Chapter 404: Chapter 404

Above deep space, the massive photovoltaic wings of the Southern Celestial Gate flipped and paused for one second before returning to their original position. When this control command was activated again, thousands of photovoltaic wings flipped once more.

Four clearly decoded characters appeared on the deep space monitoring station's screen, projected into the command hall of the Skybreaker Ship.

At that moment, the air seemed to fall completely silent. Countless people stared at the large monitor, slowly rising one after another. Every face was filled with shock.

“No resistance allowed? Is this a threat to us?” Liu Shijie said with a horrified expression.

“What does this sentence mean?” Information engineer Wu Junping’s face also grew solemn. “Is this the dark civilization’s response to the Dawn City incident?”

“But this message was received on the Day of Revelation...”

“This sentence makes no sense. If there was a life-or-death threat, how could there be no resistance?”

For a moment, whispers spread throughout the Moonwatch Project team, and an anxious tension began to fill the air.

Chu Yan frowned and looked at Ye Lan beside her, noticing that Professor Ye was intently staring at those four characters. After a while, she spoke:

Chu Yan focused and asked, “Do you mean this message might not have come from the dark civilization?”

Many people simultaneously turned to look.

Ye Lan shook her head. “There is a strong possibility, but it cannot be confirmed. First, if this message originated on the Day of Revelation, we only just finished observing it, so it might be unrelated to Dawn City’s resistance. Second, the context’s subject—who is this sentence addressed to, is it a warning or an admonition—remains unknown. Third, from a human mindset, it is impossible to accept an order to submit to death without resistance, so its meaning is unclear...”

After Ye Lan’s words, many around her showed puzzled expressions.

“But for now, we can only treat this as a warning from the dark civilization to humanity,” said Iron Guard Brigade commander Huo Jiang with a grave expression. “That’s the most reasonable assumption. As for the context or wording, we have discussed this before—the dark civilization’s thinking and behavior logic are completely different from humans’.”

Ye Lan nodded, then turned to Yang Xu, who had been silent beside her. “Chief Engineer Yang, what do you think?”

“I agree with General Huo’s view.” Yang Xu took a deep breath, his eyes thoughtful, then continued:

“But Professor Ye is right. We cannot fully rely on receiving this message on the Day of Revelation as solid evidence. If this dark matter message possesses quantum superposition properties and is unaffected by the time dimension, it could mean the message comes from a higher-dimensional existence.”

Huo Jiang looked confused and turned to him. “Higher dimension? Chief Engineer Yang, please explain in detail.”

Yang Xu raised his glasses and explained: “Simply put, time is a linear relationship for us humans, who exist in three dimensions. We live along the axis of the time dimension; we cannot change time, cannot change the past, nor see the future. But if you raise the dimension to the fourth, all ‘nows’ along the time axis can be observed simultaneously. In other words, four-dimensional beings can see both the beginning and the end of events at once. ‘To them, watching us is like watching a TV series, with the time axis as a progress bar, allowing them to observe our past and future at any moment.’”

Ye Lan nodded. “Yes, if this message is unaffected by the time dimension, then the *being* sending it already knows the outcome of the ‘recipient.’ From this perspective, the meaning of ‘No resistance allowed’ becomes very different.”

“So you said warning and admonition are two different meanings?” Chu Yan asked.

Ye Lan nodded, and Chief Engineer Yang explained:

“From a theoretical standpoint, since we captured this message, we are the ‘recipient.’ The problem is, if the dark civilization possesses higher-dimensional power, logically they wouldn’t need to send us such a message because our outcome is predetermined.”

“But your outcome is predetermined, meaning Dawn City will successfully counterattack, and the Star Abyss will convey a sense of *doubt*, right?” Lin Xian suddenly understood.

Ye Lan’s expression turned serious as she said fiercely, “That may be so, but those are your guesses.”

She then looked at the small monitoring screen and said, “Whether it’s a warning or an admonition, whether this message comes from the dark civilization or some lower-dimensional existence, for you, it’s an important reminder.”

“A reminder that humanity is ants.”

As this sentence left her lips, the air in the command hall seemed to freeze. Ye Lan’s gaze swept across everyone and finally rested on Yang Xu.

“Chief Engineer Yang, from now on, we must constantly monitor the changes in the Southern Celestial Gate’s photovoltaic wings. Theoretically, while doing this, the future has already happened.”

