Chapter 82: The Enormous Central Processor

This enormous central processor was, after all, designed and manufactured by the Terrorians—not a product of human technology. Thus, Zhang Desen was somewhat apprehensive, concerned that unexpected anomalies might arise, and so he chose to observe carefully before acting.

From the monitor, Li Longfang noticed Zhang Desen’s hesitation and asked, “Desen, what’s wrong?”

Zhang Desen continued his careful inspection as he replied, “Ah, Longfang, the situation is this: this processor is not a human creation, so I don’t quite know where to begin. Moreover, from what I can see, I’ll likely need to open the processor’s casing to proceed, so I can install the data collection device.”

Li Longfang asked, “Can’t you just force it open?”

Zhang Desen shook his head. “That won’t do. If I force it open, I might damage the processor, which would defeat our purpose. Any damage would surely trigger an alarm, alerting the Terrorians to trouble here.”

Li Longfang asked, “So what should we do now?”

Zhang Desen replied, “Don’t worry. Let me look around first. The Terrorians must need to repair this massive device from time to time, so they would have left some access points for maintenance. Let me search for one. Besides, the Terrorian maintenance crew just left, so they shouldn’t return so soon.”

Li Longfang said, “Let’s hope everything goes smoothly.”

Zhang Desen said, “All right, the spacesuit’s oxygen supply lasts for six hours, and less than one hour has passed. As long as the Terrorians don’t return, we should have enough time. Wait, this looks like an access point.”

“Oh!” exclaimed Li Longfang.

Step by step, Zhang Desen crawled toward the suspected entrance. Fortunately, the processor’s casing seemed designed for ease of maintenance, with passages that allowed him to move without expending the fuel from his spacewalker.

Soon, Zhang Desen reached the suspected entrance and immediately discovered it was indeed an access port, transparent like a glass dome, though likely very sturdy. There was a section resembling a switch.

Comparing the tools he’d taken from the Terrorians’ toolbox, he found one that seemed to fit the lock. He began to work. The process went smoothly, and the processor’s casing opened without trouble. Seeing this, Zhang Desen told Li Longfang, “It’s going well. The casing opened smoothly.”

Li Longfang, excited, responded, “Wonderful, young master! Now we can install our device, right?”

“Yes,” said Zhang Desen. “I’ll go in and take a look, see where to start.”

“Got it!”

Zhang Desen entered the processor through the open casing. Upon inspection, he was instantly exhilarated. He said to Li Longfang, “Just as I thought—the more advanced the technology, the simpler the structure. Amazing!”

Li Longfang, impatient, asked, “Have you bypassed the mechanism?”

“Almost,” said Zhang Desen. “The electronics inside are advanced, but their structure is very straightforward. Once the data collector is installed, I’ll need to integrate its software. Let me design the program now.”

Li Longfang saw several screen-like panels on the monitor’s feed from the processor and asked, “Are those panels their display screens?”

---

“That’s right,” Zhang Desen replied. “Looks like you’re starting to understand these things.”

Li Longfang said, “Not really. I still only half understand—these things seem almost magical.”

Zhang Desen laughed. “Perhaps they are. Sometimes what we call magical artifacts might have originated from devices like these—just that we didn’t understand them, so we called them magical. In reality, some could be relics from extraterrestrial visitors!”

Li Longfang was stunned. “Extraterrestrial visitors?”

“I’ll explain later. Let’s finish the task first,” Zhang Desen said.

“Understood!”

Zhang Desen activated the translation device on his spacesuit, which converted unfamiliar written languages captured by the camera into readable text.

…

Unbeknownst to Zhang Desen and the others, some time earlier, a special conference had taken place deep beneath the eastern coast of the Pacific Ocean.

There, on the ocean floor, stood a metropolis of extraordinary technological advancement, named Atlantis City.

Atlantis City was the capital of the Atlantean Empire—more specifically, the Western Atlantean Empire.

Though the city lay beneath the sea, it was encased in a massive dome of reinforced glass, created with the latest technology of the Western Atlantean Empire. The dome was so robust that even a conventional nuclear blast might only cause minor cracks.

