The research center of the City of Shadows was a building with a strange spatial structure. Most of its areas were connected to a space-distortion device. This building, which looked like only a few buildings, actually contained an unimaginably vast space. The most important laboratories, sample vaults, and data centers were set up in an encrypted dimension. The connection point between these independent spaces and the research center might be a door that opened in mid-air, a wall marked with a number, or even a few specific floorboards. As long as you walked over with the teleportation code, you would be transported to a strange hyperspace laboratory.
This magical multi-layered spatial structure was designed by Tawil himself. One of the purposes was to allow those large-scale projects to be completed in the research center, and the other was for safety reasons. We knew that the Empire's scientists' projects were basically inseparable from firearms. If they did not set up the military laboratory in an alternate dimension, I was really worried that they would blow up the City of Shadows …
Those alternate dimensions with no specific functions and only a vast and stable spatial structure as the experimental site were called 'fissure laboratories.' There were nearly a hundred of these fissure laboratories. The facilities that Tawil built based on the data submitted by Abyssal Schilling and the pair of wreckages that we dragged back were in the first fissure laboratory. At the same time, this laboratory was now the basic laboratory of the 'bridging project.' It was under the name of the 'Deep Dive Project.' Tawil was personally in charge of it, and Sandora was personally supervising it.
The dark but not pitch-black chaotic space was boundless. It was impossible to tell how big this alternate dimension was. In the center of the first fissure laboratory, there was a light-emitting object the size of the moon. It was the laboratory's energy furnace and also a light source to a certain extent. It could also serve as a gravitational source and operating platform in specific project requirements. A series of facilities were operating in the low orbit of this artificial celestial body. There were large experimental space stations, open operating ports, and of course, residential areas and factories. Some projects could take a long time, and even a single operation could take months or even a year. During this process, the researchers basically did not want to leave the experimental site too far, so there were even living facilities here.
And between these orbital facilities, you could see small spaceships shuttling quickly. Some were transporting cargo, some were carrying personnel, and the rest were basically unmanned special autonomous robots. Autonomous robots in the form of spaceships were basically used in scientific research projects. Flying around in a spaceship in an experiment 'room' was probably something that could only be seen in the Empire's facilities. Those crazy scientists really made everything extraordinarily large.
The observation hall of the orbital station was located on the top floor of this tall tower. Other than one side that was sealed off by a silver-white alloy wall, the other three sides were open structures. A transparent energy barrier separated the hall from the outside world, making it look like three gigantic floor-to-ceiling windows. We stood behind the floor-to-ceiling windows and watched the surface of the "silver moon" occasionally emit blue arcs of light. God Father was a little emotional. "You are already testing the new energy source for the shield. In terms of deep diving technology, you have progressed much further than the Gods."
"After all, we started 70,000 years ago," I said as I glanced at the woman beside me. She had black hair, black eyes, and a thin figure. She had a gentle but cold smile on her face. Although she was beautiful, there was always a sense of alienation. Beside her was a large black box that looked like a wardrobe. On the surface of the box, red light flowed continuously. "The data you provided seems to be correct. Tawil has already built the third generation of deep diving shield. It's just that the energy consumption is too high and needs to be resolved."
"Take it slowly. There is still time." Abyss Schilling maintained his eternal smile, but his eyes were curiously looking at God Father and the God King Huron. "I didn't expect the two of you to come together. From what I know, you have been in a state of chase and escape for a long time."
God Father instantly looked a little awkward. "How do you even know this …"
"Don't be bound by conventional thinking. Abyss Schilling didn't only come into being after the collapse of the Empire," the black-haired girl said calmly. "I am of the same lineage as the one from 70,000 years ago."
I took another look at the experimental site below us. Then, I retracted my gaze from "space" and led everyone back to the silver-white alloy long table in the middle of the observation hall. After everyone had taken their seats, I said, "In short, Abyss Schilling has already recounted the Cataclysm and the construction of the bridge. Xing Chen, Sister Hilla, and the rest of you should have sorted out the situation, right?"
There weren't many people around the long table. Other than Xing Chen, Hilla, Abyss Schilling, and I, there was also Sandora and Halland. Furthermore, as the person in charge of the entire project, Tawil was naturally present as well. Furthermore, he was present in his original form, sitting across the table.
Abyss Schilling had repeated what she knew about the Void Cataclysm in front of Xing Chen and Hilla. It could be said that she had explained some of the things that Icetis hadn't conveyed clearly.
"The new model of the Void is very interesting." In such an occasion, Hilla, who had always been a little carefree, was unexpectedly calm. She was like a professional researcher who had developed a lot of interest in Abyss Schilling's conjecture about the Void. "As for whether or not it is like a membrane in nature, it will take a long time to explore. But for now, it does seem to be closer to the truth than the previous conjectures. Then, the creation of a world of Order will cause this membrane to 'deform'. The Abyss and the Cataclysm are the different degrees of return to zero that this membrane has adopted in order to restore its flatness. Building a bridge on the membrane and allowing the worlds of Order on both sides to communicate can alleviate the imbalance, so that the Cataclysm will not be too extreme … All the conjectures seem to be reasonable, and I personally agree. "
"How detailed is the information you got from the other side?" Xing Chen glanced at Abyss Schilling. "Can I have a look?"
