Chen Xiaolian felt that his brain was a bit inadequate.
He had thought that the control center of Zero City would be a very mysterious and heavily guarded place.
But now, as he stepped out of the elevator platform, he saw people everywhere, both in front and behind him. These folks were all Awakened, naturally, but at the moment, they were dressed differently, looking relaxed, with smiles on their faces. Some were holding smartphones or some strange equipment, taking photos, looking around, laughing...
This scene was just like any ordinary tourist attraction outside! The only difference was that the photography equipment in the hands of these Awakened individuals might be more advanced and futuristic.
It was a huge place, similar to a museum hall, with a massive silver screen in front of them! It was over a hundred meters wide!
All silver, and when someone reached out to touch it, Chen Xiaolian was surprised to find that when their fingertips touched the screen, it rippled faintly like flowing water.
"Liquid metal?" Chen Xiaolian murmured curiously, then turned to look at Bluesea.
But Bluesea shook his head, smiling bitterly. "I really don't know about this. In fact, we, as well as all the teams in Zero City, have tried to analyze this liquid substance, but we couldn't get any results. It seems like it's not any substance that should exist in this world."
"Hmm?"
"Well, in terms of the test results, it's similar to metal, but it has a kind of effect similar to neuronal discharge. You could say it's a peculiar thing. We even suspect that it might be some form of metallic life."
"Silicon-based life?" Chen Xiaolian offered.
Bluesea chuckled. "No, it's not. We couldn't determine what it is."
With that, he glanced at the surrounding "tourists" and lowered his voice a bit. "This thing is strange. We can cut off a piece for analysis and testing, and it even self-repairs. But it always stops growing after reaching a certain point, stabilizing at a certain level."
Bluesea pointed to the screen ahead. "Go ahead, try it. It'll feel weird."
Weird?
Chen Xiaolian hesitated for a moment but then walked up to the screen.
Because the screen was so huge and wide, despite the crowd, there were still plenty of empty spaces in front of it. After walking over, Chen Xiaolian gently raised his hand and touched the screen with his fingertips...
"!!!"
As his fingertips touched the screen, he felt a soft, cool sensation, just like dipping his fingers into cool water. And in that instant, Chen Xiaolian suddenly had a sensation of his whole body tingling!
The sensation of every hair on his body standing on end—a refreshing feeling. Moreover, when his fingertips made contact, it was as if, all of a sudden, there was a peculiar connection transmitted through them.
How to describe that feeling...
It was as if through the touch of his fingertips, his body... expanded, stretched! It was as if his sensory perception, his awareness, suddenly extended far, far away!
That strange sensation, subtle yet extremely eerie!
Startled, Chen Xiaolian immediately withdrew his hand and turned to look at Bluesea.
Bluesea, however, spoke slowly, "Every person who comes into contact with it automatically connects with the control center of Zero City... The control center of Zero City seems to be a living entity. Through this 'direct contact,' it's like you're linking up with the control center of Zero City. It can sense your presence, your breath, your heartbeat. It can sense everything, and then, it's like a brief connection."
Listening to Bluesea's words, Chen Xiaolian felt a bit eerie...
Because his own feeling just now seemed far more than what Bluesea described!
It wasn't just a connection, it was... integration!
Taking a deep breath, Chen Xiaolian reached out his hand again, his fingertips poking into the screen.
This time, that icy, soft sensation came rushing back. Chen Xiaolian forcibly restrained the expression on his face, closing his eyes.
"You can call out to Zero City, and it will respond to you, in that subtle way, like... a baby in the womb can hear its mother's heartbeat. But... there's no more than that. That subtle feeling can be quite marvelous," Bluesea explained casually.
Chen Xiaolian remained calm...
At the moment his fingertips made contact, he seemed to sense a certain rhythm, a pulsation similar to a heartbeat, and he couldn't tell if it was his own or someone else's.
But soon...
Thump, thump...
Thump, thump, thump...
Thump, thump, thump, thump...
The sound of these pulsations grew more numerous, more varied, almost flooding into Chen Xiaolian's consciousness all at once!
At first, Chen Xiaolian was stunned, but then he immediately realized!
This was... the sound of heartbeats!!
Not his own, nor that of any single person, but...
Everyone's!!
Standing in front of the screen, every Awakened person in direct contact with the screen, their heartbeats were all sensed by Chen Xiaolian's consciousness at once!!
At least the heartbeats of hundreds of people, with different frequencies and pulse rates, all surged into Chen Xiaolian's consciousness at once. He trembled suddenly, forcibly restraining himself and taking deep breaths.
This... this was definitely not some "subtle" sensation!!
So clear! So intense!!
Chen Xiaolian withdrew his hand and turned back to look at Bluesea. "You mean, a subtle sensation?"
"Yeah," Bluesea smiled, seemingly unaware of Chen Xiaolian's unease. "You should have felt it, right? It's like your thoughts are getting some kind of response, a very subtle feeling."
