Chapter 940: Chapter 940: When Dealing With Advanced Technology, Sometimes a Big Hammer Works—At Least in Theory
The completely out-of-control Ghost Energy Well is supplying an excess of energy to all the crystallized pipelines within the wreckage. Simply relying on the energy discharge pathways of the deep-diving ship itself is already insufficient to resolve the issue of such an abundance of excess energy. Even though a large number of Energy Raiders are working intensely outside, the fragile structure of the wreckage limits the power of the Energy Raiders that can be used under such circumstances. No matter how accurately Taville assesses or how knowledgeable she is, in such a complex and sudden environment, she has no choice but to give up many things to preserve the database of the wreckage as much as possible, such as abandoning all previous experiment cabin sections. But even doing so only bought us two hours, and the situation in the core area of the wreckage hasn’t improved at all.
After entering through the maintenance passage and moving in a straight line for ten minutes, we reached the transition area connecting the maintenance passage and the corridor inside the warship. This is a very spacious alloy hall, over a hundred meters high, and several hundred meters wide on average, wide enough for small spaceships to pass through. The transition area divides into three pathways: one leading back to where we came from, another extending deeper into the ship, leading directly to the database cabin section, and a third with dim lights, twisted and eerie, with thick smoke and fire gushing from deep within the passage. It connects to the completely sealed Inner Ring’s Energy Plug, which is the primary culprit for this emergency incident. It is the last Energy Plug in the wreck that couldn’t be successfully removed. If it hadn’t suddenly jammed, the Ghost Energy Well management program of the deep-diving ship wouldn’t have judged that the experimental cabin needed supplementary energy.
But now, that Energy Plug has been completely sealed off by the rampaging Ghost Energy Storm. Neither rescue team members nor even Pandora or Visca would dare to approach such an environment: what does a berserk Ghost Energy Well mean? Even its smallest model generates output comparable to that of a dozen Ghost Energy Reactors combined. The experimental cabin of this research ship has an exceptionally high-efficiency Ghost Energy Well equipped to advance in the Abyss, to be honest, the environment around it in such circumstances is not much better than being bombarded by a fleet’s focused fire.
But Sandora and I might be the only two people now who can approach the Energy Plug: I am nearly immune to pure energy attacks, and Sandora has a great meat shield.
"How many people are still in this ring?" Sandora, noticing me studying the route map to the Energy Plug, had already guessed intuitively what I intended to do and didn’t offer further suggestions, merely asking the staff at the "Safe Station".
"The Inner Ring consists of fourteen key nodes, each with one or two such workstations. Altogether, there are twenty-two stations, with a total of one hundred and thirty-six researchers holding their ground."
"Alright, hang on a little longer, we’ll go take out the Energy Plug!" I finally confirmed the route to the Energy Plug, loudly stating in an indisputable tone.
"It’s very dangerous!" the scientist exclaimed in shock, "The Energy Plug is the focal point of rampaging Ghost Energy; it’s too risky!"
"It’s certainly more reliable than leaving it to you to handle safely—Sandora and I can approach the Energy Plug unscathed; can your Safe Platform hold on longer than Emperor-level Apostles?"
"The Taville Chief has informed us of the plan of the two Majesties; if you remove the Energy Plug midway, I’m afraid we won’t have enough time. Now, with our suppression here, the two Majesties can proceed to the core with peace of mind. As for unexpected situations, they have already been considered; if the Safe Station collapses early, we will immediately upload our souls; death is common for us."
I was left a bit speechless, "Working with Taville, that madwoman, all day, have you gotten used to being blown up by her... Alright, alright, don’t say any more; the plan has changed. I know the Empire’s rule in the scientific field is that even the Emperor must listen to the scientists, but the research projects here are over, Sandora and I are commanding the battle; you’d better prepare to retreat—oh right, I forgot to ask, is removing the Energy Plug effective?"
I said the latter half to Sandora. Although I seemed quite confident in what I said earlier, I suddenly realized that perhaps I didn’t even know what that Energy Plug was for.
