142: "Sanctuary" passage

A soft, emerald light emanated from within the cave.

Then, a figure slowly rose from the cave entrance.

Its form was completely different from any construct encountered before.

It was approximately three meters tall; its main structure was no longer an chaotic mixture of flesh and metal, but rather an elegant, crystalline geometric shape, translucent emerald green throughout, with a rich life source essence flowing within.

Its head was a smooth polyhedron, devoid of facial features, yet it exuded gentle and intelligent mental fluctuations.

It had no obvious weapon structures, its limbs were slender, and its movements were fluid and serene.

It hovered above the cave entrance, its polyhedral head slowly rotating, seemingly looking in the direction where the reconnaissance team was hidden.

A peaceful but clear mental message, like ripples, spread out, directly impacting the robot's sensors:

"Outsiders... cease advance... this is the 'Tranquil Nursery'... not a place of war..."

This message was not an attack; it was more like a warning and... an admonition?

The reconnaissance team did not respond, instead transmitting this sudden situation, along with the captured mental message waveform, back to Anvil Base immediately.

In the command center, Brian and Spirit Eye received the images and data from the front line.

"A new unit! It looks so... beautiful?"

Spirit Eye blinked, looking at the crystal-like creature on the light screen: "It seems to be able to communicate?"

Brian also showed an interested expression.

This unit was different from all the aggressive creatures encountered before.

It seemed to represent another side of this life network—a non-combat, perhaps more focused on maintenance and growth aspect.

"Tranquil Nursery... not a place of war..."

He repeated the mental message: "Analyze its mental fluctuations and compare them with the life source essence information captured previously."

"The fluctuation frequency is highly consistent! Master, the life source essence fluctuations it emits are very pure, and... it doesn't seem to have any hostility? At least it hasn't actively attacked," Spirit Eye analyzed.

"Attempt to establish contact with it."

Brian decided: "Using our simulated 'high-order command' fluctuation, envelop a universal information code expressing 'desire for communication' and send it. Be careful, maintain the lowest power to avoid being misinterpreted as an attack."

"Alright!"

An extremely faint fluctuation, mixed with 'authority' and friendly information, was emitted from a sky patroller at the rear, transmitted directionally towards the crystal-like creature.

The crystal-like creature seemed to sense this fluctuation; the light of its emerald body flickered slightly, and a mental message came again, this time with a hint of... confusion?

"Command acknowledged... but... source... unknown outsider... what do you... seek?"

It acknowledged the authority, but questioned the source of that authority!

Light flashed in Brian's eyes.

An opportunity!

"Tell it we seek understanding and knowledge. We come for the vitality of this world, not for destruction."

He said to Spirit Eye.

This was not entirely a lie; at least, the study of life source essence itself involved an understanding of vitality.

The message was compiled and sent.

The crystal-like creature was silent for a moment, and the speed of the life source essence flowing within it seemed to accelerate slightly.

Finally, it sent a longer message:

"Understanding knowledge... vitality... the 'Sanctuary' holds... ancient answers... but... path guardians... still remain... outsiders... your existence... is a variable in itself..."

The message abruptly stopped there, and the crystal-like creature slowly sank into the cave entrance. The moss and fungal mats on the ground re-closed, as if nothing had ever happened.

But the information it left behind caused Brian to fall into deep thought.

The Sanctuary holds answers, but it is guarded.

And their existence is considered a variable by the intelligence of this plane.

"It seems the peaceful exploration phase is over."

Brian murmured softly, his gaze once again turning eastward.

"The real challenge lies in that 'Sanctuary'. We need more thorough preparation."

He turned to Spirit Eye:

"Order the reconnaissance team to withdraw to the edge of the control zone and stand by. We need to devise an exploration plan for the 'Sanctuary', a plan that can deal with the ancient guardians."

The path of conquest, beneath its seemingly peaceful surface, was about to touch the deepest secrets and defensive core of this plane.

"Sanctuary? ancient guardians?!"

Brian's fingers tapped unconsciously on the edge of the control panel, his gaze profound.

The information provided by the crystal-like creature, though little, was worth a thousand gold pieces.

It confirmed the existence and importance of the core area, and hinted at the obstacles to reaching it.

"Spirit Eye, retrieve all reconnaissance data regarding the 'Sanctuary' area for in-depth analysis. Focus on identifying energy anomalies, spatial structure stability, and any signs that might be related to the guardians."

"Already doing it, Master!" Spirit Eye replied:

"Combining the information revealed by 'Mr. Crystal' just now, and the energy flow we captured before, it's basically confirmed that the 'Sanctuary' is located right in the center of this interference zone, protected by layers of distributed network nodes."

On the tactical sandbox, the core area of the eastern interference zone was highlighted, where energy reactions were densest, and spatial readings showed subtle distortions.

"As for the guardians..."

Spirit Eye switched several views, her tone carrying a hint of uncertainty.

"No giant units like the previous behemoths or broods have been found. However, the energy field in this core area is very peculiar; it... it seems to repel all forms of energy except life source essence, especially our arcane and mechanical energy. Forcibly breaking in might trigger unpredictable energy backlash or spatial disorder."

Brian nodded slightly.

This invisible guardianship was often more troublesome than visible behemoths.

"What is the progress of our authority key cracking? Can it cope with this rule-based repulsion?"

"The encryption of that core node is too complex, like a tangled mess!" Spirit Eye's small face wrinkled up, a little discouraged:

"The information obtained from a one-way channel is limited. To get the real key, it might require... it might require more direct contact, or waiting for a breakthrough from the main body."

Directly contacting the core node was too risky, easily alerting the enemy.

The main body's cracking would take time.

Brian pondered for a moment, a flash of determination in his eyes.

"Since we can't outsmart them for now, then prepare for a direct assault. We cannot wait indefinitely."

He looked at Spirit Eye: "Based on our existing regional pacification and management authority, to what extent can we affect that interference zone? Can we perform limited environmental modification or path creation?"

"If we don't touch the core area, and only work on the periphery..." Spirit Eye tilted her head and calculated:

"We can try to use authority commands to pacify a safe passage, suppressing the activity of nodes on both sides of the passage. But this process will be very slow, and once we approach the core area, the authority's effect will definitely decay sharply."

"That's enough." Brian nodded:

"Immediately begin planning a safe passage solution to the periphery of the 'Sanctuary'. At the same time, formulate multiple contingency plans: including infiltration reconnaissance using authority, small-scale elite assaults, and... if necessary, fire preparation to forcibly tear open the defenses."

His tone was calm but carried undeniable power: "We need to make the 'ancient guardians' of this plane understand that silence and avoidance will not solve the problem. Some dialogues must take place."

The command was issued, and the entire Anvil Base and the vast war machine under its control once again operated efficiently.

Spirit Eye began to specifically plan the channel opening project leading to the "Sanctuary."