Chapter 414

"Raising to Level 7 shouldn't be hard; I'll figure out what this blueprint is soon enough…"

Lin Xian took a deep breath; he currently had six construction sequences and could perfectly manage both building and refining the Sky Dome Train while simultaneously devouring and upgrading his Mechanical Heart. During the Dawn City battle, the Hell Black Chrysanthemum on the Infinite had absorbed a great deal of dark energy. In previous massive monster waves, Lin Xian's mechanical source points, converted via the Heteromorphic Cube, had always made him feel he gained more than other psychics.

But this time, after the dark energy synchronization tower in the city was activated, the dark energy leakage from S-class entities and the Corpse Drivers was completely neutralized. The benefit was that such high concentrations of dark energy didn't trigger more mutations among the populace; the downside was that top-tier psychics received no significant evolutionary boost.

Yet there was no alternative—dark energy had always been more harmful than beneficial to humans. Lin Xian's Hell Black Chrysanthemum and Heteromorphic Cube were already uniquely extraordinary artifacts. After this battle, with help from the Phoenix Society and the Silent City, his blueprint library was nearly complete, encompassing nearly all remaining human technological capabilities. Now he could focus entirely on devouring machinery to enhance his Mechanical Heart—this, too, was a blessing.

Gazing at the massive celestial body floating within the Black Star Forge, Lin Xian sighed softly. To upgrade his Mechanical Heart now, he could only devour starships, ocean liners, and high-power trains. Fortunately, he had acquired an Invincible-class vessel in Dawn City—he estimated it would yield at least ten thousand source points, perhaps even grant him a new skill…

Just as Lin Xian was about to withdraw from the Black Star Forge's consciousness space, he suddenly felt an inexplicable chill emanating from deep within the massive celestial body. He immediately directed his consciousness toward its deepest core, discovering a pitch-black, hollow abyss—like the void of deep space. Upon arriving here, his hair stood on end.

Because he felt as though he were being watched.

"Grace?"

{I am here}

"Has there been any anomaly at the Southern Heaven Gate?" Lin Xian stared into the black void, instantly realizing his consciousness had connected with the Flicker Bullet and Grace—this sensation seemed to originate from the deep space beyond the Southern Heaven Gate.

Blue Star's stationary deep-space orbit: Southern Heaven Gate.

Main core module, control room.

Dozens of space-suited Deep-Space Corrupted Corpses floated silently in the chaotic control room. Grace, while using repair tools to reconstruct the atomic system's wiring, responded to Lin Xian.

{Multiple unknown magnetic fields and dark matter particle fluctuations exist here. The Pandax-4T liquid xenon detector registered an extraordinary dark matter signal in the ultra-low recoil energy band—emitted on Revelation Day. The previous research team used gravitational wave decoding and appeared to have extracted some critical information. I am attempting to restore it.

{Additionally, I have detected numerous non-Blue Star microorganisms and biological waveforms exhibiting Spirit-Resonance responses. Currently, they pose no threat to me. Is there any specific task you wish to assign me?

Lin Xian had previously told Grace that the Phoenix Society and Chu Yan needed to establish communication with her for defense platform coordination. But now, his inquiry had another purpose.

Because he felt—as if an eye were staring at him through the Flicker Bullet.

"Have you detected anything else beyond the platform, in other deep-space directions?"

{I have activated partial external monitoring systems of the defense platform. After the last high-energy-density launch, the Southern Heaven Gate's orbital path has become extremely unstable. I can only adjust it via the propulsion system—I cannot determine whether it's due to a change in Blue Star's gravitational structure or if the entire Southern Heaven Gate is being pulled by some powerful gravitational source.

Lin Xian frowned: "I suspect it's the latter. Check immediately. Also, shut down the backup nuclear core. Deploy the solar panels. Move out of the dark energy storm zone and standby."

{Grace understands}

On the deep-space orbit, the solar wings of the Southern Heaven Gate's four energy modules began extending—folding open into vast, radiant wings, slowly turning toward the sun.

