The black wreckage of unknown origin wasn't technically difficult to dismantle. Whether it was in terms of material or protective technology, it was far below the level of the Empire's technology. It was basically at the level of a high-level servant army. Using advanced equipment to dismantle such a thing was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. After a simple scan, the technicians determined the layer-by-layer structure of the black cube and locked onto a rectangular container at its core. If they guessed correctly, the coffin that Miss Lin was referring to should essentially be that thing.
Then, under the guidance of Miss Lin, the experts found the "energy junction" near the core of the cube. It was the only place in the entire cube that had an energy reaction, but it was now in a silent state. The level of energy released and the activity level were extremely low. If it wasn't for Miss Lin's advance warning, I'm afraid that no one would have noticed this inconspicuous little thing. But according to Lin Xue's prediction, it was precisely this energy junction that would suddenly go out of control at the last step of dismantling and burn the core of the cube. As the saying goes, having a prophet at home is like having a treasure. The existence of Lin Xue had helped me avoid almost inevitable losses countless times.
After a brief discussion, the technical experts decided to start cutting from one of the edges of the cube and completely penetrate part of its outer shell. Anyway, looking at the state of this thing, it was obvious that there was no value in preserving its outer shell. After penetrating the outer shell, the intricate mechanical structure and crystallized energy circuits inside the cube appeared in front of everyone. The next operation needed to be a little more precise, because the internal structure might have some research value. The two autonomous robots disassembled some seemingly complete modules from the inside of the cube in a precise way, and then expanded the scope of the cutting operation. Sandora took the distorted module from an assistant technician. It looked like it had experienced high temperature and kinetic energy impact and curiously observed it. After a moment, she handed the module to me. "Ah Jun, don't you feel that it's very familiar?"
"Me? I'm afraid I don't feel that it's familiar. "I shrugged." It seems that only the original Shiring Apostles like you can feel that strange sense of familiarity. By the way, what does this thing have to do with the Shiring Apostles … "
"I'm not talking about that," Sandora said. "I'll show you this module. Its design …"
Puzzled, I took the black object and looked at it a few times, but I couldn't figure out its function. I could only see many parallel inlays in the middle of a bunch of alloy components. The inlays reflected cold light under the sunlight. After looking at them carefully, I found that they were actually some kind of dark blue crystal. Anything more than that … he couldn't tell.
"I feel like it has something to do with the Empire equipment," Sandora's tone was not very certain. "Of course, it looks very different, but the energy conduction structure of this crystal is a classic design. Many of the energy module infrastructure of the Empire equipment is built on this structure. But compared to the thing in your hand, the difference is really not small. It gives me a very subtle feeling that this thing in front of me has a very subtle similarity to the Empire equipment in terms of architecture. "
At this moment, the autonomous robot that was cutting inside the cube finally encountered an obstacle. It was a completely sealed layer of alloy protective cover. There was a weak flow of energy on the protective cover. In the original timeline, it was this layer of seemingly fragile protective cover that directly caused the cube's core to burn. But since Lin Xue had warned me in advance, of course, this kind of thing would not happen. The prophet grabbed my hand and pressed it against the cube. "Come on, use more force."
I said, "… Can you not say such strange things?"
As I said that, I searched for the 'energy node' that was emitting a weak energy reaction. Then, I used my special power to completely control it. "Alright, continue to operate it. I will drain its energy dry."
There was a slight 'chi chi' sound from inside the cube. The autonomous robot's phase cutting knife easily destroyed the core protective cover. At the same time, through my spiritual senses, I could feel the energy node quickly reacting and preparing to self-destruct. But I easily extinguished it. At this moment, I suddenly had a thought: such a decisive self-destruct device is really full of déjà vu.
"It's done. Now, remove the bomb." Lin Xue was giving instructions blindly … Well, not blindly. "Robot No. 2, first cut the base and the hexagonal lock. Don't hesitate to cut it. The mechanical lock is useless anyway. Robot No. 1, when the bracket starts to slide, pull it out. It will explode a little, don't worry about it. Uncle with a buzz cut over there, don't touch the part in front of you. Remove the one next to it first. Otherwise, you will be personally beaten up by Tawil tomorrow afternoon. Don't ask why, this is the butterfly effect. Butterfly effect, understand? Alleria, raise your left wing by 20 centimeters. The dirt that will splash on your wing later … Ah, and the white-haired beauty over there, don't touch it … Err, you've already touched it. Okay, I'm just reminding you, you're going to be in trouble in ten minutes … "
Cocokina floated next to the council in a daze. After a long time, he said in a muffled voice, "… This is the first time I've seen such a strange scene of command. Someone is not relying on technology and experience, but directly giving orders based on what they see in the future. Every step is so specific that it's scary."