"You really are..." Sandora rolled her eyes at me without showing any emotion, "The Energy Plug is used to regulate and distribute energy within large Ghost Energy Networks, but now that Energy Plug has become the source of the bug. Because of its existence, the Ghost Energy Well got the wrong impression that there was a massive leak in the energy network, continuously outputting energy outside. If we can indeed remove the Energy Plug, it would send a signal to the Ghost Energy Well’s system that ’the energy network is offline’, and without doubt, the latter will shut down."
"Then will the wreck be saved?" I exclaimed with joy. If the Ghost Energy Well calms down, won’t that mean that this segment of the deep-diving ship doesn’t need to be blown up?
"Unfortunately, there’s already too much excess energy in this half of the deep-diving ship’s energy network. The Ghost Energy Well shutting down can only stop the pressure increase on the core area, giving these workstations a chance to evacuate. But the energy already accumulated in the network can’t be released. Moreover, once the Energy Plug is removed, the inner and outer ring energies will be isolated, further compressing the effect of outside Energy Raiders, making the wreck even less likely to be saved—of course, we never intended to save it in the first place, so it isn’t considered a loss.
"Alright, let’s go to the Energy Plug." I immediately made a decision, originally expecting Sandora to remind me a bit from the perspective of the priorities and decisive action the leader should have, but unexpectedly, she nodded without hesitation, grabbed my hand, and rushed towards the third dark and twisted corridor on the other side.
The environment on the road to the Energy Plug was worse than the maintenance passage earlier, with small-scale explosions and scattering energy sparks everywhere. The smoke obscured my vision, forcing me to use spiritual power to sense the environment ahead. In a surrounding filled with Ghost Energy interference, this wasn’t an easy task. I felt as if there were mosaics over my eyes—the coverage was quite thick.
This passage—actually, it can’t really be called a passage anymore—merely pointed in a direction towards the last Energy Plug. The severe twists in the passage itself and the large amount of twisted metal blocking the route hindered our advance. Sandora and I could hardly find a normal passage, and Sandora had to transform, using the Abyss Giant Claw to carve out a path. The metal obstacles and fallen alloy guard plates along the way were torn to pieces by her as if they were paper, a level of work efficiency I’d only seen in demolition teams before.
"You seem to support my rather whimsical plan quite a bit?"
As I shielded against the sufficient Ghost Energy Lightning, comparable to artillery fire, along the way, I loudly asked amidst continuous explosions.
"Are you talking about suddenly changing course to dismantle the Energy Plug personally? Or personally assisting those Low-level Technicians?" Sandora, without turning her head, casually waved a grey-white shockwave, smashing a metal support beam collapsing from above into powder.
"Both, it seems slightly petty no matter how you think of it, doesn’t it?"
"That’s correct. As a leader, changing the plan like this reduces the overall success rate of the operation and consumes a lot of effort. But as Ah Jun, you would definitely make this decision; you’re used to handling everything yourself—and I’m used to your habits. Besides, Taville’s previous plan wasn’t wrong; she just isn’t you or me. Facing the same scene, her judgment might be limited to her perspective, so I think Ah Jun’s plan remains quite feasible. With our strength, if we act at full speed, there’s enough time to remove the Energy Plug and then go to the core area."
Hearing this, I felt slightly relieved; in fact, I knew that changing the action plan like this was a rash move, but how to say, letting those Low-level Technicians manually suppress the core pipeline is ultimately treating the symptoms, not the root cause. I believed that with Sandora and me together, we should be able to take care of an Energy Plug.
"We should be there," Sandora suddenly stopped, loudly saying, then pulled me away from the alloy wall in front of us, "Don’t rush so fast."
"Damn it, the code is too thick." I rubbed my forehead in embarrassment, surrounded by rolling smoke, my path sensing by spiritual power hindered by the energy environment. I didn’t have Sandora’s extraordinary vision with over a hundred built-in radars, not paying attention made me crash into a wall.
