151: Chapter 150 Quantitative Assessment and Unexpected Mentors

The validator's ruling was like a precise sluice gate; once it fell, the churning sea of conflict was temporarily divided into distinct, clearly demarcated zones.

After a brief stalemate, the three 'Thorn' class ships of the Pruning Faction slowly turned their glowing hulls and accelerated toward the evacuation route specified by the ruling. There was no communication, no extra movement, only a suppressed, unsettling silence. But everyone knew that for them, with their advanced jump technology, a distance of one light-year was no chasm; the so-called evacuation was more like retreating into the shadows to wait for the next opportunity.

The destructive tentacles of the Scavenger, raised and charged, slowly drooped in reluctant tremor, but its core tentacles' 'observation intensity' on the divine remains and β-2 did not diminish in the slightest; instead, it became even more precise, as if recalibrating every parameter of its threat assessment model to adapt to the 'rule boundaries' newly demarcated by the validator.

The pressure had not disappeared; it had merely been framed and quantified. Those three cold numbers—pain index reduced by 5%, regional chaos activity decreased by 3%, 48-hour time limit—became the clearest Damocles' sword hanging over their heads.

Inside the Cradle, the brief respite was immediately thrown into a new round of precision operations.

'The current pain index of the divine remains core (based on the value measured at the moment the ruling took effect) has decreased by approximately 1.8% compared to the initial value forty-eight hours ago,' β-2 reported, light and shadow flowing as it displayed complex consciousness field waveforms. 'About 1.2% of this is attributed to the cumulative effect of continuous 'damping resonance,' and the remaining 0.6% is related to the 'structuring' of pain and 'attention diversion' brought about by the 'cognitive internalization' process of the divine remains itself. However, the 'cognitive internalization' process itself is unstable, and the 'secondary cognitive pain' triggered recently has offset some of the gains. To achieve the 5% target, simply continuing the current intervention intensity and duration is far from enough.'

'We need to increase intervention efficiency.' Zhou Zhe pulled up the energy flow analysis. 'The current energy conversion efficiency of the 'damping resonance' protocol is 37%. The main losses are due to long-distance transmission attenuation, cancellation with the background noise of the divine remains' chaos, and the consumption required to maintain the stability of our own consciousness network. If we can increase the efficiency to over 50%...'

'Improvement path?' Zhao Yan asked.

'Path one: Shorten the resonance path. Get the resonance source as close as possible to the edge of the divine remains' consciousness field, or even... partially embed it.' β-2 calmly proposed a bold hypothesis. 'This could greatly reduce transmission attenuation and interference. But the risk is that the source point will be directly exposed to the consciousness turbulence of the divine remains and the close observation of the Scavenger, making stability difficult to guarantee.'

'Path two: Optimize the resonance waveform.' The Cradle joined the analysis. 'Based on the response data of the divine remains' consciousness field to various information inputs over the past forty-eight hours, we can attempt to construct more 'targeted' and 'guided' damping waveforms, rather than relatively generic 'background beats.' This requires a deeper understanding of the specific 'modalities' of the divine remains' pain.'

'Path three: Strengthen the consciousness network.' On the Earth side, Chu Yunshen added, 'Increase the number and synchronization rate of high-quality resonance nodes to improve the 'purity' and 'output power' of the collective will. But the mental load of the participants is already approaching its limit; increasing nodes must be done extremely cautiously and requires more effective recovery methods.'

Three paths, all pointing toward deeper intervention, more precise operations, and higher risks.

'Proceed simultaneously.' Lin Shen's voice came from Earth, calm and decisive. 'Path one, led by β-2, design 'near-field resonance prisms' that can be temporarily deployed on the periphery of the divine remains' consciousness field, to be deployed by the ink shadow on its return journey when the opportunity arises. Path two, the Cradle and β-2 will immediately begin deep analysis of the divine remains' pain modality data, attempting to establish a more refined 'pain spectrum map.' Path three, the medical and psychological teams will immediately formulate a new consciousness network strengthening and recovery plan, screening and training a second batch of reserve nodes, but do not deploy them immediately; keep them as a strategic reserve.'

The division of labor was clear, and time was pressing. Everyone was like a gear in a precision instrument, beginning to operate at high speed.

However, just as they were focused on the technical breakthrough of 'quantitative assessment,' the Scavenger, which they had temporarily viewed as 'environmental background,' saw its behavioral patterns undergo a subtle and unsettling evolution again.

