Star Core Awakens, Flame Like a Song
Fingertips brush against the warm wood grain, feeling the tight interlocking of the mortise and tenon joints…
Buzz...!
A faint yet incredibly clear throbbing sensation, like a pebble thrown into a deep well, suddenly rippled across Ling Zhan's tranquil heart!
Immediately afterwards, a cold, precise stream of information flowed into consciousness, devoid of any emotion:
[Energy Core: Initially Stable. Recovery Progress: 0.0017%...]
[External environment scan: Seasonal transition signals strengthened. Snow and ice melt rate in low-altitude areas: +22%, vegetation sprouting index significantly improved...]
[Status scan of related life forms: ...persistent low-intensity energy fluctuations exist (pointing to: Kaoshan Village). Pattern analysis: Human management pressure combined with resource shortages...Recommendation: Periodic patrols and interventions to maintain...]
The information flow came to an abrupt halt.
The faint pulsation deep within the rock wall seemed to become clear for a moment before returning to its deep, nurturing state.
Ling Zhan's hand stopped on the door panel, his fingertips unconsciously tightening, the rough wooden edges digging into his palm.
Seasons change... snow melts... mountain villages... management pressures... resource shortages...
The images temporarily dispersed by the mountain breeze suddenly burst through the barrier—the hustle and bustle of the crowded courtyard, the children's hungry eyes, and the exasperated complaints of Chen You, hands on hips, his silk robe stained with mud, seemed to explode right next to my ears…
My thoughts raced. Was this information from Zero's cold, hard scan? Or was it just lingering distractions in my own mind?
In the newly built hearth in the courtyard, wild boar meat skewered on hardwood sticks has been roasted to a golden brown and crispy perfection, with dense fat dripping "sizzling" onto the charcoal fire, and an enticing aroma spreading throughout the air.
"Squeak!"
Jinbao impatiently patted Ling Zhan's neck with its paw, its bright black eyes fixed on the roasted meat.
Frostblade and Storm Shadow also stopped their playful biting. Their nostrils flared, their pink tongues licking their lips as they stared longingly at the delicious food on the fire, letting out soft moans.
Just as Ling Zhan reached out to take the meat skewer—
Buzz...!
A faint yet strangely familiar visceral vibration, like ripples created by a stone thrown into a deep pool, instantly penetrated the thick layers of rock and wooden planks beneath her feet, precisely reaching the depths of her seated body!
That wasn't a sound, but a resonance that acted directly on the depths of the bone marrow!
Like a dormant heart being forcibly awakened, it suddenly beat!
Ling Zhan's muscles tensed instantly, becoming as stiff as iron!
The hand reaching for the fire froze in mid-air, the skewer of roasted meat dripping with scalding oil hovering a few inches above the flames.
A drop of golden oil fell, hissing as it sent a pungent plume of white smoke rising from the charcoal fire.
Jinbao's golden fur suddenly bristled!
The piercing "Squeak—!" sound changed tone, and instinctively it transformed into a golden shadow, scrambling awkwardly onto the branch of a nearby low pine tree, clinging tightly, and staring in terror at Ling Zhan below whose aura had suddenly changed. Frostblade and Storm Shadow, as if whipped mercilessly by an invisible lash, howled and whimpered, tucking their tails between their legs, scrambling and crawling back to the darkest corner of the wooden house, curling up in a ball and trembling…
Ling Zhan slowly lowered his head.
The gaze seemed to pierce through the wooden planks and hard rocks beneath one's feet, reaching deep into the heart of the mountain.
Deep within the palm, that dormant, faint pulse suddenly became clear and powerful, like a lit fuse!
And... it's climbing rapidly!
"Zero...?" The thought silently crossed her mind.
Boom—!!!
An indescribable and overwhelming surge of energy suddenly erupted from the deepest part of the earth!
The buzzing sound instantly transformed into a substantial pressure! The air froze!
The flames in the hearth suddenly dipped low, almost going out, then, as if gripped by an invisible giant hand, violently shot upwards several feet high in pale, twisting, and raging flames!
At the edge of the distant forest, the trees were as if they had been swept away by a hurricane, their branches and leaves shaking wildly and making a "whoosh" sound like a torrential rain!
Countless leaves were torn off by an invisible force and fluttered everywhere!
"Squeak—creak!!!"
Jinbao let out an unprecedentedly piercing scream.
The tiny body was like a withered leaf in a storm amidst the raging energy turbulence, and could be torn off the branch at any moment!
