The air inside the laboratory was very dry, completely different from the damp and chilly cave outside.

Clearly, Dr. Qiu Shiye had considered the ventilation issue, which relieved Night Ten's worry about a potential reactor fuel tank leak.

Helium itself has strong penetrative properties, demanding strict storage conditions.

Not to mention visible gaps, even seamless glass and ceramics might leak it.

Generally, such nuclear fuels are preserved in high-density alloy containers under low temperature conditions.

"It's a wonder that guy managed to hide the reactor so deep..." Jiang Xuezhou couldn't help but mutter softly.

The flashlight's beam searched through the laboratory corridor, and Night Ten casually replied.

"But thinking from another perspective, without this research facility, if that fuel tank were left out in the forest, we probably wouldn't need to go to such efforts to find it."

"Are you deliberately stirring trouble..."

"Of course not."

Already imagining that face red like a monkey's behind, Night Ten whistled mockingly and focused again on the underground research facility in front of him.

From the marks of artificial excavation, one could tell Dr. Qiu Shiye truly dedicated a lot of effort to this laboratory.

That was probably early in the Awakening Era, shortly after the Second Judgment Day, when he hadn't yet penned that poem on the Gemini's bridge.

Night Ten tried to put himself in Dr. Qiu's perspective.

The researcher's feelings at the time might have been akin to discovering his own "Tunnan," filled with joy, ambition, excitement, and madness.

This wasn't hard to imagine.

After all, not long ago, he, standing on the shoulders of the United Human, had just discovered a secret unknown to them—

an existence closer to Gaia's secret on this planet, known as the "Tree of Yenshof"!

And a pioneer whose history is far older than humans, perhaps glimpsing the "essence of the world"!

This laboratory should count as the beginning of his challenge to the Fourth Wall.

When he realized his insignificance and etched that poem on the wall, it was his life reaching its end.

"In the entrance locker of the lab are two radiation suits and an outdoor activity exoskeleton, presumably recovered from the Gemini."

Checking the buffer chamber structure at the lab's entrance, Night Ten then scanned the surroundings, and reported briefly on the communication channel.

"Various signs indicate Dr. Qiu Shiye lived here for about fifteen years. Counting his time living with the natives, he was roughly 60 years old at passing."

Living to 60 with zero medical conditions, Night Ten couldn't say if that was considered long-lived.

Urging voices came through the communication channel.

"Never mind all that, let's quickly find the reactor's fuel tank."

"Copy, I'm searching."

Night Ten replied, then continued exploring deeper into the laboratory along the narrow corridor.

It didn't take long, with the help of the drone operated by Jiang Xuezhou, to quickly locate the reactor core following the wiring structure inside the lab.

It was a cylindrical tank, roughly the thickness of four to five people embracing, densely wrapped in pipes, connected to electrical components dismantled from the construction.

Its abstract appearance almost stripped the fusion reactor of its dignity in Night Ten's mind.

However, this clearly wasn't the time to ponder over dignity or not.

As the flashlight illuminated the reactor, an excited voice was instantly heard through the communication channel.

"Found it! It's the thing plugged into the round tank!"

"You mean this?"

Looking along the faint blue beam projected by the drone, Night Ten found a protruding handle in the middle of the big round tank.

The handle connected to a metal disc the size of a basketball, embedded at the center of the reactor tank, seemingly a power component.

Night Ten reached out to grab the handle, attempting to pull it out from the reactor, discovering the entire power component's exterior was rusted to the reactor's structure.

"I'll help you!"

Simultaneously, the drone controlled by Jiang Xuezhou flew beside the reactor, two spring knife-like mechanical arms eagerly sprang out from the bottom of the machine.

"Buzz—"

A light blue plasma plume spewed from the end of the mechanical arm, heat slicing into the rusty gap, circled along the tank's connection with the power component.

Accompanied by a clear "snap," Night Ten felt the resistance in his hand suddenly decrease.

Amidst grating metallic friction sounds, he finally managed to extract the power component from the tank.

However, upon seeing the full view of the power component, Night Ten's excitement instantly sank.

A fist-sized hole stamped right in the middle of the gas tank!

The sturdy tank seemed to have been blasted by One Cannon, pierced through from the center!

No wonder it wouldn't come out!

"Oh great... it's leaking!?" Faced with such unacceptable reality, Night Ten swallowed hard.

Meanwhile, Xiao Jiang's despairing voice came through the communication channel.

"How could this happen... it was plugged into the reactor nicely, wasn't it? What could have possibly blasted it through?!"

That was their only hope of going home.

