A giant tentacle, almost two meters in diameter had grown through the rock formations into the cave . It lay in a deep gully and its black skin was covered with dry, cracked lines . The giant tentacle looked like a strange train, but Hao Ren immediately recognized it; it was an unmissable part of the First Born .
"Sure enough . . . the worldview of the virtual world is based on reality . The real Zorm lies on the remnants of the goddess' creation . " Hao Ren jumped into the ditch and carefully touched the seemingly dead tentacle . "It's dead, but I don't know if there will be any other living organisms deep in the ground . "
Vivian looked around, feeling uneasy . "This is the refuge Zorm's people, and the tentacle of the First Born invaded this place . . . "
"But it seems that the people of Zorm had survived—at least in the virtual world," Hao Ren said while brushing his hands . He got to his feet and jumped back up . He carefully observed the cave that was connected to the man-made super-alloy tunnels . It appeared like a natural cave but reinforced with alloy grid and beams on the roof, and composite materials in the surrounding rock formations . Even when the planet was gradually disintegrating, the reinforcement had allowed the cave to hold up until this day .
They had seen more than one such cave during their journey down the tunnel . Some were natural and some were man-made . Some of the caves had been transformed into what looked like living quarters, while others storage of cargo and equipment . Just like this cave where empty platforms and metal shelves suggested it was once a storage, the cargo had gone, probably had rotten away .
It was not known how long the people of Zorm took to build this refuge . From the look of it, the virtual world was not on their plan initially . The large number of underground settlements suggested that people were living here . Something must have happened afterwards that they decided to escape deeper into the safety of the virtual world .
"Probably the invasion of the First Born had forced them to give up their worldly body completely . " Hao Ren said . He was basing his conclusion on the facts in hand .
Lily did not say a word; she just came up to the tentacle and examined it curiously . It appeared as if the tentacle invaded the cavern through a purposely-built passage . A metal conduit that looked like a sewer opening was on the wall, through which the tentacle got in and lay in a gully in the cavern . She scratched her chin . "I've got the feeling that someone deliberately let the tentacle in here . "
"Why would they want to do that?" Hao Ren asked, and then he saw the instruments in the surroundings . "They wanted to study it?"
They looked at each other; no one seemed to know the answer . Suddenly, the quake came again from deep within the interior of the planet . The shaking and loud noises jolted and woke them up to the critical situation of the planet . The First Born would have to wait; they needed to keep going with the guidance of the navigation map the MDT had provided them .
They saw more tentacles in the other tunnels, halls, and caverns . The tentacles became increasingly weirder; they did not know what to make of them .
Hao Ren's eyes were on stalks as he again came to a huge man-made cavern . "Oh man! This is . . . "
The underground bunker was well structured and so vast that it was equivalent to several football fields in size . The dome on the ceiling was one hundred metres above the ground . Luminescent minerals inlaid on the ceiling was providing a faint illumination, they could barely see the situation here . Hao Ren found a number of neatly arranged, dark metal cylinders that looked like building blocks in the centre of the cave . There were metal lines and service hatches on the cylinders while cables and pipes ran around them . These cables and pipes were so strangely thick and solid that they looked like a cobweb in the air . It reminded Hao Ren of the circuitry in some computer lab .
They thought they had found the 'server' .
They thought they had found the 'server' .
But, the 'server' was entangled in, or rather, living in symbiosis with a mesh of tentacles .
The dark tentacles hung from the ceiling to a height of more than ten metres from the ground . They were like standardised products from the factory—neat and almost identical, and each of them connected to a cable . The standard, unified connection was by no means accidental . Hao Ren tossed a flashlight into the air and saw how the connections looked like . There was a metal coupling on each connection; one end connected to the cable, the other end was embedded in the tentacle .
"It doesn't look like an invasion . . . " Lily murmured as she looked up .
She saw neat rows of metal hoop on the ceiling with a tentacle hanging down in each metal hoop . It was obvious even to the husky's level of intelligence that this was man-made .
Y'lisabet ran to a metal cylinder on the other side . Earthquake seemed to have damaged the cylinder as its casing had cracked . The little demon peeped curiously into the cylinder through the crack . "Something is inside!" she screamed .
They darted over and found that the metal cylinder was not a server like the one they had imagined; there was no hard disk nor CPU inside but only a broken, large glass container . It seemed the container used to contain liquid but had now dried up . A dead tentacle of the First Born was hanging out from inside .
