Chapter 277: Yun Ge, Has Learned to Misbehave

The silence at the heart of Kunlun Mountain was shattered; Xia Wan's desperate question, like a stone cast into a deep pool, had yet to settle its ripples when Qin Feng turned, directing all his attention toward the forcibly suppressed "Kunlun Star Core."

He hovered at the center of the frozen "Hollow," facing the jet-black Star Core. The system's immense computational power and Rule Analysis capability focused with unprecedented intensity on this artifact, potentially tied to the "Star Ring" and even higher secrets.

【Deep Analysis Initiated… Bypassing surface defense mechanisms… Accessing core information repository…】【Detected multiple layers of encryption and cognitive interference barriers… Attempting decryption…】【Information stream connected… Beginning reception…】

A vast, nebulous stream of information—far beyond human comprehension—flooded Qin Feng's consciousness, swiftly filtered, sorted, and translated by the system. Fragmented images, strange symbols, cold logical chains, and a sense of ancient, unchanging cosmic laws… poured in without pause.

Qin Feng, like a traveler adrift in the river of time and knowledge, rapidly skimmed through everything recorded by this "Star Core."

He saw… the "Star Ring"!

Not vague speculation, but clear, multidimensional Observation records! It was not a physical entity, but rather a periodic cosmic phenomenon spanning dimensions—or perhaps… the "aftereffect" of some unimaginably vast entity fulfilling its function. Its mechanism involved fundamental restructuring of space-time, matter, energy, and even information, far exceeding any simple description as "destruction."

He saw the origin of this "Star Core"—it was not part of the "Star Ring," but an artifact of a far older, vanished unknown advanced civilization. Its function was to monitor, record, and under specific conditions, attempt limited "interaction" or "avoidance" with the mechanism behind the "Star Ring." It was an "Observation Station," a "Recorder," and also… a fragment of a failed "escape pod."

That unknown civilization ultimately could not escape the "Star Ring's" cycle, but this "Star Core" carried their ultimate understanding and struggle against the universe and the "Star Ring."

The anomaly in Shenhua Tianfu arose because Dragon Country's exploration activities inadvertently triggered the "Star Core's" dormant, billion-year-old defense and information-release mechanism, causing localized rule instability.

As Qin Feng immersed himself in this vast information stream, a particularly unusual fragment—deliberately hidden and carrying a hint of "emotion"—caught his attention.

This fragment was not about the "Star Ring" or the unknown civilization; it resembled… a personal log? Its encoding differed starkly from the cold, objective tone of the "Star Core's" main data, exuding a… lively, even mischievous quality.

The information was translated into a fragmented, whisper-like voice, as if a girl murmured:

"…Caught again… so boring…" "…They said not to touch, not to touch, but one little touch won't break it…" "…Hmph, wait till I crack the final permissions—I'll lock you all out…" "…Huh? This low-dimensional civilization's signal is interesting… let's take a peek…" "…Oh no! Found me! Run!"

At the end of the message, a faint, playful girl's silhouette grinned mischievously at the "lens" (the recorder), then the image cut off abruptly.

This fragment clashed violently with the grand, tragic, cold cosmic panorama recorded by the "Star Core's" main body.

Qin Feng stared at the final frozen silhouette of the girl in the message. Though blurred, her lively essence stirred in him an inexplicable… sense of familiarity?

At that moment, the system detected an extremely subtle, nearly imperceptible marker hidden within this special information stream—a mark composed of three strange symbols, like a personal signature.

The system immediately cross-referenced all databases.

Moments later, a prompt appeared in Qin Feng's consciousness:

【Information marker comparison complete. Match rate: 99.97%.】【Marker source: Designation TX-07, Codename "Yun Ge," Affiliation (permission insufficient, data missing)… Status: Missing (epoch unknown).】【Associated records: TX-07 received disciplinary sanctions for repeated violations (including but not limited to illegal intrusion into low-dimensional civilization information networks, falsifying observation data, unauthorized deployment of "toys").】

Yun Ge?

Qin Feng looked at the name and codename, then at the mischievous girl's silhouette in the message; his brow twitched almost imperceptibly.

This "Yun Ge" was clearly the creator of this uniquely "personality-filled" message. From the records, she was evidently highly unruly, fond of mischief, and possibly possessed extremely high permissions.

How could such a whimsical, personal record have infiltrated this "Star Core"—an artifact bearing the final legacy of a dead civilization, solemn and heavy?

The only explanation was that this being named "Yun Ge," at some point, had somehow "infiltrated" or "accessed" this "Star Core" and left behind this mischievous "graffiti" matching her nature.

Her mark, along with the record mentioning the "low-dimensional civilization signal" and "found me, run!"—instantly connected in Qin Feng's mind to the artificial signal received by "Pioneer One!"

Could it be…

That signal was not from some unknown alien civilization, but this "Yun Ge," accidentally—or deliberately—leaving behind a "trail" while fleeing?

Qin Feng fell silent for a moment, gazing at the still-suppressed "Star Core," once a symbol of the universe's cruel laws and civilization's lament, then at the jarringly playful record belonging to "Yun Ge."

He suddenly felt that this solemn, dangerous journey to uncover cosmic truths had acquired some strange additions.

After a long while, Qin Feng looked at the mark and the girl's silhouette, and in a low, emotionless voice, almost to himself, he murmured:

"Yun Ge, has learned to misbehave."

The remark carried no reprimand, no resignation—it was more like… an evaluation tinged with a faint, unfamiliar familiarity, grounded in some unknown connection.

As if he knew this "Yun Ge," or at least understood some of her origins.

After this cryptic remark, Qin Feng no longer paid attention to this digression.

He temporarily archived all information regarding "Yun Ge," refocusing his attention on the "Star Core's" main records concerning the "Star Ring" and the extinct civilization.

Those were the most urgent matters now.

As for that "misbehaving" "Yun Ge," who might be causing trouble somewhere in the universe…

Qin Feng's gaze swept over Xia Wan, still sleeping within the Light Cocoon.

Perhaps, at some future moment, their paths would cross again.

For now, he needed to handle what lay before him.