Without the fuel to open the hyperspace passage, they'd have to spend the rest of their lives in this world five light years away...

"Don't rush into despair, there might be spare fuel somewhere here... At least now I know what the gas tank looks like."

Gazing at the empty tank in his hand, Night Ten too felt panic-stricken, but still took a moment to comfort Jiang Xuezhou, then continued searching nearby.

Persistence pays off.

After searching through the experiment for a while, he actually found an identical gas tank beneath a folding bed!

"There's another one here!" Night Ten exclaimed in surprise, then forcefully flipped the folding bed over with both hands, pulling out the tank trapped underneath.

Who knows what was running through Dr. Qiu Shiye's mind, using such precious nuclear fuel as a stool to prop up a bed board.

Was he planning to awaken spiritual energy with this method?

But using Helium-3 as a radiation source might be too stable...

Seeing the tank in Night Ten's hand, a glimmer of hope reignited in Jiang Xuezhou's eyes sitting on the synchronous orbit's bridge.

He operated the drone to fly next to Night Ten; a pale blue scanning beam soon projected onto the tank from the emitter below the camera.

Restraining his fluctuating emotions, Jiang Xuezhou took a deep breath and said.

"Tank integrity... 100%."

"Fuel remaining..."

"0."

"Damn!" Hearing that final "0," Night Ten almost choked on his own saliva, still unwilling to give up, he asked, "Could it be a measurement error?"

Jiang Xuezhou: "Impossible... Liquid helium formed by Helium-3 is lighter than that formed by Helium-4. If you don't believe it, weigh it yourself."

Night Ten fell silent.

The main issue was that he couldn't calculate this stuff.

After a moment, a soft sigh came through the communication channel.

"...It's actually obvious, isn't it? If there were any fuel left, how could Dr. Qiu Shiye throw it under the bed board as if it's trash."

Compared to before, the voice coming from the communication channel sounded much calmer.

No sorrow is greater than a broken heart.

Although Jiang Xuezhou admitted, he was a bit excited when he initially saw the tank, but it proved to be just a baseless fantasy.

After pausing for a few seconds, Jiang Xuezhou suddenly adopted a relieved tone.

"Hmm, actually, when you consider it... Spending the rest of my life on this planet with you wouldn't be too bad."

"What silly things are you saying? We just agreed to go see the edge of the universe." Night Ten couldn't help but retort.

This guy suddenly started speaking with a finale-like tone.

He hadn't given up on treatment yet.

"Haha... Yeah, what a pity."

Night Ten could sense the voice carried a hint of loneliness.

It was clear that she was genuinely interested in the proposal he had put forward, not merely trying to humor him.

Thinking of this, Night Ten's lips curled into a slight smile.

"My intuition tells me our story hasn't ended here."

Jiang Xuezhou teased.

"Oh? Did spiritual energy tell you that?"

"Just take it as it is."

Night Ten smiled mysteriously and confidently cast his gaze around.

It had nothing to do with spiritual energy; it was merely a sharpened perception giving him a strong sense of incongruity, catching his attention.

The not so spacious laboratory was pitch black, with only the flashlight in his hand and the drone's light beside him as the sole sources of illumination.

However—

Even though it was dark here, in his mind, it was clear as day.

He had memorized everything he saw from the moment he entered the lab, organizing and dissecting each clue meticulously.

And those clues he had ignored also became clear at this moment.

"There are two triangular hangers by the locker at the door, corresponding to just two protective suits. Both suits are in the closet, indicating he didn't leave."

"..."

The communication channel fell silent, with only a static electric hum.

Clearly, Jiang Xuezhou didn't understand what he was saying, only after a while did she pick up the thread and say.

"...Are you saying he's still in the lab?"

Night Ten calmly analyzed, saying.

"The accurate statement should be, at the last moment in this world, Dr. Qiu Shiye spent it in the lab."

Jiang Xuezhou sighed and said.

"I think making such a deduction based solely on two protective suits being in the closet is somewhat far-fetched. What if he simply didn't wear a hazmat suit?"

The remains of the Gemini Crew indeed haven't been found, but that doesn't prove anything; he could potentially have died anywhere in the vast forest and valleys.

Moreover—

Even knowing where the guy died, does it even matter?

The critical thing is the nuclear fuel.

That's truly what they need.

Night Ten smiled faintly and continued.

"If he was going out, he would definitely wear it... As for why, just come to the ground and you'll understand why I'm saying this."

The local indigenous records about the Ancestors seem inseparable from "power armor."

Actually, when you think about it carefully, what those natives saw may not necessarily be "power armor". It could also be a combination of exoskeleton and protective suits.

