Volume II: The Crystal Core's Whisper and the Forging of Time
Chapter 6: The Ordeal of Disorder Space
1. The Core's Chaotic Boundary
The end of the maintenance channel opened into the "Core Disorder Space," a realm even more chaotic than expected.
There were no structures, no light beams, only an abyss of darkness ripped open by erratically pulsing green and purple electric arcs. The air was filled with faint, intermittent static and a high-frequency oscillation that drove a wedge into the skull. As Arya had warned, this was the nexus where the laws of space-time converged.
Xiao Lie and Arya tumbled out of the narrow channel and slammed onto the cold, rough layers of natural crystal. The surrounding quantum state was violently unstable; at times, they could see transient, ancient phantoms materialize in the air—perhaps a warhorse from Yan, a Mohist mechanism, or a Quantum City guard—but these remnants would decompose within a nanosecond.
"This is the Disorder Space," Arya's voice came through the translation system, edged with exhaustion. "Space-time fragments drift randomly here; our programming and monitoring systems are effectively useless."
Xiao Lie felt the chaos around him. The ink-colored jade pendant on his chest burned hotter than ever, furiously absorbing the surrounding chaotic energy while pouring incomprehensible data into his mind.
"This is worse than a battlefield," Xiao Lie stood up, pulling out the shard of his dagger to survey their surroundings. "It devours everything, without purpose or pattern."
2. Sanctuary in Desperation
In this intensely unstable environment, Arya quickly located a relatively stable node.
"Here! This crystal depression," Arya pointed to a deep hollow wrapped in irregular crystalline forms. "The quantum entanglement here is five percent lower than the surrounding area. We can use the energy from the Stabilizer prototype to establish a micro-isolation field."
They swiftly set up the prototype in the center of the hollow. Arya began writing the isolation code while Xiao Lie adjusted the ancient arrays on the stabilizer to counteract the zero-point energy fluctuations.
The isolation field activated. A faint, almost invisible spherical light barrier enveloped them. The chaotic electric arcs outside struck the barrier, making sizzling, dissolving sounds.
They finally had room to breathe.
But matter was critically scarce. While Arya's data chip held all the knowledge of the Quantum City, it couldn't conjure matter from thin air.
"We need to manufacture a nano-swarm to build the final casing and energy interface for the stabilizer," Arya said wearily. "But we have no raw materials."
"You forget, we are at the edge of the Eternal Crystal Core." Xiao Lie looked up at the golden glow radiating from the Core. "Zero-point energy is the ultimate raw material. Our ancients had 'Alchemy,' the art of turning base materials into gold. Your nanotechnology should be able to reconstruct the chaotic matter of the Disorder Space into the crystals we need."
Arya's eyes lit up. "The theory of matter reconstruction exists, but it requires extreme programming precision to counter the Core's field disturbance. That would take ten billion calculations..."
"I have the hyperspeed compilation," Xiao Lie stated, his gaze resolute. In this desperation, he once again saw hope.
3. Alchemy and Nano-Programming
The following few 'days' (calculated using Arya's internal chronometer) marked their most difficult, yet most intimate, collaboration.
Arya was responsible for creating the nano-structure blueprints for macroscopic matter (e.g., reconstructing chaotic matter into high-strength vanadium-titanium alloy). Xiao Lie was responsible for real-time monitoring of the Core's field, using his ancient array intuition to insert "anchor points" into the data stream, ensuring the reconstruction precision was undisturbed by the Disorder Space.
This was a process that severely tested their synergy. Arya would speak in rational data: "The field is deviating by 0.003 nanometers." Xiao Lie had to instantly respond with intuition: "Adjust the constraint force on the 'Gen Position' and counteract it with the 'Kun Position'!"
Every successful reconstruction of a small crystal fragment felt like a cross-civilizational miracle.
In this life-and-death cooperation, Arya's feelings for Xiao Lie completely transcended scientific curiosity. She saw a soul seeking order in despair, an ancient hero who perfectly blended primal power with profound wisdom.
One late 'night,' after working for thirty standard hours, Xiao Lie leaned against the crystal wall and fell asleep from exhaustion. Arya looked at his battle-scarred face, and a new emotion, one that could not be explained by data, welled up inside her—a desire for love and protection.
