Extraordinary Pedigree.

Chapter 1002 Containment Number θ
With a flick of his finger, Amund sent numbers flashing in the void, like shattered white ink leaping in the darkness.

He looked up and explained in a simple and easy-to-understand way:

“Listen carefully, Abraham. θ... it is actually a number that should not exist.”

Imagine you have a full deck of cards, laid out in order, from Ace to King, every single one. But suddenly, there's an extra card on the table—not a joker, nor any of the suits you've ever seen before.

It has no origin, no rules, yet it has squeezed itself into the entire deck of cards.

If you acknowledge its existence, the entire deck's order is thrown into disarray; if you say it doesn't exist, it's clearly there, impossible to ignore.

With a gentle pinch of his fingers, the symbols immediately spread out, transforming into a collapsing equation.

"Mathematics is the cleanest and most robust language of humankind. But once theta appears, it will devour all the formulas you've written in one go, just like a virus."

For example, if 1+1=2—but θ is inserted, you'll find that the result is suddenly not 2, but 'error,' 'undefined,' and the entire system crashes.

"In other words, θ is not a number; it is a black hole in mathematics. Any logic that encounters it will be dragged into the abyss."

He flicked his fingertip, and an irregularly shaped piece of paper lit up in the air.

"To contain this thing, there are three key points: give it boundaries, minimize contact, and prevent it from participating in calculations."

"The specific steps are as follows: just follow the process I derived using the Ophiuchus protocol."

Armand raised his hands above his head, his face solemn and holy, looking like Moses parting the Red Sea, and solemnly proclaimed:
"First, carve θ on stone and paper!"

"Electronic storage is strictly prohibited. Once theta enters an electronic system, the program will try to 'save it for you,' resulting in database self-corruption, equipment crashes, and the very tools of civilization in your hands will betray you. Within ten meters of the site, all electronic recording devices are prohibited: cameras, mobile phones, calculators, printers—don't even think about it; don't photocopy, don't scan... only handwriting is allowed."

Armand waved a wave of data:
"Theta likes to spread outwards along orthogonal grids—right angles, equilateral lines, graph paper, and grid tiles are all its slides. So it must be written on a carrier with a safe size: irregular, dissimilar, without any 90° right angles, with different side lengths, preferably hand-cut parchment or coarse cloth. This way, every time it climbs outwards, it will miss a step, and its spread will be interrupted."

"Don't use square paper, don't use grid paper. Use a piece of polygonal paper that you've haphazardly cut out with scissors; it's like water trying to pass through a sieve, it just won't."

"Theta parasitizes 'understanding'. Observations should be segmented, with a single person's exposure time not exceeding 2560 seconds (42 minutes and 40 seconds). Stop when the time is up and seal the carrier. Multiple people should take turns, and the upper limit for each person should be halved to ensure 120-300 seconds per person."

"At the same time, we don't give it a complete home, but only a proof that is always one step short, trapping it in a semi-definition. The record only writes up to the preconditions of θ, and never writes the step 'therefore θ = ...'; the person reading it is only responsible for verifying the previous one, and strictly prohibits anyone from continuing the deduction."

"When the shift ends, the carrier is immediately incinerated or chemically dissolved; the reader performs a clearing retelling: verbally retells the symbols you just saw in broken sentences, breaking the memory chain. If necessary, a memory-deleting agent is used to dilute the short-term memory of the contact person."

"The floor tiles in the containment room should not be square, but hexagonal and irregularly shaped. Rulers and coordinates should not be hung on the walls; do not place multiplication tables, calendars, timetables, or other such densely patterned diagrams. Eliminate all regular grids within a ten-meter radius that it can climb."

Armand concluded his deduction process by adding a final sentence:
"Remember, containment is not destruction. What we do is trap it within our defined formula so that it can never escape; so the process may seem verbose, but it actually consists of three things: boundaries, time limits, and isolated computation."

"By doing these three things, you can live in the same house as Theta without triggering civilization."

Xia Xiu listened quietly to Armand's explanation, his fingertips slowly stroking the silver shaft of the cane:
"Carving θ on stone... Ah, what a primitive and simple method of containment. Simple and crude, yet effective."

The phantom of Amund rubbed its non-existent hair and said wearily:

"This method seems simple, but it's not something that ordinary people can deduce. You know, in order to completely erase the traces of θ from the spectral network, I don't know how much computing resources and spectral reserves were burned."

