The exploration of the " End Stele Forest " didn't last long. After activating the first " Watcher Log," Allen's team cautiously explored several nearby nodes marked by W7 that still showed faint energy responses. The "Memory Crystals" within two of these nodes were completely ineffective, shattering at the slightest touch. The third node successfully activated another, even more fragmented log fragment, mostly a detailed record of the early phenomena of the " Concept Erosion " from the Star Scar Civilization —unexplained minor fluctuations in physical constants, decreased logical consistency in precision instruments, and some lower-level intelligent beings beginning to exhibit meaningless repetitive behaviors or an instinct to "forget"...
These records are cold and precise, yet they depict a kind of eeriness and despair that permeates the very marrow of the universe more vividly than any description.
They found no complete technology modules or high-concentration energy cores that could be used to repair W7. The ruins were too thoroughly damaged, and too ancient. The only valuable "gain" might be that W7, using its " Phase Adaptability " and Psionic Energy scanning, downloaded fragments of the underlying architectural database that were not yet fully physically destroyed, as well as the vast amount of observational data about the " Concept Erosion " contained in the memory crystals. Although this data is mostly incomplete and difficult to understand directly, it may be of important reference value for understanding the nature of this ultimate threat.
With heavy hearts and storage full of encrypted data, the team returned to Ark Maxim.
On the return journey, W7 was unusually silent, its V-shaped light band flickering slowly at its lowest brightness, as if conducting extremely complex internal analysis and memory comparison. It wasn't until it returned to the ship and entered Franky's laboratory that it spoke again.
"The destruction pattern of the Star Scar Civilization... differs significantly from that of my home civilization, but their core characteristics... are highly similar." W7's voice carried a cold, logical quality, yet it couldn't conceal the heaviness beneath. "' The Shadow of the End ' is a direct, violent absorption and assimilation, like flames burning everything. ' The Concept Erosion ' is a slow, fundamental decay and 'forgetting,' like rust spreading silently. But the result... is the complete demise of 'existence.'"
It retrieved two complex sets of data stream projections: one from its own repaired memory bank, and the other from the newly downloaded star-mark data. Preliminary comparative analysis shows that both phenomena exhibit targeted disruption of 'ordered information,' 'stable rules,' and 'individual will.' They do not appear to be natural phenomena, but rather more like... the triggering of some kind of 'mechanism' or 'program' under specific conditions."
"Mechanism? Program?" Robin pressed sharply, "Like a... cosmic-level 'antivirus software' or 'cleaner'? Targeting 'civilization'—a ' Chaos variable'?"
"The analogy isn't entirely accurate, but there are similarities." The V-shaped light band of W7 flickered. "In a grander cosmological model, 'life,' 'consciousness,' and 'civilization' might be viewed as a 'non-equilibrium thermodynamic system' that continuously generates 'information entropy' and 'rule perturbations.' When a civilization develops to a certain level, and its generated 'perturbations' exceed a certain 'threshold,' or trigger some 'condition' we are not yet aware of... this 'cleanup mechanism' might be activated, in the form of ' End,' 'conceptual erosion,' or ' Void,' 'resetting' it to zero and restoring the universe to a certain 'baseline state.'"
This conjecture sent a chill down everyone's spine. If the development of civilization itself is "courting death," then what is the point of their resistance?
"No," Allen suddenly spoke, refuting this purely despairing argument. "If it were merely a 'cleansing process,' then the 'newborn glimmer' and 'different answer' mentioned at the end of the Star Scar Civilization's log would be inexplicable. Furthermore, the Kunlun Civilization's Diversion Plan, the W7 home civilization's ' Beacon projection,' and even the Star Core Mark within me... these 'transmissions of hope' and 'rule-granting' that transcend destruction prove that, beyond the 'cleansing mechanism,' or at a deeper level, the universe contains rules that allow for 'possibility,' 'inheritance,' and even 'resistance.'"
He pointed to W7: "Your existence, the existence of our world, is the best proof. If everything is destined to 'reset to zero,' these ' Spark ' that transcend destruction would not have appeared, much less evolved into new civilizations and powers."
W7 fell silent, its V-shaped light band flashing rapidly as it performed high-speed calculations. "Logical conflict... unrefutable. Your argument points to a deeper contradiction. Perhaps the 'cleaning mechanism' isn't absolute, and the universe itself contains some kind of... 'contradiction' or 'loophole.' Or perhaps the 'cleaning' itself... is a result of distortion or contamination?"
"Contaminated..." Robin mused, "Like the 'Cosmic Baseline Consciousness Shackles' we faced in the Sea of Origins —the ' Shadow of the End '? If the 'cleansing mechanism' was originally intended to maintain a certain 'dynamic equilibrium,' but after being contaminated by some external 'malice' or 'error,' it becomes pure 'annihilation' and 'end'?"
