"Spiritual energy... This, this is just unbelievable."

Shelter No. 404, browsing room on Floor B4.

After finishing the report from five light-years away, Yin Fang put down the tablet, his face filled with disbelief.

To be honest.

When he first saw this report, Chu Guang was just as surprised, even suspecting that Night Ten was up to something, deliberately using smoke screens to amuse people on the forum.

However, as time passed, the chances of this diminished as more clues were updated in the forum thread.

The guy is not very good at lying; if it was made up, he'd be caught within three sentences.

Having written so much without showing any flaws, and even making Chu Guang, the Manager, puzzled, it seemed to be genuine.

Putting down his red tea, Chu Guang said with a nuanced expression.

"You might not believe it, but the data you saw... was transmitted from five light-years away through a similar method."

Yin Fang was stunned for a moment, unable to speak, finally letting out a long sigh.

"It seems there are still so many things we don't understand in this world..."

"But isn't it exciting?" Chu Guang smiled faintly and said, "A civilization ahead of us by thousands or even billions of years revealing these mysteries to us, if we follow the clues they left behind, we might go even further than they have."

The existence of the players is actually the best proof.

The First Generation Manager of Shelter No. 404 had evidently discovered a way to penetrate the Fourth Wall and built something similar to an "information network" based on the Morphogenesis Field.

Although the Alliance's exploration of the Morphogenesis Field is still in its early stages, Chu Guang believes they will uncover all its secrets one day.

Hera, standing with her arms crossed beside them, suddenly spoke with interest.

"I'm rather curious about the kid from the Gaia planet... Do you think the spiritual energy might be related to some special pheromones in the brain's pituitary gland?"

Seeing her intrigued expression, Yin Fang shivered involuntarily.

Chu Guang coughed.

"Regarding intelligent life outside Earth, I advocate non-interference... especially when human blood flows within them; some things are forbidden."

"I know, I just want to borrow a bit of DNA for research... Don't make it sound like I'm going to dissect them, okay?" Hera couldn't help but retort at Chu Guang's nuanced expression.

Those barbaric research methods are things of centuries past.

As Chu Guang showed a nuanced expression.

"I was just issuing a reminder, no other intentions."

At this point, Yin Fang suddenly had an idea and spoke.

"But speaking of it, according to this research report, the Residents of Shelter No. 404 should inherently possess some kind of 'spiritual energy' trait, right? The kind that can transmit information across time and space..."

"Is there a problem?" Chu Guang asked, looking at him.

"I just find it a bit strange," Yin Fang lightly shrugged, "After all, the Gene Sequence stored in this shelter is a public research project, but all along... I haven't heard of the Biological Institute discovering anything unusual."

This time Hera also furrowed her brow, falling into contemplation.

"It is indeed a bit strange..."

If spiritual energy Awakeners had noticeable biological trait differences from others, she should have discovered it by now.

Thus, only one explanation remains.

This difference is not reflected in the biological aspect...

After pondering for a while, Chu Guang tried to propose his opinion.

"I don't really understand research issues, but might there be a possibility... that although 'spiritual energy' and 'Morphogenesis Field' describe the same phenomenon, they're from different professional perspectives, like two sides of a sheet of paper."

Yin Fang's eyes lit up, thoughtfully rubbing his chin.

"Interesting..."

Hera remained silent for a long time, sighed, and said.

"...Seems like we'll have to leave it to the Physics Research Institute and the Social Science Research Institute to mull over."

...

South Gate Two, in the depths of the Forbidden Forest Valley of Gaia planet, a discreet cave tucked within the undulating mountains.

The mountain path leading to the cave entrance was almost buried by dense vegetation, while distant calls of beasts and pterosaurs intermittently echoed, with rustling sounds hinting at lurking dangers in the dark.

Without a guide leading the way, even seasoned adventurers are likely to get lost here.

Yet Night Ten, donned in power armor, was strolling here as if in his backyard, showing no signs of being troubled by the dense forest.

