pjbooks Chapter 402 Compatibility!
Chapter 402 Compatibility!
Zhang Yan stared at the line of gold text for two seconds.
Compatibility verification.
Interconnection between lock protocol and key protocol.
He didn't know what would happen after the docking. The system didn't provide detailed instructions.
But he knew one thing—efficiency.
The current shielding efficiency is 33%, which is two percentage points away from the safe threshold of 35%.
At the current rate, another four minutes of rinsing will be enough. There's no need to take any risks.
But 35% is just a safety line. It's the bottom line that "won't collapse for the time being."
If compatibility verification can improve collaboration efficiency, it can further enhance shielding efficiency.
52%, or even higher.
He was so skilled that during the twenty-five days he went back to repair the second broken section, he didn't have to worry about the sixth gate having any problems.
Zhang Yan made a decision.
"allow."
The moment the system responded, the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship burst forth with a golden ray of light.
The light did not radiate outwards. It struck precisely the silver sphere in the locksmith's hand, ten meters away, hitting it directly.
The locksmith suddenly opened his eyes.
The moment the silver sphere came into contact with the golden light, the runes throughout the entire spherical space simultaneously lit up by one level.
The dense patterns on the inner wall changed from a dim glow to clearly discernible bright lines, like an electrified circuit board.
The locksmith looked down at the silver sphere in his hand.
Silver and gold light intertwined and swirled on the surface of the sphere, then merged into a color he had never seen before—neither gold nor silver, but something more primordial.
The system interface has been refreshed.
A new module has been added next to "Door Maintenance Agreement".
"Door locking protocol (external). Compatibility: 97.3%. Collaboration mode available."
97.3%.
Almost a perfect match. The designers 30,000 years ago made the key and lock a natural pair.
The system continued updating data. "In cooperative mode, energy injection efficiency is increased to 2.4 times that of solo operation. Rune synchronization accuracy is increased to 1.8 times that of solo operation."
2.4 times.
Zhang Yan immediately increased the output power of the Heavenly Craftsmanship Heart.
The shielding efficiency began to surge.
33%. 36%. 39%.
The speed is more than twice as fast as before.
The locking protocol is no longer just about freezing the push from outside the door—in cooperative mode, the lock begins to actively cooperate with the key, precisely guiding the injected energy to the weak areas of the shielding layer.
42%. 45%.
The depression is receding.
The deformation that was pushed out on the right side of the sphere gradually rebounded, and the liquid metal refilled the squeezed space.
The locksmith's expression shifted from shock to something deeper.
"Eighty years," he said softly, a tremor in his voice he himself probably didn't even realize. "The last time the key and lock activated simultaneously was in 1943."
The four armed men behind him had all retreated to the entrance of the passage.
It wasn't out of fear, but rather an instinctive feeling that what was happening in this space was not something they should be close to.
48%. 50%. 52%.
Zhang Yan did not stop.
The reserves of the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship are being continuously depleted.
8% of the 12% budget has already been spent.
However, the efficiency of the collaborative model far exceeded expectations.
With the same amount of consumption, the output is more than doubled.
He recalculated it.
If the reserve consumption is kept below 15%, the shielding efficiency can be increased to over 55%.
With the remaining 52% of reserves, there's more than enough to go back and repair the second break.
carry on.
53%. 55%.
The dent has completely disappeared.
The surface of the sphere returned to normal liquid flow.
It is stable, even, and no longer churning.
System display: Sixth door. Shielding efficiency: 57%.
It far exceeds the safety limit.
Zhang Yan withdrew the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship. The golden light broke.
The moment the connection was broken, the brightness of the runes in the spherical space returned to normal.
The light from the silver sphere dimmed, and it returned to its previous unremarkable appearance.
The locksmith slowly put the silver sphere into his pocket.
Zhang Yan noticed that his hands were shaking.
It's not cold.
The locking protocol is far more costly for the operator than it appears.
The old man's lips were pale, and the sweat on his forehead had not dried, freezing into tiny ice crystals in the sub-zero temperature.
"57%." The locksmith glanced at the sphere, his voice slightly hoarse. "That's enough to last a long time."
Zhang Yan checked the reserves of the Heavenly Craftsmanship Heart.
14.7% has been used, leaving 52.3%. This is within budget.
He glanced back at the Black Scorpion.
The mechanical scorpion stood quietly at the entrance, its self-test light constantly green.
