Chapter 171 The Control Puppet
Ling Xiao's gaze swept across the endless rows of spacecraft, and scenes of prehistoric civilizations progressing from primitive to advanced flashed through his mind. He couldn't help but feel a sense of longing. "Ou Fei, what do you think prehistoric civilizations were like?"
"They were all Earth civilizations, so they should be similar to ours," Ou Zhanpeng said, walking leisurely. He carefully took photos of every spacecraft he passed, archiving them. "I've always believed there must have been prehistoric civilizations on Earth, but we couldn't find evidence before..."
He stopped and took a close-up shot. "Now we have."
Ling Xiao habitually countered, "Couldn't it be alien immigrants?"
Ou Zhanpeng looked at him as if he were a severely intellectually disabled person in dire need of care. "Would interstellar immigrants need to launch deep space probes?"
"Hey? That makes sense!" Ling Xiao suddenly realized, feeling no embarrassment. "Then do you think the mysterious entity might be survivors from a prehistoric civilization?"
"Even if not, there's definitely a connection," Ou Zhanpeng's thoughts raced. "Perhaps they are the legendary immortals!"
Flying through the sky and moving underground were considered divine abilities in ancient times, but what were they in modern times? If you sent a modern spaceship to ancient times, a crowd of kings, marquises, generals, and ministers would likely rush out to worship the divine beings.
Ling Xiao pondered it and realized it was indeed true. "Hey, we should have brought some incense, paper money, and other offerings. Coming empty-handed isn't very devout!"
It was a rather serious matter, but Ling Xiao's interruption almost made Ou Zhanpeng laugh out loud. "How did your brain come up with that? Incense, paper money, and offerings... You really think of everything!"
After a brief pause, he added, "Do you need to bring a prayer mat and perform the kowtow? Otherwise, it won't be devout enough!"
"It's not that I can't consider it!" Ling Xiao appeared very tempted. Suddenly, a thought struck him. "Hey, do you think these spacecraft might contain things like golden records?"
The topic shift was too abrupt, almost spraining Ou Zhanpeng's back. However, after thinking about it, he couldn't help but nod. "It's possible!"
Ling Xiao instantly put himself in the shoes of a life winner who had achieved both fame and fortune. "How about we try dismantling one?"
If they could find an information carrier similar to a golden record, it would undoubtedly become the primary source material for studying prehistoric civilizations. This would be more than just money and fame; it would be enough to get their names written in history books.
Even if it was the first or second generation, it had a century of history. Bringing it back to Earth would be worth a fortune.
Ou Zhanpeng was tempted, but he unhesitatingly and painfully refused. "Forget it. Don't you see where we are!"
They were here to seek a favor from someone. Dismantling someone's collection before even meeting the person would leave a terribly bad first impression.
Ling Xiao, filled with unwillingness and disappointment, reluctantly withdrew his gaze. "Alright then, let's focus on the main task first!"
In his line of sight, there was only a smooth wall. If it weren't for the row of mechanical arms, he would have completely lost his bearings at this moment. "There's not even a door. Where should we go?"
Ou Zhanpeng smiled mysteriously. "Follow your gut feeling!"
Ling Xiao's eye twitched. "Are you kidding me?"
Ou Zhanpeng was clearly not joking. After taking the last photo of a spacecraft, he turned and smiled at the end of the plaza. "Follow me!"
With that, he strode forward.
"Damn it, you're serious!" Ling Xiao was reluctant but had no choice but to follow.
"Stop rambling!" Ou Zhanpeng said without looking back.
As if sensing his thoughts, the lights illuminating the plaza gradually extinguished, leaving only a patch of brightness ahead, indicating the path for the two of them.
The walls on both sides slowly closed in with their footsteps, gradually transforming into a wide and tall passageway.
Wherever the two of them walked, the lights would illuminate ahead, guiding Ou Zhanpeng's path.
Yes, it was for Ou Zhanpeng, not for both of them.
Although he was unwilling to admit it, Ling Xiao knew that in this place, he was an insignificant accessory.
He was like an extra scallion in a grocery bag or free tissues from a supermarket.
It was a bit of a blow to his pride, but he had to get used to it.
Fortunately, Ling Xiao was always easygoing, and this blow wouldn't put him down.
They hadn't walked far when they seemed to cross an invisible boundary. The wall beside them suddenly split open, and two round-headed mechanical robots flew out.
