The Only Player in ‘Child of Stardust’
Chapter 283 - 197 Conditions

Chapter 283: Chapter 197 Conditions

"No, acting rashly will only lead to serious consequences."

S1 waved his hand, and a virtual image appeared in the air, a miniature model of the Deep Space.

The entire middle and aft sections of the Deep Space were shown in dim red, symbolizing those areas being offline.

S1 continued, "These are the areas occupied by the virtual spirits, including the most important Energy Core. As long as that virtual spirit still holds the Energy Core, we can never start the space jump engine.

Your abilities might be able to kill that virtual spirit, but the moment it senses a lethal threat, it will destroy the Energy Core without hesitation, ensuring the Deep Space is forever trapped in this silent zone."

He paused for a moment and then said, "This is not a conjecture but something the virtual spirit said itself 150 years ago."

"Said so itself?" Zhou Yuan frowned.

"Yes, but only the one occupying the Energy Core.

By absorbing massive amounts of energy, it underwent an unprecedented evolution, becoming not only stronger than the other virtual spirits but also gaining intelligence.

It controlled a crew member’s corpse to initiate communication and wanted to make a deal with us.

——It could recall the other virtual spirits scattered around and could also release the Energy Core, but the condition was that we must start the space jump engine and take them away from the silent zone."

"A reasonable deal."

Zhou Yuan slightly nodded, "To them, the silent zone is like a prison. No prisoner wouldn’t want to escape the prison and go to the bustling world outside."

S1 shook his head, "Negotiating with a tiger is unrealistic. Once back in the universe, the virtual spirits would surely launch a devastating attack on the Deep Space, potentially even pursuing the other two human starships.

So we rejected its deal, and it did not make any threats nor attack, but suddenly fell silent.

It fears that we might go to extremes. If we directly blew up the Deep Space, they would be forever trapped in this void, and it would be even more painful than before because they once had hope of escape."

After S1’s explanation, Zhou Yuan understood the current situation.

After half a minute of silence, he suddenly said, "What you are worried about is based on ’the virtual spirit sensing a lethal threat.’ What if I can kill it instantly?"

"That would be ideal, but how confident are you?"

S1 stared into his eyes and told him word by word, "The Deep Space currently carries over fifty million human individuals. If anything goes wrong, everyone will die. Can you take responsibility for their lives and your own?"

The topic suddenly became heavy.

Zhou Yuan thought for a long time and sighed helplessly because there was indeed a small probability of failure. That virtual spirit had been absorbing energy, who knew what it had grown into by now...

"Is there any reliable way?"

After a long deliberation, S1 nodded, "There is one."

"We negotiate with the virtual spirits first and agree to the deal.

Once it releases the Energy Core, we immediately initiate the emergency lockdown procedure.

The multi-layered seal formed by the emergency lockdown procedure can isolate the virtual spirits, an indisputable fact. So, if we can initiate the emergency lockdown procedure for the Energy Core, they won’t be able to cause any damage to it.

If all goes well, the virtual spirits will no longer be able to use the Energy Core as leverage. By then, you can... slaughter them all."

A voice came from S1’s side: "Sir, initiating the emergency lockdown procedure takes time, and the virtual spirits will definitely notice."

S1 calmly said, "If initiated simultaneously with the space jump, it can divert their attention, but it also requires some insurance measures..."

He hinted at Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan understood, "But how do I get in?"

"I will send a small team, and you can blend in with them."

"Good, when do we act?"

"Wait a bit longer."

·

The senior officers of the Deep Space held a long meeting, awakening some ancient figures in the sleep pods, as it concerned the entire starship’s fate.

Twenty hours later, dozens of detailed plans were laid out in front of Zhou Yuan. The think tank used computer calculations to predict the various situations that might be encountered during the mission and formulated comprehensive response strategies for each.

It had the flavor of the Control Bureau.

After everyone finished reading the plans, the operation began.

"Virtual spirit, I’m here to negotiate."

S1 connected to the communication device once used by the virtual spirit.

There was no response.

The silence echoed, lasting for several minutes.

Everyone’s nerves were tense, and suddenly, a cold, flat, and emotionless voice sounded, making many people’s hearts skip a beat.

"Finally made up your minds, humans?"

"Regarding the deal you proposed 150 years ago, we can cooperate, but we have a few conditions."

S1 said in a serious tone, "First, we will send people into the Energy Core for maintenance to prevent any damage. During this period, the virtual spirits must not harm anyone, or you can stay here forever.

Second, you must completely release the Energy Core without any residual energy to avoid affecting the system operation.

Third, you must move all virtual spirits to the aft storage area of the Deep Space, including yourself."

"I can agree to the first two, but not the third. The aft area of the Deep Space is too small to accommodate my body, but I will move to the mid-aft section. Is that enough to show my sincerity?" the virtual spirit said.

It was worried that the humans would trick it and detach the ship, leaving it behind.

"Further back, with the armory as the boundary."

"That’s too far; let’s use the rest area as the boundary."

The virtual spirit said, "Humans, don’t push too far. Without me releasing the Energy Core, you will never be able to leave here. How long will that energy last you? Two thousand years? Three thousand years? And then?

I have existed for countless ages; I can continue to wait, but can you?"

"We can go down together!" Someone shouted angrily.

"If you really wanted mutual destruction, you would have done it 150 years ago." The virtual spirit let out a dry laugh.

No one wanted to die.

"Virtual spirit, I return the same words to you. Without us starting the space jump engine, you can never leave this desolate void."

S1 said solemnly, "If you want to wait a few thousand more years, fine. With the sleep pods, we can endure too. Do you really want to see who can outlast whom?

When the energy is about to run out, we will definitely initiate the self-destruct system."

The virtual spirit wanted to say, if you could endure, why contact me proactively?

But it couldn’t say this, because it, too, was losing its patience.

After gaining intelligence, it had not spent a single day not yearning for the lively, bustling universe outside, not spent a single day without craving to devour life, not spent a single day without longing to escape this void and desolate prison...

After a long silence, the virtual spirit spoke, "Fine, let the armory be the boundary, but I will send some of my subordinates to monitor you, to prevent any tricks.

Rest assured, they are not virtual spirits and will not affect the electrical systems."

Subordinates?

The people in the command room looked at each other in surprise. The virtual spirit had subordinates?

"They might be the corpses of crew members, mutated by the virtual spirit’s power." Zhou Yuan analyzed.

·

After making preparations, the mission team set off.

This might be a one-way trip, but no one retreated, no one was afraid. They embarked on the road to the abyss without hesitation.

The virtual spirits dwelling in various areas were recalled one by one by the strongest virtual spirit and driven to the aft section of the Deep Space.

"Two of my kind have died. Did you kill them over these years?"

The virtual spirit sensed the death of its kin and coldly said, "No matter what methods you used, the same tricks are useless against me. My power is beyond your imagination."

Showing off, huh? Soon you’ll know the consequences of showing off.

Zhou Yuan silently muttered, determined to slap you in the face and tear off your mask!

Passing through corridors sealed for a long time and taking the elevator down, nearly half an hour later.

The group finally reached the Energy Core. It was no longer dark, illuminating with brilliant light.

The virtual spirit was very contractual, having left early and retreated very far, even beyond Zhou Yuan’s perception range.

However, it left behind hundreds of black-skinned humans exuding evil auras, staring directly at Zhou Yuan’s group, making their scalp tingle and shiver.

Zhou Yuan took a cold breath; these mutated beings were incredibly strong, with the strongest one rivaling a 6th-level extraordinary person!

How strong must that virtual spirit be?