From the corner came the desperate whimpers of the wolf cubs, who buried their heads deep in their front paws, wishing they could burrow into the ground.
Ling Zhan suddenly stood up!
As if nailed to the ground, standing firmly in place.
The cold gaze, like a tangible probe, was fixed on the massive rock wall behind the wooden house, which was now violently twisting and flowing with a dazzling, glassy luster!
Crack!
The buzzing reached its peak, and the entire mountaintop trembled violently!
A clear vibration came from the rocks beneath my feet! Tiny pebbles tumbled down from the rock face!
The next moment!
The dazzling, flowing, glassy luster on the rock wall, along with the suffocatingly terrifying pressure, seemed to be suddenly gripped by an invisible giant hand!
The bright white spot of light suddenly shrank inward!
All the light, patterns, roars, and oppressive force... vanished instantly, like the receding tide!
Dead silence.
Absolute, vacuum-like stillness descended in an instant!
Deep within the rock face, where the light spot receded, a cold, emotionless, synthesized electronic voice pierced through the thick rock, resounding clearly and directly in the depths of Ling Zhan's mind, and echoing across the mountaintop, which had fallen into absolute silence due to the sudden cessation of energy:
[Energy Core Reboot Sequence Completed...]
[Basic function modules loading...1%...2%...]
[Environmental scan initiated...]
[High-energy life form characteristics detected...Identification in progress...]
The cold, electronic voice paused for an extremely brief moment. In that brief silence, it was as if billions of invisible torrents of data were frantically colliding, filtering, and confirming. Then, the voice rang out again, its tone still steady, but seemingly carrying a hint of indescribable, almost human… hesitation and confirmation:
[Recognition complete.]
[Vital signs bound to: Ling Zhan.]
Status: Alive.
[Coordinates: Unknown planet, high-altitude ecological zone.]
[Comrade-in-arms...]
The last word was no longer a cold statement. The electronic voice carried an extremely subtle fluctuation, like an unstable current, as if it carried too many undecipherable yet incredibly heavy fragments of emotion.
A brief silence, as still as the beginning of the universe.
Then, the voice sounded again, still a synthesized electronic voice, but strangely carrying a hint of...weakness and self-righteous complaint:
[Energy level: Critical low.]
[Body damage: 94.7%]
I'm hungry.
The mountain wind swept across the meadow, which had been subdued by an unseen force, carrying a chill of relief after the catastrophe and making a soft rustling sound. The wooden house creaked slightly from the aftershocks. Jinbao cautiously peeked out, his bright black eyes filled with lingering fear. Shuangren and Lanying shakily crawled out from the corner of the wall, shaking their dust-covered heads blankly, their limbs still a little weak.
Ling Zhan remained standing by the fire pit.
The skewer of wild boar meat in my hand, roasted to a fragrant crisp, was slowly dripping with fat. In the deathly silence, the "splatter" sound was exceptionally clear and heavy.
She slowly raised her head and looked at the rock wall where the light had faded, leaving only a scorching heat and a flowing, glassy texture.
She slowly lowered her head again, looking at the meat skewers in her hand that exuded a deadly, tempting aroma. On her face, which had been frozen for too long, clear and real ripples slowly spread out, like pebbles thrown into an icy lake.
A faint smile, yet powerful enough to melt ten thousand years of ice, quietly curved at the corners of her tightly pursed lips.
She raised her hand and removed the skewer of oil-dripping grilled meat from the fire.
The grease dripped onto the dark red charcoal fire with a "sizzle," and a small wisp of smoke carrying a fragrant aroma rose up again.
"knew."
She spoke softly to the silent, shimmering rock face, her voice carrying a gentle softness that she herself was unaware of, though clear even through the rock.
"It will be ready soon."
As the skewer of wild boar meat dripping with grease disappeared silently before the glassy rock wall, Zero's voice fell into complete silence, like a firefly that had exhausted its last bit of energy, once again disappearing into the depths of the thick rock strata.
The temperature of the rock wall, which shimmered with an eerie glow, slowly dropped, leaving only the lingering aftertaste of the heat and a deeper, faint pulsation, like the stirring of the earth.
The lingering turbulent energy in the air had long since subsided, and the mountain breeze had become gentle again, carrying an increasingly strong fresh scent of grass and earth, brushing against Ling Zhan's cheeks and bringing a refreshing coolness.
However, deep within her consciousness, it was as if a silent cosmic storm had just passed.
A cold torrent of information washed over her consciousness, leaving cruel marks:
The planet Shura is shattered. The coordinates of the galaxy have vanished. The path home is severed.
