Chapter 1017: Psychic Pathfinding

Chapter 1017: Psychic Pathfinding

"Psychic energy... this, this is simply unbelievable."

In the browsing room on Level B4 of Vault 404.

After reading the report from five light-years away, Yin Fang set down his tablet, his face etched with an expression of utter incredulity.

To be honest.

When he first saw this report, Chu Guang was no less surprised than him, even momentarily suspecting that Ye Shi was pulling a prank, deliberately releasing some smoke bombs to amuse others on the forum.

But as time went on, the clues updated in the forum posts grew more numerous, and that possibility became negligible.

That guy wasn't much of a liar; if he were making it up, he'd slip up within three sentences at most.

Having typed out so many words without revealing any flaws, even fooling him, the administrator, into being taken aback, it could only be serious.

Setting down his black tea, Chu Guang spoke with a subtle expression.

"You might not believe it, but the materials you're seeing... were actually transmitted from five light-years away using a similar method."

Yin Fang stood frozen in place for a long moment, unable to utter a single word, and finally let out a long sigh.

"It seems there are still too many things in this world that we don't understand..."

"But isn't that exciting?" Chu Guang said with a faint smile. "A civilization that surpasses us by thousands or even hundreds of millions of years has revealed the mysteries for us. If we follow the clues they left behind, we might even go further than they did."

The existence of players was the best proof.

The first overseer of Vault 404 had clearly found a way to pierce the fourth wall and, based on morphogenetic fields, established something akin to an "information network."

Although the Alliance's exploration of morphogenetic fields was still in its early stages, Chu Guang believed they would one day fully unearth the secrets within.

Héyǎ stood nearby with her arms crossed, suddenly speaking with interest.

"I'm quite curious about that child from the planet Gaia... Do you think that psychic energy might be related to certain special pheromones in the brain's pituitary gland?"

Seeing her eager expression, Yin Fang inexplicably shuddered.

Chu Guang coughed.

"For intelligent life forms from beyond Earth, I advocate a non-interference stance... Besides, they carry human blood. Some things are forbidden."

"I know, I just want to borrow a bit of DNA for research... Don't make it sound like I'm about to dissect someone, okay?" Héyǎ couldn't help but retort, seeing Chu Guang's subtle expression.

Those barbaric research methods were centuries old.

Chu Guang's expression remained subtle.

"I'm just reminding you, nothing more."

At that moment, Yin Fang suddenly thought of something and spoke up.

"But speaking of which, according to this research report, the residents of Vault 404 inherently possess some kind of 'psychic' trait, right? That ability to transmit information across time and space..."

"Is there a problem?" Chu Guang asked, looking at him.

"I just find it odd," Yin Fang said with a slight shrug. "After all, the gene sequences stored in this vault are all public research projects, but I've never heard of the Institute of Biology discovering anything unusual."

This time, Héyǎ furrowed her brow as well, sinking into thought.

"It is a bit strange..."

If awakened psychics showed clear biological differences from others of their kind, she should have noticed long ago.

Thus, there was only one explanation: the difference wasn't manifested at the biological level.

Chu Guang pondered for a moment and ventured his own view.

"I don't know much about research, but could it be possible that, although 'psychic energy' and 'morphogenetic field' describe the same phenomenon, they're just different professional perspectives—like two sides of the same coin?"

Yin Fang's eyes lit up, and he thoughtfully stroked his chin.

"Interesting..."

Héyǎ was silent for a long time, then sighed.

"...It seems we'll have to leave this to the Institute of Physics and the Institute of Social Sciences to figure out."

...

In the Southern Gate Binary System, on the planet Gaia, deep within the Forbidden Forest Valley, an inconspicuous cave lay buried among the rolling mountains.

The mountain path leading to the cave entrance was almost overgrown with dense vegetation, and from afar came the occasional calls of beasts and pterosaurs, with rustling sounds suggesting danger lurking in the darkness.

Without a guide leading the way, even an experienced explorer would inevitably get lost here.

Yet Ye Shi, walking through here in his power armor, moved as if strolling through his own backyard, showing no sign of being trapped by the dense forest.

