78: Warp Phantoms and Echoes

Hyperspace travel was originally a convenient bridge connecting distant star fields, proof that civilization could break free from the shackles of light speed. But at this moment, for the crew of the Ark of Order, this journey to the Shadow of Origin had become an unsettling trek through the heart of a giant mystery.

It wasn't that the route itself was particularly perilous—on the contrary, Wu Yong reported that the channel was unusually “smooth.” Gravitational turbulence, dimensional folds, and high-energy particle storms, which previously required careful avoidance, seemed to have been smoothed out by an invisible hand. This abnormal “smoothness” only intensified their unease. It felt like walking on a path specifically cleared for you, a path that was too clean and tidy; you knew it was a great honor, but you couldn't help but wonder what awaited you at the end of the road.

Even more unsettling was the omnipresent sense of being watched.

It was different from the cold, formalized gaze of the tide of delusion. This gaze was more… neutral, more “all-encompassing.” It was as if they weren't sailing in an empty subspace, but rather traversing within the body of a giant organism, where every “cell” and every “neural network” was silently recording their passage. Lin Mo's Blueprint perspective could vaguely perceive countless infinitesimally subtle, non-destructive information-gathering “tendrils” permeating the rule background around the ark; they didn't interfere with the journey, merely quietly “observing” and “recording.”

“What exactly does it want from us?” Ling Shuang couldn't help but ask in a low voice. Her psionic abilities were especially sensitive to this all-encompassing scrutiny, feeling as if she were naked under countless cameras.

“Data,” Dr. Einstein's image appeared on the bridge. His data stream was also unusually active, clearly analyzing the external environment with full effort. “It is collecting data about our mode of existence, our methods of rule interaction, and especially your combined state with the Blueprint's power, Lin Mo. This is like an… extremely detailed ‘biological sample collection.’ ”

“Are we being treated as lab rats?” Wu Yong grumbled, somewhat annoyed.

“More like… observing a rare ‘symbiont’ or ‘virus’ capable of interacting with its ‘underlying illness,’ ” the doctor corrected. “It is learning, evaluating the long-term impact of our ‘treatment’ actions on the cosmic rule system. That farewell symbol might not only represent temporary tolerance, but also that we have been incorporated into a… long-term observational experiment.”

This realization sent a strange chill through everyone. Their actions, their very lives, might just be a line of data in the experimental record of some cold, vast entity.

After several days of sailing in this oppressive atmosphere, the ark's internal rule compilation units and new sensors began to pick up some unusual readings. These weren't from external observation, but from the depths of subspace itself.

At first, they were just faint, intermittent “echoes.” They weren't electromagnetic waves or gravitational waves, but rather some kind of… residual imprint of rule structure vibrations. It was like shouting in an empty valley and hearing not only your own echo, but also the unique reverberation and timbre imparted by the valley's own structure.

Lin Mo was immediately drawn to these “echoes.” From his Blueprint perspective, these echoes were no longer chaotic noise, but incomplete “rule fossils” carrying information. He asked the doctor to maximize the sensor sensitivity and tried to use the rule compilation unit to emit extremely faint, specific frequency order pulses to “probe” the depths of this subspace.

Miraculously, this action received a response.

More “echoes” were stimulated, like sleeping dust illuminated by light, beginning to project blurry and distorted “images” onto the invisible curtain around the ark.

These were not visual images in the conventional sense, but rather “impressions” of drastic changes in rule structure, acting directly on the conscious level:

• Impression One: A “net.” A vast, harmonious, shimmering giant net woven from countless rule lines, representing the stable and orderly rule structure of the universe in some ancient era.

• Impression Two: A “fissure.” Not the murky pustule of a void cocoon, but an extremely sharp, extremely sudden boundary, as if forcibly “torn open” by absolute power. The other end of the fissure was not nothingness, but rather a surging flow of some… dazzling yet aggressive order, completely incompatible with the giant net's rules. Was this the moment of The Shock?!

