From Titan Corporation to the Empire of Man

Chapter 741 is both a destruction and a reconnaissance.

Inside the control center, time seemed to flow slowly as it was washed away by the data stream.

Halsey and Cortana were completely absorbed in their work.

On the hard screen in front of them, a massive stream of data transmitted from the numerous monitoring nodes of the large device 01 throughout the ring, as well as the dedicated monitoring stations scattered throughout the ring, is being processed and cross-compared.

"The pulse waveform matches the preset model with a 99.992% accuracy, the energy decay curve conforms to theoretical predictions, and no abnormal dissipation was detected."

Cortana reported calmly, her imaging finger quickly tracing a complex energy distribution map, magnifying and displaying three tiny abnormal fluctuations.

"A deviation of 0.008% was detected, which, after analysis, was attributed to the uneven density of dark matter in nearby galaxies, and is within an acceptable error range."

Halsey nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over another set of data: "The peak of the spacetime curvature disturbance occurred 3.7 seconds after launch, reaching a maximum of 1.47 times the normal spacetime curvature, and then quickly returned to below the baseline value within 0.3 seconds."

No cascading damage to the spatial structure was triggered, and the gravitational field of the nearby galaxy remained stable. Excellent; the stability is 5% better than the simulation results.

She pulled up a spherical dynamic star map covering 30,000 light-years. The scarlet dots that were originally scattered on it, representing the life signal of "Divine Seal Blood Moon", had all been extinguished and replaced with a cold gray that represented "purified".

The extinguishing of each point of light signifies the complete annihilation of at least one Blood Moon entity.

"Final confirmation scan in progress," Cortana's voice rang out again. "Initiating deep space resonance detection, frequency coverage across the entire band, scan progress 87% 95% 100%."

Confirmation result: Within the preset purification radius, all locked biological signals have returned to zero.

Repeat, all locked biological signals have been reduced to zero, and no surviving individuals or tissues with active residues have been found.

Upon hearing this, Halsey finally looked up from the data screen, let out a long sigh of relief, and revealed a smile that was a mixture of exhaustion and a great sense of accomplishment.

She rubbed her temples; the continuous high-intensity data analysis had left her slightly tired, but the excitement in her eyes remained undiminished.

"One-click sweep, clean and efficient."

She said softly, her tone carrying the restraint and satisfaction characteristic of a scientist, "It seems that our 'scalpel' has achieved surprisingly good results on its first use. All the pre-set targets have been eliminated at the same time, with no one escaping."

Sui Meng, standing to the side, took in all of this.

Although he had already learned about the terrifying power of the large device through the information, when this galaxy-level destruction was presented to him in such a direct and thorough way, an indescribable shock still surged in his heart.

In this brief, almost negligible time span, an ultimate purification was completed, affecting a range of 30,000 light-years.

30,000 light-years
Within the vast territory represented by this number, all latent and overt threats, regardless of their individual distorted forms or bizarre powers, whether newly emerging infections or massive blood moon clusters that have already devoured the entire galaxy, were completely wiped out from the level of existence in that brief pulse flash.

This is not war, it is cleansing, it is a reset, it is a complete "formatting" of some corner of the universe.

In the face of such an ultimate weapon, what does the pinnacle of individual combat power matter?
He, Sui Meng, as the original genetic entity, possesses the power to shatter mountains and shake peaks, take the head of an enemy general amidst a million-strong army, and even briefly transform into a ten-thousand-meter-tall colossus to fight against a galaxy alone. He is capable of turning the tide of battle in conventional warfare and is regarded as a walking natural disaster.

He once thought that this was the ultimate power.

However, compared to the immense power that can purify a star field spanning 30,000 light-years in an instant, an individual's bravery seems so insignificant, like a firefly compared to the blazing sun, or a drop of water compared to a vast ocean.

This gave him a deeper understanding of why his father spared no effort in supporting Halsey's team in developing such ultimate weapons.

On a multiverse scale, some threats can only be dealt with by an equivalent level of destruction.

Individual strength has its limits, but the power of science and technology, when properly guided, is virtually limitless.

His thoughts drifted away.

According to the descriptions in those "heresy" religious texts, the gods would unleash divine punishment on disobedient races, resulting in instantaneous destruction.

The wrath of the gods brought forth a great flood, and sulfur and fire rained down from the heavens, destroying the city of evil.

