Hao Ren did not know if the owner of the tentacle could hear his voice, but he sincerely hoped that the First Born could hold on a little longer. The planet was nearing its critical point. The gravitational pull of the sun and the uneven heating process were tearing its crust off bit by bit. Even with the physical strength of the First Born, it could not withstand this force. The Petrachelys and Hao Ren's teammates could not change the fate of the planet. The virtual world was running out of time, and the only thing that could prolong its life now was the First Born's own persistence.
Since an hour ago, the tremors in the underground world had not stopped for even a moment. The large and small tremors made people feel as if they were standing on a giant drum. From time to time, the sound of rocks collapsing could be heard from a certain direction, which was even more frightening. All signs indicated that the planet was striding towards disintegration, and it was a constant reminder that they were following a five-trillion-ton boulder falling towards the sun. But the busy people in the underground bunker had no time to care about this. They were nervously tracking the nerve signals from the tentacles and heading towards the possible location of the brain according to the analysis from the shipboard computer.
The team had now left the hall where a large number of alloy columns were stored and were moving quickly through a complex underground structure that looked like a spider web. There were crisscrossing corridors and caverns of all sizes everywhere. The entire underground world was as complicated as a boundless maze. If it weren't for the on-board computer's navigation, they would have immediately gotten lost in the passageways that were filled with forks in the road. At first, Hao Ren was surprised by the complexity of the place. He felt that this structure was not suitable for human habitation, but he soon understood why the underground shelter was designed like this: all the tunnels and caverns here were built along the tentacles of the First Born.
Huge tentacles of the First Born could be seen in all the main tunnels. These tentacles were like the skeleton of the tunnel, extending along the grooves in the ground or the grooves in the walls. There were specially designed brackets and protective measures around them, and there were cables and pipes connected to the tentacles at regular intervals. These things were installed with the permission of the First Born.
The entire underground shelter was a cavern system built along the First Born. In this way, the huge caverns seemed to have been built with the help of the First Born.
They may have been built with the help of the First Born. After all, the geological characteristics of the planet did not seem to be suitable for the formation of so many natural caves.
As they went deeper into the sanctuary, Hao Ren's mind was filled with all sorts of emotions. The First Born had always been associated with absolute destruction and ecological extinction in his mind. All he saw was the destruction caused by the tentacles of the First Born. Even though he knew that this powerful creature was the shaper of the ecosystem and the original gardener, the image of the First Born's destruction was still deeply ingrained in his mind.
But here, Hao Ren saw a completely different situation: the First Born and the creation of mortals coexisted in harmony. All signs indicated that the people of Zorm had been living with the First Born since the beginning. They designed the shelter in a clever and appropriate way and were able to create a complete set of equipment that perfectly matched the First Born, which required years of tacit understanding and communication.
Hao Ren remembered what he learned in Y 'zaks' hometown: the First Born could get along with the mortal race, and its nature was actually quite gentle.
At that time, he was still surprised by the information, and now the real example was finally in front of him.
After passing through a corridor that accommodated four large tentacles, a nearly circular cave appeared in front of everyone. The structure of the cavern was very similar to the 'sacred cavern' in Holletta. There was a sunken ground in the center of the regular cavern, and a large mass of indescribable biological tissue lay quietly in the pit. There were a large number of neatly arranged caves around the cavern, and tentacles extended from the rock walls to connect to the biological tissue in the center. At this time, the vibration of the underground world had just eased a little, and Hao Ren heard a sound echoing in the cavern: a strong 'plop' like a heartbeat.
"This is a large ganglion, and there is a set of pumping organs to maintain the circulation of body fluid." Hao Ren figured out the function of the biological tissue based on the research reports he had collected before. "We are very close to the brain nucleus. Set some sensors here, and it should be able to detect the signal from the virtual world. "
Lily immediately led a large group of autonomous robots forward and placed the sensors on the huge, indescribable mass of flesh. She was a little nervous when she first did this work, but now she was completely familiar with it.
