Chapter 743: Difficult Communication

The bottom level of the Absolute Ridge Observation Post.

The core chamber of the pinhole passage.

Here there are no windows; the four walls are inlaid with dark, heavy strange‑iron plates.

In the center of the room, atop a three‑foot‑high strange‑iron pedestal, hovers a constantly pulsing light sphere.

Milky‑white energy currents flow across the surface of the sphere.

It is an information carrier that has been highly compressed and encoded.

Zhao Lao Nian stands before the pedestal, his hands hovering over the two sides of the sphere.

Fine sweat beads on his forehead.

Behind him, twelve operators sit before a circular console, each with a flickering crystal plate in front of them.

Encrypted text flows across the plates.

"Channel stability?"

Zhao Lao Nian's voice is hoarse.

"Seventy‑one percent, and it's still slowly dropping."

An operator replies quickly.

"Disturbances in the western energy field are intensifying; the interference sources come from… at least three directions."

"The primary source is Hetu Ala, the secondary source is White River Town, and there is one more unknown."

Zhao Lao Nian grits his teeth.

"Never mind it."

"Load the first data packet."

"Coordinates and threat level."

"Yes!"

The operators' fingers fly across the crystal plates.

Inside the sphere, a filament of gold‑red separates and begins to rotate along a specific trajectory.

"Loading complete."

"Ready to send."

Zhao Lao Nian takes a deep breath.

"Fire."

The sphere trembles slightly.

That gold‑red filament suddenly contracts into an extremely fine thread of light, shooting toward the north wall of the room.

On the wall, a pinpoint‑sized light spot flickers faintly.

The light thread enters it.

It disappears.

The room falls silent.

Everyone stares at another monitoring crystal on the wall.

On the crystal's surface, the previously steady ripples begin to shake violently.

Five breaths.

Ten breaths.

Twenty breaths……

"The signal has pierced the light curtain!"

The monitor shouts.

"Transmitting westward…… encountering interference!"

The ripples on the crystal twist into a tangled mess.

Zhao Lao Nian clenches his fist.

"Can you identify the interference type?"

"Yes…… it's passive scattering from a yu‑energy accumulation point!"

"The signal is distorting!"

"Strength is dropping…… forty percent…… sixty percent……"

Zhao Lao Nian's face turns pale.

"Engage redundant error‑correction coding!"

"Force correction!"

"Yes!"

The operators strike the crystal plates faster.

On the monitoring crystal, the tangled ripples are being forcibly combed by an external force, gradually returning to order.

But the amplitude is no longer what it was.

"Correction complete."

"Signal strength remaining…… twenty‑two percent."

"Content integrity assessment?"

"The coordinate data packet…… is about eighty percent intact."

"The threat‑level description…… has lost about thirty percent."

Zhao Lao Nian closes his eyes.

"Enough."

"Prepare the second set of data packets."

"Principle diagram of the Resonance Purification Tower."

Operators quickly switched the cipher on the crystal plate.

Inside the light sphere, another strand of azure flow began to condense.

This data packet was obviously larger than the previous one.

The flow became thicker, its rotation slower.

"Loading complete."

"Send."

The azure flow shot out.

It entered the pinhole again.

The ripples on the monitoring crystal trembled more wildly this time.

Almost shattering.

"Interference intensifying!"

"Hetu Ala Main Source……is actively scanning this area!"

"The signal has been captured!"

Zhao Lao Nian's pupils contracted.

"Cut the feedback link!"

"Send only, don't receive!"

"Yes!"

An operator cut off an invisible energy loop.

The ripples on the monitoring crystal stabilized slightly.

But the signal strength continued to plummet sharply.

"Attenuation at seventy percent……"

"Eighty……"

"Content integrity……less than forty percent!"

Zhao Lao Nian's forehead veins bulged out.

"Inject backup potential energy!"

"Forcefully push forward!"

"Sir! Backup potential energy is the last safeguard maintaining channel stability!"

"Inject!"

"Yes!"

The strange metal plates on the four walls of the room suddenly lit up.

Vast potential energy surged into the light sphere.

The azure flow, about to dissipate, jerked violently and surged westward.

On the monitoring crystal, the light point representing the signal trudged a short distance.

Then it completely vanished in the turbulence.

"Signal……lost."

