Xyrin Empire-Chapter 1390: Breach?

A sudden underground tremor interrupted everyone’s discussion on site, followed by a booming resonance echoing throughout the workstation. Unlike the newly built, independently powered workstation, other parts of the platform had lost their atmospheric environment. This booming sound was directly transmitted through the metal structure of the platform, accompanied by a painful metal tearing sound, as if the sound source was right next to us.

"It looks like the energy buffer unit in the middle layer zone has also failed," Taville frowned, but there wasn’t a hint of panic in her expression, suggesting this explosion was an inevitable result in her calculations. "The energy accumulated in the bottom layer and upper layer zones has made all key locations inaccessible. My subordinates tried to divert this energy into the discharge buffer grid of the middle layer zone to allow the investigation and rescue teams to get down, but the buffer unit seems to have sustained heavy damage, only lasting this long..."

"What’s the current energy intensity below?" Sandora asked suddenly.

"1.2 megaUE, almost equivalent to being immersed in the focus core of a flagship-level main cannon," Taville examined the holographic images before her. "For some unknown reason, the energy accumulated below the platform is dissipating very slowly, almost like it’s never-ending. Theoretically, all energy reactors have been disconnected, but my subordinates suspect there may still be a set of energy furnaces in operation..."

"Such energy intensity exploding within the platform, no wonder it could penetrate such a large facility," Sandora frowned and said. I reminded her beside me, "Didn’t Taville mention it hasn’t dissipated much? So theoretically it could penetrate again soon..."

Taville shook her head, "It won’t happen again. After two explosions, the energy environment below the platform has entered a dynamic balance. This is due to the special nature of ghost energy, which tends to go out of control, but typically doesn’t lose control many times. After sufficient contact with the Order Universe, it quickly enters self-balance. Now a closed energy sphere has formed within the platform — well, two, as the upper layer zone and lower layer zone have transformed into two separate energy accumulation zones after being blocked by the buffer units."

The task force organized by the deep dive port garrison was now blocked at the entrance leading underground to the platform. As mentioned earlier, the lower half of this platform is divided into upper and lower layers, and even the staff couldn’t access the "upper layer zone" underground. I quietly watched the control center structure diagram, thinking to myself that this development seemed all too familiar...

"Sandora, the usual routine." I patted Sandora’s shoulder and stood up, "I’m heading down, are you coming?"

This had happened faintly before: last time it was a deep-diving ship prototype that exploded, and this time it was the control center at the deep dive port. Strange how I seem to have such affinity with the word "deep dive." Nevertheless, in an environment like this where normal lives go through a nine-life ordeal, it falls upon people like me, with undying endurance and indestructible skeletons, to step up — greetings, everyone, my surname is Xiang, my first name is Strong, my title is Undead Taoist, and I’m flattered to be heading into the ghost energy fire sea...

Taville looked at me and opened her mouth to say something but ultimately remained silent. She knew this kind of environment was best suited for Xyrin Apostles at Leader Level or higher, and in Xyrin tradition, there’s no rule that says "His Majesty’s sacred body is too precious to risk lightly." As long as the value is worth the appropriate reward and sacrifice is necessary, the Emperor going to fight a boss is just a choice. What’s more important is — I guess quite a few people are used to their Emperor rolling up his sleeves personally because in many cases their Emperor couldn’t do much beside rolling up his sleeves...

Sandora tidied her hair, "Looks like there’s no other choice. I have a plan: you and I take separate paths, I’ll enter from the upper layer zone to head straight to the main control room. It’s well protected, the mainframe might not have been completely destroyed, and we might find some observation data. You circle around the platform and enter directly from the lower layer zone to find the energy hub and see if you can discover clues from the explosion site. Regardless of whether there’s any discovery, we’ll meet at the buffer unit in the middle. Also, if you find the source of the sustained ghost energy below, shut it down as soon as possible. I have a feeling something’s not right. It’s been a significant amount of time, and there was already a buffer unit discharge once, yet the energy readings below remain high."

"The environment below is treacherous and has been out of contact for several hours, so one can’t predict how bad things have gotten. Both Majesties, please be careful," Taville, being a Xyrin Apostle, wouldn’t waste words like "Your dragon body takes precedence" to deter us, but simply reminded us of important considerations below. "The structure diagram of the platform has been uploaded to you, but the main paths likely melted or collapsed. Only Corridor No. 2 in the upper layer zone is away from the explosion center, so it should be passable. As for the lower layer zone..."

At this point, Taville looked into my eyes and said regretfully, "Your Majesty, have you seen these red dots on the structure diagram? Just proceed in a straight line towards them. Break through any obstacles in between; theoretically, that’s the way."

I nodded and turned to Lin Xue, who had remained silent, "Miss Xue, can you cast a divination?"

The Demi Immortal rolled her eyes while glancing at Sandora and me for a bit, "Hmm, it’s quite good, promising great fortune and benefits. Rest assured, with this young lady overseeing things outside, nothing will go wrong."

