Yuan Tong
Chapter 869 Gathering of the Guardians
Above the planet Tana Gus, the Crystal Core Research Station quietly orbited, the Life Coffin installed beneath it emitting a faint red glow, like an eye in space watching the planet's surface tens of thousands of kilometers away.
As always, Zorm, the First Born, watched the planet below from space. Through its connection with the Source Blood, it could sense the joy of all living things on the planet gradually awakening from their slumber.
The Crystal Core Research Station AI, with whom Zorm shared its "life," was less concerned with events on the planet. As a space station's main AI, it focused more on the station's laboratories and sample repositories. The First Born samples in Container One and Container Two had just undergone a series of routine tests, and now the two massive containers were discharging the byproducts of the experiments into dedicated collection facilities. The space station AI would sort these materials and send them to the factory, where some components could be processed into living supplies. According to today's work schedule, it was to arrange a batch of landing shuttles in one hour, fifteen minutes, and thirty-two seconds to drop these extra supplies produced by the space station into the human settlements on Tana Gus, and then bring some experimental equipment from the planet back for routine inspection and maintenance.
A First Born and a space station AI lived their ordinary yet fulfilling daily lives. Although other beings might find their "emotions" and thoughts difficult to understand, they had adapted to their current lives and were enjoying them. Zorm's emotions were relatively richer, and it had a complete personality, so it always took the initiative to start conversations: "Host! Did you see them build a big windmill just now? A windmill! They built the machine so quickly!"
The space station AI responded to these topics with the same rigid attitude as always: "Manufacturing tools is a basic ability of intelligent species, and they have complete knowledge records. Their reconstruction speed is as expected."
Zorm responded with an "oh" and continued to look down at everything on the earth from inside its container—the Life Coffin—constantly asking many strange questions, such as who built the Crystal Core Research Station, why the style of this crystal building was different from Hao Ren's spaceship, why Hao Ren was always rushing around, why drones frequently entered and exited the Crystal Core Research Station's port, why there was a rift on Tana Gus leading to other universes, why it asked so many "whys" and yet more "whys" kept popping up...
In most cases, the space station AI patiently answered its tenant's questions, but sometimes it would simply fall silent when faced with utterly whimsical topics or things it didn't know itself. It was just an AI, a space station management program that had only been set with basic personality and emotional patterns, so it didn't care about awkward silences in conversations, and fortunately—neither did Zorm, who just kept asking questions. Its exuberant curiosity seemed to be inherited from its mother, and the creation goddess's spirit of exploration of all things in the universe was also reflected in this energetic First Born.
At this moment, a flash of light suddenly came from distant space, and the conversation between Zorm and the space station AI stopped. The Petrified Tortoise Rock Platform detached from hyperspace and lightly landed in the Crystal Core Research Station's starport. Zorm immediately greeted the people on the ship via public broadcast: "Everyone's back?"
Hao Ren saw Zorm's greeting on the communicator. The latter's thoughts were habitually translated into an emoticon by the system: a bright "o(n_n)o." The First Born seemed to be in a good mood.
But thinking about the prisoner he had brought back, Hao Ren's mood wasn't so good.
He greeted Zorm and called the space station host on another line: "Open the special containment facility in Area A. There's a prisoner who needs to be locked up. He's good at self-destruction, so get ready."
While the space station host was preparing the containment facility, Hao Ren opened the ship's hangar. Lemenduza and Syffe walked out from inside, led by Mu Lu. The two Guardians stepped onto the crystal bridge connecting the starport to the space station's main body with expressions of surprise. The scene before them was somewhat unexpected.
They didn't expect this place to be so beautiful.
On the crystal bridge, Lemenduza and Syffe could look up and see the entire starry sky. Suddenly arriving here from the war-torn planet of Sulun and seeing such a vast scene, the two Guardians couldn't help but breathe a long sigh of relief. And against the backdrop of the starry sky, through the nearly transparent side barriers of the crystal bridge, they could see the vibrant Tana Gus bathed in sunlight, the golden light on the horizon slowly pushing back the darkness.
