It was normal to hear someone call his name, but the problem was that this was not an instant message, nor was it a smart call. It was an email left behind by the grassroots empire at the end of the ban program. In other words, this was a voice message left behind by the grassroots empire when they were banned.
Could he have predicted that Xin Jie would come here many years later?
Unlocking the ban program?
This was the most frightening thing!
In this claustrophobic space that was emitting a strange green light, the androgynous voice seemed to know what everyone was thinking. It spoke again. "Among all the people I know, if there is one person who can decipher my barriers on the Rain Forest Planet in outer space, I believe that person must be you, Xin Jie, codename Hollow Tooth!"
Xin Jie did not answer. He was completely shocked.
The grassroots empire continued. "You must be very curious. What exactly did I seal here?
Why did I tell you to come here?
Let us ignore these questions for now. Let me ask you a few questions. Where did you come from?
Where did you go?
Why did you struggle all the way here? "
Xin Jie could feel his palms sweating. He suddenly discovered that the grassroots empire actually knew everything about him.
The grassroots empire's voice was so calm that there was no trace of emotion. "I have been to many places in this vast universe. I know that you want to go back, go back to your original world. I even know that you bear a very important mission. You are the chosen one, am I right?"
This time, not only was Xin Jie shocked, even Ding Meng was shocked. Was this grassroots empire a human or a ghost? He even knew about the chosen one, and he even said that he was wandering the universe. Was he still human?
Or could it be that the grassroots empires were gods in the underworld?
"The chosen one is not the will of the Holy Tree. It comes from a god-level civilization in the main star cluster of the universe. Its name is the Mou Xing Civilization. This civilization not only knows about the past, but also the future. If my guess is correct, Xin Jie, you being able to unlock the ban proves that the Holy Spirit of the Rain Forest Planet has produced the chosen one. The traces of the Mou Xing Civilization have also set foot here. This is the inevitable result."
This time, even Little Rascal was shocked. "Damn, this grassroots empire knows a lot."
Ding Meng asked in surprise, "The sacred tree is also a part of the Mou Xing Civilization?"
Little Rascal nodded affirmatively. "Yes, it is indeed a major branch of our Mou Xing civilization, but it is very weak."
Ding Meng was speechless. If the mysterious power of the Holy Tree was weak, then what was strong?
Grassroots Empire continued, "Do you know about Pandora's Box?
Once it's opened, disaster, sin, and pain will all be released, but at the same time, hope, beauty, and bliss will also appear. I'm giving you this opportunity now, what will you choose? "
If Ding Meng was given this multiple-choice question, Ding Meng would choose to close it without any hesitation. In his many adventures, he had long understood that curiosity was the bane of life.
However, Grassroots Empire was now asking for Xin Jie's opinion, so Xin Jie remained silent and did not answer.
Grassroots Empire's voice suddenly became emotional. It sighed and said, "Actually, I don't need to ask you, because I know that once you reach this step, you will definitely open this seal. You are too arrogant, but this is not a bad trait for a red guest. On the contrary, it often allows you to fight back in desperate situations and go against the flow. I know you have a lot of questions, but unfortunately, I can't answer them all for you. I can only answer three points for you."
Xin Jie had been listening the whole time. He was the only one who could understand these words now.
Grassroots Empire continued, "First, once you open this seal, you must be mentally prepared. You will face an unprecedentedly powerful evildoer. Whether it is a friend or a foe is not something you or I can predict. In the future, it will be filled with countless variables."
"Second, once you open it, you will have hope of returning. However, you may not be fated to encounter this opportunity. Here, let me give you a piece of advice. The past is the past, and you can't change it. You can't change it, and you can't change it. The saying that man can conquer nature is a lie."
These words were extremely difficult to understand. Xin Jie could only firmly remember them.
Grassroots Empire suddenly let out a sigh, "I know you have one last question. Why should I give you a chance to choose whether to open it or not?
It is not because of your extraordinary talent. If you must find a reason, it is that I sympathize with you!
Because I am the same as you. The best days of my life are very short. From then on, you will never have a life that belongs to you. I hope that one day I can see you in reality, but I think that kind of opportunity may never come. Goodbye, Xin Jie! "
As soon as the voice fell, the green grass logo on the big screens began to dim, like a grassland slowly withering. It turned from green to yellow at a speed visible to the naked eye. Finally, all the logos disappeared, and the seal command was completely lifted.
"Om — om — om — om —"
The light in the control room returned to normal.
Julie could not help but ask, "Has the seal been lifted?"
Xin Jie sighed, "It has been lifted!"
Julie said sincerely, "Thank you so much, Mr. Xin!"
"You don't have to thank me!" Xin Jie's expression was disappointed, "It was not lifted by me."
Julie was stunned again.
