Xyrin Empire

Taville and her research team have recently been engrossed in tackling a problem—the relationship between Milia and the box. The widespread warfare throughout the universe cannot divert their attention on this matter, which is a bit awkward since we all know that dealing with both humans and boxes at the same time in this world is usually a task for the crematorium…

To talk about something less auspicious, Milia truly has an inexplicable connection with the box, which I deeply feel, especially after Taville demonstrated a very interesting experiment for us:

First, she had Milia crawl into a container, which wasn't too difficult for the former. Although she initially emerged from the container as a baby and has now grown into a graceful young lady, her physique has always been slim and petite. Moreover, she seems to have stopped growing since turning fourteen (moment of silence), so when Milia curls up, she can just fit into the container. It seems as though the two boxes and she were manufactured as a set—though it's unclear who was designed to fit whom.

I thought of the Mercury Lamp, that little thing is also matched with a box… Alright, we've gone off topic.

Back on track, when Taville demonstrated for us, she had Milia crawl into one of the containers while leaving a small common probe inside. The probe had a camera function, and Milia held it in front, continually making faces, while the researchers closed the container from outside. This is one of the recent research developments; we've found a simple control method for these two containers.

With the box's lid closed, can you guess what happened?

Just as many guessed, Milia disappeared.

When this scene unfolded, both Big Sister and I couldn't help but gasp lightly. On the footage sent back by the probe, the girl making faces vanished into the air just as the light from above dimmed, without even a process. The image shook slightly, which was the probe adjusting itself after losing external support. Under the control of an assistant technician, the probe began to roam around inside the container, yet the footage showed the container was already empty.

Instinctively, I assumed Milia had once again been transported, but in fact, the other container was empty too.

"When the crystal lining of it resumes its locked state, this little girl will detach from physical form," Taville's tone held a hint of excitement; clearly, the phenomenon before her greatly intrigued her, "but in fact, she's always been there inside."

An assistant technician stepped forward to open the container's lid. Milia sat up from within, smilingly waving to everyone. I began pondering a question: how did her clothes disappear and then reappear along with her? Well, that's one of my quirks; when faced with something I can't figure out, I either don't think about it at all or overthink it. Big Sister, when young, always thought I might grow up to become a philosopher, although later facts proved that Pythagoras wasn't famous from relying on a god's influences either.

Taville waved her hand, and Milia, already well-coordinated from days of experimentation, immediately stuck her tongue out and lay back down. At the moment of reclosing the container, the little girl in the monitor disappeared again!

"She's in there, in a hyper-information form combined with the crystal lining, and some of the information is diffused in the container's space to directly interact with the surrounding environment. This might be to record historical changes, but clearly, Milia's creator didn't anticipate that this system would eventually fail the test of battle and get damaged. When Milia exists in hyper-information inside the container, the diffused external information is destroyed, causing her to forget a lot of knowledge. Theoretically, that's the case," Taville muttered while quickly pointing in the air to pull out a control terminal, placing her hand on it. The edge of her hand fluctuated like liquid metal, then glowed in blue and merged with the terminal, swiftly interacting with the research auxiliary system. That's a talent of research-type Angel Envoys; they excel at modifying their bodies to quickly manipulate any information, an ability even the Xyrin Host can't compare to just in terms of compatibility—since Taville, Bubbles no longer generates her PS3 emulator.

Taville's operation was rapid and puzzling, and Big Sister and I could only quietly watch, curious about what more surprises she could bring us. However, what eventually appeared wasn't more complex symbols but Milia's smiling face, accompanied by a girl's voice with a slight mechanical tremor: "Hehe, bro, I can see you!"

"Milia?"

My voice might have sounded a bit odd, but you have to understand, our counterpart doesn't even have a body, not even a shadow like Gaia. From any monitoring footage, the container looks empty, yet Milia's image appears vividly in the holographic projection. This made me feel like I was conversing with a beam of electromagnetic waves or perhaps a ghost, and the holographic image before me was like a supernatural item receiving a signal from this ghost—the events surrounding this girl always seem to involve hauntings from when we first met. Now, she's returning to square one.

"This is a simulated signal. Through a very complex code deciphering mechanism, we can contact Milia in her hyper-information state, where she directly enters the analysis system here with her thoughts. During the first trial with this method, she startled everyone: because the research institute's information firewall was rendered useless!"

Taville still carried an undeniable impression of amazement in her voice for telling it, while Big Sister frowned and asked, "I've been wondering since before, what exactly is this hyper-information?"

"A lost technology of the Old Empire, artificially creating the Heart of the World," Taville fell silent for two seconds before slowly speaking. She mentioned a certain keyword again, which once more piqued our nerves. I had already heard it once and thought I misheard, but this time I finally realized late: "The Heart of the World? That one?"

Taville nodded: "Yes, my liege, that one."

"That one?"

