People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

"That's absolutely not my hair. How could my hair be black? Right?"

Jeragand explained somewhat flusteredly,

"That black hair, with white tips and blue strands inside, it's obviously Ya'er's! It has nothing to do with me!"

Ernst fell silent.

After much deliberation, he nodded, suppressing the urge to ask, "How did Ya'er come into contact with these consecrated devices?"

His intuition told him that if he asked any more questions, Yeragand might be exposed.

He's given himself away, and I'll probably be exposed too.

For his own happiness, and to continue being the most dazzling guy in Jelagand, completely unaware of the situation, Ernst said, "Stop asking, stop asking. It would be impolite to ask any more questions."

The operation to breach the isolation layer was actually nothing to mention.

Practice makes perfect. This time, Christen rejected Balrog Safar's request to "avenge his previous defeat" and chose to go himself with the equipment.

Since it did not require the person to jump over the isolation layer, and Ernst, Kal'tsit, Typhon, and Elchi were all present, with Sami and Time also in place, this was not a dangerous activity.

At least Ernst's side isn't the one that should feel threatened.

Ernst himself was present, watching Christensen's retreating figure as he walked into the Tower of Babel, always ready to slap her.

If things go wrong and the infection spreads, he will immediately activate "Butcher Hu's Palm" to defeat the evil's mechanism with pure methods!

Of course, it's best to avoid any unexpected events.

Waiting can feel like an eternity, especially when you're fully focused.

One minute passed, two minutes passed, three minutes passed, and Christensen appeared on the camera screen. She had reached the top of the Tower of Babel and was beginning to climb the final steps.

That was the staircase leading directly to the isolation layer, the staircase leading directly to her dream.

Upon approaching the isolation layer, all electronic instruments malfunctioned. However, the machine in Christensen's hands continued to operate. The biological ark's ability to construct, alter, and define environments protected it, shielding this not-so-precise instrument from the complex interference of the isolation layer.

Christen turned around and glanced at the specially made calibration clock, which showed 7:36 p.m.

The time bridge was completed precisely when, after investigation, visibility at the Matterhorn was at its highest during the two-month period.

Of course, there are still margins of error. After all, modern astrology is based on a hypothetical star system, which itself does not possess complete and valuable knowledge for practical research. The current estimate of the closest position of the two moons to Sherag is merely an approximate time determined by referencing data from field experiments and information provided by Kal'tsit.

Christensen sent the instrument out, but it might not capture anything.

But there was no nervousness in her eyes, only genuine anticipation.

She pressed the button, activated the instrument, and lifted it over the isolation layer. At the same time, she reached out, trying to touch the barrier. Beyond the barrier, the two moons, refracted through the light, seemed within reach.

At that moment, nothing else mattered to her; she only wanted to greedily embrace them.

There are five minutes left until the scheduled end time for the "Star-Picking Plan".

Ernst has not yet seen Christen descend the steps in the surveillance footage.

A bad feeling welled up in his heart. Could this guy have gone straight to space?

No, no, that doesn't make sense. Even if she were reckless and peeked out without any protection, she would still be immediately corrupted by evil spirits, right?

Based on Safar's reaction last time, she should have returned to the tower after being contaminated and collapsed.

Moreover, in order to prevent such an emergency from happening, Ernst even asked Elchi to make a prophecy.

The prophecy concluded: "Kristen collected images that made everyone despair, and then committed suicide."

Leaving aside the fact that he committed suicide, which is typical nonsense in the Cyclops tragedy prophecy, Ernst could only describe the tragedy as "minor" and not worthy of being discussed at the table.

Importantly, the Cyclops didn't say that Kristen collapsed!

Can a nimble dog in the mountains really fly away?

Don't always make people worry, Christensen.

Ernst sighed inwardly, already prepared to go up and catch the dog himself.

Just as Ernst was beginning to have doubts, Kelsey suddenly spoke up:

"She's come down."

Ernst immediately looked up at the screen. Sure enough, Christensen's figure appeared in front of the camera, looking exactly the same as before, with no sign of the confusion and contemplation on his face.

Seemingly realizing she had been gone for too long, she waved to the camera and then pointed to the machine in her hand.

Clean, tidy, and precise machinery exudes the professionalism of modern civilization, while the faint glow it emits adds a layer of mystical charm.

However, there was no trace of any evil spirits.

The traces of the evil spirits have disappeared.

A moment later, Christensen emerged from the Tower of Babel. She uttered her first words, or rather, her first question:

"Ernst, Kelsey?"

