Chapter 13: The Star-Gate Project and the Shadow of Aethelgard
The acquisition of the Stellar Essence from the sun had transformed Neo-Arcadia into a beacon of celestial light. The city no longer slept; its silver spires pulsed with a golden hue, and the citizens felt a surge of vitality as the optimized solar data flowed through their Core Interfaces. But for Li Ming, this was merely the fuel for his grandest design. Above the Celestial Mainframe, the "Star-Gate Project" had entered its final, most dangerous phase.
Li Ming stood on a floating platform of void-metal, surrounded by the twelve Coders. Before them hung a massive ring, three kilometers in diameter, etched with runes that seemed to swallow the light around them. This was the Star-Gate—a bridge constructed from deconstructed imperial treasures and refined starlight. It was a masterpiece of "Reality Scripting," designed to fold space-time itself.
"The Gate is a mirror," Li Ming explained to his disciples, his voice amplified by the city's resonant grid. "It reflects the intention of the Architect. If our logic is flawed, the Gate will collapse and take the planet with it. But if our code is pure, the entire multiverse becomes our backyard."
[System Notification: Star-Gate Structural Integrity at 98%.]
[Resource Allocation: 5 Million Units of Stellar Essence required for Initial Ignition.]
[Warning: Spatial distortion detected in the surrounding vacuum.]
Li Xiao, acting as the Gate's lead administrator, monitored the flickering holographic consoles. "Master, the coordinates for the first jump are locked. We are aiming for the Xylos Sector, a region marked by high-density crystal energy. But there's a problem. The 'background noise' of the void is increasing. It's as if something is listening to our frequency."
"The Mechanoid Syndicate," Li Ming said, his grip tightening on The Nullifier. "They are like vultures circling a dying beast, but they don't realize this beast has just been reborn. Continue the ignition. I will provide the firewall."
As the ignition sequence began, the massive ring started to rotate. The sound was not a mechanical grind, but a cosmic hum that vibrated in the marrow of everyone on the planet. The Stellar Essence surged from the Mainframe into the Gate's core. In the center of the ring, a small black dot appeared—a singularity—which slowly expanded into a swirling vortex of azure and silver light.
Suddenly, the sky above the Gate fractured.
[Alert! Alert! Unauthorized Breach Detected!]
[Invasive Signature: Mechanoid "Virus-Drones" (Tier 4).]
Out of the spatial fractures, thousands of small, metallic spheres emerged. They were rusted, covered in glowing red runes that pulsated like a heartbeat. These were the "Harbingers," the scouts of the Mechanoid Hive-World, Aethelgard. They didn't fire lasers or missiles; they broadcasted "Corruption Scripts" designed to scramble the Gate's delicate programming.
"They are trying to force a system crash!" Li Xiao shouted, her hands moving frantically across the data-screens. "The Gate's rotation is destabilizing! If it hits critical mass now, the singularity will implode!"
"Not on my watch," Li Ming declared.
He leapt from the platform, flying directly toward the swarm of drones. As he moved, he didn't swing his spear. He opened his mind to the Domain.
[Executing Global Command: 'Null-Logic Zone'.]
A ripple of grey energy expanded from Li Ming, covering the entire area around the Star-Gate. Within this zone, the Mechanoid drones froze. Their red runes flickered and died. Their "Corruption Scripts" were met with a wall of Absolute Zero logic that simply deleted their commands before they could be executed.
"You seek to infect my creation?" Li Ming's voice boomed through the vacuum. "I am the one who wrote the antivirus for existence itself."
With a sweep of The Nullifier, Li Ming sent a "Hardware Deconstruction" pulse. The thousands of drones didn't explode; they simply dissolved into grey dust, their metal being reclaimed by the planet's gravitational pull to be recycled into city materials.
But as the last drone vanished, a massive holographic projection manifested in the sky. It was a face—a horrifying fusion of human skull and rusted clockwork. The eyes were two spinning red gears.
"Architect..." the projection spoke, its voice a grating mixture of static and dying screams. "I am the Prime Logic of Aethelgard. You have touched the Stellar Core. You have built the Bridge. You are a 'User' who has exceeded his permissions. We are coming to reclaim the Source Code of this sector. Your 'soul-based' system is a sentimental error. We shall bring the 'Perfect Stillness'."
"Your 'Stillness' is just another word for death," Li Ming replied, his eyes glowing with a silver intensity that rivaled the sun. "And I have already deleted death from my priority list."
The projection flickered and vanished, but the weight of the threat remained. The Mechanoid Syndicate was no longer just a shadow; they were an approaching storm.
[System Notification: Star-Gate Ignition Successful.]
[Vortex Stability: 100%.]
[Destination: Planet Xylos - Link Established.]
Li Ming turned back to the Gate. The silver-blue vortex was beautiful, a gateway to an infinite future. He knew that the war with Aethelgard was inevitable, and his planet was not yet strong enough to face a Hive-World alone. He needed allies, and he needed them across the stars.
"Xiao, Zhao, the Legion... prepare yourselves," Li Ming commanded, landing back on the platform. "We are not waiting for the Syndicate to come to us. We are taking the New Genesis to them. The first interstellar expedition begins now."
Li Ming stepped toward the swirling vortex. Behind him, the city of Neo-Arcadia roared in a collective cheer. For the first time in history, the people of Kang Qiang were not looking at the sky in fear, but in anticipation.
He stepped into the Gate, and for a moment, he was everywhere and nowhere. He saw the threads of the universe, the "back-end" of reality, and the looming darkness of the Mechanoid infection spreading through other galaxies.
When he emerged on the other side, the air was cold and smelled of ozone and crystal. He stood upon the crystalline plains of Xylos, a world of shimmering amber and emerald.
[Current Location: Planet Xylos.]
[Status: First Jump Successful.]
[New Objective: Establish the 'Interstellar Backbone'.]
The Architect had left his home. The Supreme Dao Maker had begun his conquest of the stars, and the Mechanoids would soon learn that a sys
tem with a soul could never be formatted.
***
End of Chapter 13.