louisehourcade Chapter 410 Main Control Gate!
Chapter 410 Main Control Gate!
Two hours later, Zhang Yan was standing 1,200 meters underground again.
On the same day, they came down a second time.
Nie Qingcheng had objected.
He said that getting the coordinates an hour earlier would allow them to prepare an hour earlier, and she didn't stop him.
The spherical space was much calmer than it had been in the morning.
Once the energy balance was achieved, the churning within the gate returned to its normal flow rate.
A black sphere floats in the center of the space, with liquid metal slowly surging on its surface.
Two of the breaks are no longer visible. The third one is still there. The rest...
Baihu and Xingtian stood on either side. Xingtian switched to a spare shield.
"Nie Qingcheng".
Communication is established.
"exist."
"I need to perform a deep consciousness access to the core of the main control door. Unlock the location data of the seventh door."
"time?"
"System estimates 90 seconds."
Two seconds of silence.
"During access?"
"Uninterrupted. The body has no defenses."
Two more seconds.
"Just like the sealing battle?"
"Similar, but much shorter."
"Your stamina was already—"
That's enough.
Nie Qingcheng didn't reply immediately. Zhang Yan knew what she was doing—checking his underlying data.
Five seconds later. "Heart rate 93, body temperature 36.2. Barely."
"enough."
"Both Baihu and Xing Tian are here?"
"exist."
"Let's begin. I'll count down for you to ninety seconds."
Zhang Yan took the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship from his chest. Golden light shone forth. He then affixed the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship to the surface of the door.
The liquid metal created a depression at the contact point. The Heart of the Creator slowly sank in and was enveloped by the liquid metal.
A system notification popped up.
"Deep Consciousness Access - Main Control Gate Core. Estimated Time: 90 seconds. The host cannot perform physical operations during the access process. Confirm?"
confirm.
The world disappeared.
It's not darkness, it's the simultaneous stripping away of all senses.
There is no sight, no hearing, and no touch.
Only consciousness remains, suspended in a space without any reference points.
Then the light spot appeared.
Six.
Distributed on the plane "beneath" his feet, they form an irregular hexagon. Each point of light has a different brightness. The brightest is the first door—65.3%. The darkest is the third door—43.1%.
There are light rays connecting the six points. This forms a transmission channel. After energy equalization, the light flow within the channel is much more uniform than before.
Zhang Yan's consciousness shifted upwards.
Extremely far away.
A barely visible point of light.
It was so dark it was almost invisible. You couldn't even notice it unless you looked directly at it.
The seventh door.
The system begins calculating coordinates. The progress bar advances at the bottom of the consciousness space.
10%. 18%. 25%.
The six light spots are operating smoothly. The energy flow within the channel is normal.
33%. 40%.
Everything was quiet.
47%.
Zhang Yan's consciousness suddenly tightened.
There was no sound. There was no light. There was no physical signal.
But he sensed it.
Gaze.
Beyond the plane formed by six points of light. Not below—it's "outside." Beyond the space enclosed by the network of doors.
Something is watching him.
It's not about glancing at it and leaving. It's about locking on. It's about focusing.
Coordinate calculation is progressing. 52%. 55%.
The gaze is drawing near.
There is no concept of distance in the realm of consciousness. But that gaze is indeed growing stronger. It has changed from "something is in the distance" to "it is approaching."
It detected deep access.
The access action opened the underlying channel of the main control gate's core. That channel connects all nodes—including those outside the gate. For this thing, it's like someone opening a window.
60%. 63%.
The pressure is starting to have a real impact. The progress bar is moving at a noticeably slower pace. The computational resources of the gate network are being diverted by external interference.
Zhang Yan mobilized the energy of the Heavenly Craftsman's Heart.
Physical actions are unnecessary within the consciousness space. He used his will to drive the Heavenly Craftsman's Heart to construct a temporary barrier around the access channel. It was similar to the method used to combat the Ruins during the Sealing War, but on a much smaller scale.
Barrier formation.
Progress resumed.
68%. 71%.
The pressure of the gaze did not lessen; it intensified. The barrier was continuously compressed. Not a violent impact—but a uniform, tightening pressure. The entire external space was contracting towards the access passage.
Zhang Yan ignored it.
Maintain the barrier. Iso-coordinates.
75%.
Cracks appeared on the outer layer of the barrier.
78%.
System notification: Coordinates unlocked.
Data is pouring in.
Zhang Yan forcibly cut off the connection the moment he obtained the data.
Not a gentle disconnection. A violent yank.
The impact of his consciousness returning to his body was more intense than expected. He staggered backward, his back slamming into Xing Tian's shield. The Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship sprang from the surface of the door and landed on the ground.
Warm liquid gushed from the nasal cavity.
He wiped it away. Blood.
"Zhang Yan." Nie Qingcheng's voice came through the communicator.
"It's done." His voice was a little hoarse.
He bent down and picked up the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship. It wasn't broken. It wasn't damaged. Its surface luster had dimmed slightly.
The system panel lights up. Coordinate data.
Zhang Yan saw it.
He thought it was the moon. Or Mars. He even mentally prepared himself for Jupiter.
No.
The direction is not within the solar system.
Distance from Earth: 4.2 light-years.
Proxima Centauri.
Zhang Yan wiped the blood from his nose with his sleeve and stared at the number.
4.2 light-years. Light travels in four years and two months. The Parker Solar Probe's peak speed—nearly 70,000 years.
The communication went silent.
Nie Qingcheng has data synchronization permissions. She has already seen it.
Five seconds.
In Zhang Yan's memory, the number of times Nie Qingcheng remained silent for more than three seconds could be counted on one hand.
"4.2 light-years." Her voice was flat.
"right."
Two more seconds.
"I'll check the carrying capacity."
Communication was lost.
Zhang Yan stood inside the spherical space. Baihu and Xingtian squatted quietly on either side. Guanxing stood at the entrance of the passage, his face even paler than Zhang Yan's.
He turned and walked towards the passageway. He didn't speak during the ascent.
Only one question remained in my mind.
How did people from 30,000 years ago get there?