320: Entering the Forgotten Corridor and "Misaligned Time"

The atmosphere on 'hope' was subtle on the first day of sailing toward the Forgotten Corridor.

On one hand, everyone knew that the place they were heading to was very sinister—time would be dislocated, memories would be lost; it sounded like a horror story in the Star Domain.

On the other hand, having just obtained three treasures from the Starlight Sanctuary and knowing the specific method to deal with the Star Devourers, morale was high.

These two emotions intertwined, producing a very strange chemical reaction.

'Old K, tell us carefully again, what exactly did you all encounter in the Forgotten Corridor back then?' Zhao Iron Pillar pressed Old K, and this was already the fifth time he had asked the same question today.

Old K was squatting by the ecological dome, staring at that patch of 'star moss'—he was very interested in this plant that could convert starlight energy.

Hearing Zhao Iron Pillar ask again, he didn't even lift his head: 'What else could it be? In for three days, three years passed outside. When we came out, the navigator in the team had even forgotten his wife's name, and there was another unlucky guy who thought he was a potato, squatting in the corner all day saying he wanted to sprout.'

'Is it really that sinister?' Senior Brother Li also came over, 'Could it be some kind of mental attack or hallucinogenic gas?'

'Not gas.' A red light flashed in Old K's mechanical eye, 'I scanned it, and the environmental components are normal. It's just a kind of... indescribable 'rule distortion'. Time doesn't flow at a constant speed there, and memories aren't stored stably either. It's like a pot of burnt porridge, with everything stuck together.'

Senior Brother Zhang pushed up his glasses and wrote something in his notebook: 'According to the Sky Patrol data provided by Aila, the Forgotten Corridor is actually a 'spacetime scar'—two advanced civilizations fought a war involving time weapons there, causing permanent damage to the spacetime structure of that region. Although the fighting stopped later, the damage could not be repaired, and it became what it is now.'

Wen Youyi walked over, holding the summary notes of the 'record of civilizational rise and fall' that Aila had just organized. Hearing Senior Brother Zhang's words, he nodded: 'So that place is essentially a 'malfunctioning spacetime region'. Since it is a malfunction, there must be rules to follow. Aila says there is a cycle every seventy-two hours, so we should enter during the 'window period' when the cycle is most stable.'

'When is the window period?' Zhao Iron Pillar asked.

Aila's voice came from the communicator—she was doing a final physical check in the medical bay, preparing to officially return to the team: [According to the records of the Sky Patrol station, between the twenty-fourth and thirty-sixth hour of each cycle, the time flow is closest to normal, and memory interference is the weakest. When we reach the edge of the corridor, if the timing is not right, we may need to wait on the periphery.]

'Wait how long?'

[It may take up to two days.] Aila said, [But we must wait. If we force our way in when the time turbulence is strongest, we might go in for an hour, but a year might have already passed outside. By the time we come out, the Star Devourers may have already blockaded the entire Star Domain.]

These words made everyone serious.

Time had now become the most precious resource, and also the biggest variable.

On the third day of the voyage, 'hope' arrived at the outer edge of the Forgotten Corridor.

From a distance, this region looked no different from ordinary Star Domain—deep darkness, dotted with distant stars.

But when scanning with special frequencies, one could see a faint, rippling 'membrane' like water waves covering the entire region.

The starlight behind the membrane looked somewhat distorted, like looking at things through frosted glass.

'This is the spacetime barrier.' Aila had returned to the bridge; she stood beside Wen Youyi, her indigo eyes fixed on the scan data, [The spacetime curvature inside the barrier is abnormal, and the energy readings are chaotic. 'Qianlong' has already gone in to scout, but since ten minutes ago, communication has had delays and noise.]

Wen Youyi looked at the communicator console. Indeed, the feed transmitted back by 'Qianlong' would occasionally show static, and the sound was intermittent, as if speaking from very far away.