Lily came before a metal cylinder that seemed to be still in good condition, and carefully cut a hole in the shell with her claw . Like the damaged cylinder, this one also contained a glass container that was still intact . It was filled with a pale red fluid with a black tentacle immersed in it . No one knew if the tentacle was still alive .
Lily came before a metal cylinder that seemed to be still in good condition, and carefully cut a hole in the shell with her claw . Like the damaged cylinder, this one also contained a glass container that was still intact . It was filled with a pale red fluid with a black tentacle immersed in it . No one knew if the tentacle was still alive .
Hao Ren could not believe what he saw . "The machine has integrated with the First Born," he muttered .
"What is this place?" Vivian frowned . "A bio-research lab of the First Born?"
"This facility could never held the First Born," Hao Ren said as he looked curiously at the ancient equipment . He could not figure out how these things worked but he could roughly know their level of technology . "The First Born allowed it . It was a collaboration . "
Then he pointed to those tentacles hanging from the ceiling . "Look at those tentacles . Have you ever seen this kind of structure on the other 'natural' First Born? They obviously had adapted themselves to the machine . And, also look at the equipment around here; they were tailored made to suit the First Born . They were not working against but with each other—seamlessly . I know it sounds ridiculous but I'm afraid this is the only logical explanation . "
Lily came out from behind a metal cylinder, her face serious . "And, this facility is still running—at least part of it is still running . "
Hao Ren arched his eyebrow . "How do you know?" he asked .
Lily turned around and showed her smoky, dark tail . "There is electricity!"
Everyone: " . . . "
Lily turned around and showed her smoky, dark tail . "There is electricity!"
Everyone: " . . . "
Vivian closed her eyes, trying to feel the signs of life in the surroundings . "Not only the facility is running, but the tentacles are showing a faint sign of life—they are still alive . "
A question popped in Hao Ren's head . "Is this what we're supposed to look for?"
Suddenly, there was another quake . Dust fell from the ceiling . The MDT had called in . "Hey, buddy! Half an hour to sunrise! What is the situation down there now?"
"I . . . I have found something here," said Hao Ren hesitatingly . He then planted a series of sensors on the nearby cables and metal cylinders . He needed to find out what these cables and cylinders were for; the smart sensors might help . "I'm sending you data . It is from the cable system in the refuge . Analyse it . "
A moment later, the MDT came back with a happy voice . "Oh oh, looks like a server's data stream . Go to a key node and trace along a main cable, you should be able to find the memory storage—"
"But there is a problem," Hao Ren cut in . "The storage is not a bunch of hard drives but the First Born . Strictly speaking, the server itself is the First Born . The people of Zorm are in the dreams of the First Born . "
A giant tentacle, almost two meters in diameter had grown through the rock formations into the cave . It lay in a deep gully and its black skin was covered with dry, cracked lines . The giant tentacle looked like a strange train, but Hao Ren immediately recognized it; it was an unmissable part of the First Born . Sure enough . the worldview of the virtual world is based on reality . The real Zorm lies on the remnants of the goddess creation . Hao Ren jumped into the ditch and carefully touched the seemingly dead tentacle . Its dead, but I dont know if there will be any other living organisms deep in the ground . Vivian looked around, feeling uneasy . This is the refuge Zorms people, and the tentacle of the First Born invaded this place . But it seems that the people of Zorm had survived—at least in the virtual world, Hao Ren said while brushing his hands . He got to his feet and jumped back up . He carefully observed the cave that was connected to the man-made super-alloy tunnels . It appeared like a natural cave but reinforced with alloy grid and beams on the roof, and composite materials in the surrounding rock formations . Even when the planet was gradually disintegrating, the reinforcement had allowed the cave to hold up until this day . They had seen more than one such cave during their journey down the tunnel . Some were natural and some were man-made . Some of the caves had been transformed into what looked like living quarters, while others storage of cargo and equipment . Just like this cave where empty platforms and metal shelves suggested it was once a storage, the cargo had gone, probably had rotten away . It was not known how long the people of Zorm took to build this refuge . From the look of it, the virtual world was not on their plan initially . The large number of underground settlements suggested that people were living here . Something must have happened afterwards that they decided to escape deeper into the safety of the virtual world . Probably the invasion of the First Born had forced them to give up their worldly body completely . Hao Ren said . He was basing his conclusion on the facts in hand . Lily did not say a word; she just came up to the tentacle and examined it curiously . It appeared as if the tentacle invaded the cavern through a purposely-built passage . A metal conduit that looked like a sewer opening was on the wall, through which the tentacle got in and lay in a gully in the cavern . She scratched her