Taville nodded vigorously: "Yes, that one."

Big Sister began to pinch my scalp hard…

"Alright, alright, the Heart of the World, I got it." I quickly broke free from my sister's clutches and got serious, recalling related knowledge about the Heart of the World. It's a point of information entanglement in the world evolution process, the first byte post-Big Bang, and the return key after the universe extinguishes. Father God explained to me that it was the source point of all information in the world. Information radiates from the Heart of the World and evolves to become the whole complex world. As the world gradually collapses, information falls from complexity back to simplicity, finally reverting to the source. Father God mentioned how the Heart of the World can take any form, jumping to anything possible throughout world evolution, even a butterfly—then that butterfly could flap its wings and blow away half of Texas. Due to the shapeless nature of the Heart of the World, saying Milia is the Heart of the World, though unbelievable, was acceptable. But what about an artificially created Heart of the World? What about the Old Empire's hyper-information technology?

And most importantly—who originally created this World Core, Milia's "parents"?

Taville wasn't flustered by my barrage of questions because her answer was universal: "My liege, you probably wouldn't understand…"

Me: "…"

As I said, her answer is universal; usually, Sandora, Pandora Visca, and even Bingdisi often resolve matters with this answer, and each time I'd be successfully settled.

"In general, it's a non-direct-application technology," Taville thought for a moment, deciding to spare her boss some dignity by explaining slightly. "It's somewhat like a platform technology, not an end itself, but a common means frequently used to achieve other ends. Creating an artificial Heart of the World requires incredibly advanced information control skills, needing to reverse an already-evolved universe back to the initial Void state and then evolve it again to the current state. During this process, forcibly transferring the Heart of the World to a desired individual or extracting it to form a special existence is possible. Milia's situation is still uncertain about which type, but generally, hyper-information bodies produced by either method are roughly similar. The Heart of the World itself is merely an information entanglement point; it doesn't have special abilities nor can it change universe evolution on its own will, because fundamentally, the Heart of the World is a one-way information valve. Typically, an artificially created Heart of the World is used to enhance control over a specific world, but it doesn't mean it only has that purpose—" Taville quickly explained while rapidly pointing something in the air, pulling up a control terminal, and pressing her hand on it. The edges of her palm vibrated like liquid metal before it emitted a blue glow, merging with the terminal and quickly interacting with the research auxiliary system. This was one of the innate abilities of research-type Angel Envoys, who excel at transforming their bodies to quickly manipulate information; just in terms of compatibility, even a Xyrin Host could not compare with them—since Taville joined, Bubbles no longer creates its own PS3 simulator.

Taville's operations were rapid and hard to comprehend. Big Sister and I could only quietly watch and wait to see what more surprises she could bring us. However, what eventually appeared before our eyes wasn't a more complex symbol or something similar, but rather a grinning face of Milia along with a girlish voice with a slight mechanical tremor coming to our ears: "Hehe, bro, I can see you!"

"Milia?"

My voice might have sounded a bit odd to hear, but you have to understand that the other party doesn't even have a body, not even an illusion like Gaia's. From any surveillance footage, the container looked completely empty, yet Milia's image was clearly appearing on the holographic projection. This made me feel as though I was talking to a signal from a ghost or, so to speak, an apparition, and the holographic image before me was a supernatural item receiving signals from this ghost—from the very start, when we met this girl, it was all accompanied by a series of hauntings. Now, she seemed to have come full circle.

"""

I awkwardly said, I really couldn't see Milia, such a lively girl, as a system plugin manufactured by the Old Empire. Her vibrant and curious demeanor had deeply imprinted itself in my mind. No matter her true identity, she clearly looked like just an ordinary girl. Although sometimes her tendency to get into trouble was a huge flaw.

"Key," Taville contemplated silently for a few seconds, seemingly weighing whether to make a final conclusion on a certain suspicion, and then firmly raised his head and said, "She is highly likely to be a key — a gateway to the Shadow Space of the Revenge Army!"

I was momentarily stunned, almost unable to resist grabbing Taville's shoulders for a vigorous shake. Considering Big Sister might launch me from the research institute to the Command Center with a flick to the forehead, I managed to suppress the impulse, but still urgently asked, "Say that again?! A key to the Shadow Space?! Why didn't you mention such an important speculation earlier!"

"Because initially, this speculation only had a sixty percent possibility, not meeting the required standard value for reporting to you, but just now, with some data fully decomposed, I can confirm this conjecture."

Taville ordered his subordinates to open the container; Milia sat up from inside, resting on the edge of the container, chatting about something with the nearby Assistant Technicians. Taville looked at her from afar, using his typical matter-of-fact Scientist tone: "There's an inexplicable coordinate system in her core, which has been rapidly self-refreshing, full of contradictions. Now, I suspect it might be the corresponding coordinate system between the real world and the Shadow Space in this Universe."

