84: Keystone Whispers and Unexpected Coordinates

After a brief rest in Mars orbit, the "hope" returned to the Moon Base "Guanghan Palace" for deep maintenance and resupply. Sun Zheng delegated all matters regarding Martian defense and Earth contact to Colonel Falcon and Colonel A001. He then led his core team back to the relatively quiet Moon, where the resonance with the keystone was stronger, to focus on cracking the keystone's secrets and planning deep space exploration.

Deep within the Moon Base, inside the newly built Order Resonance Laboratory, Sun Zheng sat cross-legged on a central isolation platform. The surrounding walls were covered with sophisticated sensors and energy conduits, all connected to the glimmer keystone on his chest. Several top physicists and psionic researchers (a newly established discipline based on the study of Guardian energy systems) were tensely monitoring the data flow.

"Energy output is stable; the resonance frequency is aligning with the laboratory baseline," the Chief Researcher reported. "Commander, please attempt to connect your consciousness deeply with the keystone and guide the information flow within it."

Sun Zheng took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and concentrated his entire mental strength. This wasn't his first attempt, but this time, with the laboratory's assistance and a clearer goal, he hoped for a new breakthrough.

His consciousness sank into that familiar sea of blue light. Unlike previous vague sensations, this time, he seemed to "hear" some more specific and ancient "whispers." It wasn't language, but a type of energy fluctuation carrying information.

He worked hard to capture these fluctuations, "translating" them into understandable fragments:

Star Map Fragments: Broken stellar coordinates pointing to several distant star sectors, but most were blurred, seemingly shrouded by some kind of interference.

Technical Echoes: Fragmentary knowledge about advanced applications of energy shields, hyperspace lane stabilization, and even the construction principles of a certain "Order Purification Field." It was as vast as a sea of smoke, impossible to master in a short time.

Warning Signal: A continuous, sharp alarm targeting the energy signatures of "void whisper," reminding him of approaching danger... A calling? In the deepest fluctuations, Sun Zheng felt an extremely faint but clearly directed "calling." This call didn't come from a specific coordinate, but rather pointed toward a... state? Or perhaps, an energy "resonant frequency"?

"High-dimensional information entanglement node detected!" a researcher suddenly exclaimed. "Energy inside the keystone is generating long-distance resonance with a remote source point! The signal source is not in our star map database!"

Sun Zheng snapped his eyes open. "Can you locate it?"

"Attempting to parse the resonance frequency... The signal is extremely weak and subject to heavy interference... but the general direction... points toward the center of the Milky Way! The distance... is immeasurable, far beyond the Oort Cloud!"

The center of the Milky Way? Sun Zheng's heart jolted. That was an area with dense stars and an extremely complex environment, a remote deep space where human spaceflight had never ventured. Could the Guardians' "Seed Vault" be there?

"Continue parsing! Try to establish a more stable connection, even if you can only get a single clue!" Sun Zheng ordered.

The laboratory went into full operation, trying to amplify and stabilize that faint resonance signal. However, the interference was too strong, and progress was slow.

Just then, an unexpected communication request came in from the head of the Engineer team currently assisting with reconstruction on Mars.

"Commander, we have an unexpected discovery!" The Engineer's voice was filled with excitement. "While clearing the peripheral area of the Under-ice Ruins at the Martian North Pole, we found a deeper entrance previously covered by the ice layer! Inside seems to be a small Guardian Outpost, relatively well-preserved! We've detected an energy signal from the same source as your keystone!"

There were still undiscovered Guardian ruins at the Martian North Pole? Sun Zheng's spirits lifted! This could be a crucial clue right in front of them!

"Organize an exploration team immediately! I'm coming over personally!" Sun Zheng made an immediate decision. Compared to the unreachable center of the galaxy, the new discovery on Mars was clearly more realistic and potentially more urgent.

He interrupted the deep resonance in the lab and, after some quick preparation, immediately took a shuttle to Mars.

A few hours later, Sun Zheng once again stepped onto the ice plains of the Martian North Pole. Beside the previously discovered massive Under-ice Ruins, a new, more hidden entrance had been cleared, extending further down beneath the deeper ice layers.

The exploration team had already set up a temporary camp. Guided by the Engineer, Sun Zheng entered the passage. Unlike the grandeur and damage of the upper ruins, this lower Outpost was smaller in scale, but its structure was exceptionally well-preserved. The light paths on the walls were still flowing slowly, and the air was filled with a cold metallic scent and a faint sense of energy.

They reached a circular core chamber. In the center of the chamber floated a small geometric structure similar to the one in the Lunar Ruin, but instead of a keystone fragment at its center, a smooth black stone slab was embedded.

"This is it; the source of the energy signal is this stone slab," the Engineer said, pointing at the slab.

Sun Zheng approached the stone slab, and the keystone on his chest immediately produced a strong resonance. He reached out and gently touched the surface of the slab.

Hum—!

The stone slab lit up instantly! Flowing symbols and star maps consistent with the Guardian style appeared on it. But this time, the star map didn't point toward deep space; it focused on the interior of the Solar System!

On the star map, seven bright spots were clearly marked! Two of them were particularly striking: one located in Jupiter's orbit (the destroyed beacon) and another in the Oort Cloud (the order beacon the "wind chaser" was searching for).

The other five bright spots were distributed in different, unexpected locations within the Solar System!

One was at a gravitational equilibrium point in Mercury's corona!

One was on a volcanic plateau beneath Venus's thick atmosphere!

One... was actually at the deepest part of Earth's ocean, beneath the Mariana Trench!

One was on Mars... even deeper than where they currently were!

The last one was inside a dense ice core in Saturn's rings!

These five bright spots were exactly the other five "locks" maintaining the "order cage," in addition to the beacons at Jupiter and the Oort Cloud!

The old Watcher had said the "locks" were distributed throughout the universe; it turned out five of them were right here in the Solar System! They were just hidden extremely deep!

What shocked Sun Zheng even more was a flashing message on the stone slab, decoded upon contact with the keystone:

[Warning: Cage node stability decreasing. void whisper activity increasing. Anchor Point Earth erosion accelerating.]

[Emergency Protocol Initiated: Activate all remaining nodes to temporarily reinforce the cage and delay erosion.]

[Ultimate Solution: Converge the power of the seven nodes and guide it to the "origin spark" Seed Vault. Coordinates will only manifest under specific resonance conditions, allowing for the reshaping of the Order Barrier or... the implementation of final purification.]

The message cut off there.

Sun Zheng stood frozen on the spot, a storm of emotions surging in his heart.

It turned out the method to delay the disaster was right within the Solar System! Activating the remaining five beacons would reinforce the cage! And the ultimate solution, the "origin spark," required the power of all seven beacons to be found!

hope had never been so close! But the task had also never been so daunting! To find and activate five beacons hidden in the extreme environments of various planets in such a short time—how could that be easy!

However, they had no choice.

Sun Zheng gripped the keystone, a flame of determination burning in his eyes.

"New mission objective confirmed: Search for and activate the five major order beacons within the Solar System!"