Xyrin Empire-Chapter 1505: Oh, Hello
The eerie ruin belt, which can remain unscathed even in the Abyss environment, is now within reach—of course, the "within reach" here is a rather special concept. Just like in the Void environment, distances in the Abyss cannot be measured; it’s not that such a value doesn’t exist, but rather that it’s extremely chaotic, like a map with a distorted and constantly changing scale that’s difficult to observe. Therefore, within the Abyss Gate, determining "distance" can only rely on your own perspective. The deep-diving ship possesses a "self-explanatory" capability, allowing us on the ship to measure the distance between ourselves and another entity using an orderly mathematical model, but if you’re outside the deep-diving ship, what you see may be completely different. You might see that the deep-diving ship is still hundreds of thousands of miles away from the debris belt, or you might see them brushing past each other, or even see nothing at all. Everything is in a chaotic random state.
Of course, the above is just a digression. For those on the deep-diving ship, the debris is simply drifting closer slowly as usual.
"It doesn’t look unusual, but I can’t tell what it is exactly," Anses focused on the images transmitted by the monitor. Even at a very close distance, the monitor is still subject to certain interference. This is already the most advanced scanning device we could produce, but the images it sends back are still distorted—fortunately, it doesn’t hinder viewing.
I also curiously watched that debris. They were clearly artificial objects, with a sheen between metal and plastic. There were many of them, and they varied in size—the largest piece of debris might be hundreds of meters long, while the smallest fragment might only be a few meters. These scattered debris seemed to have been torn open by an explosion; however, they hadn’t drifted apart for some reason and still maintained a relatively dense formation: the distance between debris was very close, and the relative distance seemed unchanged, as if frozen during the explosion... looking like a snapshot.
The surfaces of these debris were painted, predominantly black with occasional red or yellow stripes. Apart from some peeling at the edges of each fragment, the paint was generally intact and bright, which was incredible. Seeing the debris so well-preserved made me doubt whether we were really in the Abyss. Are they not afraid of erosion at all?
"No energy reaction from the target, the information outflow is maintained at a very low level, basically eliminating signs of activity," an Ancestor quickly reported, while observing the equipment, "approaching slowly... no abnormality with the target."
"This thing reminds me of creations by the Fallen Apostles," I murmured to myself, "all black and red; where does this aesthetic come from? Isn’t it a bit risky to have such a dark spaceship in outer space? They might lose sight of it when the lights go out."
"It’s only the coating that’s similar; judging by the style of these fragments, they shouldn’t be creations by the Fallen Apostles," Anses replied without looking up, "and it also seems like things sent by the Other Shore Civilization are in the same color palette. I think these might have drifted over from there."
"Currently, the things we received from the Other Shore are typically Black Shuttles, along with some fragments drifting with them," I pondered, "Both the Black Shuttles and fragments have been tested; aside from their special physical properties, they’re no different from ordinary substances—when unprotected, they also disintegrate rapidly in the Abyss. But these debris in front of us don’t even have a shield... Could it be that the Other Shore’s technology has explosively advanced, and their deep-diving technology has progressed to not even needing shields?"
"It did end up as debris though, maybe they’re just more advanced in material science," Anses laughed lightly, glanced at me, "We’ve analyzed it before; the Other Shore Civilization’s technological level should not... Why do I always feel like you’re facing me with the back of your head?"
I felt helpless and amused, had to spin in place so he could confirm that he couldn’t see the face on the other side of the black Faceless, then lamented with frustration: "Back of the head, back of the head, I don’t even know which side is front or back after transforming. My view now is 360 degrees with multiple depth of fields, and I barely got used to this form. If you keep teasing me, it’ll make me lose my bearings... you know?"
Anses laughed awkwardly, and at this moment, the deep-diving ship had already approached the edge of the debris belt, and the sound of the onboard computer releasing mini probes interrupted our conversation. I looked at the holographic projection in the center of the control room, just in time to see several shiny little spheres drifting towards the largest piece of debris: those little spheres were the specially designed probes aboard the deep-diving ship.
Everything in the Abyss environment must be specially designed, because outside the deep-diving ship, everything is lethal. So even small probes must be equipped with triple refresh shields—even then, they can only be single-use devices. Due to limited shield power and probe energy, these small devices hardly ever come back intact, so when releasing the probes, Anses couldn’t help but show a pained expression: "These things are precious, using one means one less, and they can’t be mass-produced."
The controller started reporting the recovery operation: "First piece of debris scanned completely, no suspicious signs identified, preparing to tow to the Gnaku. This is a high-risk operation, all teams monitor the warning system’s readings carefully; if anything happens, abandon the towing mechanism and Gnaku segment immediately."
"Gnaku pre-opening, shield power boosted to maximum, establishing a shield layer near the target... beginning towing."
