120: Chapter 119 Seventy-two Hours of Respite and the List of Inspectors
The 28th day after the verdict was issued, in Earth's geosynchronous orbit, on the periphery of the lunar "Cradle" base.
A silver-gray ship, with an extremely minimalist design and lines as smooth as a blade, slid silently into lunar orbit, maintaining a cautious distance from the "Cradle" base.
It had no visible thruster nozzles or sensor arrays, and its surface was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the cold radiance of Earth and the distant starlight.
This was the temporary flagship of the Galactic Council review board, codenamed "Balance."
Within three hours of its arrival, two more ships with vastly different styles appeared.
One was shaped like a blooming crystal flower, completely transparent, with flowing light and shadows faintly visible inside, exuding an aura of tranquility and detachment—this was the transport of the "Technical Assessor."
The other appeared unassuming, like an elongated rugby ball, its surface covered in fine, scale-like structures that seemed to absorb all detection signals—this was the vehicle of the "Social Resilience Observer."
The last to arrive was a pitch-black, irregularly shaped craft that seemed like a living shadow, silently suspended in orbit, causing anyone whose gaze swept past to subconsciously ignore its existence.
This belonged to the "Risk and Ethics Arbiter."
Four ships, four completely distinct civilization styles, hung silently outside the moon, watching the blue planet below and the busy human outpost beside it.
There were no communication requests, no access applications, only a silent, immense presence, like four Swords of Damocles hanging over the "Cradle" base and the entire exploration mission.
Bedrock Base, final preparatory meeting for the exploration team.
The atmosphere in the conference room was heavy.
Projected on the long table were the simulated structural diagrams of the "Silent Outpost," the twelve-member exploration team list, equipment manifests, emergency contingency plans, and... the passive scan data streams from the four Council ships, constantly refreshing on a small screen to the side (intercepted and analyzed as much as possible by the "Nuwa" AI).
"The review board has arrived," Zhao Yan said in a low voice. "Liaison Coordinator just synced the basic information. The Technical Assessor is from the 'Crystal Analysis Civilization,' specializing in material structure and energy field analysis. The Social Resilience Observer is from the 'Hidden Scale Civilization,' known for social dynamics research and covert observation. The Risk and Ethics Arbiter..."
He paused. "is from the 'Shadow Covenant,' an internal Council agency responsible for adjudicating high-risk civilization contact and heritage management disputes. Very little is known about this civilization itself, and its style is... known for absolute rationality and iron-fisted methods when necessary."
"None of them are easy characters to deal with," Chu Yunshen rubbed his temples. "How much of a buffer can Liaison Coordinator provide?"
"Limited," Lin Shen replied. "His duty is to ensure the review process is compliant and information flow is smooth; it doesn't mean he will favor us. In fact, according to Council regulations, he must remain absolutely neutral, or he will be replaced immediately."
"Let's finalize the exploration team list." Elena projected the list, enlarging it. "Captain: General Zhao, responsible for overall command and security. Deputy Captain: Me, responsible for archaeological decoding and analysis of consciousness-related phenomena. Team members: Dr. Zhou (remote technical support, actually remaining at the 'Cradle'), Shen Qinglan (engineering and alien environment adaptation), Xu Haifeng (deep-sea/deep-space vehicle operation), Li Rui (tactical security), Wang Lin (communications and electronic warfare), Chen Yu (data and cryptography), Dr. Wu Qing (alien biological/consciousness contact expert), and... the 'Blade of Oversight' representative from 'Blade - Seventh Execution Court,' codenamed 'Ashes'."
"Ashes..." Zhao Yan repeated the codename. "The Seventh Execution Court only gave the codename, no further information. They only guarantee that this person has access to the 'Shadow Zone' and will provide 'limited armed support' when necessary. Background, abilities, appearance—all unknown. They only said they would rendezvous with the exploration team on their own."
An unknown variable, or a powerful ally? In the context of the "Blade" civilization, "Ashes" often implies "the steadfastness remaining after burning out," or "completing the mission at any cost." Either way, it suggests that this overseer will not be a gentle character.
