Chapter 3076 Immortal Palace
Li Yao did not understand what the Observer meant.
Was the so-called ‘black iron statue’ a metaphor, or was it… literal?
There was sorrow and cunningness in her words, but he was deeply attracted to her. He listened to her without saying anything.
“Like all the adults living in the City of Silver, my mother was a researcher exploring the primeval relics. However, she chose a research path that few Nuwa Clan members would choose. She was an expert in magical equipment.
The Observer explained, “As you know, most of the magical equipment of the ancient era, especially the powerful ultimate weapons and forbidden secret treasures, have barriers and seals that can only be unlocked when the owner’s genes are detected. My mother was gifted in that regard and connected genetics, encryption, and the field of magical equipment unlocking. She solved countless problems and woke up countless ancient secret treasures that had been hibernating for billions of years.
“Although she was busy with work, she tried her best to fulfill the responsibilities of a mother and a wife during the limited time she spent with me. She maintained the harmony and happiness of the family. I remember that she often brought back marvelous magical equipment for me as toys. She and my father were quite close. Such a loving and harmonious relations.h.i.+p was rarely seen in Silver City. “I know what you want to ask. When I a.n.a.lyzed the general picture of the civilization of mankind that you transmitted to me just now, I discovered that the civilization of mankind boasted the technology of ‘sealing emotions and will’ just like the Pangu civilization did in the past. But honestly speaking, your technology is the same as the technology of the Pangu Clan in the outside world. You have gone astray and are walking in the direction of killing your imagination and creativity. It is a mental suicide.
“The ‘mental seal’ technology we adopted in the ancient relics is more delicate and delicate, with fewer side effects. When part of the emotional area is sealed, the activity of the other emotional area will be activated to the greatest extent, too. It is like ‘love’ being triggered to the maximum in order to resist the confusion and fear when we are faced with the vast unknown.
“For my father, his deep love for my mother and me was condensed into a ‘armor’ on the mental level, or even a ‘sharp sword’. Only in such a way could he walk on the never-ending road of exploration alone. My mother and I were the pillars of his mind and the symbol of a ‘home’ that he had never seen before. “But that morning, half of his mental support collapsed.
“I don’t know exactly how it happened, but that day, while my parents were doing research in their respective fields, my mother got a piece of magical equipment from the ‘Black Iron Civilization’ that looked like a square box. Judging from our exploration of the ‘Black Iron Civilization’ in the past, as well as the location of the box and the dead bodies scattered around, it should not be a piece of super magical equipment that is of paramount importance or extremely dangerous. Therefore, after the regular protection, my mother started the routine research and unlocking. “But as it turned out, the moment she deciphered the genetic code of the box and opened it, a streak of black brightness dashed out of the box and enveloped her, covering her completely.
“When the paramedics and the medics arrived, the black brightness had already been absorbed by my mother’s pores and the gaps of her scales, turning her into a vivid black iron statue.
“My mother died just like that. Or rather, she fell into a state that was even more unacceptable than death. “My father almost had a mental breakdown. For three to five days, he went crazy and kept saying that my mother was not dead. The ‘black box’ was clearly the treatment magical equipment for the ‘black iron civilization’. The black iron civilization was the most eccentric of all the carbon-based intelligent life forms. Their concept of time and even their definition of life were completely different from that of the other ninety-nine ancient civilizations. My mother was still alive, but her metabolism had been reduced to the minimum. She had entered a mysterious ‘super hibernation state’. She could still perceive all the information in the outside world and express her thoughts freely. However, her speed was billions of times slower than that of normal people.
“Therefore, my father was roaring like a ferocious beast whose eyes were bleeding. He did not allow anybody to dissect his mother’s body, nor was he willing to burn or bury his mother. He moved his mother’s body, which was the black iron statue, back to his home and stood right next to his sleep capsule. He even put on his mother’s favorite clothes for the statue. Every day when he returned home, he would lean his head on the statue and talk to it as if his mother were still alive.
“Even though I was still an ignorant child at that time, even though strange and appalling things happened every day in the ancient relics of Silver City, the blow to my heart was still incomparable.
“When my father mumbled to the black iron statue of my mother in the dead of night again, I finally couldn’t bear it any longer and begged him to tell me everything. After a long silence, he finally heaved a long sigh and fulfilled my request.
Li Yao was both surprised and awed. At this moment, he was refreshed and realized that the next step was the most important secret.
