The secrets of the residents of Shelter No. 404 have really ceased to be secrets.

All alliance officials above the ministerial level, and even some grassroots workers in special departments, have long been unfazed by the extraordinary abilities displayed by these "residents".

This includes mind induction communication, revival from the dead, and so on.

Although these rumors have not become widely recognized truths in the public consciousness and have been drowned in many even more ridiculous urban legends that deviate from reality, most Waste Land Wanderers who have interacted with players for a long time have some inkling—

These Blue Jackets incompatible with the wasteland might not just be incompatible with it.

They seem like they don't belong to this world at all.

Based on this understanding, most alliance top officials and relevant grassroots personnel have complex feelings towards the identity of the "residents of Shelter No. 404".

Respect is certain.

Even though they can revive after death, it doesn't mean that the residents' sacrificial actions are insignificant.

Yet, people inevitably fear the unknown, especially since no one knows why they do these things.

Therefore, saying it's "respect" might be more aptly described as "awe".

Yin Fang was not the first to express his confusion; Hera actually raised similar questions before.

But perhaps it's due to different professional domains.

Compared to the concept of revival from the dead that can barely be explained by "science", Yin Fang is more shocked by the players' ability to ignore communication barriers when exchanging information.

Especially when he realized this communication could span five light-years, his feelings are beyond shock; he felt his understanding shatter to pieces.

"...Actually, I don't know how to explain this issue either," Chu Guang sighed softly.

"I did mention before that I'm not the only manager of this shelter. There should have been several before me, but I don't have information about them."

"My authority was directly granted by the First Generation Manager. When he handed over the shelter to me, the clues he left were only a few recordings and small pieces of paper."

Yin Fang stared at Chu Guang in disbelief, and after a long pause, he managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"He just handed over the shelter to you like that?"

"Yes, it sounds like nonsense, doesn't it?" Chu Guang said jokingly, "I also felt he should've found a more professional person to manage this facility, but sometimes I think maybe this was the best arrangement."

He has actually met quite a few professional shelter managers.

Whether face-to-face or seen in the Administrator's Log. Whether the First Generation or those who inherited from the previous managers.

Though these people faced different issues, they shared one commonality.

That is "alienation."

Whether passively or actively, they almost inevitably transformed themselves into another being that transcended the masses.

This doesn't mean they physically transformed into another species; it signifies they lost the ability to empathize with humanity.

Chu Guang himself has actually encountered similar issues, and due to physiological alienation, these feelings are stronger.

If not for intentionally restraining himself, he wouldn't even need to speak; a single look could make people cheer or kneel.

But that's not something he wants to do.

"...Alright, I'm actually not too concerned about what you're saying. I don't doubt that the First Generation Manager made the best arrangement here," Yin Fang paused, sighed, and continued, "I just want to know how this cross-dimensional... even cross-temporal communication is achieved."

Chu Guang chuckled.

"Not just you; I'm also curious. How about proposing a study within the scientific team?"

Yin Fang paused.

"Is that okay?"

Chu Guang casually replied.

"I never said this couldn't be thoroughly investigated, and it helps us understand ourselves too."

Before, he always waited for the First Generation Manager to voluntarily reveal those secrets unknown to him.

But ever since the man handed him Floor B7 and a series of authorities, he hadn't made a peep.

Perhaps he should delve into the shelter's secrets himself, rather than waiting.

It's not just Yin Fang; even Chu Guang is deeply curious about this communication method that ignores time and space.

Unexpectedly, Chu Guang nodded in agreement, leaving Yin Fang thrilled.

"Thank you for your support! Believe it or not, I have a strong intuition... we might discover new physics!"

Seeing this excited "Alliance Chief Scientist," Chu Guang couldn't help but quip.

"Don't get your hopes too high; since we're using this technology, someone must've discovered it long ago."

Yin Fang laughed.

"That's not important; rediscovering forgotten knowledge is still a discovery."

"Haha, I'm glad you think that way," Chu Guang said with a smile, looking at the energized Yin Fang, "Let me think of what information I can provide you..."

