He won’t kill me?
Hawk did not believe it, but he did not dare let that show.
“Where should we begin?”
Qi Heng looked at the tablet in his hand and paused briefly.
“Let’s start with this.”
“How do you use it to communicate?”
“Tianyun Star is covered by a chaotic magnetic field. Other than primitive methods, information can only be transmitted through physical lines.”
His gaze settled on Hawk.
“So, where is it?”
A0 had already marked the line’s location during the system scan.
Qi Heng was asking only to see whether Hawk would tell the truth.
Hawk remained silent for a long while before looking toward a particular section of the wall behind Qi Heng.
“Press the upper-left corner of the desk behind you. A connection port will appear.”
It was not that Hawk lacked backbone.
One-Horns had never been noble or principled slaves to begin with. In front of someone who could crush them to death with the movement of a finger, obedience was the wiser choice.
“You didn’t lie. Good.”
Qi Heng moved his hand and looked at the connection port that appeared in the wall.
He pulled out a cable, connected it to the tablet, and ordered A0 to follow the signal and investigate the network.
He was not remotely concerned that A0 might be discovered during the intrusion.
Qi Heng pulled out the chair beside the desk and sat down.
“How many years have you been on Tianyun Star?” he asked casually.
“Two hundred and seventy-three years,” Hawk answered instinctively.
“You’ve spent so long on Tianyun Star. You must know some of its secrets.”
“Tell me about them.”
“Secrets on Tianyun Star?”
Hawk froze, then hesitantly said, “There are no secrets on Tianyun Star.”
Qi Heng deliberately gave a mocking laugh.
“Oh? No secrets?”
“Then why did the Ikar Civilization establish a research facility here?”
“And for Mental Domain sealing technology to become so mature, they must have used quite a few experimental subjects in the beginning…”
The system possessed the ability to assign technological levels.
According to its classification, Mental Domain sealing was technology at the peak of Level 5 civilization.
Although it was technically only Level 5, it belonged to an exceptionally obscure and difficult field of research.
Who would normally devote their time to studying how to close a life-form’s Mental Domain?
The phrase “Mental Domain sealing technology” did not surprise Hawk.
The technology had matured many years ago.
However, implementing it remained heavily restricted.
There were requirements concerning the subject’s age, mental strength, potential, and other factors.
Furthermore, ordinary people were interested only in how to expand the Mental Domain.
Very few would be interested in technology designed to seal it.
Although the technology was famous, both its applications and its primary target population remained fixed.
The Stellar Alliance also prohibited the technology from being taken outside the Lost Star Region.
As a result, certain people seeking to obtain it would risk entering the Lost Star Region to steal it.
Could it be that this black-haired man had not come for the Ikar Civilization itself?
Hawk’s question remained only a question.
The person before him had no interest in resolving his confusion.
“Since you could enter Tianyun Star without alerting the Interstellar Patrol, you should understand that we are only jailers responsible for guarding this breeding farm.”
“We know little about the information and operations surrounding Tianyun Star.”
Hearing Hawk’s description, Qi Heng recalled everything he had witnessed in District 49 and sneered inwardly.
Calling Tianyun Star’s slums a breeding farm was painfully accurate.
…
A0 infiltrated the network quickly.
Clearly, the task presented no difficulty whatsoever.
The other end of the line did not connect solely to the person communicating with Hawk.
After stealing that individual’s information, A0 followed the connection farther and directly infiltrated the research facility’s central computer in District 1.
The entire process occurred silently, without triggering the intrusion alarms established in advance.
While Qi Heng spoke with Hawk, A0’s organized intelligence began appearing across the system interface.
Information concerning the “Interstellar Patrol” Hawk had just mentioned was among it.
【Interstellar Patrol: Full designation, Stellar Alliance Interstellar Patrol. Commonly shortened to “Interstellar Patrol,” “interstellar police,” and similar terms.】
【One patrol sub-fleet is stationed within each star region of the Milky Way.】
【Within the Lost Star Region, the Interstellar Patrol is responsible for apprehending unauthorized infiltrators. It possesses independent authority to attack and kill.】
【It is also responsible for rescuing and escorting civilizations possessing valid travel permits within the Lost Star Region…】
The Lost Star Region referred to the former Tianjia Star Region.
Its territory extended far beyond a few hundred light-years.
What use could a single patrol sub-fleet possibly be across such a vast area?
Qi Heng voiced the thought to A0.
【Overlord, while infiltrating the research facility’s central computer, I discovered that the Interstellar Patrol installed civilization monitors over each “planetary breeding farm” within the Lost Star Region.】
【Tianyun Star’s monitor is positioned in the planet’s low orbit.】
【Any aircraft or spacecraft approaching the planet will trigger an alarm and cause information to be transmitted outward…】
The information on the system interface refreshed.
Qi Heng glanced through it and found a considerable amount of relevant material.
Selecting one point, he told Hawk, “Civilization monitors are certainly useful, but avoiding them isn’t impossible.”
He lied with his eyes wide open.
Civilization monitors were nothing unusual.
Qi Heng had frequently used them while playing the game.
Judging from the system’s organized information, the one deployed outside Tianyun Star was not low-level.
It possessed more than enough capability to monitor the entire star system.
Forget entering Tianyun Star’s atmosphere.
A spacecraft would likely be discovered the instant it entered the Tianyun system.
The following period passed through questions and answers.
With Qi Heng’s mental power surrounding and suppressing him, Hawk did not dare lie.
After extracting every piece of information Hawk possessed, Qi Heng used a measure of violence to knock him unconscious.
He then reviewed the available intelligence with A0.
Once the system infiltrated the research facility, the information inside the base became effectively transparent to Qi Heng.
Hawk had also revealed many unwritten rules that would never appear in official records.
Gradually, a plan began taking shape in Qi Heng’s mind.
By evening, Qi Heng had left District 1 and appeared beneath the tower.
The tower stood within an uninhabited area.
The massive metal structure rose from a desolate wilderness, yet the ground surrounding it had been cleaned thoroughly.
Not a single weed or shrub that should have grown there could be seen.
Qi Heng performed several operations at a particular point beneath the tower.
A metal panel covering one of the tower’s support legs lifted, revealing a crystalline square screen.
“A0, I’ll leave this to you.”
Qi Heng placed his hand upon it.
【Establishing contact… Consuming five energy points to load the intrusion program.】
【Program loaded successfully. Beginning access-control decryption.】
A0 had already infiltrated the research facility’s central system through the tablet in Hawk’s house.
Although it had not possessed enough time to copy every piece of data, it had recorded the key information long ago.
Decrypting the system now took only the blink of an eye.
【Decryption successful. Control acquired.】
The next second, an opening leading downward appeared approximately one meter from Qi Heng’s feet.
Through Hawk’s tablet and its physical line, the system could infiltrate the network through the data port and obtain the information Qi Heng wanted.
However, that method was too inflexible.
He could not begin every operation by returning to Hawk’s house.
Thinking of the plan he had named The Tianyun Star Restart Plan, Qi Heng decided that making this visit personally was still preferable.
He walked toward the underground entrance.
After descending several steps, the door above closed and cut off the outside light.
Bright illumination immediately appeared within the highly futuristic metal corridor before him.
With the system guiding him, Qi Heng was visiting the place for the first time, yet moved through it with the familiarity of someone returning home.
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