novelraw Chapter 552: Probing (2)
Chapter 552: Probing (2)
Chapter 552: Probing (2)
The interior of the Information Plane was entirely a sea of light.
Here, space seemed to have lost its three-dimensional meaning, replaced instead by an endless flow of flickering, pulsating light.
Ten days passed in a flash.
Jie Ming sat inside the laboratory shaped by Alchemy Technique, staring at the ten light screens before him with tightly furrowed brows.
The black giant priests moved rapidly through the sea of light within the Information Plane.
No matter how they advanced, the surroundings remained a pure white void—without direction, without boundaries, and without any living creatures.
“Where are the natives?”
Jie Ming frowned.
Logically speaking, the earlier probing by the wizard legion had not been small in scale, and they had made no effort to conceal their presence. Even a relatively primitive civilization, upon encountering such commotion, should at least send someone to investigate what was happening.
Yet more than ten days had passed, and the black giant priests had practically turned the surrounding area upside down without spotting even a shadow.
It was as if the previous probing had not drawn the slightest attention from the other side.
Jie Ming picked up a cup of tea synthesized through Alchemy Technique, took a sip, and continued staring at the light screens.
Finally, on the thirteenth day, a change occurred.
In the footage, a blurry cluster of light and shadow appeared in the distance.
Jie Ming instantly sat up straight, casually tossing the teacup aside.
“Approach it.”
He issued the command through the Fate Subsystem.
The ten black giant priests simultaneously adjusted their direction and slowly moved toward the cluster of light and shadow.
As the distance closed, the image grew clearer.
It was indeed a native.
Its form was extremely abstract—like a mass of condensed light with no fixed outline. Fine strands of light continuously drifted outward from its edges before being drawn back into its body.
Overall, it was semi-transparent milky white, occasionally flashing with faint golden light.
It had no facial features, no limbs, and not even a clear “front” or “back.”
It simply floated motionless in the sea of light, as if sleeping, or as if waiting for something.
Jie Ming narrowed his eyes as he looked at the native’s image on the light screen.
From its appearance, this thing matched the light creatures described in the intelligence perfectly.
But seeing it with his own eyes allowed him to truly feel its eeriness…
Because this thing did not feel like a living being at all. It was neither “alive” nor “dead.”
It simply felt as if it merely “existed” there.
“Probe it.”
Jie Ming ordered.
The ten black giant priests accelerated at the same time, roaring as they charged toward the native.
Black liquid metal surged across their bodies, time acceleration fields fully activated. In the blink of an eye, they crossed hundreds of kilometers.
Faced with such massive movement, the native finally stirred.
But it did not release any attack, nor did it raise any shield.
It simply remained in place as the light on its surface rippled slightly.
Like ripples spreading across water.
Then…
All ten light screens in front of Jie Ming simultaneously went dark.
Jie Ming’s pupils contracted sharply.
“What happened?!”
He shot to his feet, hands braced on the experimental bench, staring fixedly at the pitch-black screens.
The Fate Subsystem’s connection had been severed, indicating that the life signatures of all ten black giant priests had completely vanished.
In an instant.
They had not even been given a chance to resist.
Jie Ming took a deep breath and quickly calmed himself.
He closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into the Fate Subsystem, beginning to trace back what the ten black giant priests had experienced moments ago.
The Fate Subsystem’s information channels were not merely tools for auxiliary data processing; they also automatically recorded all information that passed through them. In the terms of the cultivation world, it could display the past and present lives of all beings under his command.
Therefore, Jie Ming was now searching for the information records from the moment those ten black giant priests died.
Soon, a stream of data emerged in Jie Ming’s mind, allowing him to “see” everything that had just occurred.
In the black giants’ field of view, the native had merely caused the light on its surface to ripple slightly, seemingly without any other movement.
However, according to the Fate Subsystem’s records, at the exact same moment, an extremely subtle information stream had instantly surged into the cores of the ten black giant priests. That information stream had precisely locked onto the energy balance equations deep within each priest’s soul core.