She gently took Xiao Lie's hand, still faintly smelling of ancient earth, and rested her cheek against his broad shoulder. It was the first time she had embraced an "imperfect" macroscopic life form.
4. The Turing Council's Remote Interference
Although the Disorder Space isolated most monitoring, the Turing Council was not ready to give up.
They began launching "remote data strikes" on the Disorder Space—using the Core's energy to emit high-intensity, randomly shifting frequency interference waves into the boundary, attempting to destabilize the Disorder Space and thus shatter Arya's isolation field.
The isolation field began to flicker violently, with green arcs frequently penetrating the barrier.
"It's the Turing Council! They are actively increasing the entropy!" Arya screamed in alarm, her data screens flashing with warning symbols.
Xiao Lie was instantly jolted awake. He looked at the erratic electric arcs, a ruthless glint in his eye.
"We cannot defend passively; we must utilize their attack." Xiao Lie once again demonstrated the essence of ancient strategy.
"Utilize? They will tear our isolation field apart!"
"Mohist mechanics teach 'using offense as defense.' Your isolation field is a single frequency, making it vulnerable to interference. We will compile these aggressive interference waves into part of our isolation field!"
Xiao Lie quickly guided Arya to stop locking the isolation field's frequency to a single value. Instead, they set it as a dynamic, responsive "multi-polar cycle," like an ancient mobile military formation, turning the enemy's attack into the formation's energy!
Arya programmed it with mixed disbelief. When the interference waves struck again, instead of destroying the isolation field, they were "absorbed" into the barrier layer, temporarily boosting its energy.
"Turning the tables!" Arya was utterly captivated. This ancient wisdom of transforming chaos into order far exceeded her expectations.
Amidst the Turing Council's frantic interference waves, Xiao Lie and Arya's space-time stabilizer prototype steadily moved toward completion. They knew they had mastered the critical technology for their escape and vengeance, and their destinies were now completely intertwined.
Volume II: The Crystal Core's Whisper and the Forging of Time
Chapter 7: The Crucible of Knowledge
1. The Paradox of the Constant Coordinate
Within the sanctuary of the Disorder Space, Xiao Lie and Arya worked non-stop. The prototype had proven the feasibility of time reversal, but applying it to macro-space-time travel presented their last, and most difficult, technical barrier: how to lock onto a constant macroscopic space-time coordinate?
"Our reversal in the virtual space succeeded because we knew the virtual space's zero-point coordinate," Arya anxiously swiped the virtual screen, the light illuminating her tired but beautiful face. "But the macro-world is dynamic. It is constantly expanding, contracting, and rotating."
She pointed to a complex four-dimensional coordinate curve on the screen: "We attempted to lock onto the position of the Yan Kingdom's altar eighty years ago, but the passage of time means the coordinate point has drifted light-years away. If we cannot calculate the 'inertia' of the macro-coordinate, when the stabilizer activates, we could be flung into deep space, or melt directly into the Earth's core."
This was a paradox that rational calculation could not solve: to return to the past, they had to know the absolute position of the Earth in the universe at that exact moment.
Xiao Lie fell into deep thought. He knew this was no longer a problem solvable by nano-programming alone, but a philosophical question about the nature of space-time.
2. The Mohist Celestial Wheel: Dynamic Equilibrium
In Xiao Lie's hyperspeed neural compilation, the vast data of the Quantum City clashed violently with the remnants of Yan's ancient texts in his mind. Finally, an ancient term leaped forth: the Mohist Celestial Wheel.
"Arya, your thinking is too fixated on 'static coordinates.'" Xiao Lie walked up to the prototype, extending his finger to trace an ancient mechanical gear structure onto its casing. "You try to use calculation to lock onto a point, but the macro-world is fluid."
"The Mohist Celestial Wheel is our ancient world's highest understanding of cosmic movement. It is not a point, but a 'dynamic equilibrium.'"
Arya's gaze was captivated by the design. It was a structure composed of three interlocking gear layers, each with different tooth counts and rotation speeds.
"What is its function?" Arya asked.
"The first layer is the 'Heavenly Way,' representing the solar system's inertia within the galaxy; the second layer is the 'Earth Plate,' representing the Earth's rotation and revolution; the third layer is the 'Human Position,' representing the drift of the continental plate where our target—the altar—is located," Xiao Lie explained.
