radiothebook Chapter 244 Deciphering the Fragmented Map, The Secret of the Ark
Chapter 244 Deciphering the Fragmented Map, The Secret of the Ark
Having dealt with the enemy ship, Su Chen was in high spirits.
He focused all his attention on the ultimate goal of this operation—the mysterious fragment of the "Genesis Ark" coordinate map.
He carefully opened the crystal box, and the palm-sized, dark gold metal piece covered with ancient star map patterns reappeared before his eyes.
He had only caught a glimpse of it briefly in the trading room before, but now that he had calmed down and observed it carefully, he realized that this fragment of the map was extraordinary.
Its material is neither gold nor stone; it feels cool to the touch, yet has a slightly warm texture.
The star map carved on it may seem chaotic at first glance, but upon closer inspection, one can see that each star and each trajectory seems to contain some profound cosmic law.
It's so captivating that if you look at it for too long, it will make you feel mesmerized, as if your soul is being sucked in.
"This thing is encrypted by an extremely advanced law." Su Chen quickly came to the conclusion.
Even without the "Reaper's Mark" trap set by the Cult of the Star Eaters, an ordinary person would have no idea what was drawn on this fragment.
It's like a locked safe; without the key, even if you smash it, you can't get what's inside.
And now, Su Chen happens to have a "key" in his hand.
"Prophet, do you still remember the core law code we extracted from the 'Mark of the Reaper'?"
"It is fully preserved in memory. This code is a variant based on the 'Ancient God Language - Enslavement' branch, which the Star Eater Cult has tampered with for use in soul imprinting," the prophet quickly responded.
"That's right." Su Chen nodded.
"The fact that the Star Devouring Cult could think of using this kind of law to create a trap shows that their research on this fragment of the map has reached a certain depth."
"They may very well discover that the ancient Earth civilization that created the fragments also used the same system of laws."
"Therefore, the key they used to set the 'trap' could very well also be used to open this 'lock'!"
This is a bold speculation, but Su Chen feels that it is highly likely.
"Prophet, you will lead the calculations," Su Chen ordered.
"Based on that code of 'enslavement', we reverse engineered it to deduce its original form."
"Then, using this original form as the 'key,' we can attempt to decipher the information on the remaining fragments!"
"At the same time, access all the star map data we just obtained from the enemy ship database and compare and match the star patterns on the remaining map! A two-pronged approach!"
"Command confirmed. Establish the 'Ark Decryption' project and begin multi-threaded simulation."
The Prophet's terrifying computational power after his evolution was fully revealed at this moment.
In Su Chen's mind, it was as if an endless data universe appeared.
On one side, the incredibly complex code of laws is being disassembled, reassembled, and reverse-engineered by the "Prophet" at a rate of billions of times per second, in an attempt to restore its most fundamental form.
On the other side, the ancient star patterns on that fragment of the map were scanned into a three-dimensional model and subjected to massive data comparison with the Star Devouring Cult's enormous star map database.
Time passed by, second by second.
Su Chen waited quietly.
He knew this was a massive undertaking that couldn't be rushed.
After about ten hours, the "prophet" who had been silent finally reacted.
"Reporting to authorized personnel: Key reverse engineering is 76% complete; star map matching has revealed a significant correlation!"
"Speak!" Su Chen perked up.
"The star pattern on the fragment does not point to a single coordinate. It is actually composed of nine different sets of star patterns superimposed on each other."
"Currently, the first set of star patterns has been successfully matched, and the coordinates it points to are located in an ancient battlefield ruin called 'Kronos Ruins'."
"According to a top-secret file we seized from the Star Eater Cult, they also sent an exploration team to the 'Ruins of Kronos,' where they discovered a structure resembling an energy relay station left behind by an ancient Earth civilization!"
The clues match up!
Su Chen was overjoyed; he knew he was on the right track.
"continue!"
Several more hours passed.
"Key reverse engineering complete!"
"Deep decryption of the incomplete image is being performed using the 'Original Key'... Decryption successful!"
As the prophet finished speaking, the dark gold fragment in Su Chen's hand suddenly trembled slightly.
The ancient star patterns on the surface seemed to come alive, beginning to slowly circulate.
A massive flow of information, filled with a desolate and magnificent aura, surged into Su Chen's divine realm of will along his palm!
In that instant, Su Chen seemed to see the birth and destruction of the universe, and the ancient ancestors of Earth who built one great miracle after another in the sea of stars.
Once the information flow stabilized, Su Chen's face showed an unprecedented look of shock.
He finally learned the truth about the "Genesis Ark" project.
First, this plan is indeed composed of nine fragments of a map. Each fragment points to a super relic left by an ancient Earth civilization.
Secondly, the "Ark of Genesis" is not a single ship, nor a single creation. It is a magnificent, unimaginable... super array!
These nine super ruins scattered throughout the Milky Way are the nine core nodes of this array!
Once all nine nodes are activated, they will connect to form a massive energy field large enough to cover a small part of the Milky Way.
As for the function of this energy field... the information on the fragment did not explicitly state it, but it mentioned several keywords: "purification", "reboot", and "sowing".
"My God..." Su Chen muttered to himself, his heart filled with turbulent emotions.
This is no longer an escape plan.
This sounds more like a terrifying plan to "format" the entire galaxy and then "reinstall the system"!
What were the ancient civilizations of Earth trying to do? What did they encounter that led them to activate such a desperate final plan?
Looking at the small fragment of the map in his hand, Su Chen realized for the first time that the secrets it carried might be far more weighty than he had imagined.
This is not just an opportunity, but a switch that could potentially determine the fate of billions of civilizations throughout the Milky Way...
And he now holds the first key to unlock this switch.