324: Broken mirrors and "real illusions"

The moment 'hope' emerged from the dark matter turbulence zone, the scene outside the portholes made everyone hold their breath.

Ahead lay the Sea of Illusory Shadows.

It was a Star Domain that defied conventional logic. There were no stars, no dust, only countless shattered, shimmering 'mirrors' suspended in the Void Realm. These mirrors varied in size; some were as small as a palm, others as massive as mountains. They rotated and drifted slowly, reflecting strange and bizarre scenes between each other.

Most eerily, each mirror did not reflect the real starry sky, but... something else.

Wen Youyi saw that the mirror closest to him reflected the mountain gate of the Qingyun Sect in the Ranch World. Several Outer Sect Disciples were squatting on the steps eating steamed buns, chatting and laughing—it was a scene he had seen when he first arrived through Transmigration, right down to the details of that crooked pine tree.

'These mirrors...' Aila's voice trembled, 'They are reading our memories and then generating corresponding images.'

Zhao Iron Pillar stared at another mirror, which showed the big locust tree at the entrance of his hometown village. Beside the stone mill under the tree, several naked children were playing—it was a memory from his childhood. 'Damn it, this place is truly evil!'

Senior Brother Zhang pushed up his glasses, staring at the scene in the mirror of himself studying late at night in the Sect's library: 'It's not just reading memories; it's also... processing them. Look, the library in my memory wasn't that bright, but the lighting effects in here look like they've had a filter applied.'

Wang Wu's face turned pale—in the mirror before him, his mother, who had passed away many years ago, was smiling and waving at him. 'This, this is too real...'

'Everyone, activate the mental protection System!' Wen Youyi ordered sternly, 'Do not stare at the mirrors for more than three seconds! Senior Brother Li, maintain speed, we need to find a gap to pass through!'

'hope' slowly sailed into this sea of shattered mirrors.

The newly installed 'starlight mental protection System' began to operate. Throughout the ship, those silver-white energy nodes emitted soft fluctuations, transmitting them to every crew member through the neural network. Wen Youyi felt a cool breath surge into his mind from the 'heart-protecting talisman' he was wearing, like drinking a sip of ice water in midsummer, refreshing his spirit.

'Protection System running normally,' Aila reported, 'Currently detected illusion intensity is level three, protection efficiency 92%. But the deeper we go, the higher the intensity will be.'

The voyage began.

The first few thousand miles went smoothly. 'hope' moved like an agile fish, weaving through the gaps between countless mirrors. The mirrors would automatically avoid the ship's hull—not physically, but as the hull approached, the mirrors would 'melt' into light mist, only to re-coalesce after the ship passed.

But the interference of the illusions had already begun.

Wen Youyi saw familiar faces flash across the mirrors more than once: fellow disciples from the Qingyun Sect who were still being harvested, the earliest members of the Cooperative, and even once, he saw Yun Zhi—that woman with a complex identity, watching him quietly in the mirror, her lips parting as if saying something.

He forced himself to look away. The mental protection System was resisting the mental erosion of these images, but that visceral palpitation could not be completely eliminated by the System.

The others were no better off.

Zhao Iron Pillar almost reached out to touch the 'hometown' scene in the mirror several times, only to be pulled back by nearby crew members just in time. Senior Brother Zhang kept muttering and reciting mathematical formulas—he said this was a way to maintain sanity. Wang Wu had already cried twice, each time upon seeing phantoms of his family from different periods.

The calmest was Aila. Her indigo eyes remained steady, but Wen Youyi noticed that her hands were tightly clenched, her knuckles white.

'What did you see?' Wen Youyi asked softly.

'My brother,' Aila's voice was calm, but beneath the calm lay surging emotions, 'And the final moments before the 'Green Scale' was destroyed. It plays over and over again.'

Wen Youyi didn't know what to say, so he could only pat her shoulder.

Three hours into the voyage, the situation began to deteriorate.

The density of the mirrors increased, and the gaps became narrower. Some mirrors even began to 'actively' approach the portholes, as if consciously displaying the scenes within.

Worse, the illusions were no longer limited to visual ones.

Wen Youyi suddenly smelled a familiar herbal scent—it was the smell of Mu Wanqing's Alchemy. But Mu Wanqing was in the medical bay at the moment, not doing any Alchemy at all. The scent was so real he could even distinguish which Spiritual Plants were used.

'Auditory ones have appeared too,' Senior Brother Zhang suddenly said, 'I heard the voice of my teacher lecturing... He passed away thirty years ago.'

On the bridge, various sounds that shouldn't exist began to emerge: distant calls, whispers of the deceased, songs from memories... intertwining into an eerie symphony.

The mental protection System's alarm sounded: 'Illusion intensity increased to level five. Protection efficiency dropped to 78%. Recommendation: Increase energy output, or accelerate to exit the current area.'

'Can't accelerate!' Senior Brother Li said anxiously, 'The gaps are too narrow, accelerating will cause us to crash into the mirrors! God knows what will happen if we hit that stuff!'