As he expected, the brainwaves of the Observer were several times more intense than before. An astronomical amount of information flooded into Li Yao’s brain nonstop.
“Everything started a long, long time ago when the Pangu Civilization returned from the great expedition.
The Observer said, “I’ve discovered that you human beings already know the existence of the Black Wall, the multiverse, and the Great Expedition. It will save you a lot of time. Let’s start with the part where you return in failure.
“It’s true that the great expedition was not a complete failure in terms of tactics. We have verified that the so-called ‘black wall’ is not endless but has a thickness and a limit that can be pa.s.sed through.
“After we pa.s.sed through the black wall, although we met the brutal Flood Tide Legion, we defeated the enemy with all our wisdom and courage and even captured a lot of their stars.h.i.+ps. We had the opportunity to a.n.a.lyze a lot of technologies and improve our civilization.
“War has always been the most advanced form of communication. All the warriors of the Pangu civilization are not scared of any kind of war. Such challenges alone are not enough to stop us from moving forward.
“However, everything changed after the primeval relics were discovered on the way back.
“The Forerunners—the makers of the black wall, the Flood Tide—the existences that even the Forerunners feared, the ‘ultimate test’ that a hundred ancient civilizations failed to pa.s.s, and the horror of the ancient civilizations being annihilated silently in the river of time… What’s the tactical victory we just secured compared to all that?
“As I said just now, after they realized how vast, vast, and terrifying the real multiverse was, some of them couldn’t bear the tremendous pressure and fell into madness.
“Even if their willpower was strong enough to keep them from collapsing, they were still like headless flies that had been caught by a giant gla.s.s tank. They were buzzing and cras.h.i.+ng everywhere, unable to find a way out.
“Only a few wise leaders and the most calm elites came to the conclusion after a long deliberation that the primeval relics were our only hope. We had no choice but to walk on the path of thorns and flames that a hundred ancient civilizations had walked on in the past and were likely to lead to destruction.
“The logic is obvious.
“The rapid development of the Pangu Civilization has pushed the consumption of resources to the limits of the Pangu Universe. The purpose of the great expedition was to find a new way out of the Pangu Universe. “Since we haven’t found a way out, the Pangu Civilization Alliance, which is made of thirteen different kinds of carbon-based intelligent creatures, is about to collapse and attack each other. If we don’t show everyone hope, the apocalypse that we created will arrive before the flood arrives.
“If we can dig out all the secrets of the primeval relics, overthrow the ‘black wall’, and release the countless fertile worlds that have been hidden for billions of years, the glory of the Pangu Civilization will be able to burn for billions of years.
“Let’s take a step back and say that, even if we cannot find the real answer to the primeval relics for the time being, the hundred ancient civilizations that have explored this place are the hundred pioneers. The weapons, magical equipment, technology, corpses, and relics of the civilization that they left behind will be of great help to our civilization, too. They will help the Pangu civilization prolong its life as much as possible.
“Besides, the expedition fleet has captured a large batch of the Flood Tide Legion and their stars.h.i.+ps outside of the black wall. Before we a.n.a.lyze them in depth and figure out all the secrets of the Flood Tide Legion, it is impossible for us to bring them back to the central area of civilization, which is a highly populated area. We can only research them in a place that is isolated from the rest of the world. In such a way, the losses will be minimized if we lose control.
“Therefore, the expedition fleet was divided into two groups. Some of the best warriors and explorers stayed on the spot and established the forward bases that belonged to the Pangu Civilization, or ‘City of Silver’, according to you. The rest of the expedition army, after they returned to their hometown, recruited hundreds of experts and scholars of the Pangu Civilization as well as authorities in the fields of biology, archeology, energy science, and cosmology. They left their hometown and came to this place.
“Since the first day of their arrival, the experts and their families have been very clear that it will be difficult for them to return to their hometown for the rest of their lives.
“On one hand, the research task is too vast and tedious. There are too many treasures that are worth their entire lives. There is no way that they can finish the research.
“On the other hand, too many secrets are buried in the primeval relics, and the viruses and genetic weapons that are likely to lurk in the cells are not suitable for the public. If the secrets or the viruses spread out, it will only accelerate the destruction of the entire civilization.
“For safety reasons, after accepting dozens of batches of experts and scholars, the City of Silver has been sealed and turned into a mysterious and unique quarantine zone. The researchers and the leaders.h.i.+p who know the inside story call it the ‘Heavenly Palace’.