8mi Chapter 156 Archives
Chapter 156 Archives
Chapter 156 Archives
This is such a pleasant surprise!
It can not only confirm the existence and status of Hub-2, but also pinpoint the location of the resonance source that may be related to the Star Map Backup!
"Confirm scan!" Rowling said without hesitation.
The console lights flickered again, and the energy consumption seemed to have increased slightly.
A magnified view of the energy network in the Ash Plains area appeared on the panel, and a small cursor began to move and search on the map.
At the same time, an extremely faint but exceptionally clear directional energy fluctuation emanated from a certain direction deep within the hall, penetrating the thick metal and rock layers and shooting into the distance.
The scan lasted about a minute. The cursor eventually stopped at a location deep within the Ash Plains, about five kilometers from their current position.
That is not the main entrance to Hub-2, but a relatively independent energy marker in another direction.
The panel displays the scan results: "A faint resonance source has been confirmed."
Coordinates have been marked.
Target status: The surface structure is severely damaged, the energy response is extremely weak, and internal detection is hindered.
A faint residual energy frequency characteristic of the star map archive was detected.
Risk assessment: Low (no active threat).
Star Chart Archives!
It was indeed related to the star charts recorded by the observers!
"We found it—"
Duden murmured, his face a mixture of ecstasy and disbelief.
"There's more than one entrance; there might also be secondary archive points containing backups of the star map —"
Just as everyone was thrilled by the discovery, the control panel suddenly emitted a short, piercing alarm!
A red, flashing warning symbol appeared on the panel, and at the same time, the lights in the entire hall flickered violently and erratically.
"Warning! Energy reserves have dropped to 15 percent of the critical threshold!"
"The core life support system is about to enter forced deep hibernation!"
"All non-essential functions will be shut down within 30 seconds! Operators are advised to evacuate immediately or activate emergency power!"
Energy was being used up faster than expected.
Once forced deep hibernation is initiated, all systems will shut down, and they may be trapped here, or even the entrance may be completely locked!
"Quick! Record the last data! Prepare to evacuate!" Gorson roared, already drawing his sword and looking in the direction of the passage they had come from.
Duden frantically manipulated the imaging crystal, trying to capture the last information on the panel.
Luo Lin stared at the prompt that "operators are advised to evacuate immediately or activate emergency power," and a flash of inspiration struck him!
Emergency energy?
Does a civilization like the Observer not consider emergency measures for unexpected situations?
The "Hydropower-2" is dormant because its energy level is below the threshold. What about this entrance hall?
Are there any hidden, small-scale emergency energy sources?
His gaze swept quickly across the control panel and then across the surrounding walls.
The Insight Ring painstakingly captures subtle clues amidst violent energy fluctuations.
Suddenly, he noticed an extremely inconspicuous, slightly concave hexagonal pattern, no bigger than a fingernail, next to the adsorption area below the central control console where the hexagonal metal cylinder and polyhedral crystal were placed.
This pattern is extremely similar to the indentation on the wall where the hidden compartment was opened, and the shape of a certain facet of a polyhedral crystal!
There's no time to hesitate!
Warning countdown: Only a dozen seconds left!
Rolin grabbed the polyhedral crystal from the control panel and pressed it against the recessed hexagonal pattern without hesitation!
The crystal fits the depression perfectly!
hum! ! !
A deep, steady rumble, far more powerful than any previous sound, came from the base of the control console and deep beneath our feet!
The lights in the hall that had been flickering violently instantly stabilized and returned to a soft, bright state!
The red warning symbol on the console panel disappeared, replaced by a line of soothing green text: "Regional secondary access key detected, emergency power loop activated — power supply switched to backup cluster — system status stable, can maintain basic functions and low-power sleep mode for 72 standard hours."
It worked!
The polyhedral crystal is not only a key, but also the emergency power activation key for this entrance hall!
The feeling of surviving a disaster made all four of them breathe a sigh of relief, only to realize that their backs were soaked with sweat.
"That was close—" Ella let out a long breath, and the firelight on her staff dimmed a little.
Duden wiped away cold sweat, his face full of excitement: "That was so exciting—and the gains were enormous!"
"Observational network diagrams, records of the origin of the Purple Plague Stone, and coordinates from the star map archive!"
Gorson sheathed his sword and looked at Rolin: "You'll always find a way."
"What do we do now? We can only sustain this for three more days. Should we continue exploring, or evacuate and bring the intelligence back?"
Looking at the coordinates of Hub-2 and the Star Chart Archive marked on the control panel, Luo Lin then looked at the polyhedral crystal in his hand that had been connected to the emergency energy circuit and could not be removed for the time being.
"Our primary task was to conduct a preliminary exploration and assessment of this entrance to the site, and we have exceeded that target."
"The Hub-2 and the Star Chart Archives are beyond our current capabilities and mission scope."
Luo Lin analyzed the situation calmly.
"But we've already obtained the coordinates and information."
"I suggest that we take advantage of these three stable days to record as much information as possible about the structure of this hall, its energy circuits, and the shallow log information that is still accessible in the control panel."
"Then, with this invaluable data and coordinates, we safely evacuated and reported back to the Holy Tower and the Empire."
"How to proceed with this exploration will be decided by the higher-ups."
Although Duden was somewhat disappointed that he couldn't immediately enter the core area, he knew it was the safest option.
Ella and Gorson nodded in agreement.
"Okay, let's get going!" Duden rallied and began taking notes more efficiently.
Rowling then turned his attention back to the console.
If the system is stable and the secondary key is activated, it might be possible to access something deeper. He tried to retrieve the logs again and found some new entries about the maintenance records and energy consumption history of this "Entrance-3" that were not there before.
One of the most recent maintenance records caught Luo Lin's attention.
Records show that during a routine maintenance long ago, the system detected undesigned aging in the energy conduction loop of the "Entrance-3" external concealment mechanism and automatically dispatched a maintenance unit to the surface for repair.
However, the maintenance unit's signal was later lost somewhere in the Ash Plains, marked as "mission interrupted, unit lost contact".
The last data packet transmitted before being lost contained warnings about the unusual energy accumulation in the shifting sands of the plains, and —
Several blurry images of the ground.
The images are severely distorted due to their age and energy interference, but one of them seems to capture the outline of something unnaturally formed, half-buried in the ashes, next to which is a small, striking gray stone slab engraved with star markings.
Rowling immediately retrieved the recording and video footage and showed it to Duden.