Under normal circumstances, the core of a planet was scorching hot.
Not only was most of the energy from the planet's birth sealed in the core, but at the same time, during the solidification of the planet, the molten materials produced in the planet's interior would also be transferred to the core due to gravity and osmotic effects. For a rocky planet, the concentration of radioactive materials near the core was usually millions of times higher than on the surface. Under such an environment, the highly radioactive core was almost equivalent to a thermal power plant that continuously carried out nuclear reactions. The heat could not be vented and would eventually heat the core into a scorching ball of liquid metal. Under the astonishing pressure and temperature, even diamond would become as soft as butter. No matter how high the temperature, materials could only be liquefied and not gasified.
The above was the normal version of the core.
Some of the cores were cool. Compared to the scorching core, they were very cold. Even a planet with a long lifespan would continue to evolve towards its end. The activity of the core would gradually decrease, and the radioactive materials would slowly decay to the point where they could no longer release heat. The entire planet from its youth to its middle age was a process of cooling layer by layer from the surface to the core. When the planet was far away from the star, the rate of cooling would be even faster. When a planet entered its old age, the core would become closer to the solidification point of iron. After peeling off its crust and mantle, you would see a giant dark red alloy ball. In the desolate space, it showed the vicissitudes of time. It was cold and lonely. The slowly dimming flames in the core were the twilight candles of an old planet.
The above was the artistic version of the core.
There were also some cores that took the non-mainstream route. Highly skilled demolition teams would throw their planet's core somewhere, leaving behind a warm burning crust. The crust provided heat and light. Then, they would plant some flowers and plants in the big hole in the center of the planet and put up a theme park sign. Let's call this kind of core the stupid version.
"What the heck is this?" Looking at the bright underground world and the green land, I was dumbfounded.
"What … what the hell is this?" Looking at the giant vines that were moving slightly on the green land, Liliana was also dumbfounded.
"A small planet? Stuffed in the core? "The corner of her sister's mouth twitched." And the vegetation is dense. They are too huge. "
"Maybe it's because of the direction of gravity?" I let the seven hundred billion descend slowly. "The green core's gravity is one-thousandth of the surface's, and the surrounding mantle almost cancels out the gravitational force in all directions."
"Maybe." Sandora said noncommittally. She probably thought that the flowers and plants growing in the core weren't worth paying attention to.
We took a long time to pass through the mantle layer. On one hand, the seven hundred billion had slowed down our cruising speed, and on the other hand, the alloy tunnel wasn't straight. It followed a gentle parabola to the core, and it seemed to have bypassed some huge facilities buried deep in the mantle. The radar showed that the huge facilities that were bypassed had extremely high energy signatures. Perhaps they were the psionic furnaces of a Green Star. When we passed through the last layer of the spherical barrier, I thought that we would enter a sea of fire. Anyway, under normal circumstances, the core should be scorching hot, like a purgatory of molten iron. But in fact, a sea of fire did appear behind us. The core had been hollowed out, and the core was nowhere to be seen. Only the inner spherical shell of the core (or rather, the lowest layer of the mantle) had burning lava flowing on it. The lava flowed on the mantle that was already partially cooled, like an upside-down land and an upside-down lake. The mantle in my field of vision was blackish-red, indicating that its temperature was at least lower than the melting point of iron. The thick liquid rock and metal that still maintained a high temperature flowed slowly on the upside-down land, like a dazzling fire dragon.
In the place where the core should have been, there was a very contrasting view. There was a sphere with a radius of 1,500 kilometers floating there, like a smaller planet. There was no rushing magma and iron on its surface, nor was there a burning sea of fire. On the contrary, under the protection of a dim barrier, this "Inner Planet" with a radius of 1,500 kilometers was densely covered with lush green vegetation.
It was so dense that no matter on the ground could be seen.
"Ah Jun, to be honest, I have never seen such a scene in tens of millions of years." Even Sandora's eyes were wide open. She said slowly in a surprised tone, "It's … beautiful, spectacular. It's not that the technology is incomprehensible, but the creativity of this project is … unbelievable."