A halo-like layer enveloped the surface of the hundreds of meters long debris; it’s the probe using a one-time barrier to wrap the target, reducing the likelihood of the target contaminating the deep-diving ship during recovery. This barrier can only last a few minutes, so the subsequent operation must proceed smoothly. Meanwhile, the deep-diving ship’s shield system was also refreshed to its maximum speed, providing some purification effect as objects approach the deep-diving ship. As the controller mentioned: the next steps involve high-risk operations, and every step must be done scrupulously.
Recovering an object of unknown origin inside the Abyss Gate is one of the highest risk operations next to shutdown of the shield. Taville had designed this functionality for the ship and crafted a theoretically thorough safety protocol, but actually, we’ve never done it before—Black Shuttles are caught after leaving the Abyss Gate, and other devices required to be retrieved inside the Abyss Gate clearly aren’t "unknown origins." Recovering this batch of debris in front of us marks an unprecedented occasion since the New Empire’s deep-diving plans began, and I noticed everyone’s expressions were seriously solemn, an air of tension permeated the control room.
My Void Domain already covers the entire spaceship, theoretically nothing should go wrong, so I’m relatively relaxed.
Everything went smoothly; the first debris was steadily pulled into the deep-diving ship’s shield range under the traction beam, initially purified, before finally reaching the Gnaku. There, it would undergo secondary purification before being stored in a warehouse isolation room. The onboard computer monitored the entire pollution reading, and only after the secondary purification did it finally conclude: the target is indeed safe.
"Great, let’s proceed and recover the remaining fragments." Anses visibly breathed a sigh of relief, and the whole atmosphere in the control room relaxed as well. Next, the towing unit was in full swing, and the remaining probes were successively deployed. With the experience from the first recovery, collecting the remaining debris became easier. Watching the recovery images from the monitor, I curiously asked: "By the way, can all these debris fit?"
The debris cluster in front appeared quite large, being a spheroid-shaped fragment belt with a radius of more than ten kilometers. Combining these fragments might not be much smaller than the deep-diving ship we’re in. Even though the deep-diving ship’s Gnaku has a space expansion module, due to special Abyss environment, to reduce strain on the ship, the ship’s space expansion, phase distortion, and class coordinate engine-like devices are all restricted to very low power, so I’m worried whether so many debris can be transported all at once.
"It should be fine," reassured Anses, laughing confidently, "Taville did another upgrade on the ship recently, adding a small Gnaku, and slightly adjusted the parameters of the space expansion equipment, handling these things will be easy."
I nodded, starting a boring waiting process, as there’s essentially nothing left for me to do—I wasn’t really needed from the start, I was here as a safety precaution. If the debris posed any risk, I’d activate a big shield for safety. The recovery process is specialized knowledge; I could only admire it without knowing its intricacies, besides occasionally chatting with Anses; the rest is really just a boring wait.
But just as I thought nothing else would happen, an operator suddenly pointed at the monitor image from the probe and exclaimed: "What is that?"
I quickly looked up, and what I saw on the screen was jaw-dropping: a person.
Yes, you read that right, I saw it correctly too. It’s a person—a tall and slender young girl, with black hair and a black dress, pale skin, standing harmlessly at the center of the screen, and smiling directly at the camera!
Do you know how terrifying I felt at that moment? Ever since I encountered that bunch of troublesome Imperial Army folks five years ago, I hadn’t felt this kind of eeriness in a long time. Nowadays, I’m not afraid of encountering supernatural phenomena in any strange environment, nor am I afraid of a cold body passing through me while I sleep alone at night—because Anwina is at home. I’m not even scared if the desk lamp suddenly turns on by itself in an empty room at midnight—because Dingdang often sleeps in there. I’m also not fazed when I suddenly see someone else’s face in the mirror—because the mirror at home is a Magic Mirror knocked down from the Divine Realm, and you’d have to endure it even if it plays adult films while you’re looking in it. Basically, I’m used to all kinds of bizarre scenes, and at one point, I thought my nerves had become strong enough to be practically petrified, but at this moment I suddenly realized: there are even more bizarre things in this world, and they are endless.
I saw someone in the Abyss Gate! And according to the equipment telemetry, that was still an "ordinary person" without any high-energy reaction! No shield around, no equipment on her, just wearing a black dress that seemed worth eighty bucks at most, standing harmlessly in the middle of a heap of spaceship wreckage, and even smiling in this direction!
"Ding..." I mumbled to myself, then quickly clapped my hands, "Check the monitors and communication chain, see if there’s any frequency mix-up, maybe it’s just a female host from the Shadow City’s eight o’clock talk show..."
Clearly, my logic was a bit scrambled at this point, because everyone knows the most famous talk show in Shadow City starts after nine o’clock at night, and the host is a Goblin... does mentioning this make me seem even more confused?
"Monitors and communication chain are normal, telemetry system is normal, no sign of contamination on the ship’s onboard computer." The operator quickly checked all the ship’s equipment, even including the basic data of the onboard computer, because this is the Abyss Zone, and if the onboard computer gets contaminated, any bizarre malfunction could occur, including transmitting this kind of strange imagery. But the results showed that mysterious woman outside really existed and there were no malfunctions with the ship itself.