"Of course." Abyss Schilling took out a translated scroll and handed it to God Father. "I've already omitted the technical aspects. I'm sure that's not what you're concerned about."
Xing Chen and Hilla began to analyze the contents of the scroll while I, Halland, and Sandora waited quietly. We had read the information in advance, so of course, we knew the content. However, just like the information we found from the black shuttle and the calls I occasionally 'heard' from the other side, the information was fragmented and had a lot of ambiguity. Abyss Schilling might know more than the New Empire, but she was far from being able to communicate with the civilizations on the other side.
"According to this information, the 'bridge building' plan of the civilization on the other side was not first proposed by them," Hilla looked up. "There are currently two super civilizations on the other side, but they can be sure that they are not the 'first generation'. There were other people who came into contact with the truth of the void before them. The will of 'building a bridge' is circulating in these generations of super civilizations. Every generation has tried to build a bridge, but they have basically failed."
Abyss Schilling nodded. "The 'inheritance' on the other side is obviously stronger than ours. Although their super civilization is not as long-lasting as ours, they can pass on the will of building a bridge from generation to generation. Many races seem to have died in the process of building a bridge or simply went extinct because of the failure of the experiment, but this project has never stopped."
"Admirable." Even God Father could not help but give a thumbs up … uh, to show his respect. He then returned the scroll to Abyss Schilling. "Building a bridge requires both sides to work together, so the other side has never succeeded?"
"Yes. According to the intermittent information sent from the other side, the original 'bridge building' requirement did not mention that both sides need to be opened at the same time. It was discovered during this season's exploration by the civilization on the other side that opening the starting end on both sides at the same time could stabilize the bridge. Those previous failed bridge-building attempts are likely to be the result of separate work. "
"In other words, to ensure the success of building a bridge, the first step must be to ensure smooth communication with the other side," Halland said, cutting to the point. "Otherwise, even the starting end can't be opened at the same time. After the 'bridge' is activated, it is likely to collapse when the other side cannot respond for a long time. In addition, we must also consider that the starting end manufactured on both sides will certainly use different technologies and 'materials'. This aspect of compatibility and mutual translation is also an important issue. Now according to our speculation, to establish a stable contact with the other side, we need to at least 'dive' to near the critical zone at the bottom of the Abyss and build a long-lived, similar to a relay station there to relay the signal. This is another technical difficulty. We can't even dive to that depth now, let alone build a relay station. "
As expected of an expert in this field, Halland had basically considered everything needed for the project.
The holographic device on the long alloy table projected the deep-submersible ship currently in use by the Empire, as well as the structure of the deep-submersible ship and the current maximum parameters that could be achieved. I looked at the thing in a bit of a daze, but I did not know how to improve it. Even an expert like Tawil was troubled by this problem, of course, a layman like me would not be able to help. I was just thinking: when would this ship be able to dive to the critical layer?
That sounded far-fetched.
In the traditional abyss-void model, we think that below the Abyss Gate is the nest of the abyssal power. It is a distorted and chaotic area completely filled with 'things' called the abyss. Based on the fact that the 'other side' exists, the bottom of the Abyss Gate is seen as a vast but limited isolation zone. This isolation zone has a layered structure. From the surface down, the abyss's presence will rapidly increase until it reaches the bottom, and the abyss' presence will be extremely powerful. But further down, the process will reverse, the pollution will weaken, and the chaos will subside, like two gradual zones that are mirror images of each other. In this model, the area where the structure of the abyss "inverted" is the critical layer.
In the new model proposed by Xi Ling of the Abyss, everything was more or less the same. The only difference was that Xi Ling of the Abyss denied the nature of the Abyss as a specific "thing". The new model believed that the Abyss was not a specific "thing", but a general term for a series of processes. Below the Abyss Gate was not a nest, but a special "structure" in the void. It was just that this structure happened to be located at the origin of the void zero reaction, so it had a strong abyssal quality. Apart from this difference, the description of the 'critical layer' is the same in both models.
The strongest deep-submersible ship in the old Empire could only reach close to the critical layer but could not really reach that area. Needless to say, the deep-submersible equipment made by the new Empire could not even reach half the limit of the critical layer.
Hilla turned her eyes, looked at the deep-submersible ship in front of her, and then looked at Abyss Schilling. She suddenly thought of something. "I wonder if you will use Huron's technology …"
"You also have a deep-submersible ship?" Xing Chen looked at her in surprise. "Why have I never heard you mention it?"