"What about Sarah?" Chu Yunshen asked. "As the 'key holder,' she must go."
"Sarah Chen's consciousness is stabilized within the 'heart crystal' and carried in a specialized life-support pod." Elena pulled up the plan. "The life-support pod has an independent connection to the main control system of the exploration ship 'pioneer.' Only when it is necessary to activate the 'sower' authorization, and after joint authorization by General Zhao and myself, will minimal consciousness interaction be conducted. The entire process is monitored by the 'Nuwa' subsystem and medical AI. Additionally..." She looked at Lin Shen. "According to your requirements, we have prepared a special 'consciousness firewall' for Sarah, based on defensive coding reverse-engineered from the 'Abyss Devourer' probe."
Lin Shen nodded. The essence of this firewall was actually one of the prototype applications of the "Consciousness Separation Protocol," which could forcibly detach and isolate certain cognitive modules when Sarah's consciousness came into deep contact with external dangerous signals, preventing contamination or hijacking. The risk was that it might cause irreversible damage to her consciousness structure, but compared to being swallowed by the "Abyss Devourer" or the outpost's unknown defensive mechanisms, this was choosing the lesser of two evils.
"Departure time?" Zhao Yan asked.
"On the hour, seventy-two hours from now. 'pioneer' has completed its final inspection and is currently refueling with fusion fuel and loading the latest decrypted parts of the 'Cradle' database." Zhou Zhe replied. "We used these three days to conduct seventeen simulated voyages and emergency drills. However, the internal situation of the 'Silent Outpost' is unknown, and the simulations can only cover basic possibilities."
"That is enough." Lin Shen said. "The rest depends on on-site adaptation. Additionally, the review board requires a 'pre-mission briefing' to be held six hours before departure. The location is the diplomatic hall of the 'Cradle' base. We need to prepare a concise, clear, and focused report explaining the mission objectives, risk assessments, contingency plans, and... what we hope to gain from this exploration to address the current Earth crisis."
He looked at everyone. "This report is also part of the review. They are not just watching what we do, but also how we plan and how we define goals and risks. Elena, you will write the report; Consultant Chu will polish the strategic and ethical sections; General Zhao and Dr. Zhou will provide technical and security assessments. Complete the first draft by noon tomorrow."
With the tasks assigned, everyone prepared to leave.
"Dr. Lin," Elena called out to him, speaking in a low voice only after everyone else had left. "Regarding the third core node on the Talos map... we have discovered something else. That node pointing into deep space, after calculating the rotation of the Milky Way and the movement of the Solar System, its 'line of sight' is not fixed on a specific location but is slowly moving. The movement trajectory... has some vague correlation with a very ancient record in the 'Cradle' database about 'periodic gravitational ripples in the Milky Way.' It seems... it is 'tracking' or 'waiting' for some kind of periodic cosmic phenomenon."
"What phenomenon?"
"It's not clear yet. The data is too old and severely damaged. But in the intelligence provided by 'Blade,' it was mentioned that Alpha was obsessed with studying the 'Tides of Cosmic Consciousness' in his later years. Perhaps..." Elena hesitated. "Perhaps that node is not just a 'targeting base,' but could also be a... receiver? Or a beacon used to activate or summon something when a specific 'cosmic Tide' arrives?"
This conjecture was more grandiose and more unsettling than before. What exactly did Talos and the first-generation Blade set up in the Solar System?
"Continue the research, but prioritize it after the 'Silent Outpost' mission." Lin Shen instructed. "For now, we must first obtain the technology and intelligence that will allow us to survive."
Elena nodded and left.
Only Lin Shen remained in the conference room. He pulled up his personal terminal, entered multiple passwords, and opened the top-secret file on the "Consciousness Separation Protocol." On the screen, complex neural maps and consciousness encoding models slowly rotated. The protocol's completion rate had reached 73%, and theoretically, a high-risk, limited-scope test could be conducted. But the test subject... and the necessity of the test...
He closed the file and cast his gaze out the window. Outside the base, under the simulated night sky, the city was still brightly lit, but beneath that light were countless hearts beating violently with fear, confusion, hope, and anger. They trusted the decisions made here and entrusted their fate to this group of people who looked up at the stars.
