Chapter 846: [(654)] Undermining the Federation’s Corner (Request for monthly pass and subscription) Chapter 846: [(654)] Undermining the Federation’s Corner (Request for monthly pass and subscription) “Dong Chengshuang is a friend I’m definitely keeping.”


    Inside Dormitory 317, Liu Limin excitedly rolled on his bed as he looked at the academic credits that had been transferred to his account.


    Cao Yingjun, on the other hand, was somewhat uncertain, “Did nothing really happen on this trip? Especially when Dong Chengshuang’s uncle came at the end to thank Ji Yuyan and Murong Xiyue, I feel like we just rode their coattails.”


    “Really?” Liu Limin was taken aback.


    Both turned to look at Pei Jinye.


    “Brother Pei, what do you think?”


    “The Dong family is wary of the Bandit King Luo, and as you know, the Murong Family and Ji Family have a lot of clout. They didn’t make it clear, but the implication was there,” Pei Jinye shook his head: “Actually, Murong Xiyue noticed it too, and afterwards mentioned to me not to overthink it. If you can earn those academic credits without trouble, why not?”


    “Wow, Murong Xiyue really is my goddess, just so classy and composed,” Liu Limin immediately lavished his praises without stinginess.


    Cao Yingjun had a look of distaste on his face.


    Tidying up his clothes, he said, “Enough talk, let’s go train.”


    “Off to the cultivation room again? Holy shit, Yingjun, you’re rich too!” Liu Limin was shocked.


    Cao Yingjun said somewhat sheepishly, “I took on a couple of private artifact refining gigs, made a little profit.”


    “Holy shit, no wonder they say you artifact refiners make a killing,” Liu Limin immediately responded, “So, you’re treating us to dinner, right?”


    “The final payment hasn’t settled yet, but when it does, I’ll treat,” Cao Yingjun agreed on the spot.


    “You’ve got a deal.”


    Having said that, Liu Limin started to do handstands.


    Cao Yingjun responded and left the dormitory.


    Pei Jinye sat on the balcony with a cup of tea, looking out at the campus below draped in the night, bustling with people coming and going.


    A message from Elder Wuji suddenly transmitted through his mental link.


    [The situation in White Dragon City made him suffer a big loss, but did you get the data from the Deep Sea Base?]


    [No, the people from Judgement Place arrived too fast. If I hadn’t run fast, I’d probably be skinless if not dead], Pei Jinye “complained.”


    Elder Wuji fell silent for a moment: [This operation’s intelligence was entirely Candle’s responsibility, and this failure also proves how crucial the core data of the Deep Sea Base is. It’s a shame. If you had obtained it, your status at the headquarters would have been significantly elevated.]


    Playing along with Elder Wuji’s narrative, Pei Jinye asked, [What exactly is involved with the Deep Sea Base?]


    In reality.


    As he asked this question, the decryption progress of an encrypted file in his mental link had already reached 78%.


    He had indeed lied to Elder Wuji.


    Fundamentally.


    He hadn’t really considered himself part of the Old Gods Association.


    And…


    He couldn’t explain the incident with the Blood Ghost Ape.


    [The Deep Sea Base…] Elder Wuji murmured, [According to Candle’s description, the Deep Sea Base is a recent Star Ring experiment, with an eighty percent probability it’s related to extraterrestrial intelligence discovery…]


    [Extraterrestrial intelligence?] Pei Jinye’s brows perked up, throwing cold water on the idea, [Not to be a killjoy, but we haven’t even figured out our own world’s past history, and now we’re reaching out into outer space… is it really appropriate?]


    This time, Elder Wuji’s silence lasted longer before he slowly said, [It involves both the past and the future… The old oracles had insights about these, but much remains we can’t truly see through. If the Star Ring is indeed researching extraterrestrial civilizations, we want to know… if there really are extraterrestrial civilizations out there. Have you heard about the recent popularity of the ‘Fish Tank Theory’?]


    Then he repeated Pei Jinye’s own thoughts on the subject to him.


    Pei Jinye listened quietly.


    He did not reveal that the theory originated from himself.


    Elder Wuji continued, [Some at the headquarters have theorized, and we now have reason to suspect that we might actually be under observation.]


    Pei Jinye raised his eyebrows slightly, [If we really are being observed… what does the other party want to do? If they can observe us, this should mean their power is much greater than ours…]


    Elder Wuji then relayed another piece of crucial news, [We made data comparisons and found that the known star space creatures fall into two categories. One origin is from our own space, while the others are indeed from outer space. However, all discoveries are made within the Flowing Flame Layer outside the planets, which is extremely close to our planet, calling it ‘outer space’ is a bit of an exaggeration…]


    An enigmatic dark matter surrounds this planet, known as the Flowing Flame Layer, acting like a protective shield, trapping people in and keeping outsiders out.


    Pei Jinye fell into deep thought.


    In the memories of the star space creature he had devoured, which claimed to be a “god,” it lived on a massive planet that later shattered… If this star space creature’s home wasn’t another planet, but the world he currently lived in.


    Did that imply this planet once really harbored powerful beings?


    But if everything went as he speculated,


    The memories indeed spoke of the destruction of that planet…


    Could there be more to it?


    Deeply disturbing thoughts…


    Pei Jinye couldn’t help but shiver.


    [There is much unknown about this world… Based on current technology and transcendents, we can’t even conjecture how long this world has existed], Elder Wuji spoke with a hint of helplessness.


    Pei Jinye snapped back to reality and after a moment of silence asked, [So, what exactly is Ninth Rank?]


