Xyrin Empire-Chapter 1453: Message

"This is a blank spaceship," Sandora looked at the dim, tilted abandoned corridor and said in a voice almost like talking to herself, "No place of origin, no serial number, not even a military emblem... Who on earth built this thing?"

With Sandora’s reminder, I also noticed the oddities in the details of this spaceship: we have been advancing down its outer corridor for over ten minutes, not seeing anything that indicates the place of origin of this spaceship, not even any equipment with model or serial numbers. The lack of place of origin information might be explainable—perhaps this spaceship is a joint production of multiple sky zones, or its place of origin indicator is elsewhere—but not having model information on the equipment embedded in the corridor is quite unusual.

"Let’s not think too much for now, just keep moving forward." Sandora shook her head, temporarily setting aside this question, as we have only explored a small section of this ghost ship’s corridor, and drawing any conclusions would be too premature.

The group continued moving along the corridor leading to the spaceship’s inner zone, with no gravity or air around, and no lights visible. The alloy walls, which should have been shining, now appeared lifeless, the ghost energy light flows and flickering devices on them completely silent. Due to the passage of time, a light layer of dust floated in the corridor, likely the result of something weathered and crushed, and it’s unknown how long these dust particles have been floating in this zero-gravity environment. Alaya emitted a gentle glow with herself as the center, making the dust floating in the void more visible under the light. Lilina looked thoughtfully at these dust particles, floated to the nearby wall, and wiped it, then rubbed her fingers lightly: "Organic matter, but completely denatured."

I didn’t grasp the meaning: "What do you mean?"

"It’s nothing, maybe the ’ash’ was produced from the weathering of carbon-based life forms’ corpses," Lilina answered indifferently, "There’s not much on an Imperial Ship that could weather, the shelf life of those devices is measured in tens of thousands of years, so what weathered can only be the crew of the spaceship. The corpses of Xyrin Apostles, like this spaceship, are immortal, eliminating that possibility, so it must be the Servant Army. The ’ash’ in the corridor should come from the corpses, there must have been air when they weathered, but now all the gas has escaped."

I quickly opened a shield to isolate those dust particles, and Lilina shrugged when she saw me do this: "Boss, don’t take it so seriously, these dust particles are already completely denatured and are now basically just a pile of large molecules."

It made sense when I thought about it, but I still felt uneasy: "Why does the association still make one’s skin crawl?"

"Boss, you’re just being squeamish."

Me: "..."

This corridor is even longer than the previous one, and possibly due to being located at the damaged part of the spaceship, it appears a bit tilted, with an unusual bend in the middle section. However, it still remained intact, without cracks or breaks, so at least it did not pose a greater problem for us. The group quickly advanced along the passage, paying close attention to any potentially useful markers, but as Sandora mentioned, nothing indicating spaceship information was visible, and the equipment installed in the corridor also lacked identification plates.

We stopped at the second junction, a T-shaped intersection, where there was an obvious embedded device cover on the alloy wall facing the direction we came from, roughly half a meter square. Based on experience, I judged it to be a control point for these corridors. Lilina stepped forward and knocked on the silver-gray metal plate. The embedded device, lacking energy supply, naturally couldn’t respond to such external stimuli, so Sandora stepped forward, inserted her finger into the top edge of the metal plate, and forcibly removed it.

Removing the cover revealed a dull, crystallized grid, along with two hexagonal crystal panels resembling nothing more than black quartz. The interactive holographic image that should have automatically appeared when the outer cover was opened was also not possible: this thing had completely lost energy supply.

Sandora placed her hand on one of the crystal panels, and after inputting energy externally, that panel finally emitted a faint blue light. Then we saw faint glimmers start passing through the surrounding three corridors, with blue light spots resembling fireflies quickly moving down the dark passages, followed by the second and third waves of light spots: Sandora was using the most primitive yet effective method to inspect the corridor’s circuits.

"The circuit is intact, just the energy supply has been interrupted," Sandora withdrew her hand, and the blue light spots sliding through the corridor quickly disappeared, "I can’t find any reaction from a backup energy source, that part may have been lost in the void along with a missing section of the spaceship."

I observed this lifeless place, starkly different from previous Imperial relics we encountered: it was completely "dead," showing no signs of even limited operation. The Imperial relics we found before often had remnants of energy operating minimally, but this place displayed not even a trace of that "minimal operation," prompting me to sigh in the Spiritual Connection: "Truly a ’ghost’ ship, dead to the core."