"The moon above us looks mechanical, with a huge crater facing us. Is this normal?"

Ernst and Kelsey were both slightly taken aback. Without saying a word, they nodded almost simultaneously, gave each other reassuring smiles, and spoke in unison:

"Of course it's normal!"

"That's a crater!" "It looks mechanical because of the texture of the space rocks!"

"Ha ha!"

Watching the two of them, who finished speaking with perfect understanding, smiled, scratched their heads (actually wiping away cold sweat), and then exchanged a perfectly synchronized glance, Christensen suddenly felt a little annoyed.

Chapter 613 What is the truth?

To always question what you know nothing about and to constantly seek answers is Christensen's guiding principle.

She is always extremely interested in things related to the outer world and the universe, and she will never give up until she gets to the bottom of them.

But to Ernst's surprise, this time, faced with Ernst and Kelsey's completely consistent answers, Kristen said nothing, but simply nodded silently, as if accepting Kelsey and Ernst's explanation. She then handed the machine to the analysis personnel at the Dome Research Station and left the research station.

This is abnormal! It's not just abnormal, it's downright monstrous!

The same anomalies didn't stop there. The outer edge of the sky above Sherag, which was previously tainted by demonic corruption, seemed to have disappeared this time as well.

Ernst wasn't sure if the contamination was due to the consecration of Yeragand and thus the removal of the contaminants, or if there was some other hidden reason, but at least so far, Typhon and Elchi, who were in charge of the safety checks, had not indicated any trace of contamination on the instruments.

Kal'tsit II = Death/Service? Six Four Collections…: She didn't speak, but silence is a statement. If the pollution exists, she'll definitely be the first to demand its removal.

So, was this "Star-Picking Project" a success?

From all perspectives, there is no doubt that it was a success.

The instruments were functioning normally, and the detection outside the isolation layer was normal. The Terrans' glimpse into the universe did not coincidentally reveal any demons with a strong odor, and they even successfully left behind some image data.

Furthermore, to prevent the creation of a third recording, no recording equipment was installed on the instrument, and Christensen underwent a body search before ascending the tower, so there was no possibility of the extinction crisis recurring.

The objective was achieved, potential problems were avoided, things went smoothly, and no unexpected incidents occurred. It couldn't be better!

But Ernst always felt that he was missing something.

But this time, even Kal'tsit, whose memory was always far superior to his own, didn't remind him. Was his worry unnecessary?

With some doubt, Ernst checked the instrument's data again. After confirming that it was correct, he handed the instrument back to the relevant personnel at the institute, asking them to submit the more important data to the five countries of the Security Council after they had finished organizing it, and then officially release it a week later.

He himself took Kal'tsit back to his office.

"Kal'tsit, this needs an explanation. Otherwise, people will become suspicious sooner or later."

Sitting in his office chair, Ernst looked at Kelsey beside him and said seriously,

“Kristen isn’t so easily fooled. Besides, one of the two moons outside Terra appears to be a man-made weapon of war or something, and it’s pointing directly at Terra. If word gets out, what a huge uproar it will cause!”

Kal'tsit shrugged:

“I take Zhong qUN: jiu 4, ba [!,) 5 as you know.

"I knew about the extermination order, but I didn't know that even the moon was part of it."

Ernst clicked his tongue, stood up, walked to the window, and glanced at the two moons hanging high in the night sky.

One large and one small, both casting a cool moonlight. The twin moons have been celebrated and sung about by the people of Terra since ancient times, used to express longing or other complex emotions. But who could have imagined that this thing, if not handled carefully, could free all the people of Terra from the constraints of any worries forever?

Ernst shuddered as he recalled a post he had come across in his previous life that had left a deep impression on him.

That was Academician Ouyang Ziyuan's discourse on the moon.

The moon has been dead for two billion years. Its internal energy has been exhausted, and there is no volcanic activity. So, for the past two billion years, what has been orbiting the Earth is just a corpse.

It can still influence the tides, or rather, the tides are just a kind of "corpse transformation" in a planetary sense. In the shadow of the corpse, humanity was born and evolved. Since the beginning of history, every emotional gaze upon the moon has only been directed at its face, which has been transformed into a giant, ugly, and unrecognizable creature.

Now that people have finally uncovered its true beauty, they still accept the companionship of this empty shell that is two billion years old.

It is so bizarre that it possesses a strange kind of beauty.

