Chapter 712 - 689_3

"..."

Such a momentous matter as alien civilization had, in Lin Ju’s mouth, seemingly been reduced to a triviality, yet it had also relieved some of the tension that had tightly wound Zhong Cheng, whose brain had been racing frantically all night.

The conversation between the two men came to a temporary halt as Zhong Cheng led everyone inside, while introducing the members behind him:

"Lao Wu, Li Shi, most of you have met before, but this is probably the first time for Professor Zhang, undoubtedly the most cutting-edge, greatest physicist in our country, who only returned last year."

Indeed, it was Lin Ju’s first encounter with Zhang Shoucheng, and he couldn’t recall the name of this luminary from the original world line, but that did not hinder him from offering his respect after Zhong Cheng rattled off a string of titles.

However, Zhang Shoucheng seemed entirely unconcerned with these accolades and urged with a slightly pressing tone:

"Mr. Lin, please take us there quickly."

"Of course, just down from this elevator."

The group was led into the underground chamber storing "Karst," and it was only then that Lin Ju noticed two people with vigilant expressions among those who had entered, standing a bit apart, silently observing everyone and everything around them.

But for the moment, no one paid them any attention; the scientists who came with Zhong Cheng were fiercely engaging in discussions with Ye Changsi and others from the base, who had already prepared all sorts of materials and quickly integrated with them.

Even a box had somehow appeared next to Professor Zhang, accompanied by someone holding an object resembling a hammer, hovering around "Karst."

Although there were "insiders" in the visiting group, the sight of such a scene made Lin Ju somewhat nervous, and he could only hope that Xiao Okada’s craftsmanship was good enough to avoid any slip-ups.

Zhong Cheng and Lin Ju found themselves outside of the group, evidently with their own private matters to discuss.

The former’s face had recovered its initial seriousness, clearly about to discuss business:

"Lin, what exactly is the relationship between ’Karst’ and New Yuan, and how does ’Karst’ know when you have completed the mission, and what are the standards for completion?"

"Not clear."

"Not clear?"

Lin Ju: "’Karst’ seems to have its own judgment capabilities. Mr. Guo Xiao initially didn’t pay attention to these aspects, but in our past experiments, it could confirm shortly after we targeted something, regardless of whether it was inside the shielding room.

As for New Yuan... You should have seen the records in the manuscript, which are almost correct."

Zhong Cheng: "’Karst’ selected you, it selected Guo Xiao, and it recognized you as his successor, without trying to find other individuals or government organizations, is that right?"

Lin Ju: "Based on reality, that is the case, otherwise the tech rewards should have first been given to the Union, or to Musk."

Zhong Cheng: "This implies that ’Karst’ can do much more than just sense the world through electromagnetic waves—there might be something else somewhere."

"Yes, but of any other method we know nothing. It’s possible that there are monitors on the Moon or some other place."

The sincerity in Lin Ju’s words was evident. After all, the System had always confirmed his achievements without delay, making one suspect it was monitoring everything with something akin to wisdom particles. This pervasiveness was what truly inspired fear.

"If that’s the case, what’s the difference between that and being directly exposed to the enemy?"

If the shielding room couldn’t limit ’Karst’, or if its entity was capable of omnipresent surveillance within the Solar System, what then was the significance of human resistance?

"But at least they must still be confined by the barrier of the speed of light, and ’Karst’ doesn’t seem to have any intention of directly interfering with us."