"Mohists believe humanity must conform to Heaven and Earth. We cannot forcibly anchor a static coordinate. We must design a nano-sensing array that, at the moment of activation, senses the relative movement of these three layers, and uses the combined force of these three motions as our real-time coordinate compensation!"
It was a mad, yet profoundly poetic concept: using ancient philosophical views to solve a future physics dilemma.
Arya's blue, crystal eyes sparkled with data fervor. She immediately began inputting Xiao Lie's geometric model into the compiler, programming the concept of the "Celestial Wheel" into nano-language.
3. Recasting the Quantum Array
Theory was beautiful, but practice was brutal.
Translating ancient empirical mechanics into quantum nano-structure was an exceedingly complex process. Arya needed to design a nano-sensor array capable of locking onto three different motion frequencies simultaneously and performing high-precision counter-balancing within picoseconds.
They began the "Nano-Structure Recasting" inside the Disorder Space. Arya used the Core's zero-point energy and Xiao Lie's reconstructed nano-materials to forge the Celestial Wheel's sensor array.
"The oscillation frequency of the Earth Plate array is too high; the nano-units cannot establish stable quantum entanglement!" Arya's fingers were bleeding from swiping the console—the cost of days of relentless work.
"Use ancient 'Copper,'" Xiao Lie suddenly said. "Copper is the most yielding metal. In Yan's Mohist mechanisms, it was often used for buffering and mediation. Use nano-programming to weave the copper structure into your nano-silicon crystal!"
Arya's scientific theory screamed: "Copper is a low-grade impurity! It will degrade the purity of the silicon crystal!"
But Xiao Lie was unwavering: "Trust me! We don't need purity; we need resilience! Copper's molecular instability, under high-frequency oscillation, can form a self-adjusting buffer layer, allowing the quantum entanglement to re-stabilize!"
Arya took a deep breath. This was her biggest wager on Xiao Lie. She wove the nano-data of copper into the silicon crystal's fabrication code.
Zzz—!
With a low pulse, the sensor array was successfully forged. It glowed with a soft, slightly metallic sheen. When Arya tested it, the stability of the entanglement was ten percent higher than she had anticipated!
"This... how is this possible?" Arya stared at the data in disbelief. An ancient "impurity" had solved the future technology's "purity" problem!
4. Union of Minds: Science and Philosophy
This breakthrough completely redefined Arya's perception of "knowledge." She no longer viewed Xiao Lie merely as a source of information but as a soulmate.
She approached Xiao Lie, her eyes holding an unprecedented humility and intensity.
"Xiao Lie, you've made me realize that rationality is not omnipotent." Arya gently touched the micro-glowing copper nano-sensor. "Quantum City science only trusts quantifiable data. But your ancient wisdom trusts the balance and flow of all things."
"Your technology is 'Jutsu' (Method). My Mohist path is 'Dao' (The Way)." Xiao Lie said softly. "Jutsu without Dao leads to madness. Dao without Jutsu leads to emptiness. Now, we are perfectly unifying the Dao and the Jutsu."
Arya reached out, clasping Xiao Lie's warm, ink-colored jade pendant in her hand.
"My soul was once imprisoned by data. You, with your ancient passion and flowing philosophy, have set me free. Xiao Lie, I will use all the wisdom of the Quantum City to help you reverse time and recast the Yan Kingdom. This is my promise, and this is my love."
Xiao Lie held her tightly. In the chaotic Disorder Space, they found their mutual order and peace.
They had now mastered all the core technologies for space-time travel: energy constraint, matter reconstruction, and coordinate compensation. All that remained was the final assembly of the components and the accumulation of enough zero-point energy for activation.
"Turing Council, your doomsday is about to be forged from this Disorder Space." Xiao Lie looked toward the Core, the fire of vengeance burning in his eyes.
Volume II: The Crystal Core's Whisper and the Forging of Time
Chapter 8: The Whisper of the Eternal Crystal Core
1. Deep into the Core
The Reverse Space-Time Stabilizer was fully assembled. It was a composite device, both intricate and rugged: its core was Arya's shimmering crystal, and its casing was Xiao Lie's design—a high-strength nano-vanadium-titanium alloy etched with ancient geometric patterns. The only thing it lacked now was the colossal burst of instantaneous energy required for activation.