[Internal... time flow... abnormal...] 'Qianlong''s report was mixed with noise, [Already... detected three... time bubbles... be careful...]

'Time bubbles?' Wen Youyi frowned.

[They are small-scale regions where the time flow differs greatly from the surroundings.] Aila explained, [Maybe you fly into a time bubble and feel like only a minute has passed inside, but a day has passed outside when you come out. Or vice versa.]

As she was speaking, 'Qianlong' transmitted a set of clearer images.

That was the situation inside the corridor—countless stardust, debris, and even some intact starship wrecks were floating in the Void Realm.

But the movement trajectories of these objects were extremely eerie: some were spinning rapidly, so fast that only afterimages remained; others were so slow they looked like stop-motion animation, moving only an inch in a few seconds; what was even weirder was that objects in some areas were 'playing in reverse'—broken wrecks were stitching themselves together, and the fire of explosions was shrinking inward.

'Is that... time reversal?' Wang Wu widened his eyes.

[Local time reversal.] Aila nodded, [But it is limited to that small area. The time structure of this place has completely shattered into pieces.]

Old K looked at those images, the red light in his mechanical eye flickering rapidly: 'It's worse than twenty years ago. Back then, it was just uneven time flow, but now even reversal has appeared... This ghost place is self-deteriorating.'

Wen Youyi looked at those eerie scenes silently and suddenly asked: 'Aila, according to your observations, will this kind of 'spacetime scar' heal naturally?'

[Theoretically, no.] Aila shook her head, [Once the spacetime structure is damaged, without external intervention, it usually just gets worse. But the deterioration speed of the Forgotten Corridor... is indeed a bit too fast. According to the calculations of the Sky Patrol database, it would take at least one hundred thousand years to reach the current degree. But only three thousand years have passed since the last observation.]

'In other words, is something accelerating the deterioration here?' Senior Brother Zhang keenly grasped the point.

[It is very likely.] Aila brought up more detailed data, [Look at this region—] She pointed to a point where the energy reading was exceptionally high, [The degree of spacetime distortion here is three times that of the surrounding area, and it is still increasing. I suspect... the star key fragment may be there.]

Wen Youyi felt a tightness in his heart: 'Will the fragment affect spacetime?'

[If it is an improperly activated fragment, it will.] Aila explained, [The star key fragment contains huge energy. If it is in an unstable state for a long time, it will be like a 'spacetime cancer cell' that constantly releases radiation, continuously destroying the surrounding environment.]

'So the fragment we are looking for may be the culprit behind the deterioration of the Forgotten Corridor?' Senior Brother Li gasped.

[Very likely.] Aila nodded, [But this also gives us an advantage—the fragment's location is very conspicuous, like a lighthouse in the dark. The Star Devourers want to find it, and we also want to find it; it just depends on who arrives first.]

Just at this moment, 'Qianlong' transmitted a key piece of information:

[Detected... large-scale... energy reaction... location... deep in the corridor... characteristics... match... Star Devourers... they... have already arrived...]

The screen switched, and it could be seen that outside the most severely distorted spacetime region deep in the corridor, three medium warships of the Star Devourers were suspended in a triangular formation.

They did not rashly enter the distortion zone, but were deploying something on the periphery—dozens of dark gold detectors were released, beginning to scan the boundary of the distortion zone.

'They have arrived too...' Wen Youyi narrowed his eyes, 'And faster than we expected.'

Zhao Iron Pillar became anxious: 'Then what are we waiting for the window period for? Let's just rush in and grab it!'

'No.' Wen Youyi and Aila shook their heads at the same time.

Wen Youyi explained: 'They don't dare to enter the distortion zone now, which means it is very dangerous even for the Star Devourers. They are probing and looking for a safe path. If we rush in now, we might just run into the path they found, and that would be suicide.'

'Then what should we do?'

'Wait.' Wen Youyi said calmly, 'Wait for the window period, and wait for them to scout the path first. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.'