I should have known to use Void Form to travel faster; although it looks unsightly, at least I could have crashed directly through walls blocking my path...
"It seems the wreckage’s control system shut the gate itself, right across is where the energy plug is stored," Sandora said, looking at the massive alloy barrier in front of her. It had already been warped and deformed by the nearby energy shocks, and the activation device was certainly not working, "Looks like we’ll have to dig a hole."
"Your claws have quite a few functions." I glanced at Sandora’s Abyssal Claw and, on a whim, blurted out a comment.
Sandora scraped her claw against the metal wall beside her, "Ah Jun, watch your mouth."
Despite her words, Sandora no longer felt any psychological resistance to her Abyss Form and even found it amusing. This might be because my Void Form is even more unsightly, giving her a confidence boost. We then tackled the gate in front of us. Since the Recharge Armor had failed, the once-indestructible alloy gate had become ordinary metal. The only tough part was that it was originally designed to protect the energy hub, giving it a high resistance to ghost energy. The surrounding rampant ghost energy hadn’t reduced the door’s physical strength, preventing us from dealing with it as swiftly as before. Sandora began cutting the door with overwhelming force, sparks flying all around. I focused on maintaining the Shield while diverting the nearby energy to prevent explosions. After a while, Sandora let out a breath, "Got it. It’s over two meters thick and mixed with Star Gold Stone. Really sturdy."
There was already a hole about two meters wide and deep in the gate, with no metal fragments on the ground: Sandora might have tossed them into her mouth to eat.
What incredible teeth! Even Star Gold Stone can be bitten through! If it weren’t for the range limitations, Sandora’s most powerful weapon might just be her Little Tiger Teeth.
Sandora and I immediately crawled through the opening to enter the energy hub. The place for the energy plug was a cylindrical closed space, with a radius of about twenty to thirty meters. There were no operational platforms inside, indicating that generally, no personnel would come here. Beneath our feet were countless interwoven pipes, dazzlingly complex like the floor of a nest. Many parallel crystallized pipelines lined the curved wall beside us, emitting a faint blue glow. In front of us was a metal cylinder suspended mid-air by numerous mechanical devices, composed of metal and crystal. The cylinder’s radius was nearly ten meters, its height twenty to thirty meters, looking as strange as a bizarre skyscraper, covered with flickering blue light windows.
Below this cylinder was a slightly larger hole radiating blue and white light. The interwoven pipes on the room’s floor converged at a crystallization ring around this hole. It was evident that the giant cylinder several meters off the ground and the glowing hole beneath it collectively formed the so-called energy valve, and the energy plug was the cylindrical object.
...This thing is much larger than I imagined, a giant cylinder big enough to solve the housing problem for two hundred people. Are you really just a valve handle?
"It’s completely out of control now. The crystallized pipelines near the restraint device above have been pierced, and some parts have fused together, causing the surrounding β barrier to break in many places." Sandora looked up at the ceiling of this closed space. I saw that above the energy plug, where all the crystallized pipelines gathered, massive ghost energy lightning was bursting out in all directions. The "buzzing" sound of energy shooting filled the space, and the energy plug, fixed in mid-air by mechanical devices, was crackling with small energy discharge phenomena. Bright arcs of ghost energy were darting along every pipeline. Due to the energy’s instability, many small light balls with a crystalline texture spontaneously appeared in the air. When these small light balls floated to the giant cylinder, they triggered small-scale explosions each time, making hearts jump: The energy reaction within them equates almost to the chamber of the Galaxy Main Gun! If this thing breaks, even if the two of us standing nearby don’t die, we’ll certainly shed a layer of skin!
"We can only follow protocol to safely lower this thing," Sandora walked forward, "We can’t directly destroy the energy plug. If its crystal barrier gets damaged, it might explode."
