Chapter 466 — The Restarted Laboratory
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
The war between the Black Pit and the Tide of Reversal.
To be honest, Gao Yang had never expected to hear such a shocking ancient secret while chatting casually with the siren Tyr, but on reflection he realized that if anyone in this world could recite historical records older and more detailed than what he, the Satellite Spirit, knew, it could only be those deep-sea saltwater fish who had been observing the land since primeval times.
The so-called Black Pit... what on earth was it?
According to Tyr, it seemed to be some kind of filtration mechanism—or a "harvester mechanism" that reaped civilizations according to fixed criteria. Every land civilization from ancient times to the present had perished after reaching a certain stage of development—destroyed by the demon tides, or destroyed by that mysterious "black trap." The fact was enough to make one's hair stand on end.
Yet Gao Yang was equally clear that even if the Black Pit existed, humanity could not halt its advance.
Because the demon tides remained.
Not to develop meant dying in the demon tides; to develop meant possibly running into the Black Pit.
The only thing he could do—the only thing that might possibly work—was to find out the truth of the Black Pit before humanity encountered it.
"I don't know whether there exists a path of development that can both weather the demon tides and avoid the Black Pit, but I believe waiting passively for death is absolutely not the way. The demon tides have no mercy; they will not postpone their visit because humanity shows reverence and yields."
Gazing at the distant night, Gao Yang spoke slowly in a calm, detached tone, while Tyr beside him widened her eyes slightly, and a faint smile surfaced on her face: "A leader ought to have that kind of awareness... You are a good friend."
Gao Yang smiled back and asked a question. "Why did you suddenly tell me all this tonight?"
Tyr shrugged. "It just happened to come up while we were chatting."
Gao Yang said nothing, only watching the siren quietly, until at last she wore a helpless expression: "All right—it's nothing much, really. Just consider it a return gift for the Prismatic Light technology. You may not realize what you've created, but by my judgment, your new way of using magical energy is genuinely valuable as a reference for us sirens. As a return gift, that's why I told you all this... Of course, knowing it in advance isn't necessarily a good thing for you."
Gao Yang paid no mind to Tyr's last sentence and said earnestly: "You've already given the return gift for the Prismatic Light technology."
"That bit of crude shipbuilding knowledge counts for nothing—you could figure it out yourselves in a few years of study. But general magical energy... that has always been our bottleneck. We sirens cannot sense the mana in nature, nor can we understand or memorize your spell models. All this time we've been acquiring energy in the crudest, most violent way, with poor stability and efficiency—and because of the demon tides, our efforts in that regard are all but overturned and started over every tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of years... So you can imagine how much a hope of breaking through that bottleneck means to us."
At this, Tyr fell silent for a moment before continuing: "Sirens are not accustomed to owing others—even friends."
Gao Yang watched Tyr's eyes quietly, and after a long while gave a gentle nod. "I understand. Then I accept your goodwill."
"Very good. May your civilization prosper—tonight's conversation has been most pleasant."
Tyr's voice came through the night as she leaped, her fish tail reflecting the glittering starlight, carving a graceful arc beneath the star-strewn sky before falling toward the murmuring waters of the White Water River.
Standing on a rock at the riverbank, Gao Yang lowered his head and quietly watched the direction of Tyr's descent.