Wen Youyi stared at the navigation screen. According to the guidance of the master key, the fragment was at the core of this area, but the specific location was obscured by intense illusion interference, making precise positioning impossible.

'We need to find an 'anchor point',' Aila analyzed the data, enduring the illusion interference. 'The illusions of the Sea of Illusory Shadows are not completely random; they are generated around certain 'core memories'. If we can find and analyze these core memories, we can locate the fragment—the fragment itself is a huge memory source.'

'How do we find it?' Zhao Iron Pillar covered his ears—he was hearing his childhood playmate calling him to go catch fish, the sound was too real.

'Look with your heart,' Aila said, 'Not with your eyes, but with... intuition. Among all the illusions, find the one that 'resonates' with you the most, but is also out of place with the surrounding illusions.'

This sounded very mystical, but Wen Youyi understood.

He closed his eyes, shielding out visual interference, and tried to perceive his surroundings with his mind.

For a moment, countless memory fragments surged in: the suffering in the Ranch World, the hardships on the run, the smiling faces of companions, the backs of those who sacrificed... like a chaotic torrent.

But within these torrents, he did indeed feel something 'different'.

It was not his personal memory.

It was a kind of more ancient, more vicissitudinous... pathos.

He 'looked' along this feeling.

Deep within the countless mirrors, there was a particularly huge mirror, over ten miles in diameter. It did not reflect anyone's memories, but rather a static image: a magnificent star city collapsing, countless points of light flying out from the city like fleeing Firefly. In the center of the city, a blurry figure held something high, then... turned into light dust.

'It's the Star People,' Wen Youyi opened his eyes, 'That is the scene when the Star People left. The fragment is there!'

He pointed in that direction.

'hope' began to struggle forward toward that huge mirror.

The closer they got, the higher the intensity of the illusions. Now even tactile sensations appeared—Wen Youyi felt someone patting his shoulder, but turned to find nothing; Zhao Iron Pillar said he felt children tugging at his clothes; Senior Brother Zhang even experienced a 'sense of weightlessness', as if falling.

The efficiency of the mental protection System had dropped to 65%.

Even more troublesome, those mirrors began to 'come alive'.

They no longer passively displayed images, but began to combine and deform, forming barriers of light, attempting to block the advance of 'hope'. Some mirrors even projected tangible illusions—blades made of energy, monsters, and even mimicking the forms of Star Devourers warships.

'These things are becoming aggressive!' Zhao Iron Pillar grabbed the weapon console, 'Boss, can we fight them?'

'We can't break them!' Aila said urgently, 'They aren't physical, they are pure energy illusions! Attacking will only waste energy!'

Wen Youyi's brain worked at high speed. A programmer's instinct was analyzing the 'System' before him: the mirrors were 'display terminals', the illusions were 'output content', the core memories were 'data sources', the fragment was the 'server'...

'We need an 'interference signal'!' He shouted, 'Aila, can the mental protection System output in reverse? Broadcast our own 'memory signals' to interfere with their reading!'

Aila's eyes lit up: 'It's worth a try! But we need a unified 'memory theme', otherwise the signals will cancel each other out!'

'Use hope!' Wen Youyi didn't even think, 'Everyone, concentrate, recall the most hopeful moments of your lives! The stronger, the better!'

On the bridge, everyone closed their eyes.

Wen Youyi recalled the moment 'hope' set sail, everyone cheering, their eyes shining with longing for the future.

Aila recalled the moment her brother handed over command of the 'Green Scale' to her, saying, 'See the end of the star sea for me.'

Zhao Iron Pillar recalled the first time he beat a bully in the Ranch World, and the rescued villagers bowing to thank him.

Senior Brother Zhang recalled the ecstasy of cracking the first ancient Formation.

Wang Wu recalled the night he was rescued by Wen Youyi from the Destiny Harvesting Plan.

Senior Brother Li, Mu Wanqing, Xiao Wu, Old K... everyone was recalling.

The mental protection System reversed its operation, gathering and amplifying these 'hope memories', and then broadcasting them outward at a special frequency!

Invisible ripples spread out.

Those mirrors suddenly trembled violently!

The scenes they reflected began to distort and shatter, like a television screen with signal interference. The aggressive illusions also began to collapse, turning back into meaningless color blocks.

'It's effective!' Senior Brother Li shouted excitedly.

'Continue! Don't stop!' Wen Youyi stared ahead, 'Accelerate! Charge through!'

With the 'hope signal' clearing the way, 'hope' cut through the layers of mirror barriers like a silver blade, piercing directly at that huge core mirror.

The moment the bow touched the mirror, the collision he imagined didn't happen.

The mirror 'melted' like water.

'hope' sailed into a... completely different space.

There were no mirrors here, no illusions.

Only a serene, silver-white void.

In the center of the void floated a small altar made of white jade. On the altar, a star key fragment lay quietly, emitting a warm, gentle light.

But surrounding the altar sat seven illusory figures.