Yongcheng Port Dock, the Infinite.

Viola projected the Southern Celestial Gate’s observation screen, leaving everyone on the Infinite somewhat baffled.

“This is a bit frightening...” Shasha’s small face was dazed; the other girls looked equally uneasy. Shiori immediately hid behind Takahashi Ryunosuke.

“It feels like communicating with an alien civilization,” KIKI said, arms crossed. “Is it just these four characters?”

“Looks like a provocation,” Qian Dele said.

“What does this sentence mean? Is it directed at us?” Luo Yang frowned. Lü Chang shrugged, indicating she didn’t understand at all.

Monica’s gaze was calm as she said, “A civilization capable of exterminating Blue Star doesn’t need to provoke. This sounds more like an order.”

Chen Sixuan looked at Lin Xian, who appeared equally confused.

Lin Xian took a deep breath, then turned to Ding Junyi. “I don’t understand this well; we need to ask Director Ding.”

After that, everyone’s attention turned to Ding Junyi.

Ding Junyi put her hands in her pockets and said calmly, “Do you have some misunderstanding about scientists? I’m in biology; I’m not proficient in astrophysics, and quantum mechanics is just something I can chat about casually.”

Lin Xian smiled. “Aliens are also living beings, so strictly speaking, they fall within your research scope.”

Ding Junyi helplessly adjusted her glasses. “The Phoenix Society’s Moonwatch team is probably already in urgent discussion. But from what you’ve told me, the quantum superposition state under the time shield ring involves spacetime distortion or black hole energy extraction like the Penrose process. Achieving quantum entanglement communication, this power level has reached Kardashev Type II or even Type III civilization, approaching or already possessing higher-dimensional technology. So the key issue we must consider now is: who sent this message, and to whom?”

“What if it was sent to us?” Shu Qin asked.

Ding Junyi shrugged. “Then we can only pray. Humanity isn’t sure if it can defeat the dark Star Abyss, and with this kind of power, even a thousand more years won’t give us any chance of winning.”

After speaking, she turned to return to her research. Lin Xian called after her, “Director Ding, do you think this message might not have come from the dark civilization?”

“Uncertain. It’s complicated.” Ding Junyi turned back to him. “With limited information, we can’t make many guesses, and it doesn’t hold much significance for us.”

Lin Xian pouted but nodded. “Alright, you’re right.”

He then asked Viola, “Viola, if the civilization power Director Ding mentioned really exists, can you calculate humanity’s chance of winning?”

Viola maintained a dignified posture. Everyone knew she had performed trillions of calculations, yet she answered without hesitation.

“Wow, that’s impressive.” Qian Dele laughed. “Luckily, it’s not some 1% hope we have to struggle for generations to achieve; that way, I can still sleep well.”

With that, he yawned and patted Lü Chang and Luo Yang on the shoulders. “Let’s go, sleep a bit more. We have shifts later.”

The observation of the Southern Celestial Gate’s information ended. That strange four-character message kept buzzing like a mosquito in Lin Xian’s ear, disturbing his thoughts.

So Lin Xian gave up staying up late to devour the data and returned to the train to catch some sleep before setting off at dawn.

Apart from the zombies’ howls, the night by the sea was rather quiet. Lin Xian had grown accustomed to falling asleep to the scratching sounds of zombie claws outside the window. The heavily armored Infinite still gave him a strong sense of security.

Often, Lin Xian even missed the days of sleeping on the train. Though constantly fleeing danger day and night, after getting used to living with crisis, those days—relying on his mechanical supernatural power to build a sturdy fortress—felt strangely enticing in memory.

After the four-character signal from the Southern Celestial Gate, Lin Xian wondered if the world would change because of it. The original Blue Star and the displaced human civilization were uncertain of their future.

Before falling asleep, Lin Xian looked out into the pitch-black night sky and suddenly thought of the Natural Selection and Deep Blue starships. He wondered where these two vessels, bearing humanity’s mission, were now heading. After entering the boundless depths of space, perhaps only faith could overcome 1,500 years of solitude.

His long-unheard watch alarm rang. Lin Xian felt a warmth wash over his face and slowly opened his eyes. Sunlight streamed through the gap of the blackout panel he had opened last night, shining on his face. Outside, the sky was clear and sunny, but hundreds of rotting-faced zombies still crowded by the window.

