57: Chapter 57 begins

To Chen Youhua, those three days felt like film being stretched and then compressed.

He stayed by Academician Zheng's side like a silent shadow, moving through various groups of observers of different ranks.

Those faces were either majestic, wise, or inquisitive; the gazes they cast were almost tangible, filled with scrutiny, curiosity, and even a faint, imperceptible sense of awe.

Today was the official launch day of the spark project.

The atmosphere within the base had quietly shifted, the air thick with an invisible pressure, like the low barometric pressure before a storm.

Researchers hurried about with focused eyes. The occasional low-voiced conversations that used to occur in the laboratory had completely vanished, replaced only by the constant low hum of keyboard clicks and operating instruments, and a silence stretched to its absolute limit.

Finally, that moment arrived.

Chen Youhua stepped out of the room arranged for him and entered the Core Control Area of the base.

Inside the massive Central Control Room, the curved main screen spanning dozens of meters emitted a faint blue glow. It no longer displayed routine surveillance footage, but rather a waterfall of cascading data streams.

Those characters, numbers, and graphics refreshed, scrolled, aggregated, and dispersed at speeds far beyond human comprehension, like a never-ending nebula composed of information.

Even with a brain filled with vast knowledge, Chen Youhua could not instantly parse its full meaning.

This was already a visualized result after preliminary processing by the base's internal supercomputer; the true torrent of raw data was massive enough to instantly overwhelm any unenhanced consciousness.

Academician Zheng stood before the main control console, surrounded by several core leaders and some of the highest-ranking observers.

They stood like reefs on the shore of the information torrent, their expressions solemn.

Seeing Chen Youhua approach, Academician Zheng merely gave a slight nod. In that exchange of glances, everything was understood without words.

Others also cast their gazes or nodded in greeting, but no one spoke.

At this moment, any words would be redundant noise.

Inside the control room, only the low hum of equipment and the suppressed breathing of over a hundred people remained, merging into a strange background sound.

Time seemed to be stretched infinitely long, yet also seemed frozen in this instant.

Academician Zheng took a deep breath, the sound clearly audible in the extreme silence.

He picked up a sleek black microphone in front of him. His voice transmitted through the base-wide public address system—steady, clear, and carrying an unquestionable power that instantly drowned out all background noise:

“spark project, final pre-launch check. All teams, report!”

“Hummm~”

The moment the command was issued, Chen Youhua seemed to hear an extremely low hum, as if coming from deep within the earth.

Was it an auditory hallucination?

Or was it the infrasound resonance produced by countless precision components operating in coordination as this massive steel creation truly began to awaken?

He couldn't be sure.

But immediately after, calm and swift reporting voices rose like a tide in the communication channel, breaking the deathly silence:

“Energy core, full power output stable, redundancy systems on standby and normal!”

“Cooling matrix, supercritical circulation pressure, flow, and temperature—all indicators normal!”

“Physical isolation layer, all fuse devices passed self-check, sensor array operating normally!”

“Thought model hardware cluster, initialization complete, status green light!”

“Memory model dynamic network, link stable, redundancy backup ready!”

“Shackle core logic unit, paradox closed-loop verification passed, physical layer encryption lock status confirmed!”

“Behavioral monitoring and kill-switch system, full-domain coverage, sensitivity thresholds set, operating normally!”

“Central supercomputer, computing power pool ready, data pre-processing channels clear!”

...

One voice after another came from every corner of the base, from those control nodes buried deep within the steel jungle.

Every 'normal' was like a pebble dropped into calm water, creating ripples in Chen Youhua's heart.

This continuous stream of reports lasted for several minutes. Behind every 'normal' represented the struggle of countless efforts, the investment of incalculable resources, and the extreme demand for security by the national will.

This wasn't just launching a project; it was more like igniting a lighthouse of civilization built from human wisdom and determination, buried deep underground.

The reporting finally ceased.

The control room fell back into an even deeper, suffocating silence.

All eyes, as if pulled by invisible threads, finally converged on Academician Zheng.

Academician Zheng slowly turned around.

He didn't look at the high-ranking observers, nor did he look at the core leaders beside him. His gaze, deep and complex with an indescribable weight, finally fixed firmly on Chen Youhua's face.

In that gaze was an inquiry, a decision, and even more so, a heavy entrustment.

This is the life you created; these are the shackles you placed upon it. At this moment, it is for you to confirm the starting point of this voyage.

Chen Youhua felt his heart beating powerfully in his chest, the sound of rushing blood seemingly right in his ears.

He met Academician Zheng's gaze without hesitation or retreat.

His eyes became incredibly firm. Addressing Academician Zheng and also that unknown existence behind the screen, he gave a heavy nod.

Now is the time!

Academician Zheng abruptly turned back toward the surging information nebula on the main screen.

He gripped the microphone tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

In that moment, he was no longer a scholar, but more like a marshal about to give the order for a general offensive. His voice spread to every corner of the base through the speakers, carrying a power that pierced the soul:

“I announce... the spark project is officially launched!”