Chen Xiaolian forced a smile.
"Alright, now that you've experienced it, let's leave this place," Bluesea glanced around. "It seems like more and more people are coming. During the first two days of Zero City's open days, there are always a lot of people here. Let's find a quieter place."
Chen Xiaolian glanced at the screen once more and nodded.
As they walked back, Chen Xiaolian couldn't help but ask, "Is it really okay for so many people to visit here freely and directly touch Zero City's control center? Won't there be any security risks?"
"The system of Zero City is far more miraculous than you can imagine," Bluesea chuckled, but then his expression suddenly turned serious. "As for the security issue you mentioned, let me tell you this: in order to study Zero City's control system, resident teams and past Elders Councils have devoted considerable effort to this matter. However, even with the most advanced methods and equipment, we couldn't damage Zero City's control system. You know, at one point, during a very risky decision by a certain Elders Council, they attempted to use powerful weapons for testing... Of course, not to directly attack Zero City's control center, but to use equipment to cut off a small portion of what you saw on that screen, then place it in a specially sealed space and use the most powerful weapons they could find to bombard it. But do you know what happened?"
"The material cut off remained unscathed?"
"No, it's not just that," Bluesea's expression became strange, then he sighed. "The material cut off was about the size of a cubic meter. The people conducting the test, in that sealed space, directly detonated a nuclear bomb. And then... at the moment of the nuclear explosion, there was a sudden change in the energy field, and... the energy from the explosion was suddenly absorbed."
"Absorbed?"
"Yes," Bluesea said very seriously. "At the moment of the explosion, a peculiar force field appeared, instantly drawing away all the energy released by the explosion! That nuclear bomb was like a tiny flame that hadn't even flickered before it extinguished itself.
Later, personnel who entered that sealed space found that the nuclear explosion left no traces of energy, and even radiation tests showed normal values!"
Chen Xiaolian remained silent.
"Even [S] class experts have personally attempted similar experiments and found that any known powers, skills, or energies we possess cannot inflict any harm upon it. It's immune to any form of harm we can conceive of, whether it's physical immunity, mental immunity, everything!"
Chen Xiaolian glanced at Bluesea and suddenly said, "So you're confident enough to allow everyone to freely visit Zero City's control center? I imagine the situation isn't as simple as it seems."
"Well..."
"I guess you publicly opened Zero City's control center to see if, since you couldn't decipher it yourselves, maybe someone from the outside could, even though the likelihood is very low. But it's worth a try, right?"
"Perhaps that's the case. Anyway, opening this place for public visits was a decision made by an Elders Council from a long time ago, and subsequent Elders Councils haven't overturned that decision. As for whether it's what you're thinking, I think it's possible."
With that, Bluesea smiled and said, "What you see on this screen is only a part of Zero City's control, a fraction of what's displayed. The real Zero City control is a very massive entity."
...
"System Self-Check: Anomaly module detected. Search results... Matching initial creator template. Begin identification, mobilize all available computing power for search... Countdown initiated... Estimated time, 7 hours 24 minutes 55 seconds."
...
In a certain Elders Council workroom, where personnel monitored the control system, there were members from both the Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild and the Angel Corps.
Two individuals dressed in Angel Corps uniforms stared at a metallic sphere in front of them, about the height of a person. They were watching when suddenly, it seemed like the image on the sphere flickered ever so slightly.
It was as if... the picture skipped a frame.
This anomaly caught them off guard, and they exchanged a glance.
"Did you see that?"
"Yeah, did you see it too? I thought it was just my imagination."
"This... it's unprecedented. Should we report it?"
One of them immediately turned around. Behind them, on a massive workstation, several members of the Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild were monitoring various areas of Zero City using virtual projection workstations.
"Did you notice any anomalies?"
"No... ah, there's a gathering at Love Sea, and there's a conflict at the bar. Send the patrol sentinels to check it out."
"Anything else?"
"No, nothing else."
The Angel Corps member fell silent for a moment, pondering. Then, he stepped out of the room and pressed the earpiece hanging on his ear. "Reporting a situation, need to inform Lord War Angel."
A few seconds later, a voice came through the earpiece. "Incident level?"
The Angel Corps member hesitated, glancing back at the room where everything seemed normal, including the giant metallic sphere.
After a moment's thought, he replied, "[B] class."
A clear voice came through the earpiece, "The message has been relayed to Lord War Angel's assistant. The Lord is currently preparing for the next legion exercise. Please submit a report, and if necessary, the Lord can summon you in 24 hours."
Several minutes later, the Angel Corps member returned to the room and stood beside the metallic sphere, looking at his companion.
"How is it? Did you find..."
"No," his companion replied, also puzzled. "Everything seems normal. Just now... it couldn't have been our imagination, could it?"
"...I don't know. Anyway, I reported it," he said, uncertain.