Bebrapa hari kemudian...
u201dTransporter itu diserang?!u201d
Tim Harrison yang mas masih menunggu di hotel tiba-tiba berdiri dan marah-marah, menatap proyeksi jarak jauh pekerja yang datang memberi mereka kabar.
u201dBenar. Sekelompok bajak laut galaksi menemukan rute transport rahasia kami dan menyerang semua kapal luar angkasa yang kami maskerkan untuk mengangkut barang-barang tersebut.u201d Wajah auctioneer juga kelihatan jelek.
u201dBagaimana dengan guard kalian?u201d Harrison tidak bisa tidak bertanya. u201dSaya dengar kalian punya hubungan dengan Beast Ancestor..."
Dengar kata-katanya, ekspresi pekerja itu membesar. u201dSetelah Beast Ancestor ditangkap, kami kehilangan pendukung. Kami hanya bisa merekrut tentara bayaran. Kelompok bajak laut galaksi ini sudah lama mengawasi kami, mereka membujang para milis kami, menyerang dari dalam dan luar. Semua guard yang baru kami rekrut tewas dalam pertempuran itu.u201d
Pada saat itu, auctioneer tidak bisa tidak menghela napas panjang.
Jika Gorutan masih ada, mereka akan mendapatkan perlindungan dari Beast Ancestor, yang cukup untuk menakutkan kebanyakan orang di Gurun Bintang Kuno.
Tapi sekarang, pendukung mereka telah jatuh, para pemuka baru masih perlahan-lahan menyerap organisasi pasar hitam dari Beast Ancestor. Mereka sangat rentan dan telah berubah menjadi domba gemuk yang dikelilingi serigala-serigai.
u201dLalu, bagaimana dengan barang kami?u201d kapiten itu menunjukkan ekspresi waspada.
Pasar hitam ini pernah memiliki reputasi baik, jadi dia memilih untuk kembali dan menjual barangnya. Namun, dengan peluang yang besar ini, dia tidak yakin apakah pihak lain akan membatalkan janji awal mereka. Aturan pasar hitam rapuh, dan terutama bekerja dengan prinsip makan-makan yang kuat makan yang lemah.
u201dKami akan merakit tim untuk mencari jejak kelompok bajak laut galaksi ini dan mengembalikan barang kami.u201d
u201dDan jika tidak bisa dikembalikan...u201d
u201dMaka rumah lelang akan mengganti sesuai harga awal.u201d Setelah kalimat ini, pekerja itu tidak melanjutkan, memilih untuk mengakhiri percakapan segeri.
Mereka bertukar tatapan.
u201dHarga awal kami hanya 4.000 Enas, tapi harga akhirnya 13.800!u201d
u201dCukup senang bahwa mereka bersedia membayar kompensasi,u201d kapiten menjawab tidak berdaya. u201dKemungkinan mendapatkan kompensasi melalui lelang pasar hitam kurang dari sepuluh persen. Mereka mungkin hanya melakukannya karena menganggap barang kami tidak berharga. Jika harganya ratusan ribu, mereka pasti akan menemukan cara untuk membantah dan tidak membayar.u201d
Dengar kata-kata ini, kelompok ini berkumpul dan menghela napas panjang. Mereka sudah berpikir perjalanan mereka cukup buruk kali ini, tapi untuk kehilangan barang yang susah payah mereka dapatkan, ini sungguh perjalanan yang sia-sia.
Harrison merasa sedikit cemas. Intuisinya masih mengirimkan sinyal peringatan.
Dia merasa bahwa barang yang dicuri itu akan membawa banyak masalah baginya.
...
Di suatu tempat di Gurun Bintang Kuno, armada bajak laut galaksi mengangkut kapal logistik yang menjadi mereka dan bergerak perlahan di alam semesta.
u201dIni adalah hasil yang sangat baik kali ini.u201d
Di dalam kabin, pemimpin bajak laut duduk dengan nyaman dan berjalan dengan arrogance di depan tanggungan dan rampasan yang bertumpuk seperti bukit.
u201dBoss, amunisi semua utuh.u201d Salah satu bawahannya gembira.