In this gigantic "component" (indeed, including the cylindrical closed space we’re in, we’re in an energy valve, and the energy plug is merely a control component of the valve), Sandora and I felt tremendous pressure. The energy concentration around us was astounding, and the energy inside the plug contained nearly enough ghost energy for a Galaxy Main Gun shot. If ordinary Imperial Soldiers came here, they’d likely overload and self-destruct within seconds. My Talent Ability was the only reason I remained unscathed, yet the dense ghost energy waves around still exerted tremendous psychological pressure. No wonder Taville once thought the deep-diving ship was beyond saving: Besides the Leader-level Angel Envoys, who else could venture here for exploration?
The sharp alarms blaring in the space due to the energy leak grated on our nerves. Sandora frowned and casually sent a shockwave upwards, abruptly halting the alarm. She then approached the pit below the energy plug and began dismantling the crystallization ring with her Abyss Giant Claw.
I didn’t understand much about these things, so all I could do was redirect the ghost energy leaking from the energy plug while observing Sandora’s actions.
She removed a section of the approximately one-meter-wide crystallization ring, revealing a square-foot-sized opening filled with a complex crystalline structure. Without a glance, Sandora smashed this beautiful yet deadly crystal into pieces with a few punches, exposing a metal protrusion beneath. She fumbled around this metal bulge for a moment before finding a groove and forcefully pulling it out of the ground: This turned out to be a control stick embedded in the mechanical structure. A blue light floated on the control stick, but as soon as it was pulled from its slot, the blue light quickly dimmed. Simultaneously, a low hum typical of equipment under power deprivation emanated from the energy plug.
"Clang," Sandora tossed the removed part onto the ground and proceeded to dismantle nearby crystallized panels and extract the control sticks. After watching for a while, I realized it wasn’t technically challenging, so I started helping out, "Doesn’t seem too hard at all."
"Sometimes, if micro probes can’t solve a problem, using a hammer might work." Sandora looked up with a smile, "The simplest solution is often the most accessible once... Alright, the last one, done!"
"Warning: No. 14 Energy Plug Restraint Device Status Abnormal, Restraint Devices About to Release, Energy Plug Expected to Fully Descend in One Minute."
As Sandora threw the last control stick to the ground, the glow of the crystallization ring under our feet immediately dimmed, followed by the deep hum of energy depressurization filling the surroundings. The restraint mechanisms above began using the remaining energy to lower the energy plug. The colossal cylinder finally started to descend slowly amidst vibrations. Sandora and I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Despite the harsh environment, at least this manual operation was still quite obedient.
However, before we could exhale fully, a deafening crash sounded from above: "Crash!!!"
The energy plug suddenly halted amidst violent shaking, filling the surrounding space with energy lightning. Sandora’s expression turned immediately grim, "Damn it! It’s stuck!"
Almost the instant the energy lightning appeared around us, I had already taken action. The Energy Suppression Field was instantly deployed, crudely confining all runaway ghost energy within their respective media zones. A catastrophic explosion was narrowly averted, though the experience left me drenched in cold sweat. I maintained the energy suppression without relaxing and asked nervously, "What’s going on?"
"The restraint device malfunctioned; it locked itself," Sandora pointed at the complex mechanical setup high above, "That’s why I hate mechanical restraint devices! We have to quickly lower the energy plug so it can drop into this opening; otherwise, there will be a big explosion."
"Cut off those mechanical arms?"
"Those things are made of high-purity Star Gold Stone and highly crystallized Mu Alloy. I’m sure my claws absolutely can’t break that stuff: It’s designed to not shift the energy plug beyond tolerance even if directly hit by a Warship Main Cannon, and its energy resistance is up to ninety-nine percent. Trying to cut such a thing in a short time is really tough."
"Can’t use energy attacks, can’t just lead void energy into this environment, so we’ll have to... find some brute force!" This instant, an idea struck me, and I immediately established a mental connection, "Lin, come over here, it’s time to put in some muscle!" (To be continued. If you like this work, please go to Qidian () to vote for recommendations, monthly tickets, and your support is my greatest motivation.)