Then let the witch offer her loyalty

From the initial spacecraft struggling to break the first cosmic velocity to spacecraft powered by cutting-edge technology approaching one-tenth the speed of light, the closer humanity gets to these figures, the more we realize their insurmountable limits.

The speed of light, this ubiquitous physical constant, has become an eternal shackle imposed on humanity by the universe.

In the macroscopic world, the speed of light cannot be exceeded.

This means that no matter how advanced technology becomes, all spaceships built by humans can only approach the speed of light, but can never truly break through it. Interstellar travel remains a fantasy existing only in literature.

However, humanity has never succumbed to nature.

Above a planet, a colossal ring-shaped device is activated with tremendous force, projecting the power of the entire civilization into the void.

This is the largest engineering project ever undertaken by humankind, aiming to use ultra-high energy levels to penetrate the veil of reality, tearing a rift in space to allow spacecraft to complete a space jump and break the speed of light limit.

Humanity, with steel as its bones and fire as its blood, has launched a challenge against the unchanging concepts of God.

This groundbreaking project was also known to later generations as—

Project Stargate

...

Chen Moxin felt her consciousness plummeting in the darkness, enveloped by endless chaos, and then a series of complex scenes flooded into her mind like a tide.

Wars fought over resources.

A bloody battle between their own kind.

Peace and prosperity that came almost immediately after a technological breakthrough.

The smoke from the battlefield transformed into nebulous clouds in the Milky Way.

The artillery fire aimed at their compatriots transformed into fusion flames erupting from the engines of their interstellar spaceships.

He also saw countless faces, men and women, adults and children, in different places and even in different eras. Everyone held their heads high, their faces filled with the same longing, and their eyes reflected the endless universe.

Vast images shifted in his consciousness, and the passage of time swept over his body like a torrent, making him feel as if he were being tossed about in an ocean of history.

As the torrent surged to its end, his consciousness rose, and Chen Moxin opened his eyes in a daze, seeing a night sky filled with dazzling stars.

As a silver ripple surged forth, countless silver particles exploded in Chen Moxin's vision. Characters floated and rotated in a way that defied the laws of physics, outlining regular patterns and eventually integrating into readable text.

[Time: Gaia calendar 2573]

Location: DX73-1562171-B "Cicero" Planet Colony

The requirements for this resonance are as follows:

1. Find Annies Craig and keep her alive for 20 days.

2. Gain control of the Cicero planetary defense forces

[3. Ensure the smooth progress of the "Stargate Project" in this location and obtain the final data from the "Reality Veil Tearing Experiment"]

Chapter 134 Resonance World

The shimmering silver text lingered in front of me for a moment before vanishing, and everything returned to its original state.

"My God!" Alexander exclaimed in surprise after regaining his senses. "You...you all saw it just now, right? So many images appeared, and words were floating in the air. This can't be my imagination, can it?!"

Chen Moxin couldn't help but smile.

What they just witnessed was probably quite shocking for Alexander and Reilly.

But in Chen Moxin's eyes, whether it was time travel, memory replay, or the so-called task panel text, she was already used to it all; it was all things she had seen before.

This cube resonance is essentially like "traveling" again after already having traveled through time.

Alexander muttered, "Speaking of which, I once read a book about an alien civilization that could create writing by leaving an optical projection on the human retina using a proton... Could we be facing such a powerful force now?!"

Chen Mo pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "It's hard to say how powerful the force behind the cube is. But achieving the effect just now wouldn't be difficult."

"Don't forget, this is the world of resonance. Our consciousness has simply been projected into it. Everything here is essentially a flow of information that the nervous system can receive."

"Those scenes just now, whether they are memories flashing through my mind or words flashing before my eyes, are just part of the information flow, like a programmer stuffing a few lines of code into a game. They are not unbelievable things."

Alexander nodded thoughtfully: "That makes sense..."

Chen Moxin's guess was based on evidence, because compared to reality, the cube was just a piece of metal the size of a palm, and everything here was fake and had no substance.

To use a simple analogy, the cube is like a game console, except that it uses consciousness resonance technology to create a more realistic effect.

