Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 661: Chapter 547: Black Box_2

Behind Huai Shi, the Great Grandmaster’s voice came, ”Tell me, what did you see?”

”Graves...”

Uncontrollably, Huai Shi blurted out this seemingly unrelated word.

”What did you feel, Huai Shi?”

”...”

After a brief silence, Huai Shi raised her hand, pressing it against her slightly trembling chest, unable to understand this sudden wave of emotion.

It was... hatred.

Merely seeing this thing, an indescribable hatred sprouted from within her. As if this object had been the culprit of some past, utter destruction.

”In reality, it’s nothing more than a Giant Energy Conversion Device in a state of shutdown.”

The Great Grandmaster said decisively, ”It does not possess the function of a grave, nor is there any reason for it to be the subject of resentment. Even with the hellish miracle it embodies, it remains an inanimate object, an artifact merely slightly larger in size.”

Huai Shi was startled.

”Do you understand? Dwelling on such Afterimages of the past is meaningless.” The Great Grandmaster continued, ”Since what’s past is past, don’t waste time on things that cannot be changed. Investing energy in them is futile. No matter what you saw, Huai Shi, their past, their deaths, and their Fates—all of it has nothing to do with us. The so-called sympathy, resentment, and sentiment are merely our own wishful thinking. This is the principle we must remember most when exploring Hell.”

With these words, the brief rest period ended.

The Great Grandmaster slowly rose and said finally, ”Discuss the remaining matters amongst yourselves. Do not disturb me before the decryption experiment is over.”

With the help of other assistants, he put his isolation suit back on and entered the inner laboratory, returning to the immense Control Center beneath.

The experiment was still ongoing.

The so-called Control Center was actually a black box. As a creation of Hell, it obviously could not be researched using the thinking, technical specifications, or operating methods of the Current Circumstances. Therefore, until it was completely decrypted, its internal structure, the principles it employed, and the technology it operated on remained a mystery to everyone. An out-and-out dark box.

Without more samples, destructive experiments were impossible. To understand its true function and glean more clues, they could only persist in various trials. This involved studying it through different methods, inputting diverse signals while waiting for feedback, and gradually, piece by piece, unraveling its internal operating patterns.

In this process, experience undoubtedly played the most vital role.

When dealing with a gigantic mechanism capable of controlling Hell, aside from the Great Grandmaster, nobody else possessed the Ability or qualifications to oversee such a complex project.

Therefore, the remaining challenges had to be left for other responsible individuals to solve.

At a brief meeting, the Director of Affairs delivered his report. ”The structure of the outer and middle layers has been clarified,” he stated. ”However, a portion of the deeper layer remains unexplored and may possess some functions and conditions beyond our expectations. But all of this falls within the Great Grandmaster’s scope of handling, so we needn’t worry. Complete decryption is just a matter of time.”

After his report, he distributed the materials and continued, ”The pressing matter now is that when we activated the Control Center, we received some strange signals. According to analysis, these signals are very likely responses from other Control Centers.”

On the large screen behind him, three locations on the map of the Town of Dusk were quickly highlighted. These were the places the Scholars, after their analysis, deemed most likely to house other Control Centers.

”At the same time, we cannot rule out the possibility that the Ivy League has also received the signals,” the Director of Affairs reminded them. An analysis of the Ivy League’s recent behavior suggested a high likelihood that those guys possessed a Control Center.

Next, all eyes turned toward Huai Shi, waiting for her to make a decision.

In the brief silence, Huai Shi contemplated for a moment and asked, ”Is there more detailed information? Topography, location, and the surrounding conditions?”

”Currently, we only have some images retained from when we were making the map. However, due to the periodic changes in the Town of Dusk, their reliability isn’t high.”

B3 Area, D7 Area, and E12 Area.

The Iron Crystal Throne’s naming scheme for areas in the Town of Dusk was quite straightforward and crude. Starting from the central tower and radiating outwards, the ringed zones were labeled A, B, C, D, E, F... and each zone, based on the angles of a perfect circle, was crudely divided into twelve sections.

At first glance, it seemed simple and easy to understand. But in reality, with the rotation and frequent changes of Hell’s ringed zones, the relationships between each area were utterly chaotic. Understanding their specific locations clearly without the aid of a computer was a difficult task.

The first area Huai Shi discarded was B3 Area. The reason was simple: it was too close to the central tower. Once inside C Area, all of Hell became highly aggressive, making deeper exploration virtually impossible. A moment’s carelessness could result in instant death. Any sensible person would avoid exploring there now.

If the Ivy League is that bullheaded, I’d be more than willing to open a bottle of wine to celebrate their courage and wish them a safe return, Huai Shi thought.

The location of D7 Area, however, was perfectly within the Iron Crystal Throne’s exploration range. In fact, just a day before, an Exploration Team had surveyed the terrain there.