Outside the dome, seawater pressed in; inside, aside from sunlight being filtered by the water, life was little different from that on land. The inhabitants walked on two legs and looked much like surface-dwellers, but each had fish-like gills at their necks. When they left the city to venture into the sea, they activated a device designed by their nation, transforming themselves into merfolk for aquatic travel.

The city’s underground featured a network of passages, allowing residents to move about or journey to other cities of the Western Atlantean Empire.

At this time, within the office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the city’s central Foreign Ministry building, the Atlantean Foreign Minister, Moto Liedbin, sat quietly at the left side of his desk, facing his visitor seated to the right.

That visitor was Captain Tuk Ronkai of the "Fierce Serpent" spaceship from the Gomarr Empire, a planet orbiting Sirius B.

Tuk Ronkai spoke first. “Mr. Minister, I am here by order of my emperor to seek an audience with your nation’s supreme leader. Yet your leader refuses to see me. Isn’t that discourteous?”

Moto Liedbin replied, “As far as I know, your visit was decided at the last moment. You’ve already extracted too many resources from our planet, and we’ve said nothing about it!”

Tuk Ronkai said, “But now we share common interests. If your nation attacks the remnants of the Terrorian Ormei Empire on the surface, we promise to help you destroy your enemy, the Eastern Atlantean Empire. Isn’t that advantageous? In future, when we export your planet’s resources, we’ll pay taxes to your nation—a partnership between two friendly worlds.”

Moto Liedbin asked, “How can we be sure you won’t break your promise?”

Tuk Ronkai replied, “We’re tired of explaining things to those foolish, barbaric beings who never understand a word. The history of your planet’s Terrorian Ormei Empire is filled with enmity toward us, and toward you as well. What do you say?”

---

Moto Liedbin smiled. “It seems we might attempt preliminary cooperation…”

…

Meanwhile, on the satellite, after hours of arduous effort, Zhang Desen finally succeeded in cracking the defense protocols of the satellite’s central processor. He then installed the data collection device, and its software fused seamlessly with the processor, as if they were always meant to function together. Zhang Desen tested the device with his spacesuit computer, confirming the data collection worked perfectly.

He finally relaxed. Checking the time and his oxygen supply, he activated the drinking module in his suit, took a sip, and called out to Li Longfang, “Longfang, I did it! The data collector is installed, and it works flawlessly.”

Li Longfang exclaimed, “Congratulations, young master! Mission accomplished—your might is unmatched!”

“Not again—just call me Desen.”

“Yes, Desen.”

Zhang Desen glanced at the time. “I can’t believe we’ve been working since before breakfast and now it’s midday. Time really flies!”

Li Longfang was surprised. “What? It’s been that long? I didn’t notice.”

“The day-night cycle here isn’t the same as on Earth. You’ll need a refresher course.”

“Ah, yes!”

“No need to worry—it’s normal. I’ll return to the ship soon, then we can get something to eat.”

“Desen, let me handle it.”

“Wait—cooking here can't be done the same way as on Earth. We need to use microwaves and such.”

“This…”

“Don’t overthink it. I’ll explain the reason and method soon. I’m coming up now.”

“Yes…”

After finishing, Zhang Desen packed up his equipment. Once everything was stowed, he exited the processor, closed the casing behind him, and began his ascent.

With his work complete, he did not wish to linger. He activated the propulsion unit of his suit, ascended to the ship’s height, returned the Terrorian tools to their box exactly as found, closed it securely, and entered the ship via the spacewalk hatch at the top.

He did not hurriedly start the ship, as he wasn’t certain whether the Terrorian repair team had left or were still working elsewhere. To avoid unexpected complications, he decided to observe for a while longer and teach Li Longfang how to cook and eat in space.

Just as Zhang Desen and Li Longfang finished preparing their space lunch and were about to eat, the communicator suddenly responded. Zhang Desen checked—it was Liu Yuting and the others, calling from the communicator left aboard the ship at the Liu residence in West Capital.

Indeed, before departing from West Capital, Zhang Desen had taught Liu Yuting how to operate the ship’s various instruments so she could help look after his base. Now, Liu Yuting’s expression on the screen was anxious. Seeing this, Zhang Desen immediately asked, “Ting’er, what’s happened?”

Liu Yuting replied, “Desen, something terrible has happened!”