90: The Secret of the All-Knowing Eye

At the spire's entrance.

Osiris stood with his hands behind his back, quietly watching his technical team perform the final calibrations.

A faint, calm smile remained on his face, as if everything before him was merely an interesting game.

"Boss," a sweat-drenched technical director walked quickly to him and reported respectfully, "We've bypassed the spire's firewall, and the decryption of the energy protocol has entered its final stage. We expect to take full control of the spire's systems within ten minutes."

"Very good." Osiris nodded, a flicker of hard-to-detect fervor flashing in his gray-blue eyes. "How is the analysis of the interior coming along?"

"We've conducted a preliminary scan of the tower's interior using micro-drones." The technical director pulled up a holographic projection, clearly displaying a 3D structural diagram of the spire's interior before them.

"The core device at the top of the tower has been named 'The Oracle' by us. Based on energy fluctuations and structural analysis, it is highly likely a super-giant consciousness storage and processor based on quantum entanglement. Simply put, it's a... biological civilization's supercomputer."

"Its database likely stores the entire knowledge and memory of a complete alien civilization."

As he spoke, even the well-traveled technical director had a hint of uncontrollable excitement in his voice.

This could no longer be described as a "treasure."

This was a "miracle"!

"What I want is not its knowledge," Osiris's voice was unexpectedly calm. "Knowledge can be learned. But the entire memory and thinking patterns of a civilization... if they could be downloaded, absorbed, and made one's own... what would happen then?"

The technical director was stunned.

He was completely awestruck by Osiris's mad ambition, which exceeded common imagination.

Download a civilization?

That would no longer be human.

That would be... a god.

"Therefore, your task is not to crack its database." Osiris's gaze became sharper than ever before. "Instead, you are to establish a stable, two-way 'neuron' interface. What I want is to 'merge' with it, not 'read' it."

"This... technically..." The technical director felt unprecedented pressure. "The risk is too high! We know nothing about its operating mechanism. Forcing an interface could cause your spirit to be instantly crushed by that massive torrent of data!"

"Risk always coexists with reward." Osiris gave a faint smile. "You only need to be responsible for setting the stage. As for the performance on it, I will handle that personally."

He turned around, looking at the golden spire he was about to conquer, his eyes burning with the fire of 'ambition.'

For centuries, his family had been pursuing these lost powers that transcended the era. From the treasures of the Knights Templar to the Heart of Atlantis, and now to El Dorado... his ancestors were satisfied with merely obtaining the wealth and power these forces brought.

But he was different.

What he wanted was the source of power.

He wanted to become a god walking among mortals.

"Prepare to begin," he gave the final order.

"Yes!"

The technical director dared not say more. He turned back to the console and began the final interface preparations.

The annular force field generator began to rotate at high speed, emitting an increasingly loud hum. Visible streams of energy shot out from the generator, connecting to the spire's main gate.

The ancient golden patterns on the gate lit up once more.

But this time, they were being forcibly activated by an external force... Meanwhile, at the city's energy control center.

Lin Feng's fingers tapped the final command on the virtual keyboard.

[Command Confirmed: Overload protocol written.]

[Trigger Mode: Passive response.]

[Trigger Condition: When the spire's main control system is taken over by an unauthorized external ID, the energy core will enter a 10-second countdown, after which all reserve energy will be injected into the spire in the form of a pulse.]

[Warning: This operation is irreversible and will lead to the permanent collapse of the Golden City's energy system.]

"Confirm."

Without any hesitation, Lin Feng pressed the red virtual button.

Having done all this, he did not stay for a moment, turning to rush toward the ventilation duct he came through.

He had to escape this underground space and this building before the energy pulse erupted!

His climbing speed reached the limit of his life.

Just as he was about to climb out of the ventilation duct and return to the surface,

The entire city suddenly shook violently!

*Vroom—*

An extremely dull roar, as if coming from deep within the earth, spread to every corner of the city.

The light screen on the dome flickered violently, turning bright and dark as if it might go out at any moment.

Wang Dalong, lurking on the rooftop, was startled by this sudden change.

He saw that at the distant spire entrance, the annular device erupted with an incredibly blinding light!

"Success! We've taken over!"

Osiris's technical team erupted in excited cheers.

A victorious smile also appeared on Osiris's face.

However, in the next second, the expressions of everyone there froze.

Because from inside the spire, a cold, emotionless system prompt sounded in ancient Zhuojin Star language.

Though they couldn't understand it, the aura of destruction contained in that voice made everyone shudder.

[Unauthorized intrusion detected...]

['Scorched Earth' protocol... activated.]

[Energy core overload countdown...]

[10...]

[9...]

[8...]

At that moment, the smile on Osiris's face finally vanished.