The discussion that followed lasted the entire morning.
Lynn projected detailed data about the desolate planet onto the living room wall. Everyone gathered around the projection, looking at the distant, lifeless planet and listening to Lynn explain its various parameters.
Phastos was the most excited. He was holding a notebook, taking notes non-stop, and interrupting Lynn from time to time to ask about all sorts of technical details.
The proportion of metallic components in the Earth's core, the strength and direction of the magnetic field, the radiation spectrum of stars, the rotation period of planets... Lynn answered each question one by one, Phastos's pen never stopped.
Its mass is 1.2 times that of Earth, and its core radius is 15% larger than Earth's...
As he wrote, Phastos muttered to himself, "In that case, after the embryo is placed inside, it will need about three months to adapt to the new Earth's core environment. During these three months, its energy absorption will experience a temporary disruption, and we will need..."
It requires a continuous power supply from the Soul Stone and Mind Stone to maintain its stability.
Lynn picked up the conversation, "I'll handle this part."
"And there's the transmission process."
Phastos adjusted his glasses, his eyes displaying the meticulousness of an engineer. "The embryo is too large. The Space Stone's portal will take at least three minutes to fully open. During those three minutes, the embryo will exist in two dimensions simultaneously. A temporary void will appear in Earth's core on this side. Although there's a spatial interlayer for isolation, gravitational fluctuations will still affect the surface."
"How significant is the impact?" Ajak asked.
"Without precautions, earthquakes of around magnitude 6 will occur globally, and coastal areas will experience tsunamis."
Phastos continued, "But if we use the Space Stone to create a gravity buffer layer around Earth beforehand, we can minimize the impact."
At most, there will be some slight tremors; it will not cause any damage.
Lynn said, "Half an hour before the teleportation begins, I will establish three layers of gravity buffers in geosynchronous orbit."
Everyone chimed in, discussing every detail of the transplant process. From the steps of embryo separation to the sequence of portal deployment, to the settlement plan on the Nova, to long-term monitoring after the transplant, every aspect was discussed.
Ultimately, the transplant was scheduled for five days later.
"Five days is enough time for us to make all the preparations."
Lynn stood up, looked at everyone, and said, " Phastos, you're in charge of compiling the technical parameters for the embryo transfer process and creating a detailed operating manual. Ajak, you're in charge of monitoring the embryo's condition to ensure there are no abnormal fluctuations before the transfer. Sersi, Gilgamesh, Thena, and Druig, the four of you are in charge of on-site security—if any unexpected events occur during the transfer, you're responsible for handling them immediately."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"And what about you?" Druig raised an eyebrow. "What are you responsible for?"
Lynn smiled, "I'll handle the most crucial parts: separating the embryos, opening the portal, and, if Arishem really does arrive at this critical juncture, I'll be responsible for stopping her."
There was a moment of silence in the living room.
Everyone knew that the last sentence was the most dangerous part. If Arishem truly descended, Lynn would have to face a Celestials Judge alone.
Seeing the worried expressions on everyone's faces, Lynn said in a relaxed tone, "I told you, I'm confident. Besides, the transplant process only takes a few minutes. Even if Arishem notices something is wrong, she can't possibly get here so quickly. She'll most likely only find out after the transplant is complete, and by then it'll be too late for her to be angry."
He made everyone laugh, and the tense atmosphere in the living room dissipated considerably.
After the discussion, everyone dispersed to prepare. Lynn walked out of the hut, stood in the yard, and looked at the wheat field in the distance.
Ajak walked over and stood beside him.
"Thank you," Ajak said softly. "For seven thousand years, we've always thought the Emergence was inevitable. You've shown us another possibility."
"You're welcome," Lynn said. "I just did what I was supposed to do."
Ajak was silent for a moment, then said, " Lynn, if... I mean if, the transplant fails, and Arishem really does arrive, what do you plan to do?"
Lynn glanced at her sideways, a faint smile playing on his lips, "If you can say it, then say it. If you really can't, then just fight him."
Ajak looked into his eyes, and there was no hesitation, no fear, only a calm, almost nonchalant confidence.
Five days passed in the blink of an eye.
The transplant was scheduled for 11 p. m. on the fifth day.
The timing was chosen because most people on Earth are asleep at this time, so even a slight tremor wouldn't cause panic. Moreover, human mental activity is calmer at night, and the embryo absorbs the lowest amount of energy during the day, resulting in minimal resistance during separation.
On a farm in South Dakota, several people were getting ready to go.
Lynn stood in the middle of the courtyard and looked up at the night sky. The sky was full of stars, the Milky Way stretched across the horizon, and the weather was unbelievably beautiful.
