Chapter 1 After the Instructions

After the instructions from the Petrified Turtle Rock Terrace were issued, probe drones all over the universe responded, and a massive, ultra-high-speed data link began to be constructed at an astonishing rate. Tens of thousands of drone swarms turned back from their wanderings. Some were mapping star charts hundreds of billions of light-years away, some were building bases on desolate, dark planets, and some were setting up outposts and factories in space. Now they paused their current work, and aside from the individuals necessary to maintain the swarm's function, large numbers of swarms gathered from the depths of the universe to lay out a vast transmission system in the vastness of space.

Due to the limited bandwidth of the probe drones themselves, they all switched to the "Weave Nest" mode that could perform ultra-high-speed communication. In this mode, the communication distance between drones would be shortened, but the communication efficiency would be greatly improved. Countless such drones were deployed between the Crystal Nucleus Research Station and the Zhuom planet, just like a relay race. They opened their silver-white antenna systems in the cold and silent universe, echoing each other one by one, waiting for the transmission of sixteen billion souls.

Above the Zhuom planet, drone motherships that had just arrived were building a large antenna array in a tense and orderly manner. Those large, ship-shaped probes, gleaming with silver-white light, hovered on the extended line from the star to Zhuom, assembling the large antennas they brought from the swarm base into a giant ring with a radius of one kilometer. A large number of small drones shuttled busily around the array, fixing the antenna and energy systems in place, and fixing themselves in the antenna slots as each part was completed. The swarm consciousness controlled this complex and precise work, and under its command, those large and small "spaceships" were more flexible and accurate than any human fleet.

The scorching light of the star shone on the initial antenna array, dazzling and sparkling.

On the bridge of the Petrified Turtle Rock Terrace, Hao Ren and the others anxiously watched the progress of the project, and also paid attention to the situation on Zhuom's surface. The planet had just welcomed another stellar tear, and now almost all of its surface layers had been torn off. The molten ground revealed the figures of the shelter and the Eldest's tentacles. The data terminal was perhaps the calmest on the scene, reporting the current progress with the coolness of a machine: "The drone link is 80% complete and can be connected in one hour. The ship's transfer system is also ready and can be activated at any time."

The Petrified Turtle Rock Terrace hovered above the day-night dividing line of Zhuom, overlooking the process of sunlight burning the planet every moment. A large group of drones had gathered around the ship, busily fixing themselves to the lower armor belt of the ship and connecting a large number of pipe-like and mechanical arm devices around the ship's antennas. A part of the Petrified Turtle Rock Terrace's armor plate had been removed at this moment, and a large number of complex structures in its inner layer were directly exposed: in order to install a set of temporary conversion equipment, the terminal had to let the ship undergo an emergency "modification."

The data terminal had quite a few opinions about this at the time: "This unit must emphasize that this does not comply with safe operating procedures."

When the communication link in space was gradually established, Zhuom also ushered in its third day and night: this world's life was only twelve hours left.

Most people began to pace back and forth restlessly. Even Nangong Sanba, who did not understand the principles of these high technologies, looked nervous, and even "Gun," who had been dizzy from the beginning, was infected by the atmosphere here, and obediently curled up into a small ball and quieted down next to the chair. Hao Ren, on the other hand, pressed his hands on the console, waiting for the final connection to be established.

Finally, a constantly changing, virtualized face appeared on the communicator, and the interaction interface of the drone swarm reported in a stiff and mechanical synthesized voice: "The swarm data link has been successfully connected and can be transmitted."

"Wait another ten minutes," the terminal said suddenly, while using a holographic projection to show the situation on the dark side of Zhuom. "Wait for the sunlight to pass, the data connection point is in this position—this place is about to enter the night. Start the transmission after the connection point enters the night, we will have six hours of stable communication time."

The Zhuom planet on the holographic projection was marked by the data terminal in two colors, the sunny side was red, and the dark side was blue. A circular spot with a radius of a quarter of the planet's radius was located at the equator, and was now gradually entering the night area from the day-night dividing line. That was the "data release point" that the Eldest spoke of, the soul transmission port that the Zhuom people had set up before entering the virtual world to take refuge, and was prepared to return to the real world. Hao Ren's plan was to connect the Petrified Turtle Rock Terrace to that transmission port and extract the soul data of the entire species. During this connection process, the data release point would inevitably be exposed to the high temperature of the surface. The Petrified Turtle Rock Terrace was not afraid of such temperature, but the Eldest's organizational organs were not. If this process was carried out in the sun, the stability of the transmission would not be guaranteed.