The cold, synthesized electronic voice proclaimed not only the destruction of a home, but also the complete collapse of the very foundation upon which she had once existed.
This realm serves as the foundation, nurturing the star's core.
A thousand years. Ten thousand years. Even a hundred million years. Until... the sparks rekindle, and the celestial journey begins anew.
The vast expanse of time, cold and devoid of emotion, is like an unchanging law. Zero's words contain no sentimentality, only absolute logic based on the conservation of energy and the rules of matter. They must, like true seeds, deeply root themselves in this unfamiliar soil, drawing nourishment from it, adapting to its laws, breathing and sharing its fate with this world… absorbing the pure energy of the universe until the star's core accumulates the energy to tear apart the barriers of space.
There are no shortcuts. There are no easy ways. Only by integrating and taking root can one succeed.
Ling Zhan stood in front of the nascent wooden house, the embers of the hearth emitting a faint red glow and lingering warmth.
Jinbao finally scurried back to her feet, tentatively and gently touching the tips of her mud-covered boots with its little paws. Frostblade and Storm Shadow also timidly peeked out from the corner of the wall, their tails lowered, cautiously sniffing the air.
She slowly raised her right hand, palm facing upward. A subtle thought stirred within her.
laugh--
A tiny, almost transparent, pale golden flame, like a newborn sprite, ignited out of thin air less than an inch above her fingertips! The flame was extremely small, only the size of a soybean, and its temperature was not scorching, but rather carried a strange, warm feeling.
At the heart of the flame, extremely tiny, stardust-like specks of light could be faintly seen, slowly shifting and flickering—
The fire of the stars. It is also the shackles of life.
At the very moment that spark ignited!
An unprecedented and incredibly clear sense of stagnation, like billions of invisible spider silk, suddenly wrapped around Ling Zhan's limbs and bones!
breathe--
She instinctively took a deep breath.
The crisp, cool air from the mountaintop filled my nostrils, carrying the faint scent of grass and the dampness of the earth. The sensation was so tangible, so…slow.
Air entered her lungs, alveoli expanded, oxygen molecules combined with blood… each step was clearly discernible, carrying a mundane rhythm that required waiting. It was no longer the instantaneous, electric surge of energy she felt in the Asura Star energy chamber. Every breath seemed to remind her of her close connection to this world, and… the constraints.
Heartbeat—
The steady thumping in her chest was amplified infinitely—thump…thump…thump… Each sound was like a heavy drumstick striking the silent mountaintop, and also striking the depths of her consciousness. This sound was no longer a mere physiological phenomenon; it was like an invisible pointer, clearly and coldly marking the passage of time.
A concept she had never truly considered before pressed down with a cold weight—lifespan is finite.
More power—
Ling Zhan unconsciously clenched his left fist. The muscle fibers taut beneath his skin, his power still surging, far surpassing that of ordinary mortals in this world.
But this power… she could clearly sense its boundaries. The slight tremors left by the tools during yesterday's logging and stone-cutting, which she had almost ignored, now sent a clear soreness through her knuckles, like tiny needles gently pricking her, reminding her of the fragility and limits of her flesh and blood body.
After demonstrating these changes, Star Core Zero once again entered a deep period of nurturing.
It can slumber for millennia, waiting for its energy to revive, like a cold star.
But what about Ling Zhan?
All she possessed was a mortal body of flesh and blood; decades passed in the blink of an eye!
A thousand years? Ten thousand years? A hundred million years?
The tiny, flickering, pale golden spark at her fingertips, on the vast scale of billions of years, was as insignificant as a candle in the wind, so fragile it was heartbreaking! A chilling sense of despair, originating from the very limits of life itself, like the cold air of an abyss, instantly gripped her heart!
It is a sense of powerlessness in the face of the relentless passage of time, and a profound sense of absurdity at one's own insignificant existence!
She clenched her left fist tightly! Her nails dug deep into her palm, causing a sharp, stinging pain!
"puff."
That pale golden starlight flame was extinguished as if by a gale, vanishing without a trace in an instant.
"squeak--!"
Jinbao was terrified by the sudden violence and action. With a shrill scream, he scrambled back up to the branches of the low pine tree, his small body curled up in a ball, trembling. His bright black eyes were filled with extreme fear and bewilderment.
The wolf cubs, who had just mustered the courage to peek out, howled and scrambled back into the deepest corner of the cabin, burying their heads in their paws.
Ling Zhan took a deep breath.
The way home is blocked. The road ahead is uncertain.
And...life is finite!
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