This conjecture unifies the threats encountered before, such as the " Shadow of the End," the " Concept Erosion," and the " Void," under a more chilling hypothesis—they may not be the universe's natural "immune system," but rather an "immune system" infected by a "virus," mistakenly attacking and attempting to kill the "body" (universe) itself!
The idea was too startling, and too heavy. For a moment, everyone fell into deep thought.
Just then, Nami, who was always responsible for monitoring the external environment and the spaceship's systems, suddenly issued an urgent alarm!
"Anomaly detected in space! About three astronomical units behind us! The fluctuation is... very subtle, but it's intensifying! It's not a natural phenomenon; there are regular modulation patterns! It looks like... some kind of high-speed underwater spaceship is disengaging from faster-than-light cruise!"
"The enemy?" Zoro's hand immediately gripped the hilt of his sword.
"Uncertain! It didn't send any identification signals and avoided regular communication frequencies. But the trajectory shows it was clearly coming for us, and... it seemed to have been following us from a distance until we left that ruin area before accelerating closer!" Nami's voice was tense. "Is it Taotie? A demon? Or... Triangle Bodies?"
"Activate full ship silence, reduce energy output, and enter stealth mode!" Allen immediately ordered. " Franky, adjust the shields to omnidirectional passive sensing mode. W7, can your ' Phase Adaptability ' help us hide?"
"An auxiliary concealment field has been activated. Combined with your ship's energy camouflage system, this can significantly reduce the probability of being detected by conventional scans," W7 responded. "However, if the target is specifically tracking you and possesses advanced detection technology... complete concealment cannot be guaranteed."
Like a giant whale diving into the deep sea, Ark Maxim shut down most of its non-essential systems, its hull dimmed, and it glided through the starry sky using its inertia. Everyone held their breath, staring intently at the monitoring screens.
Behind them, the unidentified target was moving extremely fast, covering a great distance in just a few breaths and entering the visible range.
When its silhouette was captured by the high-powered optical sensor, everyone was stunned.
It was neither any known Taotie or demonic ship, nor a crystalline structure of Triangle Bodies.
It was a spaceship with an extremely bizarre, even "ugly" design. Its entire body was a dark, iron-gray color, and its outer shell was covered with irregular protrusions, spikes, and rough seams that looked like welding scars. The overall shape was crooked and distorted, devoid of any aesthetic appeal, like a "Frankenstein's monster" forcibly pieced together and crudely modified from the wreckage of countless spaceships of different styles and civilizations. There were no obvious markings on the surface of the spaceship, only some dim, meaningless graffiti and signs of wear.
Most notably, it has a thruster—not a conventional ion propulsion or warp bubble, but a jet of unstable, chaotic energy mixed with dark purple and pale green specks of light. This energy stream is extremely unstable, as if it could collapse at any moment, yet it provides astonishing acceleration and bizarre maneuverability.
"What the hell is this?" Usopp's voice trembled. "A pirate ship? A space scavenger?"
"The energy signature is extremely mixed!" Lian Feng's voice (providing remote analysis support via a previously left encrypted backdoor) interjected, "At least five different civilizations' propulsion technology remnants have been detected, the energy source is unknown, and it contains trace amounts of... Void energy! And... a strong signal of biomodification!"
"Bio-modification?" Chopper exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, part of that ship... appears to have been forcibly fused together with living tissue and machinery!" Lian Feng's tone was filled with disbelief. "This technology... is known to be used only by a few extreme civilizations or... insane individuals among 'space pirates' and 'knowledge hunters' in the known universe!"
Just then, the "Frankenstein's monster" ship suddenly made a move. It didn't fire, nor did it try to get closer. Instead, hundreds of kilometers away from the Ark Maxim, it suddenly launched dozens of small objects of varying sizes, trailing messy energy contrails, from several parts of its hull.
After the "little things" dispersed, they revealed their true forms—miniature mechanical units resembling a hybrid of spiders and bats, with a rough, pieced-together appearance and a single, gleaming scarlet eye. They hurtled toward the airspace where Ark Maxim was located at incredible speed and without any pattern! As they flew, they released chaotic electromagnetic pulses and full-band interference noise!
"It's a reconnaissance/harassment unit! They're trying to force us to show ourselves, or to test our defenses!" Du Qiangwei (also remotely connected) quickly judged.
"Don't fire! If we reveal the energy reaction, our location will be completely exposed!" Nami exclaimed urgently.
"Leave it to me and Brook," Jinbe suddenly spoke, walking towards the passageway leading to the decompression chambers. "These little guys don't need the main cannon yet. Brook's music should create some... 'chaos'."
Brook understood and picked up his violin. "Yo ho ho ho~ Playing a requiem in the universe has a unique flavor~ 'Whispers of the Soul, Rhapsody of Chaos'!"
