Chapter 206
Ye Bai was momentarily stunned by the scene before her. Cautiously, she reached out her hand to touch the nearest "star" beside her.
Instead, her fingers met the cold wall.
Like a projection, the "star" continued its path unchanged, unaffected by her touch.
Ye Bai paused, then withdrew her hand and replaced it with her mental energy.
Fortunately, it seemed that since she had already passed the verification at the entrance, using her mental energy here did not trigger any alarm mechanisms.
As she extended her mental energy, Ye Bai discovered that this seemingly small space was, on a mental level, in perfect harmony with the starry sky, vast and boundless.
From the entrance, Ye Bai could tell that the lair of the black hole employed some form of spatial technology. Perhaps the entrance was the only part on that desolate planet, while the space itself was hidden away in a more secretive location. However, she hadn’t expected that this spatial technology could also be applied to the realm of mental energy.
This time, when Ye Bai reached out with her mental energy, she finally made contact with the star she had longed to touch.
A thunderous sound echoed in her mind, and her entire body trembled.
"Application of mental link external sensing technology..."
Her mental energy surged like a super high-bandwidth data line, and as she touched the "star," a torrent of information and knowledge flooded directly into her mind.
This method of information exchange was incredibly efficient. If it were in her own time, it would be the dream of every student—a "knowledge imprint," where knowledge entered the brain's memory directly, without the need to read, listen, or memorize, as it became "memory" in the process.
Ye Bai stood still for a long moment, slightly dazed and unaccustomed, before she began to recover.
In fact, her mental entity had already reached B-level, and her brain's capacity and information reception ability were sufficient to handle this influx of information. However, due to some ingrained thought patterns that had yet to shift—like a computer with upgraded hardware but outdated software—she found herself in this state.
Nevertheless, Ye Bai successfully "extracted" the information she was most concerned about from her mind:
The lair of the black hole, this space, was actually a laboratory entirely controlled by mental energy...
The vast expanse of stars before her resembled massive folders brimming with years of experimental data and knowledge accumulated by the black hole.
At the moment Ye Bai obtained one of the documents, she also learned the name of this space... no, this laboratory: the "Ether Laboratory."
From the "Laboratory User Manual" she acquired, Ye Bai discovered that the Ether Laboratory could store vast amounts of data and could be activated by mental energy, allowing for various experiments in an "Ether environment" that bore no difference from the real world, without affecting the outside.
As long as the mental energy was sufficient, anything was possible.
"What level of technology is this laboratory? Did the black hole create it themselves?"
The moment this thought crossed her mind, Ye Bai quickly dismissed it. The most obvious point was that the "Laboratory User Manual" she received was not something a rational person would include in a laboratory they built and used themselves, as if fearing others wouldn’t know how to use it.
The presence of a user manual made the laboratory seem more like a "product" in Ye Bai's eyes.
With this thought, Ye Bai immediately recalled the technology in the exchange area. Although most of the functions there were one-time use, the technological level shared a similar "fantastical" quality.
But the Ether Laboratory was not available for exchange. How did the black hole acquire it? Ye Bai suspected it might be related to the task area that had remained silent.
Returning to her senses, Ye Bai looked again at the multitude of stars in the space—
The technological sophistication of this laboratory was reassuring, and she found that she could still connect to the star network.
For the time being, Ye Bai could take on the identity of the black hole, using the guise of "recovering" to delve into the valuable knowledge left behind by the other party while enhancing her strength across the realms.
By the time she emerged again, Ye Bai estimated she would truly be a "black hole" in every sense.
...
On Ju Hai Star, in the dormitory of an official research institute of the Huan Hai civilization.
After receiving an urgent message alert, Aurora had just slain a level 22 monster and exited the combat zone. Once out of battle, she immediately logged off from the game.
In the star network, Aurora checked her personal messages once more.
There was still no reply from Ye Bai. The last message from her had been two weeks ago, stating that she had changed jobs, her mental energy had reached D-level, and she was busy with a transport mission, unable to find time to meet Aurora in the main city.
Since then, Aurora had been occupied with tasks assigned by her mentor and leveling up. It was only three days ago that she learned about the tsunami that had struck Ju Hai Star, right in the area where Ye Bai lived.
Aurora immediately sent a message to Ye Bai, but the result showed that the signal from her planet was disconnected.
After reaching D-level mental energy, one could block planetary signals, and Aurora had no way of knowing whether Ye Bai had chosen to block it or if there was another reason.
Next, Aurora quickly contacted official channels to inquire about Ye Bai's situation, but the response caught her off guard—
The unusual tsunami incident had been classified as a top-secret matter, and the area had been completely sealed off by the Huan Hai civilization for resettlement and processing. Even with Aurora's current personal background, and a family background that was even more prestigious... she could not obtain any information about it.
Knowing this, Aurora remained anxious and distracted. Upon returning to reality, as she opened her eyes, her personal terminal received a high-priority communication request.
Although the identity of the caller was not displayed, Aurora immediately recognized this type of request; it could only come from the most core departments within the civilization.
"Please open the door."
Taking a deep breath, Aurora nervously opened her door.
Standing outside was a member of a special department, their face concealed by a technological mask, exuding a sharp and imposing aura.
"Identity verification complete... Ms. Aurora, we need your cooperation in an investigation."
---
Chapter 138
Aurora was taken in a private maglev vehicle, the journey silent, her arms slightly revealing scales that betrayed her nervousness.
When she was brought to a highly secure departmental investigation room, she encountered a person in uniform.
Seeing the number of stripes on the uniform, Aurora's pupils dilated, and her scales opened a bit wider, realizing that the situation was serious.
The individual before her held a very high rank; as expected, he was the highest authority in this department.
"There's no need to be nervous. Please, have a seat, Ms. Aurora."
Across from her sat a middle-aged man with a restrained demeanor. He looked exceedingly ordinary, easily overlooked on the planets of the Huan Hai civilization. However, as she drew closer, Aurora sensed a unique, imposing presence emanating from him.
"Yes," Aurora replied instinctively as she sat down, her mind racing with thoughts about what had happened during the tsunami and what state Ye Bai was in now.
In the next moment, the head of the confidential department cut straight to the point: "How much do you know about your friend Ye Bai?"
Although Ju Hai Star was a semi-open planet of the Huan Hai civilization, not everyone had the qualifications for long-term residency. One had to meet certain basic conditions set by the Huan Hai civilization. Ye Bai had managed to transfer from Makur Star to the Ju Hai Star system smoothly thanks to Aurora's recommendation as a native.
Otherwise, as an ancient human from Blue Star, Ye Bai would have needed to fulfill various requirements, such as spending a certain amount in the Huan Hai civilization's economy or belonging to a civilization that had established diplomatic relations with the Huan Hai civilization, among other related criteria.
This was something that the special department could easily look up.
Upon hearing this, Aurora's expression turned anxious. "Did something happen to Ye Bai during the tsunami?"
To this day, the Huan Hai civilization's explanation for the obviously abnormal tsunami to the public was that it was caused by an external gravitational disturbance. For a civilization capable of accurately forecasting every hurricane on a planet, this explanation was far from reasonable.
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