Meanwhile, Hao Ren observed the other things in the cavern: it not only contained the tissues and organs of the First Born, but also a large number of artificial equipment like other places. He saw some black machines around the large ganglion, and the cables on those machines were also connected to the tentacles of the First Born, like small artificial tentacles.
It was the first time he saw these machines, and they seemed to be different from those used to maintain the survival of the First Born. Hao Ren curiously stepped forward to check the status of the machines, and was surprised to find that one of the devices' display was actually emitting a faint light.
There was actually a working one here — it was a miracle.
"It seems to be something like a computer … At least I can look it up." Hao Ren stepped forward and fiddled with it a few times. He found that the operating mode and system architecture of this thing were similar to the computer on Nolan's side. "Hmm?"
Vivian came over and asked, "What did you find?"
"It's the construction records of the refuge, and sporadic information about the virtual world plan. The database is badly damaged, and not much can be read." Hao Ren searched the remaining logs. "It says that the refuge was built to avoid a disaster. The people of Zorm and the 'Root of Origin' jointly built a strong underground fortress to fight against the end of the world. The 'Root of Origin' here should refer to the First Born …"
Hao Ren pointed out the key points in the data to Vivian as he spoke. This ancient device was not very stable, and there were strange codes on the screen from time to time, but it still worked. "These are the coding records of the virtual world. It seems that a large number of scientists and the First Born have designed a simulation mechanism. This simulation mechanism can ensure that all humans survive in a common dream for a long period of time, until …"
"Until how long?" Vivian asked.
"Until we return to the real world," Hao Ren's voice suddenly became serious. "There is a plan to return to the real world mentioned here! They seem to be waiting for the disaster outside to end before returning to the real world. They also mentioned the ecosphere recovery plan and the body reconstruction plan … "
Vivian exhaled. "It seems that the plan has gone wrong. The condition of this planet does not look like it can rebuild the ecosphere in any case. By the way, does it mention the specific situation of the disaster? Is it referring to the planet falling into the sun? "
"Of course not. If they knew that the planet would fall into the sun, they would not have expected to return to the real world." Hao Ren shook his head. "The planet fell into orbit two or three thousand years ago, and the refuge was built ten thousand years ago. So the fall into the sun should be an accident. Probably this accident completely ruined the whole plan."
As he said, he looked up at the large ganglion in the center of the cavern. "Probably this accident caused the script of the virtual world to begin to show the beginning of the doomsday. In this case, we can roughly match the timeline in Nolan's memory. In her memory, the trend of the world's doomsday was about two or three thousand years ago."
"You mean …" Vivian was puzzled for a moment, but she soon realized what he was getting at.
"It's having a nightmare," Hao Ren raised his hand and pointed at the indescribable biological tissue. "So the whole world is swallowed by the nightmare."
Vivian's eyes widened in surprise. At this moment, Nolan's anxious voice suddenly came from the communicator. "Hao Ren! Hao Ren! I have a situation here! "
Hao Ren immediately picked up. "What's wrong? Is the fire burning again? "
"No — I think I just 'heard' the voice of the Fabricator again!"
'Fabricator' was the name that Nolan used to call the controller behind the scenes of this world. Now Hao Ren knew that the so-called 'fabricator' should be the consciousness of the First Born. Nolan seemed to have a special ability. She could occasionally hear the First Born's sleep talking in the virtual world. Humans could not understand the thinking of the First Born, so the dreams she heard were usually vague.
But this time, the situation seemed to be different.
"What did you hear?" Hao Ren asked hurriedly. He heard an ominous meaning in Nolan's voice.
"I don't know if there's a problem with my understanding, but I heard that this world is going to carry out 'euthanasia' …" Nolan's voice was filled with fear. "The voice said that it wants to stop all pain, and let the world die painlessly before some kind of collapse happens."
Hao Ren took a deep breath.
The First Born could not hold on any longer.
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