Though she’s always shown an unreliable demeanor, the promise of the Miss is unquestionably trustworthy. I nodded and, together with Sandora, teleported directly above the control center to survey the general condition of the platform.

Some of the shattered pipelines spewing energy streams were already undergoing emergency treatment outside. When we arrived earlier, we had seen the platform continuously releasing kilometers-long blue "tongues of fire." Now, these ghost energy streams, whose power is comparable to a warship main cannon, have visibly diminished in scale, making it easier for large equipment and support ships to approach the control center. A swarm of autonomous machines and small engineering ships were busily shuttling around the control center exterior, steadily preventing the platform structure from further disintegration. Seeing this, Sandora’s expression relaxed slightly, and she nodded to me afterward, "Then I’ll head off now. Ah Jun, stay safe. Meet at the buffer unit."

Watching Sandora turn into a stream of light heading towards the upper layer zone entrance of the platform, I gathered my spirit and navigated around the colossal beast to its bottom layer (or perhaps its backside?).

"Phew, this place is really a mess." Observing the condition of the bottom layer, I couldn’t help but grumble silently. Seeing the upper layer zone already seemed quite devastating, and I was somewhat prepared for the worse conditions in the lower layer zone, but witnessing the scene before me truly made me feel that the upper layer was relatively mild, as if only scraped of two layers of paint — the lower layer’s armor strip had been completely blown off by the massive explosion! Even the colossal metal beams inside were crushed into large pieces of debris thrown outward, feebly attached to the main body by a few melting metal strands described as hollowed out with gaping edges.

This is the destructive power of a Core Energy Reactor explosion.

The site was blown to such devastation that from the exterior, it’s impossible to determine whether anything struck the control center: even if there was once a hole leading inside, it would have surely transformed into a vapor cloud in outer space along with the armor strip.

Compared to other places busy with emergency rescues, this location was rather desolate, with only three unmanned work boats struggling to maintain control over the scene: faced with a gigantic hole that could hardly have any value in repair, the emergency response team decisively abandoned treatment efforts.

Ignoring the blue "fire sea" rushing towards me, I activated my shield and swiftly dashed into the giant hole like a bullet.

Once the energy intensity around me suddenly multiplied, and I passed through a very distinct blue light barrier, I realized I had entered what Taville referred to as the "lower layer energy accumulation zone." Uncontrolled ghost energy seemed to receive a continuous supply from somewhere, forming a massive vortex here, enveloping eighty percent of the platform’s lower layer like a flattened egg, maintaining a stable yet terrifying dynamic balance. The high concentration of ghost energy tinged everything in view with a vibrant yet dangerous shade of blue. Due to the unstable environment, these blue glows constantly ripple like a water surface. I swiftly navigated past numerous twisted, bizarre obstacles, as highly charged metal debris piled upon the remaining support structures to create a spectacle resembling stalagmites in a stalactite cave, emitting luminous blue light resembling crystal formations that explode with minimal provocation...

"Boom!!!" A stalagmite over ten meters long exploded, right nearby. The high-energy crystalline fragments impacted my shield, each collision almost like a small kinetic missile strike and continuing to explode — this is the truly vicious aspect of those seemingly beautiful things. This must be the former site of the power supply main road, which originally contained numerous crystalized pipelines and metal with high energy affinity (the latter serving as the major material for facilities like energy plugs). But now these materials have been melted altogether, creating this dazzling blue, life-threatening "stalactite cave," in which each energized stalagmite’s composition and nature are practically identical to an Imperial General-purpose Missile warhead.

The interior of the control center is chaotic; while it appears outwardly calm, explosions continue within relentlessly.

The "thickness" of the lower zone exceeds one kilometer, and I’m clearly unable to travel in a "straight path" as Taville suggested unless I intend to get bombarded along the way. Observing the convoluted "safe route," I suspect this trail will be... rather long.

"Sandora, how’s the situation on your side?" I slowed down, trying to distance myself from the surrounding clusters of metallic slag, already charged to the brink of explosion. At the same time, I connected with Sandora’s spiritual connection, "I’m moving forward amidst a hail of bullets—all the things originally in the energy conduits have been turned into bombs."

"I can guess that, more work for the capable," Sandora discerned my serious tone but remained quite relaxed, not too worried, "Make sure to check the old site of the energy reactor output and the protection shield of the energy center for any clues. I’ve reached the front of the control room, but the protective wall of the computer room has automatically closed and is completely locked—I’m digging hard."

"Digging?"

"Yeah, with claws," Sandora cheerfully said, and I immediately pictured Her Majesty the Queen vigorously clawing and scratching the wall with her Abyssal Claw, "These claws are quite handy. The protective wall is highly charged, and ordinary cutting tools won’t work; the claws’ erosion force is effective instead."

Me: "Oh...well, you keep digging; I’ll continue forward."

