pjbooks Chapter 460 The Stepping Stone to a New World!
Chapter 460 The Stepping Stone to a New World!
"We'll keep the lights on and see who moves first."
Guan Xing suddenly smiled, but the smile was very brief.
"I see."
she says.
Why did the Mohist civilization, 30,000 years ago, mark the coordinates of the center of the Milky Way on a star map?
"Because there is another lighthouse there."
"If Earth's network of gates is a lighthouse, then the black hole at the center of the Milky Way might be another."
That afternoon.
Zhang Yan sat alone in the underground laboratory.
Guan Xing returned with the ancient books and materials, Qin Xiao went back to the Great Wall Group headquarters, and Nie Qingcheng went to the company.
Zhang Yan sat in front of the control panel, with the Heavenly Craftsmanship Heart activated.
The system interface displays all real-time data of the gate network.
With six gates and a sub-core, all seven nodes are online, and the shielding efficiency remains stable at over 96.4%.
Zhang Yan opened a hidden menu.
That was the encrypted passage deciphered from the ancient seal script on the parchment last night.
Tiangongzhixin reminds you: Encrypted information requires "maintainer privileges" to be fully decrypted.
Zhang Yan confirmed the permissions.
[Unlocking encrypted information from the previous maintainer...]
[Unlock complete.]
[Information Content: When the seven-gate network fully closes and releases a stable frequency, the network will automatically connect to the "Cosmic Sea Observation Protocol." This protocol is a universal interface for higher-dimensional civilizations. After connection, maintainers can observe the real-time dynamics of the Cosmic Sea through the gate network and engage in limited communication with other civilizations.]
[WARNING: Accessing the observation protocol will expose the maintainer's identity information. Continue?]
Zhang Yan pressed confirm.
The console screen went black and then came back on.
Against a deep blue background, a huge spherical star map is in the center, surrounded by dozens of small windows.
Zhang Yan clicked on one of them.
[Observation Record: Coordinates G-7721-α, Civilization Rating: Level 3. Status: Continuously Expanding. Threat Assessment: Low.]
He then clicked on another one.
[Observation Record: Coordinates K-339-β, Civilization Rating: Level 5. Status: Stable. Threat Assessment: Unknown.]
The higher the rating of a civilization, the fewer observation records it has.
At the edge of the star map, he discovered a special window: [Civilization Dynamics: Recent Events].
He clicked on it.
At the end of the list, I saw a new record.
[Event Log: Coordinates H-001-Ω, Level 1 civilization, completed the construction of the space barrier 1 standard day ago and connected to the observation protocol. Rating upgrade: Unrated → Level 1.]
[Note: The quality rating for this civilization barrier is 9.6/10.]
[Note: Exceptionally high rating.]
[Note: The high-level civilization's watchlist has been triggered.]
H-001-Ω.
Zhang Yan brought up the coordinate transformation tool.
H-001-Ω, Earth.
One standard date prior, the barrier quality score was 9.6/10.
He clicked on the link to his "Following List".
[High-Level Civilization Watchlist: When a Level 1 civilization's barrier quality score exceeds 9.0, the watchlist mechanism is automatically triggered. This civilization will be marked as a "potential contact target."]
The civilizations on the watchlist will make their first contact within 100 standard years.
[Type of contact: Unknown. Contact party: Unknown. Purpose of contact: Unknown.]
Zhang Yan closed the page.
100 standard years.
He opened the main interface of the observation protocol and entered "community" in the search box.
[Civilization File: ID S-000-δ. Rating: Wanderer. Status: Migrating. Threat Assessment: High.]
[Note: This group is a low-level spatial parasitic civilization with no fixed coordinates, and has been marked as "pests" by multiple high-level civilizations.]
[Historical record: This group attempted to invade the E-012-β civilization (now extinct) approximately 3 standard years ago, but was repelled by the civilization's spatial barrier.]
E-012-β. Invaded 30,000 years ago and is now extinct.
Mohist civilization.
Zhang Yan closed the file and opened the [Civilization Exchange Channel].
