86: Science and Technology Data

"'The Watchers Library'..." the Chief Technologist murmured, eyes flashing with a near-fanatical light. "If those technical principles are real and can be digested by us... the wall of sighs will be indestructible, a method to purify the pollution of the Styx Siphon might be found, and perhaps... we might even obtain a truly safe way to utilize Warp energy or completely isolate Chaos!"

"The premise is that the far gaze can successfully record and bring back the data, and that we can safely receive and understand it," Han Zhe added calmly, but his heart was pounding violently in his chest. Hope had never felt so real yet so distant.

"'Severing Tentacle Operation', countdown initiated," Alpha-01 reminded. On the star map, the light points of the "Nightblade" squad began to move silently, like ink dropping into water, dissipating into the shadows of the complex paths leading to the Ice Thorn Fortress.

The next few dozen hours were an agonizing stretch of time for the Human Federation command center. They were simultaneously monitoring two "battlefields" separated by countless light-years, yet both deciding the fate of civilization:

On one side, the "Nightblade" squad moved like master assassins through the gaps in the Ice Thorn Fortress's outer defense network. They used forged Tyranid biological signals to draw the attention of a patrol craft, slipping into the maintenance berth of an enhanced Auspex reconnaissance ship amidst the Chaos; another group of team members clung like Ghosts to an asteroid with a precisely calculated orbit, quietly approaching the foundation of a faster-than-light communication array under construction.

The operation was precise to the second. When the Ice Thorn Fortress fell into slight Chaos due to an "accidental" coolant pipe leak secretly triggered by "Nightblade," the attack began.

The reconnaissance ship's Auspex core array was simultaneously destroyed by a specially designed "logic virus" and high-energy physical microwave pulses, leaving it completely paralyzed. Key energy nodes of the communication array's foundation were demolished by hidden shaped charges disguised as construction debris, triggering a chain collapse. Meanwhile, several specialized devices preset deep within the asteroid belt were remotely activated, simulating a brief but intense "High-energy cosmic ray burst" that "happened" to sweep across the Ice Thorn Fortress. Its energy signature was meticulously tuned to bear a subtle resemblance to the unconfirmed "Tyranid bio-energy wakes" occasionally detected in nearby star sectors.

The attack was swift, violent, and completely beyond the expectations of the Ice Thorn Fortress defenders. By the time they reacted to the Chaos and organized a defense and pursuit, the "Nightblade" squad had long since vanished along a preset extraction route filled with false signals and spatial disturbances. The scene was left with a paralyzed reconnaissance ship, a communication foundation reduced to ruins, electronic systems suffering widespread failure due to the "cosmic ray burst," and crew members with minor burns. All evidence—both deliberately left and forged—vaguely pointed to an attack by "elusive Tyranid remnant units."

The Severing Tentacle Operation was a preliminary success! One of the Empire's reaching tentacles was severely severed, another was heavily damaged, and suspicion was successfully diverted toward the Tyranids.

On the other side, after a long wait, the response from the far gaze finally arrived across the void:

[Command received, executing.]

['The Watchers Library' public technical data recording progress: 47%... 63%... 89%... Recording complete! Total data volume... far exceeds expectations! Preliminary estimates suggest it is over a thousand times the information volume of the knowledge prism! Furthermore, the structure is more systematic and the principles more profound!]

[Attempting to send identification code based on K-73 characteristics... Response received! The Library has stopped its public broadcast and switched to directional transmission of an encrypted data stream! Encryption method... highly homologous with the K-73 underlying protocol! The far gaze is attempting to decrypt using the K-73 legacy algorithm (shipboard backup)... Decryption successful!]

[Obtained 'Level One Access'! Received detailed internal structural diagrams of The Library, security protocol descriptions, and... advanced data summaries regarding the 'Warp Essence Model', 'Deep Purification Theory of Chaos Pollution', and 'Permanent Reinforcement Technology for Reality Structure'!]

[...The Library sent a final message: 'The inheritance of knowledge is the kindling against the eternal darkness. The guardians have passed, but The Library remains. Successors, use this spark well; do not let it be extinguished, nor let it consume you.' Subsequently, The Library returned to silence, maintaining only minimum operational energy.]

[The far gaze's energy is nearly depleted. According to instructions, it will proceed to the preset safe point to enter hibernation. Data has been backed up multiple times. May... the kindling be passed on forever. far gaze, log end, entering hibernation countdown.]

Success! The far gaze had not only recorded a massive amount of public technical data but also obtained deeper access and guidance! The Watchers Library, an ancient civilization's legacy that still automatically resists Chaos and passes the kindling to qualified successors!

"'Severing Tentacle Operation' successful. The Imperial Ice Thorn Fortress has suffered heavy damage, and the clouds of suspicion have been diverted," Alpha-01 reported, a hint of relief in its voice.

"'The Watchers Library' data reception complete, advanced permissions and guidance obtained," the Chief Technologist was almost moved to tears of joy.

Within a single day, one internal and one external, two great gambles seemed to have yielded results beyond expectations.

Han Zhe slowly sat back in his command chair and took a deep breath. The cold air drawn into his lungs seemed to carry burning hope and an even heavier responsibility.

The threat from the Empire was temporarily contained but far from resolved.

And the immense treasure named "Knowledge" and "Inheritance" from the Extragalactic galaxy was crossing time and space, slowly falling into their hands. The power contained within might truly give them the capital to combat Chaos and even change their destiny, but it would inevitably be accompanied by unimaginable risks and challenges.

The kindling of civilization, after repelling an imminent threat, had welcomed a stellar-class torch that could illuminate the entire future or burn it to ashes.

"Immediately establish 'The Watchers Library' Data Analysis and Integration Project Group, code-named 'kindling'," Han Zhe's voice regained its calm, yet it contained unprecedented power. "Concentrate all resources and put full effort into deciphering, understanding, and digesting those technical principles. The construction of the Ark World, the refinement of the wall of sighs, the response to the Styx Siphon pollution... everything shall take the results of the 'kindling' project as the priority reference."

"Meanwhile, the 'Ghost' fleet will maintain the highest state of alert, monitoring the subsequent reactions of the Ice Thorn Fortress. The Empire will not let this go; the next wave of probing or retaliation will only be more violent."

"As for the far gaze... may the sea of stars protect their sleep. One day, we will bring them home."

Hope and crisis, like a double helix, once again tightly entwined the advancing fate of the Human Federation.

But this time, in their hands, besides steel and will, there was another lantern passed down from antiquity, seemingly born specifically to dispel the darkness... a lamp of knowledge.

Deep space and home, past and future, survival and transcendence... all threads intertwined at this moment.