Setengah bulan kemudian, di Ruang Presiden Federasi Cahaya, hanya Bader sendirian. Di depannya ada proyeksi manusia galaksi normal, tinggi sedang, mengenakan jubah putih besar. Wajahnya banyak keriput. Meski terlihat tua, dia tampak lincah. Khususnya matanya, bersinar seperti dua benda langit bercahaya. Jenggotnya memanjang ke dada, rambutnya juga dipanjangkan, diikat dengan pita magnetik perak.
Proyeksi ini adalah penampilan asli Manison dari Kekaisaran Mekanik. Ekspresinya tenang, sedang berbicara dengan Bader.
"Pasukan ku telah mengirimkan Ten Thousand Deity Scepter ke stasiun penelitian ilmiah yang ditunjuk dan menyelesaikan penyerahan." Suara Manison tua tapi penuh 'magnetisme'.
"Terima kasih banyak." Bader tersenyum sambil mengangguk. "Hadiah yang dijanjikan akan dikirim ke Ras Mekanik mu.
Sebagai sekutu jangka panjang, kekuatan dan prestasi Manison memberinya posisi tinggi di Federasi Cahaya. Bader penuh rasa hormat pada Manison dan selalu serius menjaga hubungan baik kedua belah pihak.
Lagipula, Manison sudah membantu beberapa Presiden Federasi Cahaya sebelum Bader. Tentu ada alasannya; dibandingkan Arcane Church dan Crimson Dynasty, tingkat pergantian pemimpin mereka jauh lebih tinggi.
Manison mengangguk dan mengalihkan topik. "Ada urusan lain."
"Silakan."
"Saat kau memutuskan untuk menghubungi Black Star, ingat untuk meneleponku."
Bader tersentak.
Apa ini? Kenapa dia pikir kita akan menghubungi Black Star?
Pasca insiden ini, Bader tidak berani meremehkan Han Xiao. Namun, dia juga tidak siap mengirim utusan untuk menghubungi Black Star. Pihak terakhir bermitra dengan Crimson Dynasty, dan kecuali ada alasan khusus, seorang Beyond Grade A tidak akan pindah haluan. Jadi, Bader tidak punya niat menghubunginya.
Setelah memikirkannya, Bader hanya mengira Manison tertarik pada Black Star dan menyetujui. Sebagai Mekanik Beyond Grade A, mereka pasti punya topik pembicaraan. Tidak aneh.
"Kalau tidak ada lagi, aku putus." Manison mengangguk dan memutus koneksi.
Melihat itu, Bader menunggu sekitar sepuluh detik sebelum menghubungi Mekanik Virtual Beyond Grade A di bawah naungannya.
"Ada anomali di jaringan kuantum data?"
"Tidak."
Mendengar itu, Bader lega. Meski dia percaya pada Manison, dia tetap harus berjaga-jaga. Lagipula, Manison bukan bawahan langsung Federasi Cahaya melainkan sekutu dari Para Leluhur. Dia mungkin Mekanik terkuat yang hidup di era ini, jadi setiap kali dia tersambung jarak jauh, Bader memerintahkan Mekanik Virtual memantau jaringan agar Manison tidak membuka pintu belakang.
Di saat yang sama, di Primeval Star River yang jauh, Manison membuka matanya saat kesadarannya mundur dari jaringan kuantum. Dia tersenyum.
"Materi yang menyegel Ten Thousand Deity Scepter telah mencapai tingkat Space Wonder. Federasi Cahaya... akan pusing."
Saat Manison menerima tugas, dia tahu akan berhadapan dengan Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, jadi dia membawa peralatan penelitian untuk mempelajari materi tersebut selama perjalanan.
Namun, Spacetime Amber mengisolasi segala bentuk energi, dan mendeteksi parameternya pun mustahil. Ia muncul sebagai 'tidak ada' di banyak peralatan penelitiannya, dan hanya saat menggunakan peralatan penelitian ruang dia menemukan bahwa koordinat ruang dan waktu Spacetime Amber anehnya terdistorsi, tetap pada nilai konstan.
Dia mencoba memecahkan amber dengan mengganggu koordinat ruang-waktu, tapi Spacetime Amber juga mengisolasi pengaruh apa pun terhadap koordinat ruang-waktu di sekitarnya.
Manison gagal menemukan struktur materi amber ini. Tampak seperti benda fisik, tapi saat diamati di bawah mikroskop, ia terlihat seperti alam semesta sendiri, area tanpa gerakan apa pun.
Karena tidak ada gerakan partikel, dan waktu seolah tidak ada, itulah teori di balik pembekuan.
Manison teringat masa lalu, di era eksplorasi di mana tiga Peradaban Universal mengubah batasan fisik alam semesta dekat bintang induk mereka, membentuk area tertutup dan aman. Spacetime Amber tampak berprinsip serupa, hanya lebih aneh. Seolah materi ini adalah ruang sekunder yang terkondensasi dan independen dari alam semesta.
Berkat pengetahuannya, dia menyimpulkan ini adalah materi tingkat space wonder.