"Could we be experiencing an illusion?" Anses couldn’t help but mutter.
"Impossible," I shot him a glance, "I saw it too—in theory, I wouldn’t experience illusions. You guys wait here, I’ll go over and check things out."
After saying this, I directly maintained my Void Form and teleported off the deep-diving ship: before confirming the other party’s harmlessness, it’s best not to recklessly lift the transform, and the deep-diving ship also has a cargo hold full of toxic wreckage, so my Void Domain needs to ensure safety.
Just as I stepped outside, the peculiar, unpleasant aura unique to the interior of the Abyss Gate came rushing at me, as if everything from all directions was generating hostility towards me, all attempting to launch an attack. I knew this was the so-called natural opposition of disorder to order, but the Abyss concentration here was not yet enough to pose a fatal threat to me, so I ignored the terrible surroundings and just placed my "sight" on the nearby pile of wreckage.
This time, instead of using the deep-diving ship’s monitors, I used my own spiritual power to observe. That mysterious figure still stood there vividly, with a harmless smile on her face.
I silently observed the other party for a while, suddenly feeling that the face looked somewhat familiar. After searching my memory for a few seconds, I finally remembered where I had seen that face before: not long ago! On the spaceship that crashed on Earth seventy thousand years ago! It was this face left in the Abyss Xyrin’s projection.
Thinking back further, during the border war over half a month ago, we accidentally encountered the Abyss Xyrin... it was her too!
The other party is the Abyss Xyrin!
"Attention, emergency situation, notify the Deep Dive Port troops to be ready to forcibly destroy the gate at any time, I’ll figure out a way here, tell Sandora not to send anyone over. The Abyss Xyrin has appeared!" I quickly communicated with Anses through the spiritual connection, and then hung up without caring whether he responded or not. I then focused all my attention on the figure not far away.
I didn’t realize the other party’s identity at first because I had never thought I would run into the Abyss Xyrin in such a place. In fact, I wouldn’t immediately recognize her anywhere if she suddenly appeared—you wouldn’t think that a monk with a hairy face and thunderous mouth suddenly buying groceries besides you in a supermarket is Victorious Battle Buddha incarnate buying tofu pudding for Tathagata, the inertia of thinking is a frightening thing.
Moreover, the Abyss Xyrin’s appearance, like the soft-girl Xyrin, can change frequently. Although the former mostly seems to maintain the same form, she could alter her image, which is why I’ve never seriously remembered their faces: can’t memorize them...
I stood opposite the Abyss Xyrin from afar, in silent confrontation across a heap of wreckage. Facing the former top ruler of the Fallen Apostle, I instinctively increased my vigilance while already deciding: given the opponent’s cunning nature, I must ensure that if the enemy doesn’t move, I don’t move either; if the enemy moves, I flail around randomly—I can’t let her guess that we’re ready to destroy the gate.
But after a brief standoff, I suddenly remembered: doesn’t the Abyss Xyrin lack combat ability?
She’s just a network ghost, like Xyrin, a mere consciousness. Although powerful, it’s reflected in computational and commanding abilities as well as the strength of her forces. As for actual "combat"... without an external terminal device, she can’t even speak to real world people. So why am I acting like I’m ready for a major battle? And frankly, there’s probably nothing I could do to her. The entity in front of me is at most an interaction terminal, and with no sight of the Fallen Apostle’s fleet around, my heightened vigilance seems excessive.
Thinking of this, I finally saw the light, realizing that I’d basically been a fool for the last two minutes...
At this point, the Abyss Xyrin still maintained that smiling look from afar, without making any other moves or actively speaking. Seeing that my gaze finally fell on her, she gave a small wave in this direction with a demeanor so composed that if you ignored the surrounding atmosphere and her identity, you’d mistake her for a high school classmate waving to you from across the street.
Honestly, at that moment, I was indeed a bit clueless, not knowing what action to take in such a situation: attack? No target, she’s just a shadow. Say hi? That feels too bizarre, given our standings and the environment, it’s clearly not the time to ask each other what we had for lunch. Ask for help? That’s even less reliable, I mean, am I supposed to call a bunch of people over to collectively space out here? And turning around to leave is even more absurd, but I believe if I did turn around, it would surely leave the Abyss Xyrin dumbfounded: she’d never expect such a play from me...
I tentatively moved closer to the Abyss Xyrin, deciding to figure out what her intention was first, regardless of what’s actually occurring. At the same time, I felt a little frustrated: if she’s going to appear, fine, but what does it mean to stand so mysteriously far away smiling like an idiot? At the very least, state your intention.
Just as I thought of that, I heard a voice echo in the Spirit World:
"You finally come closer, the interference here really isn’t ordinary—long time no see, all well?" (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please consider voting for recommendations and monthly tickets on qidian.com, your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
