Chapter 97: Deep Space Echoes

The limited trade agreement with the Forged Fire Clan was like a stone tossed into a calm lake, stirring ripples throughout Qiming City. Although Chen Mo was cautious, the heavy‑industry blueprints and high‑strength alloy formulas the other side supplied were indeed tangible aid for Qiming City, which was in a rapid reconstruction phase.

Under strict review and safety Isolation, Kaiwen's academy began experimenting with Forged Fire technology. Soon, the next‑generation engineering exoskeletons became stronger and more durable, the bases and barrels of the city‑defense turrets employed a new alloy, and defensive power rose markedly. Even some agricultural machines were upgraded, greatly boosting cultivation efficiency.

"Hey, don't even joke, this bunch of iron clods does make solid goods," Kaiwen said, fiddling with a micro‑furnace refined from the Forged Fire blueprints, marveling, "It's just that the design style is too crude, utterly lacking any aesthetic, just like their robots."

In return, Qiming City exported to the Forged Fire Clan a batch of purified rare metals, some non‑core civilian‑grade energy conversion modules, and a special fungus cultivated in agricultural greenhouses—this fungus displayed astonishing survivability in the harsh environment simulations supplied by Forged Fire, sparking interest from the other side's researchers (if those cold robots count as researchers).

Months later, the Forged Fire Clan proposed establishing a temporary "neutral trade point" between Qiming City and one of their mobile outposts for larger‑scale material exchange and technology showcase. After weighing the options, Chen Mo approved the proposal, selecting a desolate meteor crater far from the city as the site.

When the Qiming City delegation—comprising Chen Mo, Su Yu, Kaiwen, and an elite guard squad—arrived aboard a modified transport ship, they saw a makeshift base jutting out of the crater like a steel jungle. Thick metal pipes lay exposed, roaring, while countless rugged, purpose‑unknown machines piled up, and the air was thick with metallic dust and ozone.

And the traders arriving were not limited to the Forged Fire Clan alone.

Several ships of wildly different designs docked at the base's edge—one resembling a gigantic jellyfish with a translucent hull that glowed from within; another sheathed in a biotic shell like the wreck of a deep‑sea leviathan; and even one entirely made of crystal, constantly refracting starlight.

"Whoa, an interstellar market, huh!" Kaiwen's eyes widened like a child in a toy store. "That's a Crystal Tongue Clan vessel, right? The database mentioned them—they specialize in energy‑crystal tech! The jellyfish‑like one… could it be the Luminous Jellyfish? A consciousness‑symbiotic civilization?"

Chen Mo also felt a flash of awe. Contact with the Forged Fire Clan seemed to open a door, revealing a corner of the universe's tangled complexity. These civilizations varied in form, and their technological trees were entirely different.

The trade was far from easy. The Forged Fire Clan, as organizer, took a steep cut and remained aloof. Most other civilization representatives were likewise cautious and self‑interested. Qiming City's Luo Ya civilian tech products and specialty resources drew some attention, but when they tried to probe for more information on interstellar affairs or other advanced civilizations, the replies were either silence or a demand for an unaffordable price.

"The information barrier is high," Su Yu whispered to Chen Mo. "They seem to have an unspoken pact not to open their core database to emerging civilizations."

During a difficult negotiation with the representative of that biotic ship—a being that communicates via psychic waves and looks like an upright starfish covered in scales—an anomaly erupted.

A shrill alarm suddenly blared throughout the trade base! It wasn't an external invasion but a breach from deep within the base, in the most tightly guarded area of the Forged Fire Clan—the high‑risk goods storage vault!

"Warning! Unauthorized spatial jump detected! Vault's seventh Isolation zone breached!" the electronic voice of Anvil‑IV emitted a rapid tremor for the first time.

A chaotic burst of energy flash erupted toward the vault, accompanied by a non‑human, high‑pitched screech! A shadowy, small ship that flickered between solid and phantom ripped through the damaged vault wall, thrusting toward space!

"It's the Void Shadow!" the Luminous Jellyfish's representative emitted a rapid psychic pulse, laced with disgust. "A bunch of scum that only knows theft and destruction!"

Almost simultaneously, the shadow ship, apparently to shake off pursuit, unhesitatingly launched several twisted unstable energy projectiles into the relatively densely populated trade zone! Those projectiles weren't aimed at specific targets; they were purely meant to sow chaos and obstruction.

The energy bolts trailed fiery tails, whistling toward the Qiming City delegation and the nearby traders of other civilizations.

"Defend!" Chen Mo barked. The Order Administrator's battle blade materialized in his hand, blue light flaring.

The guard squad instantly formed a formation, deploying layer upon layer of energy shields. Kaiwen likewise immediately activated his portable deflection field generator.

But the energy bolts were too fast and their coverage too wide! A disaster seemed imminent.

