114: Chapter 113 Surgery, Price, and the Cage of Exposure
The 21st day after the ruling was issued, over the Pacific Ocean, the final 60 seconds of the energy intervention operation.
The giant energy ring at the Cradle base had charged to 97%, and the deep blue light condensed into a nearly solid sphere of light in the vacuum, with energy turbulence capable of tearing apart an asteroid churning inside.
The target coordinates were locked onto the dark abyss over seven thousand meters below, with the margin of error compressed to 3.2 thousandths of the theoretical limit.
Zhou Zhe stood in the floating platform's control center, his headset filled with countdown reports and alerts from orbit and various monitoring points, but he was exceptionally calm at this moment.
Every calculation, simulation, and contingency plan that could be made had been verified countless times.
Now, only execution remained.
"Energy ring status is stable. Atmospheric disturbance compensation for the launch path is complete. Deep-sea acoustic guidance beacon signal is clear." The voice of the orbit controller came through, "Thirty seconds remaining."
The floating platform was tossing violently on the edge of the increasingly turbulent whirlpool.
Below, the center of that massive whirlpool seemed to connect to hell, the darkness viscous and suffocating.
The monitoring screen showed that the core stability of the "Return to Ruins" node had dropped to 8%, while the pulsing brightness of that "foreign object" had tripled, nearly swallowing the faint light representing the node entirely.
"Ten seconds."
Zhou Zhe's gaze fell upon the chaotic waveform on the main screen.
The fatal resonant frequency between the foreign object and the node... phase inversion parameters... the precise time window for energy injection...
"Five, four, three..."
He held his breath.
"Two, one..."
"Fire!"
There was no earth-shattering roar.
A pure white beam, impossibly thin yet condensed with terrifying energy, shot out from the center of the energy ring in orbit, instantly piercing the atmosphere, leaving a brief, scorching trail in the azure sky, before silently submerging into the center of the boiling whirlpool.
The energy did not trigger an explosion or steam on the water's surface.
It was highly focused, like a scalpel on a cosmic scale, piercing precisely toward the target in the deep sea.
The data streams of all monitoring equipment stalled for a split second.
Then—
A dull, indescribable roar came from the deep sea, as if the entire crust were groaning.
The floating platform was tossed several meters high like a leaf in a storm, then slammed back down hard.
All screens were instantly filled with blinding bright white, an unimaginable glare coming from the seabed.
The glare lasted for about three seconds.
When the screens recovered, the readings from all sensors—sonar, geomagnetism, thermal energy, radiation—were jumping wildly.
"Hit... target hit!" The monitor's voice trembled, "Energy peak matches the preset anti-resonance frequency by 99.1%! Interference successful!"
Zhou Zhe immediately looked at the core data.
The stability curve of the "Return to Ruins" node, at the moment it hit bottom (3%), rebounded sharply!
The sharp pulsing waveform of the foreign object, as if struck by a heavy hammer, instantly twisted, shattered, and its amplitude decayed sharply!
"Node stability has rebounded to 15%... 21%... stabilizing at around 28%! The foreign object's activity has dropped by over 60%! Contamination harmonic output has stopped!" Shen Qinglan's voice was filled with incredulous excitement.
The control center erupted in brief cheers.
But Zhou Zhe's heart remained suspended.
He stared intently at another set of data—node structural integrity.
The energy impact could not have failed to cause damage.
The data was out.
Node structural integrity: 41%.
A 12 percentage point drop from the 53% before the intervention.
Furthermore, the downward trend had not completely stopped and was still sliding at an extremely slow speed.
"The surgery was a success, but the patient is seriously injured." Zhou Zhe summarized in a low voice, "The foreign object was severely damaged, and the contamination has temporarily ceased, but the node itself is more fragile now. How much longer can it hold..."
Before he could finish speaking, a new alarm sounded.
"Anomalous energy recoil detected!" The orbit controller exclaimed, "The Cradle energy ring is suffering a reverse shock of unknown frequency! Shielding layer is at 7% overload! Analyzing the characteristics of the shock source..."
Almost simultaneously, the floating platform's sensors captured another kind of fluctuation coming from the deep sea, completely different from the previous glare—a cold, slick, and malicious fluctuation, surging upstream along the path of the energy beam!
"It's the foreign object... it's not dead! It's fighting back!" Shen Qinglan's face turned pale.
The intensity of the counterattack was not too high; with the Cradle base's defensive capabilities, it could be fully withstood.
But this method of counterattack... it could actually trace back and contaminate along the channel of the energy attack?
This completely exceeded conventional energy interaction logic!
Worse was yet to come.
An urgent report came from the Siberia monitoring station: "cold fang activity is rising sharply! Awakening progress has skyrocketed from 41% to 58%! And... it is releasing high-intensity consciousness contamination pulses! The pulse waveform characteristics... are highly homologous with the Pacific counterattack fluctuation!"
The Pacific floating platform monitor also shouted: "Consciousness fluctuations detected from the direction of cold fang are... resonating with the residual fluctuations of the deep-sea foreign object! They have established a direct consciousness link!"
Zhou Zhe felt a chill.
The foreign object and cold fang, these two Hibernators—one severely damaged and the other not yet fully awakened—after being attacked, not only did not retreat, but instead colluded even more closely because of a common "threat"?
They could even synchronize consciousness in real-time across ten thousand kilometers?
This had already exceeded the scope of "biology" or "machines" and was more like some kind of... "virus" or "cancerous tissue" with a collective will, parasitizing the depths of the Gaia Network!
The Cradle base barely withstood this wave of reverse energy contamination.