Ada segala macam barang di dalam rampasan perang. Bukan hanya berbagai blueprint kuno, kreasi teknologi, dan antikuitas, tapi juga berbagai jenis senjata dari peradaban maju. Lelang pasar hitam menjual hampir semua, dan dibandingkan dengan antikuitas, bajak laut galaksi tentu saja lebih suka senjata.
Saat ia berjalan melalui rampasan, mata pemimpin itu tertuju pada perangkat segitiga.
u201bAda apa itu?u201d
u201dPemimpin, ini adalah brankas dari peradaban tak dikenal yang tim arkeolog temukan.u201d
u201bAda isinya?u201d
u201bKami tidak tahu. Sepertinya tidak bernilai banyak.u201d
u201bBuktikan.u201d Pemimpin itu mengangkat kakaknya, menyudutkan perangkat itu.
Nyatanya, membuka kotak yang dikunci adalah sesuatu yang semua orang suka lakukan. Mekanik dalam tim bajak laut itu mengeluarkan peralatan untuk mengacak perangkat itu, sementara bajak laut mengelilingi untuk menyaksikan.
Sokenan sambungan perangkat segitiga terhubung dengan lapisan transmisi energi untuk mengaktifkan antarmuka kata sandi. Salah satu dari mereka mengeluarkan perangkat untuk mendekripsikan, menghubungkan segitiga dengan jaringan kuantum, dan antarmuka perangkat untuk memecahkan kode dengan cepat berubah-ubah dengan berbagai kode kacau.
Setelah sejenak, perangkat segitiga mengeluarkan suara u2018dingu2019, menandakan bahwa kode telah berhasil dibuka.
Ka ka ka!
Layar tempat memasukkan kode kata lalu ditarik kembali, dan seluruh perangkat mulai berputar seperti kubus Rubik.
Semua orang, termasuk pemimpin, membungkuk melihat apa yang disimpan di dalam.
Sekitar sepuluh detik, brankas akhirnya sepenuhnya terbuka. Lapisan terakhir dilindungi terbuka, mengekspos inti yang sekitar sepuluh kubik senti.
Saat berikutnya, gelombang energi yang melonjak kencang keluar dari dalam!
Ledakan!
Sebelum kelompok ini bisa melihat apa yang ada di dalam, mereka terlempar pergi oleh gelombang kejut. Bahkan pemimpin mereka yang berada di Tingkat Calamity juga tidak dikecualikan.
Detik berikutnya, sekitar perangkat segitiga berubah menjadi zona kosong, dan rampasan di sekitarnya tersebar di seluruh area, membuat tempat ini berantakan.
u201bOuch...u201d
Semua orang mengusapkan bokong saat bangun, hanya untuk menemukan tidak ada luka pada mereka.
Pemimpin itu segera membelokkan kepalanya ke brankas, tetapi menemukannya kosong.
u201bDi mana barang di dalamnya? Kenapa tidak ada apa-apa?!u201d
Pemimpin itu marah, merasa seperti dia ditipu.
Apakah ini cuma leluasa?
Siapa yang menyimpan kentut di dalam brankas sekali pakai!
Pada saat ini, pintu kabin terbuka, dan operator kapal terbang masuk dengan ekspresi cemas.
u201dPemimpin, ada apa yang terjadi? Lokasi kami sebelumnya baru saja menjadi sumber lonjakan energi kosmik. Fluktuasi energi melampaui puncaknya dalam seketika, dan radar kami meledak. Tidak ada model energi yang cocok untuk lonjakan ini dalam database sama sekali!u201d
Dengar kata-katanya, bajak laut menerima sebuah gangguan.
Lonjakan energi kosmik?