He didn't actually make a sound (it can't travel in space), but instead merged the power of the Revive-Revive Fruit no Mi with his own soul music, transforming it into an invisible "mental noise" that targeted the fragile sensory circuits and rudimentary intelligence within the mechanical units, spreading out towards the swarming mechanical spider bats.
The effect was immediate! The first few mechanical units immediately started spinning wildly in the air, colliding with each other, as if they were drunk. Two of them even short-circuited internally, bursting into small sparks before freezing motionless.
At the same time, Jinbe, wearing a simple spacesuit ( Fish-Man Karate Master, capable of short-term vacuum survival), ejected from the decompression chamber. He swam nimbly in the vacuum like a fish, his palms condensing highly compressed " Fish-Man Karate: Water Shot," like invisible, high-speed water bullets, accurately hitting the mechanical units that were slowed down by Brook's interference, destroying or knocking them away one by one.
The other party's harassment and probing were easily defused. But clearly, this was just the beginning.
The "Frankenstein's monster" spaceship seemed somewhat surprised and paused for a moment. Then, its main cannon (an ugly aggregate of several twisted cannon barrels bound together) began to charge, emitting an ominous dark purple light.
"It's getting serious!" Franky shouted. "High-energy reaction detected! Energy type... mixed, but the destructive power should not be underestimated!"
"Prepare to evade!" Allen stared intently at the screen. " Nami, calculate the optimal evasion trajectory! Franky, concentrate the shield on the bow and the expected impact area! Zoro, Sanji, prepare to deal with any physical attacks or boarding units that might breach the shield!"
Just as the "Frankenstein's monster" main cannon was about to fire—
A sudden change has occurred!
A sharp, silvery-white line, seemingly capable of slicing through space, appeared out of the Void from the side without warning, precisely slicing across the main cannon assembly of the "Frankenstein's monster" spaceship!
There was no explosion, no fire.
The ugly main gun assembly, along with a large section of the hull beneath it, slid and separated neatly, like butter sliced by the sharpest knife, the cut as smooth as a mirror! Uncontrolled energy erupted at the break, triggering a series of internal explosions that caused the "Frankenstein's monster" spaceship to vibrate violently, emitting a piercing metallic twisting sound.
Immediately afterwards, a sleek, elegant, silver-white, and work of art-like shuttle-shaped spaceship slowly "emerged" from the spatial folds behind the "Frankenstein's monster" spaceship, like a ghost. Its appearance was silent and without any obvious spatial fluctuations, as if it had always been "attached" there.
As soon as the silver-white spaceship appeared, it locked onto the damaged "Frankenstein's monster," and the muzzles of several cannons hidden beneath its smooth hull glowed with a pure blue light.
The pilot of the "Frankenstein's monster" spaceship was clearly terrified by this sudden and fatal blow. He no longer cared about the Ark Maxim. The remaining thrusters were activated at full power, spewing out chaotic energy streams. Trailing thick smoke and debris, he fled frantically into deep space in a disheveled manner. In the blink of an eye, he initiated an extremely unstable space jump and disappeared into the ripples.
The crisis... seems to have been resolved swiftly by this suddenly appearing third party?
The silver-white spaceship neither pursued nor immediately departed. It slowly adjusted its posture, facing the Ark Maxim. From its bow, a gentle yet authoritative communication request signal was transmitted in the standard interstellar frequency band.
"The other party requested communication... there are no hostile signals," Nami reported, her tone filled with doubt and unease.
Allen and his companions exchanged glances.
"Connected."
A figure appeared on the communication screen.
That was a... woman?
She (tentatively) has the outline of a human woman, but her skin has a faint silvery-white sheen. Her face is so exquisitely perfect that it seems unreal. Long hair, flowing like liquid mercury, cascades down her back, the ends shimmering with light. She wears a form-fitting silvery-white uniform, simple yet technologically advanced. Most striking are her eyes—eyes like the purest sapphires, yet deep within them seem to hold a slow, flowing stream of data, calm, profound, and devoid of any emotion.
"Unfamiliar voyagers." Her voice rang out directly, pleasant yet flat, in standard, translated language, "I am from ' Blade of Order,' Cruiser Sequence-073. Detected unauthorized tracking and attack attempts by ' Disorder Scavengers ' units, and have been driven away. Based on Article 7, Section 3 of the ' Provisional Code of Intercivilizational Contact,' I am now verifying your identities and questioning your intentions."
She paused, her blue eyes, brimming with data, "looking" at the screen as if they could penetrate it and gaze directly at everyone.
"Please state your civilization's affiliation, your purpose of travel, and... explain why your spaceship's energy signature simultaneously contains 'highly ordered Psionic Energy imprints,' 'non-standard Star Core energy reactions,' and... 'recorded features of the destroyed civilization 'Ark'."
Her tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable scrutiny, and... a very faint hint, as if she had discovered some extremely important clue...
"Interest".