Chapter 252: The True Face of the Borderland

Yu Sheng spent a long while rummaging through his thoughts, imagining what the landscape and customs of Qianfeng Lingshan and the planet Tai Xu Ling Shu, which it led, might be like, and how a power controlled by cultivators could operate and interact with other factions beyond the Borderland—he imagined all this not for any other reason, but purely because of his professional habit, feeling there were at least a million words he could write about it…

Bai Liqing couldn't guess what this anthropomorphic entity was thinking; she merely glanced at Yu Sheng with mild curiosity: "I feel you're quite concerned about 'Qianfeng Lingshan.'"

"Uh, it's just that this is my first time dealing with one of these 'outside' factions, and they gave me such an important lead," Yu Sheng quickly brushed it off, "I'm just curious, nothing more."

Bai Liqing seemed about to say something, but just as she was about to speak, the ring of a phone interrupted her.

After answering the call and exchanging a few brief words with the person on the other end, she looked up.

"Good thing you came today—would you be interested in coming with me to another lab? There's something there you'd definitely find interesting."

Yu Sheng blinked: "What's that?"

"The recovery team that returned from outside the city has finished their inspection; the items they brought back have been moved to the containment lab," Bai Liqing said calmly. "The remnants left behind by Ankaela—now you can go see them."

Yu Sheng's expression shifted slightly, then he nodded, calm and serious.

"Then come with me," Bai Liqing said, already turning and walking down another corridor.

But after only a few steps, she stopped before a vending machine, bought a loaf of bread, and handed it to Yu Sheng: "Sorry, just make do with this for now—we probably won't have time to eat slowly in the cafeteria."

Yu Sheng paused, surprised she'd thought of this, then smiled and took the bread: "Hah, no problem. I said I was coming to mooch your cafeteria mainly to feed Hu Li—I just saw her eating happily in there."

Airen, perched on Yu Sheng's shoulder, muttered offhandedly: "Yeah, she's happy with anything to eat—just food makes her happy…"

Under Bai Liqing's guidance, Yu Sheng wound through several more "transfer points" in the headquarters building, a labyrinth of spacetime, then passed through a corridor that always gave the impression of being tilted, finally arriving at the so-called "containment zone."

Or more accurately, one of the hundreds or thousands of containment zones connected to this building.

The Special Task Force's headquarters building was like a colossal tree growing at a cosmic transportation nexus; most people—even many of its own staff—only ever saw its trunk. Its branches and roots spread everywhere through the chaotic spacetime structure of the Borderland, and nearly every tiny branch ended in a different functional zone—deep dive facilities, storage areas, harmless alien zones, alien species' hideouts, containment zones, customs ports, alien embassies, abandoned stations, hazardous floors…

Everything you could imagine or not imagine was here, and Yu Sheng even suspected that even Bai Liqing, who had controlled this colossal tree for a hundred years, couldn't possibly know the exact path and backstory of every branch.

So when he passed through the final door and saw before him a massive cube floating in dark void, he wasn't surprised at all—he'd long since grown indifferent to whatever strange scenery this building might contain.

"This is one of the highest-security containment zones directly linked to headquarters," Bai Liqing said, raising a finger toward the corridor they'd just come through. "Its structure extends even beyond the Borderland's edge, into the 'other side' invisible to the naked eye. Its 'shell' is captured by a star, held in equilibrium. This corridor is directly controlled by my mind—if anything inside this cube 'container' breaches containment, the corridor will sever, and the entire facility will instantly drop out of the Borderland into the star's fire."

Yu Sheng listened, astonished yet puzzled: "Isn't this supposed to be classified? You're telling me this so openly?"

"You're a friend of the Special Task Force," Bai Liqing said calmly. "After you resolved the threat posed by the Obscure Angels to the Borderland, there's almost nothing left for us to keep secret from you—especially intelligence regarding the Obscure Angels and containment mechanisms. Though you may not feel it yet, in future cooperation, sharing this information will be essential for both sides."

Yu Sheng listened thoughtfully, then looked up at the floating bridge opposite the massive cube suspended in darkness. After a long pause, he finally asked the question he'd long wanted to ask: "If you're saying that, then there's something I've been curious about for a long time—what exactly is your tech level like?"