Time to go. Reinforcement complete. Next, we'll head back to Jinghai to repair the second fracture.
The locksmith's voice came from behind.
"Wait a moment."
Zhang Yan turned around.
The old man steadied his breathing; his complexion was still poor, but his eyes were clear.
He looked at Zhang Yan, as if making some kind of assessment.
"I have to tell you something."
Zhang Yan didn't move.
The locksmith reached into the inside pocket of his coat and took something out. It wasn't a silver sphere, but a thin notebook.
The cover is made of dark brown old leather with severely worn edges, indicating its age.
He didn't open it; he just held it in his hand.
"1943. The previous key holder came here and performed one last collaborative operation with my predecessor, the deacon."
Zhang Yan did not interrupt.
"After the operation was completed, the key holder recorded some information in this notebook." The locksmith paused. "He said this information could only be given to the next holder."
"Then what."
Then he left. He never showed up again.
The locksmith looked into Zhang Yan's eyes.
He said something before he left.
The old man's voice trailed off.
"'The Seventh Gate is not on Earth.'"
The spherical space was quiet. The light from the runes flowed slowly along the inner walls.
Zhang Yan's mind raced through several thoughts in a fraction of a second.
The seven doors form a shielding network.
He knew that all six realms were on Earth—Shennongjia, the North Atlantic, the Sahara, Siberia, and Antarctica, plus the location of the fifth gate.
They are distributed globally, forming a spherical shield.
But there are seven paths. There have always been seven paths.
If the seventh path is not on Earth—
The shielding network is not a sphere, but a cone, or a more complex topology, with the six paths on Earth forming the base and the seventh path being the apex.
The vertex is not on Earth.
where?
The locksmith handed over the notebook.
Zhang Yan took it. The leather was cool to the touch and almost weightless. He didn't open it immediately.
"Does this contain location information?"
"I don't know," the locksmith said. "The gatekeeper doesn't touch the key holder's record. That notebook has been in my safe for eighty years. I've never opened it."
Zhang Yan put the notebook into his inner pocket, close to his chest.
"Thanks."
The locksmith nodded slightly. He took a step back, signaling the armed men behind him to clear the way.
"We'll continue to hold this position. If the pressure outside focuses on the sixth door again, I can execute a lockdown protocol to buy time. But only once." He looked at his slightly trembling hands. "I can't hold out a second time."
Zhang Yan wrote it down.
He walked towards the black scorpion, climbed onto its back, and secured himself.
As the Black Scorpion moved upwards through the passage, the locksmith uttered his last words behind him.
"Your father."
Zhang Yan stopped.
"When the key holder left his notebook in 1943, he mentioned a name: Zhang Huaichuan."
The air is frozen. Not the temperature.
Zhang Yan did not turn around.
"What did he say?"
The locksmith's voice came from below, its echo in the passageway stretching out.
He said that if a man named Zhang Huaichuan came looking for him, he should go to Duanyun Valley.
The black scorpion's drill bit was embedded in the hard rock above its head. Gravel fell in a flurry.
Zhang Yan didn't speak again, and drove the Black Scorpion to ascend at full speed.
1400 meters. 1000 meters. 600 meters.
When they reached the last stretch of the permafrost, their cell phone signal returned. Messages flooded in. Nie Qingcheng had sent seven.
The last message was from three minutes ago: "Speak up when the signal is restored."
Zhang Yan typed with one hand: "Out. Reinforcement complete. 57%."
The reply came in seconds: "Where is he?"
"I ran into him. The gatekeeper. We're partners."
Are you alright?
"fine."
He put his phone back in his pocket.
The black scorpion emerged from the ground. A wind of minus forty-seven degrees Celsius rushed in. The sky was still dark, and nothing could be seen on the wasteland.
Zhang Yan jumped off the scorpion's back and walked towards the off-road vehicle.
My hand reached into my inner pocket and touched the cold notebook.
1943. The previous key holder. He knew his father's name. He sent him to Broken Cloud Valley.
His father went there. He found the Wind-Breaking Jade. He died there.
The notebook was pressed against my chest; it was thin and light, as if it couldn't possibly hold eighty years of secrets.
Zhang Yan started the SUV and turned it around to head south.
The phone vibrated again. Nie Qingcheng.
"We'll talk about the seventh gate when we get back. Let's go home first."
Zhang Yan looked at the screen.
She already knows.
He didn't ask her how she knew. He simply typed two words and sent them: "Go home."