As for him, he must prepare the final fallback for the worst-case scenario.
Even if that fallback meant sacrificing a part of his "humanity," or... even more.
At the same time, across the Earth, a fragile calm.
Chu Yunshen's "Wide-Area Consciousness Stability Field" was operating with difficulty in the fifteen most stressed cities.
The pale blue energy field, like an invisible dome, shrouded the sky above the cities, neutralizing the faint residual negative consciousness permeating the air from the directions of Siberia and the Pacific Ocean.
On the streets, violent incidents had decreased significantly, but the faces of the crowds generally wore a kind of numb calmness or suppressed tension.
Shops had reopened and traffic had resumed, but on social media, discussions about the "Siberian Ice Monster," "Pacific Ghost Eye," and "Alien Review" were still heated, though strictly confined to a "non-inflammatory" framework.
The information released by the authorities to a limited extent was like a drop of water in hot oil, stirring up even more questions and speculation.
But overall, society was like a spring being forcibly compressed; although it was accumulating immense energy, it had not yet snapped again.
Beneath this superficial calm, some more subtle changes were taking place.
Globally, the number of people reporting "bursts of inspiration," "enhanced intuition," or "having clear prophetic dreams" had shown a statistically significant, albeit small, increase.
These experiences were mostly harmless, and some even brought about minor breakthroughs in art or technology.
But Chu Yunshen's team noticed that in these people's brainwaves, a faint harmonic, similar in frequency to the "Composite Consciousness Probes" emitted by the Abyss Devourer, would occasionally flash.
Could the probes not only be detecting, but also, like pollen, be inadvertently "pollinating" certain sensitive human consciousnesses?
What long-term impact would this have? No one knew.
The 30th day after the ruling was issued, at the diplomatic hall of the Cradle base.
At the briefing venue, on the human side, Lin Shen, Chu Yunshen, Zhao Yan, Elena, and Zhou Zhe (holographic projection) sat on one side.
Opposite them were four floating seats, occupied by four distinctly styled holographic projections.
The projection of the technical evaluator "Crystal Analysis" was a cluster of polyhedral crystals that constantly grew and changed, refracting a cold, rational light from within.
The projection of the social resilience observer "Hidden Scale" was a layer of scale-like ripples that constantly adjusted its transparency, as if it could blend into any background.
The projection of the risk and ethics arbiter "Shadow" was the most eerie, a mass of pure darkness with blurred edges that constantly absorbed surrounding light, with only two faint points of light, like eyes.
Liaison Coordinator stood to the side, their pearl-white face expressionless.
Elena, as the lead presenter, began her statement.
The report was concise and powerful, covering mission objectives (acquiring key technologies, investigating the status of the outpost), risk assessment (outpost defense mechanisms, unknown consciousness hazards, potential interference from prisoners), contingency plans (multi-level evacuation plans, consciousness protection, cooperation with the Blade of Supervision), and the expected mitigation effects on the Earth crisis upon success.
During the report, the crystal cluster of "Crystal Analysis" would occasionally flicker, corresponding to the technical details in the report; the scale ripples of "Hidden Scale" would fluctuate slightly, seemingly assessing the social impact section; while "Shadow" remained like a deep pool, without any reaction.
The report concluded.
After a brief silence, "Crystal Analysis" was the first to speak, its voice a crisp, synthetic sound like clashing crystals: "The need for 'Space-Time Calibration Crystal' and 'Absolute Zero Core' technology is well-argued. But your understanding of the 'Shadow Zone' defense mechanism inside the 'Silent Outpost' is almost zero. Formulating a plan based on 'possibly existing Alpha notes' carries too high a risk factor."
"We possess dual authority as 'sower Inheritor' and 'Blade of Supervision'," Elena responded, "and we have prepared multiple non-intrusive detection and progressive contact protocols. Risks certainly exist, but they are controllable, and the benefits match the current survival needs of our civilization."
