The Last 299 Days of Humanity

However, her aunt was very confident in her abilities and told Yu Qing to be patient, because keeping secrets was the top priority at the moment. But if Yu Qing rashly went to that courtyard, it would be difficult to hide the secrets. Once other forces or Da Dian in Tianqing City were watching, the situation would become more complicated and unpredictable.

Unwilling to accept defeat, the aunt began to employ more advanced and covert technological means in an attempt to gain control of the courtyard. Her first move was the "swarm infiltration" plan.

Auntie released hundreds of millions of invisible nanorobots designed to mimic the movement patterns of insects, dust, and even airborne particles, attempting to sneak into the courtyard through physical gaps or subtle fluctuations in energy fields.

These nanorobots, equipped with microscopic sensors and signal repeaters, are designed to establish a complete monitoring system within the courtyard, much like building a neural network, to reveal all its secrets to Auntie.

However, once they approached the unseen boundary of the courtyard, the "evil" in the courtyard seemed to sense it. On its old, scratched shell, some ancient patterns that looked like decorations or damage lit up slightly, emitting an ominous dark red glow.

Immediately afterwards, a low-frequency resonant field, imperceptible to the human ear but powerful enough to destroy delicate components, was excited, like invisible ripples sweeping across the surface.

The nanorobot swarm instantly crashed into an invisible wall. The intricate internal circuitry was disrupted by resonance, causing them to malfunction and peel off, turning into a small patch of shimmering metallic dust. It was gently dispersed by the breeze passing through the forest, leaving no trace.

The first attempt failed silently.

The aunt believed that these nanobots might not be enough to deal with such an ancient defense mechanism, so she made a second attempt to enter. This time, she used a more advanced piece of equipment from the laboratory—the "Phantom Infiltration" system, whose core was quantum invisibility and spatial folding.

She deployed a quantum teleportation device, still in the experimental stage, to completely "disappear" from visual and conventional sensors, while simultaneously using short-range spatial folding technology to try to create a temporary "shortcut" inside and outside the compound walls to bypass the main gate defenses and enter the interior.

However, when the invisible unit approached the courtyard wall, the spatial structure around the courtyard seemed unusually stable, with an indescribable "resilience." The folding attempt caused unpredictable spatial ripples, like throwing a stone into water, causing the precise quantum teleportation state to instantly fail.

The agent's figure blurred in the air for a moment before appearing. Even more surprisingly, inside the courtyard, "Ugly" was slowly pruning a branch of the banished immortal tree that was too low with its seemingly clumsy and awkward mechanical arm.

Its spherical, scratched camera lens, however, turned sharply with a speed and precision that seemed incongruous with its bulky body, darting toward the agent whose position had been exposed after the cloaking failed.

Although it didn't attack immediately, its silent, cold "gaze" carried an undeniable warning. Meanwhile, the spatial passage was extremely unstable, and a forced breakthrough risked a spatial tear. After weighing the options, Auntie had no choice but to immediately recall the unit.

After two consecutive failures at the physical level, the aunt turned her attention to the information level and began her third attempt—consciousness projection and neural intervention.

She connected herself to a powerful brainwave amplifier and consciousness projection array, attempting to project her highly concentrated, strongly instructive consciousness waves directly into the primary information processing core where "evil" and "ugliness" might exist, in order to hypnotize or mislead.

However, the core of the "evil" and "ugliness" programs is ancient code solidified during the era of Shengtian. Its logical structure is very different from the thinking mode of modern intelligent life. It is more like a chaotic judgment based on primitive rules and underlying protocols, as indestructible as obsidian.

The ripples projected by consciousness collided with them, but instead of producing any of the expected effects, they seemed to trigger some kind of defense mechanism, causing them to react even more strongly.

The "evil" even suddenly turned in the general direction of the aunt's consciousness projection source, emitting a low, threatening hum that was unclear in meaning, like rusty gears grinding against each other.

At the same time, the energy field around the courtyard became briefly visible, displaying a scorching, warning pale red color, like the fur of an enraged beast standing on end.

These repeated failures made even the usually calm aunt feel genuine disgust and annoyance towards the two ancient robots, "Evil" and "Ugly," who were unyielding to reason. She even began to consider whether she should directly use force to completely eliminate them.

