Chapter 308: Vibrant with Life

After another small team also mysteriously vanished near the core module, an unease bordering on panic inevitably began to spread.

And the reality of being lost in an unknown star sector, trapped in the deep void, only intensified this panic.

The Sage was forced to order everyone aboard the "Order Pillar" to inject a dose of Resilience Mixture to resist this spreading fear, ensuring order on the ship.

But he could feel that the fear had not vanished; it was still breeding and spreading in the shadows, like a malevolent spirit behind a curtain, stirring restlessly, eager to break through the barrier of reason.

"... A defective iteration product..."

Watching the cultivators who were busy with their heads down but actually had no idea what to do, the white-robed elder sitting in the first seat frowned tightly, cursing silently in his heart.

"We just lost contact with the lower mechanical module," a member of the Hidden Cultivation Society approached cautiously, bowing his head as he spoke to the elder, "During the last communication, they reported noise coming from the pipe interlayer and said they were going out to check the equipment, after which they disappeared. The monitoring system only captured the scene of them leaving the module door."

"What is the status of the engines?" the Sage asked in a deep voice, "When can we warp again?"

"The engines are charging, but some power lines are offline; the charging efficiency is only one-third of normal, and it will take at least one hour to start. And..." the believer reporting swallowed hard, "And we still haven't found that 'invader,' nor can we determine the exact cause of the previous warp failure. Even if charging completes, attempting to warp rashly might..."

"I don't need you to remind me of the risks involved; I will judge for myself when the time comes—tell me now, how many module sections have lost contact? How much area can we control?"

"The mechanical module, supply module, data center, residential zones 2 through 4, and the D-1, D-2 connecting sections have all lost contact. The status of other parts is still under control, but..."

The Sage's tone carried dissatisfaction: "But what?"

"But... something is very wrong. There is always some static in the data returned by the ship's perception system that cannot be filtered out," the believer said, subconsciously adjusting his standing posture, "Even in those module sections where communication is currently smooth and the duty personnel are safe, the perception system is returning some very strange signals. It feels as if, as if..."

"Don't stutter like that!"

"It feels as if the entire 'Order Pillar' is infected with some kind of 'disease.' Some of its structures are changing, identified by the ship's perception system as 'foreign objects,' yet these structures cannot actually be stripped away. And apart from that little bit of static returned by the perception system, all signals from sensors and monitoring systems are perfectly normal..."

"Additionally, duty personnel in some module sections have reported experiencing 'hallucinations.' They feel something crawling inside the walls, or sense someone talking to them through the ventilation system in the room. One mechanic even directly said... said his tool cabinet is watching him, and that there are several pairs of eyes inside the cabinet."

The Sage said nothing, merely thinking with a face as calm as water.

Defective iteration products are full of flaws; their fragile neural structures are easily influenced by the external environment like ordinary mortals. But their loyalty and endurance are unquestionable. The situations they report may contain deviations, but there will be no deliberate exaggeration or nonsense born of fear.

They truly felt something—some kind of "alienation" was spreading across the entire ship.

And recalling the several teams that went missing earlier, and those "Knights" who mysteriously vanished from the command chain, their disappearance... seemed less like an attack and more like being swallowed by the ship itself, swallowed completely clean.

The Sage slowly stood up, overlooking the great hall, his gaze seeming to penetrate the surrounding walls and floor, seeing the entire magnificent "Gao Ta."

The Order Pillar is the Hidden Cultivation Society's proud creation. Every such starship bears the mission of restoring world order and reshaping the structure of space-time. Its core comes from the great forging planet "Ladar," and every batch of metal used to build it has been personally blessed by a Living Saint. Whether it underwent final assembly on some industrial planet or was completed in some distant, barbaric expedition camp, its sanctity is unquestionable and must not be provoked.

But now, a "disease" is defiling this sacred creation.

The Sage lowered his head and took a small pendant from his robe. The pendant was made of gold, and between its exquisite double rings was set a shining red gemstone.

An ominous light seemed to flicker faintly within the gemstone.

"Notify all module sections that can still be contacted to hold their posts. Without orders, do not step out of the module even a single step, and do not enter any connecting corridors."

Although we do not know exactly what the missing personnel encountered, they all lost contact while active outside. The problem likely lies in the process of "leaving the module" or "entering the connecting corridors."

"Continue attempting to repair the navigation system. Before the phase engines finish charging, preparations for warping must be made."

With no specific location for the "invader" found and no way to rule out the hidden danger of interference again, rashly restarting the warp is likely to fail again. But regardless, preparations for warping must be made in advance—the existence of this ship has been exposed. If we continue to delay, perhaps the Special Operations Bureau's fleet will arrive.