However, there is one thing that is undeniable.

That is, all the "Ancestors" almost never show their true faces; they always wear clothes or armor that cover their entire body when going out.

As for the reason, it's actually quite simple...

"This forest is filled with various poisonous insects, didn't we see them when we first landed?"

Jiang Xuezhou was stunned.

"Ah... but isn't it hot wearing such thick protective clothing?"

Night Ten smiled faintly and said.

"The protective suits come with cooling and ventilation modules. Though a bit troublesome, it's better than being bitten or even killed by poisonous bugs."

The local natives might not be affected by the toxic insects, after all, they have been living and thriving here for so many years and might have gotten used to it.

But for the Gemini Crew from Earth, those poisonous bugs, even if not deadly, are pretty annoying.

"... But even if we know this clue, what good is it to us?" Jiang Xuezhou muttered softly.

Night Ten glanced around at the pitch darkness and continued speaking in a gentle tone.

"How could it be useless? This is clearly an incredible clue."

"We have solid evidence proving that Dr. Qiu Shiye spent his last moments in the lab, yet his body is nowhere to be found there."

"So here's the question..."

"Where did he go?"

The air was as silent as death.

After a long time, a gulping sound was heard on the communication channel.

"What you said... I feel a chill down my spine."

"Why are you feeling a chill in the sky?"

Night Ten grumbled irritably and walked over to the desk and whiteboard beside him.

On the whiteboard, there were scribbled and altered formulas, likely drafts written casually by Dr. Qiu Shiye.

He couldn't understand what those formulas meant, so he took a photo with his combat recorder, then turned his attention to the pile of papers on the table.

Having been washed by time, those papers had already turned yellow.

Nevertheless, Night Ten could still barely make out the notes remaining on the incomplete pages.

He completely immersed his attention in those incomplete lines of clues.

At this moment, the abilities given to him by spiritual energy once again created a miracle.

In the void where sight couldn't penetrate, Dr. Qiu Shiye seemed to come alive, standing next to him, picking up that dust-covered pen...

His face was filled with devotion.

Even though separated by a hundred years, Night Ten still clearly saw that face.

In a blink, he sat at the desk, meticulously writing in the experimental notes.

"They all say I'm crazy... but I think they're the ones who are truly insane. We've never been so close to the door leading to the Truth, someone even found it for us!"

"All we need to do is open the box that's already been opened once again... I've even found it, it's right beneath our feet!"

He muttered continuously.

Standing behind him, Night Ten, also muttered repeatedly.

Watching from the side, Jiang Xuezhou was completely bewildered.

Since she was operating the drone, she couldn't see what Night Ten saw.

The scene in her eyes was a completely different one; Night Ten standing in the drone camera seemed crazy, muttering to the few incomplete pieces of paper.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm reciting what he wrote in the notebook..."

Night Ten replied casually, then continued focusing all his attention on the experimental notes on the table, while the transcending time phantom in front of him continued writing tirelessly.

That was not a failure's mental state, more like a seeker who had reached the end of the maze.

Entirely different from what he imagined!

After discovering "It" and realizing he was merely a mural on the wall, Dr. Qiu Shiye didn't collapse, instead, he devoted himself even more passionately to the unfinished endeavor!

Even though he now realized, behind the Fourth wall was not as he imagined.

Even though he understood that even seeing the creator did not mean becoming the creator...

Night Ten abruptly thought of Dora, the temple maiden of the Doma Tribe.

And at that moment, he finally completely understood Dr. Qiu Shiye's mental state.

To hear the Truth and die in the evening is enough!

He ultimately walked out of the mural that trapped him, becoming the cloud in the sky!

"I did it! I found it! Hahaha..." The old man bowed at his desk suddenly laughed, then stood up energetically from the experimental desk.

He was as excited as a child, humming an out-of-tune tune, and reached the reactor beside the lab.

It was a reactor he pieced together using materials he dismantled from a starship, not merely a reactor.

Night Ten mimicked his actions, even copying his every smile and frown, even that out-of-tune tune.

As if he went mad, Night Ten returned to the reactor, fiercely inserted the energy-exhausted gas canister into the cylindrical metallic container.

"Ka—"

A slight noise came, and the air storage tank seamlessly merged with the haphazardly assembled reactor.

"What are you doing?" Watching Night Ten who seemed obsessed, Jiang Xuezhou asked nervously.

Night Ten didn't answer, instead, he operated the control panel on the side of the metal tank as if guided by an unseen hand.