In the end, she described the magical Inner Planet in front of her with disbelief.
The 700 billion slowly hovered on the gravitational equilibrium point, 537 kilometers away from the bottom of the mantle and 200 kilometers away from the small green planet below. Here, the gravity was zero, which was a very strange phenomenon. For a normal planet, its gravitational force was directed at the core, regardless of whether there was any hole near the core. However, the instrument showed that after passing through the boundary at the bottom of the mantle, we had entered a modified gravitational environment. Part of the gravity came from the small green planet in front of us, pointing at the core, and the other part of the gravity came from the mantle layer in all directions, pointing in the opposite direction: pointing at the surface. This was definitely not natural. Perhaps, this was some kind of safety device of the Green Planet. The original builders had directed the gravity of the planet's core in two directions, forming a safety zone that was wide enough in the middle to prevent the magma and molten iron flowing on the mantle from falling onto the ecological planet below like a waterfall. It was also like an invisible cushion that prevented the planet's core from being destroyed.
Tawil took a deep breath and released a set of twenty-two probes. He then quietly waited for the feedback. It was obvious that even a super scientist like her was a little excited at this moment. In Sandora's words, perhaps the miraculous scene in front of us could be explained from a technical point of view, but the creativity and the intention of this magnificent project was unbelievable.
"There are two lands, but there is no sky." Since there was no gravity, Shallow Shallow decided to float back and forth in the unusually wide back half of the carriage. She leaned against the window and looked outside, her body spinning, "One is burning with fire, and the other is a forest. I have seen this in my dreams when I was young. Both lands are upside down …"
I thought for a while and finally understood. She must have mixed up Alice in Wonderland with the Journey to the West and the Flaming Mountain. Of course, it was also possible that the Demon God Temple was mixed up with the third Neo Tokyo …
Now, there was no concept of up and down in this place. The bottom layer of the mantle was equivalent to the sky to the small green planet, but from a different perspective, it was a burning land. However, out of habit, we still regarded the "inner planet" in front of us with a radius smaller than the moon as the bottom. Tawil completed the preliminary assessment of the environment here. "The highest temperature in the upper layer of the mantle is only about three thousand degrees Celsius, and the lowest temperature is seven hundred degrees Celsius. It is very uneven. There may be a set of energy system that is still adjusting the temperature of the core of the Green Star. The green core is a celestial body of medium density, composed of soil and rocks. The vegetation on the surface is confusing. There are so many plants, but the equipment shows that there is only one life form. It is too abnormal. "
"Then, the whole planet is a living thing?" Sandora showed an interested expression. "Let's go down and take a look. Tawil, let your assistant stay at the gravitational equilibrium point and continue to observe the core of the planet. I have a feeling that this place is related to the hibernation pods in the mantle. "
A team of scientists set up a temporary working platform at the gravitational equilibrium point. It was a triangular floating island covered by a psionic shield. We sat on the 700 billion spacecraft and slowly descended. We were very careful in the operation because Tawil was afraid that we would destroy the small green planet in front of us.
"The core is filled with hot air that is thousands of degrees Celsius," Tawil pointed at the inner planet. There was a dim barrier around it. "This barrier protects the ecosystem inside. You'd better turn off the spacecraft's psionic shield first. The barrier outside the target seems to be running out of energy. The psionic energy may make a big hole in it. Theoretically, yes. "
I could guess what she was going to say even if she didn't say it. The fragile plants on the inner planet were going to be burned to ashes in a big fire in less than a few minutes.
The 700 billion spacecraft turned off the shield and relied on the armor and the closed force field to resist the thousands of degrees Celsius heat outside. But this was nothing for a vehicle made by the Empire. When we passed through the fragile shield, everyone couldn't help but feel nervous. I was prepared to activate my ability to block the hole if the situation got out of control. Fortunately, everything went smoothly. The dim shield above the little green planet had withstood the test. It only flickered a little in certain areas.