Ini leluasa apa? Hanya membuat mereka jatuh duduk, tapi kekuatan yang dianggap sebagai lonjakan kosmik?
Sesampai-saat ini, kelompok ini dalam kebingungan, di mana pun, di sebuah dunia yang tidak bisa dilihat oleh mata telanjang, paket informasi uniknya mereka menyebar meluas, berpusat di sekitar armada bajak laut galaksi, menyebar dengan cepat di sepanjang jaringan kuantum mereka.
Di hadapan sinyal informasi ini, firewall dari kecerdasan buatan yang ada di semua perangkat tidak berguna.
...
Di sebuah istana yang redup, didukung oleh tiang-tiang yang tak ada batasnya. Di bawah setiap tiang adalah genangan api, dengan api yang redup sebagai satu-satunya sumber cahaya.
Sebuah pria yang mengenakan jubah hitam mengapung di udara, tepinya jubah sepertinya terbakar, melepaskan seberapa banyak kabut hitam.
Di bawahnya, Law dan Fay membungkuk sambil melaporkan hasil misi mereka ke para pemuka tertinggi Holy Accord. Keduanya adalah Beyond Grade As, namun tidak berani melihat ke atas ke arah figure di atas.
u201b...Katakanlah, tidak ada cara untuk mendapatkan Holy Light Particle?u201d
Suara ini langsung terdengar di dalam hati mereka. Meski nada suaranya tidak lembut dan tidak berat, keduanya secara tidak langsung gemetar.
Law mengertangkan gigi dan berkata, u201dBenar. Kami sudah menyerang Black Star sekali, jadi dia pasti akan bersiap ini kalinya. Jika kami bertindak terburu-buru, organisasi kami akan terdedakan ke risiko yang jauh lebih besar. Black Star mengumumkan secara terbuka bahwa dia memiliki Holy Light Particle, kemungkinan memancing kami keluar. Menurut data, Black Star sangat ingin membalas dendam, dan dia pasti ingin mendapatkan dendam atas kami...u201d
Di sebelahnya, Fay berkata, u201bMeskipun Black Star telah menemukan host untuk Holy Light Particle, dia mungkin juga sudah bersiap. Saat serangan Hila, Black Star menampilkan kemampuan teleportasi tanpa batasan. Dia tidak punya alasan untuk tidak menggunakannya untuk host Holy Light Particle, jadi mungkin hanya rebusan.u201d
Pria berjubah hitam itu menurunkan kepalanya, melihat ke bawah untuk dua orang yang lalu hening. Beberapa waktu kemudian, dia perlahan berkata, u201dAku mengerti. Jangan bertindak untuk Holy Light Particle untuk saat ini. Tanggal yang disepakati juga belum tiba, jadi kita masih bisa menunggu dan melihat.u201d
Melihat bosnya tidak bersengaja, Law dan Fay diam-diam menghela napas lega. Rasa kagum mereka kepada pria berjubah hitam menembus jiwa mereka.
Pria ini adalah pemimpin organisasi Holy Accord mereka. Nama lengkap tidak dikenal, ia pergi dengan kode nama u2018Oathkeeperu2019. Ia adalah guru semua Beyond Grade As saat ini dalam organisasi.
Meskipun pada masa kecil Law dan Fay, Oathkeeper sudah menjadi pemimpin organisasi. Tidak ada yang tahu berapa lama ia hidup, dan kekuatannya tidak bisa ditebak. Bahkan jika keduanya telah tumbuh menjadi Beyond Grade A, mereka tidak bisa bertarung melawan Oathkeeper.
Pada saat itu, proyeksi jarak jauh seorang petikan muncul di samping mereka. u201bTuhan kami, Oathkeeper, ada reaksi abnormal pada Destinyu2019s Child!u2019
Wis!
Kata-katanya baru saja keluar, Oathkeeper menghilang dan muncul kembali di sebuah ruangan rahasia yang tersegel.