This was not due to the exceptional performance of his power armor but owed to the spiritual energy granting him the ability to communicate with the Tree of Yenshof; every insect and leaf here served as his eyes.

Instead of being a trespassing explorer in this forest, it would be more fitting to describe him as a guest.

And this relic buried deep within the Forbidden Forest has awaited him for some time...

"Here it is... the last relic on this planet, a temporary laboratory left by Dr. Qiu Shiye of the Fifth Department of the United Space Army's fleet missile cruiser of Gemini."

"If things go as expected, the missing reactor should be here."

No remains of Qiu Shiye were found in the wreckage of Gemini, but the poem engraved on the relic mentioned maze and cloud.

Combining the meaningful words he left behind, Night Ten reasonably deduced that Dr. Qiu Shiye likely dismantled the reactor and moved it somewhere in the forest.

Even dismantled besides the reactor were the experimental instruments from the Fifth Department, and more.

In subsequent investigations, Night Ten verified the last location of Dr. Qiu Shiye's activities through the growth cycle of trees—this cave situated halfway up the mountain.

This used to be where the Qiu people held sacrificial ceremonies, but later it was abandoned due to natural reasons.

Their purpose for the sacrificial ceremonies clearly had one reason in mind...

Their Ancestors lay dormant here.

To be frank, Night Ten was quite surprised that Jiang Xuezhou overlooked these clues.

With her capability, there was no reason for her to be unable to find clues near the ship's bridge to facilitate further investigation.

Of course, everyone makes mistakes.

And he himself only found the cave, suspected to be the laboratory entrance, by leveraging spiritual energy, so he had no reason to mock her.

Finally reaching the entrance to the cave, Night Ten placed a beacon emitting radio signals at the entrance and then did a final check of his exploration tools.

Just then, a gentle hum came from the communication channel.

"Hum..."

Hearing the gentle hum in the communication channel, Night Ten, who was about to enter the cave, wore a helpless expression and sighed.

"My esteemed, dear Captain... Did I offend you in some way?"

The communication channel was silent for a while, then a grinding voice came through.

"...You know it yourself."

Claiming "you know it yourself" yet remains.

Hearing the sulky response tinged with a hint of grievance, Night Ten couldn't help but smile.

However, this obscure laughter agitated someone already aggravated—a raging jar of jealousy.

"! What are you laughing at!"

Night Ten teased.

"Nothing, just feeling... someone sulking is acting like a little child."

Jiang Xuezhou said angrily.

"You are like a child! You are the most like a child!"

Her current ire wasn't from him whimsically allowing someone on board, but his nonchalant demeanor making it seem like she was being unreasonable.

"Yes, yes, I'm a child, so please go easy on me," Night Ten chuckled and after a pause, continued, "Honestly, you're also willing to bring her along, right."

Jiang Xuezhou: "!?"

Seeing the other side of the communication channel silent, Night Ten teased with a smile.

"Did I guess right?"

About half a minute later, a soft voice came from the communication channel.

"So, this is Spiritual Energy."

Night Ten thought for a moment and said.

"Although our intuition is a form of mental induction...but I guess that this level of mental induction is probably different from the kind of Spiritual Energy you imagine."

Jiang Xuezhou grit his teeth and said.

"Who has intuition with you!"

Night Ten laughed out loud and arrogantly said.

"Of course it's me, who else could it be?"

He didn't continue to tease Xuezhou.

When it came to this point, he paused for a moment and then switched to a solemn voice.

"Sorry for not discussing Dora's matter with you, but... I really didn't expect you'd be jealous because of her. If you mind, I will clear things up with her for you. When we return to Earth, she'll disembark."

Taking a "Gaian" representative back to Earth is still necessary, and it's one of the side missions he received.

Whether for the significance of scientific research or for the purpose of communication between civilizations, the Alliance hopes he can bring one or several people back.

In a friendly manner or through persuasion.

Dora voluntarily left her world, which is definitely for the best.

