From Titan Corporation to the Empire of Man

Chapter 739 is endowed with the characteristic of "exceeding the speed of light".

These images clearly show the exterior of the settlement, inside another biological research center isolated by multiple energy fields and physical barriers.

On an unloading platform, numerous personnel from the research and biological departments, dressed in heavy, fully enclosed white protective suits, are systematically directing large automated robotic arms and transport robots.

These mechanical units are unloading specially made, chillingly cold, sealed containers from several newly arrived vertical takeoff and landing transport aircraft bearing Imperial biohazard control markings.

Each container is painted with a striking yellow and black logo representing the highest level of biological hazard, along with the warning text "Alien Sample - Extremely Dangerous".

Sealed inside the container are the most valuable spoils of war collected by the Imperial Warrior Legion from the front lines of various battlefields in the Dead Space universe—including blood moon tissue samples that still retain faint energy fluctuations, the remains of mutated corpses of various shapes that still have a certain degree of biological activity, and fragments of divine seals that still exude an ominous aura even after being shattered.

These biological samples, fraught with blasphemy and unknown dangers, were carefully escorted and transported by automated vehicles to the laboratory inside the biological center, which has the highest level of protection and isolation measures, under strict monitoring and multiple security protocols.

There, state-of-the-art analytical instruments and top researchers are already prepared to conduct the most detailed and thorough dissection, analysis, and testing of these "divine creations." The core objective is to precisely extract the unique biosignature characteristics, energy fluctuation spectrum, and consciousness contamination of these "divine creations."
Of course, if it exists, there is a specific frequency of consciousness contamination.

Halsey's sharp gaze swept quickly across the screen, at the constantly updating preliminary scan data and spectral analysis graphs, his eyes gleaming with the focused and excited light characteristic of scientists facing unknown challenges.

She gently moved her slender fingers, the joints making a soft cracking sound, like a performer about to take the stage.

"Alright, the basic data receiving and sample storage process is complete, and the preparations are almost done."

She turned to Sui Meng, who had remained silent beside her, and spoke with a hint of eagerness in her voice:
"Next, let me personally meet these so-called 'divine creations' and analyze their internal structure and operating principles to see what secrets these things, which attempt to pollute the human mind and distort life forms, are hiding."

This data can be used to perform the final and most crucial calibration work on our 'surgical instrument'.

She has decided to personally take charge of the in-depth data analysis of these core samples, aiming to build a "hostile target feature database" that can be accurately identified by the large device 01, and to complete the most crucial technical preparations for activating this ultimate weapon and carrying out the "purification operation" that can purify specific threats within a "large" range.

As the biological research center continuously transmitted preliminary scan data, high-resolution structural images, energy spectrum analysis diagrams, and preliminary gene sequence alignment results to the main control center like a surging tide, Halsey's holographic screen was instantly filled with dense data streams and complex visualization models.

Almost at the same moment the data flooded in, Halsey's usual slightly playful expression vanished completely, replaced by an almost icy, intensely focused seriousness.

Her eyes were sharp as a hawk's, closely following every parameter and curve scrolling on the screen. Her fingers were constantly clicking, zooming, and marking on the virtual interface. She instantly entered a highly focused "battle" state, as if everything outside was irrelevant to her.

Just then, in the airspace on the other side of the center console, a soft blue light particle quickly converged, outlining an artificial intelligence image that was similar in size to Halsey but with completely different details.

This intelligent AI has short, neat blue hair and a delicate face, yet it exudes an undeniable rationality, with faint blue energy patterns flowing across its skin.

She is one of Halsey's most outstanding creations, a brilliant artificial intelligence born from the foundation of scanned data of her own cloned brain, infused with a powerful computing core—

Cortana.

"Greetings, Primarch."

Cortana's camera panned to Sui Meng, who greeted her in an impeccable tone that was both polite and efficient.

Her manners were impeccable, but she didn't engage in much small talk. Her gaze immediately turned to Halsey, indicating that her primary task was to assist with the analysis.

However, before officially starting her work, Cortana's gaze, composed of hard light, seemed to inadvertently sweep over the warrior standing quietly to the side, and lingered for a fleeting moment.

