Chapter 1013 Letter

"That's all I know."

The patriarch leaned back on his chair, his mouth seemed a little dry after talking so much. After taking a sip of tree sap, he looked at us quietly, "This is the history of the tree elves and the secret of this planet."

Sandora got straight to the point: "What was it that the imperial general gave you back then? A piece of information? How to extract it?"

"It is recorded in the planet's navigation system. The navigator has the authority to open the system, but we don't know how to read it. Maybe you have a way. But before that, all the tree elves must first be awakened, because the general told us at that time that the core The database is read once, and after the data is extracted, all systems on the planet will be restarted and everything will be deleted. In the process, the life support system will be shut down."

I think of the billions of dormant chambers in the upper mantle. This is a huge project.

"Then start doing it now," Sandora said, then looked out the window. The window of the cabin was very narrow. From this position, only a small part of the village, two mushroom tree houses, and Several tree elves were walking past the clearing, "These dreaming tree elves will have memories of the dreaming time when they wake up, right?"

"Yes, these new memories that are constantly being added are the key technology for us to delay the dissipation of souls. Tree elves must constantly receive new information stimulation to survive. Such a lock is written into our genes," the patriarch nodded. , "Scholars in the tribe have studied these and believe that this is caused by the special learning mode of the tree elves."

Sandora nodded. No more words.

I don't know how the patriarch is connected to the planet's operating system. She suddenly disappeared from our eyes. A few minutes later, the work of waking up all dormant crew members began. The scientific research team staying in the mantle sent information that the energy flow in all hives had increased, and some dormant cabins There was a mental reaction for the first time: this was the tree elves who had been extracted from the database and were gradually returning to their own bodies. According to the current speed of the project, I'm afraid it will take a few days to complete, but we don't want to wait any longer. I think this project may be limited by the bandwidth of Green Star's internal network and its information processing capabilities. There is no way to do the former. Change. But the latter should be able to help the Xiling host: after all, they are all equipment made by the Empire. The mass-produced bubbles should be able to be connected to the Green Star system, right?

After hearing my suggestion, Sandora also agreed. After the patriarch appeared, we asked her to open all systems of Green Star: the interference within Green Star is still in effect. We still haven't found the operational core of this last bastion of the old empire.

The old lady agreed readily: "Of course, this is your thing. The control room is in the middle layer of the earth's mantle. There are some aircraft tens of thousands of years ago left on the oasis. They are prepared for special situations, but I'm afraid I can't follow you there: I am a projection of limited mass and cannot leave the oasis. You will meet my body at the end."

Everyone got up and set off, but before bidding farewell to the old lady, Lilina suddenly looked outside curiously. In the distance, huge green mountains are slowly rising and falling at a speed that is almost impossible to observe with the naked eye. The huge vines that entwine the entire oasis are also the only real creatures on this planet.

"What exactly is that? I observed that it has taken over the entire planet. All the vines are on the same plant," Lilina asked. "The life response is very strong, but it seems to be very old."

"That's not a vine, that's a tree. It just had to change its shape in order to survive in the center of the earth. It's our mother tree." A hint of darkness flashed across the face of the patriarch. "There are many mother trees in the hometown of the tree elves. It is said that they were plants planted by God at the beginning of creation. All tree elves were born from the buds of the mother tree. When we leave our hometown... well, when we leave with our hometown, we can only take one mother tree with us. The tree, it has been growing for tens of thousands of years, is too old...and we have not been able to collect its seeds until now. It seems that after leaving the home world, the mother tree has lost the ability to reproduce."

I was stunned. I thought that what Green Calyx said about picking it from the tree was not credible. It was just a "plot" set in this dream. I never expected that this turned out to be true. The tree elf actually picked it from the tree. Growing out?

This doesn't make sense! They are just mortal bodies, not energy beings, let alone divine creatures. How can a plant grow such advanced animals as tree elves? If Darwin wanted to be here, he should be able to dig a hole and bury himself alive!

But Lilina looked thoughtful, and after a moment she tugged on the corner of my clothes: "Boss, it's true. This thing has a bit of a divine aura, but it's too weak. You can't really feel it if you don't feel it carefully." , the birth of this race is really interesting, their mother tree actually comes from the God Realm."

"Is there any problem?" The patriarch saw us muttering and couldn't help but ask. This can show that these last group of dependents left by the old empire really didn't have contact with the empire for too long. According to the old The empire's iron-blooded terror style, the old family members left behind (especially those who have survived from the old empire era to this day) dare not interrupt the emperor's speech. Although the imperial code does not care about this, the deterrent thing is right there. It's a thing that can shine brightly even when standing. Do you dare to make a loud noise with two Cybertronians standing in front of you?

"No, it's nothing. Take us to see those aircraft."

I originally thought about driving 700 billion to operate the core, but I heard that the Green Star's security system had malfunctioned a long time ago. The control area can only recognize registered vehicles. If 700 billion passes, I'm afraid it will be shot down: The security sentry cannon cannot recognize new faces, even if it has the same recognition algorithm as the old Empire.