They appear to be in this world, but their bodies are actually still outside.

If a physical world were truly hidden inside a cube the size of a palm, and a person could directly travel through it, then that would be a completely different story.

"Speaking of which, what are we doing here?" Lei Lie scratched the back of his head and looked around.

It is nighttime, and the sky is a dark gray and yellowish color, which looks like suspended industrial smog, like a moldy sheet covering the sky.

The surrounding buildings are bizarre in style. They are not made of traditional reinforced concrete, but are pieced together from many abandoned transport warehouses, old ship hulls, and misaligned industrial exterior walls, interspersed with layers of plastic panels, metal mesh, old curtains and other coverings.

Various power lines tangled like vines above the street, the ground was uneven, foam residue and oil slicks floated in the puddles, and the air was filled with the stench of engine oil and industrial waste gas.

These sights seem somewhat incongruous, but judging from the ubiquitous holographic displays and abandoned robots in the garbage dumps, the level of technological development here is definitely not low.

But everything around looked dilapidated, giving the impression of entering a slum in a high-tech world.

Alexander reached out and touched the ground. When he felt the rough texture of the cement under his fingertips, he exclaimed, "This feels so real! It's really interesting!"

"Hey, little golden retriever, what's so interesting?" Suddenly, a man's teasing voice came from not far away, accompanied by a few whistles.

Chen Moxin and the others turned their heads and saw figures gradually approaching from the alleyway. They were wearing clothes covered in punk graffiti, had bizarrely colored hair, and were carrying weapons such as metal baseball bats or modified pistols. They looked very unfriendly.

The man with the mohawk sticking out his tongue, which had a pierced tongue, flicked it against his teeth a couple of times, and then spoke in a full-on street thug tone: "Nice clothes, huh? Hey guys, you're a bit short on cash lately, want to lend me some?"

Alexander and Lei Lie both looked at Chen Moxin, asking with their eyes whether they should take on these thugs.

For Chen Moxin, let alone taking down a few thugs, he would do anything, even wipe out everyone on this planet, as long as it helped complete the resonance mission.

However, they currently know very little about this world, and if they start fighting, they really don't know what kind of trouble they might get into.

Seeing that Chen Moxin and the others remained motionless, the thugs assumed they were terrified and their smiles grew even more unrestrained as they strode over with an arrogant, ruthless gait.

After much deliberation, Chen Moxin decided to test the waters first and gave Alexander a wink.

Alexander was overjoyed.

I just acquired psionic power, can I really accept this injustice?

With a thought from Alexander, an invisible magnetic field spread out, causing all the metal objects such as knives and guns on the thugs to fly up and be thrown aside.

Alexander had disarmed the enemy and was just about to show off his skills...

Suddenly, I heard a "plop" sound.

The leader with the rooster-like hair immediately knelt down, and the other thugs around him also knelt down one after another, their faces full of fear.

"You...you are the 'Gifted Ones'?!"

"I'm so sorry, so sorry, esteemed sirs, I'm such a fool! I blocked your path, I apologize..."

As the man with the rooster-like hair was talking, he suddenly started slapping himself in the face. It was clear he was terrified, and he was really slapping hard, quickly swelling his face.

The recipient...

Chen Moxin and the others quickly remembered this name.

According to the information provided by Yang Jie regarding the previous cube resonance, it was mentioned that the "native inhabitants" of the resonance world also included psionicists.

Its essence is exactly the same as the real world: only women can awaken psychic powers, while men need to obtain psychic powers through a spiritual contract.

However, the terminology used to refer to psychics in the Resonance World differs from that in the real world.

"Acting on behalf of" corresponds to "the recipient of the gift".

The "witch" is called the "blesser".

The information from the last cube resonance was very limited. Chen Moxin and others judged from the terminology that the resonance world's attitude towards psionic energy should be relatively friendly.

After all, words like "blessing" and "receiving a gift" sound entirely positive.

Unexpectedly, this positive aspect seems to have gone too far.

In the real world, even in the Azure Federation, where psionicists hold the highest status, ordinary people don't kneel down or call psionicists "sir."