They wore clothing from different civilizations; some looked like ancient Cultivators, some like interstellar travelers, and some even looked like pure energy beings. They had their eyes closed, as if sleeping, or perhaps guarding.

Seeing those figures, Aila gasped: 'Those are... the 'consciousness remnants' of the past generations of fragment guardians. They voluntarily remained here, using their own core memories to suppress the fragment, preventing it from being easily taken.'

Wen Youyi understood. To get the fragment, one must pass the 'memory trial' of these guardians.

He took a deep breath, walked out of the bridge, and came to the bow platform.

'I'll go alone.'

'Boss!' Zhao Iron Pillar wanted to follow.

'No, this is a trial of memory; having too many people will only cause interference.' Wen Youyi shook his head, 'Don't worry, I have mental protection, and...'

He touched the small bottle of 'memory essence' in his pocket.

If necessary, he would use this.

He stepped onto the silver-white void and walked toward the altar.

The seven guardian remnants opened their eyes simultaneously.

Their gazes fell on Wen Youyi, without hostility, only scrutiny.

An aged voice echoed in the void:

'Latecomer, why have you come?'

Wen Youyi answered calmly: 'To collect the fragments, stop the Star Devourers, and give every oppressed civilization a chance to choose.'

'Choose?' Another voice sounded, crisp as a young girl's, 'What kind of choice?'

'The freedom to live, the right to develop, a destiny not to be harvested.'

The seven guardians were silent.

Then, they began to 'speak'.

Not with mouths, but by directly assaulting Wen Youyi's consciousness with a torrent of memories.

The first torrent came from an elder of a cultivation civilization: he experienced the entire process of his Sect being parasitized by Star Devourers, all his fellow disciples turning into monsters. That despair, betrayal, and self-doubt almost drowned Wen Youyi.

But Wen Youyi held on—he had experienced the harvesting of the Ranch World, he understood.

The second torrent came from a scientist of a technological civilization: she had spent her life researching ways to fight the Star Devourers, but just as she was about to succeed, she was betrayed by her own people, her achievements destroyed, and her civilization wiped out. That resentment of falling at the final hurdle scorched Wen Youyi's Soul.

Wen Youyi gritted his teeth and held on—he knew there was never a shortage of betrayal on the path of resistance.

The third, the fourth, the fifth...

Every memory torrent was a microcosm of a civilization's annihilation, a history interwoven with blood and tears. The guardians tested him this way: if you know all this, do you still dare to continue? Do you still dare to bear this weight?

Wen Youyi's consciousness began to waver. The mental protection System was already overloaded, and the heart-protecting talisman emitted a harsh alarm.

Just as he was about to collapse, he made a decision.

He took out that bottle of 'memory essence' and drank it in one gulp.

The moment the silver liquid flowed down his throat, the world changed.

All the memory torrents were no longer chaotic, but turned into clear data streams, orderly arranged, classified, and archived in his consciousness. The twenty-four-hour 'absolute memory' state was activated, and not only could he remember all the impacts, but he could also calmly analyze the core information of each memory.

He saw the pattern.

These seven guardians, although their civilizations were different and their methods of destruction varied, all had one thing in common—at the final moment, they all chose to 'leave behind a spark'.

The cultivation elder carved the Sect's secret techniques into a Legacy Jade Slip and threw it into the starry sky.

The scientist sealed the research data into a core, set to automatically activate after one hundred thousand years.

Every guardian, in their despair, had planted a Seed of hope.

Wen Youyi opened his eyes and looked at the seven guardians.

'I understand,' he said, 'You are guarding not just the fragments, but the belief that 'civilization shall not perish'. You are waiting for someone who can inherit this belief.'

The seven guardians nodded simultaneously.

The aged voice sounded again: 'Then, are you willing to inherit it? Are you willing, if you face a desperate situation in the future, to become the next guardian?'

Wen Youyi was silent for three seconds.

Then, he answered solemnly:

'I am willing.'

Not a perfunctory answer, but a promise.

The shadows of the seven guardians began to dissipate, turning into seven streams of light that merged into the fragment on the altar.

The light of the fragment became incomparably soft, rising on its own and falling into Wen Youyi's hand.

The third fragment, obtained.

When Wen Youyi returned to 'hope', everyone saw that there was something more in his eyes—not exhaustion, but a weight that had settled in.

'Boss, are you okay?' Zhao Iron Pillar asked worriedly.

'I'm fine,' Wen Youyi smiled, 'Just... listened to seven very long stories.'

He looked at the master key—now, the three fragments had fused, the length of the master key exceeded one foot, the star map on the surface was almost complete, with only a few blank spots remaining.

Aila suddenly pointed outside the porthole: 'Look!'

The mirrors of the Sea of Illusory Shadows began to disintegrate on a large scale. Having lost the fragment as the 'core memory source', the entire illusion System began to collapse. Countless mirrors turned into light dust, dissipating in the void.

When the last mirror disappeared, it revealed the real starry sky outside.

And...

A starship quietly floating there, covered in cyan scales.

A Sky Patrol reconnaissance ship.

It had been waiting.

(End of chapter)