pjbooks Chapter 466 An Extinct Civilization!
Chapter 466 An Extinct Civilization!
Zhang Yan turned to look at the stars.
The stargazer was already operating his equipment, pulling up a complex protocol document.
"The observation protocol has a built-in remote collaboration interface, but both parties need to grant permissions simultaneously," she said. "I can help you set up a temporary encrypted channel to ensure that the transmission process is not eavesdropped on by third parties."
"How long will it take?"
"Ten minutes."
"Go."
Guan Xing nodded, got up, and headed towards the basement. Her figure disappeared at the top of the stairs.
Only Zhang Yan, Nie Qingcheng, and Qin Xiao remained in the living room.
Qin Xiao was still sitting on the sofa, but he stopped asking questions.
He simply watched Zhang Yan and Nie Qingcheng quietly, watching these two people he trusted most turn an interstellar survival crisis into a business deal in just half an hour.
He suddenly realized that his days of fighting for territory and face with those second-generation rich kids in Beijing were like playing house.
"Go and rest," Nie Qingcheng said to Zhang Yan. "The repair process will consume the energy of the Heavenly Craftsman's Heart, so maintain your condition."
"And you?"
"I'm keeping an eye on the public channels." Nie Qingcheng picked up her tablet. "The bounty is still up, and people will continue to probe. I'll handle it."
Zhang Yan glanced at her but didn't say anything more.
He turned and went upstairs, into his study, and closed the door.
The study was quiet, with only the faint sound of wind outside the window.
He sat in the chair, closed his eyes, and immersed his consciousness into the heart of the divine craftsman.
Golden light shone in the darkness, and the system interface unfolded.
[Remote collaboration protocol under construction...] [Target coordinates locked: L-445ε] [Connection stability: 87%] [Repair pulse estimated consumption: 2.3% of the total energy reserve of the Celestial Craftsman's Heart.]
Zhang Yan opened his eyes.
2.3%.
Not many, but not few either.
In particular, although the Earth's gate network is stable now, the overall energy reserves are not abundant.
He stood up and walked to the window.
Downstairs, Nie Qingcheng sat in the living room, the light from the tablet illuminating her face, her expression focused.
Qin Xiao has already left, probably to contact Qin Changfeng to report the situation.
Zhang Yan gently pressed his hand against the windowpane.
The glass was cold, reflecting his own face and the light-colored birthmark on his wrist.
The door is both a shield and a lighthouse.
What if this lighthouse could not only illuminate its own path but also help others build roads?
His lips twitched slightly.
Ten minutes later, Guanxing sent a message: The temporary encrypted channel is ready and can start at any time.
Zhang Yan turned and left the study.
In the living room, Nie Qingcheng looked up at him.
"Ready?"
"Um."
"What do you need me to do?"
"Keep an eye on the time," Zhang Yan said. "If I haven't finished within two hours, force a disconnection."
Nie Qingcheng nodded.
Zhang Yan walked to the center of the living room, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes.
Golden light shone from his chest, the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship was activated, and energy began to flow to his limbs and bones.
The voice of the stargazer came through the headset: "Channel open, enemy barrier coordinates loaded, repair pulse can be projected."
Zhang Yan took a deep breath and focused all his consciousness on the output port of the Heavenly Craftsmanship Heart.
Energy began to surge, traveling along the encrypted channel, traversing a distance of four thousand light-years, towards that unknown barrier of civilization.
[Repair pulse projection initiated.] [Target barrier scanning in progress...] [Damage structure analysis complete.] [Starting repair frequency adaptation...]
Zhang Yan frowned slightly.
He can "see" the other person's barrier.
It was a huge, semi-transparent membrane that enveloped a dim star system.
The surface of the thin film has countless fine lines, which are the traces of energy flow.
But in one area, the patterns broke, revealing a black gap hundreds of kilometers in diameter, the edges of which were slowly expanding, like a greedy mouth.
Traces of high-dimensional energy remain at the edge of the gap; it is cold, chaotic, and highly corrosive.
The smell of a community.
Zhang Yan adjusted the pulse frequency and began the repair.
Golden energy threads seeped in from the edge of the gap, stitching up the broken lines like stitching up a wound.
The black, corrosive energy attempted to retaliate, but was instantly suppressed by the purifying pulse of the Heart of Heaven.
The entire process was quiet and precise.
Time passed little by little.
An hour later, the gap had shrunk by one-third.
One hour and forty minutes later, only a tiny bit of the gap remained.
Two hours exactly.
[Pulse projection repair complete.] [Target barrier damage: 99.7% repaired.] [Remaining 0.3% requires fine-tuning by the local civilization.]
Zhang Yan opened his eyes.
The golden light faded from his chest, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Nie Qingcheng handed her a glass of warm water.
"Have a drink."
Zhang Yan took it and drank it all in one gulp.
"Is it finished?" Nie Qingcheng asked.
"It's done." Zhang Yan breathed a sigh of relief. "Their barrier has a simpler structure than ours, so repairing it wasn't too difficult. However, the energy attenuation of the long-range projection was higher than expected, consuming 0.5% more energy."
"It's worth it," Nie Qingcheng said.
Just then, the observation protocol notification sounded.
Zhang Yan picked up the tablet.
[Private message: From L-445ε.]
Clicking on it reveals a series of messages.
[L-445ε: Barrier damage has been repaired. Thank you for your service. Transaction complete. The star map database has been sent to your observation agreement account. Please check.]
[L-445ε: Additionally, we would like to add a long-term cooperation agreement. Our civilization barrier requires a comprehensive inspection and maintenance every ten years, and we hope to establish a permanent cooperative relationship with you.]
[L-445ε: Finally, on behalf of the administrators of our civilization, we extend our sincerest gratitude to you. You saved our home.]
Zhang Yan looked at these messages but did not reply immediately.
He opened the attachment.
It was a compressed file; after decompression, it contained a huge database.
The directory structure is clear and the categories are well-defined.
[Known civilization coordinates: 21,477.] [Civilization rating distribution: Level 1 civilizations: 12,306; Level 2 civilizations: 7,891; Level 3 civilizations: 1,024; Level 4 civilizations: 215; Level 5 civilizations: 31.] [Extinct civilization coordinates: 1,840.]
Zhang Yan slid his finger across the screen and tapped the "Extinct Civilizations" category.
The list was long, so he scrolled down.
He flipped through it for about five minutes, then stopped.
[Civilization Name: Mo Family Heavenly Craft City - Main City Area] [Coordinates: Third Rotation Point of the Galactic Arm] [Civilization Rating: Unrated (Extinct)] [Status: Extinct] [Last Active Timestamp: 3 Standard Days Ago]
Zhang Yan stared at the timestamp.
3 standard days prior.
three days ago.
A civilization marked as "extinct" had activity records as of three days ago.
He handed the tablet to Nie Qingcheng.
Nie Qingcheng's pupils contracted after just one glance.
She looked up and met Zhang Yan's gaze.
Neither of them spoke.
But some things no longer need to be said.
In the basement, the sound of stargazing came through headphones, carrying a hint of suppressed excitement.
"I saw the database," she said. "The records of the Mo family's Tiangong City... Zhang Yan, they are very likely still alive."
Zhang Yan did not answer.
He looked down at the glaring "extinct" sign on the tablet and the contradictory timestamp below it.
Outside the window, the night was deepening.
And at the distant third rotation point of the Milky Way's spiral arm, at a coordinate marked as "death," perhaps there are pairs of eyes watching the direction of Earth.
They waited for 30,000 years.
Now, they've finally gotten what they've been waiting for.