198: Chapter 198 The Astounding Discoveries of Deep Space Probes
The joy of the successful operation of the "Taishan" gravity simulator, along with the unease brought by the signals from the edge of the Kuiper Belt that pulsed rhythmically like a "gravitational heartbeat," created a peculiar tension within the top decision-making circle of GDA.
On one hand, humanity was singing and advancing on the road of mastering fundamental forces; on the other hand, behind the dark curtain of deep space, some kind of existence seemed to be patiently "watching" or even "communicating" in a way beyond human understanding.
Lin Mo ordered that over 70% of the observation resources of the "Thousand-Mile Eye Plan" deep space array—especially the newly upgraded "Gravitational Wave-Electromagnetic Composite Sensing Module" which integrated the initial results of the "shadow catcher" project—be concentrated on the direction of that mysterious signal source.
At the same time, a team of three latest-model unmanned deep space probes, equipped with stronger detection equipment and preliminary gravity shields (experimental version)—"pathfinder α, β, and γ"—were secretly launched, targeting the outer periphery of the Kuiper Belt, and even the edge of the Oort Cloud further away.
Their mission was no longer routine scientific investigation, but close-range reconnaissance, collecting all information about the source of that "gravitational heartbeat" while avoiding exposure as much as possible.
Waiting was agonizing. The light-year distances of deep space exploration made real-time communication a luxury.
The probe team relied on preset programs and limited autonomous AI decision-making to quietly advance toward the target area in the vast void, periodically sending back compressed detection data packets via quantum entanglement communication.
Time passed for four months amidst the intense integration construction and the deepening promotion of the "civilization cornerstone" within the GDA.
On this day, the atmosphere in the main control hall of the "Ark" city deep space monitoring center suddenly solidified.
The latest data packet from "pathfinder beta" was decrypted and parsed in real-time by the "system."
On the holographic star map in the center of the hall, the three light spots representing the probe team had already penetrated deep into the dark region on the outer edge of the Kuiper Belt, and in the target direction, there was originally only that isolated light spot representing the "gravitational heartbeat" signal source.
But now, on the star map, around that signal source, as if suddenly dotted by an invisible brush, seven new light spots of varying intensities and characteristics suddenly lit up!
They were not stationary, but presented complex relative motion trajectories.
What was even more hair-raising was that between at least three pairs of these light spots, extremely short but exceptionally violent energy interactions were erupting!
" 'system'! Analyze the characteristics of the energy interaction!" the monitoring supervisor shouted sternly.
"Analyzing... Energy release pattern confirmed: high-frequency particle beam, suspected kinetic impact, strong electromagnetic suppression... Partially matched with the energy characteristics of 'the piercer' when it attacked 'soaring heavens' and self-destructed, but more violent and chaotic. The energy characteristics of the warring parties are significantly different, not the same model unit."
The electronic voice of the "system" remained calm, but the content of the report made everyone's blood run cold.
"They... are attacking each other?" a young analyst murmured in disbelief.
"Not just attacking each other."
The "system" projected a blurred image from the optical sensor of "pathfinder beta" that had been enhanced and slowed down.
The background of the image was the pitch-black starry sky and the faint starlight in the distance.
In the foreground, several shadows with indistinguishable outlines but clearly possessing non-natural geometric structures were crossing and chasing each other at extremely high speeds.
A dazzling, dark purple energy beam shot from one shadow toward another, only to be deflected by a shield (?) that suddenly lit up on the surface of the target shadow with irregular ripples.
Almost simultaneously, a third shadow cut in from the side, ejecting several small but extremely fast objects, suspected to be some kind of kinetic weapon or self-destruct unit, which slammed into the side of the first shadow, exploding into a silent, rapidly expanding cloud of ionized gas...
The battle was short, fierce, and without warning, showing no obvious tactical discipline; it looked more like a savage melee after an encounter.
Ten seconds later, the image ended, and the airspace returned to dead silence.
Several shadows seemed to have suffered varying degrees of damage, their trajectories became sluggish, and then... they actually slowly pulled away, guarding against each other like injured beasts, and "cruised" away in different directions.
The energy readings of two of the shadows continued to drop, eventually extinguishing—representing "death" or "complete silence."
You could hear a pin drop in the hall. Everyone was stunned by this scene that transcended imagination.
"Multiple... 'reaper' units... killing each other?" Old Chen's voice carried a hint of dryness, "This... what does this mean?"
Lin Mo stared fixedly at the looping video, and the seven light spots on the star map that were still lit but no longer interacting violently.
A cold and chilling hypothesis gradually became clear in his mind.
" 'system', compare the energy spectrum and motion patterns of these seven new targets and the original signal source with the databases of 'the piercer' and 'Ripper'. Analyze the possible reason models for their mutual attacks."
Lin Mo ordered, his voice unusually calm, yet possessing a metallic quality.
