novelraw Chapter 437: Plague
Chapter 437: Plague
Xiao Yu’s exploration did not stop. After confirming that these statues were the corpses of silicon-based lifeforms, the robots, under his control began to move forward.
“These silicon-based lifeforms seem to have died in great agony.” Xiao Yu thought silently, his gaze once more resting upon the corpses of the silicon-based beings within the grand hall.
The silicon-based lifeforms resembled enlarged versions of cats, except that their bodies were not covered in fur but with countless sharp spikes, like icicles. Xiao Yu did not know what function these spikes served, nor did he know the living habits of these silicon-based creatures. He only knew that when they had been alive, they were powerful.
“And now, they are all dead. But what connection is there between their deaths and that strange neutron star?” These questions left Xiao Yu deeply perplexed.
The grand hall was vast, with many broad corridors surrounding it. Of course, endless ages had left these corridors in ruin. Dark and shadowy, they looked like the gaping maws of monstrous beasts, waiting to devour intruders. There was no atmosphere on this planet, no air currents at all, yet the corridors were still piled thick with dust. Xiao Yu knew that this dust had accumulated over hundreds of millions of years.
He also knew that during this endless span of time, he was the first to set foot here.
From this, Xiao Yu sensed that something was wrong.
In orbit around the planet, he had discovered countless ships and countless corpses of intelligent beings. These beings had undoubtedly come here to explore. But why had none of them set foot here?
This place was only a short distance from planetary orbit. If they could reach orbit, there was no reason they could not have come to this hall, or down this corridor. A hypothesis began to take shape in Xiao Yu’s mind.
It was simple, those intelligent beings aboard the ruined ships had never had the time to reach here. In other words, it was possible that the moment they entered this strange binary star system, they had already died. Their ships had lost control, been captured by the gravity of this planet, and remained fixed here, circling again and again, for eons upon eons.It was a terrifying thought, because from this hypothesis another could be drawn. One must remember, this binary star system did not contain only these two planets. The other two bodies, whether the neutron star or the white dwarf, each possessed gravity tens of millions of times greater than this planet.
And what did that mean? It meant that out of a thousand ships entering this binary star system and losing control, it would already be remarkable if a single one were captured by this planet. Which further meant that the many ships Xiao Yu had discovered were merely a fraction of those buried within this bizarre system. Tens of thousands of times more had been dragged in by the gravity of the white dwarf or the neutron star, ultimately assimilated into their matter.
The numbers were chilling. This implied that in the past, at least hundreds of millions of ships had arrived here. And the outcome? All dead. Every single one destroyed.
Among those hundreds of millions of ships were creations of Level 4 civilizations, Level 5 civilizations, even Level 6 civilizations. Yet they had all perished. Not a single one had survived.
“Then why am I still alive?”
This was the question that troubled Xiao Yu most. The ships that came here had undoubtedly come to explore. To explain why they had managed to reach planetary orbit yet never arrived at this grand hall, the only reasonable answer was that they had already died long before. So many ships had perished, yet why not him?
“Perhaps… this is the very reason why the Guardian Civilization drove me here.” Xiao Yu thought quietly. “Perhaps they intend to use my hand to extract something from this place.”
Xiao Yu voiced his speculation, but was immediately refuted by Luka Two, “There’s one thing I don’t understand. Suppose this is some kind of testing ground for a powerful silicon-based civilization, one that is hostile to all carbon-based life, such that any carbon-based life entering a certain range would instantly die. Then, would remotely controlled mechanical equipment also fall within their killing range? Why can’t we simply keep lifeforms stationed outside the star system and send machines in to explore?”
Xiao Yu paused for a moment, then quickly replied, “My guess is that this binary star system is equipped with some kind of signal-blocking device. Signals from outside cannot be received by equipment within the shield. You know, even at our current stage, we have already observed in laboratories the phenomenon of interference with tachyon communication. There’s no reason to think a silicon-based civilization hadn’t mastered this. So remote-controlled mechanical exploration would not be possible.”
“Alright, for now that’s the only explanation… but we still can’t confirm it.” Luka Two said.
“Yes, there’s no way to confirm it. But… aren’t we also carbon-based lifeforms? Why haven’t we died? Why are we still alive?” Xiao Yu asked in confusion.
“No, Master, you’re wrong.” Luka Four shook his head and replied. “We are carbon-based life, but you are not. You are no longer carbon-based. Strictly speaking, you are now a silicon-based lifeform. Because the computer chips upon which your existence depends, at their core, they are still made of silicon.”
“Because of my existence, you are safe? Does that mean… the killing mechanisms here are capable of automatic detection? Detect silicon-based life, don’t attack. Detect carbon-based life, kill indiscriminately?” Xiao Yu murmured, “But you are all carbon-based life.”
“Who knows.” Luka Four said helplessly. “Until the final answer is revealed, no one can be sure.”
Xiao Yu once again fell into silence. The robots on the planet’s surface, under his control, continued moving forward.
What appeared before Xiao Yu was one strange scene after another. Along the robots’ path, Xiao Yu saw a massive device resembling a computer, structures that looked like factories, and buildings that seemed like biological rest areas…
Xiao Yu detected traces left by exposure to scorching heat. These traces showed that the structures here had endured continuous temperatures of at least 400 degrees Celsius for a very long period.
“Perhaps some of our assumptions about the survival conditions of silicon-based life are correct.” Xiao Yu thought. “The optimal temperature range for them is between 300 and 400 degrees Celsius. Hm, there are also traces of sulfur corrosion here. It seems they truly did breathe an atmosphere containing sulfur.”
Xiao Yu thought of Venus. Venus had an ecological environment like this. If these silicon-based lifeforms were still alive, perhaps Venus would have been paradise for them.
The exploration continued, and the size of the base exceeded Xiao Yu’s expectations. By now, a full day had passed, and tens of thousands of robots had entered the base.
“Master, there is bad news.” At that moment, Luka Four stood up and addressed Xiao Yu. “I have ordered all hospitals aboard the more than seventy Home-class ships to monitor every citizen seeking treatment. We have now discovered one suspected case of illness caused by environmental factors here.”
“Oh? Let me see.” Xiao Yu’s heart tightened at the news. He immediately pulled up all relevant medical records and located the patient’s file to examine in detail.
The situation was grim. The data showed that the patient had been affected by some unknown factor. In the gene sequence, the amino acids connected by carbon bonds had suffered severe deformation, and the carbon seemed to be losing its vitality. Put simply, the organic matter in the patient’s body was gradually being transformed into inorganic matter.
This symptom was identical to those Xiao Yu had observed in the corpses aboard the ruined ships.
A heavy shadow fell over everyone’s hearts. Xiao Yu did not know where the threat originated, what principle it relied on, or how to defend against it. He only knew that he had not escaped after all. The threat had found him, and was beginning to affect the intelligent beings under his command.
“Master, a second suspected case has been reported. Home 59, City 103, Hospital 079 has reported the second case. Not good, the cases are showing an outbreak trend. In the past thirty seconds, seven cases have been discovered… oh, now it’s up to twenty eight…”
Xiao Yu’s expression darkened steadily.
“What we know now is that, for some unknown reason, our Divine Ark Civilization has delayed the onset of this disease, allowing us to survive until now before it struck. But in the end, we did not escape it. Therefore… we must proceed as follows. Luka Four, you will lead the scientific teams in researching how to counteract or delay this disease. If necessary, test whether deep freezing can suppress its onset. If it works, I will devote all efforts to manufacturing cryogenic equipment and place our billions of people into stasis. For now, I am seventy percent certain that this disease does not affect me. If that is the case, then I alone will face the crisis before us.”