And isn't the activation of the large device a reflection of this mythical scene in reality?
However, the one who carries out this "divine punishment" is not a vague and ethereal deity, but rather the wisdom, courage, and strength of humankind.

It is human hands that have grasped the power to reshape the cosmos.

Then he thought of his father, Emperor Sui Yang.

That figure grew ever more majestic and profound in his heart.

He had a vague feeling that even something as powerful as the Great Device might not be the Empire's ultimate trump card.

His father
The emperor who sits on the golden throne, whose consciousness spans countless universes and whose gaze sees into the past and future, probably possesses true power that far surpasses the scope of conventional weapons.

Although Sui Meng had not received a clear instruction, he could vaguely sense that as the empire's territory expanded wildly in the multiverse, and as the faith of billions of beings in the emperor became increasingly devout and deeply rooted, an indescribable force was gathering and surging at the very foundation of the empire.

His father's power seemed not just absolute, but was continuously increasing in a way that transcended linear growth, as if every newly acquired world and every devout belief was injecting new strength into him.

Perhaps one day, Father will be able to achieve galaxy-level purification on his own, without the aid of any external aids. A single thought can dim the Milky Way, and a single will can make the universe tremble.
One person can wipe out the entire universe?
This thought "excited him" and strengthened his resolve to follow in his father's footsteps.

Of course, at present, Sui Meng alone could never achieve the destructive effect of the large device 01, which could reshape the star system with a mere gesture.

He still needs to forge ahead.

"child."

Halsey's voice interrupted Sui Meng's thoughts. She turned around, her face still showing excitement and a hint of solemnity at discovering the truth of history. "The preliminary statistics are out, and they are quite astonishing, even somewhat unexpected."

She pointed to the newly generated summary report on the main screen, marked "Confidential".

A three-dimensional star map model was automatically generated next to the report, marking the location distribution of 143 annihilation signal sources in striking red.

"Based on the intensity, spectral characteristics, and spatial distribution of the annihilation signal source feedback from the full-power scan of the large device, and through reverse calculation and confidence assessment, the pulse wave just now confirmed the annihilation of at least 143 blood moon entities of different sizes. Among them, 117 reached the size of terrestrial planets, 21 reached the size of gas giants, and even 5 had masses comparable to small stars."

This number, especially the last five star-level blood moons, made Sui Meng's gaze become slightly more serious.

He imagined the terrifying scene of five enormous, fleshy celestial bodies, like miniature stars, turning into "particles" the instant a pulse wave swept across them.

Halsey continued, his tone carrying a hint of the感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex emotion encompassing both admiration and awe) of an archaeologist unveiling a lost civilization:

"This number, and their distribution pattern in the Milky Way, suggests that they were distributed along ancient interstellar routes. This indicates that in the distant past, there should have been many brilliant intelligent civilizations in the Milky Way of this universe. It may have been a glorious era with many stars shining and all kinds of creatures competing freely under the frosty sky. Its prosperity may have far exceeded our previous estimates."

However, without exception, they were all devoured and destroyed one by one by the mechanisms of divine seals and blood moons—mechanisms seemingly created specifically to harvest civilizations—leaving only these blood moons, like tombstones, floating in the desolate galaxy.

She zoomed in on the star chart, focusing on the Orion Arm.

"The siege you encountered on Earth in the 20th Universe (Death Space) was only a relatively 'young' and active part of the Blood Moon that was attracted by the primordial divine seal on Earth within the Orion Arm."

They are like sharks that have smelled blood, awakened from their slumber.

The scope and timescale of human activity in the 20th century were but a drop in the ocean compared to the vastness and ancient history of the Milky Way galaxy. Naturally, they never realized that in the deeper, more distant dark sea of ​​stars, these 'graves' representing death and end were already scattered, recording the tragic songs of forgotten civilizations.

She paused, her gaze sweeping across the grayed-out signal sources on the screen, and concluded:
"In other words, our activation just now not only resolved the immediate threat, but also served as a belated and thorough 'clean-up' for the Milky Way galaxy in this universe, clearing away the ultimate plague that had lingered here for countless millennia and billions of years, devouring countless civilizations."

From this day forward, this galaxy may be ushering in a new, relatively safe era for emerging intelligent life.

A brief silence fell over the control room, broken only by the faint hum of the instruments and the lingering echo of Halsey's words.

Her words not only revealed a buried and tragic truth about the history of the stars, but also clearly demonstrated the immense power and heavy responsibility brought about by imperial force, which almost rewrote the course of cosmic history.

