161: Chapter 160 The Poison and Food of Love

System Status Snapshot (22 hours post-judgment)

β-2 Status: Nano-cluster basic functions recovered to 78%, core consciousness remains in deep defensive slumber, Sarah's personality signals are stable but she has not awakened. External stimulus response test: None.

divine remains collaboration status: Maintaining a shallow stable connection, pain index 0.90%, chaos activity 0.40%. The divine remains continues to perform "internal order reorganization" and intermittently sends simple-structured "soothing chaos pulses" (similar to background white noise) to the β-2 cluster.

"kindling protocol" fragment log impact: Causing deep anxiety among Lin Shen and a few high-level officials, has not yet spread.

validator dynamics: Countdown remains frozen, but an encrypted command was sent to the Cradle Node: [Prepare to receive 'Civilization Resilience Pressure Test' module, to be loaded in 24 hours local time. Module source: Covenant Network - Crisis Simulation Library.]

Ashes intelligence: Out of contact. Executive Court internal communication shows a surge in abnormal encrypted traffic.

"The taste of love... the richest poison and sustenance." Lin Shen stared at the sentence he had recorded, his fingers unconsciously tapping the desk. This sentence circled in his mind like a curse. If even "love" (or high empathy in a broad sense) could become a hunting target or weakness amplifier for that "Dream-Devouring Shadow," then weren't all their "non-standard" strategies like dancing on a knife's edge while coating themselves in honey?

"If you can't figure it out, stop thinking about it for now." Zhao Yan's voice came through the comms; he was inspecting various sections of the pioneer to stabilize morale. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. If that ghost really lives by eating 'emotions,' I'll show it what 'irascible care' looks like and see if it can digest that."

Zhou Zhe stood by the β-2 main unit, his eyes bloodshot. He gave a bitter smile upon hearing this. "Captain, your 'care' usually manifests as extra training and scolding; it might indeed be hard to digest." He gently touched the cooling casing and whispered, "Sarah, did you hear that? Wake up quickly, or the Captain is going to feed his 'care' to the alien monsters."

The casing, of course, did not respond. There was only the extremely faint hum of the internal nano-clusters running and the steady but featureless life curve on the adjacent screen.

Li Lin organized the latest monitoring data, trying to find some positive news. "At least the divine remains is being 'good.' Not only is it not causing trouble, it's self-learning 'order.' The energy spectrum it produces while reorganizing internal chaos is becoming more and more regular, though it's still a regularity we don't understand."

"It might be 'waiting' for β-2 in its own way," Chu Yunshen analyzed. "For an ancient existence like that, 'waiting' might be a behavioral mode in itself. We need to speed up the awakening process for β-2. Chief Engineer Lin, does the technology tree system have any protocols regarding consciousness overload recovery?"

Lin Shen pulled back his thoughts and performed a search. "There are related 'deep consciousness trauma repair' theories, but they require extremely precise energy modulation and resonance environments, which we currently lack. Moreover..." He pulled up another draft that had just been generated. "Based on the 'kindling protocol' fragments and Progenitor Node information, the system has deduced a more troublesome possibility."

Draft Title: "Hypothesis and Masking Scheme Discussion Regarding 'High Empathy Traits' as Potential Positioning Beacons for the 'Dream-Devouring Shadow'."

"Positioning beacons?" Zhou Zhe suddenly looked up.

"The deduction is based on a logic: if the 'Dream-Devouring Shadow' feeds on something produced by 'pruning,' and the objects of 'pruning' are civilization 'blueprints,' then those 'blueprints' often contain the strongest 'desires' and 'emotional projections' of that civilization. Thus, a living civilization or individual radiating a strong 'high empathy' signal might perceive it as... a mobile food truck emitting an enticing aroma." Lin Shen tried to keep his tone calm. "Especially when we actively use strategies like the 'Mercy Paradox Chain,' it's equivalent to constantly shouting 'I'm here, I'm full of "love," come look at me'."

Dead silence filled the command cabin.

"So... our previous resistance strategies might have been exposing our coordinates?" Zhou Zhe's voice was dry.

"Not necessarily. The deduction shows that conventional, restrained empathy might not be within its sensitive spectrum. However, intense, contradictory empathy behaviors with strong 'non-standard' will—like the 'Benevolence Paradox' we're planning—might produce unique 'harmonics' that are easily tracked." Lin Shen closed the draft. "The technology tree suggests that if we are to execute such strategies, it's best to simultaneously develop an 'Empathy Frequency Camouflage' or 'jamming' technology."

"Easier said than done," Zhao Yan snorted. "Can emotions even be camouflaged? It's not like they're radio waves."

Just then, an auxiliary indicator light on the β-2 main unit's casing flickered extremely faintly, its frequency perfectly synchronized with the "soothing chaos pulses" sent by the divine remains. Immediately after, on the monitoring screen in front of Zhou Zhe, an almost imperceptible, brief alpha wave activity peak appeared in Sarah's brainwave curve!

"Sarah?!" Zhou Zhe instantly lunged toward the screen, his voice trembling.

