"Can we establish a stable connection?" Radiant Stilllight asked.
"It's extremely dangerous. That space has a fragile structure, and the signal source's condition is unknown. We also need to take the Mimic's warning seriously. This could very well be a trap," Harmonic Leaping Note cautioned.
Lin Ye pondered. The keywords in the distress signal were far too specific, directly tied to the central crisis they were investigating. The "Formatted Escapee" might possess firsthand information about antimemetic erosion, or even the Cleaner behind it! The temptation was enormous.
But the risk was just as great. Any being capable of escaping "formatting" might have become profoundly bizarre in its very nature. The warning about the "Mimic" was even more chilling-did it mean that being itself could mimic others? Or that something else was mimicking it?
"We can't ignore this," Lin Ye finally decided, "but we can't rush in either. Order's Dawn Coordinator, establish multiple dynamic observation posts around the coordinates and investigate the general conditions of that interstitial space as covertly as possible. Harmonic Leaping Note, prepare a highly simplified 'response signal' containing no sensitive information. Its message should only be 'Received. Identify yourself. Further communication is possible once safety is confirmed.' Send it back using the same encryption method. Radiant Stilllight, prepare the procedures for emergency disconnection and contamination isolation."
He paused, his gaze deep. "I'll personally maintain Contemplation's lock on those coordinates. If anything changes, I'll sense it immediately."
A "mirror image" that had narrowly slipped through "deletion," a mysterious warning about a "Mimic." Was this sudden plea for help a hand extended in desperation, or an even more cunning lure laid by the Cleaner?
The investigation began with the utmost caution.
The preliminary investigation of the hidden interstitial space revealed an extremely unstable region with an abnormally "pale" information