They flew separately to Ou Zhanpeng and Ling Xiao. The faintly glowing tops of their round heads caused both men to float, and they were quickly propelled forward by the robots.
Ling Xiao did several somersaults before regaining his posture. He looked at the robot with astonishment. "Ou Fei, do you think this thing cancels out artificial gravity, or is it anti-gravity levitation?"
Ou Zhanpeng couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Why do you have so many questions? If I knew, would I be in this damned place?"
Ling Xiao's eyes darted around, hoping to see something different. However, the passageway was completely featureless. There were no岔道 (chàdào - diverging paths) and no cabin doors visible.
"Where are these two little things taking us? Is the mysterious entity planning to meet us? When we get there, should we salute, or perform the full kowtow ceremony?" Ling Xiao's mind had wandered off, and he was rambling incessantly, his mouth not stopping the entire way.
Ou Zhanpeng, annoyed by his questions, retorted fiercely, "Why do you ask so many idiotic questions?"
Ling Xiao asked in surprise, "Aren't you curious?"
"What's the use of being curious? Can you please be quiet for a moment!" Ou Zhanpeng knew that Ling Xiao talked a lot when he was nervous, but he didn't expect him to be this verbose. He regretted bringing him along.
Unfortunately, it was too late to regret it now.
However, to be honest, Ling Xiao's chatter had somewhat lessened the tension he felt about meeting the mysterious entity, which was an unexpected benefit.
As they spoke, the passageway reached its end. The two robots slowed down, braked, and retracted their force fields, placing them gently on the ground before turning and disappearing back into the wall.
Ling Xiao curiously leaned forward, pressing his faceplate against the wall, but he couldn't find any seam.
Just as he was about to complain, he turned around and saw the wall in front of Ou Zhanpeng rippling and parting like flowing water, transforming into a wide-open doorway.
Outside the door, the lights were bright, but inside, it was as dark as ink. Light and darkness were distinct and did not interfere with each other, like two unrelated worlds.
Ling Xiao stared at the door with surprise and suspicion. "What is this thing? A portal? I say, you must be the mysterious entity's illegitimate son! Are we going to play it this way?"
"Do you think I want to?" Ou Zhanpeng took a step forward and disappeared into the darkness.
"Hey, hey!" Ling Xiao wanted to pull Ou Zhanpeng back, but he was ultimately too slow. Gritting his teeth, he followed and squeezed through the door, immediately enveloped by an impenetrable darkness.
"Ou Fei!"
"I'm here!" Ou Zhanpeng replied, preparing to turn on the lights, when a point of light suddenly appeared in front of him.
That point of light rapidly expanded outwards, quickly taking on the appearance of a small planet.
"Holographic projection?" Ling Xiao was a bit confused. "What does this mean?"
The light and shadow continued to expand, and small, icy bodies appeared around the planet. Finally, a thin film of light emerged, tightly encasing this miniature celestial system.
All the images combined looked like an underdeveloped egg. The planet was barely the yolk, the light film was the shell, and the icy bodies between them were like impurities in the egg white.
Furthermore, various strangely shaped holographic projections began to appear along the walls. Each had clear lines and distinct layers, but all the projections had different styles, making them look out of place when put together, and it was impossible to tell what they were for.
Ling Xiao was bewildered. "What does this god want by bringing us here? Even if he doesn't show himself, a robot would be fine. What's the point of just giving us a projection?"
He felt the mysterious entity was too...
Countless thoughts flashed through Ou Zhanpeng's mind, but he couldn't grasp any clue, which gave him a headache. "Do we have to guess the riddle first to get an audience?"
What kind of perverse taste was this?
He suddenly felt a suffocating tightness in his chest. He glanced at the environmental data on his terminal, pushed aside his faceplate, and a gust of fresh air rushed in, carrying a scent of negative ions that felt refreshing.
Ling Xiao also took off his helmet and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine!" Ou Zhanpeng waved his hand. "Just feeling a bit stuffy..."
He hadn't finished speaking when both their eyes widened simultaneously.
With a gentle wave of his hand, the holographic image suddenly enlarged, and with a reverse wave, it rapidly shrank.
The two of them immediately understood. Ling Xiao also tried waving his hand. "So it's gesture control... What is this rubbish!"
No matter how he gestured or waved, the holographic image remained unchanged, which was entirely expected.
Ou Zhanpeng scratched his head. "This thing should be similar to our holographic control console." As he moved, the holographic image changed in new ways.