As for the matters between men and women, they are completely unrelated.

Not to mention the absurdity, she hasn't shown any romantic feelings for him.

That kind of worship for Ancestors and God, and the hunger for knowing Truth, is very different from ordinary worldly emotions.

Not to mention, Dora reacted the same way to Jiang Xuezhou; surely it's not a crush.

Night Ten doesn't need to explain himself either.

Though he was surprised, he never actually had those kinds of thoughts.

As for why, it goes back to that nonsensical issue.

But he actually understands; teenage girls in love and older women going through menopause are both sensitive.

Lil Jiang undoubtedly belongs to the former.

Hearing Night Ten lay his cards on the table, Jiang Xuezhou, now on a synchronized orbit, blushed like a lantern, suddenly jumping like a cat that had its tail stepped on.

"Who's jealous, you don't flatter yourself! How could I be jealous of a Primitive Man!"

Night Ten's lips curled up with a hint of a smile, kicking the wobbly ball back.

"Oh? Then it seems I've flattered myself. I wonder, dear Captain, where exactly did I fail to offend you?"

Never expecting the ball to be kicked back, an unprepared Jiang Xuezhou stammered for a while, finally forcing out a feeble retort.

"You—You made decisions...without the captain's approval, you—you let people board the ship arbitrarily."

Night Ten chuckled and said.

"They haven't boarded yet, so there's still time to change your mind. Should I let her go? Shall we find another one?"

"Ugh—"

Seated at the terminal, Jiang Xuezhou seemed choked, speechless, blushing.

After a while, she murmured softly.

"You... you seem like a different person."

Night Ten smiled and said.

"People do grow...how about you? Do you feel a bit better?"

"Not at all! I'm even angrier!" Looking at this smug guy, Jiang Xuezhou glared fiercely at the holographic screen and said something contrary to her heart.

She actually realized she was being unreasonable earlier, and she wasn't like this before.

In fact, most of the time, she played the more reliable role, but this time the roles were reversed.

It's all this dog's fault...

With a blushing face, Jiang Xuezhou took a deep breath to calm her wavering emotions and focused back on work.

"Leave the exploration of the ruins to you... Be careful ahead."

"Received."

Raising his hand to greet the sky, Night Ten packed up his checked equipment and strode toward the cave's interior...

...

The nameless mountain cave was pitch black and silent, footsteps on the rubble were particularly prominent.

The communication channel was quiet, without a sound.

Walking in the cave, Night Ten suddenly remembered, Jiang Xuezhou seemed afraid of the dark.

He wondered if she had already scratched the chair's armrest sitting by the screen.

Or simply turned the camera off.

Thinking so, Night Ten bypassed a greasy-shining stalactite column and finally found signs of someone having been here near a slope.

It was a crooked staircase, the rectangular steps clearly chiseled by hand.

Marks on the inclined surface looked like they'd been scuffed while transporting devices.

"The cave is quite spacious."

Night Ten glanced around with the flashlight, surprised and excited.

There were chisel marks not only on the staircase underfoot but also on the rock walls on both sides.

It turns out those Qiu People's mining and building techniques were honed in this mountain cave!

A mysterious intuition told Night Ten the end of the ruins was not far ahead.

"I'll go down and take a look."

Leaving a sentence on the communication channel, he squatted and slid down the incline into the space below the stairs.

With a screech of metal friction, his feet soon touched down, landing in a spacious cave.

The area here was vast, expanded upon an existing cave structure.

Night Ten lifted his flashlight and looked ahead, quickly spotting a metal door.

Rather than a door, it was a piece of steel horizontally across the entrance.

And clearly, the steel had been salvaged from starship wreckage.

A soft exclamation came from the communication channel.

"You really found it..."

Night Ten's lips curled into a triumphant smile at the incredulous exclamation.

Without speaking, he stepped forward and removed the rusty steel plate.

"If it's just a test, it shouldn't consume much fuel..."

Hope there's some left.

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