"To activate the Stabilizer, we must perform a precise overload extraction at the weakest point of the zero-point energy constraint ring—the 'Flow Node.'" Arya's expression was graver than ever. "That is the Core's innermost energy layer. Any minor oscillation could lead to an energy collapse."
"In Yan, we called such a place the 'Dragon's Lair.' It is dangerous, but it holds the greatest power." Xiao Lie had already donned his ancient leather armor, which he'd upgraded with nano-programmed self-repairing threads for superior defense.
To execute this extreme extraction, Arya had designed a "Quantum Pulse Anchor"—a micro-device capable of briefly anchoring the Core's Flow Node.
The pair left their sanctuary, slowly descending along the natural crystalline structures toward the massive, suspended, gold-pulsing sphere: the Eternal Crystal Core.
As they drew closer, the ambient pressure multiplied. Xiao Lie felt his body being squeezed by countless fine hands—the zero-point energy field's rejection of macroscopic matter. His ink-colored jade pendant was now almost untouchably hot, acting as an energy guide to protect his body from disintegration.
"Three more crystalline structures down is the Flow Node," Arya gripped Xiao Lie's arm tightly, her voice shaking. "Be ready. We have only one nanosecond to insert the anchor."
2. Secrets and Wreckage
When they reached the designated location, they discovered a shocking sight.
In a depression on the Core's surface lay hundreds of piles of nano-mechanical wreckage. These were not ordinary guards, but larger, more structurally complex ancient nano-mechs—more primitive, yet more powerful than the mechs currently used by Quantum City.
"What... what is this?" Arya gasped, her mouth agape. "The programming logic of these mechs is older than the Turing Council's algorithms!"
Xiao Lie stepped forward, tapping a piece of wreckage with his dagger. In the shape of the debris, he saw the shadow of ancient Mohist mechanisms—simple, powerful, and focused on extreme singular function.
Arya activated her personal core data chip to scan the wreckage. The data streams cracked and reformed in the air, culminating in a stunning conclusion:
"These mechs were the first generation of war vehicles used by the Quantum City founders. They weren't designed for defense; they were for 'offense.'"
Arya's voice trembled: "Quantum City history states we micro-engineered ourselves and entered the Core seeking peace after macro-world nuclear war. But this wreckage proves... we were the losers of a war, forced to flee macroscopic space-time, and then wiped out that dark history!"
Xiao Lie's heart pounded. This was not only the Quantum City's secret; it was a secret of his own macro-world! The origin of nanotechnology lay in the ruins of war!
3. The Siphon of Zero-Point Energy
The discovery left both of them shaken, but the immediate task was more urgent.
Arya located the Flow Node—a thin film of energy, like shimmering mercury, pulsing with gold light.
"Insert it!" Arya yelled.
Xiao Lie swiftly threw the Quantum Pulse Anchor toward the Flow Node. The instant the anchor touched the energy membrane, the Core seemed to emit a low, angry roar.
A colossal energy backlash erupted instantly! A powerful zero-point energy shockwave spread at the speed of light, instantly disintegrating the surrounding wreckage into dust.
The isolation field screamed, collapsing almost instantly.
Xiao Lie and Arya were flung backward by the immense energy blast. In mid-air, Xiao Lie used all his strength to shield the Stabilizer core crystal.
"Compile! Xiao Lie! Compile!" Arya screamed in pain. She knew only Xiao Lie's ancient array intuition could handle this furious backlash.
Xiao Lie's hyperspeed neural compilation was pushed to its limit. He "saw" the trajectory of the zero-point energy flow, surging through the Core like an untamable dragon.
"Guide the Dragon to the Sea!" Xiao Lie roared in his mind. He instantly channeled the energy from his ink-colored jade pendant and input the concept of his 'Mohist Celestial Wheel' directly into the Quantum Pulse Anchor via sheer mental force!
The Pulse Anchor instantly adjusted its oscillation frequency. Instead of forcibly draining the energy, it smoothly guided it. The furious zero-point energy, as if following a dragon's vein, was tamed by the Pulse Anchor and flowed into the Stabilizer with extreme stability!
4. Departure and Promise
The energy extraction succeeded! The Stabilizer core crystal emitted a bright, steady white light, pulsing with the immense energy required for time travel.
But at the same moment, the zero-point energy backlash had summoned the strongest power in Quantum City: Turing Council Chairman Alpha, who, leading a new, more precisely programmed "Annihilator Unit," had entered the Disorder Space!
