Chapter 130: Temporal-Spatial Fusion: Analyzer Activation

Zhao Jianguo's hand was still on the Analyzer's casing, his fingertip pressing the activation button without letting go. The thing had just buzzed halfway and then went out, like an old radio with an unstable signal, stuck halfway and gasping.

He lowered his head to glance at the Terminal Screen; the fusion progress bar of the two Metal Sheets was stuck at 83%, flashing red twice. This broken system had never been so finicky; before, checking in would instantly credit a thermos, but now even assembling a single part requires negotiating conditions with it.

"Try again," he gritted his teeth, pressed the Terminal to his chest, and with the other hand re‑entered the frequency code. This time he used the number combination from the Steel Rolling Factory boiler room duty roster—Sha Zhu had gotten drunk last month and shouted that it was the luckiest number in the whole plant, and unexpectedly the string of gibberish hit a resonance point.

The Screen flashed green, and the progress bar crept upward. When it reached 99, a muffled thud sounded nearby, like someone hammering an iron pot.

Zhao Jianguo jerked his head up, seeing Chen Jianguo convulse, blood‑streaks seeping from the corner of his mouth. The Special Forces Captain immediately signaled the Team Members to advance, but no one dared get close; after all, the guy now resembled a time bomb, and no one knew whether he might explode a black hole the next second.

"Ignore him!" Zhao Jianguo shouted, "Let me get this thing working first!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the Analyzer emitted a long "ding," and blue light spread across the floor like a pool of liquid mercury. Zhao Jianguo quickly lifted it, and the beam shot straight at the blue‑brick ground in the center of the Courtyard.

The dust in the brick joints began to tremble, arching upward block by block. Before anyone could react, a rumble sounded, the ground collapsed into a circular pit, revealing a ring of Bronze Door framing beneath, etched with winding lines that resembled a map or a child's scribbled maze.

"Damn..." Zhao Jianguo stepped back half a pace, "My own Courtyard can still dig out an air‑raid shelter?"

The Special Forces Captain said nothing, merely adjusted the angle of the disc device in his hand and scanned the pit bottom. When the data popped up, his brows knit so tightly they could crush a fly.

"This isn't modern craftsmanship," he whispered, "At least… not from our era."

Zhao Jianguo laughed, "Aren't you scavengers? Can't even recognize a cellar?"

"It's not a cellar," the Team Leader said, staring at the Bronze Door ring, "It's a secret room entrance with star‑track positioning. There are only three recorded sites nationwide; the other two lie deep in the Northwest Gobi and have long been sealed."

Zhao Jianguo grinned, "So does today count as the fourth?"

He was about to step down when the Terminal on his wrist jolted. A prompt popped up: 【Detected homologous signal, intensity 87.6%, recommended immediate docking】.

He stared blankly for two seconds, then turned to look at Chen Jianguo still lying on the ground. The man's eyelids twitched, then he opened them abruptly, his voice hoarse: "Don't go down… that's the Starting Point… also the End Point."

After speaking, he seemed about to faint, but his hand clutched Zhao Jianguo's trouser leg tightly.

Zhao Jianguo crouched and slapped his face twice, "Wake up! If you know anything, say it now, don't make me guess later!"

Chen Jianguo gasped a few breaths, his gaze drifting, "First Witness… device… they buried it here… just to wait… for the next Witness."

"Which Witness?" Zhao Jianguo pressed.

"You!" Chen Jianguo actually smiled, blood at the corner of his mouth, "You think you're the first to come through? Someone tried long ago… failed… that's why this was left behind."

Zhao Jianguo was stunned.

He wanted to ask further, but the group of Special Forces members behind him had already gathered, holding instruments to measure data at the pit mouth. The Team Leader raised a hand to stop them, signaling not to act rashly.

"Do you plan to go down?" he asked Zhao Jianguo.

"Or what?" Zhao Jianguo patted his pants and stood, "I deciphered the thing, I forged the path; if I don't go, who will? Do you want your junior underlings to scout for me, then write a report that I destroyed national relics?"

The Team Leader stared at him for a few seconds, then said, "Take this." He handed over a flat box containing a Metal Sheet, "It can stabilize low‑frequency fluctuations and prevent consciousness separation."

Zhao Jianguo took it, examined it, and nodded, "Thanks. But if I don't make it up, remember to look after my Shuang Baotai, formula milk costs eighteen per month, just have Sha Zhu reimburse it."

He finished speaking without waiting for a reply, stepped onto the collapsed bricks and slid down. The pit wasn't deep—just over a person's height. When he hit the ground his foot slipped, nearly falling flat on his face. He steadied himself, raised the Analyzer and shone it forward.

The blue light struck the inner side of the Bronze Door, and the wall's patterns lit up, rotating in concentric circles, matching the star map on the Terminal interface perfectly.

A few steps ahead stood a stone platform with an object in the center—its shape was almost identical to the System Terminal on his wrist, just a size larger, its surface covered with a patina of verdigris, and a line of inscription at the edge read: "Civilization endures, witness never ceases."

Zhao Jianguo stepped two paces closer, reaching out to touch.

His fingertip just made contact, and his mind buzzed, a scene flashing by—

A low factory building, windows frosted in winter, a toolbox stacked in the corner. A man in worn work clothes stood at a table with his back to him, holding a similar device adjusting parameters. The moment the man turned his head, Zhao Jianguo almost shouted.

That face…

How could it look exactly like his?

Only thinner, a scar at the corner of his eye, his gaze as deep as well water.

The image vanished quickly, like a TV signal cutting out. Zhao Jianguo staggered back a step, his back hitting the stone wall, cold sweat streaming down his temples.

At that moment, a sound came from above. The Special Forces Captain crouched at the pit mouth and looked down, "How are you? Any adverse reactions?"

Zhao Jianguo gave no answer, lowered his head to stare at his hand. Where he had just touched the device, his skin shimmered with a faint golden hue, then vanished instantly.

He suddenly recalled something, pulled up the Terminal to check the health sync rate. The value that had been constantly dropping was now stuck at 91%, no longer decreasing.

"Interesting..." he murmured.

Above, the Special Forces Captain was still asking whether to provide support.

Zhao Jianguo looked up, smiled, "No need for now. But you'd better prepare some heavy clothing."

"Why?"

"Because I think," he paused, his gaze landing on the device on the stone platform, "once this thing activates, things might change dramatically here."

Before he finished speaking, the Terminal automatically displayed a new prompt:

【Detected Original Permission Module】

【Inherit the 'First Witness' identity?】

【Confirm Y/N】

Zhao Jianguo stared at the Y for two seconds, his finger hovering in the air.

Wind blew in from outside the Courtyard, swirling a few Withered Leaves. One drifted into the pit mouth and settled on his shoulder.

He reached out to brush it away.