147: success

"gods bottle core activated! Concept Stripping Protocol injected!!"

In the center of the "fortress-class" platform, the polyhedral core, woven of dark gold and silver-gray, erupted with an unprecedented, blinding light! A highly condensed, massive stream of information energy carrying the Human Federation's definition of order, like an invisible probe and scalpel, stabbed fiercely into the core of the Taotie Prototype, which had been slowed by time stagnation!

"Roar—!!!"

A silent roar, filled with even more pain and rage, but also mixed with a hint of unbelievable terror, exploded in everyone's consciousness! The dark red energy mass twisted and struggled violently, attempting to resist this external force that sought to define and decompose it. The concepts of "Devouring" and "Deprivation" within it, which had not yet fully solidified, clashed violently and annihilated with the order concepts injected by the Human Federation, erupting in large swaths of distorted, black-and-red energy arcs that caused the surrounding slowed time field to fluctuate slightly.

"Target resistance is intense! Concept stripping is encountering backlash! gods bottle core load has reached 87%! Some binding chains are showing signs of melting!" The Monitor Officer's voice was hoarse.

"custodian! Increase the order definition output power! Focus on the stability and containment sub-concepts! Suppress its activity!" Lei Huan roared into the communicator.

Far on the other side of the galaxy, the logic core of the "custodian" flared with brilliance! The energy from the "abyss of order" was guided and transformed more precisely, turning into a more "mandatory" and "aggressive" concept pulse, continuously bombarding the core logic of the "Taotie Prototype." Simultaneously, it began attempting to use the extreme longing of the Human Federation's collective will to "pollute" and "overwrite" that newborn deity's pure and primitive desire to "devour."

This was a brutal tug-of-war occurring at the conceptual level, between existence and nothingness. The binding chains of the "gods bottle" flickered in and out within the energy arcs, letting out groans of being overburdened. Under the impact of both forces, the edges of the "time stagnation field" began to show unstable ripples.

"Load at 92%! gods bottle structural integrity warning!" The Engineering Officer's scream rang out.

"Hold on! It's almost finished! I can feel its 'definition' loosening! Its 'hunger' is being confused by our order!" A Psionic Analyst (strictly screened and controlled) deeply connected to the "custodian" sensing system clutched his head, his voice trembling but full of discovery.

As if to verify his words, the struggling of the dark red energy mass began to diminish, and within its core, the outline of the blurred form seemed to show traces of unstable, dark golden "impurities." In the roars it emitted, that pure "hunger" began to be mixed with a chaotic noise, as if it were questioning what it actually was and what it should eat.

"Order pollution is taking effect! Target concept stability is dropping! Now is the time—Containment Protocol, final stage, initiate!!" Lei Huan seized this fleeting opportunity and issued the ultimate command.

The "gods bottle" core, that polyhedron, suddenly collapsed inward! All the binding chains snapped tight, turning into countless interwoven runes carrying the concepts of mandatory "containment" and "silence," branding themselves fiercely into the energy essence of the "Taotie Prototype"! The time stagnation field also compressed and solidified inward simultaneously!

"No—!!!"

A final silent shriek, filled with indignation, rage, and a bizarre "sorrow" of being strangled at birth, flashed through everyone's consciousness.

The dark red energy vortex, along with the blurred form at its center, was forcibly compressed and pulled, turning into a blazing stream of energy where black, red, and gold were entangled. Like being sucked into a black hole, it was completely swallowed by the collapsing "gods bottle" core!

The polyhedral core jolted violently, its surface shimmering with light as countless complex runes and energy patterns flashed and flowed frantically, as if a wild beast were imprisoned inside, thrashing about. But under the continuous infusion of "abyss of order" energy and the assistance of "stasis dust," its structure stubbornly stabilized. Finally, the light gradually receded, and the core's volume shrank several times, becoming a dark metal cube about ten meters square, its surface flowing with slowly crawling black and red patterns. It floated quietly in the center of the "fortress-class" platform, with only a very faint, dark golden light at the core, pulsing like a heartbeat, showing that it was not a dead thing inside.

"gods bottle containment complete. External energy fluctuations have subsided. Target Taotie Prototype confirmed captured." Lei Huan's voice, carrying immense fatigue and a hint of unbelievable success, rang out in the deathly silent communication channel.

Success! They had captured a god! A Warp divinity entity!

After a brief silence, the Command Center and all participating units erupted in suppressed, survival-like whispers. But this cheer was quickly replaced by more serious orders.

"Prometheus Task Force, immediately follow the highest evacuation plan and return to The Other Shore-1! Activate all stealth and interference measures along the way! The gods bottle will be carried directly by the flagship Qianyuan; activate the strongest internal blockade and monitoring!" Lei Huan regained his composure. "All participating personnel, enter level-one isolation and psychological evaluation status. All data from this operation is to be encrypted immediately and sealed with the highest clearance."

At "The Other Shore-1" outpost, an unprecedented "Divinity Sample Containment Facility" with multi-layered physical and conceptual protection was already prepared.

And at "Keystone-1," Han Zhe looked at the transmitted image of that quietly floating, dark metal cube, remaining silent for a long time.

"custodian, report."

Prometheus operation successful. The target entity has been contained within the gods bottle. Preliminary scan: its core conceptual activity has not been completely extinguished, but it has been deeply polluted and suppressed by the Human Federation's order definition, remaining in an extremely unstable but controllable 'stasis' state. The "custodian"'s voice remained cold, but there seemed to be a hint of... indefinable "satisfaction" within it? Beginning deep analysis. Estimated findings: divinity concept formation mechanisms, aggregation laws of Warp energy in a non-Chaos-polluted environment, the essence of 'Devouring' and 'Deprivation' concepts, and potential pathways for safely extracting, transforming, or utilizing the power of such entities.

"Very good." Han Zhe slowly exhaled, but his gaze became even deeper. "Remember, this is not the end of a victory, but the opening of another, perhaps more dangerous, door."

"Order: The research on the 'gods bottle' will be overseen by providence, with the custodian and technical teams assisting. Research principle: absolute safety, gradual progress. Any experiment that might activate or release the target entity must be directly approved by the highest Command Center."

"At the same time, accelerate the Pastoral Plan. We need more resources to support our response to the attention that may be drawn by this god-capturing operation in the future."

The darkness of the Extragalactic systems remained deep. But the torches lit by the Human Federation within it had already illuminated certain taboo corners that would make even deities tremble. They had tamed energy, modified their own kind, kept Aliens as pets, stared back at the Empire's gods, and now, they had imprisoned a newborn god.

How much further can this path go? What awaits them ahead—greater power, or more complete destruction? Only time, and the Human Federation's never-satisfied, cold will, can provide the answer.