After pondering with eyes closed for a while, Chu Guang suddenly had a thought and opened his eyes.

"That's right."

Seeing the intrigued Yin Fang listening carefully, he mentioned a concept heard long ago from some recording.

"The project name should be 'Morphogenesis Field'."

...

In a certain forest on the Gaia planet, Night Ten awoke from power armor with his game helmet on, astonished by the scene before him.

He saw a group of charming maidens kneeling beside his bed.

They wore clothes woven from dry grass, holding clay containers filled with water, seemingly ready to serve him a bath.

Their fresh faces resembled freshly picked green apples from the morning, peaceful and poised, vastly different from other primitive humans, making Night Ten's heart race slightly.

Although primitive people's aesthetics aren't commendable, these little green people didn't come from the trees but very likely "came down from the sky and climbed back up," making their looks not entirely unattractive by human standards.

They even had a certain wild beauty.

Despite their jade-green skin being a bit odd, after prolonged exposure, it became quite pleasant to the eyes.

Especially their chests.

It's unbelievable how such massive fruit can hang on such delicate branches.

Night Ten suddenly realized that he wasn't much more noble than primitive humans.

The primitive humans' form of worship, he embarrassingly found himself sharing.

At this moment, a "huh" chuckle came over the communication channel.

Feeling a chill down his spine, Night Ten realized the power armor's action recorder was still online, and quickly sat up straight.

"What are you doing? Stand up quickly?"

The maidens couldn't understand his words, merely looking at each other in perplexity.

A slightly older maiden perhaps understood a few words and, while leading the others to rise, spoke in stuttering Alliance speech, less fluent than the players.

"Priest... instructed... us... to bathe."

This person probably meant to say helping with bathing.

Night Ten quickly refused.

"That's not necessary."

The maiden blinked.

"But that's how it is in the sky."

Night Ten almost choked on his saliva upon hearing this.

He could deduce this must be the primitive leaders adding their spin to the Ancestors legend.

To uphold justice, he sternly declared.

"Have you been to the sky?"

A few young girls exchanged bewildered glances, unsure if they were indicating they hadn't been, or simply didn't understand.

Night Ten continued speaking.

"The sky speaks of equality. It's not like that where we are... at least not generally."

He started speaking with an absolute tone but suddenly hesitated, as if reminded of that Debt Giant Eye guy.

To be honest, talking about equality in a primitive tribe is foolish, but he didn't say this for them. It was to please someone up in the sky.

The girl who could understand what he said nodded vaguely, but somehow stammeringly blurted out something unexpected to Night Ten.

"You... want to... help us? Wash?"

"Pfft—"

Hearing this, Night Ten almost blood burst from his nose, quickly waving his hands to clarify.

"No, that's not what I meant."

You can understand what I'm saying?!

No, wait—

Looking at the girl's somewhat comprehending expression, Night Ten suddenly came to his senses.

Just now, in his panic, he spoke in Chinese, and the girl's final word "wash" was also in Chinese...

But the issue is, that word wasn't even in his whole sentence.

Night Ten was completely baffled, unable to figure out what was going on.

And seeing his reaction, the girl also showed an uneasy expression, as if she'd done something wrong and was seeking forgiveness.

Just as Night Eleven was puzzled, Jiang Xuezhou's voice came through the communication channel again.

"Night Ten..."

That hoarse voice carried a slight tremor, immediately making Night Eleven panic.

"Xuezhou, let me explain—"

"No, listen to me first!"

The tremor in that voice didn't seem to come from anger, but excitement.

Jiang Xuezhou took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in her heart as she slowly began to speak.

"I just suddenly realized... they actually don't speak United Human language at all."

"What do you mean—"

As Night Ten uttered this question, he suddenly realized something, and a stunned expression appeared on his face.

As if to confirm his suspicion, Jiang Xuezhou continued in a calm tone.

"Think back carefully to the first time you met them. When was it that the priest named Saquai first spoke a word of United Human to you..."

How the hell am I supposed to remember that—

Wait, wait!

A flash of inspiration struck Night Ten like a bolt from the blue, almost instinctively blurting out.