What remains on the oasis are a few transport planes that are no longer glamorous. Although the empire's creations can often be used normally or even look like new after tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of years, they are in fully enclosed ruins. These on the oasis are obviously If they could not meet the preservation conditions, they were parked directly in a large forest isolated from human habitation. All the tree elves could do was to build them a few hangars that were seriously substandard. Because no one knows how to maintain it. These aircraft looked in a sorry state, but fortunately the system was still normal. Sandora fiddled with the power core for a while, and the transport aircraft started normally. One set of power redundant modules failed, but she was eaten by her.

The Green Star is not a real planetary battleship, but it is not a space fortress either. Compared with the former, it lacks weapons, and compared with the latter, it lacks defense. The Green Star is more like a temporary patchwork. This is the last thing at the end of the old empire. Every aspect of the creation appears rough and lacks planning. The patriarch said that the last part of its transformation was carried out by imperial engineers himself (in addition, it took two years to renovate such a thing!), which is even more incredible. It can only be said that a disaster is coming. I'm afraid it's too late to do anything. The old empire general who ordered the Green Star to set sail that day could only hurriedly stuff the available things at hand into this planet that he didn't know how to classify. Urging it to retreat immediately. So it doesn't seem surprising to find a command center in the Earth's mantle that functions extremely poorly and relies on a set of improvised energy furnaces to provide energy.

The Green Star's control center is located in the northern hemisphere, in the middle of the mantle layer. A thousands-kilometer-long tunnel extending from the center of the earth is the only way to the control center.

The design and current state of the control center are breathtaking. It is located in a hexagonal columnar cavity wrapped with interstellar alloy armor plates. It is an independent building with a gray-black obelisk. This building uses anti-gravity equipment to float in the cavity. In the center, which is only about one kilometer long, there are several half-kilometer long beams around the base of the building connected to the data end on the cavity. This is a very common general interface. Shandora could tell at a glance that this thing was directly rebuilt from a planetary ground command center. The last batch of engineers at that time probably had no time to build a new starship core, so they could only use the command center on an unknown colonial star. The whole thing is crammed in, and the ground command center's common interface bandwidth is limited, so most of Green Star's operating modules rely on the automatic operation of local equipment. This control center also obviously lacks necessary maintenance. After working continuously for tens of thousands of years, part of its interface beams have become intermittent, and the tree elves have not learned how to repair their bridge. The door to the control center has been opened, and we found a small docking port next to its base. The automatic response facility at the docking port has failed. Shandora had no choice but to adopt a more violent landing method - I mean, before the collision, she insisted that it would be a safe landing.

"I bet those tree elves have never used these transport planes. They don't know that the transport plane should land on the third apron." Sandora opened the hatch of the transport plane that could not be opened due to a malfunction with her paw and muttered. Said awkwardly.

I helped my sister and Lin Xue down. Qian Qian had jumped to the ground before, and the gravity here was still normal. It feels so good to have my feet on the ground. I couldn't help but jump up and down: "No way, they started to transform the planet after the war. Halfway through the transformation project, they were blasted out of the original world by the imperial army. How much time can there be in the meantime?" Study—and the old empire did not have a military command department at that time, and 80% of the emperors were too lazy to teach their vassal races how to master psionic energy."

Sandora quickly found the entrance to the control center, which was located in a corner of the obelisk. Not far from the entrance was a teleportation device that was still working. All teleportation devices in the entire center had been locked to the only route, and there was no choice. , through here, we arrived at the control hall of Green Star - or the observation hall of the navigators.

The spacious rotunda was brightly lit, and I finally saw the familiar imperial equipment again. The equipment here seemed to be in good condition. Although the tree elves did not know how to repair them, they at least knew how to clean these consoles. A dozen navigators wearing light green uniforms have already lined up in front of the teleporter: a bunch of old men and women.

Even if the tree elves have a long lifespan, most of these navigators were not young when they set off, and they could not stay in the dormant cabin all the time during the journey and work in the normal time flow for a long time, leaving these navigators one by one. He is getting old.

I recognized one of them at a glance, an old lady with a kind face. We had met on the Oasis planet just now: the patriarch. What she is wearing now is not the ancient coarse cloth robe, but a clean aerospace uniform, with a badge of green leaves and vines intersecting on her chest. She bowed to us, but did not perform the imperial military salute: they have not yet He had no time to get used to being a member of the empire before he was sent on a journey. Tens of thousands of years have passed. I'm afraid I have long forgotten what the imperial military salute looks like.

"There are more than a hundred navigators in total, and most of them are in a dormant state. During each shift, there are only fifteen navigators who are awake." The patriarch briefly introduced the current situation of the navigator team. As she spoke, At that moment, an old man with gray hair suddenly walked over tremblingly. He looked at us with a curious expression on his face, and then said loudly: "Oh, I finally see you again. We have been waiting for a long time... I can't see the situation outside, just waiting in this room...ahem...is the mission over? When can the spacecraft stop? I haven't seen the sun for a long time..."

A voice suddenly interrupted his rambling words, it was another navigator: "Elder. You need to rest, leave it to us."