• Impression Three: Violent “trembling.” The entire rule giant net, upon contact with that alien order flow, underwent violent, painful spasms. Some parts of the net were “contaminated,” their colors becoming turbid; some parts were forcibly torn apart, turning into fragments (the birth of resonators?); and the net as a whole began to release a grayish-white “tide” with an erasing intent (the activation of the tide of delusion?).

These “impressions” were fragmented, fleeting, and filled with a tone of pain and chaos, identical to what Lin Mo had felt inside a resonator. But they were older, closer to the origin of the event.

“This region of subspace we are currently traversing… it itself is the memory carrier of that ancient Shock!” Dr. Einstein's voice was filled with the excitement of discovering a treasure. “Subspace is not completely empty; it permeates the rule foundation of the real universe. The Shock back then was too intense, and the aftershocks of its ‘vibration’ were branded into the very structure of subspace, forming these rule ‘fossils’ or rather… ‘scar memories’!”

Lin Mo fully activated the Blueprint's power, like an archaeologist, carefully sorting and piecing together these broken rule impressions. He discovered that these echoes were not entirely random; they seemed to be distributed along a specific “trajectory.”

“Doctor, analyze the distribution pattern of the sources of these echoes!” Lin Mo urged.

The doctor immediately began modeling calculations. Soon, a startling model appeared on the holographic star map: the areas where the rule echoes were densest and clearest, in the dimensions of subspace, connected to form a… blurry trajectory!

This trajectory was not their current conventional hyperspace route to the Shadow of Origin. It was more like a… residual “drag mark” recording the movement path of some huge object!

“This is not a naturally formed shockwave diffusion pattern…” The doctor's data stream trembled with shock. “This pattern… this is more like a huge object, in a way beyond our comprehension, forcibly ‘squeezing’ into our universe, and the ‘compression marks’ and ‘friction trajectories’ caused by this process on the rule structure!”

A huge object? Forcibly squeezing in?

Was it the “fissure” itself? Or something… that came from the other side of the fissure?

The unknown Creator who left the information fingerprint appeared in everyone's minds.

Could The Shock not have been an accidental energy burst or dimensional collision, but a… purposeful “intrusion” or “deployment”?

This “compression trajectory” hidden deep in subspace had a terrifying angle relative to the coordinates of the Shadow of Origin. It pointed to another unknown, dark region of the universe not recorded on any star map.

“We have two targets now…” Ling Shuang's voice was a little dry. “The Shadow of Origin, and… the end of this ‘compression trajectory.’ ”

Should they first proceed as planned to the Shadow of Origin, which might contain an “interface” or “untriggered mark,” or immediately track this astonishing trajectory that might lead directly to the “intruder” itself?

This was a difficult decision. The former might provide a framework for understanding and tools, while the latter might directly confront the ultimate answer (or danger).

Lin Mo gazed at the faint but incredibly clear trajectory outlined by the rule echoes on the holographic star map, as if he could feel a certain heavy and ancient… sense of presence emanating from the end of the trajectory.

He was silent for a moment, then finally made his decision.

“Record the detailed coordinates and data of the ‘compression trajectory,’ ” his voice was steady. “We… will go to the Shadow of Origin first.”

He looked at his companions and explained, “We know nothing about ‘it.’ Rashly tracking it might be like ants crawling into a sleeping giant dragon's lair. The Shadow of Origin might provide us with the knowledge or tools necessary to understand ‘it,’ or even to safely interact with ‘it.’ We need to… be prepared.”

This decision was rational and cautious, consistent with Lin Mo's usual style. But everyone could feel that the newly discovered trajectory, like a giant magnet, had firmly captured their attention and completely changed the potential meaning of their current voyage.

They were no longer merely searching for an ancient ruin, but tracing the footsteps of a possibly still “living” culprit who had created cosmic-level trauma.

The ark continued to sail towards the Shadow of Origin, but the atmosphere on the bridge was already different. The omnipresent sense of being watched still existed, but now, they felt not just like observed experimental subjects, but like explorers walking a path to the deepest secrets of the universe, flanked by ancient scars and unknown dangers.

In the darkness ahead, hidden were not only echoes of the past, but also living puzzles that might determine the future.