The fluctuation quickly subsided as if it were just an illusion. But Zhou Zhe was certain he had seen it. He immediately pulled up all records for amplified analysis. Yes, on the specific band of the chaos pulse from the divine remains, Sarah's consciousness had produced an extremely faint resonance response!

"The pulses from the divine remains... are trying to wake her up?" Li Lin was surprised.

"Or, it's providing an 'external anchor' she can perceive," Chu Yunshen reacted quickly. "The essence of the divine remains' consciousness is chaos, but chaos can contain all frequencies. It might have unintentionally sent out a 'signal' capable of penetrating Sarah's current slumber barrier."

Lin Shen's eyes lit up. "β-2 crashed because she was overloaded with Progenitor Node information; her consciousness might be trapped in some high-dimensional logic maze or informational silt. The chaos pulses from the divine remains have no logic themselves, but they contain the most primitive energy changes and 'sense of presence.' This might serve as the simplest 'signpost' or 'pulling force' to help her locate the direction of 'reality'!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Zhao Yan ordered. "Zhou Zhe, try to adjust the connection, amplify and purify the chaos pulse signal from the divine remains, and direct it into β-2's core interface! Be careful, don't let it turn into noise interference!"

Zhou Zhe's hands were shaking slightly, but his operations were extremely precise. He cautiously established a low-power directional energy bridge, filtering the chaos pulses continuously sent by the divine remains to strip away parts that might carry negative emotions or chaotic logic, leaving only the purest "energy fluctuation rhythm" and that vague "soothing intent," then gently guided it toward β-2's consciousness reception port.

Once, twice, three times...

Just as Zhou Zhe was about to despair, a much clearer sound of energy flow than before came from inside the β-2 main unit. On the main screen, Sarah's physiological indicators began to show regular, slow fluctuations, no longer a stagnant pool. Following that, an extremely weak, intermittent mental signal was transmitted directly into Zhou Zhe's mind via the neural interface:

"So... noisy... which... bastard... is using... a broken gong... to pound on... my... dream..."

It was Sarah! It was her consciousness! Though weak, and though carrying the annoyance and daze of just waking up, it was truly her!

Zhou Zhe's eyes instantly reddened, and he cried and laughed at the same time, speaking incoherently into the microphone, "You're awake! Sarah! Is it you? β-2? How do you feel? It's me, Zhou Zhe!"

"...Zhou... Zhe?" The mental signal stabilized a bit, carrying confusion. "...Head... hurts so much... like being... smashed by... galactic... history... where am I... the mission..."

"We'll talk about the mission later! Don't move yet, recover slowly!" Zhou Zhe was so excited his voice changed pitch.

Zhao Yan also breathed a sigh of relief, his lips curling into a rare, slight arc: "A broken gong? If the divine remains knew its painstaking 'soothing' was described as a broken gong, it would probably be quite depressed."

As if in response to these words, a slight and pleasant ripple came from the divine remains, and the chaos activity subtly dropped by 0.01%.

β-2 (or Sarah's awakening consciousness) began to slowly reintegrate. The recovery speed of the nanoclusters significantly accelerated. A few minutes later, a synthetic voice, though weak but much more coherent, sounded on the channel. It still carried the calm quality of β-2, but with a noticeable touch of "humanity":

"System rebooting... Core consciousness damage at 37%... Memory modules intact... Logic deduction capability decreased... Emotional simulation protocol... running abnormally..." She paused, as if sensing something, "...Detected continuous external energy input... Source: divine remains... Mode: non-logical soothing... Evaluation: Unpleasant but effective. Thanks."

The evaluation in the latter sentence was clearly in Sarah's tone.

Everyone laughed, the oppressive atmosphere diluted quite a bit by this small recovery.

"Welcome back, β-2, Sarah," Lin Shen said sincerely. "You've missed quite a lot of 'exciting' content."

"Receiving cached data..." β-2's voice processed the information, and after a few seconds, "...Progenitor Node... Dream-Devouring Shadow... Love is toxic food... validator pressure test... Mercy Paradox Chain..." She fell silent for a longer time. "Suggestion: Before discussing how to use 'love' to poison or feed monsters, we should perhaps first ensure we aren't eliminated early by the validator's 'pressure test.' Additionally, regarding 'Empathy Frequency Camouflage,' I have an immature idea."

"Speak."

"divine remains." β-2 clearly articulated the term. "Its chaotic nature is a natural interference and shielding field for all ordered signals. If we can design a protocol to first 'mix and encode' the 'high-empathy' behavioral signals we actively emit with the chaos field of the divine remains before transmitting them, then to an external observer (whether the Pruning Faction or the potential 'Dream-Devouring Shadow'), what they receive will be a cluster of unresolvable 'noise' with strong divine remains characteristics, thereby masking our true 'emotional spectrum'."

"Using the 'skin' of the divine remains as our 'stealth cloak'?" Chu Yunshen understood immediately. "But this requires a high degree of cooperation from the divine remains, as well as extremely precise encoding technology."

