole to die?"

"We have a reason that we must go."

"Heh, everyone who goes there has a 'reason they must go'." Old K sneered, "And then? Ten go in, nine don't come out, and the one left is crazy. Why do you think you can make it?"

Wen Youyi said calmly: "Because we just broke through the three most dangerous barriers of the 'Shattered Star Belt'."

Old K's mechanical eye flashed red, seemingly performing some kind of scan. A few seconds later, his expression changed: "You... really went through the 'Rotating Blade Belt' and the 'Twin Turbulence'? The damage marks on the ship are indeed from those two places."

He straightened up and showed a serious expression for the first time: "Fine, you've got some skills. Then tell me, where in the 'Graveyard' do you want to go? Just wander around the outskirts, or do you want to go deep inside?"

"We want to pass through it to the other side."

Old K's mechanical eye flashed again, this time a bit hurriedly: "Pass through? Are you crazy? Even I only dare to linger on the outskirts of the 'Graveyard'! If I told you what's inside, it would scare you to death!"

"For example?" Wen Youyi asked.

"For example..." Old K lowered his voice, "Moving star debris, 'Void Jellyfish swarms' that specialize in preying on starships, and... 'Graveyard Guardians'."

"'Graveyard Guardians'?"

"No one knows what those things are." Old K's expression became somewhat fearful, "Some say they are the condensed resentment of warriors who died in the war back then, some say they are the automatic defense System left there by the 'Star Devourers,' and others say... they are guards left behind by the 'Star People.' I only know that anything that attempts to penetrate the core area of the 'Graveyard' will be torn to shreds by them."

Both Wen Youyi and the remotely connected Aila were moved.

Guards left behind by the 'Star People'?

"Have you seen those 'Guardians'?" Wen Youyi asked.

"I saw one from afar once." Old K took a sip of wine, "I was young then, and I went in with a team of reckless explorers. We originally just wanted to pick up some 'trash' on the outskirts to sell for money, but we accidentally triggered some mechanism... and then they appeared."

He shivered: "They emerged from the Void Realm like shadows, with no fixed form, just a mass of constantly changing darkness. Our attacks were completely ineffective against them, and anything they touched... would instantly 'disappear.' Not destroyed, but vanished directly, as if it never existed."

"Then how did you escape?"

"Luck." Old K smiled bitterly, "There happened to be a 'Stardust Storm' erupting at that time, and those guardians seemed to react to the storm and retreated temporarily. We took the opportunity to crawl out. Of the thirty-person team, only seven survived in the end."

The meeting room fell silent.

Old K looked at Wen Youyi: "Now, do you still want to go in?"

Wen Youyi didn't answer directly, but asked instead: "If we insist on going in, are you willing to be our guide? The pay is negotiable."

Old K stared at Wen Youyi for a full ten seconds, then suddenly grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth: "Sure, my old bones have lived long enough anyway. But my price is high—I want that 'Level 3 Civilization Relic' on your ship."

Wen Youyi was stunned: "How did you know we have that on our ship?"

"That kid Raymond told me." Old K chuckled, "He thought I was bragging, but actually... I'm very interested in that thing. If I'm not mistaken, it should be a 'Civilization Spark,' right? And one that has been polluted by the 'Star Devourers'."

Alarm bells rang in Wen Youyi's heart—this Old K knew too much!

"What do you want that for?"

"Research." A complex light flashed in Old K's eyes, "I once... belonged to a civilization destroyed by the 'Star Devourers.' I want to know if there is anything we lost preserved in those sparks."

Wen Youyi and Aila exchanged opinions quickly through communication.

"We can agree to him, but with conditions." Aila suggested, "He can only conduct research under our supervision and cannot take the spark away. Also, he must prove that he is truly familiar with the 'Graveyard'."

Wen Youyi nodded and said to Old K: "Okay, but there are two conditions. First, the research must be conducted under our supervision; second, you must first prove your ability to be a guide—for example, draw us a safe route map of the 'Graveyard' outskirts."

Old K stroked his chin: "Fine, deal. Give me paper and pen—or your high-tech drawing tools will do."

Wang Wu handed him an electronic drawing tablet.

Old K took it, his fingers sliding quickly on the tablet. Soon, a surprisingly detailed star map appeared on the screen—marking dozens of safe passages, dangerous areas, and resource points on the outskirts of the 'Stardust Graveyard,' and even a few places marked as "suspected ruin entrances."

"I have walked these routes myself." Old K pointed to one of the most hidden paths, "Going in from here can avoid most natural dangers. But whether you can avoid the 'Guardians' depends on your luck."

After Wen Youyi finished looking at the star map and confirming with Aila, he nodded: "Good, happy cooperation. You go rest first, we will set off after we are ready."

After Old K was taken to the rest area by Wang Wu, Wen Youyi immediately contacted Aila.

"Do you think he is reliable?"

"The star map is real, at least the outskirts part matches the data in my database." Aila analyzed, "But he hid some things—for example, the scanning accuracy of that mechanical eye of his is far beyond the level a normal drifter could obtain. And his knowledge of the 'Civilization Spark'... is not like an ordinary archaeologist."

"You mean, he might have another identity?"

"Not sure. But be careful." Aila paused, "Also, about that egg... I have an idea. Since it is sending a 'Civilization Legacy Protocol,' maybe we can... try to respond?"

"How to respond?"

"Use the 'star key'."

Wen Youyi's heart jumped: "Are you sure?"

"Not sure. But it's worth a try." Aila's voice carried a hint of excitement, "If the 'star key' is really the master key of the 'Star People,' then it should be able to unlock most 'Star People' related technology. If the core of this egg really has a 'Star People' energy signature, then..."

She didn't continue, but the meaning was clear.

Wen Youyi touched the star key in his pocket, feeling its warm touch.

A gamble.

Using the risk of potentially exposing their location to bet on the Legacy of an unknown civilization.

"Let's wait until we return from the 'Graveyard'." He finally decided, "For now, let's focus on dealing with the immediate difficulties."

Aila agreed.

The journey continued.

The "hope," guided by the route provided by Old K, slowly sailed towards the death zone known as the "Stardust Graveyard."

And behind them, in the distant starry sky, the ace hunting fleet of the "Star Devourers" had locked onto the location where they last disappeared.

The game between hunter and prey was about to enter a new chapter.

(End of chapter)