Lin Xian’s gaze swept across the zombies’ faces, then checked the time.

Pretty early. The dark tidal wave of Star Abyss No. 8, mixed with a salty sea breeze from the Pacific Ocean, swept through the land. Lin Xian stood up and saw that except for the last night’s watchers, Qian Dele and others, everyone else had already gotten up.

Because there weren’t many people, the Infinite’s food supplies were quite ample. With dark energy filtration technology, the water resources on the train were no longer scarce. Lin Xian’s A1-level subcritical reverse osmosis purifier turned the water into drinking quality for the whole train.

In carriage 2, Shasha and KIKI were already eating bread. In carriage 3, Ding Junyi was studying plants, while Xiao Yuan and Miao Lu had gotten up early to assist. Ding Junyi’s main work was now focused on cultivating disaster-resistant and green plants, which helped her ability evolve and explore.

In carriage 5, early in the morning, Mo Xiaotian was practicing controlling electric arcs at Fire Bro’s request, his fingers crackling nonstop. Fire Bro was playing chess with Takahashi Ryunosuke nearby, while Daluo was studying his Black Dragon power armor.

“Captain Lin, weapons, equipment, and vehicles have all been checked. We are ready to depart at any time.”

Ning Jing sent the message. She and Shu Qin were mainly responsible for the train’s safety inspections. Previously, Ning Jing handled this in Dragon Mountain No. 1, while A Bai and Xiao Qing were basically idle. Luo Yang, Lü Chang, and Shasha recently researched some underwater mechanical device, even having Viola help design the blueprints, and Lin Xian assisted in manufacturing it.

Qian Dele and Monica stayed in their rooms, connected by communicators. Lin Xian could contact them anytime if needed.

“Alright, prepare to depart. Our first stop is the Taku Deepwater Floating Port. We should dock at Haiyan Island tonight.” Lin Xian entered the cockpit and began starting up the Infinite with Chen Sixuan.

A sound rang out as the Infinite’s maglev array began activating. The entire train slowly lifted into the air and moved forward.

“Yay~” came KIKI’s cheer over the communicator.

“I heard after the Day of Revelation, many islands became popular refuges. The beaches at Haiyan Island are nice. Hopefully, we won’t encounter any monsters~”

“Why, even with the world ending, you still want to sunbathe on the beach?” Chen Sixuan replied with a smile.

At that moment, Lu Xingchen’s voice came through: “Good idea, I agree, I agree!”

Chen Sixuan smiled, looking at Lin Xian. Lin Xian gave a helpless smile, took a deep breath, and said, “Let’s go. We’re crossing the ocean!”

The Infinite began accelerating, merging from the parking track onto the main planetary orbit. All blackout panels opened, and the black heavy train smashed through countless zombies as it entered the already paralyzed traction hall. After a brief darkness, it suddenly burst out of a huge exit!

In an instant, the sea breeze howled, and the view outside the porthole turned into endless blue. It felt as if only this massive, straight, man-made sea track remained between heaven and earth. A boundless openness surged into everyone’s hearts.

Shasha, KIKI, Xiao Yuan, and everyone else—even Director Ding—couldn’t help but stop their work and look at the vast blue outside.

In carriage 9, Monica sat by the window in an elegant long dress wearing sunglasses, gazing at the vast sea with a faint smile.

Qian Dele, already awake, opened the window and looked outside with a meaningful smile.

“Alien civilizations, world endings—they all don’t matter. We should take this chance to enjoy life while we’re still alive, while this planet hasn’t been destroyed yet.”

In the cockpit, Lin Xian and Chen Sixuan looked at the magnificent scenery outside the porthole, their eyes meeting.

“Teacher Chen.” Lin Xian saw Chen Sixuan looked a bit nervous and reached out to hold her hand. “Are you scared?”

Chen Sixuan shook her head.

“Were you scared before? Not so much now?”

Chen Sixuan looked at him with gratitude and said, “My power armor can go underwater and into the sky, the Infinite has deep-sea propulsion pods, the Sky Dome train can soar into the clouds, and... you’re here, so I’m not that scared anymore.”

“Crossing the Pacific is just the first step.” ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✶𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✶𝓷𝓮𝓽

Lin Xian smiled and then looked ahead to the vast ocean, speaking with resolve:

“In the future, we will journey together to the starry sea!”