The alarm light flashed once and then went out.

No one spoke in the control room. The flash of light seemed like someone blinking, so fast it made one wonder if they had imagined it. Chen Hao didn't move; his fingers were still on the joystick, his earlier ease vanishing instantly.

Nana had moved to the main control panel, where data streams were scrolling rapidly across the screen. "The energy fluctuation source is still ahead, about 800 kilometers away, with a weak but persistent signal."

"Not those creatures?" Susan stood beside her, staring at the screen.

“No.” Nana shook her head. “The frequency is completely different. This time it’s the aftereffect of mechanical operation, low power consumption, stable output.”

Carl poked his head out of the engine compartment and said, "We just dodged a bunch of roaring jellies, and now we have to get close to a self-glowing metal lump?"

“If it really wanted to do something, it would have done it already.” Chen Hao stood up and walked to the screen. “It’s still lit up even though it’s so far away, which means it’s not something that was started temporarily. Maybe it’s an old relic that has been running automatically for hundreds of years.”

“It could also be a trap.” Susan pulled out the record board. “The barrier system was 300 years old. If this thing is the same type, it might even have a self-destruct program.”

"It won't explode if we don't touch it?" Chen Hao chuckled. "But we don't have any other choice. There's a moving metal block stuck right in the middle of the flight path. Taking a detour would take two hundred hours. Do we have enough fuel?"

Karl looked down and did some calculations. "If we take a detour, we'll have to skip two supply points. We'll have to rely on saving power later on."

“Then we have to watch it even more.” Chen Hao slapped the table. “We can’t just starve to death on the way here because we’re trying to avoid a dud turret.”

Nana pulled up the detection image. "Currently, the scan shows that the device is cylindrical, about nine meters long and two meters in diameter, with regular engravings on the surface, which appear to be runes or coded markings. The material is a high-density alloy, and the radiation-resistant layer is intact with no obvious damage."

"It looks like someone's manhole cover that flew into space." Chen Hao squinted at the enlarged image. "But it's spinning?"

“Yes.” Susan pointed to the trajectory line. “It moves in uniform circular motion around a virtual point, with no solid object at the center. The speed is extremely slow, completing one revolution every thirty-seven minutes.”

"How can it circle without a gravitational source?" Karl frowned. "That doesn't make sense."

“Maybe it’s the source of gravity itself,” Nana said. “Or maybe there’s a miniature field generator working inside.”

"So—" Chen Hao grinned, "this thing is still alive?"

No one responded.

The detection screen silently displayed the floating device, slowly rotating against a dark background, its surface reflection shimmering slightly with changing angles, like a kind of breathing.

"Prepare to approach." Chen Hao turned and walked to the helm. "Entire ship to level two alert. Shut down non-essential systems and keep power at a minimum. Don't let it think we're here to fight."

Carl immediately checked the emergency escape procedures. Susan turned on the holographic recorder and began marking changes in each frame. Nana switched to passive scanning mode to avoid alerting the target with active signals.

The spaceship slowly advanced, reducing its speed to a minimum.

At 300 kilometers, the device's outline became clear. The scratches on the surface were no longer blurry lines, but composed of countless tiny symbols arranged in rings, nested layer upon layer. Some areas were slightly darker in color, as if they had been rubbed.

“These symbols…” Susan zoomed in on a detail, “are unlike any known human writing system.”

"Are there similar records in the database?" Chen Hao asked.

Nana paused for a few seconds. "During the comparison... seven similar structures were found, originating from inscriptions on ancient Earth civilizations dating from the 3rd century BC to the 21st century, but the combination methods are different, making them undecipherable."

"An ancestral codebook?" Chen Hao scratched his head. "Could it be that he's a cultured person?"

“We cannot rule out information storage functions,” Nana said. “These types of devices are sometimes used to store knowledge or early warning information.”

"Is that a USB drive?" Chen Hao's eyes lit up. "Can I plug it in?"

"No." Nana said expressionlessly. "And there's no answer."

"Sigh." He sighed, "Modern people don't even use USB drives anymore, but the ancients have started to pay attention to retro things."

The spacecraft continued to approach.

At 150 kilometers, the navigation system jolted slightly, as if the signal had been momentarily interfered with. Chen Hao immediately instructed Karl to disconnect the external antenna and switch to internal inertial navigation.

"Is it starting to affect us?" Susan asked.

“Slight electromagnetic disturbance.” Nana monitored the readings. “It’s not dangerous yet, but we recommend keeping your distance and not getting too close.”

"Stop at 300 meters," Chen Hao ordered. "Any closer and it might suddenly bark."

