Chapter 311: Memory of the Star Map

Before the meeting began, Han Qing's Teaching Scar burned a new pattern— not pain, but as if someone were drawing on her skin with a warm brushstroke.

The pattern gradually clarified: a simple Star Map with only seven stars, linked into a spoon shape.

"The Big Dipper…" Han Qing froze, "Chen Mo's hometown is in the Northern Hemisphere; he once said he used this to find direction as a child."

The scar's temperature steadied, and the Star Map emitted a gentle glow. Time-04 whispered inside her, "This is a time anchor imprint. Long ago, someone anchored a 'gift' onto you; the trigger condition is… you successfully commanded the first coordinated defense."

The meeting took place in the center of the kitchen. Lao Zhao brought a folding table, on which lay simple tea and snacks— this time an osmanthus Victory Cake, made with the first batch of dried osmanthus sent from GuiHuaYuan.

"Finish eating before we reconvene," Lao Zhao habitually announced, "settle the mind, then you can win."

Everyone ate in silence. Xiao Yu took a bite, then stopped abruptly— using the Resilience Ruler, she saw that the cake contained a cloud‑mist (representing GuiHuaYuan) of 'anxious hope,' like a thin layer of sugar glaze coating each osmanthus flower.

"She worries the osmanthus sent isn't good enough," Xiao Yu whispered, "but she also hopes they'll… sweeten us."

Absolute Luminance-4 used the Mirror Ruler to analyze the cake's structure, and a continuous warm‑colored halo appeared on its surface: "According to the Asymmetric Value Weight Principle, this anxious hope's intrinsic value is 3.7 times that of the osmanthus fragrance, because it proves the giver 'cares about the receiver's feelings.'"

"In plain words," Su Yu snapped off a small piece of cake, "she cares about us. Eat it, don't waste this caring."

After eating three pieces of cake, Han Qing's scar‑Star Map began projecting a light screen.

In the light screen, Chen Mo's face appeared—not a video, but some pre‑recorded holographic message, with the background a small asteroid fissure on the south side of the ruins.

"If you're seeing this," Chen Mo's voice carried his familiar gentle smile, "it indicates three things: first, you have already obtained the Rulers; second, you just won the first coordinated battle; third—Han Qing, there should be a glowing Big Dipper pattern on your chest."

Everyone held their breath.

Chen Mo continued, "I had this pattern anchored before I left Earth by asking a friend who is a 'Time Weaver.' The trigger condition is complex, but the core is a single sentence: when you need to know 'who the enemy is,' it will activate."

He paused, and his smile turned a bit bitter:

"Because I know that someday the Beauty Council will need to arm itself. The first step of arming is to see the enemy clearly—not the abstract 'Committee,' but specifically 'which person, what technique, why they hate Beauty enough to try to erase it from the universe.'"

"So this gift is: an investigative report. About the founder of the Aesthetic Reverse Measurement Protocol and why he betrayed the founder group."

The light screen switched, displaying the cover of an encrypted file:

"Top Secret: Founder‑03 'Measurer' Rebellion Incident"

Chen Mo's voice shifted to a narration mode:

"Among the seventeen founders in the Cosmic Memory Archive, sixteen left behind rulers for measuring beauty. But the third—'the Measurer'—did not leave a ruler; he left a system blueprint for 'perfect measurement then perfect deletion.'"

The file pages turned, revealing Founder‑03's portrait: a humanoid silhouette with an icy expression, holding a double‑sided gauge. One side measures 'beauty's intensity,' the other measures 'beauty's fragility.'

"He believed beauty is 'the system's imperfect noise,' which must be eliminated to achieve ultimate rationality. The other sixteen founders vehemently opposed him and eventually exiled him. Yet he left a backdoor—the seed code of that reverse‑measurement system—buried in the deepest layer of the archive."

"The extreme conservatives in the Committee unintentionally activated that seed three months ago. Now, the one manipulating the reverse‑measurement protocol calls themselves the 'Measurer Heir.'"

Chen Mo's face reappeared, this time with a solemn expression:

"The good news: I know his weakness. The bad news: the weakness must be attacked by the 'most irrational' method."

"Because the Measurer Heir is an 'Absolute Rationalist.' He believes everything can be measured, quantified, and controlled. His only loophole is—"

Chen Mo pointed to his own chest:

"He cannot comprehend why anyone would die for something whose value cannot be measured."

"For example, why I remain in the ruins."

"For example, why you all would pick up the Rulers."

"For example, why Lao Zhao would adjust the fire seventeen times to get the porridge's 'just‑right temperature.'"

The light screen finally switched to a dynamic Star Map—the very "Seed Court" schematic that Chen Mo's notebook had prophesied on its last page, now annotated with precise coordinates and frequencies.

"This Star Map is the Measurer Heir's real‑time activity trace," Chen Mo explained, "I spent three years, using the plant network's memory‑diversion function, to quietly track his data phantom. Each time he employs a reverse measurement, a light point appears on the Star Map."

At this moment the Star Map shows seven light points, all concentrated in a deep sector of the Cosmic Memory Archive.

"He is still in the testing phase," Chen Mo said, "the first attack on the grafted bud was only a trial shot. But his ultimate goal is—"

The Star Map zoomed, revealing seventeen light points corresponding to the seventeen Rulers, and all the 'beauty threads' linking them. Those threads cover the entire Awakened Network.