This wasn't because his power armor was exceptionally powerful, but because psychic energy granted him the ability to communicate with the "Tree of Insov." Every insect, even every leaf, served as his eyes.

He was less an explorer intruding into this forest and more a guest of the forest.

And this ruin buried deep in the Forbidden Forest had been waiting for him for a long time...

"This is it... the last ruin on this planet, a temporary laboratory left by Dr. Qiu Shiye of the Fifth Department of the Human Federation Aerospace Force Fleet's Twin Star-class missile cruiser."

"Barring any surprises, the missing reactor is here."

Dr. Qiu Shiye's remains were not found in the wreckage of the Twin Star, and the poem carved on the ruins mentioned a maze and clouds.

Combined with the cryptic words He left behind, Ye Shi reasonably inferred that Dr. Qiu Shiye had dismantled the reactor and moved it somewhere in the forest.

Perhaps not just the reactor was dismantled, but also the experimental instruments of the Fifth Department.

In subsequent investigations, Ye Shi used tree growth cycles to pinpoint the last location of Dr. Qiu Shiye's activities—this cave halfway up the mountain.

This place was once a site for the Qiu people's sacrificial rituals, later abandoned due to natural causes.

As for the purpose of their sacrifices, the only conceivable reason was obvious...

Their progenitor had once rested here in eternal slumber.

To be honest, Ye Shi was quite surprised that Jiang Xuezhou had missed these clues.

Given her abilities, she should have been able to find leads to continue the excavation beyond the bridge area.

But then again, everyone makes mistakes.

And he himself had only managed to find the cave, the suspected entrance to the laboratory, by relying on psychic energy to take shortcuts, so there was no point in mocking her.

Finally reaching the cave entrance, Ye Shi placed a beacon that emitted radio signals at the opening, then conducted a final check of his exploration tools.

Just then, a light snort came through the communication channel.

"Hmph..."

Hearing that light snort in the channel, Ye Shi, about to enter the cave, made a helpless expression and sighed.

"My esteemed, dear Captain... may I ask how I have offended you this time?"

The communication channel was silent for a moment, then came a voice through gritted teeth.

"...You know very well in your heart."

Know very well in his heart, huh.

Hearing the reply that carried a hint of petulance and grievance, Ye Shi couldn't help but smile faintly.

Yet this barely perceptible chuckle only enraged a certain jealous person who was already in a huff.

“! You, what are you laughing at!”

Ye Shi said in a teasing tone.

“Nothing, just feels like... someone who's sulking is acting like a little kid.”

Jiang Xuezhou said, puffing with anger.

“You're the one like a kid! You're the most like a kid!”

The reason for her anger now was no longer that this guy had taken the liberty to let someone board the ship, but rather his nonchalant demeanor made it seem as if she were the one being unreasonable.

“Yes, yes, yes, I'm a kid, so you should indulge me,” Ye Shi replied with a smile, paused for a moment, then continued, “Actually, deep down you wanted to bring her along too, didn't you.”

Jiang Xuezhou: “!?”

Seeing that there was no sound from the other end of the communication channel, Ye Shi teased with a smile.

“Did I guess right?”

After about half a minute, a small voice came through the communication channel.

“This, this is psychic power?”

Ye Shi thought for a moment and said.

“Although telepathy is also a form of mind reading... but I guess this level of mental connection is probably different from the psychic power you imagine.”

Jiang Xuezhou said through gritted teeth.

“Who's telepathic with you!”

Ye Shi laughed out loud and said smugly.

“Of course it's me, who else could it be?”

He didn't continue teasing Xuezhou.

When he got to this point, he paused for a moment and switched to a serious tone.

“I'm sorry I didn't discuss Dora's matter with you, but... I really didn't expect you to be jealous because of her. If you mind, I'll make it clear to her on your behalf, and she'll disembark when we get back to Earth.”

It was still necessary to bring a 'Gaian' representative back to Earth; this was also one of the side quests he had received.

Whether for the sake of scientific research or for the exchange between civilizations, the Alliance hoped he could bring one or several people back.

By friendly means or by bribery.

Dora had voluntarily left her own world, which was naturally the best outcome.

As for any romantic matters between men and women, that was completely irrelevant.