Finally positioning the last button, he took a deep breath and removed the power armor, placing his feet on the cold rocky ground.

"We've all misunderstood... Dr. Qiu Shiye's research doesn't end here."

"What are you talking about? I'm getting more confused!" Jiang Xuezhou's puzzled voice came through the communication channel.

Night Ten knew well that her confusion was similar to what Dr. Qiu Shiye encountered during the early stages of his research — the confusion a normal person would have.

If she had awakened her spiritual energy, perhaps it wouldn't be so difficult for her to understand.

"...This reactor isn't just for supplying the lab's power; it's more than that."

"Then what is it?!" Jiang Xuezhou asked, puzzled.

Night Ten answered with a tone full of certainty.

"It's a miracle."

Jiang Xuezhou stared blankly at the screen.

"A m-miracle?"

Night Ten nodded.

"It's a... perforator, a miracle co-created by 'mortals' and 'Gods' through divine will. It can traverse the void, passing through the 'Window of Vision', or the 'Fourth wall'."

Jiang Xuezhou's mind went blank, she stood dazed in front of the holographic screen.

"Break... the Fourth wall?!"

Night Ten gently nodded, his face carrying a meaningful and complex expression.

"Its goodwill towards this world made it ultimately choose to carry him away, just like we took Dora. Whether that was truly what she wanted, we must always give her the choice... I believe, His echo left in this universe thought so too."

The information exchanged through spiritual energy requires mutual recognition from both parties.

And at this moment, he truly understood the words He left——

"You've succeeded before."

As he spoke, Night Ten removed the nuclear battery from the power armor, guiding the terrifying current it released with his fingertips.

The intense energy formed crackling arcs of electricity in the air, a blinding light unbearable to look at directly.

Though this energy was but a tiny fraction compared to what is needed to open a hyperspace passage, it's sufficient to drive this "miniature" perforator!

All he needed was a hair-sized hole; he had no intention of destroying this planet.

The restless static made all hair and sweat follicles on his body stand up.

The drone hovering nearby crashed uncontrollably to the ground, interspersed voices came through the communication channel.

"W-what are you doing?!"

Guiding the terrifying current back into the reactor, Night Ten spoke gently.

"I'm demonstrating it for you..."

"This perforator not only folds the mass and energy from this universe into another's light but also unfolds light from the other universe into energy or mass... like unraveling a folded paper airplane,"

He wasn't joking.

Under his guidance, the perforator built a century ago was successfully activated, drilling a small hole in the unbreakable Fourth wall, letting another universe's light shine through.

In another universe, it's just a tiny beam of light, so minuscule it can't be seen by the naked eye, too small to illuminate a speck of dust even.

However, once it fell into this universe, the dust-like light instantly turned into a giant, releasing enough terrifying energy to set the whole planet ablaze!

Fortunately, it fell into a suitable container that was calmly waiting there.

The "battery" lodged on the reactor, which should never be rechargeable, filled up in an instant...

The shining light gradually extinguished.

The drone that crashed to the floor floated back up, wavering as it flew in front of the reactor.

The pale blue scanning beam illuminated the metal shell of the air storage tank once more.

This time, Jiang Xuezhou was completely stunned.

"Helium-3... h-how was this done?!"

Helium-4 combined with protons from who knows where to become Helium-3 again...

How the hell is this possible?!

Her mind felt like it'd been struck, leaving her stunned, unable to utter a word.

The universe experienced entropy reduction, shifting from disorder to order, physics disappeared in front of her once more...

Perhaps having a spiritual energy-wielding diplomat isn't enough, they might need to drag a few physicists from Earth onto the ship.

Listening to the murmurs from the other side of the communication channel, Night Ten gently removed the charged storage tank from the "Window of Vision perforator".

"Anyway, we have the fuel to go home... and theoretically, an unlimited supply. The only risk is borrowing energy from another world might attract something stuck on the wall, so it's better to use it sparingly."

Exactly how Dr. Qiu Shiye completed this device still remained a mystery.

Even with His help, accomplishing such a feat is astonishing enough.

After a pause, Night Ten continued.

"As for how this is achieved... I guess this issue might take us a century to study."

——

(Thanks for the alliance rewards from "ice_Ω" and "|Bad Guy|"! There are currently two ideas for the new book: one cyberpunk, mechanical ascension, set in an enormous cyber Giant Stone City, focused on combat and prosthetics with "spiritual energy" as the golden finger. Another idea involves wearing into a Game world, a digitalized starry sky, inheriting parts of this book's official forum and settings. One will likely follow a plotline, while the other might focus on slice-of-life. A third idea is still under development...)

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