"Not necessarily," Sandora lightly shook her head, "Its core area should still be running, with parts powering the engine module and automatic navigation system presumably operating as usual, otherwise how is this thing jumping between worlds? We just don’t know how much farther we have to go to find a section with energy supply, this spaceship features an unusual design, and I can’t discern its foundational architecture yet."

"Still can’t sense any life," Lilina stared down the darkened corridor beside her, murmuring in the Spiritual Connection, "Nevertheless, the intuition is getting stronger, there must be some interference source deep in this ship, and that thing ought to have energy supply, right?"

At this point, I was focused on scanning the entire spaceship, but lacking Lilina’s and Dingdang’s knack for identifying life, I was searching for energy focal points instead. After some scanning, I indeed detected a faint ghost energy reaction several kilometers away, though the reaction was subtle and weak enough that I nearly overlooked it at first.

The group accelerated toward the spaceship’s core area. These lifeless outer sections held no real research value and were best left to subsequent reconnaissance soldiers and researchers. We traversed long, deep alloy passages and twisted, overturned connecting segments, even resorting to violent means sometimes, cutting holes through the regulated gate barriers: the spaceship had automatically sealed most internal gates during an emergency, and now, these gates were invariably stuck. Even with Sandora supplying external energy, the gates could not be activated due to component failures and deformations, leaving us to cut through them to advance. Sandora’s claws were quite handy for this, resembling a mole’s with her scratching, though I dared not mention it to her face.

After progressing for some time, passing through countless dark, lifeless functional cabins, and even crossing a large architectural area—spaceship this tens of kilometers long have some large spaces built like towns inside, though those structures now resembled ghost towns—we finally neared the central region. I could start feeling faint energy flows within the surrounding facilities, a positive development that boosted my mood: energy indicated some devices might still be operating normally, and Imperial devices typically feature a self-recording function, an old device from the Old Empire Era that has been running to this day can reveal many secrets, making the discovery of such relics particularly thrilling.

Little Crow seemed to sense my good mood too, or was simply having fun with this novel "exploration game," and flitted cheerfully ahead of the group at an exuberant pace. My efforts to mentally remind the girl to slow down via the Spiritual Connection were largely ineffective, resulting in a mishap when passing through a large door: she suddenly sank mid-air, crashing to the ground and sliding six or seven meters forward in a dog-eats-dirt position...

I saw this from behind and rushed over to help, yet felt my own body sink the moment I crossed Little Crow’s "landing point," with the long-lost sensation of gravity hitting suddenly. Luckily, I reacted quickly, adjusting my posture mid-descent to land firmly on my feet. Immediately, Sandora landed beside me, and we both watched Lilina slide across the ground in the same silly bird posture...

Lilina had been so busy searching for life signs that she hadn’t noticed the artificial gravity ahead had resumed, otherwise there’s no way someone as agile as her would make the same mistake as that silly bird—unless, of course, she intentionally played cute.

I went over to pick up the sliding pair of the young girl and Loli, wiping them clean, and conversed with Sandora in the Spiritual Connection: "There’s artificial gravity here, seems the energy is restored in this area."

"Stop using the Spiritual Connection," Sandora suddenly spoke, "Haven’t you noticed there’s air here?"

I was taken aback, only then realizing that not only could I walk upright in this place, but I could also breathe, and the surrounding temperature was rising: it should still be around zero degrees, quite cold for Earthlings, but evidently a temperature suitable for carbon-based life to survive. Apart from still being dark, the living environment here seems completely normal.

I looked at the last great gate I had just passed through. It was open, without any barrier, but the pressure and temperature were maintained on one side of the gate, while the other side was an outer space environment. This clearly uses invisible environmental sphere technology, which is common in Empire facilities, though it usually applies to open platforms exposed to the outside of facilities. It’s my first time seeing it used inside a spaceship: could it be that the designer of this ship anticipated it might become fragmented, and designed it with compartments to create life-support zones?

"This place’s layout doesn’t resemble a battleship; it looks more like a long-distance immigrant ship." Sandora didn’t pay attention to the life-support zone issue; she was merely observing the layout under the Holy Light released by Alaya. Everyone was now in a vast hall with unclear purpose but certainly not a strategic center or command post. There weren’t many terminals or large holographic devices here. All seats in the hall were distantly spaced, scattered, obviously not laid out like a military command station, but more like...

An activity center for civilians to relax and unwind.

