Chapter 132: Shield and Sprout

The construction of the shielding array turned "Pure Land" into a huge construction site.

Without heavy machinery, all work relied on manpower—crowbars, ropes, handcarts, and most importantly: willpower. People dug usable metal from the ruins, tore rebar from old buildings, and salvaged wires from discarded vehicles. Stardust plants provided schematics for energy circuits; Li Xiaofeng led the technical team to turn them into reality: embedding stardust crystals into metal frames, laying guide lines, and calibrating resonance frequencies.

Su Yu was responsible for calibrating the core array. This wasn't physical labor, but it drained her mentally—she had to stand at the array's center, using her own resonance to adjust the energy flow of each node, ensuring they beat in sync like a heartbeat. After each calibration, her face turned pale and she needed a long rest.

But progress continued. On the third day, the first layer of the base array was completed; during testing it emitted a soft blue halo, like an inverted bowl covering the central area of the camp.

"Effective radius fifty meters," Kaiwen recorded the data, "it can filter 93% of the new spores from the air. But power consumption is high; at this efficiency, covering the whole camp would require…"

"We need more crystals, more energy, more time." Han Qing interjected, "According to atmospheric monitoring, spore concentration rises 0.5% per hour. At this rate it will reach the danger threshold in five days."

"Then speed it up." Su Yu wiped sweat from her forehead, "Starting today I'll calibrate two extra hours each day."

"Your body…" Aili worried.

"I can hold out." Su Yu looked at the people helping around the array's perimeter—there were elders, children, and injured members who had just recovered and joined immediately. A middle‑aged man with a broken leg used a crutch to pass tools; several kids hauled rubble in small carts; Xiao Yu and her friends brought water to the workers.

"They're all holding on," Su Yu said, "I can't stop."

On the fourth day, an urgent message came from the underground cavern.

In the communicator, Li Xiaofeng's voice held restrained excitement: "We've found a door. Not an ordinary door—it's… an energy door. At the end of the mural, an entire wall is."

Su Yu, Han Qing, and Kaiwen rushed over. The cavern entrance had been expanded and a simple lift installed. The descent was long; in the darkness only the lift motor's low hum and the shrinking circle of light above could be heard. The temperature dropped, the air grew damp, carrying the smell of soil mixed with some ancient metal.

At a depth of 1,200 meters the lift stopped. The exploration team had already set up a temporary camp here, and a few stardust lamps illuminated the vast cavern space. On the rock walls, the ancient murals came alive in the lamp light—star sky, spacecraft, kneeling humans, and… more details previously unnoticed.

"Look here," Li Xiaofeng pointed at a corner of the mural, "these haloed humans are weeping."

Indeed, the haloed humanoids in the mural have fine lines at the corners of their eyes representing tears. In the direction they kneel toward, the spacecraft is departing, its surface covered in complex symbols—now clearly visible, resembling Selan symbols but simpler and… more sorrowful.

"Like a farewell," Han Qing whispered.

"More like being abandoned." Kaiwen raised his detector, "The wall's energy readings are abnormal—not stardust energy, but another kind… gentler yet far older."

He walked to the cavern's end. There indeed was a "door"—not a door with panels, but a smooth, mirror‑like black stone wall whose surface bore a liquid‑like silver light flow moving slowly. In the wall's center was a palm‑shaped indentation.

"We've tried contacting it," Li Xiaofeng said, "using tools produced no reaction. But Xiao Liu accidentally braced his hand against the wall…" He pointed to a young expedition member, "and the wall lit up."

Xiao Liu extended his hand; his palm bore a small burn mark whose shape exactly matched the wall's indentation.

"It requires living contact," Kaiwen analyzed, "and perhaps… a specific genetic signature or energy frequency."

Everyone looked at Su Yu.

She approached the stone wall. In True Knowledge Vision, the wall wasn't stone but a highly compressed energy entity, its internal structure as complex as a galaxy. The palm‑shaped indentation was an identification interface.

"There might be danger," Han Qing said.

"But it might hold the answer." Su Yu took a deep breath and pressed her hand onto it.

Instantly, the stone wall came alive.