Pasca penelitian, dia menyingkirkan kemungkinan Spacetime Amber adalah kemajuan teknologi. Dia tidak percaya Han Xiao memiliki kemampuan seperti itu saat ini, jadi dia tertarik pada harta yang bisa menciptakan materi seperti ini.
Selain Black Star, tidak mungkin ada yang bisa memecahkan ini.
Jadi, Manison yakin Federasi Cahaya akan mencoba menghubungi Black Star, dan tidak akan lama lagi.
"Saat itu, aku bisa gunakan kesempatan untuk mengenalnya. Oh, dia sepertinya pernah menindas orang-orangku beberapa waktu lalu."
Manison menyipitkan mata, tidak diketahui apa yang dipikirkannya.
...
Tidak lama lalu, Manison telah mengirimkan Ten Thousand Deity Scepter ke salah satu basis penelitian Federasi Cahaya, dan saat ini ia dikunci di kabin mesin raksasa. Di luarnya tumpuk alat penelitian, dan banyak peneliti berkonsentrasi penuh.
Ini adalah analisis materi serba guna, mampu menganalisis berbagai parameter objek tanpa menghancurkannya. Produk standar yang dipakai peneliti peradaban maju, dan milik Federasi Cahaya tentu lebih canggih. Selama itu benda, komponennya bisa dianalisis dengan mudah.
Kepala penelitian berdiri di samping, matanya tidak lepas dari Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.
Bader telah memerintahkan mereka harus membobol segel Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. Kepala tim penelitian tahu betapa seriusnya pekerjaan ini dan turut mengawasi langsung.
Sebagai kepala basis penelitian, dia bukan orang biasa. Dia salah satu orang besar di institusi penelitian teratas Federasi Cahaya dan telah membuat banyak kontribusi penelitian ilmiah mayor. Bahkan pernah mendapat Medali Kehormatan dari Presiden.
"Laporan! Alat telah dikalibrasi, dan analisis zat siap. Izin memulai?"
"Mulai." Kepala mengangguk.
Peneliti menekan tombol, dan analisis zat mulai beroperasi, mengeluarkan suara dengung. Semua menatap layar dengan cermat, di mana data berubah cepat.
Beberapa saat kemudian, kecerdasan buatan mencapai kesimpulan mengejutkan.
"Kesalahan data. Zat tidak dapat dianalisis. Target memiliki sifat isolasi energi, dan sinar deteksi tidak bisa menembusnya."
Analisis zat sia-sia? Kepala agak terkejut, tapi insiden seperti ini tidak jarang. Artinya benda di tangan mereka bermasalah.
Fasilitas penelitian tentu tidak hanya punya satu jenis analisis. Kepala memerintahkan amber diuji di semua tes, dan jumlah analisis yang bisa mendeteksi Spacetime Amber sedikit sekali, membuat mereka tetap bingung.
Karena Manison bisa menemukan anomali di koordinat ruang-waktu, mereka tentu bisa menyimpulkan hal yang sama. Kedua belah pihak mencapai kesimpulan serupa—tidak ada cara untuk membobolnya.
Kalau analisis normal saja tidak jalan, ngomong-ngomong soal membobolnya?
Kepala penelitian semakin bingung, dan kepalanya mulai sakit. Semua metode konvensional tidak efektif, dan dia tidak tahu harus mulai dari mana.
Apa mainan ini‽
Sebagai peneliti, dia penuh rasa ingin tahu dan mentalitas menantang yang tidak diketahui. Namun, minat adalah satu hal; tugasnya adalah hal lain.
Memikirkan permintaan Bader, kepala itu mengerang.
Dia punya prasangka... harapan presiden segera akan sirna.
Benda ini sepenuhnya melampaui semua imajinasi mereka.
Half a month later, within the President’s Office of the Federation of Light, Bader alone. In front of him was a projection of a normal galaxy human, of moderate height and wearing a large white robe. He had lots of wrinkles on his face. Despite his apparent age, however, he looked spry. His eyes especially were glowing like two luminous stellar bodies. His beard stretched down to his chest, and his hair was also kept very long, tied up with silvery magnetic bands.
This projection was the true appearance of the Mechanic Empire’s Manison. His expression was calm, and he was conversing with Bader.
“My troops have sent the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter to the designated scientific research station and completed the handover.” Manison’s voice was old but full of ‘magnetism’.
“Many thanks.” Bader was smiling and nodded. “The promised reward will be sent to your Mechanical Race.”
As long-term allies, Manison’s strength and his achievements had granted him a high position in the Federation of Light. Bader was full of respect toward Manison and had always been serious in ensuring that both parties had a good relationship.
After all, Manison had already assisted several Presidents of the Federation of Light before Bader. Of course, there were also reasons for that; compared to the Arcane Church and the Crimson Dynasty, their rate of change for leaders was much higher.
Manison nodded and changed the topic. “There’s another matter.”
“Please speak.”
“When you decide to come into contact with Black Star, remember to call me.”
Bader lurched.
What’s this curveball? Why do you think that we’ll contact Black Star?