Sandora evidently held the same opinion as she wandered around the hall, seeking any mark that may explain the origins and purpose of this strange ship. Lilina placed Dingdang atop her head, forming a composite entity, and began searching for nearby life signs. Alaya continued diligently to serve as a lighting fixture, while I adjusted Alaya’s brightness.

Just then, a deep "bang bang bang" sound suddenly reverberated from all directions. Before I could react to what was happening, the hall abruptly lit up: the place’s lighting had been restored!

With the restoration of lighting, energy supply naturally returned to normal. The equipment and facilities scattered around the hall began to activate sequentially like waking from hibernation, accompanied by a low hum. Flickering holographic images appeared beside the seats, and virtual information screens emerged in mid-air. The central data terminal in the hall brightened and began playing a standby screen. A gentle, low-pitched sound emanated from all around, which didn’t seem like the sound of equipment activation, but rather a simply played audio, of unknown significance.

We were startled by the sudden activation of equipment here, prompting Lilina to quickly look around: "Where’s the ghost on the ghost ship?"

I pressed the head of this babbling little girl yet was also bewildered, suspecting if some dormant device sensed our arrival and activated itself. Just when I was thinking that, I heard a distant "嘎哦" call and looked toward the sound. It turned out Medivh had somehow reached a gate at the end of the hall. The little girl was cheerfully waving her hand this way, while shouting: "Master Gah! Pressing this indeed turns everything on!"

I hurried over to see Little Crow’s hand pressing on a crystal panel beside the gate. The wall next to the panel displayed a rapid flow of data, rudimentarily showing various reports on ship section status, resembling an automatic self-diagnosis report made after the ship’s main computer rebooted. It turns out Little Crow activated this place.

Sandora arrived upon hearing the commotion, and seeing the situation, showed clear confusion: "Little Bird, how did you start these things?"

"Just put the claw... hand on it!" Little Crow, knowing she’d contributed, was especially delighted, gesturing at the crystal panel. "I saw many such things in the city; you just have to put a claw... hand on it to use it, Gah?"

Apparently, Little Crow confused the ship with the civilian facilities she saw in Shadow City. This bird didn’t quite understand what a permission system was, but I could perceive something wrong: Imperial starships were controlled by strict permission systems, the person able to activate this hall must have been the original owner of the ship. How did Little Crow activate this place just by placing her hand on the identifier?

It’s worth noting that this crystal panel isn’t simply a light switch; it comprehensively activated all equipment’s energy supply here, and now it displays the ship’s self-check report! This thing is evidently connected to the ship’s main computer!

As Sandora and I looked at each other, thinking the permission system here had malfunctioned, Lilina suddenly pointed to the side and shouted: "Boss, there are words here!" 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

I looked in the direction Lilina pointed and found a plaque hanging on the nearby gate. Written in Xyrin Language was:

"Final tip: you’ve arrived in the activity hall. You can relax and unwind here, and follow the light indications to find your workspace. Now place your hand on the fluorescent panel beside the door; the system has unlocked, anyone who wakes can activate the equipment here. Don’t worry about confusion in your mind; it’s a normal aftereffect that will quickly dissipate after the audio broadcast."

This plaque emitted a constant glow, suggesting it must have been lit even during the recent darkness; however, our focus was elsewhere, so no one noticed it. Only Little Crow took notice and was drawn by the plaque’s glow — Crows always love shiny things, don’t they?

"Did someone know we were coming, Gah?" Little Crow shook my arm. "And left us a message, Gah?"

"No, not written for us," Sandora immediately recognized the meaning of the writing. "It’s written for some of the people on this ship, ’anyone who wakes,’ it’s a tip left for those who wake. Consider this: we entered this ship from outside, so the messages we see should be the last for those exiting." Based on what’s written, there should be other messages."

"This is simple," I had a faint idea, "Let’s trace back in reverse."

From the plaque’s content, a slight reverse inference suggests that someone exited from somewhere and saw the text on the plaque and activated the equipment in the hall. That person could only have entered the hall through the gate in front of us.

Sandora reached out and pressed the alloy door, which silently slid open: this thing also worked, and without limitations.

Beyond the alloy door was a bright corridor, but I couldn’t tell if its lights had always been on or just activated by Little Crow. Lilina, with her keen eyes, quickly spotted another indicator plaque on the corridor wall. It read:

"New tip: You’ve passed through the second corridor, ahead is the activity hall, place your hand on the automatic door."

It indeed is. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is the greatest motivation for me. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)