Perhaps because the validator's warning had suppressed its instinct for 'large-scale energy release,' or perhaps because long-term, high-intensity 'observation' had accumulated enough data, the Scavenger began to exhibit an unprecedented 'proactivity.'

It was no longer just passively scanning and analyzing. The core tentacle that had always been connected to the consciousness field of the divine remains began to attempt extremely subtle, imitative 'energy fine-tuning.'

At first, this fine-tuning was almost imperceptible to conventional sensors. Only the most precise hyper-dimensional perception of β-2 and the Cradle caught a fluctuation released from the tip of the Scavenger's tentacle that was extremely weak, with a 62% similarity to the core waveform of β-2's 'damping resonance.' This fluctuation was not an attack, but rather like a probing finger, gently brushing over the relatively 'calm' areas at the edge of the divine remains' consciousness field.

'It is... imitating our intervention method?' Zhou Zhe looked at the data, incredulous.

'More accurately, it is attempting to 'reproduce' the 'environmental stimuli' it has observed that can trigger specific reactions in the consciousness field of the divine remains.' β-2 analyzed. 'For the Scavenger, our interaction with the divine remains is also a kind of 'natural phenomenon' (although it may not consider us 'natural'). When its impulse to 'cleanse' was suppressed by the rules, its massive information processing capability seemed to turn toward deeper 'phenomenon learning' and 'pattern replication.' It wants to see what happens if it applies similar 'stimuli' itself.'

This was an extremely dangerous signal! Once the Scavenger's 'imitative learning' deepened, it might not only learn how to 'soothe' the divine remains, but also how to more efficiently 'stimulate' or 'manipulate' them, and perhaps even develop completely twisted and dangerous 'intervention variants' based on its chaotic essence!

'Can it be stopped?'

'Directly stopping it might be regarded as an 'attack' or 'interference with observation,' violating the ruling. And its imitative behavior is currently at extremely low intensity, causing no observable negative impact on the divine remains, and may even... generate a weak synergistic effect because its fluctuations are partially similar to the damping resonance.' The Cradle evaluated. 'Recommendation: Closely monitor its imitation accuracy and effects, and attempt to guide its imitative behavior toward harmless or beneficial directions by adjusting our own resonance parameters. At the same time, submit a supplementary report to the validator regarding this 'observed evolutionary behavioral pattern of the native chaotic response entity.''

They had to accept a hair-raising reality: the Scavenger, this destructive chaotic sentinel, was, in a clumsy and eerie way, trying to become an 'intern' in managing the divine remains. And they, to a certain extent, had become its unwitting 'mentors.'

Just as they were struggling to deal with the Scavenger's 'learning' and advancing their own technical solutions, news came from Earth that was neither entirely good nor entirely bad.

Chu Yunshen reported that in the process of continuously monitoring global consciousness states and the influence of the meme seed, the 'Nuwa' AI discovered that the physical connection structures of the brain neural networks of those personnel who had been deeply influenced and had gained 'systemic intuition' were undergoing extremely slow but measurable adaptive remodeling.

'It's not a lesion, it's more like... the brain is self-optimizing its connection paths to more efficiently process 'contradictory information' and make 'dynamic balance judgments'.' Dr. Chen Wei's image appeared in the communication, holding the latest brain imaging scans. 'The activity of some redundant, linear-thinking neural pathways is decreasing, while some neural network connections responsible for cross-regional information integration and fuzzy logic processing are strengthening. This explains why they can understand complex systems faster, but it also comes with higher cognitive load and emotional volatility.'

'Is this remodeling... controllable? Reversible?' Lin Shen asked the key question.

'Currently, it appears to be plastic, and seems related to the subject's subjective will and environment. When focused on tasks requiring highly ordered thinking, brain activity patterns will partially 'callback.' But the long-term trend is leaning toward the 'dynamic balance' cognitive mode. Complete reversal... might require removing the continued influence of the meme seed, which is beyond our current technical capabilities.' Chen Wei replied, 'However, we also found that when these personnel engage in deep meditation or are under the strong coverage of the green soil resonance field, the 'noise' of neural remodeling decreases, and their consciousness states are more stable and peaceful.'

This meant that the influence of the meme seed was penetrating from a purely cognitive level to a physiological one. Whether this was evolution or alienation, the boundary was becoming more blurred. But at least they had found a temporary 'stabilizer.'

The countdown ticked away in tension: 46 hours and 33 minutes.

