The Qiming's Return & the "Jinghu" Plan
The return of the Qiming sent a seismic stir through the "Meta" Realm. This was not just due to the exploration team's safe return, but more so because of the gray path—woven by the Heavenly Dao itself, stretching across the void—and Lin Mo's invincible display of annihilating the terrifying Aberration with a mere wave of his hand.
Hope and confidence converged to an unprecedented height. Every "Meta" citizen clearly recognized what a powerful guardian they had, and what a promising future lay ahead of them.
The ancient wreckage samples and detection data brought back injected an entirely new branch into the "Meta" Realm's technological tree. The Material Laboratory deciphered an extremely stable composite crystal structure from the wreckage's metal, while the Energy Institute discovered a transformation principle—derived from the residual energy in the wreckage—that differed from stellar fluid and primeval energy, leaning more toward matter annihilation.
More importantly, Lin Mo's method of absorbing Chaos and nourishing himself pointed out a new direction for the development of high-tier power: Chaos was no longer simply repelled or purified, but regarded as a "resource" that could be transformed and utilized. Of course, this method was extremely dangerous, and only those with an in-depth understanding of rules could attempt it.
The prestige and strength of the Sky-Patrolling Pavilion surged dramatically. The Void Sea Exploration Division became the most sought-after department, with countless elites applying to join. More resources were invested, and the keels of the second and third "Void Vessels" began to be laid—they would be designed to be larger, faster, and more heavily armed.
The gray path, named the Guixu Pathway, became the beacon and starting point for the "Meta" Realm's exploration of the Void Sea. Taking this pathway as the axis, the Sky-Patrolling Pavilion began radiating exploration to both sides, mapping more detailed star charts and establishing outpost observation stations.
Like a giant injected with a stimulant, the "Meta" Realm, brimming with unprecedented vitality and confidence, embarked on a new round of expansion and development.
However, Lin Mo remained unaffected by the internal enthusiasm.
At the top floor of the Administrative Center, two objects hovered before him.
On the left was the fully deciphered data core fragment that had carried the final message of "Observer 73". On the right was a metal plate—collected by the Qiming from the ancient wreckage—bearing obvious artificial cutting marks, with a faint energy imprint residue that was homologous to Observer technology yet far older.
His spiritual sense, like the most precise probe, repeatedly compared and analyzed the two.
Observer technology was not without traces. It was also based on rules, but its rule system was colder, more absolute, and carried a coercive nature of "weaving" and "overlaying". The imprint on the ancient metal plate, however, revealed a more primitive, perhaps "cruder" form—yet one closer to the origin of its power.
"They are not omniscient or omnipotent..." Lin Mo murmured softly. "Their power system also has an evolutionary process. And this process... can perhaps be interfered with, or even... reversed."
A bold, even crazy plan gradually took shape in his mind.
Passive defense, waiting for the enemy to找上门, was not his style.
Active exploration to find allies or resources was a long-term strategy.
But perhaps, there was a third path...
He summoned Mo Shi and Glarak.
"We need to build a system," Lin Mo cut to the chase, his fingertips outlining a complex, multi-layered nested three-dimensional rune structure in the void. "A system capable of capturing, analyzing, and attempting to... simulate the rule fluctuations of the Observers."
Mo Shi stared at the structure, his pupils contracting sharply: "Heavenly Dao, are you trying to..."
"Know thyself, know thy enemy, and you shall win a hundred battles," Lin Mo said in a flat tone. "They can 'observe' us and 'prune' us—why can't we... 'counter-observe' them?"
Glarak's soul-fire surged wildly: "This... this is too dangerous! If they detect us..."
"That's why this system must be sufficiently concealed, and its operating logic must be integrated into the background noise of the 'Meta' Realm's own rules," Lin Mo interrupted him. "Using the affinity of the 'Order' Threads for Chaos, and the information turbulence shielding properties we discovered in the wreckage technology, we will build a 'dark side' research network."
He pointed to the three-dimensional rune: "This system shall be named Jinghu (Mirror Lake)."
The "Jinghu" Plan was classified as the highest secret of the "Meta" Realm, with access权限 second only to Lin Mo himself. Mo Shi took personal charge of it, while Glarak provided necessary military support and peripheral security.
A large amount of resources were quietly mobilized once again. In several remote star regions of the "Meta" Realm—where rules were relatively active and energy backgrounds complex—"Jinghu" nodes, disguised as natural celestial bodies or energy vortices, were secretly established. They emitted no active signals; instead, like the most sensitive tentacles, they quietly listened for all unnatural rule ripples in the Void Sea—especially those with the properties of "weaving" and "overlaying".
Time passed in intense construction and waiting.
On the surface, the "Meta" Realm continued to thrive: new cities rose, new technologies emerged, and the pace of external exploration extended further. Through the Guixu Pathway, they even established preliminary, cautious diplomatic and trade relations with a small civilization known as the Stellar Spirit Remnants—a group that also drifted in the Void Sea and focused on psionic technology.
Everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction.
Until this day—
In the core monitoring room of "Jinghu", a rune representing a remote node suddenly lit up with a dazzling red glow!
"High-intensity rule overlay wave detected! Source unknown! Target locked onto... the coordinate marked as an 'abandoned observation area' provided by the Stellar Spirit Remnants!" The Lich in charge of monitoring spoke in a shrill voice.
Almost simultaneously, the blurry information stream—captured by the "Jinghu" node and filtered and deciphered through multiple layers—was presented before Lin Mo.
In the information stream, fragments of cold, emotionless commands were interspersed:
"...Confirm 'Stellar Spirit' derivative colony... Low civilization potential... Presence of faint contamination signs..."
"...Initiate 'Purge' protocol... Unit: Purifier Type VII..."
"...Estimated time: 0.73 standard units..."
A cold glint flashed in Lin Mo's eyes.
The Observers were indeed still active. Moreover, their target was the weak Stellar Spirit Remnants—the first "neighbor" the "Meta" Realm had found in the Void Sea!
Was it a coincidence? Or... had they already noticed the contact between the "Meta" Realm and the Stellar Spirit Remnants?
Either way, he could not stand idly by.
The Stellar Spirit Remnants were the first "neighbors" the "Meta" Realm had found in the Void Sea, and this was also the first opportunity to verify the effectiveness of the "Jinghu" system.
More importantly, this was a signal—the Observers' "Purge" operation was right in front of them!
He stood up.
"Inform Glarak: the Sky-Patrolling Pavilion enters Level 1 combat readiness. Target: the abandoned observation area."
"Inform Mo Shi: Jinghu operates at full capacity, recording all data on the 'Purifier'."
His figure began to fade, but his voice remained clear:
"This time, we are no longer just spectators."