115: Chapter 114 Chains, Gaps, and the Prisoner's Whispers

The 22nd day after the verdict was issued, Bedrock Base, post-war assessment meeting.

The words of Liaison Coordinator were like a stone thrown into a deep pool, the ripples they stirred up refusing to dissipate for a long time.

In the conference room, the fleeting joy of the successful Pacific Ocean intervention operation was completely frozen, replaced by a deeper, bone-chilling cold.

"A cage..." Elena looked repeatedly at those hideous black confinement structures on the screen. "If Liaison Coordinator is right, then the Order Reconstruction Faction wasn't just attacking or modifying the legacy of the Sower Civilization five hundred thousand years ago."

"They were... dealing with something they couldn't understand, couldn't control, and perhaps something extremely dangerous. They sealed the remains of that thing—the 'Void Sentient'—within the 'Return to Ruins' node, using the node and part of the network as the carrier for the seal."

Zhou Zhe pulled up the detailed comparative data before and after the energy intervention, pointing to the alarming 41% structural integrity of the 'Return to Ruins' node: "Our attack weakened the seal itself. So the counterattack of the Abyss Devourer might not be 'revenge', but... an attempt to break out of prison. Is it tracing the energy channels back to find the 'jailer'? And its resonance with 'cold fang'..."

"Because they are both 'prisoners'." Lin Shen continued, his voice low. "The 'cold fang' is under the Siberia ice sheet, and the 'Abyss Devourer' is in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. They may both be 'special entities' captured, modified, and imprisoned by the Order Reconstruction Faction. There might be some kind of 'prisoner resonance' between them that we are unaware of. When the seal of one loosens, the other resonates, accelerating its awakening."

Chu Yunshen frowned deeply: "Why would the Order Reconstruction Faction imprison them instead of destroying them completely? Is it because they couldn't, or... were there other purposes?"

"Perhaps both." Liaison Coordinator spoke again, its black crystal eyes sweeping across the group. "According to the scattered ancient records of the Galactic Council, after the Order Reconstruction Faction's ideology became radicalized, they were obsessed with researching and utilizing various 'abnormal entities' and 'ancient relics' in the universe, attempting to convert them into weapons or tools for their so-called 'Great Pruning'—that is, a radical reshaping of the entire galactic civilization ecosystem. The 'Void Sentient' comes from the dark matter region, and its essence is completely different from the material universe we know; perhaps it contains the power the Order Reconstruction Faction craved. And entities like the 'cold fang' that feed on emotions may have been prototypes of biological weapons they used to 'test' or 'soften' the social structures of target civilizations."

It paused and added the most critical point: "But the records also mentioned that most of these experiments ended in failure or disaster. Those captured entities either could not be truly controlled or would undergo unpredictable mutations. 'Imprisonment' was likely the last resort—since they could not be safely utilized and could not be completely annihilated, the only option was to find a 'prison' sturdy enough to lock them away and let time solve the problem."

Time. Five hundred thousand years had passed, and these prisoners had not only failed to perish within the seals but, due to the activation of the Gaia Network and the "accidental operations" of the human Inheritor, had begun to struggle to break out of their cages.

"So, what we are facing now is..." Zhao Yan rubbed his temples, "two ancient prisoners who have been locked up by a high-level civilization for five hundred thousand years, filled with resentment, and who may have become even more twisted and dangerous because of their imprisonment? And we, unknowingly, almost opened the prison door for one of them?"

This conclusion left everyone feeling a sense of powerlessness. The level and background of their opponents were far darker and more complex than they had imagined.

"We must immediately re-evaluate all strategies." Lin Shen broke the heavy atmosphere. "First, confirm the speculation of Liaison Coordinator. Elena, focus all analytical capabilities on studying the data of those confinement structures on the shell of the 'Return to Ruins' node in depth, and compare them with any records in the Cradle database regarding the 'confinement technology' of the Order Reconstruction Faction. At the same time, re-analyze the descriptions of other Hibernators in the green soil data to see if they have characteristics of 'imprisonment' rather than 'natural slumber'."

"Understood."

