From cannon fodder to sweeping across thousands of stars.

Chapter 799 The troops are divided into two groups
Amber's eyes locked on the eye-shaped symbol. "What does that symbol mean?"

"That is a specific symbol in our Jerram symbology, representing 'watcher' or 'supervisor'."

Salih enlarged the symbol and began to explain, her voice gradually regaining its composure, as if talking about these ancient secrets brought her back some of the feelings she had when she was a deacon of the think tank.

"Each observatory bears this mark. They are the eyes left by us, the Jeram people, staring at every corner of the universe tirelessly."

Amber walked to the control console and stood side by side with Saleh. The alarm had stopped automatically, but the red warning light was still flashing, casting flickering shadows on their faces.

"So what exactly is this observatory monitoring?"

Saleh's fingers shuttled through the data stream, calling up more information: "Each observatory has specific monitoring parameters. This one..."

Her voice suddenly became tense. "This one mainly monitors the expansion speed of civilization and the curve of technological development."

Amber suddenly thought of something and raised her head sharply: "Like the recent technological development of the Atlas Group and the recent changes in the human world?"

Saleh nodded slowly: "Amber, you must understand that one of the conditions for 'triggering' is when the development speed of a civilization exceeds a certain threshold and breaks through certain key technological nodes."

"So it's us." Amber's voice dropped. "We are the ones triggering this mechanism?"

"It's not just you."

Salih's slender fingers slid across the projected star map, marking several different areas:

"There are multiple civilizations developing simultaneously in this universe, including humans and elves. You two are the fastest developing. As for other civilizations, many are still throwing stones at each other. But in recent years, especially since you led the Atlas Group to rise, the speed of technological progress has far exceeded the normal track."

Amber turned his back to the star map, resting his hands on the edge of the console, his eyes looking up at the ceiling of the laboratory. His mind was working rapidly, connecting this new information with his previous speculations.

"Then it seems that our deduction is correct. The Phoenix King of the Thousand Star Empire must have noticed something, which is why he invited me, Franklin, and Agnes at the same time."

Salih was silent for a moment, then nodded in confirmation: "The history of the elves is longer than that of humans, and their observation records are more complete. According to the information I have collected recently, they have been studying the traces left by the forerunners for thousands of years and have accumulated a lot of knowledge about these periodic events."

Amber's eyes returned to the red coordinates: "Can we get close to this observatory? Can we study it, or even... destroy it?"

Saleh shook her head, a complicated expression on her face: "These monitoring station facilities were designed from the beginning to make them almost impossible to detect, let alone approach or destroy. Moreover, even if you can destroy one, the entire network will continue to operate. It is as futile as trying to stop the operation of the Milky Way by destroying a star."

Amber took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. "So, what can we do now?"

Salih was silent for a long time, her tentacles swaying slowly and rhythmically, as if she was thinking deeply.

After a while, she spoke again: "The most important thing is to learn more and collect more information. This visit to the Thousand Star Empire may be more critical than we thought - the elves may have knowledge that we don't know."

Amber narrowed her eyes, examining Saleh's expression. "Do you think the Phoenix King invited us to share this information? Or is there another purpose?"

"I really don't know. After all, my understanding of the current situation in this universe is only collected bit by bit after waking up. It is too limited. Moreover, it is not easy to collect information from the Thousand Star Empire."

Saleh's expression was somewhat helpless. If she could indeed be called an 'all-knowing' flower when she was the deacon of the think tank, then now, millions of years later, there were many more things she didn't know.

"But there is one thing you should pay attention to, Amber."

"What is it?"

"There are different factions within the elves, and they have always had disagreements mainly on the issue of the 'Romani'. I now have a hunch that the problem between the elves and the Roma may also involve us, the Jeram people."

Amber was stunned by Saleh's words. After a moment, he reacted and said, "How much evil did you Jeram people commit in the past? Can the problems between the elves and the Roma be related to you?"

"Well, I just have a hunch because these Roma people give me a very familiar feeling, and I can't be sure at all."

"You already feel familiar with it, so it's probably true."

Amber shook his head. He finally realized that it was inappropriate for the players to call the "Forerunner Civilization" the "scapegoat".

Because these idiots don't have to take the blame at all, most of the troubles are really caused by these guys!

As Amber was thinking, his fingers tapped the console unconsciously, making a slight rhythmic sound, and then he said in a deep voice:
"Whatever the Phoenix King's purpose is, we must be prepared. Saleh, I need you to compile all the data related to this observatory, as well as the information you know about the 'trigger' conditions."

He paused, looked at the star map representing deep space, and continued, "At the same time, I need you to arrange a team to get as close to that coordinate as possible to see what information we can obtain."

Saleh: "Ah? Am I leading the team?"

"It just so happens that I'm about to visit the Thousand Star Empire, and I can't get away. Otherwise, I would definitely want to go there in person."

Amber patted Saleh's shoulder and helped her tighten the blanket around her.

"After all, you were once the think tank steward of the Jeram people. You know these observatories better than any of us. I can only rely on you in this regard. I will dispatch the most confidential fleet to you, and then we will act simultaneously. If you have any questions, you can contact me at any time."

After discovering that Amber was really arranging this matter seriously, Saleh's expression became extremely serious: "Amber, approaching that observatory may bring risks. It may detect our presence and accelerate the triggering process."