In his past life, Ernst had seen many people associate the moon with gloom, mystery, death, and so on. Were those people like him, Kal'tsit, and Kristen, who might have discovered the truth? By sheer accident, they imbued the moon, which itself symbolizes death, with the greatest imagery of death?

This was a chilling yet undeniably novel argument. While Ernst found it strange that he remembered a relatively obscure online post so clearly, he couldn't deny how relevant its descriptions of the moon were to their own lives.

Kal'tsit fell silent for a moment, then spoke to explain:

"Actually, there's no need to worry, Ernst. Not every Tyrell has these three kinds of imagination."

"You know the truth about the moon because you have access to some information about the legacy of ancient civilizations. I know it because I am involved with it myself, and you also know this secret. Apart from you and me, I don't think anyone would associate the seemingly unusual moon with any kind of weapon of war."

She walked to Ernst's side, looked up at the moon as well, and asked in return:

"Ernst, who knows what the moon was supposed to look like?"

Ernst instinctively wanted to answer. But he suddenly realized that he didn't seem to be able to answer the question.

What was the moon originally supposed to look like? Was it supposed to be a giant rock ball? Or the metaphorical "corpse that has decayed for two billion years"? Or perhaps, a "dead star," a moon of war?

Ernst cannot draw a conclusion. He can say what Earth's moon looks like, but Terra is not Earth, and no one knows what Terra's twin moons originally looked like.

Even the Terrans themselves don't know.

"Most of the information that ordinary people receive comes from the interpretation of first-hand information by authorities. As long as we don't publicly announce that there is anything unusual about that moon, no one will think in that direction."

"The same goes for Christensen; her understanding of the moon is limited to 'something seems amiss,' but she cannot assert that the moon is man-made or that it is a weapon."

"What we are talking about is that the moon is made of different materials, and the so-called craters are just craters. No one can prove it, so no one can disprove it either."

She paused, then smiled and looked at Ernst's profile.

"Even if someone does raise questions about the moon, it doesn't matter. We can just issue a statement to debunk the claim with the Security Council."

Ernst paused for a moment upon hearing this, then smiled knowingly.

"The first clarification statement isn't meant to explain what the facts are, but rather to tell you that these aren't the facts, right?"...!

Kal'tsit nodded with satisfaction.

This doesn't even qualify as lying, and it doesn't even require the condemnation of a non-existent conscience.

After all, how could the Terrans, who have never seen the moon's true face, explain what changes have occurred on it? And if there is even the slightest error in their questions, then naturally, what they say is not "the truth".

To give a simple example, you say the moon is a weapon, and this weapon seems to be made of iron, and who knows, it might one day fire a super cannon to shatter Terra. But the truth is, this moon might indeed be a weapon, and it might indeed be made of iron, but it attacks using gravity weapons, or simply throws out a two-dimensional foil. Then none of what you're saying is fact; it's just fabrication.

The government can make reasonable denials and refutations, but it won't tell you whether your statement is completely wrong or partially wrong, and if it is partially wrong, where it is wrong.

Those who see the announcement will naturally assume that since the rumors have been refuted, everything you said must be wrong and a fabrication.

Furthermore, even if some people know the truth, they won't want to speak out. Because who knows if the truth they know is "the whole truth"?

People speak with a bias, and those with a bias cannot make judgments from a God-like perspective. In other words, no one can grasp the absolute truth. Therefore, at this point, it comes down to who can present the truth with a higher degree of acceptance and wider applicability.

This is what Kal'tsit meant when she said, "The information that ordinary people receive mostly comes from the first-hand interpretation of information by authorities."

"So, feel free to announce it. There's nothing to worry about."

Kelsey said,

"As long as you, Ernst, don't use the extermination order, the truth about the Terra Twin Moons will only be revealed when the Terrans are actually able to land on the moon and understand the creations of the prehistoric civilization."

"And when that time comes, who will still care about the clarifications we made back then?"

Technological backwardness, social backwardness, cultural conservatism, and other reasons can all lead to the issuance of debunking announcements. In short, it is due to "historical limitations".

When the Terrans who ascended the Twin Moons looked back and discovered this announcement that may have once stifled the truth, they could only smile knowingly and then, from the perspective of those who came after, comment, "What a pity, the limitations of history."

No one will criticize Ernst and Kelsey, or the five permanent members of the UN Security Council who issued the statement. Whether they have the guts is one thing, but to use the wisdom of later generations and the latest scientific achievements to demand that the ancients of that time understand the facts is ridiculous.

If people back then could have understood these things, then all the development you've done over the past few decades or centuries would have been for nothing.

Ernst nodded.