But this idea was quickly suppressed by the immense risk. Because after Yu Qing had Dong Hao conduct extensive comparative analysis by comparing the remaining data of other robots manufactured by Sheng Tian during the same period, they learned a crucial piece of information:
If the "evil" malfunctions within five minutes, its hidden, undetected response system, which fails to receive a regular response from the "evil," will immediately activate a predetermined, unknown emergency procedure. The consequences would be unimaginable.

Moreover, the mutual confirmation between the "evil" and the response facility is a visual code generated by a random key based on environmental variables in real time. This authentication is only effective at very close range inside the courtyard, and it is difficult to carry out effective signal intrusion or hijacking outside the courtyard.

Unwilling to give up, the aunt made a fourth attempt—energy simulation and deception.

After a preliminary analysis of the mysterious random key visual code communication pattern between "evil" and "ugliness," she wanted to use a high-precision, high-energy field simulator to replicate similar energy fluctuations and visual signals as realistically as possible outside the hospital.

She attempted to deceive the hidden response facility, or at least mislead the "evil" to create an opportunity for further action. To this end, she mobilized the vast computing resources of Tianqing City, trying to find the pattern in the generation of the random key from the massive amount of data.

However, further analysis revealed that the randomness of this key is rooted in some unknown variable within the courtyard, which may be related to the life state of the Immortal Tree itself or some ancient ley lineage, and cannot be predicted or replicated from the outside.

The simulated signals went unanswered, like stones sinking into the sea. The repeated attempts only seemed to tickle the "evil's" itch, making it more alert. It began patrolling the yard more frequently and erratically, and the camera's scanning frequency increased significantly.

Each failed attempt was like adding a new scratch to a sturdy wall, further revealing the unfathomable depth of the courtyard's defenses and the formidable nature of those two ancient robots.

My aunt finally realized that all conventional, non-destructive infiltration and control methods were almost futile when faced with this self-contained ancient defense system.

It was against this backdrop of repeated setbacks and the near exhaustion of her once-proud technological means that her mindset, which tended to "solve" problems at their root, inevitably turned to the simple, crude, yet theoretically possible ultimate solution.

She intends to use a targeted, rapid-freezing method to forcibly halt the entire defense system, as if pressing the pause button on time.

It was precisely when she was preparing to launch this extremely risky "absolute zero lockdown" plan with a stern expression that Yu Qing, who had been silently observing and analyzing the data, stepped forward and pointed out the potentially devastating consequences that the quick-freezing plan could have on the Immortal Tree itself.

He believed that rather than risk destroying this fragile balance, he should go there himself and apply for entry permission again as a visitor, just like before, and try to find an opportunity from within.

But her aunt immediately objected vehemently, forbidding Yu Qing from showing himself, believing it would be too risky. She, however, remained determined to pursue her plan. In her laboratory, a deep blue light illuminated her resolute profile. A holographic projection clearly displayed the three-dimensional structure of the courtyard, as well as the simulated energy coverage of the quick-freezing device called "Absolute Zero Lockdown."

The icy blue represents a quick-freezing zone that can instantly strip away all kinetic energy, precisely enveloping every inch of the courtyard. Only the central area, around the emerald green light cluster representing the banished immortal tree, is carefully calculated and preserved as a warm, undisturbed blank space.

“Fifteen seconds,” Auntie’s voice carried a metallic quality and an unquestionable determination. Her finger firmly touched the projection, tracing across the cold blue area.

"In just fifteen seconds, everything will freeze. 'Evil' and 'ugliness' will become frozen statues; their threat and their uncontrollability will cease to exist. The Immortal Tree is absolutely safe in my calculations."

Yu Qing stood aside, his gaze not lingering on the seemingly flawless energy distribution map, but on another set of data: monitoring records of the Immortal Tree's subtle vital signs, and daily maintenance logs of "Evil" and "Ugliness" that seemed meaningless but were actually regular.

“Aunt, your skills are beyond doubt. The design of energy blocking and physical security is indeed flawless.” Yu Qing’s voice carried a hint of imperceptible heaviness as he amplified a constantly fluctuating data stream.

“But what you’ve frozen isn’t just the mobility of those two robots, but also the extremely sophisticated micro-ecosystem that has been maintained within this courtyard for countless years. Look here…”

He pointed to a nearly imperceptible periodic fluctuation curve on the screen:
"Our previous monitoring showed that the roots of the 'Immortal Tree' form a symbiotic relationship with a unique, previously undocumented microbial community, and the activity cycle of this special microbial community is directly related to the complex 'atomized irrigation' carried out by 'Evil' at specific times every morning."