"Second, adjust the strategy regarding the 'Abyss Devourer' and the 'cold fang'. Shift from 'eliminate or expel' to 'repair and reinforce the seal'. Zhou Zhe, your next research focus is to analyze how to clear or suppress the 'Abyss Devourer's' counterattack capability and the consciousness links it has established externally without further damaging the node's seal. Especially the resonance between it and the 'cold fang'; that must be interrupted."

Zhou Zhe nodded: "This requires more precise consciousness network operation techniques. Perhaps... we can start with Talos's map. If those three core nodes form some kind of 'control skeleton' for the network, we might be able to indirectly reinforce the seal of 'Return to Ruins' by influencing the other two nodes."

"The third node points to deep space, the 'Silent Outpost'." Elena reminded, "We haven't been there yet. And the Blade - Seventh Execution Court civilization previously hinted that there might be information there regarding the 'cold fang' and early confinement technology."

"This leads to the third point," Lin Shen looked at Chu Yunshen, "Communication with the 'Blade - Seventh Execution Court' must be upgraded. We need more direct and timely intelligence sharing, especially regarding the detailed weaknesses of these 'prisoners', the principles of the seals, and the lessons they learned from handling failed cases back then. Use the data we obtained from the 'Return to Ruins' and green soil as a bargaining chip. Consultant Chu, you will lead this diplomatic contact; be sincere but also vigilant, making it clear that what we are seeking is 'cooperative response to a common threat', not unilateral dependence."

Chu Yunshen nodded solemnly.

"Finally," Lin Shen's gaze swept over everyone and landed on Zhao Yan, "the social front. The simulated contamination incident proved that entities like the 'cold fang' can directly influence or even contaminate people through consciousness links. We must assume that with the 'cold fang' accelerating its awakening and the 'Abyss Devourer' seal loosening, similar consciousness attacks may become more frequent and violent. General Zhao, you need to coordinate with the security forces of all major global nations to establish a rapid response and isolation mechanism for 'large-scale abnormal mental events'. At the same time, Consultant Chu's social stability plan and the development of the 'wide-area consciousness stabilization field' must be accelerated, accelerated further."

The tasks were heavy, and time was tight. But this time, the goal was clearer—they were no longer blindly fighting unknown monsters, but were attempting to repair an ancient, damaged prison that held dangerous prisoners, while protecting themselves from being harmed by the prisoners breaking out.

The meeting ended, and everyone threw themselves back into high-speed operation.

Several hours later, in Elena's independent analysis room.

The comparison results were out, and they were alarming.

"The confinement structure of the 'Return to Ruins' node has a 94% match with the technical characteristics of the 'Void Stasis Cage' used during the peak of the Order Reconstruction Faction, as recorded in the Cradle database." Elena displayed the comparison chart to Lin Shen and Zhou Zhe. "This is a technology that uses local spacetime curvature distortion and specific energy fields to 'freeze' a target in a non-time-flow state. But the design blueprints show that a complete cage requires continuous external power supply and regular maintenance. The confinement structure of the 'Return to Ruins' node clearly has a large amount of added, crude repair marks, and the energy input lines are also chaotic... It looks more like a ready-made node was hastily converted into a temporary prison in an emergency."

"Hastily converted..." Zhou Zhe pondered, "It means they might have already been unable to control the 'Abyss Devourer' at the time and could only find a 'sturdy thing' nearby to lock it in. As one of the network's core nodes, 'Return to Ruins' has a stable structure and abundant energy; it was indeed a good choice, but clearly not designed specifically for confinement."

"So the seal would loosen with the passage of time and network decay." Lin Shen understood. "How is the re-organization of the green soil data going?"

Elena pulled up another report: "There is a major discovery. We re-analyzed the descriptions of other 'anomaly points' in the green soil memory. Previously, we interpreted them as 'Hibernators' or 'sealed facilities', but now, from the perspective of 'imprisonment', many descriptions have new meanings. For example, when mentioning the 'ice abyss', besides the function of preserving samples, there is a note: 'The spacetime structure here was once used to suppress a highly active silicon-based consciousness aggregate; residues are unstable, approach with caution.'"

"The 'ice abyss'... also locked things up?" Zhou Zhe asked.

"Possibly, then they were transferred or processed, leaving behind 'unstable' aftereffects." Elena said, "Also, when mentioning that unknown node in the depths of the Pacific Ocean (which we now know is 'Return to Ruins'), there is a vague sentence in the green soil log: 'Talos once warned not to easily disturb the 'Eye of the Sea Abyss', as what is suppressed beneath it is not of a good sort. Yet the Order Reconstruction Faction did not listen.'"

