463: It looks kind of familiar.

New Eden, Sisterhood Secret Observation Station.

The wreckage of the melted resonator hadn't been cleared yet, and the faint smell of ozone and scorched crystals still lingered in the air. But at this moment, no one in the observation center cared about that.

Everyone's gaze, including several high-ranking Sisterhood researchers and two Elders on duty who had rushed over, was fixed on the message that had just been received and translated on the central main screen.

"Greetings to the unknown intelligent existence."

"We have noticed your message. You call yourselves 'Sisters Seeking Echoes'? Please elaborate on your identity and origin."

"Where do you come from? Why do you use this language for communication? Have you already discovered the existence of the Silver Rail?"

"This contact is only for preliminary understanding. We look forward to peaceful exchange."

The message was presented in plain text, with dense cross-analysis annotations of linguistics, history, and cryptography beside it. Every line, every word, and even every grammatical structure was repeatedly compared.

A dead silence lasted for a full three minutes.

Then, like a long-accumulated volcano, it erupted.

"This... this is impossible!" Ms. Marta, who was responsible for ancient text research, was the first to lose her voice. Her aged fingers trembled as she pointed at the sentence 'Greetings to the unknown intelligent existence.' "This sentence structure! This honorific usage of 'intelligent existence'! I have only seen similar terms in the 'History of Origins'! This usage has disappeared for a very, very long time!"

"Also, look here! They repeated our self-designation and asked us to elaborate on our origin. This shows they completely understand the meaning of this compound word, and it is very likely similar to some records in the history they know, so they are asking us for more detailed content to confirm some kind of guess of theirs."

"And 'Silver Rail'!" Dr. Aria's voice was hoarse with excitement. "Our signal only mentioned the Star Track, which is our name for those natural spatial fold channels. But in their reply, they used 'Silver Rail.' It seems they have a deeper understanding of this phenomenon and existence."

"Imagine this scene: parents hide a toy, and when the child finds it, they would naturally say something like this, wouldn't they?"

Analyzing up to this point, the people present realized that the situation was even bigger than they had imagined.

Inside the observation center, uncontrollable excitement and the hum of discussion filled the air. Everyone interpreted a miracle within their professional Domain from that brief reply.

The transcendence and calm revealed in the reply, along with an attitude that carried a natural observer's perspective, perfectly matched all the Sisterhood's imaginations about the "Ancestors" or "Cradle Civilization."

Powerful, ancient, and rational, as well as possibly possessing curiosity toward their "descendants."

The dream had come true!

"Organize all analysis reports immediately!" The silver-haired Elder on duty suppressed all the discussion. "Dr. Aria, I authorize you with full access to the Sisterhood database. You can query any historical information you need. Everyone else, to your posts! I want to see a complete comprehensive analysis report within three standard hours!"

"Yes!"

The observation center began operating at high speed again, but the atmosphere was completely different. The previous tension and anxiety were replaced by a surge of excitement mixed with a sense of sacred mission and historical participation.

"The resonator must be rebuilt! Immediately! Now!" Dr. Aria ordered her core team. "We need a more stable channel to respond to the Ancestors' inquiry!"

Driven by the sight of dawn after a century of faith and pursuit, the Sisterhood—an organization usually known for its composure and rationality—erupted with an unusual fervor.

Meanwhile, a long communication was completed, gathering all the history recorded by the Sisterhood, a detailed explanation of the "Echo" project, and a heartfelt lament over the current chaotic and violent state of New Eden, waiting only for the new resonator to be in place... Penacony, golden hour.

Wang Yin and Dai Xing had finished their holiday activities for the day and were lying lazily on the beach chairs on the hotel terrace, enjoying the beautiful scenery before sunset.

Wang Yin's personal terminal was placed on the small table next to him, the screen occasionally flashing some unimportant System notifications.

"Ding."

A notification sound distinct from ordinary notifications rang out; it was one Wang Yin had specifically set for that project.

"Oh, a reply? That was pretty fast." Wang Yin casually picked up the terminal, unlocked it, and clicked.

Then, he froze.

On the terminal screen, it wasn't a short reply, but an information package with a staggering amount of data. After automatic decoding, what appeared before his eyes was a civilization's self-description with a clear structure and details beyond imagination.

The opening was a long but honorific-filled greeting and expression of gratitude, followed by an elaboration of the Sisterhood's purpose: exploration, knowledge, mutual aid, and peace.

Then, it got to the point: a historical narrative they called the "Book of Origins."

The narrative began with a great "Migration."

It described a massive ship with vague details, which had undergone Transmigration through a portal shining with eternal starlight to arrive in a strange Star Domain, later named the Genoq Star System.

Initially, it was a difficult Trailblaze, struggling against a harsh environment, and finally successfully establishing the first colonies.

The records mentioned "Givers," sometimes also called "Chosen Ones" or "Guides," who provided initial knowledge and technical support. It also mentioned the "Separation Event" and the "Long War" that occurred later.

As time passed, the records began to become fragmented and mythologized.

The giant ship became the legendary ark that carried civilization, the starlight gate became a miraculous passage, and the Givers and Chosen Ones became mysterious beings in myths who guided the ancestors and bestowed the flame of knowledge.

The Sisterhood claimed to be the branch that, throughout this long loneliness, always maintained gratitude for the Legacy of the Givers' knowledge and a desire to return to the origin.

The narrative was also interspersed with many fragmented technical terms and descriptions of social structures, and even records of ecological transformation in early colonies.

However, it seemed the Sisterhood didn't quite understand what this part of the content was, because the recorded text was in pure Ancient German and Ancient French.

Wang Yin and Dai Xing initially browsed with the mindset of looking at a background setting collection, but as they read, their expressions gradually changed.

"Giant ship," "starlight gate," "Chosen Ones," "Givers," "early colony standard construction modules," "adaptive ecological circulation System," "group low-temperature hibernation risk records"... These terms meant nothing individually. But combined, especially with that rough engineering feel of the early interstellar colonization era, they gave Wang Yin an increasingly strong sense of déjà vu.

"Old Dai," Wang Yin sat up straight, his tone becoming serious. "Don't you think this mythical history reads a bit familiar?"

Dai Xing also put away his playful look and browsed quickly. "I didn't think so until you said it, but now that you mention it, it really does feel like I've seen it somewhere before."

"I think I've seen similar diagrams of some structural features of the giant ship in the appendix of 'Evolution of Spacecraft Design Before the Star Gate Era.' And this description of the ecological circulation System—it reeks of The Company's first-generation standardized colonial modules."

An absurd guess appeared in their minds.