Finally, the Sage looked at the cultivator beside him reporting the situation: "What is the progress of the Artificial Saintess's restart? Why hasn't she deployed yet?"

"R-report, the body repair is complete, but..." The cultivator hesitated clearly at this point, but under the Sage's gaze, he quickly continued, "The mind awakening has encountered a problem. The Saintess refuses to leave the Holy Coffin."

"Refuses?!" The Sage's face, usually stern and calm, finally showed shock. He seemed unable to believe it. "Is she afraid? Does she dare not go to the battlefield again?!"

"No, the Saintess's battle will is high. The mind monitor shows her anger toward the enemy and her firmness in faith are at their peak," the cultivator hurriedly explained, "It's just... it's just that she is performing a prayer to soothe the dead, and she believes this is very important."

The Sage frowned tightly: "... A prayer? Has no one told her what the situation is outside?"

"According to the safety manual, before the Artificial Saintess leaves the Holy Coffin, too much information about the 'outside world' cannot be revealed to her. Only a limited number of preset instructions can be input into the coffin. This is to prevent her mind from breaking through the safety protocols," the cultivator explained cautiously. "The monitor shows she is mourning the Knights who died in battle—her feelings for this batch of 'Knights' are exceptionally deep. The problem is likely in the factory settings, or perhaps related to their place of origin."

"Enough. I don't care what the reason is. I demand the Artificial Saintess leave her iron coffin immediately. If she wants to pray, she can pray her fill after we return. She can lie in the coffin for a hundred years if she likes, but now is not the time to waste time," the Sage waved his hand angrily, "Inject the Fourth Mixture, then restart to combat status. I will take the responsibility."

"This... Yes, I will immediately convey your orders to the Holy Coffin Chamber."

The cultivator turned and hurried away, beginning to convey the Sage's latest orders to the Holy Coffin Chamber.

The Hidden Cultivation Society members at several nearby operation seats continued to busy themselves with their heads down. Occasionally, someone would cautiously glance up, only to quickly lower their head again.

Someone heard a faint tapping sound coming from beneath the floor; someone heard strange noise in their earpiece; and someone felt a gaze falling upon them—but everyone remained silent.

This ship was gradually coming to life.

Many people felt it, including the "Sage"; he should have felt it too.

The ship was infected with a plague named "Vitality." Now, the symptoms of this vitality had spread to half the ship's area...

Fourth Mixture, maximum dosage, injected into the reserve tank.

Mind restart entering preheat process, ending in three minutes.

Holy Coffin power supply normal.

Deep within the "Order Pillar," in a circular great hall illuminated by warm yellow lights, several Hidden Cultivation Society members clad in short robes were bustling about.

Several thick pipes hung down from the walls and ceiling of the circular hall, converging in the center of the room and connecting to a device about five or six meters in diameter. The device was a deep iron-black color, its edges equipped with numerous monitoring devices and small pipes and cables. Faintly flickering lights shimmered between those cables and pipes. At the very center of the entire device, a black iron container tilted at approximately a 45-degree angle sat quietly.

That was the Artificial Saintess's "Holy Coffin."

Now, a faint humming sound was coming from within that iron coffin, as if some kind of "incubation" process had entered its final stages.

A Hidden Cultivation Society member wearing a white half-face mask approached the device, checked the readings on several gauges, and then beckoned to the others.

The assistants immediately stepped forward, placing candles on the candlesticks on both sides of the Holy Coffin and lighting the flames.

Then, the pump device on the lower level of the platform began to operate. The assistants bowed their heads toward the candle flames, praying softly and briefly.

"Mixture entering the pipes!"

The main operator looked up, staring tightly at one of the delivery pipes directly connected to the Holy Coffin, his muscles tensing slightly.

This was a very dangerous operation. The Fourth Mixture is extremely potent; it often requires a long preparation time before use. Injecting it directly without preparation like this carries a very high probability of the Saintess's mind melting down if anything goes wrong.

But there was no time to worry about that now.

A bizarre and terrifying atmosphere was spreading through the Order Pillar. Even this sacred Holy Coffin Chamber seemed to be gradually "coming to life," with probing gazes emerging from those blessed pipes and cables.

Pale blue liquid appeared in the pipes, pumping toward the Holy Coffin.

"No. 4 compound has contacted the neural intervention plug... reaction normal."

"The Saintess's mind is stable. Initiating reboot sequence."

"Recompiling the perception layer and expression layer..."

Hearing the report from the system, the lead operator finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Yet in the next second, he saw the pale blue liquid suddenly stain with a layer of blood-red!

(End of this chapter)