"We still can't analyze or replicate all the components of its irrigation solution in the lab. And here," he pulled up another set of light data.

"The photosynthesis of the tree canopy does not follow a simple day-night rhythm. It requires the tree to 'ugly' adjust the angle of the ancient array of mirrors around it every now and then, according to some algorithm that we cannot understand, in order to receive light of a specific intensity and spectrum."

The array's adjustment algorithm is dynamic, never fully documented, and more like part of their 'instinct'.

He turned to his aunt: “You can freeze their actions, but you can’t freeze the passage of time and the decay of the food chain.”

Once 'evil' and 'ugliness' lose their function and are deprived of their seemingly chaotic but actually interconnected and meticulous care, the banished immortal tree may not wither immediately tomorrow, but its decline and the loss of its inner spirituality will be irreversible.

What we ultimately gain may be nothing more than a dead tree, gradually losing its soul and becoming merely a shell. Then all our efforts, along with the precious tree itself, will have lost their meaning.

Aunt was silent for a moment. She was used to solving problems with strength and absolute technological advantage. The vulnerability that Yu Qing pointed out, based on the complexity and intrinsic connection of life itself, was a small but potentially fatal flaw in her grand plan.

"So, what is your suggestion?" Aunt's voice remained steady, revealing little emotion, but her previous absolute resolve seemed to have softened slightly.

"We can't crack it, we can't deceive it, and we can't force our way through. Are we just going to give up like this?"

“No.” Yu Qing shook his head, his tone resolute. “I’ll go in. In the normal way, just like when I first stumbled upon this place, I’ll apply for entry.”

"The normal way?" Aunt raised an eyebrow, questioning. "Leaving aside whether I can guarantee the absolute secrecy of your journey from leaving Tianqing City to arriving at the courtyard, are you sure you can get past the 'evil' hurdle this time and be allowed to enter again?"
Its simple logic might already be recording your previous visits, and it might be able to deduce that your return could have ulterior motives. The result—being expelled or even attacked—might not be better than being frozen.

“That’s why I need your help even more,” Yu Qing said, his eyes shining as he met his aunt’s gaze. “But this time, it’s not about helping me crack the code or forcibly break through, but about helping me get there ‘secretly’ and ‘safely’.”

Of course, I also need a completely new, credible reason to visit again. That's something I'll have to do myself; you don't need to worry about it.

He paused, then continued, "Based on my limited understanding of the behavioral patterns of robots left over from the Shengtian era, although the core programs of 'Evil' and 'Ugly' are solidified, their basic instruction layers most likely still retain the basic identification and response processes for 'normal visitors'."

As long as I don't proactively show aggression or trigger their pre-set higher-level expulsion or attack conditions, they will at least make initial contact and assessment.

What I need is this opportunity to try communicating face-to-face, to observe, and to understand the true key to maintaining the survival and growth of the Immortal Tree. Perhaps all the answers and turning points are hidden within the courtyard, rather than relying on external attacks.

The aunt scrutinized Yu Qing, and her nephew's intellect, courage, and insight into details sometimes surprised even her.

After a long pause, she nodded slightly and compromised: "Okay. I can arrange for you to get to that place through a completely secretive route. The rest is up to you to handle carefully, and whatever the outcome, don't make a fuss and attract attention."

“Remember,” Auntie reminded her finally, her tone unusually grave, “once you step into the grounds of that courtyard, I will be unable to provide any immediate support.”

This time, the situation may be completely different from the last time you entered. Once they determine that your purpose is not pure, or sense signs of external interference, the place may instantly turn from a seemingly peaceful courtyard into a huge trap.

If they sense a real threat, that hidden response facility is triggered, initiating an anomaly cleanup process unknown to us all, which could very well turn that place into a giant graveyard.

You are about to face two ancient creations beyond the measure of common sense, and a secret that even I have not been able to fathom even a fraction of.

Yu Qing took a deep breath and turned his gaze back to the holographic image of the tranquil and mysterious Immortal Tree bathed in a soft halo, each of its leaves seemingly containing an ancient story.

"I know the risks. But some doors you have to knock on yourself; some mysteries you have to step into yourself to find the answers." (End of Chapter)