Chapter 241

The massive light screen belonging to the Foundation lit up once again.

【Foundation's Top 100 Containment Archives Revealed!】

【Rank 96: SCP-2000, Deus Ex Machina.】

【Archive Name: To a New World】

"Herta" Space Station.

Asta saved the edited document, exited, and looked at the massive light screen outside the space station with a puzzled expression, raising an eyebrow.

"Deus Ex Machina?"

This term was not obscure.

The so-called "Deus Ex Machina" originally referred to a situation where, when a plot reached a stalemate and the dilemma was difficult to resolve, a god with powerful abilities would suddenly appear to solve the problem, allowing the story to be wrapped up.

Since the Foundation had bestowed this name upon "SCP-2000," it at least indicated that "SCP-2000" could, in certain aspects, act like a god and resolve dilemmas.

Holding a "let's try it out" mentality, Asta searched for "Deus Ex Machina" online.

The results remained unchanged; nothing related to the Foundation appeared.

"Still as mysterious as ever~ Foundation~"

Asta shifted her gaze to the archive name, "To a New World."

Where there is a "New World," there is also an "Old World."

This naming convention was not rare.

In the galaxy, many civilizations, after leaving the cradle of their home planet, referred to colonies outside the home planet as the "New World" and the home planet as the "Old World."

It seemed to be an attempt to distinguish the two from a semantic level.

Asta did not know how the Foundation defined "New" and "Old," or what exactly these two worlds referred to.

But she had a vague feeling that the two worlds mentioned by the Foundation were not simply divided at that level.

Beneath it, there must be a more profound meaning, pointing directly to its essence.

Herta slowly opened her purple eyes and glanced at the screen reserved specifically for the Foundation.

"... Deus Ex Machina?"

"An interesting and bold name."

Herta had been waiting for Aha to continue playing tricks, yet nothing unusual had happened so far; it seemed that what she encountered in the "Simulated Universe" was not the true body of the Aeon of Elation, and she was not being watched by Aha.

If that were truly the case, then that would be for the best.

It was just a pity...

Herta only felt the lingering palpitations and aftertaste within her body, awakening her memories of that time again and again, making her recall the helplessness and weakness she felt when facing an Aeon.

It also reminded her of the surreal unreality of Aha being toyed with by that figure.

"Stop thinking about these things."

She shook her head, stood up, and spun around a few times, wanting to be like a washing machine and spin away all the bad thoughts.

After regaining her peace, Herta looked back at the screen.

Compared to Asta, she had some more radical guesses.

"It could be a device that achieves supernatural phenomena through mechanical means, or a device that intervenes in reality using mechanical means."

—The original meaning of "Deus Ex Machina" referred to using a crane or hoist mechanism to transport a low-level actor playing a god onto the stage.

"No, why should I make such a conservative guess?"

Herta's thinking took flight.

She seemed to see a civilization encountering natural disasters time and again, facing destruction.

The Foundation, time and again, played the role of a deity, resolving difficulties at the most critical moments of the civilization.

"I feel like this conjecture isn't bad either."

Saying this, she cast the Zhao Zena version of the "Simulated Universe" aside and focused her entire being on the screen.

The footage continued, and the archive content replaced the initial title.

【Object: Deus Ex Machina】

【Item Number: SCP-2000】

【Danger Level: Thaumiel】

【Item Description: "SCP-2000" is a Foundation facility located underground, used to rebuild civilization in the event that a K-Class end-of-the-world scenario cannot be prevented in time, thereby preventing humanity from heading toward extinction or near-extinction.】

【Since its establishment, "SCP-2000" has been activated at least twice.】

"Thaumiel? A new level after the Safe, Keter, and Euclid levels. What does this represent? Extremely dangerous? I checked many phonetic symbol texts and only found that 'Safe' corresponds to 'safe'; I couldn't find the corresponding meaning for the other terms."

"Your focus is wrong. What does a K-Class end-of-the-world scenario mean? Can the end of the world be classified?"

"Obviously, it can. Like the Xianzhou suffering from the 'Abundance Plague,' a civilization suffering from an invasion by the 'Antimatter Legion,' or being directly faced by a 'Lord Ravager'—these all count as the end of the world, but the intensity is clearly different."

"Thanks for the invite. I'm on the 'Herta' Space Station, just encountered the 'Antimatter Legion.' I have to admit, there must be a clear difference in intensity between the Legion and the anomalies: 'Abominable Flesh' destroyed a civilization, 'The Unclean' destroyed civilizations across the multiverse. It is very normal for the Foundation to make level classifications and corresponding contingency plans for this."

"Thanks to the big shot for the popular science. The kid says it's delicious."

"Asking a question: to make the Foundation activate 'Deus Ex Machina' twice, is the Foundation a bit too disaster-prone? Our civilization hasn't even seen a single Curio to this day."

"You are very lucky, but luck is ultimately just a coincidence. Now, this coincidence has ended. Welcome to facing the real and cruel universe."

"Astral Express."

Welt Yang was immersed in the world of giant robots, constantly searching online for information related to the giant robots on Jarilo-VI.

He was attempting to piece together its activation conditions, specific uses, materials used, internal structure, and other details.

It was just a pity that, like the nearly thousand years of lost history of Jarilo-VI, there was only sparse information available for reference.

And even that was vague.

After deep thought, he pushed up his glasses and saw the Foundation's program starting again.

What kind of weird thing was written on the screen?

For the first time, Welt Yang suspected he had developed presbyopia, as he had actually seen such outrageous content.

He took off his glasses, carefully wiped the lenses, and then placed them back on the bridge of his nose.

The archive clearly stated that "Deus Ex Machina" was used to rebuild civilization and had already been activated at least twice.

For the first time, Welt Yang discovered that this world was actually so crazy that even an extraordinary force like the Foundation was forced to restart civilization.

He did not doubt that the Foundation's methods and procedures for handling anomalies were more professional and meticulous than Herta's.

Their experience in facing and handling dangerous anomalies must also be much richer.

Yet even so, the Foundation was forced to restart civilization twice.

Welt Yang suddenly felt that this universe was quite dangerous, far exceeding the universe before he traveled, the universe where he had spent the vast majority of his time.

He leaned back in his chair, lifted his right leg, crossed it over his left, and looked at Himeko, who had appeared behind him.

Himeko brought over a cup of steaming coffee:

"I freshly ground it. Want to try?"

Welt Yang suddenly had no mood to care about those secrets of the Foundation.

Compared to those terrifying existences hidden in the shadows of history, Himeko's hand-drip coffee was more impressive.

"The level has improved," Welt Yang said while wiping away the sweat flowing down. "But the heat was a bit too much."

Upon learning that the milkshake added to the coffee had a burnt taste, Himeko carried the coffee cup and left the room while pondering how to improve her craft.

Welt Yang looked at the frozen planet beneath the train.

"Can the natural disasters caused by the 'Stellaron' and the 'Antimatter Legion' be counted by the Foundation as a K-Class end-of-the-world scenario?"

"And can 'Deus Ex Machina' help other civilizations rebuild?"

Looking at the massive light screen floating above the planet, Welt Yang suddenly had a bolder hypothesis in his heart.

"Has the Foundation ever restarted the universe?"

This was not a flight of fancy.

Since the Foundation could restart civilization, then would they possess the technology to restart the universe?

This also happened to explain why a behemoth like the Foundation would be unknown in the galaxy, and why the name of the Foundation had not spread across the network.