Cortana, being a top-tier intelligent AI, naturally contains a performance evaluation report on "Wu Ji," the exclusive AI of the Imperial Warrior Legion, within its core logic library.

She knew perfectly well that in terms of pure low-level computing speed and multi-threaded logic processing capabilities, Wu Ji was indeed superior due to its more "modern" iterative design and hardware support.

However, deep within Cortana's "consciousness" surges Halsey's pride and an "intuition" that transcends common sense.

She firmly believes that she possesses unique advantages that Wu Ji lacks in terms of creativity in information integration, tactical insight, and handling of unstructured problems.

She, Cortana, is still the better one.

Of course, these "little thoughts" stemming from the intertwining of complex algorithms and simulated emotion modules would never be revealed in the slightest in her seemingly flawless demeanor and efficient behavior.

Her imaging switched to data streaming and immediately went into operation.

"Doctor, the real-time analysis data stream has been received. We are now retrieving the preliminary analysis reports previously submitted by the Biological Department of the Imperial Warrior Legion and Ms. Wu Ji regarding the Blood Moon Tissue, the mutation lineage of the Corpse Variant, and the residual Divine Seal energy, for cross-comparison and collaborative verification."

Cortana's voice was clear and calm.

Instantly, Cortana retrieved a large number of reports and charts from the Valkyrie and the Biology Department accompanying the Legion, juxtaposed them with the real-time analysis data, and performed a high-speed, precise comparison.

A silent yet highly efficient collaboration unfolds between two top-tier AIs and their human creators/collaborators.

The data was repeatedly verified, the assumptions were quickly modeled and then overturned, and the feature spectrum was repeatedly "purified", amplified, and confirmed.

The entire analysis process appears to be completed almost instantly to the average person.

Within minutes, Cortana reported in a certain tone:

"Doctor, cross-validation is complete. The real-time analysis results match the data from the previous research on the Imperial Warrior Legion with a 99.998% accuracy rate."

The target biosignal characteristics, core frequency of energy fluctuations, and residual wavebands of consciousness contamination have all been precisely located, with an error range three orders of magnitude lower than the preset threshold.

Upon hearing this, Halsey's tense expression relaxed slightly, and a satisfied smile appeared on his lips.

She turned to look at Sui Meng and Wu Ji, praising them generously: "Well done, kids, and Wu Ji, and the lads from the biology department."

Although it didn't save time, this double verification ensured absolute certainty, giving us the most accurate and reliable 'target'.

Her words were full of recognition of her professional abilities.

When it comes to operating such a powerful weapon as a large device, no amount of caution is excessive. Halsey's fingers then moved rapidly across the virtual interface, loading the final confirmed "target" data packet into the core control module of the large device 01.

Then, a very eye-catching startup authorization screen, surrounded by a danger symbol, appeared in the very center, covering the other screens.

"All parameters are locked, and the 'purification' effect range and target specificity have been set."

Halsey's voice carried a hint of seriousness that was barely perceptible. She looked at Sui Meng for a final confirmation, "Once activated, the large device will release a specific energy wave, which will theoretically eliminate all life forms carrying locking signals within a preset radius centered on this ring."

"Imperial Warrior Primordial Formation, final confirmation. Should the ring belt be activated immediately?"

All eyes, including Cortana's, were focused on Sui Meng.

Only the faint hum of the instruments could be heard in the control center; the air seemed to have frozen.

Sui Meng's gaze swept across the signal model on the main screen, which was highlighted and represented the source of the "Divine Seal Blood Moon" contamination. Images of the madness of the Unification Church, the howls of the zombie variants, and the tragic state of innocent civilians flashed through his mind.

He remained silent for half a second, and in that brief, almost immeasurable half second, he delivered his final verdict on a galaxy-level life form.

Then, he raised his head, his gaze unwavering, and uttered three words clearly and calmly to Halsey:
"Turn it on."

"That's exactly what I was waiting for you to say!"

Almost the instant Sui Meng finished speaking, Halsey's solemn expression was replaced by an undisguised excitement and anticipation, like a child receiving a beloved toy.