Like slowly drying a spiderweb with a flame—I meticulously removed every crack hidden deep within the information. To be honest, this cleanup alone would have been enough to support a medium-sized genealogical network.

Having said that, he opened his hand, and a strange piece of paper appeared in mid-air. The paper wasn't square; it was pieced together with irregular edges, like leather haphazardly cut by scissors. Amund said coldly:
"This is currently the only vessel that can contain Theta. I have destroyed all the data on the genealogy network. Next, we need to find a jailer to guard this hot potato for us."

Upon hearing this, Xia Xiu raised an eyebrow slightly, then smiled and gripped the silver cane in his hand.

"The jailers... let the Fomi ant tribe handle them. And let that queen ant know the truth about the fall of her three ruler queens."

Armand pondered for a moment, then grinned:
"Indeed, alien races are well-suited for this kind of work; it's their second largest contribution after paying tithes."

He paused, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

"Once you conquer this plane, the central containment chamber of Heaven will take over. At that time, this thing will no longer be a dangerous cancer, but a powerful weapon for the future."

After hearing this, Xia Xiu glanced at Amund and couldn't help but sigh inwardly: The old demon king is indeed the old demon king. His first reaction to anomalies is to weaponize them and turn them into weapons of heaven.

He actually held the same attitude towards the old demon king's actions.

—If the Kingdom is destined to wage war against the various lineages of Terra in the future, then the number θ will become a card in the Kingdom's hand to temporarily paralyze the major lineage networks and gain the Kingdom a first-mover advantage in the future war.

However, the numerical theta is estimated to be paralyzed for only a short time.

Although the various factions on Terra are all prone to infighting and can be as rotten as dog shit when they come together, they are still the rulers of Terra and they still have various elites within them. For example, the containment of the number Theta can be achieved by their elites pushing it out, just like they did with Amund.

These thoughts flashed through Xia Xiu's mind, but he quickly focused his attention on the present matter.

"This trip to Far East City has been incredibly fruitful," he said softly. "We've eradicated two civilization viruses of the Fifth Church in the Peaceful Kingdom in one fell swoop. Theta, and that monster heading north, are both now under my control."

Armand couldn't help but sneer:
"Ha, the harvest is one thing. But look at the state of this city now—it's been torn apart by internal strife, and the Storm King who rules Far East City is probably a scoundrel. He might end up like that Cardinal Patriarch, a puppet of the Fifth Truth, just with a different face."

Xia Xiu gently raised his silver cane, the tip of which tapped the ground, producing a crisp sound.

"Whether it's a puppet or a piece of junk, we'll take it one step at a time."

He turned around and looked at the dark streets in the distance of Far East City.

In the darkness, the firelight and the damp fog intertwined, like a heart in spasm.

"We have now gained the upper hand. In the confrontation with the Fifth Church, the situation has turned in our favor. Next, we will use Far East City as a base to gradually drive the Fifth Church out of the Kingdom of Peace."

He added at the end:
“I have contacted the Queen of the Fomi Ants using the genealogical network I left in the Fomi Ants and informed her about the two civilization viruses. She has now dispatched an ant colony stationed near Far East City—she knows the details of the containment and has the means to clearly remember them. The next step is to hand over the digital θ.”

As soon as Xia Xiu finished speaking, the [Möbius strip] beneath his feet spun to its maximum, and the next moment, his entire figure disappeared from the spot.

……

...The Far East City, the shattered sanctuary.

Abraham's loyal follower, Monfort, huddled in the shadows; the battle between Shashkiah and the Patriarch had just taken a tremendous toll.

The Water Cube suddenly rose up, engulfing the cathedral and the Far East District of Far East City.

The streets transformed into water corridors, and houses crumbled into pieces like shattered dollhouses. Screams, impacts, and collapses blended into a hellish symphony, until the city was saved from utter destruction when a six-winged angel wielded a flaming sword that cleaved the ocean.

But the aftershocks still linger.

The Sweeping Order of Saint Cuthbert, the remnants of the deacons, and even the spirits and loyal souls of the fallen are patrolling the streets, trying to uncover the truth and find the whereabouts of the vanished Patriarch.

To escape capture, he had no choice but to hide and wait for Abraham's return.

Time passed slowly, and his fingertips turned white from gripping the short sword so tightly.

The only thing that sustained him was his trust in that person.

Just as he felt the waiting was like an agonizing purgatory, the air suddenly trembled.

A dark, shimmering light pattern emerged from the depths of the void, like a strip of paper twisted into a ring by an invisible hand. The ring spun and folded, causing the entire ruins to emit an eerie hum.