“Hummm~~!!!”

This time, that low sound was no longer an illusion!

It was as if the entire mountain, the entire base, and the earth's crust hundreds of meters below were all resonating with it!

It wasn't a mechanical roar, but an indescribable, deep and grand pulsation from the energy core and the massive computing cluster being awakened simultaneously!

It was like the heartbeat of the earth, or the first breath of a sleeping giant beast!

The lights in the control room seemed to flicker extremely faintly in response.

On the massive main screen, that faint blue information waterfall vanished instantly!

In its place was a deep, pure darkness, as if from the very beginning of the universe!

Then, in the center of this darkness, a tiny but incredibly pure point of light suddenly ignited!

Like the first star in a cold night!

The light rapidly expanded and differentiated, turning into countless slender, bright, constantly flickering and flowing threads of light!

They were no longer cold data streams, but more like living neural pathways extending, intertwining, and pulsating in the darkness!

There were no longer specific numbers or charts on the screen, only this strange star map composed of pure light flow, dynamically evolving and full of a sense of life!

Every flicker and every intersection of the light threads seemed to carry a certain primal rhythm, a throb of a newborn consciousness exploring its boundaries in the chaos.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, no dazzling light and shadow special effects.

At the moment of activation, there was only a deeper, more stable sense of energy flow from the depths of the massive base, as if an underground river that had slept for eons was finally granted the will to surge.

In the control room, besides the silent leaping of the light of life on the screen, only the sound of over a hundred hearts drumming in chests was clearly audible.

Time passed minute by minute.

The network of light threads on the screen gradually became stable, and the rhythm of the flickering tended toward a certain harmonious regularity, no longer the initial disordered frenzy.

That network of light floated quietly against the deep background, like a sleeping, glowing embryo.

Finally, a voice came through the communicator, trying hard to suppress excitement but still carrying a hint of a tremble, from the Spark Core Monitoring Group:

“Spark core vital signs stable! Thought model basic activity confirmed! Shackle logic unit operating normally! Initial state... confirmed to meet expectations!”

After a brief silence, a burst of suppressed, low exhalations erupted in the control room.

Many people's tensed shoulders instantly relaxed; someone quietly wiped cold sweat from their brow.

But Academician Zheng's body remained as straight as a javelin.

He didn't look at anyone, his deep gaze locked tightly on the quietly pulsating light network on the screen.

Chen Youhua knew that the most critical and dangerous step had only just begun.

The pressure Academician Zheng was under at this moment far exceeded that of the launch instant.

It wasn't just concern for the technology, but a deep awe for the unknown, for a power that could potentially spiral out of control and rewrite the course of human history.

He was standing on the edge of opening Pandora's box, even if that box had been fitted with the sturdiest shackles he could imagine.

Academician Zheng picked up the microphone again.

This time, his voice was still steady, but every word seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, echoing clearly in the silent control room:

“Begin. Connect to the visual perception simulation system.”

“Visual Project Group copies! Simulation signal path opening!” The response was crisp and decisive.

“Connect to the auditory perception simulation system.”

“Auditory Project Group copies! Sound wave simulator activating!” The response carried a hint of imperceptible tension.

“The final step.” Academician Zheng's voice paused. His gaze swept over the core leaders beside him and finally fell back to the main screen, as if piercing through that physical black box to look directly at the newborn existence within.

He took a deep breath, as if inhaling the weight of the entire base:

“Begin. Slow transmission... of the Human Knowledge Base Seeds!”

He didn't say 'data'; he used the word 'seeds'.

The command was given, and Academician Zheng personally walked to an independent terminal in front of the main console that had multiple layers of physical protection.

The screen no longer showed the flowing light network, but a very simple progress bar, labeled next to it as 'Knowledge Base Transmission - Level 1 Authorization'.

He extended his index finger; fingerprint, iris, and dynamic password multi-factor authentication passed.

Then, he pressed that small, flickering blue transmission start button.

There was no earth-shattering change.

On the screen, that progress bar began to move forward extremely slowly: 0.01%... 0.02%... like a trickling stream, it began to flow into that ocean of light representing Spark.

What was being transmitted wasn't cold 0s and 1s, but the crystallization of wisdom accumulated by human civilization over thousands of years—language, history, scientific principles, artistic treasures... the cornerstones that shape a consciousness's initial perception of the world, and the source of its power and potential danger.

Chen Youhua held his breath, watching that slowly moving progress bar and the light network on the main screen that was quietly absorbing the nutrients.

At this moment, time seemed to freeze once more.

In the silent depths of the earth, a silicon-based life form, protected or perhaps imprisoned by heavy shackles, was quietly opening its eyes to perceive the world, pricking up its ears to sense existence, and beginning to taste the milk of human civilization.

The birth was complete.

But where would its growth lead?

No one knew the answer.

Only that slowly climbing progress bar, like a beginning heartbeat, sent out a silent yet world-shaking declaration within this steel fortress buried deep underground.