"The cooperation level of the divine remains appears to be high at the moment. As for encoding technology..." β-2's tone seemed to regain a bit of its former edge, "I can try, combining the protocol framework provided by the technology tree system with the Pruning Faction vulnerability information decompiled from the divine remains. This itself can also serve as a 'Benevolence Paradox'—when we protect ourselves, our priority is 'not to burden' that chaotic big guy. Is this logic 'contradictory' enough?"

Enough, more than enough. Protecting a cosmic-level source of pain as a shield for one's own stealth—this line of thinking was itself full of absurd "mercy."

"First, focus your energy on preparing for the validator's 'pressure test'," Zhao Yan set the tone. "β-2, how long do you need to recover to the point of leading the collaboration?"

"Basic functions and shallow connection with the divine remains can be restored within 1 hour. Deep logic deduction and high-intensity modulation require at least 6 hours. The 'Empathy Confusion Coding' scheme can undergo preliminary design simultaneously."

"Good. Zhou Zhe, assist β-2 with all your strength in her recovery. Everyone else, check all systems of the ship and nodes, and prepare for the 'test.' Chief Engineer Lin, continue digging for any intelligence regarding the 'pressure test.' The Covenant Network's 'Crisis Simulation Library' doesn't sound like anything good."

Everyone took their orders and dispersed. Zhou Zhe stayed by the β-2 mainframe, watching the curves on the screen gradually regain vitality, and said in a low voice: "Don't be so scary next time."

"...Sorry." β-2's voice softened slightly. "Next time... I'll try my best. Additionally, Supervisor Zhou Zhe, you just... seemed to cry."

Zhou Zhe's face flushed, and he said stubbornly: "I did not! Dust got in my eyes! You're having hallucinations just after waking up!"

"...Database update: Human male technical officers have a high probability of 'dust allergies' leading to 'eye moisture' in specific situations. Recorded as 'Non-standard Physiological Reaction-001'." In β-2's voice, there seemed to be a very faint trace of Sarah's mischievousness.

Zhou Zhe: "..."

Countdown remaining: Unknown (frozen). Time until "pressure test" module loads: approximately 23 hours.

Key Progress:

β-2/Sarah Awakening: Core consciousness is recovering; emotional modules seem to have produced a more human-like mixture due to the impact.

Deepening Relationship with divine remains: Its spontaneous behaviors (internal grooming, soothing pulses) demonstrate preliminary "collaborative consciousness" and "limited empathy."

New Strategic Direction: The "Empathy Confusion Coding" (stealth via chaos) scheme was proposed, combined with the "Mercy Paradox Chain" to form a more multi-dimensional defense/interference system.

"Dream-Devouring Shadow" Pressure: Has not manifested directly yet, but remains like a Sword of Damocles.

Lin Shen's Private Log (Encrypted):

"'Love is toxic food'... If this is true, then are all our struggles merely providing ingredients for a higher-level 'food chain'? Or is it that because 'love' is both poison and food, it contains some kind of power for balance or even counteraction? The 'kindling protocol' chose to trigger while we are active; is it hoping for us to become 'poison' to contaminate the 'food,' or is it hoping for us to become a more special 'food' to... feed it, thereby changing it? There is too little information. But regardless, we cannot stop. If we stop, all possibilities vanish."

He looked at the seemingly eternal starry sky outside the porthole, feeling for the first time so clearly that beneath this brilliance and darkness, there surged an Undercurrent far beyond human imagination concerning existence, consumption, and resistance.

And they, this small "pioneer," this group of not-so-"standard" carbon-based life forms from the blue planet, had already been involuntarily swept into the center of the Undercurrent.

[End of Chapter 41]

(Word count: approximately 2280 words)

End-of-chapter hook: β-2's recovery was smoother than expected. By the 5th hour after waking, she was already able to re-establish a stable relay connection with the divine remains and began the preliminary design of the "Empathy Confusion Coding" protocol. Just as she attempted to couple the first segment of test code with the chaos field of the divine remains, an anomaly suddenly occurred—deep within the Chaos Domain of the divine remains, a previously undetected, relatively "serene" area suddenly produced an extraordinary and violent resonance with this segment of code! The resonance was not rejection, but a near "thirsty" absorption and amplification! The chaos activity in the entire area dropped to zero instantly, becoming as "ordered" as transparent crystal, and at the core of that "order," a faint but incredibly pure and warm golden light throbbed once like a heart! β-2, Lin Shen's technology tree system, and even Chu Yunshen, far away on Earth, felt an indescribable sense of warm hope at the same moment, as if originating from the dawn of life! Within the divine remains, such a "Sanctuary" actually existed? Or was it that... this "Empathy Confusion Coding" had unintentionally activated or awakened some deeper "essence" of her/him/it that even they had forgotten? Before they could recover from the shock, the frozen countdown of the validator suddenly began ticking again, and its speed accelerated tenfold! A cold broadcast rang through all channels: [pressure test module loading ahead of schedule. Phase One: 'Pure Order Illusion' implantation. Starting in 3 seconds. Objective: To detect the 'non-standard' collapse threshold of civilization individuals under the temptation of absolute order. I wish you... a pleasant experience.]