Chen Mo didn't limit himself to defending his side. A brilliant blue aura surged in his eyes as he instantly expanded his connection to planetary Order to its limit, perceiving the chaotic trajectories and structures of those energy bolts! He couldn't intercept them all, but he could do something else!

"Definition: This domain's spatial structure—stable!"

He swung the blade not at the bolts but at a swath of space ahead of the delegation! The force of Order spread like invisible gel, instantly filling that area. The unstable energy projectiles heading that way slowed dramatically upon entering the temporarily "reinforced" space, their internal energy structures becoming wildly unstable and detonating prematurely in mid‑air.

Boom! Boom!

The explosion's shockwave was greatly dampened by the reinforced spatial structure, failing to cause serious damage.

The bolts aimed elsewhere were largely intercepted by the base's defense turrets hastily activated by the Forged Fire Clan, though one struck a small trade vessel, causing an explosion and scattering debris.

The Void Shadow ship, seizing the chaos, overloaded its engines, turning into a streak of light that vanished in an instant into the deep starry void.

The crisis abated temporarily, leaving the trade base in wreckage. Representatives of several civilizations, still shaken, glanced at Chen Mo with added scrutiny and… a barely perceptible nod of approval. His precise and potent spatial intervention had clearly exceeded their expectations of a "new‑emerging civilization."

"Thank you for your timely action, manager of Qiming City," the Crystal Tongue Clan's representative—a humanoid composed of countless tiny crystals—said in a bell‑like clear voice. "Your 'Order' power is impressive."

The Forged Fire Clan bore undeniable responsibility for the incident; the electronic tone of Anvil‑IV carried a hint of suppressed anger (if robots can feel anger): "'Void Shadow'… database updated. The account has been recorded by Forged Fire." It turned to Chen Mo: "As compensation, your trade tax is waived this time, and we'll also provide a basic dossier on known hostile forces in the nearby star region (including 'Void Shadow')."

This basic dossier is exactly what Qiming City urgently needs!

With unexpected gains and heightened caution, the Qiming City delegation returned home. The trade‑station trip gave them a concrete sense of the interstellar community's complexity and danger, and it showcased their own strength, earning a faint sliver of respect.

Chen Mo entered the acquired star‑region data into the central database, cross‑referencing it with Han Qing's intelligence network. Many vague Star Map sectors lit up, marked with known civilizations' activity zones and potential danger areas.

Yet, late into the night as the data analysis ran, Su Yu, with a hint of unease, found Chen Mo studying the Star Map.

"Chen Mo, something feels off," she said, rubbing her temples, her complexion a bit pale. "Since returning from the trade station, that… cold mark seems… more active."

Chen Mo's mind tightened. "Can you sense any more information?"

Su Yu closed her eyes, fully activating True Knowledge Vision. This time, perhaps the distance had closed, or perhaps the other side was no longer fully concealed; she captured more fragments.

"…not one… but many… cold… consciousnesses… resonating… they are… searching… like Hunter Dogs… tracking some signal…" she stammered, cold sweat beading on her forehead. "Their target… isn't just the mark… they're looking for… a 'Key'… or a 'Doorway'…"

Suddenly, she snapped her eyes open, a flash of terror in them. "They sensed me! They're trying to reverse‑locate us!"

Almost simultaneously, Qiming City's Deep Space monitoring network issued the highest‑level alert! An exceedingly faint signal, yet laden with indescribable malice, arrived from the distant deep‑space beyond, piercing layer after layer of spatial barriers like an invisible tendril, brushing the edge of the Solar System, and it pointed—astonishingly—toward Earth.

The signal's content could not be fully deciphered, but its core fluctuation shared a source with the cold consciousness deep in the mother‑nest three years ago and the "Hunter Dog"‑like searching intent Su Yu just sensed.

Moreover, the signal seemed to contain a hint… of a familiar, unsettling distortion.

Kaiwen scrambled into the command room, his face ashen. "Boss! The signal's been analyzed! Besides the cold‑mark source, inside… there's an extremely faint, already twisted‑contaminated… Luo Ya civilization identification fragment!"

The command room fell into dead silence.

The cold mark, the searching Hunter Dogs, the twisted Luo Ya signal…

All this points to a chilling possibility: the "Chaos Whisper" that silenced the Luo Ya civilization years ago never vanished, and may even be linked to this cold will that roams the cosmos marking civilizations! And Earth—or, rather, Qiming City, heir to the Luo Ya legacy—has already been firmly locked onto.

"They… are coming," Su Yu's voice trembled, but it was more a resolute certainty after confirmation.

Chen Mo walked to the massive observation window, gazing at the tranquil starry sky beyond. The enemy's veil had lifted a corner, larger, older, and more dangerous than imagined.

He drew a deep breath, turned to face the others, his eyes showing no fear, only rock‑solid resolve.

"What's meant to come will always come."

"Notify all departments: maximum combat readiness."

"This time, our battlefield will be the sea of stars."