"Arya! You have completely betrayed the laws of Quantum City!" Alpha's voice, though in chaotic space, was heavy with authority and rage.
Arya looked at the cold, deadly Annihilator Unit, her eyes filled with a farewell to her old world.
"Laws? The Turing Council concealed our history! We are war refugees! Our laws are built on lies and coldness!" Arya shot back fiercely, then turned to Xiao Lie, her eyes burning with longing for a new world.
"General, energy is full! The space-time coordinate compensation is locked onto the Yan Kingdom altar eighty years ago! Let's go!"
Xiao Lie grabbed Arya, holding her tightly. He activated the Stabilizer and hurled it into the air.
The Stabilizer burst with blinding white light. In the center of the light, a ripple-like space-time rift tore open. On the other side, the moss-covered stone pillars of the ancient altar were faintly visible.
"Alpha!" Xiao Lie's shout echoed through the entire Disorder Space. "Your world is too perfect, and thus doomed! I will bring nanotechnology back to the chaos of the macro-world and use the passion of the Yan Kingdom to forge a new, living Throne!"
Just as the Annihilator Unit's high-energy beams were about to strike them, Xiao Lie and Arya leaped into the space-time rift.
White light engulfed everything. The rift slammed shut behind them. The Disorder Space reverted to its chaotic silence, leaving only Chairman Alpha and the wreckage to roar in impotent fury at the edge of the gold-pulsing Core.
Volume II: The Crystal Core's Whisper and the Forging of Time
Chapter 9: The Birth of the Machine and Pre-War Preparations
1. The Void Journey: Deconstruction of Space-Time
Enveloped within a space-time force field bubble generated by the Stabilizer, Xiao Lie and Arya began their journey through the rift. Outside the bubble was pure void, devoid of light or sound, marked only by flickering, constantly shifting data streams.
This journey was even more overwhelming than entering the Disorder Space. Xiao Lie felt his "hyperspeed neural compilation" capacity stretched to its breaking point; he was no longer "reading" data, but "becoming" part of it.
Arya clung tightly to Xiao Lie. Though her understanding of quantum physics surpassed anyone's, the physical experience of space-time deconstruction still left her helpless.
"Macro! Micro!" Arya whispered, trembling. "Our bubble is being stretched, Xiao Lie! If the Stabilizer's Celestial Wheel array can't compensate precisely, we'll be broken down into different time dimensions in a second!"
Xiao Lie's consciousness had entered a state of extreme serenity. Though his eyes were closed, in his perception, he saw the Stabilizer's core crystal—the one encased in the Mohist Celestial Wheel structure—at work.
The three layers of nano-sensing arrays operated like an ancient astronomical instrument: the outermost Heavenly Way array compensated for cosmic-scale inertia; the middle Earth Plate array compensated for the Earth's rotation; and the innermost Human Position array locked onto the faint space-time signature emitted by the altar's crystal stone.
"Settle your Dantian, Arya," Xiao Lie spoke in the void, his voice imbued with a timeless stability. "The Wheel is engaged; the Jutsu is complete. Now, we only need to trust the power of the Dao. Trust the balance."
His words, carrying the strength and stability of ancient philosophy, pierced Arya's fear. She began actively synchronizing her mind with the Stabilizer's programming core. She stopped calculating and started feeling the balance.
With the perfect synergy of their minds and technology, the bubble ceased its violent stretching and began rushing toward the end of the rift along a stable, predictable trajectory.
2. The Machine: The Reverse Space-Time Stabilizer
As the space-time rift began to close, a steady light enveloped them—a prelude to their return.
In the glow, the final form of the Stabilizer was clearly revealed. It was no longer an experimental prototype but a true, trans-era "Machine."
It was a palm-sized, octahedral composite crystal, its casing made of nano-reconstructed, warm copper alloy (Xiao Lie insisted on copper as a buffer). Engraved on the crystal's eight corners were reliefs of ancient Mohist mechanisms, their texture serving as the operational tracks for the nano-photon lattice. At its core pulsed a high-energy point constrained by zero-point energy.
This device was both an ancient treasure and the peak of future technology. It perfectly embodied their cooperation: Xiao Lie's Dao, Arya's Jutsu.