I understood Cocokina's feelings, but he probably hadn't heard of a strategy guide. When you're at a critical moment in a decryption game, and an idiot suddenly pops out with a game guide and spoils it for you from beginning to end, you should have a good understanding of what kind of existence Lin Xue was. No, Lin Xue was probably even more amazing than that. Not only did she know what you should choose next just by looking at the guide, she also knew what your expression would look like when you were driven mad by spoilers along the way. She also knew how to make you even crazier … Yep, I digress. What I mean is, as long as you don't cause trouble, Miss Lin's ability to "spoil" is actually quite cute.
Jingle sounds kept coming from inside the cube. The autonomous robots were busy for a while. Then, there was a soft "chi" sound, as if something was sliding off the support frame. Then, the dirty autonomous robot No. 2 floated out of the big hole on the side of the cube. It carefully held up a metal cylinder that was emitting a faint blue light. That was the "energy junction" that Lin Xue mentioned. This was probably a kind of energy device with low-efficiency energy collection and storage functions. I didn't know how Lin Xue got it. The prophet always spoke like this. Sometimes, she didn't even know why she used specific terms to describe what she saw. In any case, even if you didn't understand it, you just had to listen to it. I took the metal cylinder from the autonomous robot. It was half a meter long. One end was thick and the other end was narrow. It looked like a telescope. I weighed it in my hand and said, "Psionic energy."
Yes, there were obvious remnants of psionic energy in the metal cylinder, and the pattern was very similar to the psionic spectrum used by the Empire. In fact, psionic energy wasn't unique to the Shiring Apostles, just like how only the Galactic Protoss could use Holy Light. In fact, as long as a civilization could come into contact with the Void, they could basically master this super energy that was derived from the decay of the Void. Depending on the spectrum and decay rate, these energies might have some differences in characteristics, but they could basically all be called psionic energy. The most prominent characteristic of the psionic energy used by the Empire was the blue color that represented high activity. And now, I was also very sure that the psionic reaction carried by the metal cylinder in my hand was the standard energy of the Empire.
Things seemed to be getting more and more interesting. Now, we were a hundred percent sure that this cube was related to the Empire. Not only did it use the standard energy of the Empire, but its internal structure, or rather, its architecture, had subtle similarities with the current technology used by the Empire. However, the technology level of the cube was obviously weaker than the real Empire technology. It was more like an antique or a knockoff. Could it be …
Was this something used by one of the vassal races of the old Empire?
Was the Merovans actually hunting down another group of vassals of the Empire?
My thoughts were all over the place until a loud 'clang' drew my attention. I turned my head and saw that one side of the cube could no longer withstand the continuous destruction from the inside. In addition, it was already severely damaged. As a result, about half of it broke off from the middle and fell to the ground with a loud bang. A female assistant technician with short white hair stood next to it. Judging from her appearance, she probably did not manage to dodge the attack. Few scientists could maintain their agility while working.
Lin Xue shrugged. "See, I said you would be in trouble in ten minutes."
If you had the time, could you have told me to dodge in advance?
As this part of the structure collapsed, the cube's body was also mostly dismantled. The core that was secured with a complicated mechanical locking device was also exposed in front of us. The autonomous robots removed it from the support frame and moved it to an empty space. Only then did I see its true appearance: it looked like an ancient hibernation pod.
"Open it." Sandora said without hesitation. We were not worried that opening it would kill the life that might exist in the hibernation pod because there was a fatal damage on the side of the hibernation pod. If there was a life inside, it would have died by now.
The hibernation pod's cover was peeled off in bright sparks. What appeared in front of us was an unusually burly warrior wearing a full suit of power armor. Of course, there were no signs of life.
"This type of power armor …" Sandora bent down and observed the armor that the corpse was wearing. "It looks like a very ancient design. The psionic shield generator even relies on the energy box on the back to provide additional energy. However, it is indeed the basic structure of the Empire's technology. However, I can't tell which sector this equipment is obsolete. It looks too old. It doesn't seem suitable even for the servant army. Hmm, the outer shell of the armor is well sealed. The corpse inside might have already been pulverized. However, we can still analyze the form of life. Open his mask. Be careful. It might be very fragile inside. "
Two assistant technicians came forward under Sandora's command. They transformed their fingers into slender probes and pierced them into the slit of the head of the power armor. Then, they opened the armor normally from the inside. They didn't use any cutting methods, probably because they were afraid of damaging the thing inside. It was unknown how many years this set of armor had been through, but what was inconceivable was that it could still be opened smoothly. The visor on the helmet was opened, and the people around almost all gasped in shock.
I thought that what appeared in front of me would be a highly weathered corpse of a servant army soldier of the old Empire. It might even be a pile of suspicious organic powder. It might even be empty. However, none of those were true. Inside was the complete corpse of a soldier.
