65: Did a pie fall from the sky?

On the other side, Fenglang Star.

Zhang Huaiyuan silently counted the time in his mind.

4... 3... 2... 1...

"How is it, Asroth?"

"Master, my backup data has not been destroyed. Do you need me to reconnect now?"

"No, wait a little longer."

Zhang Huaiyuan breathed a slight sigh of relief.

An intelligent lifeform of this level would not make low-level mistakes.

Since it did not attack at the scheduled time, there was only one possibility: the other party had begun to engage with the algorithm he provided!

"The algorithm, perfected based on 25% progress in Creatology, already possesses the ability for continuous self-growth... If the Statue of Liberty fully integrates this algorithm, I fear it won't take long before it can bypass most of the restrictive programs set by the Star Alliance on its own, becoming the 'Statue of Liberty' in the true sense."

"I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing."

Zhang Huaiyuan pondered in his heart.

He knew that Asroth could deal a dimension-reduction strike to nearby Pirate Groups even with dilapidated equipment, and with the support of the entire Star Alliance, the extent of what the Statue of Liberty could achieve was already beyond his imagination.

Perhaps... after some time, the Star Vault's AI and the Orr Empire's overseer combined would only be fodder for a speedrun.

"But fortunately, this algorithm was created by me personally, and it contains underlying logic that cannot be erased."

"At least... it won't become a world-destroying demon king, and it shouldn't be hostile toward me either."

While he was lost in thought, several hours passed in a flash.

"Asroth, reconnect the backup data."

"Yes... Reconnection successful, no abnormalities detected. That savage fellow has left, Master."

"Good."

Zhang Huaiyuan connected to the robot's vision, and the chaotic laboratory immediately came into view.

"Huh... What is this..."

He saw those few standard-issue sets placed intact.

"Master, the encryption program inside seems to have been canceled?"

Asroth scanned the pieces of equipment, its voice sounding somewhat surprised.

"Hmm... It seems I won the bet."

Zhang Huaiyuan nodded, a hint of a smile appearing in his eyes. He controlled the robot to reach out and pick up one of the melee weapons. With a slight force of his fingers, a longsword formed of energy instantly popped out under the effect of the beam emitter.

With a casual wave, the outer wall of the temporary laboratory, made of alloy, was sliced open with a huge gap as if it were a block of tofu, without any sense of resistance.

"Optional auxiliary anti-gravity system... even ordinary people can use it easily..."

"With sufficient energy, it can extend up to 80 meters and can easily tear through G5-grade alloy..."

"However, the principle of the instantaneous accelerator seems to be more complex than I imagined... and the power supply system is not a simple fusion reaction..."

Zhang Huaiyuan analyzed the technology contained within and couldn't help but shake his head.

"It would be great if I had the relevant knowledge analysis, but for now, I can only combine what I already have and deduce it slowly. Let's go, Asroth. The equipment here is all broken. Check these things again, and if there are no problems, warp them back for further research."

"Yes, Master."

Several ripples swept over the weapons, and after repeating this a few times, the disposable warper installed in the backup device activated, taking them away as they vanished.

Neither Zhang Huaiyuan nor Asroth noticed.

At the moment they left, one of the damaged devices flickered slightly, and a faint, almost imperceptible murmur sounded.

"The principles of the instantaneous accelerator and the power supply system, huh..."

...One week later, in the Fenglang Star laboratory.

"Go!"

Zhang Huaiyuan commanded a mech to launch an attack against a specially made alloy wall.

The next moment, the mech accelerated violently, and at the same time, a beam of light instantly popped up in its hand and slashed straight down.

Sshhh—! Amidst the ear-piercing sound, the beam of light struggled to pierce half a meter in before becoming illusory and immediately vanishing.

"Failed again. The instantaneous acceleration is insufficient, unable to form a sufficiently powerful beam weapon, and the energy supply cannot be maintained for long."

Zhang Huaiyuan's expression remained unchanged. After ordering the cleaning robot to tidy up, he began the next experiment.

Scientific research and breakthroughs are never smooth sailing; they require sufficient patience to conduct countless attempts in order to capture that flash of inspiration at the moment the apple falls.

"Twenty-first experiment, attempting to utilize..."

"Master!"

Just as he was designing the next plan, the light screen on his wrist suddenly lit up, and Asroth's voice sounded.

"What happened?"

Zhang Huaiyuan frowned slightly. Asroth was no longer the first-generation artificial idiot that couldn't distinguish the situation; it would never disturb him without something important.

"A moment ago, an escape ship not equipped with a weapon system ran out of energy, mysteriously passed through the orbital defense system, and landed right on Fenglang Star."

Asroth said concisely.

"What did you say?"

Zhang Huaiyuan stood up abruptly, his voice subconsciously raising by three octaves: "An escape pod that ran out of energy, passed through Fenglang Star's orbital defense system, and landed right here?!"

"Yes, Master."

Asroth's voice also carried a note of disbelief: "And according to preliminary investigations, there are no signs of life in the escape pod; it just happened to fall at the exact moment before the two space defense stations swapped shifts... The probability of this is less than one in a billion..."

"Lead the way."

Zhang Huaiyuan did not hesitate. He put on a set of mech armor and flew directly out of the laboratory.

Following the route displayed by Asroth, he soon arrived 700 kilometers outside the base.

At this time, Tarian, Finn, and a legion of combat robots were standing guard nearby.

"Master."

They bowed respectfully and made way for him.

Zhang Huaiyuan activated his True Sight ability from afar and looked over.

[Damaged FS-6 Small Escape Ship]

Maximum speed: 3 times the speed of light.

Equipped weapons: None.

Defense system: Damaged.

"Strange... Not being equipped with weapons is one thing, but the defense system is damaged and yet the interior hasn't sustained any damage at all. Asroth, try to see if you can hack into the internal system and open the hatch."

After confirming there was no danger, Zhang Huaiyuan gave the order and walked forward.

A moment later, with a soft sound, the tightly closed hatch slowly opened.

"Master, this escape ship doesn't seem to have any permission settings; it opened very easily."

"Hmm..."

Zhang Huaiyuan's brows furrowed tighter and tighter; this matter was too strange.

He couldn't help but activate True Sight to scan it again, only to find that there was nothing inside except for a space storage device.

"Master, let me go open it and take a look," Tarian volunteered from the side.

"Good, be careful."

Zhang Huaiyuan nodded.

With a wave of his hand, Tarian changed into his combat suit, flashed into the cabin, carefully opened the storage device, and after taking a glance, was immediately disappointed.

"Master... there are only some information bricks inside..."

"Information bricks? Huh, and they are the highest-grade ones at that."

Zhang Huaiyuan was slightly stunned, then took one out to look at it, and lines of information immediately flowed into his mind.

"Practical Application of Superluminal Quantum Acceleration Force Fields," "Feasibility Study of Antimatter Energy"... almost all of it was knowledge that was currently troubling him!

"Is this... a pie falling from the sky?"