Monford's pupils contracted instantly, his breath hitched, and then he was overjoyed—he recognized the symbol; it was the symbol of the miracle manifested by Abraham.

Soon, the toroidal surface accelerated to its maximum, and space was torn apart like a curtain.

A tall, slender figure slowly emerged from the void.

His golden hair swayed in the night wind, and his golden eyes shone like stars in the dying embers. He held the silver cane with composure, as if he had never experienced any battle.

Beside that adult, a strange piece of paper floated silently: irregular edges and no right angles, like a piece of cloth that had been cut with a knife.

Xia Xiu stepped out of the void, his silver cane lightly touching the ground, his golden eyes curving slightly as he smiled.

"Thank you for waiting for me, Monford."

Monford felt relieved and was about to speak when Xia Xiu waved his hand.

"This is not the place to talk."

As soon as he finished speaking, the shadow beneath his feet twisted into a pitch-black Möbius strip, rapidly expanding and spinning. Monford felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, as if some force had flipped him over from the inside out.

When he opened his eyes again, the shattered sanctuary was nowhere to be seen.

In its place lies a remote outskirts of Far East City. The streets are long abandoned, overgrown with gravel and weeds, and the air is thick with the musty smell of aged earth. Vast pits dot the landscape, as if the earth has been repeatedly eroded, leaving behind rough, craggy passages.

Monford immediately recognized it as a passageway left behind by the Fomi Ants.

Just as he held his breath, a tremor suddenly came from beneath his feet. A rustling, crawling sound grew deeper, accompanied by the turning over of damp soil, and a large group of black figures crawled out of the pit.

One by one, enormous Vermeer ant soldiers emerged from the cave entrance, their carapaces gleaming with a cold, black light in the dim glow. They moved in perfect unison, their steps like those of a ceremonial guard, before quickly dividing into two lines and bowing their heads in unison.

Immediately afterwards, a series of synchronized mental sound waves resounded in the air. These weren't sounds, but rather thoughts that pierced directly into the mind, echoing like heavy drumbeats.
"The Great Guide, the Game Changer, the Staff Master Who Severed the Star Principles, the Enemy of the Fifth Truth, the Lord of the Courtyard, the Most Honored Guest of the Vermeer Ant Clan..."

"We salute you with the hearts of the whole community."

Monford held his breath, his hair standing on end. He subconsciously looked up at the young man beside him, only to see Xia Xiu still calm, as if it were only natural for this group of ants to call out names and kneel.

Xia Xiu slightly raised his hand.

"Alright, enough with the formalities. Bring out the envoy sent by your queen ant."

The collective thought surged again, responding in unison like a tidal wave:
"Yes, sir."

Soon, a high-ranking individual, far larger than a normal ant, slowly crawled out of the pit. Its carapace was covered with bone-like patterns, and its head had rune-like keratinous protrusions, resembling a natural bone crown.

Monford held his breath, a suffocating feeling instinctively rising within him.

Xia Xiu remained calm, gently tapping his silver cane. The irregularly shaped piece of paper that had been floating in mid-air slowly drifted down and landed in his palm. He gazed at it for a moment, a slight smile playing on his lips, before handing the paper forward.

"These are things you are responsible for guarding."

The ant envoy stopped before him, its six legs bowing low in reverence. Immediately, a thunderous mental resonance resounded throughout the entire ant colony, like countless drumbeats simultaneously striking Monford's mind:

"We, as a united group, accept this responsibility entrusted to us."

This paper will be sealed deep underground, never to be seen again.

Anyone who dares to spy on, copy, or spread this message will be devoured by my ant colony.

Then, the bone-crowned ant messenger slowly raised its head, its antennae writing in the air a path symbolizing an oath, its will coalescing into a thunderous roar like a mountain:
"We swear to protect it with our lives, not allowing even an inch of this cancerous growth to seep out."

We will build a barrier with our flesh and blood, and a prison with the hearts of our people.

"If one day my people are wiped out—this place will be buried with us."

Xia Xiu watched all this quietly, a hint of a smile flashing in his golden eyes. He carefully placed the paper into the ant messenger's mandibles and said softly:

"Very good, keep a close watch on it. Remember, if this thing is leaked, not only your ant colony, but the entire plane will perish."

The ant colony roared in unison once more:

"I will strictly follow the wishes of the courtyard!"

Deep underground, the sound of thousands upon thousands of footsteps rose and fell, echoing like the tides in response to this vow to the death.