The two of them froze. Ou Zhanpeng took a step, and the image immediately flipped; he lowered his leg, and it flipped back; he turned around, and the image followed.
In simple terms, as long as Ou Zhanpeng made a movement, the image reacted.
Ling Xiao suddenly found it amusing. "So you're bound to this thing?"
Although it had no impact, Ou Zhanpeng felt it shouldn't be messed with carelessly. "There should be some kind of switch, right?"
"Whether there's a switch or not isn't important. The key is whether this thing is just an image or if it can control something!" Ling Xiao pointed out the most crucial question.
Ou Zhanpeng tried to enlarge the image, then shrink it, and casually pointed at a few of the icy bodies.
His fingertips passed through the projection without any change.
"It probably can't control anything," he said.
If it could control something, the image should have changed in brightness or some other way the moment his finger touched it.
Ling Xiao thought of another possibility. "Hey, hey, do you think this thing could be some kind of password?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Like clicking on the icy bodies in order to unlock doors or something."
"You mean this?" Ou Zhanpeng's entire demeanor changed. With so many icy bodies floating there, how many combinations would there be?
This was just the variation in quantity and order. If positional changes were also considered, then the answer would truly be infinite.
Ling Xiao's guess might not be correct, but at this moment, no possibility could be ignored, even if the chance was only a sliver.
Ou Zhanpeng reluctantly retracted his hand, but an accident occurred again. The light film actually expanded outward significantly with his movement.
Both of them were a bit stunned. Looking at the position of the light film and recalling their previous experiences, they immediately had an answer. "This thing is what's blocking communications?"
Ling Xiao voiced his guess first.
Ou Zhanpeng continued to wave his hand in the same direction and angle, and the light film continued to enlarge. A miniature projection of the Cloud River appeared at its edge.
Ling Xiao immediately opened his communication device. "Calling the bridge, do you copy, do you copy!"
The radio was silent; not even white noise could be heard.
"No good!" Ling Xiao said.
Ou Zhanpeng immediately reversed his action, shrinking the light film to its smallest size. "Try again!"
Ling Xiao called again. A burst of static crackled through the radio: "Still can't connect."
They hadn't received a response from the bridge, but hearing a sound was a good sign.
Ou Zhanpeng suddenly had an inspiration. He made a motion with his fingers spread open, and a hole immediately opened in the light film directly facing the Cloud River.
Ling Xiao called again, and this time he finally received a response. "Ling Xiao, is that you? How are you guys?"
It was Xu Qing's voice, sounding very anxious.
Captain Ou immediately responded, "I'm here, we're both fine!"
"Oh my god, you two finally have some activity! We were all worried to death. If we didn't hear from you soon, we were going to rush down to find you!" Li Keke's voice was rapid like a firecracker.
"We had a small problem here. Don't worry, both of us are safe."
"Did you find anything?" Xu Qing asked.
"A little, but not what we were looking for," Ou Zhanpeng said. "The situation is a bit complicated, so I won't discuss it over the radio. Wait there with peace of mind, don't worry about us, and don't get close to the planetoid."
"Yes, don't worry about anything," Ling Xiao chimed in.
Xu Qing instinctively felt something was wrong. "Is there any danger?"
"We haven't detected any danger so far, just a bit confused," Ou Zhanpeng rubbed his forehead vigorously and sighed deeply.
"Then be careful," Xu Qing said.
"Don't worry!" Ou Zhanpeng casually transmitted the photos he had taken back to the battleship and explained their origin.
Those strange spacecraft immediately captured everyone's attention, and several people began to discuss the origin of these spacecraft.
Ling Xiao suddenly thought of a possibility. "The central projection controls the overall direction, and the other projections must control subsystems. If we turn off the interference, can we leave here?"
"With so many projections, which one is it?" Ou Zhanpeng immediately gave a wry smile. "It's not good to try randomly, is it?"
"Ugh, this is a headache!" Ling Xiao slumped dejectedly, feeling like a dog biting a hedgehog. "How about we go out first and check out other cabins?"
"That's fine too." Ou Zhanpeng had no better ideas.
The two of them reached an agreement, but after circling the cabin, they discovered that the door they had entered through had disappeared, leaving not a trace.
Ou Zhanpeng refused to believe it and walked along the wall, but there was still no change.
"Well, they've locked us in here!" Ling Xiao said indignantly.
Ou Zhanpeng rubbed his temples hard. "The question is, why did he lock us in? What does he want to do?"