These thugs in front of me were not only terrified, but also exuded a deep-seated humility, as if they were facing some higher being.

Looking at the trembling thugs, a barely perceptible smile appeared in Chen Moxin's eyes.

Being treated like an important person is a good thing.

This is a perfect opportunity to use this identity to get information out of the other party.

Chen Moxin casually placed his hands behind his back, his eyes filled with arrogance, and an aura of superiority emanated from within him.

"Ignorance is no excuse. I will not hold it against you. Get up."

"My lord, let's kneel down instead."

"Oh, then you can kneel down."

Chen Moxin coughed lightly and casually asked, "You know the Craig family, right?"

Without a second thought, the man with the mohawk replied, "Of course I know. It's one of the most powerful families in the Cicero planetary colony. The patriarch, Ms. Anies, is a candidate for planetary governor, and you can often see her in the news."

Alexander and Lei Lie exchanged a glance, both seeing the joy in each other's eyes.

I never expected to get useful information from a petty thug.

Annies Craig, head of the Craig family, candidate for governor of the planet Cicero.

In this way, the objective of the first task was identified.

Chen Moxin snorted arrogantly: "It seems that you little hooligans are not so ignorant after all, you do have some brains."

The man with the rooster-like hair scratched the back of his head and chuckled twice.

"I'll get straight to the point. We're not familiar with this area, and we got lost."

"It's clear that esteemed recipients of such high status as you wouldn't normally come to our 'Lower City'."

"We need to speak with Ms. Anies. Do you know where to find her?"

"Um...you lords are the recipients of the gift, and Lady Anies is the one who bestows the blessing. You should all know more about her movements than I do, right?"

Chen Moxin and the others obtained another useful piece of information.

This Anies is actually a witch, and this identity is public knowledge; even a street thug like her knows it.

"Oh, we are not from Cicero; we come from elsewhere."

"I'm sorry, sir, we truly have no information regarding Lady Anies's whereabouts..."

Chen Moxin didn't say much. He was just trying to ask and didn't have much hope.

Planetary Governor – that title sounds like a very high-ranking position.

It would be strange if its candidates' whereabouts were known to thugs.

Seeing that she couldn't get anything else out of the other person, Chen Moxin changed the subject: "How do I get to the main urban area?"

The man with the rooster-like hair blinked. "Main urban area? Oh, you mean 'Upper Urban Area,' right? It's in the north."

"Okay, I got it." Chen Moxin waved to Alexander and Lei Lie. "Let's go, let's go to the upper city first."

The man with the rooster-like haircut gave a fawning smile: "If you don't mind, we'll give you a ride as an apology for our previous offense."

Chen Moxin was waiting for these words, and she didn't stand on ceremony at all, making it seem like it was only natural: "You're quite perceptive."

The rooster-haired man led Chen Moxin and the others through several blocks to a warehouse, where they retrieved their "car".

This vehicle resembles a motorcycle, but instead of wheels, it features blue-glowing engine nozzles. It can be levitated by adjusting the engine direction and can even take off and fly.

Chen Moxin pretended to chat casually and struck up a few words with the man with the rooster-like haircut.

It was later learned that these hoverbikes used solar cells, which is a relatively outdated model among civilian vehicles, used by penniless and lowly thugs from the city center.

From this perspective, it's easy to imagine that the technological level of humans in the Resonance World is far more advanced than that of humans in the real world.

Chen Moxin and the others boarded the hovermobile. With a low hum of the engine and a pale blue trail of flame, they began to ascend, and the vast scenery unfolded before them.

Countless haphazard houses stretch as far as the eye can see, piled up one on top of another like a rusty giant lying on the ground. The streets are almost unplanned, winding and extending between the houses like blood vessels.

In the real world, international metropolises like Twin Cities are already quite large, but compared to the Cicero planetary colony, they can only be described as "miniature".

Chen Moxin learned from casual conversation that Cicero's diameter is 11562 kilometers, and its oxygen content, gravity, climate, and other characteristics are similar to its mother planet, making it relatively habitable.