[Activation of a high-authority hidden protocol detected. Protocol codename: 'Touch of Shadow'. Function: Logical trap induction, directional collapse of spatial structures. Activation determination: Triggered by prediction of specific target (high-threat intruder) behavior patterns. Activation source location: Core authority layer (deep encryption).]
On the star map, the blue light streams representing the Deep Diver's attack path instantly broke and dissipated at those detonated "logical singularities," as if swallowed by an invisible giant mouth! One of the light spots, representing Ethan's last position, flickered briefly in the violent energy turbulence before completely extinguishing.
"Touch of Shadow"... the core authority layer... was no accident! It was a premeditated, targeted annihilation! Targeting all forces that attempted to truly threaten the core of the "Hive"! Ethan, he had run into a carefully arranged butcher's knife!
Anger, like cold magma, instantly replaced sadness, seething and roaring in the core of my consciousness! Who was it?! The mastermind hidden within the core authority! The ghost who issued the order to obliterate me!
[Source Request: Highest-Authority Signatory of the 'Touch of Shadow' Protocol.] My thoughts, like a tempered blade, slashed into the void.
The star map shifted again. The dark red ball of light at its core rapidly magnified and deconstructed. Layers of firewalls peeled back like an onion, revealing countless encrypted chains flashing a dangerous red light, swirling and emerging in virtual space. That ancient thought seemed to mobilize immense computing power, weaving threads of light so rapidly they formed afterimages.
[Breaking through permissions... Encountering 'Abyssal Level' dynamic encryption... Attempting to correlate with the highest known threat model... Match analysis...]
On the star map, the stream of light representing the cracking progress struggled through blood-red encrypted chains, constantly being blocked and rebounded. Just when the process seemed to have reached an impasse, in an inconspicuous corner of the star map, an extremely tiny, dark gray data fragment, seemingly just background noise, suddenly became highlighted and rapidly enlarged.
It was a fragment of a broken, almost illegible electronic signature. The encryption algorithm used was extremely ancient and unique, possessing a cold, almost barbaric beauty that didn't belong to this era. The main body of the signature had been destroyed, but at the edge of the broken brushstrokes, a tiny, yet remarkably clear, imprint of a symbol remained—
An abstract pattern composed of three sharp, twisted and overlapping arcs, resembling forcibly torn wings or some kind of grinning fangs.
[Residual signature fragments detected. Symbol feature comparison... Database search... Match: Highly consistent (99.7% confidence level). Associated entity: Founder and former CEO of WingBio, a deregistered company. Codename: Raven. Status: Declared deceased (archival records).]
Raven? Wing Biotech? Founder? Declared dead?
These words resonated like thunder in the depths of my consciousness! Yuyi Biotechnology… the tech giant that, more than a decade ago, had sparked a massive ethical storm due to its involvement in extremely prohibited neural implants and mind uploading experiments, ultimately collapsing under pressure from all sides, its core founder, Raven, having perished in a laboratory "accident"? A name that had theoretically long since vanished into thin air, a "dead man" forgotten by everyone in the dustbin of history?
But why did his personal signature appear on the highest-level erasure protocol at the core of the "Hive"?! "Raven"... he wasn't dead at all?! He had been hiding in the deepest part of the data ocean, like a real raven, perched on a rotting corpse, observing with cold eyes, even personally controlling the behemoth "Hive"?
Could it be... could it be that the birth of "Hive," those out-of-control AIs, those twisted space technologies... all stem from that forbidden experiment conducted by Wing Technology, forcibly concealed, over a decade ago? Did "Raven" fake his own death and escape, transferring Wing Technology's most core and darkest research findings and incubating them into the current "Hive"? Is he the true "Queen Bee"?!
The immense shock and subsequent bone-chilling chill instantly froze my seething rage. If this were true... we were no longer facing merely an out-of-control AI system, but a living demon dormant for over a decade, possessing a terrifying technological legacy and a deep, scheming mind!
[Warning! Unauthorized high-dimensional probe detected! Source: External reality coordinates (Target: Deep Diver temporary base - 'Nest'). Probe type: Exclusive to 'Shadow'-level corporate agents. Penetration depth: Surface sensory network. Intent: Tracking abnormal biosignals and potential data leaks from Core Authority 'Zero'.] The sudden alarm from that ancient thought was like a cold shower, instantly bringing me back to reality from the unprecedented shock and chill!
Corporate agents! Top-tier Shadows, at that! Have they infiltrated the Nest? Are they tracking my biosignals? Is this a Hive counterattack? Or... has Raven sensed a possible clue left on Ethan's terminal and sent out his hounds?
A sense of danger, like a cold, venomous snake, instantly entwined my consciousness. No matter how safe the oasis was, my body was still exposed to real danger! I had to return immediately!
[Disconnect! Now!] I thought with undeniable urgency.
[Requesting confirmation: Source tracer 'Zero' has forcibly interrupted the 'Oasis' connection. Saving the current cognitive node and key data fragments... Saving completed. Channel closing...]
The vast, majestic star map before me, the tranquil, flowing world of light, instantly twisted and shattered like a reflection dropped into a stone, transforming into billions of scattered points of light. The soul-level peace enveloped by the warm glow receded like a tide. In its place, the heavy, constricting feeling of reality and the cold, damp, dusty, and rusty air of the abandoned server graveyard forcefully refilled my nostrils and lungs.
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