chin . Ive got the feeling that someone deliberately let the tentacle in here . Why would they want to do that? Hao Ren asked, and then he saw the instruments in the surroundings . They wanted to study it? They looked at each other; no one seemed to know the answer . Suddenly, the quake came again from deep within the interior of the planet . The shaking and loud noises jolted and woke them up to the critical situation of the planet . The First Born would have to wait; they needed to keep going with the guidance of the navigation map the MDT had provided them . They saw more tentacles in the other tunnels, halls, and caverns . The tentacles became increasingly weirder; they did not know what to make of them . Hao Rens eyes were on stalks as he again came to a huge man-made cavern . Oh man! This is . The underground bunker was well structured and so vast that it was equivalent to several football fields in size . The dome on the ceiling was one hundred metres above the ground . Luminescent minerals inlaid on the ceiling was providing a faint illumination, they could barely see the situation here . Hao Ren found a number of neatly arranged, dark metal cylinders that looked like building blocks in the centre of the cave . There were metal lines and service hatches on the cylinders while cables and pipes ran around them . These cables and pipes were so strangely thick and solid that they looked like a cobweb in the air . It reminded Hao Ren of the circuitry in some computer lab . They thought they had found the server . But, the server was entangled in, or rather, living in symbiosis with a mesh of tentacles . The dark tentacles hung from the ceiling to a height of more than ten metres from the ground . They were like standardised products from the factory—neat and almost identical, and each of them connected to a cable . The standard, unified connection was by no means accidental . Hao Ren tossed a flashlight into the air and saw how the connections looked like . There was a metal coupling on each connection; one end connected to the cable, the other end was embedded in the tentacle . It doesnt look like an invasion . Lily murmured as she looked up . She saw neat rows of metal hoop on the ceiling with a tentacle hanging down in each metal hoop . It was obvious even to the huskys level of intelligence that this was man-made . Ylisabet ran to a metal cylinder on the other side . Earthquake seemed to have damaged the cylinder as its casing had cracked . The little demon peeped curiously into the cylinder through the crack . Something is inside! she screamed . They darted over and found that the metal cylinder was not a server like the one they had imagined; there was no hard disk nor CPU inside but only a broken, large glass container . It seemed the container used to contain liquid but had now dried up . A dead tentacle of the First Born was hanging out from inside . Lily came before a metal cylinder that seemed to be still in good condition, and carefully cut a hole in the shell with her claw . Like the damaged cylinder, this one also contained a glass container that was still intact . It was filled with a pale red fluid with a black tentacle immersed in it . No one knew if the tentacle was still alive . Hao Ren could not believe what he saw . The machine has integrated with the First Born, he muttered . What is this place? Vivian frowned . A bio-research lab of the First Born? This facility could never held the First Born, Hao Ren said as he looked curiously at the ancient equipment . He could not figure out how these things worked but he could roughly know their level of technology . The First Born allowed it . It was a collaboration . Then he pointed to those tentacles hanging from the ceiling . Look at those tentacles . Have you ever seen this kind of structure on the other natural First Born? They obviously had adapted themselves to the machine . And, also look at the equipment around here; they were tailored made to suit the First Born . They were not working against but with each other—seamlessly . I know it sounds ridiculous but Im afraid this is the only logical explanation . Lily came out from behind a metal cylinder, her face serious . And, this facility is still running—at least part of it is still running . Hao Ren arched his eyebrow . How do you know? he asked . Lily turned around and showed her smoky, dark tail . There is electricity! Everyone: . Vivian closed her eyes, trying to feel the signs of life in the surroundings . Not only the facility is running, but the tentacles are showing a faint sign of life—they are still alive . A question popped in Hao Rens head . Is this what were supposed to look for? Suddenly, there was another quake . Dust fell from the ceiling . The MDT had called in . Hey, buddy! Half an hour to sunrise! What is the situation down there now? I . I have found something here, said Hao Ren hesitatingly . He then planted a series of sensors on the nearby cables and metal cylinders . He needed to find out what these cables and cylinders were for; the smart sensors might help . Im sending you data . It is from the cable system in the refuge . Analyse it . A moment later, the MDT came back with a happy voice . Oh oh, looks like a servers data stream . Go to a key node and trace along a main cable, you should be able to find the memory storage— But there is a problem, Hao Ren cut in . The storage is not a bunch of hard drives but the First Born . Strictly speaking, the server itself is the First Born . The people of Zorm are in the dreams of the First Born .
Chapter end
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