eurekapd Chapter 258, Branch 9
Chapter 258, Branch 9
The moment Zuo Cheng pressed the activation button, it wasn't the system panel that changed, but the entire Sahara Ruins that changed.
The three-dimensional star map on the dome suddenly expanded to cover the entire hall, completely enveloping Zuo Cheng. The fiber optic structures beneath the recesses lit up, the light traveling along the atomically precise fibers deep underground, like activating a circuit dormant for billions of years. The patterns on the hall's alloy walls began to glow, spreading in concentric circles from the entrance, as all the nanoscale fiber optic arrays were simultaneously activated. The entire ruin resembled a supercomputer awakening from hibernation.
Zuo Cheng's consciousness was pulled into the holographic projection of the technology tree.
He saw a complete tree. Not a flat image on the panel, but a holographic, three-dimensional technological tree. Nine branches had already grown, eight of them flourishing, and the ninth was breaking through the soil from the very top of the trunk. The ninth branch was not made of wood; it was composed of pure luminous energy. Instead of traditional leaf veins, six points of light rotated around the branch, each an independent energy core.
The system's voice rang in my consciousness, devoid of any emotion.
"The ninth branch, Origin Technology, belongs to a different level from the previous eight branches. The first eight branches are the application layer, allowing the host civilization to master the founders' technology. The ninth branch is the decoding layer, allowing the host civilization to understand why the founders' technology works. From this branch onwards, the technology tree moves from imitation to understanding."
The first point of light illuminates. Decoding the origins.
Zuo Cheng instantly understood the parts of the Taklamakan Inscriptions that he couldn't translate before. They weren't words, they were formulas. They were high-order physical equations that transcended human mathematical language. Within a fraction of a second, he deciphered all the hidden information in the first four sentences of the inscription. Behind the first sentence, "The pioneers came from an unnamed star system," lay a complete set of gravitational wave frequency data. Behind the second sentence, "Sowing seeds and waiting for hosts," lay the complete lifecycle of a technology tree seed from dormancy to activation. Behind the third sentence, "The seventh knowledge transfer awakening," lay the timeline of the previous six failed attempts and the reasons for their failures. Each reason was written in the inscription; a decoding layer was needed to read it.
The second point of light illuminates. Interstellar perception.
The scope of civilization's perception has expanded from Earth to the entire solar system. Zuo Cheng detected two faint energy signals in Mars' orbit: one in Mariner Valley and another in the Greek Plains. Both were dormant, their activation conditions unknown. Something unusual was present on one of Jupiter's moons. Deep beneath the ice of Europa, a node emitted a faint signal of activity. It wasn't completely dormant; it seemed as if something within the node had been operating at extremely low power for billions of years. The system labeled this node "abnormally active signal."
The third point of light illuminates. Consciousness bridging.
It can establish direct communication with any consciousness based on the Founder's code. No legacy interface is needed, no user-end device is required. Zuo Cheng can establish a connection wherever the Founder's device exists. He conducted his first test in his consciousness, not connecting to Chen Xinghe's digital copy, but to Gu Feng. No device, no network, no Sky Satellite. He issued a connection request in his consciousness, and 0.04 milliseconds later, Gu Feng's voice rang in his mind. "Zuo Cheng. How did you do that?" "I didn't connect to any device." Zuo Cheng didn't answer. He simply confirmed that the effective transmission distance of the new ability was at least ten thousand kilometers.
The fourth point of light illuminates. Energy resonates.
It could sense and guide the residual energy within the Founder's device. The fiber optic network in the Sahara Hall activated the instant the fourth blade lit up, illuminating not only the hall's fiber optic cables but also the endless, vertically extending fibers deep underground. The entire ruin came alive. Yu Ying, Yang Hong, and Zhao Wenbo were blinded by the sudden light. They had spent two days within the ruin, believing they had seen its entirety. Only now did they realize that what they had seen before was merely the outer shell of a dormant device.
The fifth point of light illuminates. Origin Navigation.
The spacetime positioning algorithm has been upgraded from prototype to full version. The system has calculated the precise direction of the Founder's location: the outer edge of the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way, approximately 31,000 light-years away. With current human propulsion technology, even using the most advanced Sky series rockets, it would take over 600,000 years to reach that point. However, the fifth blade simultaneously unlocked the preliminary path for the first stage of interstellar travel technology. The first line of the path contains only one sentence: "The foundation of light-speed travel is not thrust, but an understanding of the structure of spacetime." Zuo Cheng didn't fully understand this sentence, but he knew the answer lay within the tenth branch.
The sixth point of light illuminates. The Inheritance Agreement.
The general outline of the activation protocol for the complete technology tree. The activation conditions and order of the remaining three branches are listed above using the Founders' original code. The tenth branch activates after a breakthrough in interstellar travel technology. The eleventh branch activates after establishing contact with another interstellar civilization. The twelfth branch activates after reaching the first planet containing the Founders' relics. Following these three lines of conditions is a sentence left by the Founders' civilization, translated into modern language: "Civilizations that have reached this stage are qualified to embark on their journey. Every step from here on depends on yourselves."
All six leaves are lit up. The ninth branch has been activated.
The system displayed a confirmation message. Two hundred points were added, bringing the current score to 1017. The technology boost increased from 1.5 to 1.6. Origin-level technology fusion permission was unlocked. Origin decoding upgrades can now be performed on any activated branch.
A pop-up message appeared an update to the main questline "Searching for the Origins." Stage 1 is now 12/9 complete. Stage 3, locating the origin coordinates, has progressed from 50% to 80%. A new prerequisite branch quest for Stage 2 has been added: Exploring the Origin Nodes within the Solar System. A new module has been added: Solar System View of the Origin Network.
Zuo Cheng opened his eyes. He stood in the center of the recess, where all the ancient equipment in the hall was running at full power.
Yu Ying stood at the edge of the hall, the scanner screen in her hand flashing wildly. She had measured readings for over a hundred new energy wavelengths. Yang Hong leaned against the wall, his lips moving but no words coming out. He had accompanied Old Chen to this ruin twice, and had never seen it come to life. Zhao Wenbo's sketchbook lay open on his lap; he was rapidly sketching the hall at this moment, his hand trembling but the lines steady.
The fiber optic network in the hall automatically switched back to sleep mode after running for about three minutes. But the star map on the dome remained lit. A star was twinkling, its frequency matching the pulse of a human heartbeat. Zuo Cheng knew the direction of that star: the outer edge of the Perseus arm, 31,000 light-years away.
He wrote a sentence on the panel.
"We've already seen the road. Now we need to build the bridge."