Xin Jie sighed, "No one can lift the seal he set, not even me!"
Julie said, "But the seal has been lifted?"
Xin Jie's gaze was fixed on the screen, "That is because Grassroots Empire had already predicted what would happen today, so he took the initiative to lift the seal. Perhaps this is fate …"
He rarely had such feelings, and he had never believed in words like fate. However, after what he had seen and heard today, he started to believe in it.
Things in this world had always been like this. It was like a seed. Once you sowed it, it would take root and sprout. Sooner or later, it would blossom and bear fruit. As for whether this "fruit" would be a good or a bad one, it was unknown.
Xin Jie was still thinking when all the screens in the control room suddenly rose. The system's voice spontaneously sounded at this time:
"The New World System has been activated. Switching to the Cortex program!"
"Self-repair preparation complete!"
"System charging …"
…
After a series of notifications, Su Xia seemed to have realized something, "What did we activate?"
In fact, everyone had already noticed that a countdown had appeared on the big screen in the center:
23: 59: 48;
23: 59: 47;
23: 59: 46;
23: 59: 45;
…
Under normal circumstances, the countdown in the control room would only last for a few minutes, with the longer ones lasting up to 15 minutes, or even 30 minutes at most. But now, it was showing 24 hours, which meant that they would need to spend a lot of time making the final preparations. This was probably not a good thing.
Ding Meng suddenly sensed an extremely faint energy fluctuation, which disappeared in an instant. This aura was very familiar.
Xiao Ai said decisively, "It's the Rat King's aura!"
Little Rascal was puzzled, "This place is 400 kilometers away from the northern outpost, and the Rat King is still deep underground. How can its aura spread so far?"
Ding Meng was expressionless, "I'm afraid something happened to it. Let's hurry over and take a look!"
Julie didn't stop Ding Meng from leaving. She even sent a shuttle car to send Ding Meng and the others to the northern outpost.
Once they arrived at the central cave of the mine, Ding Meng finally sensed that something was wrong. The Rat King's originally vigorous aura had weakened significantly. This was the rhythm of its life force fading away.
"No, it's not the Rat King's aura that's weakened, but the Holy Spirit's aura." Ding Meng sprinted through the passageway.
His judgment was completely correct. Countless moles were still sleeping in the Rat King's cave, but the fiery red glow of the eight-clawed Holy Tree had dimmed.
"What's going on?" Ding Meng rushed over.
The Rat King opened its eyes, "You're finally back."
Ding Meng discovered that the Holy Tree seemed to be withering, "Why did the Holy Spirit's aura weaken?"
The Rat King said, "I used the Holy Tree's power to send a telepathic message to you. Fortunately, you sensed it."
Ding Meng immediately took out a small crystalline bottle and tossed it to the Rat King, "I've already obtained the Spirit Qingshan. You and your people should have no problem returning to the surface."
The Rat King wasn't happy at all. Instead, it let out a long sigh, "Ding Meng, did you guys remove the command that sealed that expert?"
"Expert?" Xin Jie frowned, "You mean the grassroots empire?"
The Rat King sighed, "So he's called the grassroots empire!"
"You've seen him before?" Xin Jie asked tentatively.
The Rat King said, "He came to the Rain Forest Planet many years ago. Although I've never seen his face, I know that he's a very powerful hacker. In your human world, he should be one of the top experts."
Ding Meng immediately had a bad feeling, "What's going on?"
The Rat King's tone was serious, "Ding Meng, hurry up and run. Run now. You still have twenty-three hours. Run as far as you can!"
Ding Meng was also a little nervous, "Why should I run?"
The Rat King sighed, "You don't know what kind of thing you guys just activated. It's my fault for not explaining it to you in advance. I originally thought that this kind of thing wouldn't happen, but I didn't think that this day would still come."
Xin Jie hurriedly asked, "What did we activate?"
The Rat King said word by word, "You guys activated a super battleship, codenamed Sky Dragon!"
"Super battleship?" Ding Meng, Xin Jie, and Su Xia all widened their eyes in curiosity.
The Federal Empire's battleships were clearly divided into small, medium, large, special-class, and leading motherships. The mothership class was actually equivalent to a star-class battleship. Its functions were quite advanced and powerful, and its endurance and combat capabilities were top-notch. However, they had never created a so-called "super battleship".
Although they didn't have a super battleship, that didn't mean that the concept didn't exist. It wasn't that they didn't have the financial resources to build one, but this kind of giant space battleship had too high of a requirement for its designer. If they didn't have the combined efforts of top-notch experts in the fields of data, energy, machinery, metal, and so on, it would be impossible to even think about it.
The Rat King finally said something shocking, "This super battleship hasn't been completed yet. It'll be fully charged in twenty-four hours. By then, it'll be too late for you to leave. Now is the time. Hurry up and run!"