The spacecraft gradually decelerated and eventually hovered about 300 meters in front of the target.

The main screen stabilized, and the device rotated silently, like a satellite that would never fall. Its ends tapered slightly, its middle bulged, and its metallic surface gleamed with a cold gray sheen; the runes flickered faintly in the starlight.

“It looks…quite clean,” Susan said softly. “It doesn’t look like it’s been adrift for hundreds of years.”

“Maybe it has a self-cleaning coating,” Nana said. “Or maybe it’s been running a maintenance program all along.”

"Then why not stay put?" Carl asked from behind. "Why go around in circles in an empty spot? What's the point?"

“It might be waiting for a triggering condition,” Nana analyzed. “For example, a specific signal, a life form approaching within a certain distance, or the time reaching a certain point.”

"Waiting for us?" Chen Hao laughed. "If it could talk, it would be saying 'Welcome' by now."

The words had barely left his mouth.

A rune on the surface of the device suddenly lit up.

Pale blue light spread along the engravings, like a lit fuse, quickly forming a circle. Then, the second and third circles lit up in succession, the rhythm steady and uninterrupted.

"It reacted!" Susan exclaimed, looking up abruptly.

"Everyone stay still." Chen Hao placed his hand on the control lever. "Don't send any signals, don't turn on the lights, let's see what it's going to do first."

The entire cylinder began to emit a faint glow, not very bright, but bright enough to be noticeable in the darkness. The rotation speed remained unchanged, but something seemed to be moving inside, with intermittent light and shadow filtering through the gaps in the metal.

Nana quickly retrieved the spectrum analysis. "It's emitting a composite band signal, containing electromagnetic, acoustic, and microparticle streams. The frequency is extremely low, and it's continuously outputting."

Is it harmful to us?

“Currently, the detection shows no harm.” Nana stared at the data, “but the signal content cannot be deciphered; the format is not within the standard communication protocol.”

"Could it be a cry for help?" Susan asked.

“It doesn’t seem like it.” Nana shook her head. “Distress signals usually have repeated emergency codes; this is more like… a broadcast.”

"What's on the radio?" Chen Hao stared at the screen. "The weather forecast? Or the morning news?"

No one laughed.

Because in the very next second, the light from the device suddenly changed.

The previously uniformly flowing blue light suddenly concentrated on one side, forming a bright area. Then, the light slowly moved, gliding half a circle along the surface, and finally stopped in front of a specific combination of runes.

Then, it lit up in the direction of the spaceship.

To be precise, the runes were facing them, continuously glowing, as if they had locked onto a target.

“It knows where we are,” Carl said, his voice lowering.

“It’s not just knowing,” Nana said. “It’s transmitting information. That series of actions just now was probably location confirmation.”

"So it really is waiting for us?" Susan looked at Chen Hao.

Chen Hao didn't speak, staring at the screen for a long time, then suddenly reached up and touched his chin. "You guys think... we just got the resource pod, and now we've run into a glowing metal cylinder. Isn't this luck a bit too coincidental?"

"You don't believe in coincidences?" Nana asked.

"I'm so fat that I can even get my chopsticks stuck in my mouth while eating, how can I believe I'm lucky?" He smiled. "But I believe that troubles always come in droves."

The light from the device remained steady, without flickering or increasing.

"Would you like to get closer?" Susan asked.

“No way,” Carl objected. “Who knows if it will set off fireworks or explode next?”

“But it didn’t attack,” Chen Hao said. “If it really wanted to do something bad, it could have done it when the first light appeared. But it just… flashed for a moment and then pointed in a direction.”

“Pointing at us.”

“It could also be pointing to something else,” Nana said. “We need more data to make a judgment.”

Chen Hao was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke: "Send out a backup camera. A miniature one, without a signal transmitter, just for recording. Fly it to a position fifty meters to its side and film it around."

“Too risky,” Carl frowned.

“Then let’s remotely control it to move slowly,” Chen Hao insisted. “I don’t believe it can blow up everything that gets close. If it were that powerful, it would have been the overlord of the star sector long ago.”

Nana began setting the route. Susan adjusted the camera parameters. Carl gritted his teeth and prepared the emergency retrieval procedure.

Ten minutes later, a flying object the size of a fingernail popped out from the side opening of the ship and silently glided toward the target.

It moved slowly, passing through the void, gradually approaching the glowing cylinder.

Everyone stared at the main screen, watching the camera feed zoom in little by little.

The camera then turns to the side of the device until the aircraft reaches its designated position.

Right at this moment.

The light pointing at the spaceship suddenly went out.

Immediately afterwards, the rotation of the entire device slowed down.

Then, it began to turn.