78: Heritage preservation and the return of hope

When Sun Zheng recovered consciousness from the violent energy shock and the dizziness of spatial teleportation, he found himself in a place both familiar and strange.

The core spherical hall of the Ancient Ruins on the far side of the Moon.

He was lying in the center of the hall, on the cold and smooth metal floor. The blue light paths flowing on the surrounding walls were brighter than ever before, as if the entire ruin had 'come alive' because of his arrival. In the center of the hall, the smaller keystone fragment that was originally suspended had disappeared, replaced by the larger, fused keystone emitting a warm and powerful fluctuation from his chest.

"You are awake..." A calm thought, synthesized from countless voices, sounded directly in his mind.

Sun Zheng abruptly sat up, looking around vigilantly. The hall was empty, but the thought was incredibly clear.

"Who are you?" Sun Zheng responded mentally.

"I am the last 'Echo' left by the 'Guardian' civilization here, the guidance program for this 'Observation Post,'" the thought replied. "The keystone fused within you is a fragment of the 'Order Spark.' Your arrival has activated the final inheritance protocol."

"Inheritance protocol?"

"Yes. The core function of the Observation Post is to monitor the movements of the 'Reapers' and transmit the final 'Knowledge' and 'Warning' when a suitable successor appears," the thought explained. "You successfully destroyed the secondary beacon, proving your resolve and ability, thus meeting the inheritance conditions."

As the thought was transmitted, a massive stream of information flooded into Sun Zheng's mind, more complete and clear than any previous time:

The essence of the Reapers: They are not a natural race, but creations and extensions of some older, more terrifying 'ultimate chaos Consciousness' (referred to as the 'void whisper'), whose sole purpose is to devour order and return the universe to chaos.

The truth of tiberium: This crystal is a tool used by the 'Reapers' to accelerate the extraction of planetary life essence and the spread of chaotic energy, and it also acts as a detector for the 'Resonance Frequency' required by the 'void whisper'.

Location of the order beacon: Deep within the Solar System's Oort Cloud, there truly exists a more powerful 'Primary order beacon.' This is the last flame of hope left by the 'Guardian' civilization before their withdrawal, containing the key technology and energy to fight the 'Reapers'.

The final warning: The 'Reapers'' activities in the Solar System are not a simple colonial invasion, but a grand 'Sacrificial Ritual.' They are attempting to use the energy and life of the entire Solar System to finally awaken the main body of the 'void whisper' slumbering deep in the universe! Time is running out!

When the information flow ended, Sun Zheng felt weak, but his eyes were incredibly sharp. He finally understood the ultimate truth of this war! This was not just a war for survival, but a war concerning the survival of universal order!

"The Observation Post's energy is about to be depleted. This ruin will fall completely silent after this inheritance," the guiding program's thought began to weaken. "Successor, the path ahead is thorny, but hope... endures."

As the voice faded, the light in the hall rapidly dimmed, and the light paths on the walls gradually extinguished. The entire ruin had completed its final mission and returned to dead silence.

Sun Zheng stood up, feeling the more abundant power within his body and the heavy responsibility in his mind. He walked to the exit of the ruin and pushed open the heavy stone door.

Outside the door, a 'hope' class rescue shuttle was landing, clearly dispatched to investigate the energy anomaly detected from the ruins. Colonel Falcon was the first to rush off the aircraft, and upon seeing Sun Zheng safe and sound, he was so excited he could barely speak.

"Commander! You're alive! That's wonderful!"

"I'm fine," Sun Zheng patted Falcon's shoulder. "What is the situation with the Moon Beacon?"

"The beacon has been completely destroyed! The Scrin remnants have routed! The Moon Base is under emergency repair; we won!" Falcon reported, his tone filled with the joy of victory, but it immediately dimmed. "However... news arrived from Mars; the energy fluctuations of the Jupiter main beacon have sharply increased. Colonel A001 reports... a massive fleet is passing through the beacon! Mars... might not hold for much longer!"

Sun Zheng's heart sank. Indeed, destroying the secondary beacon only delayed the process; the threat from the main beacon was the fatal one.

"Return to the 'hope' immediately!" Sun Zheng did not hesitate at all. "We must rush back to Mars right away!"

"Yes!"

On the way back to the 'hope,' Sun Zheng used the communication system to synchronize the critical intelligence obtained from the ruins with the Mars Base and the 'wind chaser' far away in the Oort Cloud.

"...In summary, we are facing the ultimate war concerning universal order. Mars is the core of the Solar System's defense and absolutely cannot fall! 'wind chaser,' I order you to speed up your search at all costs and ensure you find and activate the order beacon in the Oort Cloud before the final decisive battle!"

After a brief rest and resupply in lunar orbit, the 'hope' immediately set off, engines overloaded, heading back towards Mars at full speed.

On the bridge, Sun Zheng gazed at the stars flashing by outside the window, tightly gripping the glimmer keystone in his hand.

The battle of the Moon was temporarily over, but the true final battle was about to unfold on Mars. And the flame of hope rested on the 'wind chaser' voyaging deep into space.