Arya grasped the Stabilizer tightly, her eyes filled with pride and resolve. This was their entire stake for escaping the nano-world and recasting the Yan Kingdom's throne.
3. Arrival: Eighty Years Later
Boom!
A deafening roar, accompanied by the heavy scent of earth, blood, and gunpowder smoke, violently threw Xiao Lie and Arya out of the void bubble.
They slammed hard onto the ground, surrounded by broken, moss-covered stone blocks and earth scorched black by war.
Xiao Lie quickly rose, shielding Arya behind him. He inhaled greedily. The air, though foul and dusty, was to him the breath of the living, real, macro-world.
They had landed precisely where Xiao Lie had crossed the rift eighty years ago: the Mohist altar. But the altar was collapsed, leaving only a massive, sulfur- and fire-blackened crater.
Xiao Lie looked at the surroundings, his rage and grief instantly peaking.
Everything had changed; the homeland was shattered.
"Time deviation: five macro-months," Arya quickly scanned the environment, her voice shaking with emotion. "We arrived eighty years and five months later than your departure. We succeeded, Xiao Lie."
"Succeeded..." Tears welled in Xiao Lie's eyes, but he had no time to weep.
He pointed toward the charred plains in the distance: "The Yan Kingdom has been reduced to ashes."
Arya stepped forward and held his hand, handing him the core data chip: "No, General. The knowledge and future of Yan are here."
4. Pre-War Preparation: Nano-Disguise and Promise
They had no time for reflection. Xiao Lie knew the Overlord Empire's forces could patrol here at any moment.
"Nano-Disguise," Xiao Lie said sternly.
Arya immediately activated the nano-programming unit in her core data chip. She channeled the residual zero-point energy from the Stabilizer to quickly reconstruct the material of their clothing.
Their futuristic silver jumpsuits were swiftly covered by a layer of nano-fabric, transforming into the coarse linen robes of ancient traveling craftsmen and physicians. Arya's blue eyes were nano-programmed into the deep brown of an Eastern person, and her skin was adjusted to a healthy, macro-world complexion.
Xiao Lie, meanwhile, had his broken profound iron dagger repaired and reinforced using nano-programming. Its core was replaced with a nano-crystal, transforming it into a variable, micro-pulse-firing "Mohist Mechanism."
Arya knew they were two isolated souls facing a brutal empire.
"My nano-knowledge and your ancient strategy are our only advantages," Arya said, looking into Xiao Lie's resolute face, making her final pledge.
"I am not your Empress; I am merely your Chief Architect. I will help you rebuild your throne, but we must not repeat the mistakes of the Quantum City. Vengeance must be balanced with order and justice."
Xiao Lie embraced her tightly on the scorched earth of his homeland, his eyes filled with determination: "I swear by the name of a Yan General. This war will use nanotechnology as the blade and ancient wisdom as the soul. We will establish a new Yan Kingdom that respects knowledge and shelters its people!"
They quickly hid the Stabilizer and the chip in the most covert location. Then, the two allies, having crossed the divide of time and space, set foot on the ashes of their former home, beginning their journey of vengeance and reconstruction.
Volume II: The Crystal Core's Whisper and the Forging of Time
Chapter 10: The Gate of Time: The Perilous Return
1. Landing Aftermath: Hiding Beneath the Altar
Xiao Lie and Arya stabilized themselves in the ashes of the altar ruins. The ground beneath them was still hot, and the air was thick with the scent of gunpowder—the eighty-year scar left by the war.
Arya's nano-disguise was highly effective, but the resolute pain of the ancient warrior on Xiao Lie's face could not be masked. He looked at a newly erected black watchtower in the distance, the symbol of the Overlord Empire's military presence.
"The Annihilator Unit pursuit was confined to the microcosm, but the dangers of the macro-world are more immediate," Arya's voice was steady, reminding Xiao Lie to remain rational. "We must find a hidden location with a water source that won't be detected by the Overlord Empire's rudimentary scanning equipment."
Xiao Lie shifted his focus from grief to tactics. He surveyed the altar's surroundings. This altar was once sacred ground to Yan, and the Mohist engineers would certainly have left hidden passages.
He combined his memory of the ancient layout with Arya's nano-band scan. Finally, behind a pile of rubble at the edge of the altar, the nano-scan revealed a faint energy field—the residual signature of an ancient mechanical lock.
