Chapter 1371: The Test Starts
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Zeon Lucas found the beginning of this “magical journey” to be a bewildering array of teleportation, flying, wonders, and information bombs. None of the visions he had imagined of the trip fitted. He was once suspicious of Hao Ren’s description of the “incredible, far beyond imagination, bizarre experience”, feeling that he would not be intimidated by the journey. However, now he changed his mind because he realized one thing: if you had been stuck on a small stone ball with a radius of only a few thousand kilometers for thousands of years, whatever experience you had acc.u.mulated would become meaningless the moment you left the stone ball.
He even closed his eyes nervously as the s.p.a.cecraft fell through the swirling portal at the center of the nebula.
Flying in a s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p at sub-light speed through a nebular storm whose radius was calculated in astronomical units, was an unspeakable moment. Hao ren raised the s.h.i.+eld and filter s.h.i.+eld of the Petrachelys. He then kept the external monitor running and projected all the outside scenes into the s.p.a.cecraft without reservation. The “thrill show” almost made the pa.s.sengers in the lounge dizzy and throw up. But Hao Ren’s purpose was not to crush the confidence of these otherworldlings or show off his s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p. It was to let them deeply feel what it meant to “cross a world” in this way.
Until he could explain to them in detail the principles of the World Barrier, the Wall of Reality, and s.p.a.ce travel, he could only reinforce the impressions in their mind. At least they could keep this fact in mind: the moment they crossed the Wall of Reality, the light and shadow they saw beyond the processing limit of mortal brains would leave some mark on their souls and these marks had that effect.
The Gate of the Universe was in good working order. It seemed that though Raven 12345’s “Hearts and Arrows Crystal” did not look very reliable, it was still quite powerful when it was deployed and working. Petrachelys had been steadily reorganized in the world’s s.h.i.+fting information flow. When it reappeared in the Material World, it was no longer surrounded by the swirling storm of the Scarred Nebula, but by a command center strewn with surveillance stations, and turrets. A straggly ma.s.s of fragmented s.p.a.ce landma.s.ses floated next to the fortress, which was illuminated by an orange-red star.
Surveillance posts in s.p.a.ce were sending out white beams of light. The surface of the orderly array of sensors was flowing with light, scanning the material that pa.s.sed through the Gate of the Universe. The data was then uploaded to three giant computing centers in s.p.a.ce and distributed security databases on several continents of Collow, which was then fed back to the front end of the monitoring system almost immediately. Then, the fortress guns and arrays lined up near the gates shed light and retreated to both sides, and a welcome message was broadcast:
“Authentication of authority is pa.s.sed. Welcome to the Collow Inspection Station, Your Excellency the Inspector.”
Petrachelys was slowly breaking away from the gravitational grip near the Gate of the Universe. And on the bridge, Hao Ren was looking at the information uploaded back from some of the sensors at the Gate of the Universe.
“The fluctuations far exceed the theoretical impact of transferring the same goods and people. Clearly, the causal entanglement of those 100 pa.s.sengers is the primary cause of this data overflow,” explained Hao Ren while pointing to a red curve on the chart. “But the upper limit is still in the safe range. Everything seems to be going as planned.”
From the moment those partic.i.p.ants crossed the Gate of the Universe, a vast surveillance system was activated. This was a homecoming trip, but also a sophisticated test. Numerous sensors were continuously compiling all the stress changes of the Plane of Dreams and the Wall of Reality into data and sending it to Hao Ren. The Gate of the Universe aggregate was only the first of these data sets. A few seconds ago, the Gate of the Universe sensor recorded a very powerful information fluctuation. The scale of this information fluctuation was so strong as if hundreds of millions of tons of material or thousands of people had pa.s.sed through the Wall of Reality in an instant. Although the duration was quite short, it still had a considerable impact on the “wall”. Had it not been for the Gate of the Universe to share the shock and calm the oscillation, it would probably have set off a cosmic disaster that was as destructive as the big explosion of the Scarred Nebula.
But such a huge impact of information was caused by just a hundred ‘survivors’ of the Plane of Dreams pa.s.sing through the gate in a s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p.
Hao Ren sighed as he was grateful that everything had gone according to plan: To solve the problem fundamentally, there was still a long way to go.