We slowly landed in a dense primitive jungle. The 700 billion spacecraft's scorching shell scorched some plants, but overall, the landing was quite environmentally friendly.
"The environment is very similar to New Eden IV. The temperature is slightly higher, and the air is oxygenated. But it is not very suitable for human habitation. The oxygen content is too low, and the gravity is not strong enough."
Sandora said as she jumped on the spot. "There is artificial gravity under the shield, but the strength of gravity is only a little stronger than the surface of the moon. If it is not intentional, then the artificial gravity system here needs a major overhaul."
"I hope it is not the latter," Tawil muttered, taking out two sophisticated hexagonal devices. I felt that she was more and more like Doraemon, always pulling out a bunch of high-tech devices from her dimensional pocket. "I changed two life detectors, and the result is still the same. There is only one creature here, and that is the planet under our feet. If it is a planet."
Of course it was a planet. Anyway, I did not believe that under normal circumstances, the core could shrink nearly a thousand kilometers away from the mantle, cool down, grow flowers and plants, and finally have its own rotation period and angle. This was the conclusion after the 700 billion scan. I now felt a little lucky. The system of Green Star and its "inner star" seemed to have a self-protection mechanism to ensure that it was mutually stable after being dragged to another world by the Imperial Army. Otherwise, this smaller Green Star would have crashed into the mantle. But this system was not unexpected. After all, Green Star originally had the ability to travel across worlds. Now, it was only the super-world engine that was scrapped. The safety lock prepared for this engine did not have to be scrapped, right?
Weak gravity, unbelievably lush primitive jungle, giant plants. Walking in such a place, we could jump more than ten meters in the air with a casual jump. It felt like we were walking in Alice's dream world. When we walked past a flower that was at least three stories high, I suddenly felt that I understood what Jingle's usual perspective looked like.
"I feel a sense of incongruity here." Sandora did not like the feeling of walking through the jungle in this kind of micro-gravity, so she simply floated in the air and whispered, "Part of it is not real. The giant vines on the ground are not a problem, but … Wait a minute."
Sandora suddenly stopped, and then a golden halo slowly flowed between her hair. She sensed the surrounding environment and nodded. "Oh, I see. I was careless."
As she said, she pressed on a giant shrub, and with just a light impact with her spiritual power, the sturdy looking plant turned into floating green light spots in the blink of an eye.
"It's a mass projection." Tawil reached out to catch the light spots, and watched as they slowly reassembled into a big colorful bird. It was half the size of Pandora, and Tawil was now a mass projection. I had never used such a thing before, and it was hard to imagine what this form of body would feel like. But I had heard of the characteristics of this technology. It could create a mirror image that was exactly the same as the main body. The mirror image had a physical body, could affect the physical world like a normal body, and could even simulate the main body's physical strength. But the mass projection could not carry the main body's special abilities, such as the large number of scanning components in the body of the Shiring Apostles. The mass projection was just a convenient terminal for work, tangible but not spiritual. That was why Tawil had to rely on various external equipment (scanners, probes, and the like) when she used the projection, and those functions were already available to her body. That was also why she did not notice the abnormality of the environment, and it was Sandora who discovered the secret. "It's much less stable than the projection created by Empire technology, but it's much more realistic, and there's no way to tell if it's real or fake with normal senses. However, any kind of energy radar can detect that these projections are not real: their energy response is singular, and there are no signs of life. "
"In other words, only the vines under our feet are real. Everything else is an illusion."
The elder sister nodded. She didn't like the feeling of floating in the air and not being tripped by the vines either, so she floated side by side with Sandora in the air.
Qian Qian seemed to have thought of something again. She climbed to the top of a plant and shouted, "Is there — anyone — here? Is there -- anybody -- back? "
I hurried to pull the girl down. "What are you yelling about?"
"You don't say, she's not yelling." Sandora floated over with a smile. "I can feel something coming out from the vines in the distance, and it's approaching."