Banyak peneliti yang mengenakan jubah lab mengelilingi sebuah wadah transparan silinder yang diisi cairan berwarna biru tua. Sesuatu yang pucat berupa Entitas Kemampuan Esper Primal berada di dalamnya, tubuh energi-nya mempertahankan bentuk manusia namun tanpa wajah, mengapung dengan tenang di dalam cairan.
Oathkeeper berbalik untuk melihat kepala tim penelitian di sampingnya dan bertanya, u201bAda apa?u201d
u201bDestinyu2019s Child, Entitas Esper Primal yang sebelumnya tertidur secara mendalam, tiba-tiba merilis gangguan informasi state, melewati pengikat kontainernya dan bocor ke luar. Kami sedang menghitung berapa banyak sub-badan yang telah diciptakan oleh gangguan ini di seluruh alam semesta...u2019 Tim pemimpin ini berkeringat dingin.
u201bGangguan mendadak?u2019 Oathkeeper terhenti. u201bKamu tidak secara aktif mengganggurnya?u201d
u201bItu... itu benar. Kami sedang memantau dan mencatat seperti biasa, dan gangguan tiba-tiba terjadi.u2019
u201bBangunkan ia.u201dSuara Oathkeeper seperti baja. u201bIa pasti menerima stimulasi tertentu yang menyebabkan fluktuasinya.u201d
Para peneliti tidak bisa tidak mematuhi, menyingkirkan cairan di dalam wadah. Bentuk manusia Destinyu2019s Child segera kabur, seolah-olah akan menghilang kapan saja.
u201bTambahkan medan gaya pengikat dan jangkar stabilitas. Jangan biarkan ia masuk sepenuhnya ke negara informasi tinggi dimensi dan melewati kontrol.u2019 Para peneliti berkeringat dan bekerja dengan semangkuk
Chapter 1096 – Disturbing one’s Fate
A couple of days later...
“The transport carrier was raided‽”
Harrison’s team, who were still waiting at the hotel, suddenly stood up, furious, and stared at the remote projection of the worker that had come to inform them of the matter.
“That’s right. A group of galactic pirates discovered our secret transportation route and attacked all the disguised spaceships that we used to transport the items.” The auctioneer’s face was also ugly.
“What about your guards?” Harrison could not help asking that. “I heard that you have ties to the Beast Ancestor...”
Hearing his words, the worker’s expression turned dark. “After the Beast Ancestor got captured, we lost our backer. We could only employ mercenaries. This group of galactic pirates has long been watching us, and they bribed our mercs, launching a raid from both the inside and outside. All our newly hired guards died in that battle.”
At this point, the auctioneer could not help but release a sigh.
If Gorutan was still present, they would have had the shelter of the Beast Ancestor, which was enough to frighten most people in the Ancient Star Desert.
But now that their backer had fallen, the new upper ranks were still slowly absorbing the black market organization of the Beast Ancestor. They were most vulnerable and had turned into fat sheep surrounded by wolves.
“Then, what about our things?” The captain showed a wary expression.
This black market had maintained a good reputation in the past, so he had chosen to return to sell his things. However, with such a big chance, he was not sure if the other party would rescind their original promises. The order of the black market was fragile, and it mainly worked on the stronger eating the weak.
“We will assemble a team to search for the whereabouts of this group of galactic pirates and retrieve our items.”
“And if it cannot be retrieved...”
“Then the auction house will compensate according to the starting price.” After this sentence, the worker did not continue speaking, choosing to end the conversation immediately.
They exchanged looks.
“Our starting price was only 4,000 Enas, but the final price was 13,800!”
“Just be satisfied that they are willing to even pay compensation,” the captain replied helplessly. “The probability of obtaining compensation through a black market auction is less than ten percent. They are probably only doing so because they deem our item worthless. If it was a price of hundreds of thousands, they would have found some way to deny any responsibility and not pay up.”