For the next twelve hours, "hope" lurked in the star dust belt on the periphery of the Forgotten Corridor, activating all stealth Systems and waiting quietly.

During this time, "Qianlong" continued to monitor the movements of the Star Devourers fleet from afar without attracting attention.

Those dark golden probes were terrifyingly efficient.

They split into several groups, cautiously approaching the edge of the distortion zone, entering for only a short time before withdrawing, and then exchanging data.

In this way, they were mapping out the time flow distribution within the distortion zone bit by bit.

"They are creating a 'safety map'." Aila analyzed the data transmitted back by "Qianlong", [At this rate, in at most another eight hours, they will be able to find a relatively safe path to the location of the star key fragment.]

Wen Youyi checked the time: "When will our window period arrive?"

[In six hours.] Aila said, [Two hours faster than them.]

"That's enough." Wen Youyi looked at the group, "Once the window period arrives, we will enter immediately. We will follow the route the Star Devourers have already explored, but we must be one step ahead of them. Zhao Iron Pillar, take a team and be ready for battle at any time; we are very likely to encounter them at the location of the star key fragment."

Zhao Iron Pillar rubbed his hands together: "I've been waiting for this!"

The time spent waiting was exceptionally long.

Everyone on the ship was performing their duties, making final preparations.

Wen Youyi was repeatedly studying the summary of the "record of civilizational rise and fall" compiled by Aila, trying to find inspiration from the history of those extinct civilizations; Senior Brother Zhang was calculating navigation parameters under various time flow rates; Senior Brother Li was checking the engine and shield Systems; Wang Wu was deploying more passive probes; Xiao Wu was soothing the somewhat nervous neural network ship spirit.

Old K stayed alone in the observation room, staring blankly at the Forgotten Corridor outside.

When Wen Youyi went to find him, he discovered that this usually grinning old man had an exceptionally serious expression at this moment.

"Thinking of your teacher?" Wen Youyi sat down next to him.

Old K nodded, the red light in his mechanical eyes softening a little: "He wanted to study the Forgotten Corridor back then. He said that time is the greatest puzzle for us to understand the Universe, and this fragmented space-time might hold the answer."

"Then did he go in?"

"No." Old K smiled bitterly, "Before the plan could be implemented, the Star Devourers came. Our civilization... didn't manage to last until the day he completed his research."

Wen Youyi was silent for a moment, then said: "This time when we go in, I will keep an eye out for anything that might be related to your teacher's research. If I find anything, I will tell you."

Old K glanced at him and suddenly grinned: "Kid, although you're sometimes a bit silly, you're not a bad person."

Wen Youyi: "..." Is that supposed to be a compliment?

Time passed minute by minute.

Finally, Aila's voice sounded on the bridge:

[The window period has arrived! The time flow rate is stable between 95% and 105% of the normal value, and the memory interference reading has dropped to its lowest point. We can enter!]

Wen Youyi stood up: "All-ship battle readiness level one. Engine power at 40%, maintain silent mode. Following the route marked by 'Qianlong', we... go in."

"hope" slowly sailed toward that twisted space-time barrier.

The moment they passed through the barrier, everyone felt a strange sense of weightlessness—not physical weightlessness, but a kind of "displacement" in consciousness.

It was like just waking up from a very long dream, unable to distinguish between dream and reality for a moment.

The scene outside the porthole became even more bizarre.

Looking closely, the boundaries of those areas with different time flow rates were clearly visible—in some places, starlight was stretched into long, thin lines, which meant time was extremely fast; in some places, everything seemed to be at a standstill, which meant time was extremely slow; and in other places, one could see different time states of the same object existing simultaneously, like countless stacked film strips.

What was most uncomfortable was the memory.

Wen Youyi found that he suddenly couldn't remember what he had eaten this morning.

It wasn't that he had forgotten, but that his memory had become blurred, as if looking through a layer of frosted glass.