"Not a deep-submersible ship, but a node set under the Abyss Gate." Hilla took out a crystal prism from her body. The prism was only the size of a palm, emitting a soft milky light. "We never thought that there would be anything worth exploring at the bottom of the abyss. But in order to monitor the movement of the Abyss Gate and try to collect the pattern of the explosion, we have recently built a kind of node that can operate in the abyss for a long time. It can continuously provide clean energy in heavily polluted areas. Because it is not used for extreme exploration, the absolute protection of these nodes may be weaker than your deep-submersible equipment, but the endurance of the power core is absolutely reliable."
Xing Chen took the crystal prism and placed it together with a translation scroll. He then enveloped it with a set of energy runes. It was obvious that he was decoding the data. It turned out that the "prism" was something similar to a storage device. The technology trees of the three main God Systems were really different.
After a while, the decoding was completed. Xing Chen made a few copies of the scroll and handed one to Sandora, Tawil, Abyss Schilling, and Halland. Of course, I also had a copy, but it was another matter if I could understand it or not …
"Something very valuable!" Tarver had only skimmed through the contents of the scroll, and his face lit up with excitement. For a great scientist who had always been known for his calmness to have such an expression, one could only imagine the importance of the information in the scroll. "If these parameters are accurate and the conversion process is correct, we can solve the problem of the deep-submersible ship's unstable power and easily contaminated energy!"
Halland did not say a word, but he also smiled and nodded as he looked at the scroll. It was obvious that this information was very valuable. Abyss Schilling looked at the scroll thoughtfully, as if he was analyzing whether this information could be used for his own deep-submersible equipment.
Godfather had already finished reading the data in the scroll. Of course, this was not all the data of the node created by the Huron Protoss. There were only some key data, and it was very fast to skim through it. He smiled. "In this case, the Star Realm has some knowledge in the field of 'propulsion.' The children have recently researched a method to carry out stable information drift in the Abyss. It can make deep-submersible navigation more stable and faster. It will also be easier to escape in case of an emergency."
"We need to form a joint working group." Halland tapped her finger on the table as if giving the final word. "Huron, the Star Realm, the Empire, and the Abyss. All four sides have their own understanding in the field of 'diving,' but their progress is not deep enough. If we work together, it will be very effective. Also, I suggest that we put the joint laboratory on the Empire side. At present, the largest and most advanced deep-submersible port is here. "
Be it in terms of comprehensive strength or cutting-edge technology, the Empire was always weaker than the Star Realm. After all, the Empire's resources and history of development were there for all to see. On the other hand, the New Empire was not only relatively young but had also experienced a decline. It was normal for them to lag behind in many areas. However, it was only in the field of deep-submersible technology that the New Empire was ahead of many. The Star Realm was advanced and powerful, but their focus had not been on deep-submersible projects for a long time. Their research method of the Abyss was not as crude as' diving '. The situation in Huron was similar, but the two Protoss had fallen behind this time.
Perhaps only the Abyss Schilling's deep-submersible technology was better than ours, but it was a pity that the Abyss was a mess now. The New Army had dealt a heavy blow to the former Great Demon King. Half of her research facilities had fallen into the hands of others. Now, she was in an awkward situation with only technology but not many resources to use.
Everyone had already reached a consensus on the joint research, and Halland's suggestion was reasonable. Therefore, the two God Kings and the Abyss Commander did not object. In the end, Hilla only had one question. "It's not easy to travel from our place to your place."
"Can you send the key personnel over?" I looked into her eyes and asked expectantly.
"Oh, of course there is no problem with the personnel." Sis Hilla waved her hand. "I mean the large facilities can't be transported over. The manufacturing nodes and prototypes both require an industrial foundation. Otherwise, you won't be able to build it even if I just brought the blueprints here. Without an industrial foundation, even the smallest parts have to be built bit by bit from the basic production facilities … "
"Our Schilling mainframe technology is still the most convenient." Sandora secretly poked my arm and said proudly.
"But I have a feeling that this sister has other intentions …"
Halfway through my sentence, I saw Hilla pat Xing Chen's shoulder as expected. "So, Xing Chen, you should have heard my difficulties. I can only transport the personnel over by myself. You have to come over and help me move the big things. I know you are good at 'Void Wander'. Don't refuse. "
"You've finally improved a little." I silently criticized this sister. "Apart from bringing along a child, you've learned how to use schemes."
While the two lovebirds were 'flirting', Abyss Schilling suddenly ended her thoughts. She coughed twice to get everyone's attention. "I have another question."
Everyone turned to look at her.
"Empire … The Abyss Empire and the New Empire here have the same technology, so it shouldn't be a big problem. But with the addition of Star Field's Holy Light and Huron's Truth Power, what we are going to create is a tri-race hybrid device." Abyss Schilling looked around at everyone. "A tri-race hybrid! This is a tri-race hybrid! Huron's power core, Star Field's thruster, and Schilling's protective layer. Can this system really be used? Even the energy is not universal! "
As expected, Hilla and Xing Chen immediately looked worried. However, Tawil immediately took out a small metal rod from his personal space. "Don't worry. We have this: Origin Energy Ore."
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