Chapter 708 - 687 After I Fall Asleep, The Flood Engulfs The Sky

"As long as its task is completed, technical rewards can be obtained?"

Zhong Cheng murmured about how Karst influenced humanity and, after receiving a nod of permission, gently placed his hand on its black surface, feeling the texture after a few touches with a bit of force.

"Silicon carbide? This material isn’t very strong. Haven’t you thought about prying it open?"

"Silicon carbide is just the outermost layer, the interior is an unknown material. We’ve tried X-rays, CT scans, ultrasonography, and many other methods to penetrate it but failed, and we also worry about damaging it."

Zhong Cheng nodded his head, already somewhat believing it to be true, but still needing confirmation.

"Is it... Is Karst awake now, can we communicate with it?"

"We can. After completing a series of tasks, it has remained awake ever since, but it doesn’t respond to any information, just like a simple, uh, answering machine.

You can communicate with it using this computer. We’ve been using this frequency for decades."

Ye Changsi handed him the laptop and then opened a window to make some adjustments.

"You can type anything, we’ve tried everything before."

Zhong Cheng didn’t take the laptop, even if he could communicate he wouldn’t do so.

About alien civilizations, the suspected computer-like relics left behind by extraterrestrials, he could not jump to conclusions yet, but he could analyze why New Yuan was doing this.

Their apparent goal could only be the so-called GW180509 gravity wave signal, perhaps making them believe that they could no longer conceal it, although a host of base scientists thought it was very unlikely that Earth’s gravity wave detectors could pick up such a faint signal.

Another possibility was that New Yuan thought that if they excavated the "relics" on Mars Zero Plain, the impact was beyond their control, which was a big part of the reason too.

Zhong Cheng had almost figured out the situation, to put it simply, did "Black Stone" realize it had made a mess and was preparing to let him clean it up?

Only, this mess was a bit too big, so big that perhaps the whole world couldn’t clean it up.

But he couldn’t blame these people. After all, if Guo Xiao hadn’t chosen to silently hide this secret until New Yuan was established, and had immediately handed it over to America, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

If ’Karst’ had been in the hands of national machinery back then, no government could have resisted its temptation. They would have proceeded with full force to complete its tasks and used the technology given by aliens to rule the world, with no power able to stop them.

Even he thought that "Black Stone" or New Yuan had been very conservative, behaving properly in the main area of aerospace; otherwise, if they really went all out, no telling what kind of monster they might become.

Zhong Cheng was well aware of how fragile human nature could be. The likelihood that New Yuan was almost working for "Karst" was too small, aside from sealing up ’Karst’, this was the best outcome already.

Moreover, over the past few years, the relationship between New Yuan and the Aerospace Bureau had been extremely good, building a deep trust, which somewhat reassured him.

Zhong Cheng simply sat down on the floor, deep in thought about what to do next.

Reporting was certain, this was no longer an issue that the Aerospace Bureau could resolve, but considering there were still "worms" within, he needed to be exceptionally careful.

After a while, he raised his head:

"Lin, you should all be prepared, right?"

Hearing the familiar address relieved everyone else, suggesting that the plan was still going smoothly for the moment.

"Of course, we’ve got everything."

Lin Ju brought a small briefcase to his front and took a pair of handcuffs from Ye Changsi:

"Some manuscripts Guo Xiao left from early communications, old photos, task records issued by ’Karst’, survey data, technological rewards, etc. are all recorded here, and there are many records of conversation, they’re all in here."

Zhong Cheng did not hesitate. After inspecting the briefcase, he handcuffed his right hand to it.

"Let... your robot guard this place well, not revealing any trace to anyone. Let Changsi come with me, you stay here, maintain the status quo until I return or until that phone call.

Now, send us to the plane immediately, take the military route with records."

He originally thought of the nearby garrison troops, but after careful consideration, he felt it was better for the base to defend itself and more conducive to keeping secrets.

Before leaving, he looked at "Karst," quietly placed there, then pulled out his secure mobile phone’s SIM card, turned on airplane mode, and wanted to take a few photos.

"Use this."

Xiao Okada, from out of nowhere, had picked up a very retro looking film camera, just like a prop from a movie in the last century.

"It’s instant film, no need for developing, and more reliable."

Zhong Cheng didn’t reject the suggestion. He took more than a dozen photos in succession and then placed them in the briefcase, before unhesitatingly following Ye Changsi out.

The others sent them off in silence beside the runway, watching the colorful navigation lights ascend into the pitch-black sky.

Zhong Cheng left without having the dinner they’d agreed on, and additionally, he would wake up many people in the Capital from their sleep.

Lin Ju wasn’t worried that the research on ’Karst’ would be exposed, but he did have some doubts about the reliability of the forged documents and photos.

All of those had been forged by spies who had been naturalized by New Yuan, through their own networks and the absolute binding force of contracts, with the "Mountain and Sea" continuously erasing traces throughout the process.

Those ex-spies assured that they could produce convincing forgeries, but it was still risky.

Based on the base’s assessments, no matter how much the higher-ups believed in the authenticity of "Karst," having so much advanced technology definitely proved there was an "alien" force at play, and that was enough.

Mixing the System with "Karst" was an idea from the CSR Group. They believed that under existing conditions, even if the higher-ups thought "Karst" was poison wrapped in honey, they would still have to swallow it, with no chance of sealing "Karst" away.

Before GW180509, there might have been a chance, but with the risk of alien invasion looming after, they would have to relentlessly advance technological warfare preparations, with no reason to forsake a source of advanced technology.

Although the sensitivity of the base would suddenly increase, they didn’t need to worry too much, because the System contract’s bug-like binding force still existed, relying on it to maintain a certain level of independence, and overall, the situation would remain controllable.

Lin Ju and the others unanimously acknowledged that the base held a primary position, after all, their true origins might be far more terrifying than the possibility of an alien civilization. No matter the purpose, they should preserve their existence.

Perhaps because of the large future changes he had provoked, Lin Ju felt as if he could no longer bear so much information. For the first time in these days, he had the desire to take a break actively.

He glanced at the others; their expressions were indistinguishable in the night.

"Let’s go, get some sleep. We’ll need the energy for tomorrow."