To fuse the innate abilities of lava giants and snow monsters, Jie Ming had designed an extremely intricate core structure for the black giants, multiple elemental energies checking and balancing one another, transforming and forming a dynamic equilibrium system.
What that information stream did was modify several key parameters within the balance equations.
Once the equilibrium was broken, the energy reflux would instantly go out of control.
It was like gently shifting a weight on a precision scale.
Then…
All ten scales overturned at once.
Energy reflux, core collapse, self-explosion.
There had been no external force attack. It was pure “suicide.”
After reviewing the record, Jie Ming could not help but furrow his brows tightly.
“Directly reading core information… and then modifying it…”
He muttered to himself, his expression turning extremely grim.
What did this mean?
It meant that any construct built upon rune arrangements and energy formulas was completely transparent in front of these natives.
They could directly “see” the core structure, find the most vulnerable point, and with a light touch, cause the entire system to self-destruct.
“What about my Trigram Fire Annihilation Divine Light?”
“What about the Return to Ruins Armor?”
Several thoughts flashed through Jie Ming’s mind.
Although those spells had been modified, their underlying logic was still based on the arrangement and combination of elemental energies. If the opponent could truly see through everything…
“No, the previous intelligence showed that several wizards had successfully killed enemies with spells. Not all artificial constructs are cracked.” Jie Ming quickly found the key point. “So my earlier guess is most likely correct. This race’s counterattack level against attacks also depends on the information complexity contained within the attack.”
“However, we cannot be careless. From the speed at which the black giant priests collapsed, if an artificial construct merely possesses a large information volume and complex structure but has relatively obvious internal flaws, it can still be easily destroyed.”
Just as Jie Ming was analyzing, a strong sense of crisis suddenly descended.
Jie Ming’s hair stood on end.
He sensed that something was invading in reverse along the signal channel of the Fate Subsystem!
That native!
While reading the black giant priests’ core information, it had captured the observation signal frequency bands remaining on the priests, as well as the information channel connecting to Jie Ming’s main body.
Now, it was following that channel and crossing space directly to strike!
Jie Ming had no time to think further. A dazzling golden light instantly bloomed at his glabella.
The Fate Subsystem operated at full power.
In the next instant, two streams of information collided in the void.
Jie Ming felt as if he had been plunged into an ocean of data, countless information fragments madly devouring everything around him.
The information stream sent by the native carried a strange “activity,” attempting to parse his core and find his weaknesses.
But the Fate Subsystem was no pushover.
As a subsystem born specifically for information processing within the Incense Fire Divine Dao, it now displayed terrifying computational power.
Jie Ming only felt as if countless hands had appeared in his mind, each processing the invading information at an inconceivable speed—decomposing, reorganizing, suppressing, and counterattacking.
When Jie Ming came back to his senses, he discovered that he had firmly suppressed the opponent’s information stream.
He could even faintly perceive the location of that native by following the channel.
“Got you…”
A cold light flashed in Jie Ming’s eyes as he prepared to launch a counterattack.
However, the instant he was about to act, that information stream suddenly severed.
The other party had actively cut off the connection.
Jie Ming was momentarily stunned, then clicked his tongue in displeasure, his face full of dissatisfaction.
“Ran away the moment it sensed the situation was unfavorable?”
He stared at the still pitch-black light screens, as if looking directly at that native.
“I’ll learn this move sooner or later.”
Jie Ming muttered through gritted teeth.
“Then I’ll let you taste what it feels like to be hacked into as well!”
Before his words even faded…
A piercing alarm suddenly rang out across the entire ship plane.
The sound possessed extreme penetrative power, as if exploding directly within the depths of everyone’s minds.
The walls of the laboratory where Jie Ming sat trembled, and the table and chairs shaped by Alchemy Technique emitted faint cracking sounds.
Jie Ming abruptly turned his head to look out the window.