The data terminal had previously accurately calculated Zhuom's rotation and the construction speed of the drone link, and now it finally succeeded in bringing forward the completion time of the data link to ten minutes before the "data release point" entered the night.

The滔滔 (tao tao) sea of fire on the day-night dividing line slowly retreated under everyone's gaze, and as the sunlight was blocked by the planet, darkness finally descended on the scheduled place.

Hao Ren immediately turned to the communicator: "Open the data release point!"

The amorphous light on the communicator flickered, and the Eldest sent back two short words: "Understood."

Then a part of Zhuom's astral body "bloomed."

Just like a flower bud blooming, the planet suddenly bulged at the equator, and then large areas of the earth's crust and semi-molten rock layers wriggled and cracked around, and plate fragments far exceeding the scale of mountains were torn apart like this. Around those "blooming" petals, a large number of tissue-like animal muscles could be seen pushing them. That was the force that促使 (cu shi) the planet to "bloom," the Eldest's tentacles.

This scene was exceptionally grand when viewed from space, and it was hard to imagine how grand and spectacular scenes they had set off on the surface of the planet.

"This is the mature Eldest..." Lily stared at the opening of the planet with wide eyes, her voice a little trembling. "Those few in Holleta are just kids..."

"No time to sigh," Hao Ren said quickly while issuing instructions to establish a connection, "After this crack opens, the planet's strength will further decrease, and it may collapse ahead of time. Terminal, put all the transfer systems online—swarm, it's up to you!"

The Petrified Turtle Rock Terrace, carrying a large pile of newly installed connection devices, rushed rapidly towards the opening in the planet, and all the antennas of the drone swarm opened at the same time. At the same time, the huge "data release point" on Zhuom Star also presented its deep things.

It was a large团 (tuan) of indescribable things, intertwined with biological tissue, cable lines, liquid and gas pipes, looking like a huge heart. The whole scene was like the planet exposing its heart, and around this huge thing, a large area of red liquid as wide as the ocean could be seen. Without analyzing its composition, Hao Ren could tell at a glance what it was: Source Blood.

That must have been what the Zhuom people had planned to use to rebuild the ecosystem and their own flesh, but now these were useless.

After the Source Blood was exposed in space, it immediately began to boil and surged towards the biological tissue near the data release point. At this time, the Petrified Turtle Rock Terrace had also been贴 (tie) above the "heart of the planet," and a large number of cables and transfer plugs were sent down by the drones.

Hao Ren squeezed a handful of sweat, staring at an interface on the console. In the next ten seconds, he even forgot to breathe until a few words were displayed on it, which made him feel relieved: "Connection established."

The terminal's voice came from the bridge broadcast: "Data transmission has begun."

Hao Ren nodded and turned to ask the communicator: "How do you feel on your side?"

The communicator showed the Eldest's response: "Very good."

Nangong Wuyue was still a little surprised after seeing the words on the communicator. At this time, things seemed to be getting better, and she also had the opportunity to express her surprise: "Is this really the Eldest speaking?"

"I was just as surprised as you at the beginning," Hao Ren knew what the other party was thinking, and he smiled. "But the rational Eldest is indeed like this, a very, very gentle guy."

Vivian thoughtfully said after hearing Hao Ren's words, "It is precisely because it is such a gentle creature that it is even more crazy after knowing that its mother was killed—Landlord, how are you going to explain the goddess's fall to it later? It seems...it doesn't know about this news yet."

Hao Ren shook his head with a wry smile: "Don't give me this kind of bad news at this time."

"It's going to be said sooner or later, and it probably won't be able to hide it," Lily looked at Hao Ren very seriously. "We can only try to say it as tactfully as possible."

Hao Ren nodded silently, turned and looked at the scene outside the ship.

This was the last day of the Zhuom planet.