“So this is the Plane of Dreams…” said White Flame while staring at the images from the external monitor. While the neat array of s.p.a.ce buildings and the offbeat ‘Collow’ were striking, the cosmic starscape did not seem different from another universe to her. “It’s not quite what I expected… s.p.a.ce is still s.p.a.ce, and stars are still stars.”
However, Hessiana was thinking about something else. Looking at the incredible buildings and thinking back what she had seen along the way, she muttered jealously, “So that’s how that guy trick Lord Vivian into following him around all day?”
“Pa.s.sengers.” Hao Ren’s voice suddenly appeared in the lounge, interrupting the guesses and whispered conversations of the partic.i.p.ants. Meanwhile, images of several people inside the bridge appeared on a holographic projection in the center of the lounge. “We have reached the Plane of Dreams. What you see is the cosmic starry sky on the Plane of Dreams. There’s no doubt that this is a completely new universe for you. Each of the nebulae you see here is unlikely to find a counterpart in the Surface World. I’m sure it’s not quite what some of you thought it was at first, but the truth is, you’re far from seeing what I’m going to show you. On the Plane of Dreams, life also thrives on planets. These planets are scattered throughout the universe, and 99 percent of them are actually destroyed by the disaster. I have given you a brief description of the disaster in the booklet, but I’m afraid it is hard for you to imagine its real situation just by describing it…
“For the past few years, I’ve been exploring the universe, looking for signs and survivors of the disaster. I was lucky enough to find the remains of some of them, even the remnants of civilization. Some of you are from places like this.
“Pa.s.sengers, you are from the same universe, which is this, the Plane of dreams. But in fact, you are not from the same planet. I think some people have thought of this because anyone who knows anything about the universe can guess this. So we’re going to make some special arrangements for this homecoming…
“Our first stop is an ecological planet called Holletta. To make the atmosphere of the trip a little more relaxed, we chose this vibrant place as the first stop of the trip. The planet is home to werewolves and blood clans, and there’s evidence that the Thunder Giants and Mountain Giants came from there as well. The descendants of Olympus may be interested in this…
“After Holletta’s trip, the whole team will be divided into several parts. We will arrange different guides to take you to the planets. Some of them are your hometown, some have lost their names completely, and some are even ruins. I hope what you see and hear there will give you an answer to your people when you go back.
“In the second half of our journey, we will go to a planet called Io. It is the home of the sirens, a world destroyed innocently and a world in the process of being born again. I believe everyone will be tired after the first half of the journey, so I hope you can relax in the sea breeze of Io and get ready for returning home. Queen Katreina and Miss Shaqira, I know you’re excited to be back home, and I know the sirens are naturally lively, but please don’t get all huddled up and roll around the lounge just to celebrate. You are causing trouble for others.”
Everyone in the lounge was either dignified or discreet, except for Katreina and her several female officials who had been very excited since the beginning of the trip, and calmed down only after Hao Ren criticized them. These beautiful young ladies curled up their tails and went back to the corner, coiled up and pretended to rest, as if nothing had happened…
These incorrigible sirens… Everyone thought so, including the demon hunters.
Petrachelys flashed across the universe and disappeared into s.p.a.ce near Collow.
When it appeared again, it was already in Holletta.
Holletta’s sensor stations started flas.h.i.+ng, and the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p began its rapid descent into the atmosphere. Looking at the green and blue landscape that grew through the window, Zeon Lucas muttered to himself, “Is there where we come from…”
On the surface of the Kingdom of Holletta, in a small field near the city, Marshal Ophra was looking up into the clear sky.
The appointed time had come.
“Are they really coming?” asked one of the high knights. Obviously, the silence at the moment made him a little uneasy
“Of course they will. They sent me a message just now,” said Becky confidently.
As if to prove what Becky said was true, the moment she finished her words, a flame appeared in the sky, and the figure of Petrachelys grew rapidly in the flames.
“They’re coming! Here they come!” shouted several knights and attendants.
On the bridge of Petrachelys, Hao Ren silently looked at the scene of the earth’s surface getting closer and closer to the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p. On another set of holographic projections, new information just jumped out.
“Time: On the first day, at 12:05 pm, the ‘sample group’ is close to Holletta. Blood Clans, werewolves, and thunder giants reconnect with the planet’s biosphere.
“Deep s.p.a.ce-KD-655QN89-Z15 region, the first divine power oscillation was detected. Oscillation Level: D.”