I thought Taville's speculation was a bit fanciful, but after pondering, you had to admit such an idea fit the needs of a dramatic unfolding perfectly: sounds absurd, but in reality… indeed absurd. Yet sometimes, the more something sounds incredible, the more it makes one irresistibly inclined to believe it. How many catastrophes throughout history have been caused by indulging in this lousy habit?

Big Sister even seriously pondered for a while, then suddenly mused, "In that case, could the container numbered one perhaps be… in the hands of the Revenge Army?"

"You're suggesting that thing is in the Shadow Space?"

I was shocked.

"That's the only explanation. Ever since the discovery of these two boxes, the Mobra Star System has been thoroughly examined. There couldn't possibly be a third container here," Big Sister nodded, "If Milia's identity is indeed a key, this gate between the Shadow Space and the real world must at least have a corresponding lock. And these containers are precisely the locks…"

I suddenly realized this explanation was quite horrifying and had lots of nuanced points, but we could set aside the inherent issues for now — I'm just curious about how a lock could have three keyholes…

"One might be for backup, and perhaps there are multiple backups," Big Sister said, "No matter what the Revenge Army encountered back then, they couldn't have placed all eggs in one basket upon their final retreat…"

I quickly reminded her, "Actually, there's only one egg — Milia is the only child."

Big Sister smiled sweetly at me; I shrank my neck, "Please go on."

"I've finished."

I: "…"

"Your sister isn't an Immortal," Big Sister tapped my forehead, "I may think a bit more, but certainly can't surpass Lin Xue's eyes, may have a slightly meticulous mind, but absolutely can't match Sandora's strategies. I can only speak of my intuition; the actual operation depends on experts like Taville."

So I turned my gaze to the glasses-wearing girl beside me: "Taville, I just want to know one thing: what should we do to use Milia to open the Shadow Space?"

Opening the Shadow Space by destroying the entire time-space there to end this war was Sandora's carefully contemplated best strategy. Yet, we were unsure how to access the Shadow Space first. All Shadow Spaces are encrypted, utilizing technology also from the Xyrin Empire, rendering our decryption methods unsuited to gain any technical advantage this time. Besides, we faced a Universe-sized Shadow Space. This colossal entity had long diverged from the real world, and even its owner could only enter the real world by aimless stumbling… Uh, I think I understand the Revenge Army's motive for seizing the Brown Earth Star container now.

They needed a precise coordinate system, just like us.

If Milia could recall her "function," we'd gain an overwhelming advantage against the Revenge Army: we could precisely target, while the enemy must continue blundering like headless flies!

"Perhaps we should let our most powerful Xyrin Host give it a try," Taville suggested tentatively, "The concept of an Artificial World Heart sounds incredible, but its essence is an extended technology of the Xyrin Host. Milia and Bubbles can coexist on the life form. I have already scanned Milia's core, and her ancient data hasn't actually been lost; what's missing is her 'cracker' used to extract the data, a role Bubbles should be able to fulfill. Theoretically, that's the case."

I thought this was a great idea, so I immediately called Bubbles over. She was busy coordinating the information uploaded by other hosts to her — she's always been incredibly industrious. But upon hearing about the situation here, she quickly rushed over with great energy.

For the research these days, Taville specifically prepared Milia a slot similar to a Xyrin Host. It also looked like a crystal prism but was simplified in components compared to conventional host slots. Its data reading method simulated the interior of those two containers, which had already been confirmed as a type of ultra-high-speed information interface, possibly designed to allow Milia to output the current Shadow Space or real world's corresponding entry-exit path.

Now, this specially made slot finally came in handy. It was transferred to the Central Machine Room of the research institute and placed alongside a regular Xyrin Host slot. The latter originally served as the work station for the resident host of the institute, but now was temporarily requisitioned by Bubbles. A production model host with a vacant expression stood beside me, blankly watching as "mother" occupied her space, having calculated data within there just minutes ago. I curiously pinched the soft cheek of this mass-produced host, feeling its similarity to Bubbles, but the latter did not have such lively reactions, only stupidly looking up at me, then bowing.

"This should be a newborn host," Big Sister smiled as she softly petted the production model host's hair, also accustomed to treating these mass-produced models as regular girls, "Hosts that have already served for a period in Shadow City would be slightly more lively."

At this point, Milia had already slipped into her prism. Despite undergoing several experiments, she was still quite intrigued by this novel experience, and this time, it was her first having someone else floating in an identical pillar beside her — she curiously turned her head to look at Bubbles in the other slot and started rapping on the front of her crystal casing: "Hey! Can you hear me?"

As a qualified Imperial Soldier, Bubbles had to remind her to remain serious at this moment: "Stop messing around; it's time for me to activate the equipment…"

I sighed to Big Sister, "Do you think anything good will come with those two cooperating?"

Big Sister was silent for several seconds, "I'm accustomed to it earlier than you are." (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)