" 'system' calculating... Matching analysis: The energy characteristics of the new target units have 40% to 65% similarity with known 'reaper' units, but individual differences are significant. They are suspected to be variants from different batches, different task attributes, or... different manufacturing sources."
"Attack cause simulation deduction... The highest probability model (73%) is: resource competition or hunting rights conflict."
"Resources? Hunting rights?" A general from the Military Strategy Committee frowned, "What resources do they need? And what are they hunting?"
"It may be some kind of cosmic resource that we cannot yet understand, such as energy in specific frequency bands, rare elemental isotopes, or... 'active civilization' itself."
Lin Mo said slowly, his eyes flashing with insight, "And 'hunting rights'... perhaps our Solar System, this 'marked' 'prey', is not coveted by just one hunter."
"That original 'beacon', that 'reaper order' finally sent out by 'Ripper', might be like a piece of meat thrown into a shark school, attracting more than one... 'Scavenger'."
The Dark Forest Law was displayed before humanity in a more cruel and direct way than expected.
The "reaper" civilizations (or creations of such civilizations) wandering in the universe were not a united whole; there might be competition, plunder, and even mutual hunting among them!
The Solar System, an emerging civilization discovered and "marked" by "the piercer," was like a young beast that had just made a call in the dark forest, not only attracting a hunter but possibly attracting multiple hunters.
And these hunters might even start fighting each other to enjoy the prey alone!
"Is... is this good or bad for us?" someone asked hesitantly.
Multiple enemies fighting each other seemed to be able to reduce the pressure on humanity?
"In the short term, perhaps their internal friction can buy us more time." Lin Mo shook his head, his tone heavy, "But in the long term, this means the source of the threat is more complex and unpredictable."
"We may not only have to face a 'Purifiers' level cleanup unit, but also face invasions from different 'reaper' factions or individuals with different purposes and unknown means."
"Moreover, the battle between them is right at the edge of the Kuiper Belt, too close to us! Stray bullets, wreckage, or the losing side rushing into the Solar System in desperation... Any accident could drag us into the flames of war ahead of time."
He called up the background radiation scan captured by "pathfinder beta" further away from the melee area.
In the deeper dark background, there seemed to be more extremely faint, flickering energy disturbance points, like more shadows lurking in the deep sea.
"We thought we were facing a hunter in a dark forest." Lin Mo looked at the chilling scan, "Only now do we realize that we may be on the edge of overlapping hunting grounds, and the forest itself... is more crowded and dangerous than we imagined."
The hall was filled with a murderous atmosphere.
The excitement of the gravity simulator's success was completely washed away by this cold reality.
Human civilization was like a small boat that had just lit its lamps and sailed out of the harbor, only to suddenly discover that the sea ahead was not just the storm it had expected, but filled with shark schools tearing at each other and eyeing it covetously.
"Order the 'pathfinder' team to maintain maximum silence and continue to observe, but do not get any closer to the engagement area. Prioritize collecting all wreckage data and energy characteristics."
Lin Mo made a quick decision, " 'system', initiate the 'Multiple Threat Response' scenario simulation. We need contingency plans to deal with attacks from 'reaper' units of different origins and natures."
"At the same time, accelerate the research and development of the 'Taishan' series and 'shadow catcher' project derivative technologies (gravity shields, space anchors)! Our shield must be stronger and more flexible than expected!"
"Yes!"
The news was strictly controlled within the GDA's top decision-making layer and core scientific research team.
Panic was useless, but the sense of urgency had to be increased exponentially.
Just as the "Ark" city was running at high speed due to this astonishing discovery, in the underground bunker of the Pretty Country, Wilkins also caught traces of abnormal encrypted fluctuations in the GDA's edge communication channels by pure chance.
Combined with the rumors of "gravitational field breakthrough" pieced together from his fragmented intelligence network, he developed a vague but even crazier conjecture.
"They are afraid... not just afraid of one enemy..." he whispered neurotically to the walls covered with dust and messy wires, "They saw more... more terrible things... Hahaha... So that's it... So we are all just... a piece of meat on a larger dinner plate, destined to be divided and eaten sooner or later..."
Far from gloating over the fact that the GDA might face more complex threats, he fell into a deeper resonance of despair regarding the cruelty of the universe itself.
But this despair did not extinguish his last bit of venom, but rather poured oil on it.
"Since that's the case... then let the division be more chaotic..." his eyes flashed with the last bit of crazy calculation, "If I can't have it, then... let no one have peace!"
What the deep space probes brought back was not just astonishing discoveries, but a suffocating, cold scroll of the true face of the universe.
While human civilization strives to unite and climb the heights of technology, it must also begin to learn how to survive with difficulty under the gaze of not just one pair, but many pairs of "eyes" full of greed and hostility hidden in the darkness.