The system provides real-time translation.
[Message: Coordinates T-772-α, Level 3 Civilization, seeking to purchase high-level space-stabilizing materials. Price: 10 units of zero-point energy.]
[Message: Coordinates V-111-β, Level 4 civilization, selling low-dimensional biological samples. Price: Negotiable.]
A private message suddenly popped up.
[Private message: From an anonymous user. Message content: New here? Selling mecha blueprints?]
Zhang Yan clicked on the anonymous user's profile page.
The user ID is a string of random characters, and the registration time is "1 standard day prior".
The timing is completely consistent with the Earth Access Observation Protocol (EAGP).
[Zhang Yan: Who are you?]
The other party replied instantly.
[Anonymous User: A civilization interested in space barrier construction technology. Your barrier rating is 9.6, which is very high.]
[Zhang Yan: How did you know?]
[Anonymous user: Observation protocol publicly available data.]
Zhang Yan found the following text in the lower right corner of the star map: "Civilization rating and barrier score are public to all participants in the agreement."
[Anonymous User: Were your mech blueprints used as auxiliary equipment during the barrier construction process?]
Auxiliary equipment.
In the understanding of advanced civilizations, mechs are merely tools for building barriers.
Zhang Yan: Yes.
[Anonymous User: Are you selling? We're willing to exchange advanced civilization technology.]
[Zhang Yan: What technology?]
[Anonymous User: Dimensional stabilization technology. This allows your barrier to maintain structural stability when subjected to high-dimensional attacks.]
Zhang Yan did not reply immediately.
Zhang Yan: I need to think about it.
[Anonymous User: Sure. But I suggest you hurry. With more and more people following you, your "9.6 rating" will attract even more attention.]
Private message window closed.
Zhang Yan leaned back in his chair.
He closed all the windows, got up, and left the laboratory.
In the living room, Nie Qingcheng sat on the sofa and flipped through her tablet.
She changed into loungewear, silk pajama bottoms paired with a loose sweater.
"You're down?"
"Um."
"There's pork rib and lotus root soup in the kitchen; you can just heat it up and drink it."
Zhang Yan went into the kitchen, filled a bowl, brought it to the living room, and sat down next to Nie Qingcheng.
"I saw about the observation agreement."
Nie Qingcheng said.
Zhang Yan didn't stop drinking the soup.
How did you know?
The way you looked when you came downstairs was like you'd just finished reading an audit report.
She reached out and wiped the soup stains from the corner of his mouth.
Zhang Yan put down his bowl and told everyone what had happened in the laboratory.
Encrypted information unlocking, observation protocol access, high-level civilization watchlist, anonymous private messages.
After listening, Nie Qingcheng tapped her fingers on the edge of the tablet.
"Whether that anonymous user was friendly or testing the waters, it shows that Earth has been noticed."
Nie Qingcheng spoke.
"GateNet's '9.6 score' proves our value and will also attract covetous eyes."
"Dimensional stabilization technology may be real, or it may be a scam."
She looked at Zhang Yan.
"The fact that they brought it up means they know our weaknesses."
"What do you want to do?"
Zhang Yan asked.
"Observe first."
Nie Qingcheng said decisively.
"Be a lurker, don't speak, don't interact. Gather information, analyze, and judge."
"That anonymous user mentioned 'mecha blueprints,' how does he know that there are mechas on Earth?"
She raised a question.
"It might be speculation."
Zhang Yan said.
"A high barrier score suggests the presence of auxiliary equipment, which is quite reasonable."
Zhang Yan finished the last sip of soup.
"I'll message Guan Xing and ask her to bring all the ancient books and materials tomorrow, especially the part about Mohist civilization."
"it is good."
Nie Qingcheng stood up.
"I'm going to run the bath water. Go to bed early."
Zhang Yan watched her retreating figure.
"A beauty that could topple a city".
"Um?"
No matter what happens, I won't leave you to face it alone.
Nie Qingcheng stopped and turned around.
"I know."
she says.
That's why I want to face this together with you.