Silver light burst from her palm like ink dropped in water, spreading rapidly across the wall. The wall turned transparent, revealing what lay within—not the cavern, but outer space. Vast, endless space, nebulae swirling, stars being born and dying.

Then a voice sounded, not through the air but directly into consciousness:

【Identification: Seeder's Mark—incomplete body. Access granted: basic access.】

【Loading record: Earth Observation Station No. 7, final log.】

The scene shifted. The starry sky vanished, replaced by a simple, bright room whose walls were flowing light. A humanoid figure stood in the center, lacking distinct features, its body made of light but with a human outline.

【Recorder: Aio, Observer of the Seeders' Seventh Legion. Recorded time: Earth year BC.】

The being of light turned; although it had no facial features, Su Yu felt it was "looking" at her.

【If you hear this recording, it means two things: one, Earth civilization has made contact with Starfire again; two, we have failed.】

The voice was calm, yet betrayed deep exhaustion.

【We were the first visitors to Earth from the Seeders. We discovered that humans here possess a rare potential—not intellect, not technology, but 'empathy.' You can feel other beings' pain, sacrifice yourselves for strangers, and even in dire straits still choose hope. This is an extraordinarily precious trait in the universe.】

The image switched: ancient Earth, early human tribes gathered around a fire, sharing food, tending the wounded, and looking up at the starry sky with eyes full of curiosity rather than fear.

【We decided to guide you. We gave you preliminary Starfire knowledge—not technology, but a concept: cooperation over competition, understanding over conquest, the meaning of life lies in connection rather than possession.】

【But the Selan came.】

The image darkened. A massive fleet appeared in the starry sky, similar in shape and orbital array but far larger in scale.

【The Selan civilization is older and more powerful than ours. They too were once Seeders, but at some point… they changed. They view emotion as a weakness, empathy as inefficient, and a civilization's value lies in 'evolutionary efficiency.' They began to 'optimize' every civilization they encountered—using experiments to accelerate evolution, using spores to reshape ecosystems, and using arrays to monitor progress.】

The being of light approached, its light‑formed hand seeming to reach for Su Yu, but merely passing through her.

【We tried to protect Earth. But the Selan were too strong. The final agreement: we would withdraw, and the Selan would gain Earth's 'observation rights,' but could not intervene directly—unless humanity autonomously awakened Starfire. That is the trigger: once humans re‑encounter Starfire, the Selan can launch the full experimental protocol.】

【So, if you're hearing this, it means the Selan have returned. They are carrying out the experimental protocol. And you—the new Seeder—are resisting.】

The image displayed a warning symbol.

【Warning: the Selan's ultimate goal is not observation but 'harvesting.' When a civilization's collective consciousness reaches the 'resonance threshold,' they harvest the essence of its consciousness, as… I don't know what they use it for. But a harvested civilization becomes a hollow shell—all life loses selfhood and becomes pure data.】

【Before we left, we buried three gifts deep in Earth. First: this recording station. Second: the Shielding Core—it can generate a field to counter the Selan spores, but it requires a Seeder as the guiding core. Third: ……】

The recording suddenly cut off. The being of light flickered, like a bad signal.

【The third item was…… interfered with by the Selan…… position…… coordinates……】

The coordinate data turned to gibberish. The being of light finally said:

【Remember, your empathy is not a weakness—it is your greatest weapon. The Selan cannot comprehend why you would sacrifice for others, or why you can still believe in light even in despair. Use this. Make them confused, make them hesitate, and find opportunity in that hesitation.】

【May you…… find your own path.】

The recording ended. The stone wall returned to its original state, but at the center of the palm‑shaped indentation a small device rose—a hexagonal crystal with starlight flowing within.

"The Shielding Core," Kaiwen carefully removed, "this is the missing piece mentioned in the Starfire knowledge! With it, the array's power consumption can drop by 70% and its coverage can triple!"

"But it needs a Seeder to guide it," Su Yu looked at her palm, where a faint silver glow lingered from the contact, "which means I'm still the target."

"But at least we have a shield now," Han Qing said.

Li Xiaofeng suddenly pointed at the base of the wall: "Look, something is growing out of the wall."