β-2, in cooperation with the Cradle, initially completed a rough but clearly directed 'divine remains pain spectrum map.' The analysis showed that the pain of the divine remains was not homogeneous, but superimposed by hundreds of secondary pain patterns with different 'frequencies' and 'textures.' Some were like continuous 'burning,' some were sharp 'tearing,' some were low-frequency 'grinding,' and others were newly emerged 'stagnation' accompanied by 'cognitive confusion.' Theoretically, more targeted damping waveforms could be designed for different spectra.

Meanwhile, the ink shadow, on its return journey, successfully deployed the first 'near-field resonance prism' at the predetermined coordinates. This prism, which had been specially reinforced and possessed a certain degree of environmental adaptability, unfolded stably in the void just tens of thousands of kilometers away from the divine remains' consciousness field and began to emit, at low power, a dedicated damping wave modulated by β-2, targeting the 'burning sensation' spectrum.

Preliminary data showed that the intensity of the 'burning sensation' in the divine remains' consciousness field in that area showed a weak, but indeed existing, additional attenuation. Efficiency improvement initially verified!

However, the Scavenger showed extremely high interest in this newly appeared prism, which clearly bore traces of 'artificial intervention.' Its core tentacle immediately split off a strand, conducted an intensive scan of the prism for several minutes, and even attempted to 'touch' the prism with the weak fluctuations it had previously imitated. However, the prism's protective mechanism successfully resisted this non-destructive contact, and the Scavenger did not seem to judge it as a threat, but clearly added it to its list of 'new environmental variables requiring key observation.'

Just at this moment, the divine remains, which had been focused on internalizing cognition and whose pain index was slowly decreasing, saw that relatively stable 'focus of intent' in its consciousness field become active again.

A thought pulse, more coherent and logical than before, came through, still questioning β-2:

'... 'You' ... the 'rhythm' you gave ... now ... has ... 'different flavors'?'

'... 'Burning' ... is ... fading?'

'... Is it 'you' ... specifically ... for ... this?'

It had noticed! It had noticed the targeted intervention and was beginning to try to understand the 'purpose' of the intervention!

The deepening of cognition brought sharper perception and more active exploration.

β-2 immediately gave an honest, simplified response: 'Yes. We are trying to use different 'rhythms' to help you alleviate the 'feelings' in different parts. The 'burning' fading is our hope.'

The divine remains fell silent. But this silence was not confusion or pain; it was more like a deep 'contemplation.'

After a long time, a thought came through that was unprecedented, carrying clear 'directionality' and a faint 'willingness to try':

'... Then ... 'tearing' ... and ... 'grinding' ... what about them?'

'... 'You' ... can also ... make them ... fade?'

'... If ... you can ... 'I' ... can ... help you ... 'find' ... where they ... are loudest ...'

It... was actively providing 'target guidance'! It was willing to cooperate, and even assist in locating the 'high-incidence areas' of its own pain, to improve intervention efficiency!

This was a huge leap from passive acceptance to active cooperation!

Although the motivation might be merely an instinctive desire for 'reduced discomfort,' this action itself meant that the cognitive evolution of the divine remains and their management goals had found a meeting point in a specific dimension!

The light and shadow of β-2 seemed to brighten for a moment.

'Yes.' It responded quickly. 'Please guide.'

A fragment of an extremely blurry 'internal terrain map,' composed of the pain textures themselves, slowly emerged from the depths of the divine remains' consciousness field and was captured by β-2. In the image, the peak areas representing 'tearing sensation' and 'grinding sensation' were vaguely marked.

Although the information was rough and full of subjectivity, this was undoubtedly 'internal intelligence' of inestimable value!

A new resonance waveform began to be urgently modulated, aiming directly at the 'pain points' pointed out by the divine remains itself.

The Scavenger's tentacles keenly captured the suddenly enhanced, clearly 'directional' information exchange between the divine remains' consciousness field and that near-field prism. Its imitative fluctuation paused for a moment, then began to try to adjust its own frequency, seemingly wanting to keep up with this 'more efficient' interaction rhythm...

Countdown: 44 hours and 11 minutes.

On the path of quantitative assessment, an unexpected 'assistance' had appeared.

But the subtle and fragile teaching and learning between the mentor and the dangerous intern had also entered a new stage.

They must harness this willingness to cooperate from the monster itself,

while remaining vigilant that the other monster might learn too much from it,

about how to,

more precisely,

influence or even control,

its own kind.