Exploration Ends

"It's alive..." Ivette frowned slightly, lost in thought.

From the previous maintenance logs, she already knew that the main control AI of the Abyss Base was called the "Firefly Core."

So the meaning here was clear: the AI of the Abyss Base had come alive, becoming a life form with self-awareness.

However, even so, there were still two possibilities.

One was "alive" based on a robot crisis, a common theme in many sci-fi stories.

The other was the "alive" state of a mechanical aberration, which fit the apocalyptic scenario better.

But compared to the former, Ivette felt the latter possibility was slightly greater.

This stemmed from some explanations she had encountered in a book, and she wasn't sure if relevant literature actually existed, but it was quite convincing.

Those explanations stated that self-awareness was formed by the integration of "body," "spiritual body," and "memory body," and was indispensable; without any one of them, self-awareness in the universal sense could not be born or sustained.

The most crucial part, the "spiritual body," was essentially a high-density aggregation of a large number of Soul Runes. From the perspective of Rune Studies, there was no difference between souls, matter, and elements.

In the Origin Civilization's understanding of the world, there was currently only one method to obtain "Soul Runes": the unique conversion ability of the biological organ known as the "brain."

But this did not mean that only creatures with brains possessed spiritual bodies. After all, when a person died, the Soul Runes did not disappear but dispersed into the natural world.

As for plants, microorganisms, and other brainless creatures, while they couldn't produce Soul Runes themselves, their bodies possessed the ability to carry them, allowing them to attract and integrate some Soul Runes from nature, thereby hosting them.

This situation gave rise to what was called "spirituality," which was the foundation of Animism.

Therefore, with this theoretical support, governments worldwide had special requirements for high-end AI chips like "Mind Cores." They mandated super-companies like Sky Dome Technology to install "spirit cleansing" modules during production to automatically clear Soul Runes, preventing an excessive buildup within the Mind Core and the generation of even a faint trace of spirituality.

However, to be fair, this was merely a measure to reassure the public. In multiple research and testing phases, the materials used in Mind Cores had a very weak ability to carry Soul Runes, making them almost negligible, like insulators.

Given that they were inherently insulators and equipped with regular "spirit cleansing" functions, if a Mind Core were to come alive under such circumstances, it would cast a massive shadow over the entire edifice of Rune Studies from the Origin Civilization.

Due to the extensive decay of the logs, apart from this peculiar record suggesting the main control AI possessed self-awareness, Ivette found no other useful textual information afterward.

Thinking back, the Eternal Life Project within the Abyss Base continued to proceed in an orderly fashion for nearly 20 years. This might also indicate that the "awakening" of the Firefly Core did not lead to any particularly severe consequences and had been quelled.

Afterward, Ivette returned the log data. She and Rosaline spent a little longer exploring the minus twelfth floor. Finding no new information, they proceeded further down to the minus thirteenth floor, which seemed to be the last level of the Abyss Base.

Upon arriving at this floor, through a clearly legible nameplate, Ivette saw a specific term that made her eyes narrow slightly.

Abyss of Divine Erosion.

This was the place where the "Divine Molt" was preserved!

As this floor lacked even Magic Light Vines, after pushing open the already ajar door, the two of them entered the room with the aid of illumination magic. What met their eyes was a vast metal chamber, with everything laid bare.

Similarly, the items in this large room were few. In the center stood a display stand covered by a glass case, resembling a museum exhibit.

However, in stark contrast to what was written in Ms. Aetherine's letter, the glass case here was shattered, and the display stand was empty. The so-called "Divine Molt" was nowhere to be found.

Both Ivette and Rosaline were somewhat disappointed by this outcome, but not surprised.

After all, so many years had passed. Even the survivors hiding behind the doors had mutated. If it had been present originally, it certainly wouldn't be now, possibly having ended up inside some Aberration.

But...

Unwilling to leave empty-handed, Ivette and Rosaline walked along the edge of the Abyss of Divine Erosion, searching for any new discoveries.

It was this cautious move that truly led Ivette to a discovery: a hidden small door.

Its color was the same as the surrounding metal walls, and one would have to look closely to notice it immediately.

Passing through the small door, the master and disciple duo found themselves in a very small metal room. The room was empty, except for something resembling a manhole cover on the floor.

But this was definitely not an escape tunnel. Otherwise, it was hard to imagine Ms. Aetherine not knowing about it.

A moment later, using the mechanical structure, Rosaline turned the valve and saw the scene below.

—It was indeed an escape passage. But its destination was a smooth rock face outside the mountain, with an abyss thousands of feet deep below. Without flying equipment, one could do nothing but feel the wind. It was worth noting that the walls here were carved from granite, suggesting they had likely reached the bottom of a volcanic crater lake.

Thus, the two had to return disappointed.

However, as they were leaving, Ivette noticed an inscription on the back of the small door of the room. It read—

"Well of Eternal Night."

Although she wasn't sure if there was any special meaning behind it, she thought she would probably never return here again in her life.

After concluding the second exploration of the Abyss Base, Ivette felt significantly more relaxed in the following days, as if a heavy burden had been lifted, no longer weighed down by certain matters.

Of course, there were still many answers buried in the dust of history, such as the truth of the apocalypse and the truth of the Divine Molt, waiting to be explored. However, those were things that required fate to uncover, and she could simply wait patiently without forcing herself to do anything.

Rosaline, on the other hand, was simply immersed in the joy of exploration and had a great time.

Additionally, because the Magic Light Vines were so beautiful, she brought back quite a few from the Abyss Base. These convenient plants could grow naturally without care and provided light in dark places, serving as excellent nightlights in the evening.

And so...

With no specific goals or pressures, life at the manor returned to its peaceful rhythm once more.

Ivette would still regularly give Rosaline Rune lessons, enhancing her understanding and application of Rune knowledge.

Rosaline, in turn, instructed her teacher on swordsmanship and the use of cold weapons. Although these techniques couldn't be directly applied to attacks with tentacles and required some additional modifications, they were undoubtedly sound for building a strong foundation.

Moreover, Rosaline gradually discovered a fact that made her incredibly happy: her teacher's progress in hand-to-hand combat was remarkably slow, showing a distinct lack of comprehension, almost as if they were a bit dull.

However, this wasn't gloating or mockery.

On one hand, she found her somewhat dull teacher to be incredibly endearing. On the other hand, she believed that if her teacher was slow to learn, she could spend more time teaching them, allowing her more opportunities to appreciate their aloof yet serious, clumsy yet lovable demeanor. Wasn't that simply wonderful?

Of course!

She would absolutely never voice these slightly rebellious little thoughts.