"After I said the first word to them?"

When that old man saw him, he fell to his knees with a thud, rattling off a whole string of words, none of which Night Ten understood.

It wasn't until Night Ten asked them to rise that the old man sputtered a single sentence.

"That's right. After you spoke the first word, or rather, after you expressed the intent to communicate, they immediately understood what you were saying and learned your language..."

After giving this conclusive response, Jiang Xuezhou, in a calm voice, continued with her analysis.

"The priest you mentioned earlier named Saquai, that leader called Tunnan, and the girl in front of you... they don't actually know a single word of United Human. What they know is 'your language.' Every word they know was extracted from you!"

A chilling sensation crawled up Night Ten's back. Staring into those bewildered eyes in front of him, he suddenly felt like the metal lump he was wearing on his head was as flimsy as paper.

Not in the physical sense of paper.

But in the mental sense.

Those eyes seemed to pierce through his armor, even through his face, directly touching his soul.

Swallowing hard, Night Ten still couldn't believe such an unbelievable ability, even though he himself possessed a perceptive power that seemed incredible to others.

"...But I never said I was the 'Ancestor,' did I? It's a term they told me."

Jiang Xuezhou continued in a calm voice.

"Yet you can still accurately grasp what that word means, correct? I understand what you're trying to say; he got that term from something you didn't explicitly say, right? That's precisely what's astonishing. Their displayed ability isn't merely linguistic talent, but something beyond that... mind reading? Resonance? Brainwave modulation? Or some unknown high-dimensional energy field? Ultimately, they accessed something in your mind and drew from it."

Sweat beaded down Night Ten's back.

"...What the hell is this? Mind reading? What the hell?"

Jiang Xuezhou took a deep breath, saying.

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like it on the Wasteland... But given the current situation, I can tell you for sure that 'wash' was a word she knew out of thin air. I can testify you've never said it, because even I don't know what that pronunciation means."

Perhaps worried about scaring Night Ten, Jiang Xuezhou paused for a moment before continuing.

"You don't actually have to be that scared... I feel like they don't fully understand their ability. Plus, it hasn't given them any distinct advantage in combat or productivity in the end. Otherwise, they wouldn't be living in such a primitive way now."

"Could they have already figured out that I'm just—"

Night Ten was about to talk about the whole shenanigans but stopped halfway, afraid of having his thoughts seen through by the girl blinking those big watery eyes in front of him.

Jiang Xuezhou patiently said.

"I doubt it. They probably can only read the information you intend to convey, so you don't have to worry too much about them seeing through your thoughts, unless it's something you specifically express..."

She paused, before continuing.

"But my advice is, better safe than sorry... especially when you're about to express something."

So, to speak only what's truly thought? And avoid saying one thing while thinking another?

Remembering the girl's earlier misunderstanding, Night Ten couldn't help but feel his face flush a little hot, coughing lightly as he replied.

"Got it."

Maybe still a bit angry, after finishing the important business, Jiang Xuezhou dropped a "heh" in the communication channel and then was gone.

Having no idea how to placate her, Night Ten could only shift his attention temporarily back to the task at hand.

Turning to the girls he'd left alone for quite a while, he cleared his throat and spoke in a serious tone.

"From now on, without my permission, do not ever enter my room... no one is allowed."

Perhaps confirming Jiang Xuezhou's conjecture, the slightly older girl, seemingly possessing "strong perceptual ability," indeed understood his words, responding respectfully.

"As you command."

She turned and instructed the other girls on a few things, and then they gathered their belongings and prepared to leave the room.

Night Ten suddenly thought of something, calling them back.

"Wait, you stay."

The slightly older girl blinked, pointing to herself, and upon Night Ten's nod, she handed her belongings to the other girls and stayed obediently in the room.

Only the two of them were left in the room.

Looking at the curious girl, Night Ten organized his thoughts for a moment before slowly speaking.

"I just returned to this land, and the changes here astonished me; so many things have become different from before, almost as if we were never here."

"I hope you can tell me everything you know, about what happened after 'we' left, and about 'your' people."

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