"Here," Xiao Lie said, using his profound iron dagger—now a nano-reinforced mechanism—to precisely pry a seemingly ordinary stone.
Rumble—!
Dust billowed, and a narrow, deep underground passage was revealed before them. This was the "Gui Zang Dao" (Hidden Repository Path) left by the Mohist craftsmen for emergency refuge.
2. First Encounter: The Overlord Empire's Army
Just as they were about to enter the passage, the sound of hoofbeats and crude mechanical rumbling approached.
"It's the Overlord Empire's patrol!" Xiao Lie immediately pulled Arya behind a large boulder for cover.
A dozen Overlord soldiers in crude iron armor, armed with spears and firearms, rode past on large warhorses. They towed a loud, smoke-belching steam-powered detection vehicle behind them.
"The detection vehicle uses low-level sonic and thermal sensors," Arya analyzed in a low whisper, her eyes showing disdain for the primitive technology. "Our nano-disguise suits completely block thermal signatures and reduce our heartbeat to nearly inaudible. They can't find us."
Xiao Lie noticed a detail. A soldier, passing the altar, habitually tossed a piece of burning, oil-soaked cloth onto the ground.
"They are polluting this place!" Xiao Lie's anger flared.
Arya gripped his hand: "General, your impulse will bury our vengeance. Right now, we are invisible code in the data stream. You cannot expose yourself."
Xiao Lie took a deep breath, suppressing the warrior's instinct. He realized that here, the silence of nanotechnology held more power than an ancient charge.
As the patrol disappeared, the two quickly entered the Gui Zang Dao. The passage silently sealed itself shut with the operation of the Mohist mechanism.
3. Base Construction and Intelligence Gathering
The Hidden Repository Path led to a dry, concealed underground chamber. It contained ancient stores of dried rations and water skins, all long rotted, but the basic structure was intact.
"This is our base," Xiao Lie surveyed the surroundings.
Arya immediately switched to architect mode. From her core data chip, she programmed micro nano-scout drones.
"We need intelligence, General. You have been gone for eighty years. Your tactics must be calibrated and upgraded based on the current enemy capabilities."
The nano-scout drones, invisible to the naked eye like dust motes, silently crawled out of the Dao through groundwater flows and air vents.
Over the next few days, this underground chamber became the fusion point of ancient strategy and future technology.
Xiao Lie educated Arya on Yan's military structure, geographical weak points, and folk culture. Arya then compared and analyzed this information against the real-time data transmitted by the nano-scout drones.
The data comparison was astonishing:
• Overlord Empire Technology: While they possessed steam engines and crude gunpowder weapons, their communication system was still primitive (relying on carrier pigeons and signal fires), and troop deployment was entirely reliant on human effort—not digitized.
• Yan Remnants: Arya's drones discovered large numbers of hidden descendants of the ancient Mohist engineers and Yan loyalists within the Empire's territory. They were full of hatred but lacked organization and weaponry.
• Empire Core: The Overlord Empire's capital defenses appeared magnificent, but nano-scans exposed striking structural flaws in their energy and water supply systems.
"General, your ancient wisdom is correct," Arya said, her eyes gleaming with the light of potential victory. "The Overlord Empire seems powerful, but its core is brittle. Their technology is crudely stacked, lacking systematic design and maintenance."
4. The Conclusion of Volume II: The Blueprint for Vengeance
Deep underground, the two completed the first step of their vengeance: locking the target and defining the strategy.
Xiao Lie knew he didn't need to meet the enemy head-on with nanotechnology. He needed precise strikes, the psychological collapse of their confidence, and the organization of the remnants.
Arya pulled up the nano-tactical weapon blueprints stored in her core chip and began integrating them with the portability of Mohist mechanisms.
"We will start from the basics," Arya stated firmly. "I will use nano-programming to forge the weapons and equipment required for the Yan remnants to become our 'Quantum Vanguards.'"
"And I," Xiao Lie gripped his reinforced dagger, "will find the descendants of Yan, recast the flag of the ancient general, and bring them hope and power."
In the depths of the Mohist Hidden Repository Path, the blueprint for the Nano Throne was complete. The two figures, illuminated by the faint nano-light source, appeared profoundly resolute.
They had transformed from prisoners of the microcosm into avengers of the macro-world.
(END OF VOLUME II: The Crystal Core's Whisper and the Forging of Time)