"He intends to measure and delete in one go all entities marked by the Rulers as 'beauty,' including the 'most beautiful part' of each of you."

The scene froze.

Chen Mo's voice became gentle:

"The gift is given. Now comes private talk time—Han Qing, Lao Zhao, Su Yu, Xiao Yu, and all the new friends I don't know."

"Protect those things that 'cannot be measured for value.' Because those are the variables the Measurer can never calculate accurately."

"And… thank you all for giving meaning to my waiting."

The light screen dissipated.

The Star Map on Han Qing's scar gradually dimmed, but left a permanent imprint.

The kitchen remained quiet for a long while.

Lao Zhao was the first to act— he stood up, walked to the stove edge, and boiled a fresh pot of water.

"That Chen Mo kid," he said, turning his back to everyone, his voice a little hoarse, "doesn't even leave anything relaxed."

The water boiled, and he brewed a plain cup of green tea, using the "Home" tea bags Chen Mo had left— only three bags remained in stock.

As the tea aroma spread, Su Yu folded a new paper crane, its wing bearing the words: "Thank you for foreseeing what we need."

Xiao Yu's light imprint glowed faintly; using the Resilience Ruler she saw the gift's 'weight'— not material, but a 'web of possibilities' Chen Mo wove with his remaining time, ensnaring the enemy and also their slim hope of victory.

"So," Han Qing touched the Star Map imprint on his chest, "our current advantage is: we know who the enemy is, where he is, and his weakness."

"The disadvantage is," Kaiwen adjusted his glasses, using the Light Ruler to analyze the Star Map data, "his position lies in the archive's core defense zone. We can't get in."

Absolute Luminance-4 suddenly interfaced: "But the Beauty Council can. According to the original agreement, the Seventeen Inheritances have the right to enter any sector for 'aesthetic measurement assessment.'"

It displayed the Mirror Ruler's analysis result on its surface: "Suggestion: we can apply for lawful entry citing the need to conduct an aesthetic vulnerability assessment of the enemy's activity area. The Committee cannot refuse—this is a right granted by the founders."

Just as everyone began discussing the action plan—

The grafted sapling suddenly shook violently.

It wasn't an attack, but some intense Resonance.

An emergency message bearing -18 came from the soil:

"Detected Star Map data in Chen Mo's gift… activating a 'Sleeping Memory' deep within the sapling."

"This wasn't buried by Chen Mo. This is… something older."

"The sapling is 'recalling' its own origin."

The trunk's fissures began to glow, the light piercing the leaves that Old Zhao had previously covered and projecting another Star Map onto the kitchen wall—hundreds of times more complex than Chen Mo's, marked with the coordinates of seventeen civilizations and lines of "Aesthetic Resonance" linking them.

At the exact center of this Star Map was a continuously flashing red dot, its position perfectly overlapping the sector where the Measurer Inheritor resides.

Paradox-17 separated from Han Qing's body, its cloud mass rolling violently:

"This is… the Founder's buried 'Ultimate Alarm System.'"

"When the activity of the 'Enemy of Beauty' coincides with the location of the 'Source of Beauty,' the alarm triggers."

"And the red‑dot position shows—"

It split into two halves:

Left half: "The sector where the Measurer Inheritor is located is precisely the original conference room where the seventeen Founders first debated whether beauty should be measured."

Right half: "He is desecrating the Holy Land. And the Holy Land's Self‑Defense Protocol… may have already auto‑activated."

The two halves merged: "We must, before the Self‑Defense Protocol indiscriminately wipes the entire sector, get him out—or rescue the Holy Land."

"Countdown: 7 hours."

Han Qing stood up, the Teaching Scar's Star Map imprint and the Star Map on the wall beginning to flash in sync.

"The meeting ended early," she said, her voice carrying a calm resolve, "we have 7 hours to prepare an 'Aesthetic Assessment Operation'; the actual goal is to enter the Founder's Holy Land, either capture the person or save the place."

She looked at each person:

"Xiao Yu, you need to use the Resilience Ruler to calculate the Holy Land's structure's 'Maximum Tolerable Threshold'; we cannot let it collapse during the operation."

"Su Yu, prepare all possible 'Fragmentation and Reassembly' contingency plans."

"Kaiwen, establish a faint‑light communication channel to ensure we stay in contact after entry."

"Lao Zhao—"

Lao Zhao had already opened the food storage cabinet, packing quickly: "Got it. Rations, energy supplements, and 'comfort food for emergencies.' 7 hours, enough for me to make three batches with different shelf lives."

He pulled out a jar of honey produced in an asteroid fissure, the label reading: "Collected by Chen Mo, Year One of the Ruins."

"Take this as well," Lao Zhao placed the honey into his backpack, "in case we need a 'sweet boost to continue.'"

Han Qing nodded, finally looking at the Star Map on the wall.

Each time the red dot flashed, the countdown dropped by one second.

"Chen Mo," she whispered to the air, "your gift… arrived too timely."

"Timely enough to make one wonder, did you even calculate this '7‑hour countdown'?"

The Teaching Scar warmed slightly, as if responding.