Sui Meng stared at the gray markings on the star map, as if he could see the ghosts of countless vanished civilizations sighing silently in the sea of ​​stars, while the power of the empire had become the new arbiter of this star field.

After receiving this revelation of the Milky Way's past tragedies and the demonstration of the empire's power, Sui Meng recovered from his brief shock and nodded solemnly.

He acknowledged the success of the operation, which undoubtedly cleared a significant obstacle for the Imperial Warrior Legion to completely unify this universe.

At the same time, Halsey seemed to notice the barely perceptible hint of seriousness that had flashed in Sui Meng's eyes when he was gazing at the star map earlier—

It was not a fear of power, but a weighing of the responsibilities and potential risks that power carried.

She suppressed her overt excitement, her tone shifting to a calm one that conveyed reassurance and explanation:

"Don't worry, child."

She deliberately used a more intimate term, saying, "The large device, as the ultimate deterrent of the human empire at this stage, was designed from the outset to incorporate multiple, redundant, and independent security devices."

Its activation permissions are firmly locked at the highest level. Only with the personal approval of His Majesty the Emperor and the on-site supervision and authorization of at least one Primarch can the pulse sequence be unlocked and activated normally.

This operation was conducted in full compliance with this highest level of security protocol.

We received His Majesty's direct orders, and it was only with your personal 'observation' and tacit approval that we completed this historic first launch.

She paused, then added, "The control core of the ring is physically isolated from the Imperial mainnet, and its final launch command requires triple independent password verification. The absence of any one of these links will cause the system to lock itself."

In addition, we have set up more than 20 'breakpoints' at key nodes inside the ring. Once an unexpected energy fluctuation or command conflict is detected, the energy supply will be cut off instantly, nipping the reaction in the bud.

Its existence is to protect humanity and deter alien and heretical forces hostile to human civilization; its aim will never, and absolutely never, be turned against the Empire itself.

Seemingly to ease the tension, and also out of absolute confidence in her creations, and a certain understanding of the essence of the Emperor and the Primarch, Halsey spoke with a tone that was almost joking, yet also contained a deeper meaning:
"Moreover, even if we take a step back and assume there is no experimental data to support this—after all, we would never actually use the Primarch to do such a test, nor would we ever do it in the future—then, based on my theoretical model, the specific energy field generated by the cross-phase pulse should theoretically be unable to harm you and your brothers, or even the Emperor, in the slightest."

She looked at Sui Meng, her gaze filled with curiosity about a higher form of life:

"Your essence has long transcended the realm of ordinary life. The emperor is a god walking among men, and his very existence is the manifestation of the law."

And you, as His offspring, have divinity flowing in your blood, your souls are closely linked to the fate of the Empire, and you are protected by a concept.

The purifying power of the large device targets specific 'life signals,' while you... are perhaps closer to an 'extension of a law'?

Her words were hypothetical, but her conviction was undeniable.

Sui Meng remained quite calm in response, and was not greatly disturbed by Halsey's assumption.

He shook his head slightly, his tone calm: "Doctor, I am not worried about the control of the large device. Since Father has approved its construction and use, I believe that you and your team have the absolute ability to control it and prevent any accidents from happening."

He had a deep-seated trust in the empire's technology and discipline.

Shifting his focus, Sui Meng turned his gaze back to the newly purified star field on the main screen, his eyes sharpening:
"What I really care about is another strategic goal."

"We activated the large-scale device to purify these blood moons. Besides eliminating the threat, another important purpose was to serve as a powerful warning, or rather, a 'test the waters'."

He stepped forward and pointed to the vast star map: "Such a large-scale cleanup operation, instantly annihilating hundreds of blood moons, is tantamount to directly uprooting most of the 'tentacles' and 'eyes and ears' of the unknown force that created the divine seal behind the scenes in this star system."

They couldn't possibly be completely unaware, much less remain unresponsive.

I want to know whether the large device 01 or its associated monitoring network detected any abnormal spacetime fluctuations, unconventional energy signal spillovers, or 'watching' from outside the Milky Way or even from dimensional gaps after the pulse wave was emitted?
Can we use this opportunity to catch any clues about those 'guys'?

This is the core issue that Sui Meng is truly concerned about.

Destroying the immediate enemy is important, but finding the mastermind behind it and preventing future threats is the key to ensuring the long-term stability of the empire.

The activation of this large device is both a destruction and a reconnaissance mission.
(End of this chapter)