But everyone knew, what about next time?
If the foreign object recovered, or if cold fang fully awakened, and they launched an attack again, what form would it take?
Just then, Elena's communication came through, her voice urgent: "Dr. Lin, Dr. Zhou! We intercepted an urgent additional intelligence report from the Blade - Seventh Execution Court civilization—received just three minutes before you launched the intervention!"
The intelligence showed that the "foreign object" sealed inside the "Return to Ruins" node has the official code name "Abyss Devourer".
It is not an ordinary Hibernator, but a remnant of a "Void Sentient Being" from the cosmic dark matter region that the Order Reconstruction Faction captured and attempted to "domesticate" early on!
One of its core abilities is "energy tracing contamination" and "consciousness network parasitism"!
The Blade - Seventh Execution Court warns that any direct energy attack against it must be extremely cautious; it is best to isolate its consciousness connection first!
The intelligence arrived late.
But the content of the intelligence confirmed everything that was happening before their eyes.
"'Void Sentient Being'..." Zhou Zhe chewed on this strange term, "Life from the dark matter region? Or rather... a consciousness entity?"
"Now is not the time to study what it is!" Zhao Yan's voice interjected, "The Cradle needs time to cool down and repair the energy ring."
The pacific node is temporarily stabilized but extremely fragile.
The "cold fang" in Siberia is accelerating its awakening and has established a link with the "Abyss Devourer" remnant.
We must take the next step immediately, break their resonance, reinforce the pacific node, and at the same time prepare to deal with the larger-scale consciousness attack that "cold fang" might launch!
"What is the next step?" Chu Yunshen asked; the background noise on his end was loud, and he was clearly still dealing with the mess from the simulated contamination event.
Everyone's gaze turned once again to Lin Shen.
Lin Shen looked at the data streams on the screen that were intertwined, representing both crisis and hope.
The energy intervention had completed its initial objective, but it had also exposed deeper dangers and more bizarre characteristics of the enemy.
Time was still passing.
"Three things simultaneously." Lin Shen's voice was decisive, "First, Zhou Zhe, immediately analyze the 'consciousness network parasitism' principle of the 'Abyss Devourer' remnant, find a way to safely detach or permanently isolate it from the 'Return to Ruins' node to prevent a counterattack after it recovers. Utilize any further intelligence that the Blade - Seventh Execution Court might provide."
"Second, Zhao Yan, strengthen the defense and countermeasure forces of the Siberia 'cold fang' monitoring station. Prepare to initiate 'Plan B'—if the 'cold fang' awakening progress exceeds 70% and its consciousness attack threatens global stability, consider using the 'space-time solidification warhead' in the Cradle's reserve to physically freeze it. The risk is extremely high, but it's better than letting it wake up completely."
"Third, Chu Yunshen, your side is the second battlefield. The consciousness link exposed by the 'Common Future' simulation must be completely severed and purified. At the same time, accelerate the development of 'wide-area consciousness stabilization field' technology based on green soil frequency. If 'cold fang' launches a large-scale consciousness attack, we need 'mental shields' that can protect as many ordinary people as possible."
He paused and looked at everyone.
"Although the intelligence from the Blade - Seventh Execution Court was late, it proves that they do possess key information. Contact them, request more technical details regarding the 'Abyss Devourer' and 'cold fang', and... ask them if they know how to safely utilize the third core node on the Talos map. That node pointing toward deep space might be another key to unlocking all of this."
Orders were broken down and issued again.
Exhaustion, but under pressure, it was transformed into more efficient action.
Just as the meeting was about to end, Liaison Coordinator, who had been silently observing, suddenly spoke up.
On his pearl-white face, that pair of black crystal eyes were fixed on the real-time monitoring screen of the Pacific Ocean—there, the massive whirlpool was slowly calming, but deep in the seawater, in the area briefly illuminated by the energy impact, a corner of the "Return to Ruins" node's shell seemed to be revealed.
That shell was covered with dense, non-the builders style, more like... forcibly welded, rough and hideous black metal structures.
The surface of the structures was engraved with rotating, unsettling geometric symbols.
"Interesting." Liaison Coordinator's voice still lacked inflection, but his wording made everyone look over, "What you attacked may not be a simple 'parasitized node'."
He zoomed in on the image, pointing to a specific symbol at the intersection of those black metal structures.
That symbol was 70% similar to the mark of the Order Reconstruction Faction (Pruning Faction) recorded in the previous green soil data, but more distorted, with an all-consuming whirlpool pattern added in the center.
"In the limited historical archives of the council, this symbol represents 'imprisonment' and 'exile'." Liaison Coordinator said slowly, "The Order Reconstruction Faction does not seem to simply want to 'utilize' or 'domesticate' that 'Void Sentient Being' remnant."
He turned to Lin Shen, his black crystals reflecting the other's grave countenance.
"They may have... after failing to destroy it, 'imprisoned' it in this node."
"Using the entire node's energy and parts of the Gaia Network's functionality as the 'chains' and 'cage' to bind it."
"And that strike of yours just now," Liaison Coordinator's voice echoed clearly in the silent meeting room, "might have almost... helped it crack open a seam in the cage."
Everyone was stunned.
What if what they attacked was not a parasite, but the walls of a prison?
What if the exhaustion of the "Return to Ruins" node was not just because of being eroded, but because it was continuously consuming energy to suppress some imprisoned, even more terrifying ancient existence?
Then, the code name "Abyss Devourer" might not just refer to it devouring the abyss.
It might also refer to...
It is, itself, something that has been imprisoned in the abyss.