Hearing this, the group collectively sighed. They already thought that their trip was quite bad this time round, but to even lose the item that they had painstakingly slogged away for, this was truly a wasted trip.
Harrison felt a little restless. His intuition was still sending out warning signals.
He had this premonition that the robbed item would still bring him quite a bit of trouble.
...
Somewhere within the Ancient Star Desert, the galactic pirate fleet dragged the logistics ship that was their loot and moved slowly within the universe.
“This is quite the fruitful harvest this time.”
Within the cabin, the leader of the pirates placed his arms on his waist as he arrogantly walked in front of the captives and the spoils piled up into a hill.
“Boss, the ammunition is all perfectly intact.” One of his subordinates was ecstatic.
There were all kinds of items within the war loot. Not only various ancient blueprints, technological creations, and antiques, but there were also various types of arms from the advanced civilizations. The auctions from the black market sold practically everything, and compared to the antiques, the galactic pirates naturally preferred the arms.
As he strolled through the loot, the eyes of the leader stopped at the triangular device.
“What is that?”
“Leader, this is a safe from an unknown civilization that an archaeological team dug up.”
“What’s inside?”
“We don’t know. It seems like it’s not worth a lot.”
“Open it.” The leader lifted up his foot, jabbing it toward the device.
Reality had proven that opening a sealed box was something that everyone loved to do. The mechanics within the pirate team took out their equipment to tinker with the device, while the pirates gathered in the surroundings to watch.
The triangular device’s socket was connected to an energy transmission line to activate the password interface. One of them then took out a deciphering device, connecting the triangle to the quantum network, and the interface of the cracking device quickly bounced with various garbled codes.
After a moment, the triangle let out a ‘ding’ sound, indicating that it had been unlocked.
Ka ka ka!
The display screen used to enter the password was then retracted, and the whole device began rotating like a Rubik’s Cube.
Everyone, including the leader, craned their necks to see what was stored inside.
In about ten seconds, the safe was finally completely unlocked. The last layer of protection was peeled off, exposing the core, which was around ten cubic centimeters in size.
The next moment, a surge of energy fluctuations burst out from within!
Boom!
Before the group could see what was inside, they were thrown away by the shock wave. Even their leader, who was at the Calamity Grade, was not exempted.
The next second, the surroundings of the triangular device turned into an empty zone, and the loot in its surroundings was all strewn around the area, turning the place into a mess.
“Ouch...”
Everyone rubbed their butt as they got up, only to find out that there were no other injuries on them.
The leader immediately turned to look at the safe but found it empty.
“Where’s the item inside? Why is there nothing‽”
The leader was furious, feeling as though he had been played.
Could this just have been a prank?
Who would store a fart inside a disposable safe!
At this moment, the cabin door opened, and operators of the spaceship ran in with anxious expressions.
“Leader, what just happened? The location we were in just now became the origin of a cosmic energy surge. The energy fluctuations broke through the peak in an instant, and our detection radar burned out. There’s no matching energy model for this surge in the database at all!”
Hearing this, the pirates received a shock.
Cosmic energy surge?
What joke was this? It only caused them to fall on their asses, but this sort of power was considered a cosmic surge?
Just as this group was in confusion, in a world that the naked eyes could not see, a unique information package was duplicating wildly, centered on the galactic pirates’ fleet, spreading rapidly along the links of their quantum network.
In the face of this information signal, the firewalls of the artificial intelligences in all devices were rendered useless.
...
There was a dimly lit palace, supported by pillars that rose up to no end. Below every pillar was a fire brazier, with pale flames dancing on it as the only source of light.
A man dressed in black robes hovered in midair, the edges of his robes seemingly burning, releasing strands of black mist.
Below him, Law and Fay were bowing as they reported the result of their mission to the upper echelons of the Holy Accord. The both of them were Beyond Grade As, yet they did not dare look up at the figure above.
“... You’re saying, there’s no way to obtain the Holy Light Particle?”
