Fragrance

The moment Song Ziliang finished speaking, a severed Mechanical Arm appeared in the enormous Holographic Projection directly ahead.

The break was smooth, as though something sharp had sliced through it.

"This is..."

Morr stared at the image in the Holographic Projection, his eyes widening abruptly. "The right Mechanical Arm of an HRA-3 Type Exploration Robot?"

The HRA-3 Type Exploration Robot was a high-precision exploration robot manufactured by the Human Federation.

It could adapt to most of the harsh environments found in the universe.

Whether for reconnaissance on planetary surfaces or exploration inside ordinary stars, it could perform admirably.

With its excellent performance, this exploration robot had quickly become standard equipment for the Dangerous Technology Administration.

"Wait, I have a question!"

Looking at the holographic image ahead, Morr's face showed a trace of confusion. "I know about Wormhole Information Dissipation Theory too. As I recall, any dissipated information would be scrambled into disordered data by the wormhole itself on the scale of Planck Time. How did you reconstruct it?"

Song Ziliang replied with a smile.

"Just a few days ago, Academician Lin Yang perfected Wormhole Information Dissipation Theory."

"Now, with the computing power of Zero, the Academy of Sciences Central Mainframe, certain specific information can be retrieved and reconstructed."

Morr froze.

That... happened?

He admitted that he did not pay much attention to the Academy of Sciences' research.

But for such a major theoretical breakthrough, even if he did not care, he should have at least heard some rumors.

"Oh, right."

Seeing the bewildered looks on Morr and the other researchers' faces, Song Ziliang hurriedly added, "This technology is not mature enough yet, so Academician Lin Yang has not announced it for the time being."

Morr understood, but an even deeper doubt immediately rose in his heart.

"Putting Academician Lin Yang's theory aside, where did an Intern Academician like you get a computing allocation..."

Before he could finish, Morr realized a crucial fact.

This Intern Academician before him, who had joined the Dangerous Technology Administration less than a year ago, was actually Academician Lin Yang's student.

As a Level I Academician with one of the highest academic standings in the Human Federation's Academy of Sciences, Academician Lin Yang naturally had a computing allocation from Zero.

Of course.

Veteran employees were only good for laughs. When something really happened, you had to rely on the interns!

After all, you never knew how big a shot an intern could call in!

Morr waved a hand without changing expression.

"I have no more questions. Go on."

Song Ziliang nodded and continued as calmly as ever. "According to our previous plan, the HRA-3 Type Exploration Robot would carry a Carbon-Based Lifeform Intelligent Terminal to the coordinates where the signal originated."

"With the Intelligent Terminal, we could quickly establish contact with the target signal source."

Morr's gaze shifted. "But the plan failed. A severed Mechanical Arm cannot do anything, even if it entered the target universe."

"No, you're wrong."

Song Ziliang rejected Morr's words without hesitation. "You may not know this, but every Intelligent Terminal is installed on the right arm of an HRA-3 Type Exploration Robot."

Hearing this, Morr froze. "You mean..."

"That's right." The corners of Song Ziliang's lips curled upward, and a confident smile appeared on his face. "Theoretically, an Intelligent Terminal successfully entered the target universe. It may even have come into contact with the target signal source!"

"As long as we can establish contact with that Intelligent Terminal, every problem will be solved."

"There's a problem." Morr raised a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head in frustration. "The communication power installed on the Intelligent Terminal is nowhere near enough to initiate inter-universal communication."

"For it to contact us on its own..."

"Fuck, the odds are lower than my chances of getting that damned year-end bonus!"

Song Ziliang: "?"

Had he just heard something he really should not have?

"Cough!" Song Ziliang chose to ignore that dangerous subject. "There is actually a solution to this problem as well."

"Although we have not confirmed the Cosmic Bubble's exact coordinates, we can determine the rough range of its movements."

"As long as we set up enough Hyperspace Membrane signal transmitters and receivers throughout that area, theoretically, the Intelligent Terminal inside that Cosmic Bubble will be able to receive the signal."

Morr: "?"

So, full-coverage, indiscriminate WiFi?

Did he hear himself?

Leaving aside how difficult this plan would be to implement, how much budget would this fucking cost?!

Thinking of the Credit Points that were about to drain away in torrents, Morr felt a faint stab of pain in his heart again.

Meanwhile.

Main Church Library.

As Chen Fan walked between the wooden bookshelves, carefully examining those old paper books, that strange fragrance mixed with the scent of decay once again filled his nostrils.

He sniffed lightly and quickly identified the source of the increasingly potent fragrance—the layer of tung-oil-like substance applied to the wooden bookshelves.

This unit has conducted a simple analysis.

Just as Chen Fan inhaled the faint fragrance, One's voice sounded in his mind. This substance extracted from plants has excellent anti-corrosion properties.

In addition, the fragrance it emits can refresh the mind and improve alertness.

However, it has two major harmful effects.

What effects?

First, it is mildly addictive. Second, and more importantly, long-term exposure will cause irreversible, permanent damage to the brain's logical and cognitive abilities.

What the fuck?!

Chen Fan's expression changed slightly, and he instinctively held his breath.

Was it intentional, or accidental?

The answer was already obvious.

The church had done this deliberately.

Its purpose was likely to conceal some unknown truths.

Just as Xu Huai had said, the church had altered the history books in an attempt to hide certain truths. But history was history. Later revisions and embellishments would inevitably leave behind tiny flaws. Once those flaws were discovered by someone observant, the consequences would be unimaginable.

So the church had resorted to a drastic measure—damaging people's logical and cognitive abilities!

After figuring out this entire chain of actions, Chen Fan immediately felt a thin layer of cold sweat seep from his back.

One, this fragrance will affect me...

Brief exposure is not a problem. Besides, don't you have this unit as an external brain?

Chen Fan: *...*

He slowly exhaled a stale breath, then cautiously took in a breath.

Although he knew it would not make any difference, Chen Fan still instinctively controlled his breathing rate.

He turned to Gao Yuan, who was following behind him. "Old Gao, do you know where the church keeps all its history books?"

"History books?"

Gao Yuan sniffed hard, a clear look of pleasure appearing in his eyes.

"You mean the church's chronicles?"