There was no weathering, nor did it turn into powder the moment it came into contact with the air. The corpse had almost completely maintained its appearance when it was alive. It was a strong man, close to a human, but his appearance was quite different from a human's. His skin looked more like metal or plastic. It had almost no luster and appeared grayish-white. There were neat blue lines around his face. The lines were actually directly embedded into the skin, like some kind of circuit. It reminded me of a robot head without a bionic skin. This kind of appearance made me think of robot soldiers. However, after taking a closer look, it didn't feel like it. The corpse didn't have that stiff feeling. It should be a real life. It was just that … it looked a little like the war puppets created by the Empire.
"This …" Sandora only managed to spit out one word. Then, she suddenly realized something and pressed her hand on the forehead of the corpse. A series of flashes flashed in her eyes as if she was scanning the internal structure of the corpse. A moment later, I heard her muttering to herself in disbelief, "This … is an apostle? A Shiring Apostles? "
"Are you sure?" I was slightly surprised, but I didn't feel that it was too unbelievable. To be honest, I was quite confused. Both Lin Xue and I were born as Earthlings (at least in this life), unlike Sandora who was an original Shiring Apostle. That was why it was difficult for me to empathize with the strange reactions of Sandora and the technicians from the Empire. I could only faintly feel that something was wrong, but I didn't know what Sandora was feeling.
"Yes, I'm sure. This is a Shiring Apostle, but it's abnormally ancient. I can't even believe that the body structure of a Shiring Apostle could be so … inferior." Sandora stood up and gestured for the other workers to handle the corpse further. "I understand the body structure of every type of Shiring Apostles, but this one … other than the distinguishing features, it doesn't match my memory at all. Most of the components in his body are solidified, and some parts are still at the stage of crude mechanical assembly. It's very different from the half-energy structure of the current Shiring Apostles. Also, I can't scan his memory core. I don't know if it was never installed in the first place, or if it was damaged by an accident … I also can't confirm the era of this apostle. He was a soldier from the Old Empire Era, but this super antique model … I can't even identify it now. You can imagine how old it is. "
I tried my best to keep up with Sandora's pace, trying to look at the entire situation from her point of view. Lin Xue said thoughtfully, "In other words, it might be a model that stopped serving before you were born? An extremely old model that isn't even recorded in the database? "
Sandora nodded. "I'm afraid that's the case, and if that's the case … the cube in front of us is probably something from the same era. Does it have to be counted in hundreds of millions of years? Maybe even longer! It's unbelievable, such an ancient thing has been preserved until now, and it's even appearing in front of us … "
"It's an unimaginable era …" Lin Xue couldn't help but sigh. "Speaking of which, the items created by the Empire Era have a long shelf life, but the shelf life of an item created so long ago is also so exaggerated?"
"I can't explain it, I can't explain it," Sandora held her forehead. "Alright, even I need to calm down now. In theory, such an ancient thing can't be preserved, not to mention that it seems to have been drifting in the void for a period of time, but it has been preserved, and it looks like it's in good condition. Send this corpse and the cube to the research institute. No matter what method you use, give me a detailed report as soon as possible, including the approximate year of his service and the cause of his death. If possible, look for any data recording equipment. Most importantly, it must not be damaged! "
"Yes! Your Majesty! " Vittok, Ketovi, or whatever the name was, immediately saluted and began to instruct his assistants to carefully collect everything at the scene into the Garner Space with a serious expression. I glanced at Sandora, who was deep in thought, and tried to say, "So … the Merovans are robbing the remains of an old Empire soldier?"
"That's even more unreasonable, isn't it?" Sandora looked at me and smiled bitterly. "Things have entered a larger fog zone. The remains of an old Empire soldier may have a special meaning to us, but what value does it have to the Merovan rebels?"
"No matter what value it has, they're dead." Alleria, who had been silent all along, could not help but speak up now. "They've already stolen a large amount of His Majesty's wealth and erased the emblem of the Empire. Now, they're even attacking the remains of an old Empire soldier. What are those lunatics planning to do?"
"Even you don't know?" I glanced at Alleria. Among all the people present, she was the only one who might know about the Merovans, but she shook her head at me. "I know how the Merovans fight and how to command them to charge. But other than that, the Merovans' culture, beliefs, and way of thinking … I can only say that they're so-so … Err, Your Majesty, you also know that the old Empire's policy on the servant army is a little …"
"Forget it, I knew it would be like this." I covered my face and waved my hand weakly.
We didn't stay in Kailudak for long. Instead, we returned to the City of Shadows to follow up on the experts' analysis of the cube and the corpse. This time, Shadora and I didn't have to wait too long. That afternoon, an explosive piece of news came from the research center.
Tawil reported to us personally.
"Your Majesty, we may have found a source."
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