A voice sounded directly in their hearts. While the tone was neither soft nor heavy, both of them trembled unconsciously.
Law gritted his teeth and said, “That’s right. We’ve already ambushed Black Star once, so he will definitely be prepared this time round. If we act rashly, the organization will be exposed to much greater risk. Black Star announcing in such a high profile that he possessed the Holy Light Particle is likely him deliberately trying to lure us out. According to the data, Black Star is extremely vengeful, and he definitely wishes to get his revenge on us...”
By the side, Fay said, “While Black Star has found a host for the Holy Light Particle, he is likely also prepared. During the attack on Hila, Black Star displayed an ability to perform an unrestricted teleportation. He has no reason not to use it for the Holy Light Particle’s host, so it is likely a decoy.”
The man in black lowered his head, looking down at the two as he fell silent. After a while, he slowly said, “I understand. Don’t act on the Holy Light Particle for the time being. The agreed date has also yet to arrive, so we still can continue to wait and see.”
Seeing that their boss did not intend to blame them, Law and Fay secretly sighed. The awe they had for the man in black robes permeated their very soul.
This guy was the leader of their Holy Accord organization. His name was unknown, and he went by the code name ‘Oathkeeper’. He was the teacher of all the current Beyond Grade As in the organization.
Even during Law and Fay’s childhood, Oathkeeper had been the leader of the organization. No one knew how long he had lived, and his strength was unfathomable. Even if the two had grown to the Beyond Grade A realm, they could not hope to put up a fight in the face of Oathkeeper.
At this moment, the anxious remote projection of an officer appeared next to them. “Your Excellency Oathkeeper, there’s an abnormal reaction with the Destiny’s Child!”
Whoosh!
The moment his words came out, Oathkeeper’s figure vanished and reappeared the next moment within a secret sealed room.
Countless researchers dressed in lab coats were surrounding a cylindrical transparent container filled with dark blue liquid. A pale Primal Esper Ability Entity lay within, and its energy body maintained a human-like structure but without facial features, floating quietly within the liquid.
Oathkeeper turned to look at the scientific research team leader next to him and asked, “What happened?”
“The Destiny’s Child Primal Esper Entity that was deep asleep suddenly released a state of information disturbance, breaking through the seals of the container and leaking out. We’re currently calculating now how many sub-bodies have been created by its disturbance throughout the universe...” The team leader was nervously sweating.
“Sudden disturbance?” Oathkeeper paused. “You did not actively awaken it?”
“That’s... that’s right. We’re monitoring it and recording as usual, and the disturbance suddenly occurred.”
“Awaken it.” Oathkeeper’s voice was steely. “It must have received some stimulation that caused it to fluctuate.”
The researchers could only comply, draining the liquid within the container. The Destiny’s Child’s humanoid shape immediately became blurry, as though it would disappear at any time.
“Increase its binding force field and the stability anchor. Don’t let it completely enter the high-dimensional information state and break through containment.” The scientific research personnel were sweating as they profusely worked.
Oathkeeper ignored the movement and put his hand on the outer wall of the container. His palm lit up in a cluster of flames, its color strange as it resembled a flickering starry sky. There was no temperature present, and it burned quietly, as though the world had no impact on it.
The Destiny’s Child’s body in the container was slowly attracted back and turned stable. It stretched out its hand curiously, pasting its palm where Oathkeeper’s hand was through the transparent container wall.
At this time, Oathkeeper finally spoke.
“Tell me, what have you discovered?”
The Destiny’s Child’s tilted its head, and a wave of spiritual fluctuations bloomed. A childlike voice sounded in everyone’s mind.
“Projection of an information state... new destiny... the call of The First Sanctum...”
Oathkeeper quietly listened before asking, “Is the agreed date still the same?”
“It’s moved forward... by... ten years... twenty years...”
Oathkeeper deeply inhaled before commanding, “Inject the solution. Let it continue to sleep.”
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