The monitor's voice was hoarse.

Zhao Lao Nian staggered a step and held onto the base.

"Third set."

He panted.

"Energy confrontation core principle."

"We cannot afford another failure."

The operators silently loaded the third set of data packets.

This time, it was a pure white flow.

The content was extremely concise.

Only three sentences:

Dark energy has a source; destroy the source to cut off the flow.

Potential energy resonance can neutralize pollution.

Organization equals survivability.

Inside the light sphere, the white flow finished condensing.

But it appeared extremely fragile.

As if it could scatter at any moment.

"Send."

Zhao Lao Nian's voice was already hoarse, barely audible.

The white flow shot out.

It entered the pinhole.

On the monitoring crystal, the ripples were merely a slight tremor.

Then……it returned to calm.

No strong interference.

No sudden drop in intensity.

Even, no obvious transmission trace.

"What's going on?"

Zhao Lao Nian's heart clenched.

"Signal... disappeared?"

The monitor stared at the crystal, eyes bewildered.

"No..."

"It... it wasn't interfered with."

"But it was... 'diluted'."

"The energy field to the west is too chaotic; our signal is too weak, and it gets scattered as soon as it enters."

"Like a drop of water falling into boiling oil."

"In an instant, it's gone."

Inside the room, a deathly silence.

Zhao Lao Nian slowly sat down on the floor.

Three data packets.

One packet barely arrived, but incomplete.

One packet was lost midway.

One packet was directly submerged.

This result is worse than the worst-case scenario we anticipated.

"Channel stability?"

He asked in a low voice.

"Sixty-three percent, and still falling."

"Backup energy is exhausted."

"Continuing to maintain it risks collapse."

Zhao Lao Nian lifted his head, looking at the gradually dimming light sphere.

"Maintain."

"Try again."

"Sir!"

"Load the final set."

Zhao Lao Nian stood up.

"Organizational structure optimization outline."

"Load only the core entries."

"No more than ten."

The operators exchanged a glance and silently carried out the order.

Inside the sphere, a thin strand of pale gold formed with difficulty.

This time, it was so fine it was almost invisible.

"Send."

The pale gold thread shot out.

It entered the pinhole.

On the monitoring crystal, a trace of extremely weak, intermittent ripple appeared.

It struggled, making its way through the turbulence.

Bit by bit, it drifted westward.

Ten breaths.

Thirty breaths.

Fifty breaths...

"Signal... it penetrated the interference zone!"

The monitor's voice was filled with disbelief.

"Although weak, it is indeed moving forward!"

Zhao Lao Nian stared fixedly at the crystal.

That faint ripple advanced a little more.

Then it slowly dissipated.

"Transmission terminated."

"Signal strength... ultimately remained at five percent."

"Content integrity... cannot be assessed."

Zhao Lao Nian remained silent for a long time.

He slowly exhaled.

"Close the channel."

"Save all logs."

"Report the results to the lord..."

Observatory Pavilion.

Chen Wen finished listening to Zhao Lao Nian's report.

He did not get angry.

He just looked out the window.

"Five percent strength."

He repeated that number.

"What could be left?"

Zhao Lao Nian lowered his head.

"Perhaps... only a few fuzzy concept fragments."

"It might even be just some undecipherable noise."

Chen Wen turned around.

"Enough."

Zhao Lao Nian stared, then lifted his head.

"My lord?"

"On Zhu Yuanzhang's side, there is Liu Ji."

"That is someone who can peek at heavenly secrets."

"Give him a hint of wind, and he can calculate the rain."

"Give him a bit of noise..."

Chen Wen paused.

"He might then be able to hear the thunder."

Zhao Lao Nian was stunned.

"Go rest."

Chen Wen waved his hand.

"The passage needs repair, and momentum needs replenishment."

"Within three days, restore basic observational capability."

"Yes."

Zhao Lao Nian bowed and withdrew.

Chen Wen stood alone in the pavilion.

He walked to the star chart.

Looking at the gold-red halo representing Haozhou.

"The seeds have already been scattered."

"Will they sprout..."

He said softly.

"It's up to you, Zhu Yue."

Outside the window, the night was deep.

On the eastern horizon, a faint whiteness appeared.

A new day.

It was also the first day after the signal was delivered.

Everything remains unknown.