The old man nodded, turned back to his seat, and the patriarch explained to us: "This is the oldest elder of the tree elves. He was once our leader. When the planet set sail, he was the first generation ship Captain, but now the captain and leader have been replaced by younger navigators. The elders still remain in the team of navigators, but they are no longer responsible for specific affairs."

The old man who had just sat down suddenly remembered something. He shouted to this side from a distance: "Remember, wait until everyone wakes up before opening the database! The general told me, don't make a mistake! The general is coming back to get his things! Who are these strangers?!"

The old man seemed a little confused. He soon forgot our identities and even asked the people around him why he was here. The other navigators had no choice but to take the first-generation captain away from here first. The patriarch whispered: "Sir The person is occasionally not sober. Three thousand years ago, he personally took people to observe the working and control principles of the No. 4 furnace. After returning, he suffered from severe radiation sickness. After that, he was relieved of all positions, but we must let him come. In the control room, he will come here as soon as the time is up, and no one can stop him. However, he can still be taken out when he is unconscious. After all, it is not in compliance with the regulations to keep him here. "

Lilina touched my arm: "Boss. I will study a treatment plan, but the effect may not be great. He is too old, and even if he is given immortality, it is a bit too late."

From the terminal in the lobby, you can check the current operating status of the Green Star, as well as the activation progress of the life support systems in the mantle. The operating situation of the planet is not optimistic, and many equipments are damaged. These urgently put together things have been running normally for several times. Ten thousand years is already a miracle. If it were not discovered in time, I am afraid that in a few hundred years at most, its energy channeling would be disordered, and then the life support system would be endangered. We also found the database used to record key information. It is completely embedded in the operating system of Green Star and coexists with the planet. Once this database is opened, Green Star will enter a standby state and the engine will stop pushing (of course the engine will be early). Already scrapped), the life support system is shut down, and all weapons and defense systems are offline. Fortunately, the "oasis" system in the center of the earth is independently powered, otherwise the latter will definitely be burned to ashes by the mantle.

The three mass-produced hosts that came from Shadow City for support arrived at their jobs within a few minutes. They found the computer room of Green Star. Most of the computing cores manufactured by the old empire had interfaces that could work in parallel with other similar devices. It saved us a lot of trouble. After the three hosts were mounted in the Green Star computer room, the activation speed of the dormant cabin was significantly increased by countless times - yes, it was an amazing speed. It might have taken two or three days to activate all of them. After coming on stage, a third of it was activated in just half an hour!

It seems that bandwidth is not as limiting for this work as previously thought.

Of course, what we are talking about here is only activation, that is, re-injecting the souls of the tree elves from the database into the dormant cabins, and at the same time detaching the dormant cabins from the Green Star's overall life-support system, allowing them to rely on their own energy reserves for follow-up operations. Operation (awakening the body and restarting the soul), this follow-up operation may take several days. After all, the population here is hundreds of millions.

After the souls of those elves enter the dormant cabin, the Green Star core database can be opened. This will be done very quickly, and it is expected to be completed in another hour.

The virtual world formed by mass projection on the Oasis star automatically entered the shutdown process when the number of activations of the dormant cabins reached 50%. We watched all this from the surveillance camera. The forests and grasslands gradually lost their color, large and small. The village shook and turned into a two-dimensional background image. The "villagers" had disappeared before this (perhaps for this virtual world, it should be called "offline"?), they were first sent back to the database, and then re-infused into the body.

Finally, the forest vegetation, which had become seriously unreal, began to disappear completely, and soon the lush oasis lost its disguise.

It became a lonely planet with a radius of 1,500 kilometers, and its surface was covered with brown rocks and soil. The only thing left on the planet was the "mother tree" of the tree elves, which covered 7% of the planet. On the tenth surface, gray-green vines appear as a whole.

It no longer looks like a "tree" at all.

"I didn't expect it to be so old..."

The patriarch accompanied us and remained silent during the whole process. Only then did he break the silence, "Without the mother tree, the tree elves cannot reproduce. During the voyage, we can also rely on the dormant cabin to preserve the race, but... …”

"It doesn't matter, I have a solution."

I smiled gently, showing a reassuring look, and then took out Dingdang, who was sleeping with a button in his arms, from the pocket of his coat, "She will let you have a new mother tree."

There was a look of surprise in the eyes of the patriarch: "Did you plant her?"

I:"……"

It’s not impossible if you insist on understanding it this way!

The dormant cabin that has just been activated cannot be opened immediately. The organisms inside have been sleeping for too long. The dormant cabin needs time for the sleepers inside to reconnect with their souls. However, now the dormant cabin is using its own backup energy to work. They They have been separated from the Green Star overall system and no longer affect our operation of the database, so these dormant cabins were transferred to the engineering team for processing. At this time, Shandora could not wait to order the database to be opened. As Green Star's main systems were shut down one by one, this one-time database also revealed to us the secrets it had kept for tens of thousands of years.

It turned out to be a letter—from a sender we never expected.

Emperor of the Empire, Harlan. (To be continued)