In the opposite direction of darkness, a two-dimensional dark surface, like an abyss, swallowed all starlight—like the universe's gaping maw, slowly opening…

"Lin Xian."

At that moment, the carriage door opened. Chen Sixuan stood at the threshold and said: "It's dark outside."

Lin Xian opened his eyes and looked out the window. The entire orbital docking port was utterly black, with only the sound of tidal waves drifting from afar. Within the ruined port, zombie figures darted past, howling outside the train.

Lin Xian glanced at the time: 19: 6.

Considering the scale of Star Abyss #8, this was very late. Recent observations by the Phoenix Society indicated that Star Abyss #8's expansion had slowed dramatically—a good sign for survivors. But the Phoenix Society remained vigilant; thirteen star abysses still loomed over Blue Star, and human settlements remained desolate wastelands.

Splash.

Watching several zombies approach outside, Lin Xian pulled down the sunshade and asked Chen Sixuan: "Has the Phoenix Society sent any updates?"

"No." Chen Sixuan looked at him, noticing his expression was off. "What's wrong?"

Lin Xian shook his head: "Nothing."

Chen Sixuan glanced at Lin Xian's weary face, concerned, and said: "If we depart at dawn, we'll reach the Taku Deepwater Floating Port in four hours, and Haiyan Island seven hours after that—we'll arrive before nightfall."

Lin Xian pinched his brow: "Do you think taking the Oceanic Orbit is a good idea?"

Chen Sixuan walked in, closed the door, and sat on the sofa: "Of course not. Though there's only one star abyss in the ocean, I can't help thinking of the deep sea whenever I recall the atmospheric mica and Sky Tendrils. Add to that: if a disaster strikes while the train is on the ocean, we have no alternatives. The danger is far greater than on land. And your Corpse Drivers saw something in the ocean—meaning it's connected to Star Abyss #13 in ways we can't predict. All this proves our journey is extremely perilous."

Lin Xian frowned: "But?"

"This is the end of the world," Chen Sixuan said, her tone softening as she smiled slightly at him. "We don't have many choices, do we?"

"Traveling by land with the Dawn Center is safer, but the Phoenix Society's rescue progress will take at least two months. And traveling with a massive convoy gives you few opportunities to enhance your mechanical psychic abilities. Even ignoring your identity as the Swordbearer, whether or not we reach the polar region, the disaster threatening human survival remains unchanged. So now, you're not just thinking about supplies and train armor anymore, are you?"

Lin Xian's brow relaxed. He admitted: "I feel this struggle between humanity and the dark civilization isn't this simple—it's not just about military strength or some key piece of information."

"Professor Ye once said: the suspicion chain between civilizations cannot be broken. It's a fundamental axiom of cosmic sociology. Like hunters moving through a dark forest, every civilization must treat others as threats—because survival is the first imperative of any civilization. The total matter in the universe remains constant; the difference between advanced and primitive civilizations is merely the range of their rifles. Ants cannot understand why humans destroy their nests; we cannot understand why the dark beings destroy human civilization…"

"Since Revelation Day, humanity has been desperate, fleeing in panic. Now we think we're beginning to uncover the truth, finding the strength to survive in darkness. But there's one question we can't avoid: why did the dark civilization come to Blue Star? What is its purpose?"

Chen Sixuan said gravely: "You think this balance won't last long?"

"Not just me—the Phoenix Society, Professor Ye, they all sense it. That's why the Spark Project exists." Lin Xian shrugged. "I don't believe a civilization capable of spatial manipulation is merely a bloodthirsty beast. What we've seen, what we've defeated—perhaps it's only the tip of the iceberg. We haven't truly glimpsed this civilization, nor have we ever communicated with it."

Lin Xian looked at Chen Sixuan: "Suppose we were the dark civilization—what would our purpose be?"

Chen Sixuan shook her head, speaking softly: "Humanity cannot think from that perspective. All we can imagine are familiar motives—colonization, invasion. But that doesn't mean another civilization thinks the same way."

"You're right."