279: steep turn down

There were no dazzling light effects, nor any of the various verification processes she had imagined.

She only felt a gentle breeze, and then... "Has it begun?" Tu Nan asked.

"The collection is over. Let me see, the Four Divine Beasts also have additional variants, wow... I'm touched, it's a huge harvest, we can definitely handle it this time."

"What do you mean?" Hain felt something was off. "That doesn't sound like a 'god'."

Ah, Tu Nan and The First Star Visible at Dawn both forgot they were now using a "public" communication method.

"Well, let's talk about it when we get back?"

Tu Nan was glad The Emperor wasn't present.

If she had to explain all this to His Majesty, she would feel quite pressured. But to drag along the people present... she was quite experienced in that.

She was more concerned about the previous question.

"It feels a bit unreal how simple it is," she said.

The First Star Visible at Dawn found it strange, but after a moment of thought, He understood what Tu Nan was thinking.

"You think it's too simple? Then I'll give you some sense of ritual..."

Without another word, cheerful and strangely styled music began to play in the clean, dust-free room.

And on the surrounding walls, grand fireworks and cheers He had collected from who knows where were projected all at once.

"...Stop!"

Everything came to an abrupt halt.

Tu Nan was so flustered by this silly The First Star Visible at Dawn that she couldn't be nervous anymore. "No need for these strange things, let's just quietly finish everything."

The First Star Visible at Dawn was silent for a long time.

Throughout the room, red lights suddenly flickered, accompanied by urgent "beep-beep" sounds.

"No need for these..."

Before Tu Nan could finish speaking, The First Star Visible at Dawn's panicked voice came through.

"It's not me, Tu Nan. Something's wrong, I smoothly finished the previous experiment process, but this seems to have automatically started the next experiment."

"And the data from the last experiment is being collected and packaged."

"What does that mean?" Tu Nan was very wary.

Lance interjected from the corner, "Sounds like the data from the branch lab is being uploaded to a central database or something?"

That's right, she had been diligently following Yi Xingye in the team all along.

She had been engrossed and thoughtful while watching the "educational film" about the Four Divine Beasts.

"The Four Divine Beasts are an experiment? Who made it? Using an entire Star Domain as a testing ground? This scale is beyond our current technological capabilities. Are Divine Beasts related to Children? And to Star Worms? Why were there so many Star Worms here on the way?"

She pulled at her hair, every question she muttered to herself hitting the crucial points.

The First Star Visible at Dawn ignored her, He was in a panic.

"Tu Nan, I've obtained laboratory management authority, but in the default settings, I'm just an auxiliary management System for this laboratory, I'm not the experiment System!"

"You mean... you can't stop this data upload? And you can't stop the experiment process?" Tu Nan's heart pounded. She glanced at the frowning Lance.

Lance asked the crucial question for her.

"What's the next experiment?"

And Kong Jiamu was concerned, "Upload to where, and to whom? Will they come? Will they be friendly to us?"

The First Star Visible at Dawn's voice was intermittent, His energy frantically computing.

He tried every possible way to stop everything.

"The next experiment is to directly fuse the genes of the Four Divine Beasts with Star Worms! I'm looking at the experiment objective!"

"The Four Divine Beasts are a failed outcome; their fertility and sustainability are too weak! This is an abandoned laboratory! And the data collection just now reactivated the laboratory!"

"The genes of beastmen and Star Worms were discovered simultaneously. What they want isn't mental development; they want weapons! Star Worms combined with the Four Divine Beasts will be the experimental result they desire."

His electronic voice was on the verge of breaking.

"After the progress bar finishes and the upload is complete, they will turn their attention back here... It's over. I, I made a mistake."

"What should we do, Tu Nan? You must have a way."

Tu Nan, she had no way.

She hugged the two young infants from The Emperor's arms, looked at the other Children who were obediently watching her, and then looked at the others present.

"I opened the door to disaster," she said dejectedly. "It's my fault."

The Emperor flicked her forehead, showing a nonchalant expression.

"Don't overthink it. Star Worms haven't just appeared today; we've fought them for a thousand years, at most, we'll fight for another thousand."

Li nodded, stroking Ao Ao and Miao Miao's hair, his expression unchanged.

"I'll return to the battlefield tomorrow. As long as I kill fast enough, I'll always wait for the Children to grow up."

"That's right! Who are they looking down on?!" Kong Jiamu exclaimed boisterously, "We're not too old to go to the battlefield, besides, when I can't fight anymore, there's still Little Bird. Isn't that right, son?"

He grinned and leaned close to the child, who bit him on the nose.

"Idiot, I, I can fight!" Little Bird wasn't scared at all.

Little Fish obediently hugged Hain's neck, looking at Tu Nan gently with his father.

"Don't be afraid, Mama, I'll protect you."

Hain said nothing, but his expression said it all.

Warmth surged in Tu Nan's eyes; this was nothing!

When floods come, use earth to block them; when soldiers come, use generals to resist them. Life always finds its own way out.

"The First Star Visible at Dawn, you shouldn't blame yourself either; you didn't foresee any of this. Quick, give us any data you can, especially in the direction of gene research!" She gestured for Lance to come forward with a storage device. "Can our storage device be used?"

"I've prepared it for you, with a reader, here."

An instrument was ejected. Lance rushed over in a hurry, and Yi Xingye pushed her aside to hug the precious instrument.

The red light flickered more and more rapidly, making the faces of those present change color continuously, yet no one felt helpless.

"Tu Nan..." The First Star Visible at Dawn whimpered, only He knew that things were not that simple.

"You don't understand... after Star Worms combine with the genes of Divine Beasts, there will be a qualitative leap, for you..."

"A hard-fought, bitter battle, or a nightmare lasting hundreds or thousands of years."

Tu Nan calmly interrupted Him.

"I understand everything; I'm not underestimating this. But what's done is done, there's no use dwelling on it. Let's look forward, The First Star Visible at Dawn."

She comforted this little life that was completely panic-stricken.

"We still have you now, you can still use this laboratory, and you can help me analyze the data. We also have Children who will grow up, The First Star Visible at Dawn, you see, we always have hope ahead."

"Wuwuwu! Tu Nan!" The First Star Visible at Dawn cried loudly, "It's not like that, and after the data is uploaded, they might come back."

"You don't understand, they are lifeforms from a higher-dimensional spacetime."

"They are trying to filter out civilization samples that can carry war intelligences across countless spaces. This low-dimensional space is just their experimental field, a ranch! They will have no mercy for any life born here."

"No one can judge what they will do."

"I know how they destroy an experimental field. Tu Nan, this is the greatest disaster!"

The First Star Visible at Dawn finally finished speaking.

And the data packaging was almost complete; the upload process was about to begin.