"Are you all ready?"
Phastos rapidly typed on the keyboard. "The monitoring system is normal; data from all twenty-four monitoring points worldwide is synchronizing."
Ajak opened his eyes. "The embryo is stable and there are no abnormalities."
"We can do it anytime."
Lynn nodded and raised his right hand.
The light of the Six Infinity Stones shone from his chest, and the power of the Space Stone transformed into a blue pillar of light that shot into the sky, spreading outwards from the top of the atmosphere to form a huge, transparent energy shield that enveloped the entire Earth. Then, the second and third layers unfolded in succession, one inside the other.
The three-layer gravity buffer system has been completed.
"The buffer layer is in place."
Lynn lowered his hand. "Over the next thirty minutes, Earth's gravity will fluctuate slightly, but the three buffer layers will neutralize over 99% of it. The surface will feel at most a slight tremor; there will be no damage."
Phastos stared at the screen. "All three buffer layers are stable, and the gravitational fluctuations are within the expected range. We can begin."
Lynn took a deep breath and looked at Ajak: "I'm going down. You're in charge of the upstairs."
"Don't worry." Ajak nodded. "I'll let you know immediately if anything seems amiss."
Lynn said nothing more, his body slowly sinking, the ground beneath his feet parting like liquid and engulfing him. A few seconds later, his figure completely disappeared beneath the ground.
Deep within the Earth's core.
Lynn returned to the enormous cave.
Unlike last time, this time he didn't stop to observe, but flew directly to the front of the embryo's head.
Upon closer inspection, the embryo was even larger than he remembered. Its mountain-like face had its eyes tightly closed, and the core in its chest pulsated at an extremely slow frequency, each pulsation causing the entire cave to tremble slightly. Dark golden energy patterns flowed across its body surface like blood in veins, endlessly regenerating.
Lynn hovered before it, as small as a speck of dust.
But his eyes were calm.
"Let's begin," he muttered to himself.
He raised his hands, palms facing the embryo's body. A layer of pale purple light emanated from his palms, covering the surface of the embryo, and then seeped into it like water.
Analysis begins.
Countless pieces of information flooded into Lynn's mind. He read out the underlying information of every single substance in the embryo's body—its molecular structure, atomic arrangement, and the state of its elementary particles. At the same time, the information about the matter surrounding the Earth's core was also analyzed.
The information from both is intertwined, like two ancient trees that have grown for hundreds of millions of years, their root systems so intertwined that it's impossible to tell which root belongs to which tree.
But Lynn doesn't need to distinguish.
He only needs to "mark" it.
Substances belonging to the embryo are labeled A. Substances belonging to the Earth's core are labeled B.
This process sounds simple, but it is extremely complex in practice. The embryo and the Earth's core have been fused for hundreds of millions of years, and at the molecular level, they are already intertwined. The information of many substances is mixed together, and it is necessary to analyze and judge each particle individually.
Fortunately, Lynn had the power of the six gems amplifying his mental strength and computational abilities countless times. His consciousness was like a supercomputer, processing massive amounts of material information at an astonishing speed.
A minute passed.
Five minutes passed.
Ten minutes passed.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on Lynn's forehead. Even with the help of gemstones, analyzing all the material information of a life form larger than Mount Everest was an enormous drain on him.
But he didn't stop.
Finally, at the fifteenth minute, the last particle was marked.
The entire body of the embryo, from the outside in, every molecule, every atom, and every elementary particle is labeled.
A clear dividing line, down to the molecular level, appears between the two.
"Analysis complete."
Lynn let out a long breath, "Next, separation."
He raised his left hand, and a red light shone forth.
The power of the Reality Stone covered the dividing line, "restoring" the fused matter to its unfused state. The molecules that were originally entangled were gradually separated by the power of the Reality Stone, like knots being untied.
This process is slow and meticulous.
It can't be rushed; rushing will damage the embryo.
We can't slow down either, otherwise the cavities in the Earth's core will persist for too long.
Lynn focused intently, controlling the power of the Reality Stone, and along the dividing line, peeled the embryo away from the earth's core bit by bit.
At the same time, his right hand glowed with orange and yellow light.
The Soul Stone and the Mind Stone. These two forces converge into the embryo's body, providing it with continuous spiritual energy and ensuring that the embryo does not become disordered due to the loss of energy supply from the Earth's core during the separation process.
A three-pronged approach.
The Reality Stone is separated from the left hand, while the Soul and Mind Stone provide power in the right hand, allowing the user to maintain the markings throughout the entire process without losing them.
Lynn's body began to tremble slightly; even he felt immense pressure from such a massive and delicate operation.