Talos had warned them! As a Sower Civilization ecologist, he might have known or sensed that something dangerous was locked beneath "Return to Ruins". And the Order Reconstruction Faction acted obstinately, likely conducting their dangerous experiments there, which ultimately led to the consequence of having to imprison the "Abyss Devourer" there.

"Then what about the 'cold fang'? Is there any mention of Siberia in the green soil records?" Lin Shen asked.

Elena shook her head: "There are no records directly mentioning the 'cold fang' or Siberia coordinates. But there is a record about the 'Northern Ice Fields' mentioning that the Order Reconstruction Faction once conducted 'group emotional field interference experiments' there, after which the experimental area was permanently isolated and marked as 'Emotional Contamination Zone, consciousness contact prohibited'. This is very likely the predecessor of the 'cold fang'—a failed biological weapon test site, later completely frozen and isolated."

The clues were stringing together into a much darker historical picture: the Order Reconstruction Faction had conducted a large number of dangerous and inhumane experiments within the Solar System, creating or attracting numerous "abnormal entities". After the experiments went out of control or the civil war failed, they hastily sealed these "failed products" or "dangerous goods" in various corners. And what humans inherited was not just the legacy of the Sower Civilization, but also these... time bombs buried deep underground and frozen in ancient times.

"Talos's map," Elena pulled up the model of the three core nodes, "perhaps it's not just a network structure map. Could it also be a... 'prison distribution map'? Or, 'dangerous goods storage points' marked by Talos that later Inheritors needed to be especially vigilant about?"

This possibility made the temperature in the analysis room drop a few more degrees.

Just then, Chen Yu suddenly looked up from the communication console nearby, his expression somewhat strange: "Professor Elena, Dr. Lin... we have received a new signal. The source... seems to be from the direction of the 'Return to Ruins' node in the Pacific Ocean. But the signal pattern is very... strange."

"Play it."

An audio clip that had undergone noise reduction was played.

At first, it was background noise from the deep sea, mixed with residual fluctuations after the energy intervention. But gradually, an extremely faint, distorted "sound", as if coming from behind thick layers of water and metal cages, emerged.

It was not a language, nor even a meaningful melody. It was more like a series of fragmented, perception pulses filled with pain and confusion. Interspersed in the pulses were some unrecognizable, distorted image fragments: endless darkness, cold shackles, the intertwining of longing and fear for some kind of "warmth" or "light", and a bone-deep loneliness and anger as if abandoned by the entire world.

Most disturbing of all, in the depths of these chaotic pulses, occasionally one or two extremely short, relatively clear "cognitive fragments" would flash by. In the fragments, there seemed to be a consciousness clumsily and repeatedly trying to "imitate" or "understand" something it had just come into contact with, something from the outside world—

For example, the encoded signals attached to human energy attacks used for guidance and locking.

For example, the friendly identification information with "ecological resonance frequency" previously sent by the Xuanwu.

Even... a faint, weary and warm lingering note, as if from the "humming" of green soil before its death.

"It..." Elena's voice tightened, "The 'Abyss Devourer'... or the thing that is imprisoned... it is trying to 'learn'? Trying to understand us? Understand this world that has imprisoned it for five hundred thousand years?"

This discovery was more chilling than the roar of a mere monster. An ancient prisoner with the ability to learn, capable of perceiving and trying to understand the outside world, was extending its invisible "tentacles" full of inquisitive desire through the cracks where the seal had loosened.

What did it want to do? Just want freedom? Or did it want... more?

Lin Shen stared at the pulsing waveforms on the audio analysis chart that represented different cognitive attempts and said slowly:

"Notify the 'Blade - Seventh Execution Court' civilization. Tell them about the situation here, including the discovery of the 'cage' and the signs that the 'prisoner' is beginning to attempt communication."

He paused, his voice low and firm:

"Then, prepare a detailed report and synchronize it with Galactic Council observer Liaison Coordinator."

"We need to let the 'examiners' know that the exam paper we inherited not only contains advanced technological problems..."

"But also includes the most dangerous... bonus question from the previous civilization's exam."