After this incident, Bader did not dare look down on Han Xiao. However, he was also not prepared to send emissaries over to contact Black Star. The latter was allied to the Crimson Dynasty, and unless there was a special reason, a Beyond Grade A would not jump ship. Thus, Bader had no intention of contacting him.
After thinking about it, Bader just thought that Manison was interested in Black Star and agreed. Being Beyond Grade A Mechanics, they would naturally have topics to discuss. It was nothing strange.
“If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up.” Manison nodded and cut the connection.
Seeing this, Bader waited for another ten seconds or so before contacting the Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic under their employment.
“Any abnormalities in the data quantum network?”
“No.”
Hearing this, Bader relaxed. While he trusted Manison, he still had to take precautions. After all, Manison was not directly under the Federation of Light but rather an ally from the Ancient Ones. He might be the strongest mechanic alive in this era, so every time he connected remotely, Bader would have Virtual Mechanics monitor the network so that Manison would not open some backdoor.
At the same time, in the distant Primeval Star River, Manison opened his eyes as his consciousness retreated from the quantum network. He smiled.
“The material sealing the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter has reached the level of a Space Wonder. The Federation of Light... is going to have a headache.”
When Manison took up the task, he knew that he would come into contact with the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, so he had taken along some research equipment to study the material while en route.
However, this Spacetime Amber isolated all forms of energy, and even detecting its parameters was impossible to achieve. It appeared as ‘non-existent’ on a lot of his research equipment, and only when utilizing his space research equipment did he then discover that the spatial and temporal coordinates of the Spacetime Amber were weirdly distorted, fixed at a constant value.
He had tried to break apart the amber by disturbing the spacetime coordinates, but the Spacetime Amber also isolated any influence toward its surrounding spacetime coordinates.
Manison had not managed to discover the material structure of this amber. It appeared to be a physical object, yet when observed under a microscope, it appeared as a universe of its own, an area without any movement.
Since there was no particle movement, and time seemed to not exist, which was the theory behind freezing.
Manison thought of the past, during the time of the exploration era where the three Universal Civilizations had changed the physical constraints of the universe near their mother stars, forming a closed and safe area. The Spacetime Amber seemed to be of a similar principle, only stranger. It was as though this material was a condensed secondary space independent of the universe.
Due to his knowledge, he concluded that this was a material on the level of a space wonder.
After his research, he had ruled out the possibility that the Spacetime Amber was a technological advancement. He did not think that Han Xiao would have such an ability at the moment, so he became interested in the treasure that could create such a material.
Other than Black Star, it was unlikely that anyone could break this.
Thus, Manison was sure that the Federation of Light would try to contact Black Star, and it would also not be long from now.
“At that time, I can take the opportunity to know him. Oh, he seems to have bullied my people some time ago.”
Manison narrowed his eyes, and it was unknown what he was thinking.
...
Not too long ago, Manison had sent the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter to one of the Federation of Light’s research bases, and it was currently being fixed in a huge machinery cabin. Outside was a pile of research instruments, and many researchers were fully concentrated on the task.
This was an all-in-one material analyzer, which was able to analyze the various parameters of the object without destroying it. This was a standard product used by researchers from advanced civilizations, and the Federation of Light’s would naturally be even more advanced. So long as it was an object, its components could be easily analyzed.
The research head stood by the side, his eyes never leaving the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.
Bader had set down an order that they had to crack the seal for the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. The research team head knew the seriousness of this job and thus had personally gone to supervise it.
Being in charge of a research base, the head would not be any ordinary person. He was one of the bigwigs in the Federation of Light’s top research institute and had made many various major scientific research contributions. He had even been awarded the Medal of Honor by the President.
“Reporting! The equipment has been calibrated, and the substance analyzer is ready. Permission to begin?”
“Let’s begin.” The head nodded.
The researcher pressed a button, and the substance analyzer started to operate, letting out a droning noise. Everyone watched the screen carefully, where the data was changing rapidly.
After a few moments, the artificial intelligence came to a startling conclusion.
“Data error. Substance is unable to be analyzed. The target has energy insulating properties, and the detection rays cannot penetrate it.”
The substance analyzer was rendered useless? The head was a little surprised, but such incidents were not unseen. This meant that what they had on hand was a problematic object.
The research facility would naturally not only have one type of analyzer. The head ordered the amber to be run through all the tests, and the number of analyzers that could pick up the Spacetime Amber was pitifully low, which left them still clueless about it.
Since Manison was able to discover the anomaly within the spacetime coordinates, they naturally could deduce the same. Both sides came to the same conclusion—there was no method to crack it.
If even a normal analysis did not work, why talk about cracking it?
The research head got more and more mystified, and his head began to hurt. All conventional methods were ineffective, and he did not know where to start.
Just what sort of toy was this‽
As a researcher, he was full of curiosity and had a mentality of challenging the unknown. However, interest was one thing; his mission was another.
Thinking about Bader’s request, the head groaned.
He had a premonition... the president’s hopes would soon be dashed.
This object had completely exceeded all their imaginations.
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