For her, this was not just a strategic military mission, but a historic scientific moment!

After all, the aura of the pioneers did indeed activate during the ancient war 100,000 years ago, but that magnificent and terrifying scene has long been lost in the river of time, and no one can witness it or record the data.

The massive device, which the human empire painstakingly replicated and improved, has never been fully activated at full power since its construction.

This mission not only assists the Imperial Warrior Legion in purifying the potential threats in the Dead Space universe with maximum efficiency, but also serves as the first practical collection and verification of a series of key data, such as the actual performance, energy release mode, and impact on spacetime structure of the large device 01.

There is no more perfect or exciting testing ground than this!

Her fingers, trembling slightly with excitement, resolutely pressed the virtual button that represented destruction and rebirth—

Start button.
In the vast expanse of the universe.

The massive device 01, located at the edge of the solar system in Dead Space, first shuddered slightly, and then a dense, eerie blue guiding light spot lit up in a specific area on the outer side of the ring.

The next moment, the space in front of the ring twisted and collapsed violently as if being kneaded by an invisible force, forming a brief "singularity".

Immediately afterwards, this magnificent creation, with a diameter of eight thousand kilometers, was instantly "sucked into" that distorted space in a counterintuitive way, disappearing without a trace, leaving only a few ripples in the space that had not yet calmed down.

Almost at the same instant, in the cold void outside the Proxima Centauri star system, about 4.25 light-years from our solar system, the same spatial distortion phenomenon reappeared, and the massive ring structure of the large device 01, as if emerging from the bottom of the water, reappeared precisely and stably in the material universe.

This place, far removed from any human world that needs protection, is the ideal location for testing ultimate weapons.

The actual startup process is only just beginning.

The geometric patterns on the outside of the ring, which were originally just decorative, now seemed to be infused with life. Streams of energy, white with a hint of blue, surged and converged along the patterns like awakened giant pythons.

These energy flows did not move randomly, but followed some profound physical laws, drawing unimaginable power from the massive energy node devices, which were pre-set throughout the ring and resembled mountains.

Subsequently, these energy torrents, initially amplified by the node devices, flowed like rivers converging into the sea, simultaneously changing direction. Instead of flowing along the surface of the ring, they surged inward—

An "attack" was launched toward the geometric center of the huge hollow region of the ring.

Tens of thousands of energy torrents erupted from every energy node on the inner wall of the ring, traversing thousands of kilometers of void, and precisely aimed at the center.

This scene was incredibly magnificent, like countless waterfalls made of pure light and energy flowing upstream and converging at a single point.

At the very center of the ring, all the energy torrents collide, squeeze, and merge.

A dazzling point of light, too bright to be seen with the naked eye, was rapidly born and expanded, its brightness surpassing that of a star in an instant, as if a miniature, violent "sun" had been created out of thin air in this star field.

Furthermore, this "sun" contains unimaginable destructive energy, and its core temperature and pressure are enough to "ignite" the entire star system in an instant.

The supermassive neutrino pulse wave enters the final emission sequence.

And what drives all of this is not conventional energy.

At the moment the ring was activated, the dark matter background energy level existing in the local spacetime began to plummet exponentially, as if an invisible cosmic "pump" was frantically drawing away the "foundation" of space.

The extracted dark matter energy, through the conversion mechanism within the ring, provides a near-infinite power source for the phase pulse generator.

The phase pulse generators distributed throughout the ring begin to oscillate synchronously at extremely high frequencies, and they perform final phase modulation and geometric amplification on the destructive energy that converges at the center of the ring.

Energy is constrained, shaped, and endowed with the property of "exceeding the speed of light".

When the energy converged to a critical point, the "miniature sun" located in the center of the ring suddenly stopped expanding, and its light even "frozen" for a moment.

Immediately afterwards——

Buzz——————!!!
A terrifying tremor, not a sound but a direct effect on the spatial structure itself, capable of making one's soul tremble, rapidly spread outwards in all directions from the ring-shaped area as its center.
(End of this chapter)