We stopped in surprise and waited patiently for a while. After a while, there was a rustling sound coming from a cluster of leaves not far from us. Then, in front of everyone's surprised eyes, a little girl with pointy ears and a hunting bow on her back crawled out from behind the leaves. Her bright, light green eyes stared at us in shock.
The little girl was wearing light, close-fitting clothing that was suitable for walking in the forest. It was white with green flower patterns on the edges. I couldn't tell what material the clothing was made of. It looked like it was made of leather, but it was unusually soft. She wore a pair of short boots tied with a leather rope, and the boots were stained with mud. The girl looked to be around twelve or thirteen years old. Her body was slender, but she didn't look weak. She had short green hair, and a pair of pointy ears poked out from her short hair. She had small and exquisite facial features, and her skin was fair. She had similar facial features to the girl in the hibernation pod that we found 'above'. Finally, my gaze fell on the hunting bow — it was obviously a toy. First of all, the size of the bow was completely modeled after a twelve-year-old girl. It probably wouldn't have much power even if it was fully drawn. Secondly, there was a grass doll tied to the bow. No matter how I looked at it, this thing didn't look like a weapon. Of course, the most important feature was the quiver on the bow's back. The arrows in the quiver were messily placed, and some of the arrowheads were pointing upwards. I could swear on my moral integrity that this kind of bow with a leather stopper as the arrowhead was definitely for children below the age of fifteen …
"Mass projection."
Sandora said through our mental link. I understood. The little girl in front of me wasn't real either.
"Ah! Intruder! "
The little girl and we looked at each other for five to six seconds before she suddenly reacted. Then, she clumsily took off the small hunting bow on her back. She took five seconds to draw the bow and nocked an arrow. Then, she hurriedly turned the arrow around and the arrowhead rushed towards us. Then, she aimed for a long time. She wobbled as she pulled the bow. Finally, she said with a sobbing tone, "Don't move. I'll aim in a moment. Wait a moment …"
Everyone was speechless.
"Jingle doesn't have to worry about her intelligence anymore," Lin Xue said softly.
Then, an arrow with a leather stopper arrowhead finally pierced through the air. It wobbled as it knocked against Lin Xue's forehead. With a "pia" sound, it stuck there. Missy's face stiffened. I turned my head and burst out laughing. I couldn't tell that this silly little girl could be so accurate. It was a headshot.
"Ah, I'm sorry. I wanted to shoot that man's knee. I missed …" The little girl's panicked voice came from the front.
I was speechless.
Everyone in the circle burst into laughter!
Lin Xue plucked the toy arrow from her forehead and tossed it back to the little girl. She then strode forward. The little girl followed her and retreated step by step. Her face was filled with anxiety. "Don't come any closer! Intruder! This is a forbidden area! No one can come in! Get out! Otherwise, the chief will be angry! Hurry up and get out … Wah! "
The little girl missed her footing and tumbled down the vines. She sat on the ground and wailed.
Sandora frowned. Her tone was filled with helplessness. "Ah Jun, if someone used mass projection just to play a joke on us, then that's really evil."
"There's no hostility and no danger." Lin Xue shook her head. Then, she ran forward with her elder sister to help the little girl up. I felt a little out of place. After thinking for a while, I asked Sandora, "Oh yeah, will mass projection hurt?"
"Well, theoretically speaking, the Mass Projection will ignore the physical sensations that are too strong." Shadora shrugged. "But the Mass Projection here uses a different technology than the one in the Empire, so it's hard to say. Maybe they've integrated the physical sensations into the projection. Although I think it's a stupid idea."
After a moment of chaos, the elder sister successfully pacified the messy little girl. Maybe it was the effect of some naughty child's control aura. The little girl was brought to our side. There were still tears at the corner of her eyes. She looked at us timidly. "You don't eat humans, right?"
I … Damn! What exactly did we pick up? Why is there such a strange creature inside?!
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