On the ground, Phastos stared at the computer screen, his fingers flying across the keyboard, sweat beading on his forehead.
Just then, Ajak's expression suddenly changed.
Wait a minute!
She suddenly opened her eyes; "The embryo's energy fluctuations are abnormal! It seems... to have woken up!"
"What happened?" Sersi asked nervously.
The separation process stimulated it, and its initial consciousness is awakening.
Ajak's voice carried a hint of panic. "If it fully awakens and resists in this state, the separation process will completely spiral out of control!"
" Lynn!" Phastos shouted into the communicator, "The embryo is waking up!"
There was a two-second silence on the communicator, then Lynn's voice came through, calm, even slightly breathless. "I understand. Don't panic."
Deep within the Earth's core.
Lynn did indeed sense it. The embryo's consciousness was awakening—an extremely primal and immense consciousness, like a colossal beast that had slumbered for billions of years being startled awake, slowly opening its eyes. A surge of anger and resistance welled up, its body began to tremble slightly, and its energy fluctuations became chaotic.
Lynn gritted his teeth and did not stop the separation process. Instead, he used a portion of his mental energy to directly touch the embryo's consciousness with the Soul Stone.
It wasn't an attack, it was communication.
"Don't be afraid," Lynn's voice penetrated directly into the depths of the embryo's consciousness. "I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm just giving you a bigger, safer place. No one will disturb you there; you can grow peacefully until the day you are born."
The embryo's consciousness paused for a moment. Although it was only in its initial stages, it could sense the goodwill in Lynn's words and the warm energy emanating from the Soul Stone. The anger and resistance gradually subsided.
"Good boy."
Lynn's voice was very soft, "Just a few more minutes, and it'll be over."
The embryo's consciousness calmed down again, and the energy fluctuations returned to normal.
Lynn let out a long breath and continued separating.
Embryo energy fluctuations have returned to normal!
A cheer erupted in the living room. Sersi covered her mouth excitedly, Gilgamesh clenched his fist, Druig whistled, and Thena smiled with relief.
"Separation is complete, next is teleportation. I'm going to open the portal."
"Received."
The next second, a massive blue pillar of light illuminated the depths of the Earth's core. The portal of the Space Stone completely enveloped the entire embryo. On the other side of the portal was that distant, desolate, and lifeless planet.
The embryo's body began to rise slowly, moving towards the portal.
Three minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and the embryo disappeared into the portal. The blue beam of light went out, and the portal closed.
The instant the embryo completely detached, the power of the Reality Stone activated, filling the void with the Earth's core material and reshaping a complete and stable core. The entire process took less than a second, and Earth's gravitational field did not even fluctuate.
On the ground, a farm.
Phastos stared at the computer screen, his hands trembling.
"The Earth's core structure is stable... the gravitational field is normal... no abnormalities were found at global earthquake monitoring stations... the embryonic signal has disappeared."
His voice trembled with disbelief, "It's no longer on Earth. It's really no longer on Earth!"
Cheers erupted in the living room once again. This time, even Ajak smiled. The burden of seven thousand years had finally been lifted at this moment.
Sersi's tears streamed down her face, while the smiles on the faces of the others were impossible to hide. Phastos took off his glasses to wipe his eyes, then put them back on and continued staring at the screen, muttering to himself, "It worked... He actually succeeded..."
Just then, a portal opened in the courtyard, and Lynn walked out.
His face was somewhat pale, his forehead was covered in sweat, and his breathing was a little rapid. But there was a smile on his lips, and his eyes were bright.
"It's done."
Lynn said, "The embryo has been settled on the Nova. The Soul Stone and Mind Stone will provide power for three months, and once it has adapted to the new environment, they can be removed. The Earth's core has also been repaired, and Earth has been unaffected."
Ajak stepped forward, looked at him, his lips moved, but he only managed to say one sentence, "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Lynn smiled. "I told you, this is what I should do."
He looked up at the night sky. The stars were still the same stars, and the Milky Way was still the same Milky Way. But Lynn knew that on a desolate, rocky planet at the edge of the Milky Way, a massive life form was slumbering, and that it would awaken there, not on Earth, fifty years later.
Earth is safe.
But Lynn frowned slightly.
Just moments before, at the instant the teleportation was complete, he sensed an extremely faint gaze from the depths of the universe. The gaze was so faint that it was almost imperceptible, vanishing in an instant. But Lynn still managed to catch it.
Arishem.
She noticed.
A faint smile appeared on Lynn's lips as he flexed his wrists.
So what if they noticed? The die is cast.
If she really wants to argue... then let her come.