A gentle yet direct-to-consciousness resonance came from the fluctuations of "Hidden Scale": "Your team composition reflects a balance of technical, military, and academic expertise. However, the team members all come from the same core circle of civilization, lacking a diverse perspective. When facing completely unknown consciousness phenomena or ethical dilemmas, there may be group blind spots."
Chu Yunshen took over: "We understand this. Therefore, all key decisions, records of consciousness contact, and ethical choice points during the exploration will be synchronized in real-time to the Review Board through Liaison Coordinator. We accept observation and questioning from an external perspective and are willing to make adjustments during the mission based on reasonable suggestions."
This was a clever response, acknowledging the shortcomings while pulling the Review Board into a framework of "shared responsibility."
Finally, the darkness of "Shadow" finally moved. There was no sound, but a cold, absolutely rational, and unquestionable consciousness message was transmitted directly into everyone's minds:
"Mission approved. Additional conditions:"
"One, the exploration team's entire consciousness activity and key physiological data must be provided to the Review Board via an open real-time monitoring channel."
"Two, if the 'Shadow Zone' highest defense mechanism is triggered and it is determined that it will lead to uncontrollable risk spillage (including but not limited to releasing unknown threats, causing large-scale consciousness contamination, or activating irreversible cosmic-level phenomena), the Review Board reserves the right to forcibly intervene and terminate the mission, using means not limited to remote command override, ship power lockdown, or... physical elimination."
"Three, during the mission, any discoveries or clues involving the third part of the 'Alpha Original Intent Emblem' must be reported immediately and in full. This item involves the Council's top-secret heritage management regulations and must not be disposed of privately."
"Accept, and the mission may continue. Refuse, or conceal, and it will be deemed a serious violation, potentially leading to an immediate ruling of failure."
The conditions were harsh, especially the "immediate reporting" in the third clause and the implied power of "physical elimination" in the second clause. But humanity had no choice.
Lin Shen, representing the human side, responded calmly: "We accept all conditions."
The two points of light on "Shadow" flickered, seemingly indicating approval. Immediately after, the projections began to fade.
"Pre-mission briefing concluded. Departure in seventy-two hours." The voice of "Crystal Analysis" sounded last, "May logic and order guide your choices, and bring... the best result for everyone."
The Review Board's projections vanished. Only the human side and Liaison Coordinator remained in the diplomatic hall.
Liaison Coordinator turned to them, their black crystal eyes sweeping over them: "Conditions recorded. The monitoring channel will be automatically established when the pioneer departs. I wish you... good luck."
He also turned and left.
In the hall, only the silent group remained, along with the "death warrant" they had just signed, filled with unknown risks.
Zhao Yan stretched his shoulders, his bones making a slight cracking sound: "Alright, what needed to be discussed has been discussed. The rest is to go and pry open that damn 'Silent Outpost' and get what we need."
Elena put away the documents: "I'll go do the final equipment check."
Chu Yunshen looked at Lin Shen: "I will do my best to stabilize the rear."
Lin Shen nodded, not saying much more.
He walked back to the command center, looking at the big screen where the pioneer was quietly docked in the Cradle's shipyard, its streamlined hull gleaming with a cold metallic luster under the lights.
Seventy-two hours later, this ship would carry twelve people (including the unknown "Ashes") toward the edge of the Kuiper Belt, toward that secret silent for five hundred thousand years, and under the cold gaze of the Galactic Council examiners.
And in the encrypted cargo hold at the bottom of the ship, next to the life support pod containing Sarah Chen's consciousness crystal, an inconspicuous black box was firmly secured.
Inside was the first physical implementation device of the "Consciousness Separation Protocol" that Zhou Zhe's team had worked overnight to complete—the "Mind Barrier" prototype.
Hopefully, it would never be activated.
Lin Shen turned off the main lights of the command center, leaving only the faint glow of the screens reflecting on his silent and resolute profile.
Volume Seven, Civilization Defense, concludes here.
The answer sheet has been partially submitted, the additional questions have been completed with difficulty, and new out-of-syllabus questions are vaguely emerging.
And now, they are about to leave the examination hall, heading toward a true, destiny-defining...