He looked at the others; Zhao Iron Pillar was scratching his head in confusion, and Senior Brother Zhang was repeatedly flipping through his notebook, apparently also fighting against memory interference.

"Everyone, record key information at all times!" Wen Youyi immediately ordered, "Write it down with a pen, record it with equipment, do not trust your own memory!"

This was the countermeasure they had discussed in advance—in an environment where memory might be interfered with, external records were the most reliable.

"hope" carefully navigated through the maze of time along the route explored in advance by "Qianlong".

This route was like finding a path through a minefield; one had to precisely avoid those areas with abnormal time flow rates.

Once, the bow almost grazed a "time bubble," and Aila adjusted the course in time to avoid it.

Post-incident calculations showed that if they had actually crashed into it, the time flow rate at the bow would have been three hundred times faster than at the stern, and the entire ship would have been torn apart in an instant.

After sailing for two hours, they approached the area where the fragment was located.

That was an even more twisted space.

In the center, a dark golden ball of light was suspended, emitting unstable energy fluctuations—it was the star key fragment.

Around the light ball, space-time was twisted into a spiral shape, like a stirred-up vortex.

And at the edge of the vortex, three Star Devourers warships were already in position.

They had obviously also just arrived, and were deploying some kind of device—it looked like they wanted to forcibly stabilize the vortex and retrieve the fragment.

"They are about to make a move." Wen Youyi stared at the screen, "How much time do we have?"

[According to their current speed, they can complete the deployment in at most half an hour.] Aila calculated quickly, [But we have one advantage—they don't know we have arrived.]

Wen Youyi thought for a moment and made a bold decision.

"Iron Pillar, take a team and pilot the transport craft to circle around from the side. Do not attack, just create some noise to attract their attention."

"Aila, you and I, and Senior Brother Zhang, the three of us will put on spacesuits and go out to retrieve the fragment directly."

Zhao Iron Pillar widened his eyes: "Boss! This is too dangerous! Those time turbulence..."

"It is precisely because of the time turbulence that their large warships dare not act rashly and can only send small units to work." Wen Youyi said, "And we have the 'starlight Feather'—Aila, can this thing protect us from being affected by the time turbulence?"

Aila's eyes lit up: [Theoretically, yes! The camouflage effect of the starlight Feather is based on the energy technology of the Star People, and the Star People's technology has a certain resistance to space-time anomalies!]

"Then it's settled." Wen Youyi took out the feather badge and pinned it to his chest, "Iron Pillar is responsible for the feint attack, and we are responsible for stealing the home base."

The plan was executed quickly.

Ten minutes later, a small transport craft quietly sailed out from the flank of "hope", circled around in a large arc, and appeared on the other side of the Star Devourers fleet.

Zhao Iron Pillar roared in the communication channel: "Grandsons! Look over here!" Then he fired a few interference rounds at one of the Star Devourers' frigates.

Although it didn't cause any substantial damage, it successfully attracted the attention of all Star Devourers units.

At this very moment, Wen Youyi, Aila, and Senior Brother Zhang, wearing special spacesuits, ejected from the other side of "hope".

All three of them had the starlight Feather badge pinned to their chests.

The badges lit up with a soft silver light, forming a protective shield that enveloped them.

When they flew into the time turbulence zone, Wen Youyi could clearly feel the protective shield resisting some kind of invisible tearing force, but it held steady in the end.

"Quick!" He said in the communication channel, "The badge's energy can only last for twenty minutes!"

The three of them flew rapidly toward the dark golden light ball in the center of the vortex.

And behind them, the Star Devourers fleet had already reacted, and several small attack craft detached from the main force and chased after them.

A chase in the fragmented space-time thus unfolded.

And the star key fragment in the center of the vortex, as if sensing the approach of the master key, suddenly became brighter.

It had been waiting for this day for too long.

(End of chapter)