Even more striking than these sights was the Crystal Core Research Station itself:
The massive, crystal-clear facility, resembling a cluster of space palaces, amazed even a Guardian like Lemenduza. The building itself had no lavish decorations, and there were very few signs of carving or embellishment from top to bottom. It was a completely different style from the magnificent and ostentatious art created by the Prodigals. Yet the Crystal Core Research Station itself was like a work of art. All its original edges and simple lines combined to create a breathtaking sense of grandeur. Lemenduza could tell at a glance that it must have come from the hands of an even more incredible super-civilization, surpassing anything he had ever seen in this universe. He saw in the structure of the Crystal Core Research Station a complete return to simplicity that was not bound by form, a sense of great complexity leading to great simplicity that was completely different from the Prodigals' nouveau riche-like flaunting of possessions.
Although the style of Raven 12345 herself was not flattering, the massive facility she built was still a work of art—of course, the Crystal Core Research Station also had little to do with Raven 12345's own artistic talent. If Hao Ren were willing to check the data network more often, he would find that the Crystal Core Research Station was actually an open resource that someone had designed two thousand years ago. Raven 12345 had simply downloaded a public blueprint and was showing off in front of him...
Hao Ren noticed Lemenduza and Syffe's expressions and knew that the two giants were shocked by the Crystal Core Research Station. He puffed out his chest with pride: "How about it? This place is bright enough, right?"
Lemenduza had a head full of emotion and praise, but this sentence stifled most of it. He glanced down at Hao Ren, then turned his head and ignored him.
Hao Ren was puzzled: "What's wrong? Is something off?"
Syffe was more understanding: "You didn't build this space station, did you?"
"No, my boss built it. Is there a problem?"
Syffe didn't say anything, but Elizabeth happily tugged on Hao Ren's sleeve: "Uncle Ren, they probably mean that you have really good work benefits!"
Hao Ren: "?"
Hao Ren led Lemenduza and Syffe to the Crystal Core Research Station's main control hall. He called Zorm in front of the crystal spire and introduced the two giants to it. Zorm didn't know about Hao Ren's experience at the Sulun Gate, so it was extremely surprised and delighted to suddenly see its former colleagues. A bunch of messy characters and emoticons suddenly popped out of the crystal spire. It was using this incomprehensible way to warmly greet Lemenduza and the others.
Lemenduza found it very strange that a Guardian's aura was coming from a crystal spire: "What's going on? Is it also...a Guardian? It feels like the aura of a Source Blood Guardian."
"It's Zorm, the name I gave it," Hao Ren introduced his special tenant. "Originally a First Born, the kind of initial life form that hatched from the Initial Seed. Something went wrong with the planet it was guarding..."
Hao Ren recounted Zorm's origins in detail and finally had the opportunity to tell Lemenduza about his various plans, including reassembling the creation goddess's Guardians, restoring the ecosystem, finding the goddess's whereabouts, and resolving the ecological disaster, and so on.
These plans were so grand and interconnected, sounding absolutely genuine, while the entire plan was also quite bold, exceeding what mortals could comprehend. Lemenduza couldn't help but look at Hao Ren with a strange gaze, as if trying to see a hint of exaggeration in the other's expression.
But all he saw was a serious face and a natural expression as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
If he had previously had some doubts about the aura on Hao Ren's body, those doubts had now been greatly shaken. He was surprised to find that this "human" was actually starting to carry out the plan to revive the creation goddess (at least in his view, this was the essence of these plans). Whether it was the space station in front of him or the planet below undergoing ecological restoration, as well as Mu Lu and Zorm living here, these were all undeniable evidence. He couldn't help but re-examine the small "human" in front of him, the focused gaze making Hao Ren's whole body shiver: "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
Lemenduza sat cross-legged on the ground, the movement almost causing an earthquake: "Your ideas are too bold. I can hardly believe that anyone would actually do these things."
"It's my job," Hao Ren smiled. "It's a matter of the year-end bonus."
Mu Lu silently watched all this from the side. He knew that Lemenduza and Syffe had become interested in this place, and he believed that his two compatriots would soon find the meaning of life again on this Tana Gus, just like him.
Just as Hao Ren had planned, more Guardians were gathering together again.