"Of course I know there are risks, but we can't grope in the dark. If the forerunners really want to return to this universe, we need to know as much as possible about their mechanism of action." Saleh was silent for a moment, and finally nodded in agreement: "Okay. After all, I can't go against your will, Amber. I will try to use the most covert detection and action methods, but even so, I can't guarantee that the observatory will not be aware of our presence."

“Sometimes, risks are necessary, especially when we are facing crises that could threaten the survival of human civilization.”

Saleh's expression softened, and a complex emotion flashed in her eyes: "You know, Amber, sometimes I think, if the Forerunner civilization had encountered people like you, maybe history would be different."

Amber smiled slightly: "You think too highly of me, Saleh. I am just a person with slightly better luck. If I hadn't encountered so many opportunities, I would have died on some battlefield by now. Well, let's start preparing. Time may be much more urgent than we think."

After saying that, Amber turned to the star map behind him again. The eye-shaped symbol seemed to be looking back at him, with the coldness and ruthlessness of the deepest part of the universe.

Amber doesn't know what the future will bring, but he knows that from this moment on, a game concerning the fate of mankind has begun, and he must be prepared to face what may be the biggest challenge of his life.

At the other end of the laboratory, Saleh, who had put on her clothes again, had begun to mobilize resources on the console to prepare for this dangerous exploration mission.

The soft tentacles behind her head twisted restlessly, and worry flashed in her eyes. She was indeed the once 'all-knowing' think tank deacon, but even with her knowledge, she felt deeply powerless and afraid when facing her own people, the Jeram people, an ancient and powerful civilization.

However, looking at Amber's determined back, Saleh felt a glimmer of hope rising in her heart.

Perhaps, just as he has changed the trajectory of human civilization, Amber can also change this seemingly predetermined fate.

Perhaps, this time the fate of mankind and other civilizations will not have to repeat the mistakes of those disappeared civilizations in history.

I hope so, Saleh thought.
-
After leaving Saleh's laboratory, Amber began to think about a new question.

That was how he was going to explain to Isabel what he had been doing during the few hours he had been 'out of touch'.
Yes, when Saleh pounced on Amber and kissed her passionately, she directly activated the laboratory's highest level of protection. This kind of protection, which is similar to the "black box mode", naturally blocked Amber's location, making him lose contact successfully.

After thinking for a moment, Amber figured out something.

A real man can stretch and shrink. Sometimes, although escaping is shameful, it is indeed effective.
Thinking of this, Amber immediately changed direction and boarded the commuter train to the ground force training area in the fortress. Saleh's previous guess made him suddenly want to take a good look at these "hairy balls".

There are not many ground troops on the Crown Fortress at present, and this artificial celestial fortress will not have the task of deploying ground troops in the short term, so it is mainly composed of a small group of elite marines drawn from various troops.

And as the Coronet Fortress was finally confirmed as the platform for carrying Agnes and Amber on this trip, the Roma people in the fortress were lucky enough to have the opportunity to return home.

Although the Marines are most likely unable to leave the fortress, being able to be close to home can at least alleviate their homesickness a little.

When Amber arrived at one of the training grounds in use, she happened to encounter several teams of Roma Marines conducting tactical training.

Looking at these "hairy balls" sweating profusely on the training ground, Amber found it difficult to associate these hard-working, fearless foreigners with the "evil-doing" forerunner civilization.
Just as Amber was thinking about all this, a Roma man with a tiger head who was leading the team ran over immediately after seeing Amber and saluted him.

"Boss, are you here to inspect our training today? Do you need to assemble the team?"

"Ah, don't be nervous, just continue your training as planned, I'm just passing by."

Amber waved his hand to signal the other party not to worry about him. He also recognized the tiger-headed man in front of him. He was one of the first Roma "trainees" to join the Atlas Group, just like Monton, Terrak and others.

At present, these "hairy balls", who can be regarded as one of the veterans of the Atlas Group's ground combat forces, have also become the military chiefs of various forces, and then use their own experience to create more combat power for the Atlas Group.

"By the way, please stand still and let me take a good look."

"Ah yes! Boss!"

Although a little confused, the tiger-headed man immediately stood in a standard military posture, waiting for Amber's inspection.

And Amber really looked at him seriously, and from time to time she walked around him a few times, observing him from all angles.

The black stripes on a white background would undoubtedly be a rare white tiger if it were a wild beast that Amber knew of, but this white tiger was standing on its legs.

Moreover, he has a very burly figure, much taller than Amber, who has a strengthened physique as a psychic. He looks very oppressive and is obviously an expert in breaking into houses.

only.
No matter how Amber looked at him, she couldn't find anything unusual in him, or any elements that could be related to the "pioneer civilization", especially his "fierce and fierce" temperament, which even made him look a little more honest besides being mighty.

Just as Amber was looking at the tiger-headed man and thinking, other people in the training ground also noticed the "unusual" scene here.

The younger generations who were being trained were surprised to find that the officer, whom they usually called a devil and a skinner, was actually standing upright in military posture in front of a human.

And in the Atlas Group, there is only one human who can do this.

"That's the Boss, right? No wonder Commander Huss stood in front of him so obediently. Hey! I didn't expect this devil to end up like this. This is what humans often say, 'There are always people better than you,' right?"

"Or maybe it's 'A higher-ranking official can crush a person to death'?"

"That boss's level is way higher than this demon, he will definitely be crushed~"

"If nothing else, the demon's military posture is really good."

(End of this chapter)