Information regarding the Demon Prison is highly classified. Many scientific research projects at its affiliated research center will be integral to the government's future strategies, so Xing Hechou only provided a general overview.

"The overall shape of the Demon Prison resembles an inverted tower, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. The higher the level, the more spacious it is. These upper levels accommodate more Demons, which possess relatively low strength.

"The lowest grade Demons are only slightly stronger than ordinary wild beasts; even ordinary people, fully armed and trained, can eliminate them.

"But their number..."

Xing Hechou fell silent for a moment. According to reports from the front-line exploration teams, the top layer of the Demon Prison apparently doesn't adhere to the physical laws of the real world, making it difficult to measure. For instance, merely at the entrance, dozens of mountains, each three to four thousand meters high, were discovered. These mountains are hollowed out, and it's conservatively estimated that hundreds of millions of low-level Demons reside within them. Similarly structured towering mountains were discovered in the deeper wilderness areas. As for the actual number of Demons, not even the most optimistic scientists dared to give an answer.

"The Demon Prison, a prison and laboratory, was abandoned by the Heterodox Academy and fell into neglect for a thousand years. Over these long years, an ecosystem in dynamic balance has formed within.

"Low-level Demons feed on the plants and minerals inside the Demon Prison, allowing them to reproduce and thrive. They are, in turn, hunted and preyed upon by more powerful Demons. Upon the death of these Demons, their Energy dissipates back into the world. This enables other Demons to grow stronger by accumulating Energy and can even allow them to move to the next layer of space through hidden passages.

"The Demons in the first few layers are often like ants—colonial creatures. Occasional large-scale wars break out among the species, leading to rapid regeneration.

"The deeper one goes, the stronger and more ancient the Demons become. Some high-intelligence Demons that have survived from Ancient Times have even appeared."

At this point, Xing Hechou couldn't help but glance at Li Ang. This Brother Li, who had personally experienced the Mirage Dragon incident... His recounting of what he heard from the Drought Demon to the Special Affairs Bureau was analyzed by the think tanks word by word, each word parsed for three meanings—more torturous than analyzing literature for a college entrance exam. According to the think tanks, the best course of action would be to have Comrade Li come to the Special Affairs Bureau in person, put on a helmet that could translate brainwaves into images and audio for them to carefully interpret the subtle expressions on the Drought Demon's face when she spoke those words. Afterward, whether he wanted a silk banner or Game Coin rewards, it was all negotiable; the Special Affairs Bureau wasn't short on funds. If the Drought Demon had said a few more words at the time, maybe these think tanks really could have birthed some 'Drought Demonologists'...

"In any case, the front-line exploration team has, by some means, successfully made contact with some high-intelligence Demons in the lower levels.

"By combining the information they revealed with modern scholars' interpretation of ancient texts, we've understood why the Demon Prison has been able to maintain its ecological balance. The entire prison developed high intelligence long ago. It utilized some designs left by the Heterodox Academy to find ways to supplement matter and Energy from the outside world during the period of Spiritual Energy exhaustion."

Li Ang was taken aback by this. Supplementing matter is understandable—the Demon Prison would covertly consume parts of the real world—but what about Energy replenishment? Could it be that the Demon Prison is covertly depleting Red Bull, Snickers, and other energy goods stacked at the Yin City Port warehouses?

Seemingly noticing Li Ang's confusion, Xing Hechou explained, "The Demon Prison exists in the crevices of the real world. Logically, it, as well as the Demons inside, should be gradually fading away just like the Heterodox Academy's Cultivators, due to the exhaustion of Spiritual Energy.

"But somehow, it had learned to project a part of itself into the real world, like a convex lens focusing light."

Liu Wu Dai, who had been silent all along, was stunned for two seconds. "Wait, you mean..."

"Correct. The Demon Prison learned hundreds of years ago to treat itself like a solar panel, basking in the sun every day to replenish Energy."

A look of profound exasperation crossed Xing Hechou's face. "Supernatural beings can't survive in an environment devoid of Spiritual Energy, but the Demon Prison isn't alive; it's more like a highly intelligent automaton.

"It steals soil, moisture, and plant species from the real world to perfect its internal environment. This allows it to achieve a dynamic equilibrium within its System and sustain the vast populace within.

"We even believe that some of the ancient Heterodox Academy personnel who designed the Demon Prison, as well as the Mirage Dragon and Drought Demon responsible for guarding it, knew about this."

Xing Hechou's expression turned solemn. "The retreat of external Spiritual Energy means the depletion period could last for an unknown duration.

"The Mirage Dragon and Drought Demon may have secretly reached an agreement with the Demon Prison. At the very least, they likely permitted the Demon Prison to save itself. Only in this way could they—the guardians—endure a potentially prolonged period of depletion.

"After all, according to the original design, the Mirage Dragon was supposed to obliterate most of the Demons upon the completion of the contract."

Li Ang thought of the mythological girl with a petite body and fiery red skin and pursed his lips, saying nothing.

"If even the only two prison guards permitted the prison itself to develop in secret, then none of this is surprising."

Xing Hechou shook his head. "Luckily, the ancient restraints left by the Heterodox Academy are still effective. These restrictions are a part of the Demon Prison, akin to underlying code that even the prison itself cannot modify.

"For example, travel between the various levels must utilize hidden passages, allowing only a small number of Demons to pass at a time.

"The stronger the Demon, the more restrictions they face—they are unable to move freely, and the most powerful among them still haven't regained consciousness.

"Each level has a cap on the number and quality of Demons it can contain. If the Energy in a level reaches the tolerable limit, the Demon Prison will automatically activate that level's destruction protocol, crushing all the Demons within. Thus, even in the absence of a prison guard, this forces the Demons to slaughter each other.

"It's these underlying codes that have bought us this critically important breathing spell."

Li Ang frowned. "The Demon Tide..."

"Yes." Xing Hechou nodded. "We don't trust those high-level Demons we've contacted, but they indeed know many secrets.

"Combining all sources of information, we believe the so-called Demon Tide is likely this: the Demon Prison, an automaton, breaking free from the constraints of its prison guards and, driven by its underlying code and inherent needs, plundering matter and Energy from the outside world.

"To continue its growth and expansion, the Demon Prison is very likely to, from top to bottom, release countless Demons, layer by layer, manipulating them to plunder all resources from the real world.

"This is what's known as the Demon Tide.

"Once the Demon Tide begins, the billions of Demons in the first few levels can still be wiped out by overwhelming conventional firepower.

"However, those Demons in deeper levels, wielding bizarre and supernatural powers, will deal a devastating blow to the order of the real world.

"This will be a literal world-ending catastrophe."

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