Ending the communication, I focused again on this perilous explosion zone, proceeding with caution, ideally without triggering any blasts: though I might be quite durable, I’m afraid of causing the already unstable environment here to collapse entirely. It seems Sandora’s progress is going much smoother than here; unexpectedly, she’s already reached the target door—perhaps the situation in the Upper Zone of the platform is better than here.

The "stalactite cave" filled with high-energy slag is indeed troublesome, but it has an end. After slowly advancing for a while, I finally noticed the clusters of slag beginning to decrease and eventually left this nearly completely crystalized cave.

Checking the control center platform structure diagram Taville had sent me, I deduced that I had crossed the bottom layer’s primary energy backbone network and theoretically the protective layer between the energy hubs of the backbone network: I hadn’t seen any protective layer along the way, probably completely blown to bits. So ahead should be the super space-time energy output end, namely the old site of the "reactor."

I looked up; ahead was a huge, twisted metallic cavern, with metal plates bearing flowing-like patterns around completely unrecognizable from their original form. As for the so-called energy reactor...there was nothing.

Recalling Sandora asking me to check the old site of the energy reactor, I suddenly felt this target might not be attainable...

"Sandora, I’ve reached the old site of the energy reactor, but there’s nothing here—the whole reactor chamber has swelled up like a balloon, and there’s only ghost energy inside, not even a scrap."

As I spoke, I slowly floated forward; the energy environment around brought tremendous pressure. Ghost energy—this stuff that isn’t simply "energy" manifests lots of non-energy attributes under super high-density conditions, making me feel like advancing in a pool of near-solidifying molten iron, all surrounded by resistance. If this ghost energy suddenly transformed into matter, there might be big trouble: perhaps I’d be buried alive by a huge clump of strange substance.

Thinking of this possibility made me more cautious; while I might be resilient, I can’t withstand something so disgusting...

Sandora’s voice came after a long while: "Let’s just hope the energy center shield is strong enough."

I sensed a slightly odd tone in her voice: "You running into trouble over there?"

"Uh...just a small problem...my claw got a bit stuck on the wall just now," Sandora said awkwardly, "but I’ve already pulled it out; the tip of my finger stab is a bit rough, I’m filing it down."

Me: "..."

Well, it’s quite rare for Sandora to show her adorable side.

Strengthening the shield’s stability slightly, I tossed aside the image of Sandora filing her claws on the ground and continued moving forward. Now I’ve completed half the journey, crossing the thoroughly blasted armor zone and energy backbone network, arriving at the chamber where the super space-time energy output end was once stored. We all know that Ghost Energy Reactors are highly specialized energy apparatuses; except for very small or specially designed ones, all ghost energy generation devices are divided into two parts. One part is placed in the void, referred to as the "reaction core" or "reactor body," and the other part is what we usually see installed in various equipment, known as the super space-time module and called the output end. For convenience, we generally refer to this output end as a ghost energy reactor—since its void portion is sealed off and never reopens, it remains unseen by anyone. Normally, the ghost energy reactor you encounter in the real world is essentially a super space-time device. This place I’m currently in once housed a series of huge output ends. Before they exploded, immense energy was first discharged along the backbone pipeline, blasting the platform once; afterward, the protection devices of the reactor failed, the reactor body collapsed, and a second wave of energy shock surged along the barely surviving backbone network, triggering a second platform explosion. Simultaneously, the reactor chamber was rendered as seen now. Must admit, it’s quite resilient here since this chamber surprisingly retained most of the outer wall (albeit all internal components vaporized). Based on Taville’s information, I found the passage connecting the energy chamber to the Upper Zone, noting the gate wasn’t blown aside, yet a considerable slit was torn through its center by the explosive shockwave, enough for me to pass through.

...Wait a minute, it doesn’t seem like the shockwave caused it to tear.

As I inspected closely, the gap on the gate didn’t appear as a massive, radial fissure torn by a shockwave but rather a relatively more "neat" hole. Furthermore, the gate itself didn’t seem to suffer severe shockwave damage; while the surrounding metal frame was slightly melted, there were no signs of overall melt-flow across the area as the other walls had. Simply put, theoretically, this spot wasn’t situated in the strongest direction of the blast; it shouldn’t have been torn like this.

If it wasn’t torn by the shockwave, then it could only be...

Pierced by some "thing"!

Could it be the culprit behind the control center’s destruction?

While I doubted something capable of such a hole several meters in diameter could destroy this colossal structure spanning several kilometers on each side, at least I’ve seen the clue, a very evident one!

Yet, though there’s a clue, finding that "super bomb" that pierced through four layers of armor and two layers of shield is another story. Judging by the gate’s hole, the thing isn’t likely to be huge, and since everything here is demolished, including barriers, I can’t determine its "trajectory" solely based on this gate’s hole. So later, it seems I’ll need to search across the gate as if fishing in the ocean. For now, I only hope it’s intact and not melted by the strong ghost energy environment here, but considering its terrifying "intensity" that pierced through so many layers of defense...

It probably isn’t so fragile either. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you’re welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian.com—your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)