https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-554-Unknown-Star-Map-Outpost-Establishment/12851759/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-556-The-Protagonist-Who-Lost-the-Universe-s-Favor/12851765/
Chapter 555: The Escapee from the Cage
Chapter 555: The Escapee from the Cage
"An ultra-massive artificial planet, it seems to be the core area." Qin Muye used the Sage's Book to navigate the coordinates of the unknown star map.
After several days of investigation, it was confirmed that this was indeed an artificial planet, and its scale was so vast that Qin Muye was somewhat astonished.
Apart from the artificial planet, there were various massive structures, forming a complete ring world expanding outward.
This entire star domain, apart from this artificial planet, had all other planets dismantled to serve as materials for expansion and derivation.
Such a brutal method could only be the work of the GROX Empire.
Currently, the gremlins were working overtime to repair this ring world floating in the universe.
According to the reports from the gremlins, all the equipment in the ring world had ceased functioning, including the energy systems, and it had been drifting in this dark universe for who knows how many years.
Therefore, restarting it would be quite troublesome, even with ten thousand gremlins, it would still require some time.
Repairing is not the same as destroying, and since it's the work of an unfamiliar civilization, it's not that easy. If Qin Muye had obtained the technology from the Star River Cube, it might have been faster, as it was all part of the GROX Empire's legacy. Unfortunately, he did not have it; he only had the Eternal Book and the Staff of Life.
Although these two items were also legacies of the GROX Empire, they were not specialized for this purpose.
The entire ring world did not use any biological or spiritual energy technology, so Qin Muye had no way to use these two technologies to repair it. Even if he used his own technology, it was still clearly insufficient, after all, this ring world was a legacy of the powerful GROX Empire.
"Master, the exploration team has reached the central area of the artificial planet and discovered that something had been imprisoned here, but it has now escaped," a gremlin contacted Qin Muye through the magic network.
Qin Muye instantly rushed over, and a group of fully armed gremlins were also investigating the situation.
Seeing Qin Muye enter, the lead gremlin hurriedly spoke, "Master, based on the latest information, the escape occurred no more than three months ago. The entity used the planet's internal teleportation device."
"There is evidence that it used itself as energy, escaping in segments. It began transmitting parts of itself three months ago, and gradually transmitted the rest. According to the system logs we have recovered, the last transmission occurred three days before our arrival."
Looking at the repaired teleportation device, it was clear that the entity had consciously tried to erase its traces while escaping, but some remnants remained. The gremlins extracted incomplete system logs and analyzed them to gather this information.
"In other words, the imprisoned entity is not a conventional life form," Qin Muye realized. A normal life form could not possibly divide itself into multiple segments and transmit each part separately.
"However, why didn't the entity teleport out in one go? Given the specifications of the teleportation device, even a battleship could have been teleported."
This was very puzzling. Even if it used itself as energy, there was no need to escape in segments.
Qin Muye was not without suspects. He suspected it might be related to the Star Gods, similar to the evil spiritual entities that invaded the lower dimensions.
"Infection, Master. I suspect the imprisoned entity was infected, likely by a Star God. This place should be the Cosmic Heart that the GROX Empire guarded."
"More straightforwardly, this is a cage!"
The gremlin laid out the hypothesis, as the possibility was quite high given the various connections and interrelations.
"In other words, the Star God calamity has already begun to brew, though it hasn't yet officially taken the stage in the Shining Universe," Qin Muye had also suspected this before, but he hadn't expected it to be true.
"Wait, where did the Star Gods come from?" Qin Muye suddenly realized the significance of this.
"I believe you already know, Master. This matter may be significant," the gremlin's tone was calm.
But Qin Muye was somewhat shocked. According to this logic, the Star Gods were a result of planet activation, and they had existed for a long time, being imprisoned and studied by the GROX Empire. Perhaps the GROX Empire's initial breakout from the server and its eventual downfall were both related to the Star Gods.
Therefore, another possibility arose: the cosmic will formed by the consciousness of the Star Gods might be real.
Even more boldly, the entity imprisoned here could be the original Star God, the cosmic will of the Shining Universe. However, due to its segmented escape and infection, it split and degraded, only to be fully restored once all its consciousness was reconnected.
"Indeed, who would have thought that the fake one would end up being the real deal, ten times over," Qin Muye mused. He had always believed that the cosmic will was a fake.
However, something still didn't add up. For example, Wang Wei, the protagonist, had the "Favored by the Universe" talent, which logically should align him with the cosmic will. So, why did he become the enemy?
Thinking about this, Qin Muye suddenly realized something: how did the cosmic will manage to escape in just three months?
'Goddamn, Wang Wei's camp is right, but the real problem is the opportunity.'
Qin Muye suddenly understood that both the Staff of Life and the Eternal Book might have been part of the mechanism that kept the cosmic will imprisoned in this star domain.
Although the ring world had shut down, the cosmic will had no means of escape.
However, once Wang Wei integrated the Staff of Life and the Eternal Book into his body, the most stable triangle was broken.
Everything began when Wang Wei took the Staff of Life, and the situation escalated from there.
These secondary dimensions were not star maps but rather a protective force field that not only suppressed the cosmic will but also protected all known star domains in the Shining Universe.
Wang Wei had taken two-thirds of the load-bearing walls, and now he was about to take the last third.
Thinking about this, Qin Muye felt quite uneasy. Indeed, there's no such thing as a free lunch, even for the protagonist.
"Quickly compile and document the GROX Empire's ring world technology, and have someone verify the teleportation coordinates."
The operational logs of the repaired teleportation device were incomplete, as it had been damaged. Therefore, only limited verification was possible. He wanted to determine if the entity suspected to be the cosmic will had indeed entered the known star domains of the Shining Universe through this protective force field.
As for this place, Qin Muye suspected it wasn't in the universe at all but in a special dimensional space, possibly a region forcibly created to target the cosmic will.
"Yes, Master," the gremlin responded. It was not a problem, but if further repairs were impossible, that was a different matter. The teleportation device had been repaired to a remarkable extent, and further repairs were possible, but the limits were clear.
Qin Muye felt a bit regretful. The entity had escaped from here, but had erased its traces very cleanly, leaving no trace behind. If even a small piece had been left, Qin Muye could have gathered more information and data.
However, it was normal for such a powerful entity not to leave any traces.
"The entity's power level is likely higher than mine, but it has fallen significantly," Qin Muye speculated. It probably dropped from the 9th rank to the 8th rank due to its segmented escape.
"Thus, I need to get to it before it reassembles, or I won't stand a chance."
He had to seize the opportunity before the Star Gods reformed the cosmic will through their own consciousness, then claim the results for himself. If he waited, he would face a true 9th-rank entity, one with a strong self and a vast influence.
Chances of victory? He would consider it a success if he could escape. Challenging such an entity would be suicidal.
Fortunately, he still had a chance. Even "The Lord's Era" had not yet released a corresponding event, indicating that the entity had just infiltrated and had not yet begun its operations. Otherwise, such a high-level crisis would have triggered an event with extremely generous rewards.
This was an 8th-rank server event, and the rewards would certainly be substantial.
Even if four lords shared the rewards, each would still be well-compensated, assuming they survived.
As for how to determine if the rewards were generous, it was simple: check if the Points Store had any server transfer vouchers.
(End of Chapter)
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