Chapter 316: Remains of a Fifth-Level Civilization

At this moment, even Qin Hao couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

This is no longer something that can be described as merely a 'building' or a 'city'.

This is the manifestation of a civilization having brought its technological development to its peak, and also a monument carved onto the cosmic scale.

A…… majestic tombstone.

Countless fragments, large and small, broke away from the main body, forming a magnificent spectacle stretching millions of kilometers across.

They were not sucked away by the black hole's powerful gravity.

Instead, under the constraint of some invisible force, they moved along their own orbits, slowly revolving around the main city.

Through the high-magnification observation window of the Void Voyager, Qin Hao could clearly see the scenes on those fragments.

On some of the larger fragments towered various grand structures beyond human imagination.

Some resembled a tower piercing deep space, its surface covered with patterns so intricate they dazzled the eye.

Others resembled a massive dome made of pure crystal, its surface still reflecting light from distant galaxies despite erosion over hundreds of millions of years.

But without exception, these once-glorious creations are now shattered and ruined.

The sky-piercing tower was snapped at the waist, and the crystal dome was covered with spiderweb-like cracks, as if it might collapse completely at any moment.

An indescribable aura of ancient stillness and sorrow crossed the vacuum, enveloping the entire ruin.

Qin Hao didn't even need any instruments to clearly feel that sorrow, accumulated over endless ages.

He could almost imagine how glorious and prosperous this place had been in some distant past.

Countless beings of that great civilization lived and created here.

Now only this cold, dead wreckage remains, bidding eternal farewell at the edge of the black hole.

A feeling of insignificance welled up.

"Perform a material composition analysis of the castle's main structure."

Qin Hao suppressed the turmoil in his heart, recovered, and issued a command to the ship's system.

"Command received, analyzing…"

After a few seconds, a piercing alert sounded.

"Analysis failed! The target's material structure cannot be parsed, and there is no matching entry in the database!"

The synthetic voice of the ship's main control optical brain carried, for the first time, a hint of confusion.

"Warning, some properties of this material violate known laws."

Material that violates the laws of physics?

Qin Hao's brows furrowed slightly.

The Yanhuang Civilization's technological database, which integrated all knowledge of the two great empires of Ke Luo and Bi Te En, could be said to be the culmination of the present Milky Way Galaxy.

Even it cannot parse it, which in itself shows the problem.

However, Qin Hao did not rashly steer the ship toward any fragment, let alone land.

The unknown often equals great danger.

Caution is the most important quality of an explorer.

"AI, maintain current distance and conduct a circular flight around the outer orbit of the shattered castle."

Qin Hao issued the order again: "System, activate deep-scan mode and conduct comprehensive data collection and analysis of the entire ruin."

Compared to the ship's built-in detectors, Qin Hao's true reliance has always been the Replication System bound to his soul.

As his command was given, an invisible wave spread from Qin Hao's body, instantly covering the vast expanse of ruins ahead.

If the ship's scan is like using a flashlight to explore a dark room, then the system's scan is like directly copying the atomic structure of the entire room.

A data flood massive enough to crash the central AI of any fourth-level civilization began to surge wildly into Qin Hao's consciousness, into the system's database.

The castle's overall structural diagram, each fragment's orbital parameters, the geometric models of the remaining structures, the faint energy-residual signals within the ruin,

even the special gravitational and spatial curvature distribution in this space…

All of this was being parsed, modeled, and archived by the system at an astonishing efficiency.

Before Qin Hao's eyes, a virtual star map, billions of times larger than optical observation, was slowly being constructed.

It was no longer a cold wreck, but a treasury filled with data.

He saw the complex energy network hidden beneath the broken walls and ruins, long dormant but whose design surpassed his comprehension in ingenuity.

He saw the interiors of those sky-piercing towers, which seemed to be a special transmission conduit.

He also saw… at the core area of the main theme, there existed a point of strongest energy response, perhaps the castle's control hub.

It was also the location of that unique 'Gate' mentioned in the 'Final Barrier' file.

Just as Qin Hao was fully focused on analyzing the data fed back by the system,

a soft voice rang out directly in the depths of his consciousness.

That voice was not transmitted via any communication device, nor as a spatial wave, but was a direct mental communication.

"Strange intruder, welcome to the final refuge."

Hum!

Qin Hao's pupils contracted sharply, his muscles tensed instantly, and his gaze became as sharp as a blade!

He almost instinctively rose from the command seat, his eyes like lightning, scanning the empty bridge.

It's here!

He had triggered the ruin's 'defense mechanism,' or rather… its intelligent program.

Being able to bypass the Void Voyager's layered defenses and directly transmit information into his consciousness—this kind of technology is indeed powerful.

"Who are you?"

Qin Hao did not speak, but instead used his own mental power to transmit his thoughts.

But there was no response.

The voice vanished without a trace, as if it had never appeared.

However, the next second.

In the center of the bridge directly ahead of Qin Hao, countless gentle golden specks of light materialized out of nowhere.

They quickly converged, intertwined, and took shape.

Finally, a humanoid silhouette whose features and gender were indiscernible silently appeared there.

It hovered quietly in midair like that.

The Void Walker's alarm system gave no reaction, as if it could not detect the presence of this uninvited guest at all.

The other had no physical form, only a virtual projection, yet Qin Hao could clearly sense the vast, sea‑of‑stars aura emanating from it.

This was far from a simple image.

After the light coalesced into form, it did not speak immediately.

Its vague head turned slightly, as if appraising Qin Hao.

Qin Hao and the mysterious light faced each other across a distance of several meters.

One is the strongest being in the physical realm of the Milky Way Galaxy at present, the other is an unknown entity that has slept for an indeterminate number of years, hailing from a fallen Fifth-level Civilization.

Qin Hao could feel an invisible pressure enveloping the entire bridge.

It was not hostility, but a suppression stemming from the disparity in levels of existence.