Indeed, at the wall's base a small clump of tender green shoots was pushing out of a rock crevice. The leaves were semi‑translucent with silver veins inside. It was growing at a visible pace—not frantic, but steady, slow, and unstoppable.

"What is this?" Aili crouched to observe.

Su Yu reached out and lightly touched the leaf. The leaf wrapped around her fingers, warm, friendly.

In the True Knowledge Vision, this plant was glowing—not the blue light of stardust, not the silver light of Selan, but… pure white light. Like the first ray of morning sun.

【The third gift,】 a faint but clear perception flowed into her consciousness, 【Seed of Life. A seed that can grow in any environment. Given to civilizations that still believe in life.】

She understood. The third gift was not a device, but life itself. Life that could grow in Selan spore contamination.

"Take it back," she said, "and plant it in every corner of the Pure Land."

Upon returning to the ground, it was already late at night. But the camp had no rest—the spore concentration had reached the warning threshold, and everyone worked wearing makeshift filter masks. The sky was no longer a clear black, but covered with a layer of eerie gray mist, that was floating spore clouds slowly rotating in the moonlight.

The shielding core was urgently installed at the array's center. When Su Yu stood again at the guidance position, she could feel the difference—before it was like swimming upstream in a rushing river, now it was like having a sturdy boat. The core crystal hovered above her head, amplifying and refining her resonance.

"Start the test!" Kaiwen shouted at the console.

Su Yu closed her eyes, letting her consciousness sink into resonance.

This time, it was not pain, but… harmony. Her heartbeat synced with the core, the core with the array, the array with every stardust crystal. Blue light rose from the array's center, not an explosive spread, but a gentle spread, like water soaking parched land.

The light curtain extended upward, touching the base of the spore cloud.

The gray mist began to churn. The spores, like frightened insects, tried to flee the light curtain, but the light curtain kept rising, pushing them away from the camp. No purification, no annihilation, just pushing aside—like a hand, gentle but firm, pushing back the shadows that wanted to approach.

Thirty minutes later, with the Pure Land as the center, a clear dome appeared in the sky within a three-kilometer radius. Gray mist piled up outside the dome, like dark clouds encircling a glass sphere, but unable to enter.

People removed their filter masks, breathing clean air. Children looked up at that clear sky, seeing the night's true stars for the first time.

"Success…" someone murmured.

Then cheers erupted—not joyful cheers, but exhausted, tearful, relief-cheers.

Su Yu walked out from the array's center, her steps a little unsteady. Aili supported her and handed over a nutrient agent.

"You did it." Han Qing said.

"We did it." Su Yu corrected. She looked at each face around her—Han Qing's resolve, Kaiwen's focus, Aili's gentleness, Lao Zhao's vicissitudes, Li Xiaofeng's persistence, and those she didn't know but who had been striving all along.

This is the power of empathy. Not one person's heroism, but everyone's mutual support.

At that moment, Xiao Yu ran over, holding a small flower pot—inside was the silver plant brought back from underground, now grown to ten centimeters tall and blooming a tiny white flower.

"It bloomed!" Xiao Yu exclaimed, "It blooms at night!"

Su Yu took the flower pot. The white flower emitted a soft glow in the darkness, like a small lamp.

"Let's give it a name." Xiao Yu said.

Su Yu gazed at the flower, recalling the words of the Light Humanoid, recalling the ancients who tearfully bade farewell to the ancient seeders, recalling all who, in darkness, still chose to emit light.

"Call it 'Forget-me-not,'" she said, "Forget-me-not who we are, forget-me-not where we come from, forget-me-not where we are going."

Xiao Yu repeated the name, as if memorizing an oath.

Night deepened, most people went to rest. But Su Yu couldn't sleep; she stood on the Purification Tower, gazing at the spore clouds piled up outside the dome. The cloud layer rotated slowly in the moonlight, like a vast gray vortex.

And in the depths of the vortex, she seemed to see something—not an illusion, but an energy contour captured by the True Knowledge Vision. Vast, silent, approaching.

The second-phase intervention had already begun.

But this time, they had a shield.

And there was the Forget-me-not flower in hand, quietly glowing.