Bai Liqing slowed her pace and turned to look at Yu Sheng: "You mean the technology you've seen here doesn't match the everyday tech level in Dacheng, right?"

"Exactly," Yu Sheng spread his hands. "I've seen what Dacheng is like—it's a 'modern big city,' sure, but everything's… how to put it… 'normal.' Cars still run on wheels on the ground, no strong AI or anything. But look at this place—this floating bridge, the giant spatial structures, and that energy barrier I saw in the prison holding the cultists—total black tech…"

He paused, making a clear gesture of a gap. "This kind of mismatch—there's got to be several generations of tech difference. There must be an explanation. Or is it still classified?"

"I thought you never asked because you didn't care—or didn't notice," Bai Liqing looked at him silently for a moment, then shook her head. "It's not hard to explain. The facilities you've seen in this 'building' aren't 'black tech'—in fact, they're the true technological level possessed by the Council and the Special Task Force. What you've seen in 'Dacheng'… is the Borderland's 'baseline state.'"

"…Baseline state?" Yu Sheng frowned, looking confused. "What does that mean?"

"Think of it as an 'anchor,'" Bai Liqing said calmly. "Dacheng is a society built on 'normality,' 'rationality,' and 'order,' developing slowly and controllably without external interference. It was designed as a massive 'cognitive stability anchor.' This 'anchor' firmly pins the entire Borderland at L-0 level. Without it… can you guess how deep this city might sink?"

Yu Sheng: "... Holy shit?"

Airen, perched on his shoulder, immediately slapped him: "Crude!"

"You're way cruder than me!" Yu Sheng swatted away the doll's hand, turned, and stared wide-eyed at Bai Liqing. "Wait—you're saying human society in Dacheng is an anchor keeping the entire Borderland at L-0 depth? So that means Ankaela's attack earlier…"

"Yes. For us, it was the most terrifying night in history—we had vast armed forces and countless defense lines beyond the Borderland to repel potential threats. We've always carefully maintained Dacheng's slow, safe development, free from external interference, to prevent our home from collapsing. But the Obscure Angels broke through without reason, straight into the Council's heart."

"At the time, countless people prepared for the worst. I even considered fragmenting part of the Borderland to temporarily exile Ankaela—thankfully, we never had to."

"In terms of destruction, Ankaela's arrival might have only destroyed one city. But in effect, the city it destroyed was the core of the Borderland's power—unique, irreplaceable."

Bai Liqing stopped, quietly watching Yu Sheng's eyes.

One word. One shot. One inside. One content. One look!

"So now you understand what a huge thing you did that day."

Yu Sheng rubbed his forehead.

He'd thought the information about Qianfeng Lingshan was the most he'd encountered today—but clearly, he'd been too hasty.

The Borderland is truly rich in talent and secrets… just how many more mysteries does this bizarre place hide?!

"Can I ask one more thing?" After holding back for a long time, Yu Sheng finally spoke again. "How big is the Borderland?"

From the power the Special Task Force had revealed so far, and the occasional mentions by Li Lin and Xu Jiali about the "outside," he'd already sensed that the Borderland as a faction might be vastly different from what he'd imagined.

"If you mean a purely geographical concept, then the Borderland is exactly as you know it: one massive 'Dacheng,' plus the vast wilderness beyond, plus the 'border' encircled by boundary markers—that's all it is: just a 'hub space bubble' within a special spacetime structure."

"But if you mean the extent of control by the Borderland Council as a faction… then it's enormous."

As she spoke, a faint smile appeared on Bai Liqing's face.

"Think of the Borderland as an egg floating in the universe. The Council's branches spread from within this egg, claiming a place among the stars. You've already seen a small part of those branches—the passages to the outside, the customs facilities, the ports—they're all 'vascular systems' transporting resources between branches."

"It's easy to see—look, we control the universe's largest natural transportation hub, the largest alien artifact trading market, countless races have established liaison stations here, building their trade networks on the order the Council has created. We maintain equal relations with massive ancient powers like Terra Academy and the Algraid Astrological Society…"

"We've gained so many advantages—so why does the Borderland remain peaceful? Do you really think it's because every race in the universe loves peace?"

Yu Sheng thought for a moment, his lips twitching: "Alright… that does make sense…"

(End of Chapter)