Chapter 22 Shock, Ecstasy, and Loss of Composure

Just as a certain member of the Demon Race was flying into a rage...

Yun Bai walked further and further away from this Restriction.

Even if he had the ability to break through the Restriction, who could predict what dangers lurked in its depths?

It would be better to report this to the Elders and let the professionals handle it.

Yun Bai kept Supervisor Zhou Shengtai's warning firmly in mind: the Demon Race might target Geniuses for assassination.

What if what lay before him was a carefully laid trap?

As the saying goes, 'curiosity killed the cat.' He suppressed his desires and left without looking back.

'Xiao Liu?' Yun Bai called out in his mind.

Since joining the State Religion, he had been busy with Cultivation, leaving Xiao Liu to record the vast amount of information in the State Religion Library.

Whenever he encountered something new, Xiao Liu would usually speak up to remind him.

But today, Xiao Liu was completely silent.

'Xiao Liu, Xiao Liu? What's wrong?' Yun Bai grew even more puzzled.

Yet in the next moment, Xiao Liu's flat words made Yun Bai freeze on the spot, utterly petrified!

[Report: Distress signal from universe shuttle no. 1-117 detected. Source unknown, coordinates unknown.]

[Report: Distress signal from universe shuttle no. 1-117 detected. Source unknown, coordinates unknown.]

[Report: Distress signal from universe shuttle no. 1-117 detected. Source unknown, coordinates unknown.]

Xiao Liu's cold, mechanical voice seemed to carry a trace of burning heat.

This sudden news was like a dump truck rushing out of nowhere, leaving Yun Bai completely dazed.

'What did you say?' Yun Bai asked in disbelief.

Yun Bai's hands trembled slightly.

The designation of the vessel he had boarded when transmigrating through the Universe was indeed universe shuttle no. 1-117.

Back then, the universe shuttle had crashed while entering the orbit of the Celestial Realm. Before he could figure out the reason, he was forcibly stuffed into an escape pod by the pilot AI.

He never expected to encounter it here.

'Can you find out what the signal source is? Are you sure it's the universe shuttle?'

[Report: Signal has vanished. Source unknown, coordinates unknown.]

'What else was in the distress signal?' Yun Bai asked, unwilling to give up.

Xiao Liu fell silent.

Yun Bai also fell silent, feeling his heart rate accelerate.

He lowered his head and waited. He could feel the White Hole in his Sea of Consciousness vibrating slightly—the result of Xiao Liu utilizing all of its computing power.

Xiao Liu's voice rang out again.

[Deduction: Judging from the distress signal band, the signal source is not the core of universe shuttle no. 1-117, not the command terminal, and not the pilot AI...]

[Comprehensive deduction: The signal source could be: escape pod wreckage, biological lab module wreckage...]

[Signal band verification in progress...]

[Escape pod signal fit: 84%]

[Biological lab module signal fit: 83%]

Xiao Liu poured out a massive block of information like emptying a pocket, then fell silent once more.

But Yun Bai could feel that Xiao Liu was still operating at high speed.

He stroked the stone wall where the demonic creature had just vanished, feeling its cold touch as he struggled to suppress his excitement. He was still waiting for Xiao Liu's results.

He mobilized the spiritual energy in his lower Dantian, channeling it toward his Niwan Palace. His mind instantly became active, like boiling water. But Yun Bai did not stop; he began to guide his Divine Sense back into his Sea of Consciousness.

Yun Bai could not be sure if this would work.

Xiao Liu, this auxiliary intellectual brain, was installed within the quantum microtubules in the deepest part of the human brain. In other words, Xiao Liu was a part of Yun Bai. The intellectual brain was integrated into the human central nervous system, meaning it was biologically on par with the human biological brain.

When Xiao Liu was installed, the doctor had said that this would be a person's second brain.

However, under normal circumstances, people would not grant a quantum intellectual brain the authority to control the body.

At this moment, Yun Bai was attempting to hand over bodily control from centers like the cerebrum and cerebellum to 'Xiao Liu,' the intellectual brain center.

This was an extremely rare method of usage. Only when performing high-intensity calculations would Yun Bai employ this ability.

Yun Bai persisted in circulating his spiritual energy, which was rapidly depleting.

He did not stop until his vision went dark, his limbs grew weak, and he could no longer stand steadily, collapsing onto the ground.

Xiao Liu's voice finally rang out.

[Comprehensive deduction: The signal source originates from the wreckage of a crew member's escape pod. The wreckage should contain a relatively intact and well-functioning quantum computing unit, sufficient standard computing units, and a certain number of energy storage modules. It may also contain a relatively complete biomedical unit.]

[The signal source is highly likely located in a hidden cave where demonic creatures hide somewhere on the Cang Plains. Warning: The Human Race's actions on the Cang Plains have very likely drawn the attention of the Demon Race. Multiple cases of abnormal demonic creature activity on the Cang Plains indicate that the Demon Race is carrying out an operation.]

[The hidden cave where the signal source is located is highly likely related to a certain plan of the Demon Race.]

[Report: A complete quantum computing unit can be used to repair the quantum intellectual brain.]

[Deduction confidence level: 76%]

[The deduction process is as follows...]

A massive torrent of information broke through Yun Bai's cerebral cortex.

'Hiss...' Yun Bai felt a splitting headache. He gasped, his temples throbbing violently as the veins on his face bulged.

Xiao Liu transmitted all the deduction processes to Yun Bai in the form of neuronal electrical signals, forming synapses deep within Yun Bai's brain to aid memory and comprehension.

After a moment, Yun Bai's curled-up body stopped trembling from the pain.

He slowly stood up, closed his eyes, and opened them again.

'This is a massive Opportunity!'

Yun Bai's heart surged with uncontrollable excitement. For over a decade, he had been at a loss. He never expected that in just one month in Chu Province City, he would make continuous progress!

No wonder even Xiao Liu showed a certain degree of excitement. Over all these years, Xiao Liu had been so severely damaged that most of its auxiliary programs could not run normally, and many processes had to be shut down.

The current Xiao Liu could at most be considered an ordinary AI for auxiliary storage and computation. If he could repair Xiao Liu, his capabilities in all aspects would improve by leaps and bounds.

On the other hand, if he could find a complete power source for Xiao Liu, his ability to open a black hole would be vastly enhanced!

Yun Bai's cultivation would certainly achieve a qualitative leap as well.

Most importantly, if he found the ship's wreckage, there might be clues about the cause of the crash, as well as how to contact the Heavenly Palace!

Originally, Yun Bai had planned to look for a way within the State Religion, but that would have been like searching for a needle in a haystack. If he could recover the ship's remains, he could read a massive amount of information from them through Xiao Liu. He believed he would definitely find a solution faster and more precisely!

The more Yun Bai thought about it, the more excited he became. His originally pale face flushed with an unnatural redness.

He unconsciously beat his hand against the ground to vent his surging emotions.

'I must act quickly!'

Just as Yun Bai was about to stand up, he instinctively supported himself against the nearby stone wall.

Without him realizing it, the night had completely shrouded the sun and the moon.

The sun and moon shed no light, the dense forest was pitch-black, and the stone wall was freezing cold.

Yun Bai could not help but shiver.

He looked up at the stone wall.

The surroundings were terrifyingly silent.

He suddenly calmed down.

Was he really going to barge into a secret base of the Demon Race all by himself like this?

What should his next step be?

On one hand, he yearned to venture deep inside alone, relying on his own abilities to retrieve the key core of the wreckage and seize the chance to uncover information about the Heavenly Palace. On the other hand, he knew all too well that facing this alone was fraught with danger; a single misstep could cost him his life.