    [I do not know either], Elder Wuji sighed, [Seventh Rank is about creating a Domain, Eighth Rank is integrating the Power of the Domain, Ninth Rank is truly mastering the Domain. What lies beyond the Domain is a forbidden zone that no one has ever reached an answer to…]


    [Mastering?] Pei Jinye recalled the Ninth Rank memories he had once devoured.


    Indeed that was the case.


    But the individual was too old, with many memories faded, yielding not as much detail about the Domain as anticipated.


    Create… Integrate… Master.


    These three phases were all present in his memories.


    But what comes after integration?


    [Changes in the world are infinite, and creating and utilizing a Domain is like an endless ocean of knowledge. I am not even sure if I can study it thoroughly in my lifetime…], pondered Elder Wuji with a sigh.


    If possible, he truly wished for immortality.


    Perhaps only with eternal life would there be a chance to touch the final barrier of Ninth Rank.


    [It’s a pity that current technology is nowhere near capable, but… maybe, you should have a way?]


    Elder Wuji’s words made Pei Jinye raise his eyebrows.


    He laughed bitterly, [Elder, I’m not trying to deceive you. Do you really think I have a solution?]


    “The Oracle…” Elder Wuji sighed, “I believe in the Oracle.”


    This was a kind of near-fanatical superstition.


    Pei Jinye had nothing to say, “Let’s hope so.”


    There were too many secrets on him.


    He didn’t want to tell.


    Compared to trust, he didn’t want to proactively put himself in danger.


    “I look forward to that day,” Elder Wuji said.


    After the conversation ended.


    Pei Jinye let out a silent sigh in his heart.


    His gaze retracted from the visual interface, looking towards the groups of students on the campus path.


    He was aware of the trust Elder Wuji had in him.


    It’s just that the secrets on him really couldn’t be known by a second person.


    Some things are still too early to conclude, so wait a bit longer…


    …


    The next morning.


    After the morning run at Snow Dragon Mountain had ended.


    The morning classes proceeded in an orderly fashion.


    Just before class was about to end.


    The database decryption in his mind was finally completed.


    To avoid unnecessary attention, he did not receive it in front of so many people.


    As soon as class ended, he got up and found an excuse to leave.


    “Where’s Pei Jinye, didn’t you guys call him to eat together?” Ji Yuyan looked around and didn’t see Pei Jinye, so she couldn’t help asking.


    Liu Limin scratched his head, feeling somewhat embarrassed to talk to her, “Brother Pei said he had something come up.”


    “Okay then,” Ji Yuyan pursed her lips upon hearing this, feeling a bit unhappy.


    …


    Inside the rented room.


    Pei Jinye didn’t immediately devour the data either.


    Instead, he consumed a large number of Spiritual Objects to replenish his energy.


    The Deep Sea Base’s database was a whopping 102TB, and without adjusting his state properly, he feared a “great destruction” would occur if he tried to receive it.


    After bringing his state up to its peak.


    Only then did Pei Jinye start to control brainwaves, building numerous network honeycombs in his mind for storage.


    At the instant he started the reception.


    A “buzz” resonated.


    Items around him, such as chairs, stools, tables, and even packages, all started to levitate steadily, as if pulled by some force, and hovered in the air.


    At this moment.


    Pei Jinye was like a star, and the objects around him were like planets orbiting him.


    …


    At the same time as Pei Jinye was devouring the database.


    At the Federation Headquarters located in Dragon City.


    A secret meeting was underway.


    Several abyss-like formidable figures sat in their respective corners.


    “Regarding the Deep Sea Base, we’ve confirmed the damage to the database and cannot rule out the possibility of leakage.”


    “Has the Old Gods Association sent any messages?”


    “No new messages as of now.”


    “Does that mean there is a chance that the Old Gods Association did not get their hands on the database?”


    “That’s correct.”


    “So that implies… the Deep Sea Base’s database might not have been leaked?”


    “This is just one possibility. King Zhou Wen is still speculating.”


    “However, the exposure of the Deep Sea Base also suggests an issue; we have traitors within our ranks!”


    “Seconded.”


    “I suggest we launch a forceful counterattack against the Old Gods Association. At the same time, we should wipe out the Deep Sea Base, regardless of whether the Old Gods Association obtained any useful information or not, and declare it was a bait we purposefully released. Let them guess what’s real and what’s fake.”


    “Seconded.”


    “That concludes the topics up for discussion. Let’s move to the fifth item–regarding extraterrestrial civilizations… As everyone is probably aware, the Fish Tank Theory’s speculation that we are being monitored is increasing significantly.”


    “If there truly is an observation, who could it be?”


    “The real gods?”


    “Do gods truly exist? We’ve discussed this topic many times before, and currently, we can’t even break through the Domain, let alone discuss gods.”


    “If we are indeed being observed, that might explain why we’ve been unable to break through the Flowing Flame Layer up until now.”


    “Could the Flowing Flame Layer be a mysterious force intentionally set up by the others to prevent us from leaving?”


    “Gentlemen.”


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    Someone suddenly spoke up.


    The individuals in the meeting room all stopped and looked over.


    That person slowly said, “Concerning these speculations, you’re all basing them on the assumption that we’re being observed. But what if–I’m just proposing a scenario–we’re not the subjects of observation, and that layer of mysterious dark matter encircling the planet is just a transformation of the universe? In this case, what should our course of action be? Do we continue to stay in this world or do we strive relentlessly to research the Flowing Flame Layer?


    The Deep Sea Base has been established for one hundred thirty years, and our research on the Flowing Flame Layer has not made significant breakthroughs; our technology is still not sufficient.”


    Someone beside him said, “Then how do you explain the likes of the Dragon King? The Deep Sea Base has once again captured traces of them…”