Not to mention it was nonsense, she hadn't shown any romantic feelings toward him at all.

That kind of reverence for ancestors and gods, and the thirst for truth, were clearly different from ordinary worldly emotions.

Not to mention anything else, Dora's reaction to Jiang Xuezhou was the same; it couldn't be that kind of liking either.

As for Ye Shi himself, it went without saying.

Big as it was, shocked as he was, he truly hadn't had any such thoughts.

As for why, that went back to the issue of nonsense again.

But he actually understood that young girls in love and older women in menopause were both sensitive.

Little Jiang was undoubtedly the former.

Hearing Ye Shi lay it all out, Jiang Xuezhou, who was in synchronous orbit, flushed bright red like a lantern and immediately jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

“Who who who who's jealous, you you you don't flatter yourself! How could I be jealous of a primitive!”

A hint of a smile curled at the corner of Ye Shi's mouth, and he kicked the wobbly ball back.

“Oh? So it seems I was flattering myself. May I ask, esteemed Captain, where exactly did I fail or offend you?”

Never expecting the ball to be kicked back, the caught-off-guard Jiang Xuezhou stammered for a good while before finally forcing out a lame excuse.

“You, you took the liberty... without this captain's consent, you, you let someone board the ship without authorization.”

Ye Shi said with a smile.

“She hasn't boarded yet, it's not too late to change your mind. Should I send her away? Find someone else?”

“Uh—”

Jiang Xuezhou, sitting in front of the terminal, seemed choked up, at a loss for words, her face red and speechless.

After a long while, she muttered softly.

“You... you feel like a different person.”

Ye Shi smiled and said.

“After all, people grow up... How about you? Feeling a bit better?”

“Not at all! Even angrier!” Staring at this smug guy, Jiang Xuezhou glared fiercely at the holographic screen and tossed out a hypocritical remark.

Actually, she realized that she had been a bit unreasonable just now, and she wasn't usually like this.

Even most of the time, she was the one who played the more reliable role, but this time it was completely reversed.

All because of this damn man...

Jiang Xuezhou, her face still red, took a deep breath to calm her wavering emotions and refocused on her work.

“I'll leave the exploration of the ruins to you... Ahead, be careful.”

“Roger.”

Raising his hand to wave at the sky, Ye Shi put away the equipment he had checked, then strode briskly toward the interior of the cave...

...

The nameless cave was pitch black and silent, the sound of footsteps on gravel standing out conspicuously.

The communication channel was quiet, not a sound.

Walking in the cave, Ye Shi suddenly remembered that Jiang Xuezhou seemed to be afraid of the dark.

He wondered if she, sitting in front of the screen, had already clawed the armrests of her chair to shreds.

Or simply turned off the camera.

Thinking this to himself, Ye Shi skirted around a patch of greasy-looking stalactite pillars and finally found traces of someone having been there near a slope.

It was a crooked staircase, the square steps clearly man-made.

And the scratches on one side of the slope looked like they were made while moving equipment.

“This cave is surprisingly spacious.”

Ye Shi shone his flashlight around, a look of surprise on his face, and a hint of excitement rose in his eyes.

It wasn't just the staircase under his feet that showed signs of artificial carving; the rock walls on both sides did as well.

So that's how it was.

The Qiu people's skills in mining, digging wells, and building houses—turns out they were honed right here in this cave!

Some instinct told Ye Shi that the end of this ruin was not far ahead.

"I'll go down and take a look."

Leaving that remark in the comm channel, he crouched down and slid along the slope into the space below the staircase.

With a harsh screech of metal, his feet soon touched the ground, landing in a spacious cavern.

The area was vast, as if the original cave had been widened.

Ye Shi raised his flashlight and peered ahead, soon spotting an alloy door.

Or rather, it was less a door and more a steel plate blocking the cave entrance.

And clearly, it was a plate salvaged from a starship wreck.

A low gasp came through the comm channel.

"You actually found it..."

Hearing the incredulous exclamation, Ye Shi smirked with satisfaction.

He said nothing, stepped forward, and pulled down the steel plate, which was rusted to the point of crumbling.

"For just an experiment, it shouldn't need too much fuel..."

Hopefully, there's still some left.